KETO

Ok, so it has been a long time since I last blogged. Just putting this up here for the few who care, and know that I will not edit this for grammar, punctuation or spelling. 

I decided to try lchf again by following a ketogenic eating style, macros being 5% carbs 20% protein 75% fat. If I have learned anything in the last year and a half-ish, it is:

·        

     Find what works for your body. Every person’s body is different and in order to find what works for you, you have to experiment a little.

o   Whether that is following a program like or a style of eating like, ‘clean’ eating, paleo, whole30, vegetarian, vegan, primal, lchf, south beach, then zone, volumetrics, macrobiotics, raw food, Nutrisystem Atkins, WW, 21 day fix way, just counting calories, or creating and following your own Micro/Macro plan.

o   Whether it’s running, beach body workout videos, lifting, cardio only, lifting only, total body workouts, Zumba, insanity, P90x, Cize, T-25, Jillian Michaels, bodybuilding.com plans, jazzercise, Richard Simmons videos, YouTube routines, googling exercises, or having a personal workout schedule made by a trainer/coach.

·        Don’t be afraid to change it up. Your body will get used to every routine you create, so remember to tweak it every now and then.

o   Try cutting down 50-100 calories a day for a couple weeks

o   Try increasing your calories by 50-100 calories per day for a week

o   Try adding total body strength/lifting to your cardio only routine. (lift first then cardio, so that you reach the zone quicker in cardio)

o   If you’re only lifting and strength training, try adding cardio after.

o   Add 15 minutes to your workouts.

o   Take a rest day if you aren’t already

o   If you’re sick, rest or you will take longer to get well.

·         Don’t give up (even when you hit a plateau every couple months)

         

·    Enjoy the journey (this is a lifestyle change. In order to lose the weight (or gain, depending on your goals) and maintain, you need to go about it in a fashion that is realistic to achieve and maintain for the rest of your life. Remember that reaching the goal is part of the battle, maintaining it for life is another part.

I learned that I am not going to put a time restriction on my goals. Why? Because I don’t want to feel pressured or rushed. I’ve seen quite a few people on Social Media who have lost a huge amount of weight in a fairly short amount of time, only to gain quite a bit of it back (if not all of it) in half the time it took to lose. Also, my goals are ever-changing. When I first started I just wanted to reach a healthy weight. Now, I want to reach a healthy weight for my body, healthy fat percentage and have quite a bit of muscle.

So here I go on what seems like the 100^th turn in my journey...

My first time playing sports at 29 and it's Kickball

One day while I was sitting at my desk, probably doing something for my VP, I received an interesting email. The President of my company asked all of his employees if we would be interested in playing Adult Co-Ed Kickball this spring. On a whim, I volunteered. I thought "I can kick a ball, why not join?" If anything I would get some extra exercise and get to hang out with my coworkers outside of the office. I also kept in mind that this may not happen, like that other time when he asked if we wanted to do yoga (which I wish we did do). So here I am today eight games later, three of which were two games a night. My shin constantly hurts, I pulled my groin in the third game, yet I am fuckin' PUMPED for playoffs on May 6th. Who would have thought that I wouldn't play any sports until I was 29? 

-Madeline

I'm sorry, I'll try to blog more!

I am so sorry for not posting a new blog in nearly 3 months! Life got in the way, I was down most of the holiday season, but I am back! I will make a new post with an update on what has been going on since my last blog post. And by the way, you can follow me on instagram, where I post on a daily basis. But I need to get back to work, so I can blog after. Number 1 reason I stopped posting, no home internet & computer access. Also, thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings! I will work to make time so that I can write a blog that is above a 6th grade reading level lol!

My decision to get a Fitness Coach

Hey everyone, sorry I have been a little MIA on here for about 5 weeks. I have been very busy with work and at the gym.

Changes at the gym are the result of me needing some accountability in my journey. I need to lose a total of 135 pounds to get to my “goal weight”. By no means am I trying to be a 105 pound girl, with no muscle. I am really overweight and apparently a lot heavier than a lot of people with similar measurements on Instagram. I also don’t want to just eat clean and do cardio. I want to lift weights and build my muscle/burn fat. So I did some research and found a coach on Instagram. Her Instagram name is @loseitconkatie, and she is amazing!!! Her fitness transformation is unbelievable, and she is self-made awesomeness. You have to go on Instagram and see for yourself! I seriously fuckin’ love her and my progress is the shit. My mental and emotional health are also so much better. I am happy like all the time, and I have a lot less bad days. I also love going to the gym now. I walk in ready to fuck shit up and I own every workout. I don’t even care who’s there. It does help that my husband goes with me the 6 days a week we do go. He wishes Katie was his coach, but I told him she’s mine!! HAHA! My food has been great, I am so much better at mentally calculating my food calories/Macros. Not that I am too strict, with all of the HIIT, Weights, and Cardio, and the fact that I eat clean like 95 % of the time allows me to be flexible with my diet ;). Go to my Instagram page @myquesttoeudemonia to see my progress. Also, I got a promotion from admin/researcher to a Delivery Support Coordinator, so I have been working supa dupa hard at work.

-Madeline

About Me

I would just like to say that it has always been difficult for me to fill in the about me section for every social media account, questionnaire, job application, etc.  I don't know why, but when I get asked that in person, on screen, or on paper, I blank or I ask my self "Who am I". So forgive this following message I am trying to disclose.

My name is Madeline and I am 28 years old. I have 3 older brothers, and 4 older sisters. I was raised with 4 siblings that share my mom and dad, and I’m the baby! My dad is an awesome man who is still very much a big part of our (all the siblings I was raised with) lives. My mother was the most humble, hardworking, God fearing woman, I ever had the privilege to be raised by. She passed away July 31st 2012, about 3 months after getting diagnosed with liver cancer. I miss her every second of every day, and losing her still brings me to my knees.

I have been overweight for at least 20 years and obese for at least 15 of those years. The earliest I can remember was when I was in 5th grade and I was wearing a size 10/11. I had to share clothing with my mother since the two older sisters I lived with were in sizes 3 and 5. I wore glasses, I was overweight, quiet, and introverted, so of course I hated every year of school. Kids were so mean (not particularly to me, just in general) and to make matters worse, I already had anxiety issues. Even though it was tough at times, I somehow got through it year after year.

Fast forward to November 2013. I married my other half, and thought I could die of happiness. That was until spring 2014. When I finally SAW myself in the mirror, and actually looked at the number on the scale. I couldn't believe what I did to myself for 20+ years! How could I let things spiral out of control for so long. True, I was an unhappy person most of my life, I have been through a lot from something bad happen to me when I was a kid, to fighting anxiety and depression, to suddenly losing my Mother.

I decided enough was enough, no more letting the past have anything to do with my future! I decided to change my lifestyle and become mentally, emotionally, and physically fit and healthy. In a few years I want to have kids, and I want to be there for them for as long as I can, and to be able to always play/keep up with them while they grow up. I want to be the woman I think My Love deserves to have. I want to be the best version of myself I can be, for MYSELF! This is My Quest to Eudemonia.

Slowly but Surely?

I have been stuck at this current weight for over 2 and a half weeks. To make matters worse, this past week I wasn’t even reaching my calorie goals! I was under an average of 200 calories a day because I just can’t eat enough in the evenings, and since I am most hungry while at the office, that is where I eat the majority of my daily allotted calories. I have worked so hard these past 3 plus months! It took years of false starts, and months of trial and error before finding (re finding actually) what worked for me. In June, back at my highest weight (32 pounds ago), I started my Healthy Vegetarian Lifestyle.

I eat mostly fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, veggie patties, dairy, and eggs. I will have a slice of bread, rice, bran cereal, a tortilla, or corn chips every few days. When money is tight, I will have a small frozen meal, but I still abide by an 80/20 rule. I work out at home or at the gym 3 times a week, and I use MFP to count my calories. I have dropped weight and clothing sizes. All of the clothes that were tight when starting my journey are now too loose to wear. Stuff that didn’t go over my hips now zip up and fit nicely. I am down 32 pounds, I went from a 22/24 (I was busting out of 22 but only had the heart to buy a couple 24’s) to a 19/20, and from a 3x to a 1x/2x (1x blouses and 2x non dressy tops). I don’t know why I get so impatient.

Three weeks ago I even deactivated my personal Facebook and Instagram Pages, just to eliminate any more distractions from my weight loss journey. It was getting annoying too. People whine so much and don’t do anything to change what they’re whining about. I have fallen completely in love with my instagram #fitfam I look forward to seeing everyone’s journey, every day. It helps me keep myself accountable, it encourages me, and it keeps me entertained and focused. It’s just awesome to know that there are other people out there in the real world going through the same thing. I guess I need to take my own advice and keep my eye on the prize.

-Madeline

Summertime Happiness

The second weekend in August I left for my first vacation in three years. I was beyond excited to go! The late night drive was so hard and I couldn’t last 2 hours. Fail. However, I did manage to drive the returning 12 hours (all by myself). We went to Florida and stayed at this beautiful condo off of Navarre Beach. The water was a perfect clear blue-green, and I got a nice little tan. It was so relaxing and just too short! We had fun learning to boogie surf the waves. It was so liberating and exciting. My favorite thing had to be sitting on the beach with my Sugar, fingers entwined, toes in the sand, watching the sun set.

That's my sugar!

That's the view from the balcony

My cousin caught an awesome sunset picture, the last night there.

 I was busy enjoying it with My Love!

The only casualty was that I broke my 24 oz. turquoise/teal tumbler with straw, which I use to drink water at work. Good news is I found a 26 oz. eco one Mason ‘tumbler’ at Marshalls for like $6! I love it, I have already had 100 oz. and it’s not even 3 PM! I ate the best I could with the budget that I had. I cooked/made around 75% of my meals, mostly sandwiches (cheese avocado alfalfa sprout, peanut butter and jelly, and egg and cheese, sandwiches) had some snacks, fruit, desserts, one beer, and one glass of wine. Most of my snacks were not ‘healthy’ but I watched my portions, and kept close to my calories limit. I weight myself the next morning and I actually lost 2 pounds!

I am now down a total of 30 pounds! Loving the No Scale Victories almost as much as the descending numbers on the scale. I am in the process of making a workout routine that I can do at home as well as in the gym. I just need to find some workouts that are doable for me right now. My knees are terrible, I have weak wrists & ankles, I am not flexible in the least, and I have hardly any upper body strength. I got my work cut out for me!

-Madeline