My journey to lose weight has been a long one. I have had a weight problem since I was a child and have always been a yo yo dieter. I tried every diet there is,Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri System, Medifast, South Beach Diet, Atkins, Cabbage Soup Diet, Ice Cream Diet, Low Carb, High Carb, No Carb; I tried them all. I would exercise for hours a day and starve myself, but once the weight came off, it came right back on.
I was frustrated that no matter how hard I tried, I could not get it right. I spent a great deal of time learning about myself and began to really notice how food was making me feel. I began to realize that certain foods, especially what I considered to be healthy, were not giving me energy and were actually making me want to eat more. I had not been feeling well for so long and had been suffering from a skin disease, which was becoming worse. My migraines were also becoming worse and I spent more time having to lie down and popping Advil for the severe pain. Just as soon as I would feel better, another migraine would start. I was continually getting skin infections and recurrent bouts of bronchitis which would drag on for a month at a time. Doctor after doctor could not find anything wrong with me and I was incredibly frustrated.
So what finally worked for me?
I had to rethink every thing I had been doing. I remembered the saying, crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I kept thinking about that over and over and began to realize that I had to start thinking differently if I wanted to see better results. I began to think about my life, when my weight problems started as a child, and why I was over eating. I looked at pictures and tried to remember what I had been feeling at different times in my life. I think the most powerful thing I did was a meditation exercise where I pictured myself as a child and told myself all the things I wished I had heard as a child.
Little by little I was beginning to make more and more positive changes that were beginning to show real results. A friend suggested that I remove gluten and after that, weight began to come off. While my stomach and skin issues were 80 percent better, I was still having some issues with them. After researching further, I decided to remove dairy. Finally, my stomach and skin issues went away completely. Occasionally, I still have up's and down's with my skin, but removing gluten and dairy has been the most healing of all. Every craving or desire to eat was completely removed once I removed gluten. My doctor has diagnosed me with celiac because my symptoms were so severe. I have not been able to find a diagnosis for my skin issues.
One thing I have learned about weight loss is that when someone has not been through it, it's so difficult for them to understand just how hard it really is. It takes time and it takes being patient with ourselves. I am so thankful to have found a way to eat that makes me feel wonderful and full of energy. My diet now mainly consists of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and occasional meat, eggs, quinoa and brown rice. I am not a doctor or a nutritionist and cannot recommend any specific diet. This is just what I have found that makes me feel my best! Always check with your doctor before trying any new diet plan.
Be sure to follow me on
instagram and my
you tube channel to see what I am eating daily and how I live a healthy life! Below is the interview my son did about how I lost weight and became gluten free ...
As always, Be Inspired ...
Carrie
