Re-Set Button

Is there a Re-Set Button somewhere on my body?

I have really fallen off the BFC wagon this past week or so, and I can tell the difference! I feel bloated and groggy, with a constant headache. My muscles are achy and my mind is foggy and irritable. I stopped keeping track of what I was eating, and was allowing more bad carbs and sugar into my diet. During the first few days, I felt like I was still doing "pretty well"... having something bad only once a day. I was having a lot of beer (it was the kind that was okay on the diet, but it's still not a good idea to drink 6-9 cans in one night... night after night, just to de-stress). But the more I allowed myself to slip, the more slippery the slope became. One trip to McDonalds turned into two, then Taco Time and other fast food restaurants snuck in. I ate half a basket of fresh baked bread from Tomato Street before my entre of Portabello Chicken Ravioli. Then I was choosing carbs that were not as healthy, just because I "wanted" them and found ways to excuse my poor choices. I said yes to that amazing Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake dessert, celebrating my brother's return from the Army. And I couldn't make myself pass up the scoop of Pralines and Caramel at Baskin Robbins, justified as celebration for the purchase of our new van... You see where this all goes...

It's really due to a lack of planning on my part, and an un-willingness to go to the grocery store! I'll stand at the fridge and wait for something healthy to magically appear, and when it doesn't, I turn around and grab the last 1/4 bag of Dorito's, justifying myself every step of the way. I need to re-charge... re-set. I think the best move I can make right now is to first... journal this idea so that I have some accountability again. Second... start to journal my food intake again, making sure to stick to the tried and true 15/6 rule. Third... make a list of the foods that I really enjoy on this program, and fourth... go stock up! If it's there, I'll eat it. Plain and simple. If good stuff is there, I'll eat the good stuff. Cutting corners at the grocery store just to get out of there faster is only hurting my progress.

Alright body... I see the button... PRESS!
(yes, it was my belly button... smart people.)

Here we go! Enough cutting corners! Invest in your health! Spend the money on food that is going to benefit you the greatest! It's not "over" because of one bad week. Re-Set.

The Butterfly!

I started the Belly Fat Cure journey about two months ago. At the beginning, I was weighing myself almost every day, maybe even multiple times a day. Every time I saw a number that wasn't what I wanted it to be, I became very discouraged. I vowed to myself that from that point on, I would not step on a scale. The last time I got on the scale, I weighed 196 lbs, and had been stuck at that number for what feels like ages!

To rewind a little bit, I was on the South Beach Diet for over a year, and had great success in the beginning, going from 205 pounds, down to 185, and then gradually back up to that infamous 196. It seemed like no matter how hard I worked on that diet, I could not keep the lower numbers unless I completely avoided all carbs, leaving me with lots of acidic protein and plenty of fruits and veggies. I had a lot of fresh fruit smoothies, protein shakes, salads, and lean meats and cheeses. But that darn #196 would not drop back down to 185... and I stayed there for at least 6 months. Finally realizing that the diet was failing, I discovered Jorge Cruise and his Belly Fat Cure.

The book looked like another scam, get skinny quick trick, which I wanted no part of. But finally, I decided that it was worth a shot. The book was an easy read, and made sense. The goal is to eat less than 15 grams of sugar per day (the average person consumes 46 teaspoons of sugar per day without even realizing it), and aiming for 6 servings of healthy, whole grain, high-fiber carbs each day. The book indicates that consuming more than 15 grams of sugar a day, causes the insulin in your body to over-produce, creating the perfect environment to store fat in your body, particularly in the mid-section. The high-fiber carbs are also necessary to flush your system, and make sure you are having regular bowel movements, otherwise you are storing something called "false belly fat", which is just extra poo that won't come out, leaving you with extra baggage in your bowels.

Anyway, back to the weighing... instead of allowing myself to get discouraged every time I step on the scale, I decided to ban the scale in our house. Instead, I go by inches lost. At the beginning of the south beach diet, I lost a lot of inches, but gained most of them back in the end. On this program, I've lost all those same inches and more, and only in the two months I've been on the program. I've lost a grand total of 29 inches and 2 dress sizes so far! Out of sheer curiosity (and because I found an unsuspecting scale in a friends' bathroom last night), I stepped on, and the number said 189. Now mind you, I had been fully clothed, and it was at the end of the day, where you typically weigh more, so I could probably subtract a good 3 to 5 pounds from that number and still be accurate, leaving me with a scale number of 184!

The best part is that I still get to eat carbs! I am just learning which ones are the best. I can also have sugar (in small doses), such as in a couple of squares of extra dark chocolate when I have a sweet tooth. I have a bite of pie or cake here and there but it is really rare, and I can honestly say that I don't miss it at all. I can have certain kinds of beer, too. It's really amazing. I would recommend this program to anyone. I have more energy, and am getting healthy without feeling deprived of the joys of life and food. I'm looking forward to reaching my ultimate goal of a size 6 or 8, and weighing somewhere around 135 pounds, if that's really the best shape for my body. I don't want to look like a stick, but I do want to be healthy and strong, and be able to shop in the cute clothing sections instead of buying extra large and still feeling uncomfortable.

Right now, as I type, I am looking down, and am amazed that I can see more of my lap than previously! My breasts and stomach have both decreased and I feel smaller. My husband is having trouble keeping his hands off, my friends are all noticing a huge difference, and I feel amazing. I can't wait to see the new me fully emerge! I've been in this caccoon for wayyy too long. Bring on the butterfly!