It's been 59 days today

Unthinkable really.

On day 1 when we first cleaned out the kitchen cupboard and fridge I wasn't sure how I was going to survive it.  All I knew was that I didn't want to live the rest of my life sick and I didn't want to have further complications.  So went cold turkey.

Naughty, naughty cravings
The first real cravings for rice and sweet happened over the last couple of weeks.

It was my birthday last week, we a guest for a few weeks before that.  Life goes on and you can't just get off the train and say 'sorry, I'm on a healthy eating plan so you all go ahead and I'll stay at home and be a hermit.  See ya in a year when I've lost all the weight I need to lose. Bye for now!'.  Life doesn't work that way.   We went out of town for the weekend and visited this highly recommended patisserie. I had to eat the apple crumble.  It was divine and so wort it.  For the first five minutes.  Soon after that I started to get a headache and I basically had a headache for the rest of the afternoon.  I kept eating it anyway because it was there and I haven't had dessert in weeks.  It was a good experience as it made me realise I really don't need to eat things like that right now.   The side effect was not worth it.

A week later I thought I'll have a cheat weekend for my birthday weekend.  I ate brown rice on Saturday night and then a full (largish) bowl of white rice.  The first ten or 15 minutes of my meal was just amazing.  I can eat an even bigger bowl of rice - hell, even a pot of rice - at a drop of a hat.  Giving it up was really hard but I had to.  After about 15 minutes I started to feel bloated.  I went home feeling blah.  Was it worth it? For the experience of eating rice again to satisfy my craving, yes.  But the side effect wasn't worth it.  Opening up my palate to such cravings again was harder than I thought.  It was like opening myself up from unnecessary 'danger' that I didn't need to subject myself to.   So in that sense the cheat weekend was worth it.  After that I was more determined to eat healthy.

Oh and I also had about three glasses of champagne.  A girl's gotta celebrate right?! Celebrate and cheated, I did.  I don't think I'll need to drink again for awhile.  That was my quota for this season (however long this season lasts).

I'm sure I will have cravings again but now I know what to expect.  It was like a little experiment.

And that damned thing called exercise 
I've also done more walking that I've ever done in about six years.  I try to fit it in as much as often as I can and I don't mind it anymore.  I'm still not exercising every day as it's just not possible with my schedule but I at least walk 3-4 days a week.

Tomorrow I am aiming to go to Bikram Yoga for the first time in about six years too.  That's the aim anyway.  I would like to have done a class before the end of the year :)  Yes, my goals are very realistic.


Omg I've lost weight!
On another good (actually great!) note, I now weigh 69.8 kgs.  I started off at 76.1kgs.  I'm just amazed at how much weight I've lost.  'How much' is a big statement for me.  I know it's only 6.3 kgs but ONLY 6.3 kgs is a massive achievement for me.   I've been carrying that extra 6.3 kgs for the last few years and I've felt worse for the wear.   Now I feel more energetic and awake.  I'm not as fuzzy in the head.   I haven't needed my asthma inhaler (until today as I think I'm coming down with a cold) since I started on that eventful day.  I am also sleeping much better and not waking up in the middle of the night with a sore tummy or just feeling unwell in general.

Friends (can be weird)
Not everyone has noticed the weight loss.  Which is ok by me because those who have noticed really appreciate the challenge of changing one's lifestyle.  I find they are the ones who are also working on their own health.

The response from friends have been a little mixed.  We went out to dinner with a friend a few weeks ago and my friend was quite negative when I said I am not eating rice as I am on a low GI diet right now as I need to lose weight.  Same friend who has been giving me a hard time about my eating out.  It was very strange.  Funny enough, another friend just told me that morning to keep it quiet as not everyone will understand.   So it prepared me for that evening's incident.

Eating out (what used to be my favourite past time)
I now also find eating out a challenge, a nice challenge.  Initially it was quite a difficult challenge but as I discovered different types of flavours that I enjoy, food options that I would not normally order but now enjoy, choosing healthy instead of choosing what I would normally eat, I realised that eating out is not going to be a major problem.  It's quite doable!

So there.  Life has changed significantly.  One day at a time.  One good meal choice at a time.  It hasn't been a perfect journey but I am not aiming for perfection.  I am aiming for a lifestyle change so I am being kind to myself.  It may take me a year to get there but I prefer that better than a drastic change that I won't be able to sustain.

This is me 59 days later.  Oh how life has changed one kilogram at a time.