About 2 years ago, I went on a health journey where I was able to shake off 22 pounds of fat! I started the
17 Day Diet During this time of my life, I was able to really push myself to places I had never been before.
This is me before and after Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet.
In the pink shirt above, I was weighing in at 152lbs. And in the orange shirt I weighed in at 130lbs. I have honestly never been more proud of myself. I was running up to 3 miles everyday. I was making healthier choices in my life...
Until...
I went for a run one day and my knee buckled on me and down I went. I went to my orthopedic doctor and listened to him tell me that I had OCD, Osteochrondral Defect which means that I had a piece of my cartilage on the end of my thigh bone (femur) that was separating itself from the rest of my bone. My doctor told me of two different procedures that would be the possibilities, one the recovery time was 4-6 weeks, I was totally down for that! Day of surgery I went to sleep thinking that 6 weeks and I would be back to work, however when I woke up, I found out that the surgery was more severe than he anticipated. I stayed non-weight bearing for 10 weeks total, and after that I was able to toe-touch weight bear for 2 more weeks. Needless to say, 12 weeks went by before my full foot ever touched the ground.
This was about 2 weeks into my rehab! I was trying really hard not to give up.
From the moment I got home from surgery, I was put in my bed, to lay, to sit, to color (yes I love coloring). My family would bring my favorite comfort snacks, like Donut Sticks, Sour Patch Kids, Dr. Pepper, Beef jerky... in other words, All. Things. Bad. I ate, I slept, I ate, I slept. For about 4/5 weeks of this lifestyle. It only takes 11 days to make something a habit. I probably went through a 24 pack of Dr. Peppers in about 3 days.
It wasn't long until I gained every bit of the weight back that I worked so hard on getting off.
To gain all the weight back and know that you can do something about it is one thing, to gain all the weight back and not be released to do anything except leg raises... sucks.
At the end of my long recovery journey which put me at 10 months post surgery I was able to begin walking on concrete, I was finally able to work off some of this weight I put on.
I would go out for a walk and eventually a run, but it was almost pointless... I had a pretty firm addiction going on in my life, and that addiction was Dr. Pepper and food. I was not ready at that point in my life to give up either of those. I enjoyed what I ate, and I enjoyed what I drank.
I went through this cycle of abuse on myself... I would start off a month so great, with such drive and passion for working out and getting into shape. I would even give up Dr. Pepper for a week or two. I started the 17 Day Diet maybe 4 times after surgery. But it never failed, as sweet and as supportive as my husband was during these healthy binge times of my life, he would request one of our special places to go eat. So here I am 3 days into healthy eating and now I'm FORCED... to eat a big ole burger with a fried egg on it (yes its so good). I would say to myself, "It's ok, it's just one cheat day." Then the next morning I'm off stopping by my gas station to grab a Dr. Pepper. A few days later I would beat myself up over how unhealthy I am and how none of my diet plans are working. By the end of the month, I find myself crying in the mirror when my pants no longer fit me, when I'm realizing that I need to bump up to that next size. I allowed myself to feel ugly, and fat.
I have two amazing children, both boys (6 and 4yrs.) A child's ability to see reality is amazing... Like the one time we all went swimming and my 6 year old was under water with his eyes open, he popped out of the water and said, "Mommy, your fat is bigger under the water, is there a baby in there." Oh... gee... thank you son. And then another night tucking the boys in their bunk beds, I am saying goodnight to my youngest who gets to sleep up top for a while when my oldest pokes my belly and says, "Mommy, your big belly jiggles when I touch it. It's getting bigger." How do you even reply to that. Its the truth and as much as I didn't want to talk about it there it is, plain as day.
Just a few days after this, I went to the bathroom and I hate to be graphic, but when I turned to flush this picture below was the color I saw.
There is a saying I knew growing up that you want to pee lemonade not apple juice. This phrase determines your hydration status. Here is a chart to help you see the difference.
Needless to say I was so dehydrated it was unreal. That day I put my Dr. Pepper's down. Once and for all. To help my clean out my system really good I decided to use some of my oils for detox. In the morning I mixed 5 drops of
Young Living's Grapefruit Oil, and 2 drops each of Lemon Oil, and Peppermint Oil in a capsule. Throughout the first day I went backwards through the chart above. Until finally my system was clean! Its crazy to think how horrible I was treating my body.
Here I am 2 years later beginning my journey again to a healthier me! This time, I am partnering with someone to help me keep myself accountable. Life is better with friends!
This is me and my girl busting out the reps in the gym! We cute tho...
Through everything else that LIFE likes to throw at me, I don't want to make my job of keeping up with it all harder. So today, I'm choosing LIFE, the easy way. I don't want to wait any longer, making excuse after excuse.
Feel free to keep up with us via this blog.
Also, if you want to know how to get started with Young Living click the link below! I couldn't live my life without these oils!
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