I stumbled upon this Dietbet app on Instagram. I've been thinking about losing weight for YEARS and have made small half-hearted attempts but with no real success. I even promised myself I didn't want to be a FAT bride and thought that would motivate me to lose weight... but I found with the stress of planning a wedding, the thought of trying to lose weight too was overwhelming.
Flash forward 2 years... seriously... I get my wedding photos back and although it was an amazing emotional day filled with love... I was a FAT bride. The pictures just made me cringe. So while I am posting the ones I felt were half decent- I see an IG post of Before/After ladies and their success stories. They weren't those uber-fit, fake boobie, inspirational quote girls either. They seemed different... more like ME. Real Moms, real struggles, real stretch marks etc.
So I read up and decided I could commit to 4 weeks. 4 weeks seems doable... even "easy" I thought. I asked a few friends to join with me. One did! And off we went. Knowing myself, I was like $35 doesn't seem like alot to lose if I get weak... so I challenged myself to TWO DietBets at the same time!
Week One- I did amazing. My goal was to get moving- 10K steps a day. I was motivated! I started bringing lunches and tracking calories in my Fitbit. It was exciting! THEN... came the midpoint... I was realizing it's not easy. I was growing tired of having to THINK about food and plan all the time. I was tired of salads. I was tired of walking since the weather was changing and it's turning FRIGID and it rained for 4-5 days straight. For a weekend I was off the wagon again... just like I always did... I was bummed.
Then my friend and I had some silly banter over Snapchat and realized we could still get back on track and DO THIS. I read up on various diets and found the Body Reset diet. You can make smoothies- perfect for me because I rarely ate breakfast before and hard boiled eggs were getting old. Using the Body Reset book- I was making YUMMY shakes (PB&J and Chocolate Almond are my FAVS). Drinking my shakes and finding some healthy substitutes actually made cooking and eating enjoyable again. My family had no choice... so they were my guinea pigs for some new recipes :)
I won't lie- the last week grew more stressful. I KNEW how important it was for me to hit my 4% goal. My friend gave up and was off the wagon and waving the white flag... I was tempted to join her but instead buckled down. Really watched my calories and LIVED with a water bottle with fresh lemon in my hand.
Final weigh-ins... Sunday, end of Dietbet #1. I nearly cried when I weighed in and the scale was below what I needed! I ran to get paper and pen for my weigh-in word. Came back did the dance and pics to post. I DID IT! My kids smiled (not really caring). My husband gave me a high-five. And I sat there in utter bliss... SO PROUD of myself that I did it! BUT... I had another DietBet ending the next day- I can't celebrate just yet!!
Two hours into Sunday and "that time of the month" hits... WTH... panic sets in... how can I fight off the BLOAT that hits me every month! How can I keep moving thru the cramps that typically leave me on the couch with a heating pad for two days! I post asking for advice from other DietBeters... and followed their advice- watched my salt/sodium/carbs for the day and literally drank lemon water all day…overhydrate to avoid the bloat.
Final weigh-in #2- the hydration WORKED! I was even lower than Sunday's weigh-in! I exceeded my 4% goal in BOTH my first DietBets!
As I write this... I feel PROUD... I’ve lost 10.6 pounds!!! I did it! If I can do it- anyone can! I've kept a few friends in the loop of this journey and now they are ready to join me in my next bet.