A Hopeful Loser

26 29 year old gal hoping to drop 173 40ish excess pounds. Started my "journey" in May 2013 (weighing in at 313 lbs) and have lost 140 since then-gained a few back after my 1st pregnancy.

[ahopefulloser]

Today is my second day back at work after my maternity leave. It’s also the second day that I’ve used my lunch hour to go for a hot and sweaty walk! I got smart and brought a change of clothes this time.

I’ve just gotta keep this up. I’m looking forward to fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes!

[ahopefulloser]

A little under a year later… My selfie game has improved. #paleo #primal #keto

[ahopefulloser]

Soon!!! Damn, I can’t wait to be able to celebrate this level of success again!

[ahopefulloser]

Howdy, y'all!

I'm dusting off this old account today as a way to keep myself accountable. I started this blog in the year 2013 for the same reason- to help in my journey to become the healthiest version of myself. My first time around I was able to lose 140 pounds in a little over a year and a half which was awesome and I am hoping to get similar results this time around.

Just to re-cap, in 2013 I weighed 313 lbs & I decided to change my lifestyle. I managed to get down to the low 170s and then I got pregnant in late 2014, gave birth in 2015 and I've sat in the 190-200 lb range and I haven't been back to my lowest weight since then.

This year I gave birth to a set of twins (a boy and a girl!) via an unwanted C-Section. (side note: nothing about this second pregnancy went as planned, but the end result was two healthy little babies so I am definitely not complaining.)

So here I am, a little over three weeks postpartum and I weigh 240 lbs. My pre-pregnancy clothes don't fit. I am determined to get myself back to where I want to be through the same patient, diligent work I put in the last time around.

Today is currently day 2 of this new journey. I've traded in my apple watch for my old fitbit versa. I'm officially back on my high fat, low carb diet. I'm doing my best to get my steps in, even though it is difficult to do with a set of newborn twins and an almost-five-year-old daughter.

The entire point of this blog is to help remind me of my mission. Publishing this makes it feel like a solidified plan. I look forward to posting my new before and after photos soon. I have plenty of "before" material, thats for sure!

[ahopefulloser]

Howdy!

Quickie update: I’m in my 8th month of pregnancy with freakin’ twins! Our family of 3 is transforming into a family of 5! I’m due in mid June. Everything has been grand- despite the you-know-what virus.

That is, until last week when I noticed my right eye was super watery. After further inspection I realized I couldn’t purse my lips to whistle either. I did what anyone would do in my situation and consulted with Dr. Google. I found out about Bell’s palsy and how pregnant women are most likely to contract it for whatever reason. Long story short- I had to get an MRI done to confirm that I didn’t have a stroke.

No stroke- yay! I was prescribed steroids and antivirus pills. All is well for now. Thankfully it hasn’t gotten super bad, just what I’d call a mild case... I consider myself lucky.

So yeah, Bell’s palsy is no joke. Hoping this isn’t a permanent problem. I’ll keep y’all posted!

[c-bassmeow]

[ahopefulloser]

#same

[ahopefulloser]

[ahopefulloser]

I was looking through some old photos when I found this gem on the left. The year 2010 (way before I decided to change my eating habits) versus this weekend. Husband looks the same, aside from the shave and hair cut. I look younger now, I think.

[ahopefulloser]

Husband made me a keto-ish version of my favorite pizza- the Honey Bastard from Cane Rosso!

He made the keto friendly crust using this recipe:

https://thebigapplemama.com/easyrecipe-print/2405-0/

The Best Low Carb Pizza Crust - No Cauliflower involved!

[ahopefulloser]

Start today!

[ahopefulloser]

Finally! I can see my hard work paying off. Keto FTW!

[ahopefulloser]

[ahopefulloser]

My ketone level readings have been up and down since I’ve started measuring them. It’s been a source of encouragement and frustration, but overall I think it’s helping me keep myself on track with my keto diet. I have seen a minor change on the scale, which is good, but the more noticeable change has been with my clothes fitting better. NSV! Anyway, today my ketone level was at 4 millimolar which shocked me because I’m shooting for around 2.5-3 mmol. Two days ago I got a reading of 1.9 mmol which is good. These readings are helping me figure out what foods are helping me and which ones aren’t. I’ve noticed that too much protein will lower my levels quite easily. I found this info online regarding where you want your blood ketones to be: -Below 0.5 mmol/L is not considered “ketosis”. At this level, you’re far away from maximum fat-burning. Between 0.5-1.5 mmol/L is light nutritional ketosis. You’ll be getting a good effect on your weight, but not optimal. -Around 1.5 – 3 mmol/L is what’s called optimal ketosis and is recommended for maximum weight loss. -Values of over 3 mmol/L aren’t neccessary. That is, they will achieve neither better nor worse results than being at the 1.5-3 level. Higher values can also sometimes mean that you’re not getting enough food. For type 1 diabetics, it can be caused by a severe lack of insulin.

[ahopefulloser]

Yay! I’m feeling so good!

[ahopefulloser]

Yippee! This is the highest reading I’ve gotten. Feels good!

[ahopefulloser]

[ahopefulloser]

I took the plunge and bought a blood ketone meter this week. This is my highest reading so far. Hope I can keep it up!

[ahopefulloser]