To make a long story short:
- I started in the first week of November 2012.
- I had 12 cheat days over Christmas break {and was already/still down 8 lbs!}
- I started working out in January 2013
- I remained consistent with my low-carb diet
- I was down 25ish pounds on my wedding day!!!!! {04.27.13}
Thanks to some great friends and their help/advice with their successful experiences losing weight/living life eating low-carb {shout out to Samantha & Laura!}, I learned a thing or two.
I learned it was possible & did not have to be excruciating!
I learned I could have one cheat day a week & it wouldn't hurt me at all.
I learned I can still have pizza, and ice cream, and chocolate, and cheese, and bacon, and a ton of other yummy things!
In January, I also learned that somewhere along the way my pancreas decided to {hopefully temporarily} quit working.
A high-fat diet was the only *guess* as to what could have caused it.
Just for the record, the medical bill was not worth sticking around for the specialist to come take a guess at the cause.
Lesson learned.
I consistently ate under 20 carbs a day for six days a week.
When I tell people that, it blows their mind!
Apparently that's not a lot?!
I now know that everyone's carb tolerance is different.
One person may be able to consumer 60 carbs a day & maintain their weight, another person may be able to eat 80, while some may only be able to eat 40.
Everyone's different & I was recommended to slowly start introducing carbs back into my diet and figuring out what my specific carb tolerance was.
I didn't do that.
After our wedding day, we went to Jamaica, and ate, and ate, and ate.
And we went home, and didn't really look at what we were eating.
Then we semi- counted our calories, but weren't doing anything specific.
...Okay, Alex counted his and I didn't. :)
Meanwhile, I was working out 3-4 days a week consistently, mostly running on the treadmill {2ish miles a day}.
I am proud to say that I have maintained an approximate 20 lb. weight loss!!
If you know me, you know I'm a picture freak.
It didn't take me long to find some "before" & "after" pics.
Here's some before pictures...yikes!
I will say it warms my heart to know that Alex proposed to me at my largest. He must really love me! ;)
And now, my "current" pictures...
{I'm hesitant to call them "after" pictures. Hopefully I will be able to do that after this next go-round!}
 |
| the night before our wedding ♥ |
 |
| hottie hubby lost 20ish lbs too with low-carb pre-wedding! proud of him! |
 |
| Yes, that's a bikini! I hadn't worn one of those in 2+ years! |
So I said all that to say this...
I am starting round 2 tomorrow!
I had so much success during round 1 & I've binged long enough to start feeling blah & seeing the number slowly increase.
For some reason, I have such motivation this time!
I am not even worried about missing my daily Mello Yello(s) or not eating fast food.
Now, I will have to grocery shop tomorrow.
And I am dreading that more than going on a diet.
I'll let ya know how it's going and will be posting on Instagram {@nsmullen} some of the yumminess I make! Follow me! :)
Wish me luck & feel free to comment with some advice or encouragement! :)
♥,
Nicole
