This is what I changed to lose 5 pounds

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Have you ever had a winter where all you did was hibernate and eat? This past winter has been one of the worst for me regarding emotional eating. With emotional eating comes extra pounds. Spring arrived and I realized I at my heaviest I have been in over 4 years. So I made a plan to lose 5 pounds.

This is how it happened. It started with Thanksgiving being one of my favorite holidays, (okay, I’m lying I love them all for different reasons) but at Thanksgiving, I give myself a break from my gluten-free dairy-free diet and I eat. I tolerate the stomach ache so I can eat the warm pecan pie, the yeast rolls, stuffing and a little apple pie too. Hold the pumpkin please, I can’t stand it. This is usually the beginning of the seasonal weight gain.

Then we roll thru Christmas and gain a little more all the way through New Years. That’s usually when I stop the madness and I put a halt to the bad eating and focus on losing the weight I gained over that 6 week time frame.

This year was different. I was struggling. I had no motivation and there were some changes happening in our lives that was making me sad. So I kept eating.

The light bulb moment

My birthday is in February and I took a long hard look at myself and realized I needed to change. My husband came home from a doctors appointment and said he was told to lose 40 pounds in 2 years. He then asked if I would do it with him.

I have a confession. I hate dieting. I also hate dieting with my husband more. He is an all or nothing guy and I have a hard time doing that. I can eat a piece of chocolate and be okay the rest of the day, my husband says he doesn’t have the willpower to stop after a piece of chocolate. In my mind, this is not my problem, but his.

Related: How to get back on track with your goals
Related: How I failed my Whole30 Challenge

I created this FREE Menu Planning Printable to help you get back on track! You can get instant access and download it for free by filling out this form!

Our plan

This is what we decided to do. We decided to cut out grains, sugar and dairy and alcohol and beans (we don’t eat beans so this isn’t hard) for 90 days. Currently, we are 21 days in. For the first 2 weeks, we were religious about not eating any sugar. We have done Whole30 so we know that eating grains metabolize like sugar in the body.

Even though we have done Whole30, we were not following their rules. We are only following some of them. If you want to hear about how I failed my Whole30 challenge, I wrote a post about it.

With the rules being set we decided to give it a go. So far I am down 5 pounds and my husband is down too. Both of us are feeling better and our thinking is so clear. The brain fog has decreased and we are emotionally stable.

The first week is the hardest. Breaking that sugar addiction is the worst headache in the world. I would almost say it is boarder line migraine level. It is that bad. Thankfully that headache only lasts about 3 days and once you are past that, you are golden.

If you are thinking of starting a diet because you have to lose some weight. This is what we did to start our journey.

Motivation

Identify your motivation for the diet. Is it because your doctor said so? Is it because you just KNOW you need to? Is it so you can be more active with your children?

Knowing exactly what is your motivation for losing weight helps you keep going when it gets hard. For me, my motivation is my own body. I have a major issue with my back and if I gain weight my back throbs. Maybe one day it won’t hurt, but until then, I keep my weight down.

Gameplan

We decided what foods we were going to cut out of our diet. We have done various diets already and we just needed to focus on eating healthy for a longer period of time. Our hope is to incorporate exercise into the journey as well. We decided to focus on changing our diets first.

Rewards

At the end of the 90 days, we are going on a quick little weekend getaway so we can focus on each other. Having a reward at the end is a way to keep us motivated and to focus on the prize. Not just on weight loss.

Accountability

Having someone there to help you stay accountable to the goal and choices you have made helps make it more real. That person can offer you support when you feel discouraged when the scale stops moving.

Prayer

This is the one thing I didn’t say at the beginning that I think had the most impact on our success so far. When my husband came home and told me he had to lose 40 pounds, he was so discouraged. We took a moment to pray and ask God to help us with making the changes. We asked Him to not just make the changes in us but also with our children. The prayer was a moment where we both felt vulnerable together and a sense of peace that we could make these changes together.

Be a cheerleader

Since my husband travels, sometimes he doesn’t see me for 5 days. When he comes home and says wow! That is so motivating and fun. I have also told my husband when I can tell he has lost weight. Not to mention pulling out clothes that haven’t fit in a while and trying them on in front of each other is exciting too.

What is your goal?

I hope I have motivated you and given you some ideas on how to lose 5 pounds. If you don’t have anyone to be your cheerleader, send me a message! I will be your cheerleader! I love hearing about other people losing weight and I think it is one of my biggest motivators! Sign up for my newsletter below and send me an email! I can’t wait to encourage each other! Don’t forget! I created this FREE Menu Planning Printable to help you get back on track! You can get instant access and download it for free by filling out this form!