Day {three} && counting...

Today is day three.

&& let me tell you - dieting is not easy. I've been reading the old version of the Atkins diet Revolution - or shall I say the REAL version. The book that is actually written by Dr. Atkins himself. There is a ton of information in the book to get you really understanding what carbs do to your system.

They really have no healthy impact. They just cause your body harm. I actually believe this. It's the only thing keeping me going - oh, and the prospect of losing over 100 pounds.

The first day was the easiest, you know how it is. You set your mind to something and you really go after it. You will succeed && then day two hits. Day two was rough. I couldn't find anything that I wanted to eat. I was dying. I just wanted ONE slice of pizza. I actually tried making low-carb pizza. It pretty much ended up being a cheese omelette, with pizza on top. It was DISGUSTING! There are a few other recipes out there, I will try them in due time.

I'm just such a picky eater. I don't really like meat. It's weird. I also really love ketchup and BBQ sauce. I can eat low sugar ketchup - but it tastes weird.

I am still in this, but I craved sweets today. Well, anything really. My food wasn't that great today at work. However, now that I think about it - so what? I know that I ate well, and I actually feel pretty good right now. 

Oh - && I lost two pounds in the last two days. Heck Yes! I'm hoping to see another pound on the scale tomorrow. That would be awesome. Let's just get all the water weight off quickly. I know it will slow down after that - but this first phase will jumpstart me into sticking to it. I do also think my tastes will change. I have just grown up with too much bad food.

Today's Menu:
Breakfast - Atkins Milk Chocolate Shake
Snack - Cheddar Cheese and Hard Salami
Lunch - Deviled Eggs and Sliced Cucumber
Snack - Cheese Stick
Dinner - Shrimp in Butter Sauce and a Salad with Italian Dressing
Dessert - A couple spoons of Whip Cream

Keep in mind - I am SUPPOSED to be induction, which means - some of these foods are not acceptable. The Whip Cream, most likely not. But Hey - I just had to.

For me, this isn't about being perfect every day, it's about making a difference in my eating style.

Until Next time - Be Kind, Show Love, && Enjoy Life.

{Let's Be Twitter Friends}

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Sunday Love; Linky Party...

I have been inspired by Dorkface blog && her idea of the hashtag #girlgang. For full details of #girlgang check out her blog. In short, she's creating a community of bloggers all about love. We are trying to avoid all the negativity of the blogosphere, and really just enjoy each other. I love the idea && I'm not the only one! She has had more than 200 bloggers sign up!

Anyways - my idea stems off of her idea. She has inspired me to share love in the best way that I know how. As a blogger, I know how it feels to receive a comment. Not just a, "Hey, great blog -here's my link." comment. But a genuine comment. It feels amazing to know that someone has read what I have written and has something to say about it. It makes me feel loved each and every time.

I have figured out a way to share this feeling. Share this love. Each Sunday, I will be posting a linky party. Pretty much, it's a place for you to leave your links. However, you must ones easy, simple rule before adding your link. Just make sure to share love.

There is only ONE rule...

Comment on at least FIVE blogs. 

Make sure you leave a real, genuine comment. Once you have commented {at least} five times, add your link below. New viewers will see your link and stop by to leave a comment! Come back throughout the week to find more blogs to leave LOVE.

Let's give it a try.
p.s. If you have any questions, please ask in a comment below!

Since this is new, it may take some sharing! Please share on Twitter, use hashtag #sundaylove! :)

{Let's Be Twitter Friends}

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I don't want to be Anonymous...

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Okay... it's only been a week && I can't stand being anonymous.

I just want to be me, regardless of who sees this and judges me {maybe I need to trust people more}.

I wish I was one of the many plus size girls I see who are comfortable with their weight && share their pictures everywhere. I just can't. I am not comfortable in my own skin. Although I am sharing who I am, and a picture of myself - I'm not expecting to share full body photos for awhile. I don't share full body pictures anywhere. My photos are only of my face, I have become a veteran at cropping photos to make myself look thin.

Luckily, I don't gain too much weight in my face - so you can't tell I'm overweight. BUT I am. I am very much overweight.

Here's a little bit more about me...

My name is Josephine Nychole. I am 27 years old. I am happily married to a wonderful man, who loves me no matter what. When we met, I weighed 140 - Now I weigh 252. I have pets, many, two dogs {Grodi && Bailey} and four cats {Cullen, Bear, Dallas, and Liza}. I am a second grade teacher. I used to have a beauty blog, back in 2011. I started as MyManeBlog, then Nykki-talks-Beauty, and ended as Josephine Nychole. I feel as though I was very successful in my blog, but it became too much for me. I put way too much on my plate, and fell out of love with it. My goal for this blog is to keep it casual. I don't want to try to make it bigger than it is.

 It's just a diary of a girl, who refuses to be hungry.

I'm starting my journey on this blog, and hope to continue and share my successes, my mishaps, and my challenges. I am starting the Induction phase of Atkins tomorrow.

I will be posting a weekly progress post every Friday. It will include a link up, for others who want to share their progress as well. I'd love to find some weight loss buddies along the way. We can do it together, cheer each other on!

I'm on FitBit, Let me know if you want to be friends!

For now, I'll leave it here.

Oh && I joined #girlgang today on Twitter! :)

{Let's Be Twitter Friends}

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Friday Progess...

It's FRIDAY! 

We all know that Friday is the best day of the week, so let's celebrate our progress on this day too! :)  

If you blog about weight loss, let's do this together && root each other on!

Once a Week, post about your progress && leave the link here. 

Leave your link in the links below && I promise to stop by to leave a comment.

Once you linkup, please share on social media - the more of us the better! 

Pounds Journal:

11.27.15 - 252.5

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Approved Foods List...

Okay, plan made. I will be starting Phase 1 of the Atkins Diet on Monday.

Phase 1, or Induction - as it is sometimes called - is supposed to "Jump Start" my weight loss. According to the diet program, this phase is not mandatory. However, I have a lot to lose and expect that it will give me the "jump" I need at the beginning of any diet.

"up to 20 pounds in the first two weeks" - says the book.

I know this is unrealistic. I know that I will not lose that much, but I would be happy with five to ten pounds. This is realistic. If I stick to the diet.

Anyways - this post is about the foods that I can eat. Well, the foods that I will eat (that are on the list of acceptable foods). What I am trying to say is: I am a very picky eater and wouldn't even touch most of the foods on the list. These will be the foods on the list, that I will eat.

Either way, there is plenty of food to choose from - and I can guarantee:
I will not be hungry during this diet. 

Fish // Seafood 
Tuna, Shrimp

Fowl // Birds
Chicken, Duck, Turkey

Meat // Eggs 
Bacon, Beef, Ham, Pork, Venison, Eggs

*No added sugar

Fats // Oils // Dressings 
Butter, Mayo, Olive Oil, Vegetable Oils, Sour Cream, Ranch, Caesar, Bleu Cheese

Beverages // Liquids 
Diet Soda, Water, Ice Tea, Almond Milk, Cream, Broth, Coffee

Cheese // Any
In moderation - 4 ounces per day.

Vegetables // Greens 
Lettuce, Mushrooms, Artichoke, Pickles, Broccoli, Sauerkraut, Avocado, Cucumber, Aspargus, Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts, Garlic

These will be the foods I eat for at least two weeks. I may stay in this phase longer, depending on my progress. We will see how it goes. Atkins is very flexible, which I like a LOT.

I can also eat out in a hurry, if needed. I just have to stick to the foods above. I can do this. I will be shopping on Sunday for next week & of course checking in to let you know how I do.

My weekly weigh-in post will go up on Sundays!

Wish Me Luck,

Remember: True happiness isn't about what you look like - it's about how you feel.

xo -
Losing pounds, not starving

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one: weigh less than my husband.

Goal Number One // Weigh Less than my Husband.

Yes. I weigh more than my husband and I hate it. My first goal will be to weigh less than him.

His Current Weight: 223 pounds
My Current Weight: 253 pounds

Total Loss Needed: 30 pounds

Smaller goals are better, because I will have something to celebrate much sooner. Of course, my ultimate goal weight is much less {about 80 pounds less}. That will take a very long time to achieve & I think it's best to have something to accomplish and celebrate every few months. How else will I keep myself moving forward?

So - I made a plan, Kind of. My first step will be to cut out bread. No bread what-so-ever. This is my first small step - which for me, may be the hardest one of all. Let's just rip the bandaid off. I eat bread daily - Burgers, fried chicken wings, chicken nuggets, etc. Let's be honest, bread is everywhere. I don't even know if I can eat a burger and enjoy it without bread. I don't think I will, for a while.

However, I am trying to convince my mind that carbs, like bread, are an addiction. How can I be angry with my brother for smoking when I can't even give up bread. There is no need for bread in my system. It just hurts my health - just like cigarettes. If I can truly believe this, I think it's possible. However, much like cigarettes, carbs are addicting. I crave them. I think about them. I WANT them. I don't NEED them. Much like quitting an addiction, it will get easier with time. One day, I won't even crave them anymore. I will not have to starve in order to cut out bread.

Step one - cut out bread.  I will be making this change after Thanksgiving.

Remember: True happiness isn't about what you look like - it's about how you feel.

xo -
Losing pounds, not starving

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Today, About Me....

My name is... oh wait. I'm not sharing that quite yet. I'm not trying to be secretive or cool or anything like that. I am just not comfortable sharing my journey just yet with the people in my life.

You may say... "she should choose better people"  - but this isn't the case. The people the closest to me may know about this site, I'm more concerned with the people in my life that I'm not close to. They seem to have the biggest judgment && I just don't want to think about it. I don't want to wonder if they know exactly how much I weigh, or wonder if they are reading about my mistakes along the way.

This way, I can just be. I don't have to hold back my thoughts. I don't have to worry about what anyone will think. Hopefully, my readers - if I have any - will respect me for that. Eventually, I would love to tell you my name and share pictures of myself - but for now, I simply can't.

I am a girl, obviously. My age: 27, My weight: 255, My height: 5'2. I am by classification obese. I like to say plus size or even overweight. I hate the word obese. I get it,  I need to lose weight.

I am not writing as someone on a very strict diet - not today anyway. I am writing because I am planning on starting, well - something. I am planning on making changes. Small changes. One week at a time. One DAY at a time. I want to share these changes with you (if you are out there), or maybe I just want to write them down so I can read them later. Either way, I want to track my changes. I want to write about how hard they will be and I want to note the day that they became easier. Because, they will become easier. Everything become easier with practice.

I am planning as of today (day by day) to start a low-carb diet. I write about this a little bit more in my first post... This is the beginning. To be short, I read a book, and believed it.

Now, let's be honest - Thursday is Thanksgiving. I will be cooking dinner, and I will be cooking the two days before. So, I will be eating terribly this week (says no fat chick ever).

Trust me, this blog is going to be full of excuses after excuses, but I'm hoping that writing them down - making myself accountable will help. We will see. For the time being, I will be reading the Atkins, New You book. I will be writing things down and making lists. I will be planning. I am planning on taking one step as early as Monday.

Remember: True happiness isn't about what you look like - it's about how you feel.

xo -
Losing pounds, not starving

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This is just the beginning...

Hello - Today, I am starting this blog as an outlet. I want to share my thoughts, my mishaps, my successes, and everything in between.

Let's get something straight. I don't usually care what people think of me, but I am also a huge overachiever & am my own worse enemy. I am not happy with myself - therefore I can't expect others to be proud either. Therefore, as of today - I won't be sharing my name or any way for readers to know who I am. However - everything I say will be true. Everything will be me. I want to be as honest as I can, which means I may not be proud of the mistakes I make or have made.

At this time - I would rather not share these things with people I know as myself. Let's be honest, the people close to you will always judge you the most - most often because they have high expectations and they should. We can all be better than we are, in some way.

So - what's my problem? What am I so unhappy about? Well, if you haven't guessed by the title of my blog; I am very unhappy with my health. I am severely overweight (classified as obese). Now, don't get me wrong, as a person I am incredibly happy. My life is great. I have an amazing family, loving husband, and a wonderful job. I am very happy in life. There is just one thing I want to change. If you ask me, that's pretty great.

This is something that I consistently lose control over. I have gained over 100 pounds in about 8 years. I am 27 years old - and didn't start gaining the weight until I was about 19 years old. I was fairly normal when I was younger, maybe chubby - but not overweight.

I now weigh about 255 pounds and I am only 5'2. It's not something I share with anyone - but since I am choosing to remain anonymous, I can share.

I say this is just the beginning because I will be making small steps to a greater me and I can promise, I will not be starving along the way. You see, I have bought into the whole low-carb thing. I truly believe that carbs are what make us fat.

I read the book, Why We Get Fat, and What to do about it, by Gary Taubes, and fell into awe. Basically, he tells us how and why carbs play a huge role in the kind of fat we burn. He talks about insulin levels and glucose, and the way it runs through our bodies. He backs up his words with years of research and basic common sense principles.

He talks about what a "Western Diet" is; and how we eat foods that aren't even common in third world countries. He describes cultures who are healthy and what they eat to stay that way. He even explains studies that show once healthy cultures becoming unhealthy and what foods were introduced into their diets to make them that way. They are always carbs.

Because of this book, I have purchased the Atkins, New You book. I am in the process of reading it and plan to make small changes, very small.

According to the low-carb diet, we can eat without starving ourselves. We don't have to count calories, we just eat certain foods. Dr. Taubes, makes an interesting correlation between carbs and cigarettes. Carbs do not play a vital role in our bodies, they are not important. However, they create an addiction. We crave carbs. We want carbs. We think about carbs. Just like cigarettes, we can give carbs up and it will be better for our health.

As the weeks go by, I will write more about the things I read and share them here on this blog. I will also be writing about the steps I am taking to become more healthy and the mishaps along the way. There will be plenty.

True happiness isn't about what you look like - it's about how you feel.

xo -
Losing pounds, not starving

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