OMG! Where to start?

Oh wow, I'm finally doing this. I've been wanting to start a blog or something since I first started this journey on September 13th. But ok here it goes. I am learning to be healthy. It all started when I was browsing through my homepage on Facebook and came across a friends status which mentioned they were watching the documentary Hungry for Change. At the time I was not actively seeking a way to lose weight or get healthy. I mean, as an obese woman (we'll get down to the basics here in a few) I'm always wanting and hoping to lose weight, but was not in a place where I thought I could even try. But the title jumped out at me. Hungry for Change. I was hungry for change. So I Googled it to see if I could find a trailer for it. I found the website for it. I watched the trailer and read about it and knew I had to watch it. So I did. I learned so much from it. Afterwards I made a few decisions. 

First, I wanted to cut out processed foods. I wanted to stop eating anything that had ingredients I didn't understand. I've done that. I don't eat bread, or pasta or drink soda. But, to be honest, I still take a bite of my cousins Spaghetti Rings now and again. I even had a Super Sonic Bacon Double Cheeseburger a few weeks ago. And last weekend, I had pizza. Because I'm still tempted and I can't help but give in every now and then. BUT! I'm learning to not beat myself up over it. I'm learning not to give up when things aren't going perfect. 

Second, I wanted to start incorporating fresh vegetable and fruit juice into my daily life. I've done that. The first weekend after my husband and I got our juicer (we picked up a Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juicer for $70 from Kmart, it works wonderfully!) we decided to try a week long juice fast. On day three, we realized that that was a mistake and we were ok with that. We ate- not the best food- but we felt much better. The very next weekend we decided to try a weekend juice fast. That time was a lot more difficult. The whole prospect of not eating until Monday was so daunting I didn't even make it through a whole day. But we revised again. This weekend we're going to go for a 24 hour fast and see how that works.

For the most part I am attempting to eat a MOSTLY plant based diet. I would like to cut out dairy at some point. As well as eggs. At some point. But for now, I'm doing well without the breads and pastas and refined sugars. I've gone from 278 to 268 in 19 days. Still a lot to go as I'm a 5'5 woman and healthy for me is something like 135-150ish. 

All in all, I'm learning to take it one day at a time. And that I do not have to be perfect. I'm learning the significance and the importance of testing and refining. I mean, I might WANT to be able to do things a certain way- like going on a 60 day juice fast right off the bat, but my body is best at taking things slowly. :)

Shannon Lovett

268lbs

Feeling- Rested and Encouraged