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Wife - Mother - Christian - Miracle - Dreamer - Make Up Lover - Blessed

8/30/14

New Milestone- 50 Pounds Down!

OK, so today I have officially lost 50 POUNDS since June 24th of this year!!!! I'm so excited to reach this milestone in my life. I still have quite a ways to go but I'm celebrating this accomplishment!

Now for inches lost:
Waist: -5 inches
Hips: -8 inches
Thigh: -5.5 inches
Calf: -3 inches
Upper Arm: -1.5 inches

My Doctor has kept me on the same diet initially prescribed to treat the PCOS and Low Cortisol. The only thing she has changed is adding in some moderate exercise.  I can walk up to 45 minutes twice daily while carrying weights up to 3 pounds. She still doesn't want me to overdo it with strenuous exercise since my calorie intake is so low.

The only thing I've had trouble with is time. It takes extra time to prepare my meals plus my families since they have to eat more than I do. Also, exercising and shopping for fresh fruits and veggies (which is more often than I would normally go to the store) are time consuming.  I have an extremely busy schedule and many things are simply nonnegotiable in my life.  So I'm learning to make eating right and exercising a part of it.

I put God first so my time with Him is a must! Psalms 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Family comes second and my ministry third.  I work to do all things as unto the Lord so even my daily life I consider ministry. Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.   I think the biggest revelation I've had is that in order to do any of the things I consider necessary- I must try to be healthy by taking care of myself better.

I did find out through a friend that the diet  prescribed to me is actually called the HCG diet. The only difference is I am not taking any hormones- I'm only following the food part.  Knowing this has helped me a lot because there are many recipes on Pinterest.  So I've been mixing up the flavor of the foods that I'm able to eat.

I have found some items that have helped get me through the last few months without feeling hungry or blowing my diet. I'm really trying to keep things as clean- with as few processed foods and additives as possible.

Drops of flavoring to put in your water are nice to mix things up without the added calories.


Anything Walden Farms is a diet-saver since I cant have sauces or dressings with ANY calories.
I've found their dressings at Win-Dixie but the other items I may only be able to order online.
Are you living the low-carb lifestyle and/or dieting and ABSOLUTELY DYING for a guilt-free indulgence? Get on the Walden Farms bandwagon -- right now.    With zero calories and zero sugar in every product, Walden Farms offers dieters a guilt-free alternative for salad dressing, pancake syrup, chocolate syrup, marshmallow dip, barbecue sauce, mayo, peanut butter, and more.

Skinny Dippers help to take the place of deserts.
Skinny Dippers Zero Calorie Desserts

Fruit chips are a great alternative to potato chips. Crispy Greens are freeze dried so they're super crispy. I've found these at The Fresh Market.


0 Calorie noodles and rice are my favorite find so far! They're a wonderful filler and just sort of soak up the flavor of whatever you eat them with.
 

Gods Blessings your way,


7/24/14

27 POUNDS DOWN!

As of today I have been on the diet and medications that my Doctor prescribed for 4 weeks and have lost a total of 27 POUNDS! She has me eating less than 500 calories daily. When I first realized how few calories I was eating I was concerned that I would be hungry and tired. I have to say, I have felt good and I've not been starving at all. I'm praying that this continues. My diet requires me to eat fresh, highly nutritious foods, with protein, and without preservatives. I believe this makes the difference.

Below I've posted some more photo of the meals I've been eating. I've found some unique way s to prepare the food I can eat to mix it up some. Tonight I'm baking home made  strawberry candy and apple chips using a sugar substitute. I'm sure they'll taste great! On Pinterest I'v found tons of recipes for my diet. Feel free to follow me or check out my boards. http://www.pinterest.com/shellylpm

I have to share this amazing dressing I've found at Winn-Dixie. Its calorie, carb, sugar and everything else free! It's called Walden Farms and has helped to make eating just plain spring mix salad (with no other veggies) doable. It comes in many different flavors and has been a diet saver. My next venture is to try something called Miracle noodles and Miracle rice. It has no calories or carbs! I'm a huge pasta lover (Italian blood runs through my veins) so I'm really excited to try these. I'll let you know the verdict next blog. If you have any awesome diet/heath foods you'd like to share please leave a comment! I can use all the help I can get.

I have been giving myself one cheat meal per week. This has helped the diet not to become too mundane and has given me something to look forward to each week.  It's been motivation to do my diet correctly the entire week to earn my cheat. The first week I cheated with Chill. I chose a low fat flavor. It was a fun Friday night for my family and I. (see pics below) Usually I try to be smart about what I splurge on each week. Plus, my appetite and how much food I can eat has drastically changed. That has helped me not to overdo it on my cheats.

As I've watched how quickly the weight was coming off I was concerned that it was mostly water weight and that I wasn't actually loosing any body mass. Well, I took my measurement yesterday to compare to the ones I'd taken June 24th and here are the results...
Waist: -2 1/2 inches
Hips: -4
Thigh: -5
Upper Arm: -1 1/2 inches
Yay, I just did a little happy dance.   =}
I'm still not showing the weight loss like I want to be though. I'm ready for my clothes to fall off! I'm looking forward to a new wardrobe and shopping for it actually being a fun activity.

I went back to my doctor this past Monday and she was very pleased with my progress. She asked me to stay on the same diet for another month & told me to begin taking a B complex vitamin daily. She also gave me a B-12 shot before I left. Ouch. ='[

Over this next month I'm not sure what to expect. I have no idea if the weight will continue dropping this quickly and if I'll continue to feel this good. We shall see because I'm not giving up!
Until next time,
Blessings your way,
























6/26/14

PCOS & Low Cortisol

Hey y'all,

I know it's been a bit since I've posted anything so I want to take this opportunity to catch up.  On Monday I received some results from my Doctor testing positive for PCOS and Cortisol levels that are dropping off in the afternoon and night.  So basically, it sounds like my body has been in a vicious cycle for the past 10 or so years.

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome which is a hormonal imbalance said to be cause by genetics. There are many symptoms of this and a few of the effects are:
  • Acne
  • Excessive hair growth
  • Weight gain
  • Problems with ovulation
  • Increased risk of many other heath problems                                          
Cortisol is a hormone for the immune system, regulating blood pressure, the cardiovascular system, metabolism, and more.  The symptoms of low Cortisol include:
  • Mental and psychological ailments such as depression
  • Faintness and dizziness
  • Weakness and fatigue
  • Heart palpitations
  • Emotional hypersensitivity
  • Inability to cope with stress
  • Social anxiety
  • Muscle weakness
  • Headache, scalp ache, or general body ache
  • Severe or dull lower back pain
  • Extremely sensitive skin
  • Nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting
  • Abdominal pain and hunger pain despite an empty stomach
  • Extreme craving for salty foods
  • Anxiety and jitters
  • Clumsiness and confusion
  • Motion sickness
  • Insomnia and dark circles under the eyes
  • Low bladder capacity and symptoms of IBS
  • Irregular or non-existent menstrual period                                                                                                                                                                                                                       I know all of these symptoms/effects are quite lengthy but I have to say they just make me feel extremely blessed.  I don't struggle with depression, stress and many of these other symptoms either.  I believe it is purely because of the Lord Jesus Christ!  I love that he protects me from so much and truly produces The Fruit Of The Spirit in my life.  Galatians 5:22 Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.  I am a beautiful work in progress!  I am praying for complete healing and restoration and I'm asking that you pray for me in agreement.  My next steps are to work at regulating the Low Cortisol and managing the PCOS.  I have been prescribed some medications to help manage hormones and help my body to digest food properly.  
I have also started an extremely low calorie diet as per my Doctors instructions.  I began this diet the 24th (on my lovely sisters Birthday).  I have already lost 5lbs because it's a cleanse and I have a log ways to go.  I have a very strict list of foods that I am allowed to eat which have been logging under 500 calories a day.  So far I feel good but I definitely wouldn't recommend this for anyone unless prescribed under a Doctors supervision.  My diet has unsweetened coffee or tea for breakfast.  At lunch and dinner I can choose from a list of 7 lean meats of which I can have 4oz, only 1 vegetable from a list of 13- totaling 2 handfuls raw, 1 Grissini bread stick or Melba toast and 1 fruit from a list of 4.  Everything must be prepared carefully without any extra fats or sugars.  

Below I'm posting pictures of my meals and of the way my body looks now (pardon the no makeup and hair pulled back crazy look- just wanted to get a clear picture of the acne issues.)  I plan to continue to do this but for more regular and detailed postings friend request me on Facebook- Shelly Perrone Morris. Now that I know what has helped to cause the obesity, acne and all of the other uncomfortable side effects I am looking for complete healing from the Lord.  I also plan to properly manage everything by changing my life accordingly and preventing any further ailments!  I am ready for a big change of lifestyle and appearance and am excited for the results to come.  I return to the Doctor in a month so I will keep you all posted.  I know this journey will take a lot of hard work so I am very thankful for any support and encouragement I receive

Go and be a blessing,