Checking in.

I have been dragging my feet to post this…because who wants their pasty white bikini clad body posted online??? Not me!! But I promised that I would and had to share my post-diet maintenance success for anyone who was on the fence about trying it or curious to see if I’m just going to pack the pounds back on. It works! I still fluctuate between 124 and 126 pounds (depending on the time of the month) but I am eating whatever I want now and I feel great! I’ll admit…I was nervous about gaining weight back and thought about those numbers on the scale more than I should have at times, but after being in Phase 4 for over a month now I’ve adjusted wonderfully and am so glad to have discovered this.

Another positive aspect that I’ve realized is my attitude towards the food I make for myself and my family.  I cook almost everything from scratch now, eat tons of fruits and vegetables and stick to organic options when I can. Nothing but fresh, simple ingredients.  I avoid high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and other processed junk and exercise regularly…nothing too crazy! I eat sweets when I want them, but I don’t really crave them but when I do I just get into my stash of organic chocolate cookies.   I’ve also made homemade pizza dough and zucchini bread recently, avoiding those “easy” options from the store – but these were pretty darn easy to make, too! And practically guilt-free.

Okay…gah…here it is. My one and only before and after photo. As you can see I’m not teeny tiny skinny but I definitely feel much morecomfortable in my own skin again! It’s hard to see from one badly lit (and unflattering!!) photo but I think my 5’3″ frame is more in proportion now and my clothes fit again! 148 to 123 pounds: 25 pounds in 36 days! And it’s staying off so far. I’d like to tone up more, so I’m working on it, but it is a million times easier to get out there and exercise without 25 extra pounds hanging on!

Again, I can’t believe I’m posting this but I just had to share my story. Thanks for reading along!

L.