I made it through the 40 days of "Very Low Calories" ("VCL") and then through the "1500 Calories/Day" phase of the hCG diet. Luckily, before my cruise over Christmas, I was back to the "Normal Eating" phase. Somehow I've been stuck in that phase for the past three months, when it was only supposed to last 5 weeks. Hmm... not good.
I started phasing back into the "VLC" days, and then my grandma passed away and there was a lot of family stress/drama. I've come to realize that I'm a "stress eater". When I get stressed out, I head to the kitchen. And instead of making healthy choices, I go for things that I know I shouldn't eat - ice cream, cookies, pasta. And I justified it. I weighed myself every day, and fortunately, the weight I've taken off thus far (approximately 35 lbs.) has only fluxuated about 2-3 lbs. since Christmas. When my grandma passed away, I threw in the towel on the "VLC" days and told myself I'd start again when life calmed down a bit.
And then I went to D.C. for work. And I justified not eating healthy because I was at a conference and it's difficult to pick-and-choose when away from home and the normal routine.
And then work got incredibly busy. And stressful. And we all know what happens when I feel stressed out - I eat.
Well, now it's time to get back on the horse. I worked out today for the first time in quite awhile and it felt INCREDIBLE! I can't wait until tomorrow so I can do it again!
I also realized that before I dove into the "VLC" days the first time, I had already been phasing down and changing my eating habits to eliminate most dairy, gluten, and fat. Since 2011 has started and the few times I've tried starting the "VLC" days again, I haven't "stepped down" to it. I just tried diving in head first. And I've failed. So, with the season of Lent upon us, I've decided that I'm going to give up gluten. It will be my first "step down". The day after Easter, I'm going to give up dairy. And I'm adding at least 30 minutes/day of exercise (starting this week).
I'm a bit concerned that I won't hit my goal of 80 by 30, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'm still going to diligently work toward that goal, but if I don't make it, I'm not going to give up. I want to be at least two sizes smaller than I am now before I start trying on wedding gowns...
And on that note... :)
