2018 Instant Results

On the last day of  November, 2017, I was on the homepage of Yahoo.com when my attention was caught by a story about a girl who lost over 100 pounds using something called an Instant Pot.  I vaguely remembered someone recently commenting on Facebook about an instant pot. I read the story about Brittany Williams and subscribed to her blog the next day.  I started copying her recipes for my files. My husband and I began searching for Instant Pots, he on Craigslist, me on Amazon. It took until the week after Christmas for my Amazon find to arrive.  I was in Indiana visiting my husband's family and friends. When we got home on New Year's Eve, I felt like a child on Christmas morning.  I was so happy my gift from me to me had arrived; I was thrilled that I had "discovered" Instant Loss, Brittany's blog! I planned to start eating REAL FOOD mid week around January 3-4 just as Brittany had done one year earlier. Because while the Instant Pot is a crucial tool for those of us who procrastinate and need to get dinner done in a hurry, Brittany's success didn't come from solely her cooking robot; it came from eating Real Food - protein, veggies, and fruits and cutting out processed food.

On Tuesday afternoon, January 2, I studied recipes, planned menus for the next week, made a grocery list, and went to the store.  I was a little staggered by the amount I spent but when I considered what we had been spending on fast food and my running to the grocery store every day or two in order to frantically buy what I needed for that evening's family dinner, I realized I wasn't spending much more than I do in an average week for food.  And I had purchased several staple foods which would last for weeks, not just the one week.  

Wednesday morning, January 3:  I dreaded what I had to do this morning. Due to an accident and a sinus infection over the previous month, both resulting in visits to the doctor, I knew the scales were not going to deliver good news; I had been mortified just weeks before when I was weighed by my Nurse Practitioner's nurse. Actually, weighing in at 214.6 pounds was a little of a nice surprise having weighed more on my doctor's scales.  I agreed with myself that I should weigh each morning after using the bathroom, before drinking water, while wearing only my long, tunic-type night shirt and nothing else.  I've never been one to weigh daily, NEVER! But while reading about Brittany's journey I read where she had explained how weighing daily had kept her accountability to herself more true and it helped her learn her body's patterns and reactions to what she ate. That made such good sense to me that I decided to join her in that daily practice.  

Today is Monday, January 8, 2017. This morning my number was 211 (pounds.) My family has eaten at least one dish made in our Instant Pot each day (minus one) since last Tuesday. I have shared meals made from the healthier recipes with two different families and friends.  Everyone has enjoyed the food!  I don't expect to have results anything near like Brittany's results; I'm more than old enough to be her mother. I expect my loss to be slower.  But let me say, I am thrilled with the loss achieved in less than a week.  And yes, I understand that it's probably mostly water.  I am satisfied with that also. You see, I have arthritis in many of my joints.  I have eaten copious amounts of sugary foods for years right up until last Wednesday and even a little bit since then. All that sugar and those unhealthy, processed and fast foods cause inflammation and where there is inflammation, there is fluid.  So my conclusion is that whatever the pounds lost consist of, the scales are going in the direction I had hoped. 

Along with the loss of pounds, I have had less pain in my knees while going up and down steps. I'm still dealing with a lot of pain in my feet, having bone spurs and plantar fasciitis. I'm hoping those two conditions (are they related?) will begin to lessen but I'm not sure that is possible. I have a long journey to health ahead but I am hoping to achieve a 100 pound loss also.  The last few years, I had always hoped for 75-80 pounds when I tried first one method or plan and then the other; but reading Brittany's story has encouraged me tremendously and given me hope that I can achieve a weight close to my college years once again.  If I don't, that's okay also. My main objective for 2018 is to move toward a healthier body so that I will feel better and have more energy and stamina to work towards all the other goals I have for this year.  Please check out Brittany's blog at https://instantloss.com/ and join me on this journey to better health.  

Blessings to you friends in your projects and plans for 2018,

Lisa