Update

Hi!!! I gained…no pun intended... a lot of new followers over the weekend and thought I would reintroduce myself!  

My name is Emily and I am in my last semester of law school. I am getting married to the love of my life and hottie featured on the left, who would like it known that he is much skinner now than he is in the picture on the left.



I am a stress eater, which has always been my downfall. I have tried every diet in the book and nothing seemed to work until I found Ideal Protein, more specifically my coach in Norman, Oklahoma. More on that in a bit. In fact, in the picture on the left, I was doing the "Advocare 24 Day Challenge" and throwing up almost every single day. My body did not like the products and because it was LITERALLY rejecting Advocare, I gave up on myself and my “diet” and pretended not to care what I put in my body. I gained weight and in the fall of my senior year at OU, In this particular day in the picture on the left, I remember crying in my fiancés apartment because I HATED the way I looked in this dress, but I had nothing else to wear for Game Day. I bought the dress because it had sleeves and I convinced myself it covered up my fat arms. It was loose around my stomach so I convinced myself it made me look smaller. I was wrong. I was unhappy and desperate for a solution. 

In January of 2014, I walked into my first Ideal Protein clinic weighing in at 185 lbs, the heaviest I had ever been in my life. For those of you who don’t know, Ideal Protein is a diet of moderate protein and low carb. It is also low in fat. It puts you in #ketosis, but it is very restrictive. My coach in Oklahoma made it worth it for me though. She was encouraging and inspiring and had lost 50 lbs on the diet herself. She knew exactly what I was going through every step of the way and had a way about her that was always positive. She was amazing!  Although the diet was rigid, I saw results fast and was happy with how I looked. Before I started law school I was 135 lbs and loving the way I looked. Unfortunately, I moved away from Oklahoma and my coach and didn’t phase off. 

In August of 2014, I started law school. I began eating all of the foods I had deprived myself of for 6 months to cope with the immense stress of moving to a new city alone where I knew no one, and the general stress of law school. I moved 5 hours away from my fiancé, my boyfriend of 4 years at the time, and my family. I felt isolated and the only thing that comforted me was food. I gained 75% of the weight I lost back and in January of 2015 I started my second round of Ideal Protein. 


This experience on Ideal Protein was completely different than the last time I went on it in Oklahoma. My coach was a man, who was not overweight and hadn’t been overweight in his life. He didn't seem to understand how difficult weight loss is and how important mental health is in the process. I would lose 1-2 lbs in a week and he would ask, “what happened this week?” That question would make me stressed and feel terrible about myself. ****For the record, 1-2 lbs a week is GREAT and what happened was ME LOSING DAMN WEIGHT.****But I wasn’t in that mindset at the time. I began taking laxatives the day before my weigh-ins at the clinic to avoid the impending question of “what happened this week?” I got down to 145, but finally quit Ideal Protein the summer of 2016 after having enough of hating myself. My body image and mindset was so unhealthy and I had to get out of there. 

After I stopped Ideal Protein, I immediately started Keto. I loved it! I loved the way I felt and how less restrictive it was than Ideal Protein. I also loved the Instagram support over a coach who made me feel bad about myself. I moved back home for the summer, got off Keto, and gained weight over the Fall semester. I tried doing Keto on and off, but I wasn't fully committed. In January of 2017, I started Keto again at 170 lbs. Since then, I have lost about 8 lbs, (taking 2 weeks off for Spring Break and my bachelorette party). I have been working out and see a noticeable difference in how I look. 8 lbs is definitely not a lot of weight, but I think it is muscle weight and my body composition changing. 

Here I am today--An imperfect person just trying to lose weight in a balanced way. I am 100% on Keto and not stopping. I hope that my yo-yo dieting doesn't discourage you, but encourage you. We are all human. We have ups, downs, and set backs. All I know is I am trying every day to be my best self by loving myself through this weight loss journey. 

Comments

  1. Hi Emily! I found your blog after looking up Walden Farm recipes on Pinterest, and I saw your iced caramel macchiato! Reading your blog I feel like we have so much in common! I'm 28, from New Zealand and I'm also in my final year of law school. I have struggled with my weight my entire life, and the past two years of studying have really taken a toll. I gained approx 16kgs (tbh, I stopped weighing myself ages ago!!) and I've FINALLY taken action and am trying to lose it. I've been doing BBG (the Bikini Body Guide workouts) and eating IIFYM (I'm still confused about that!!) to ensure I'm at a calorie deficit. It's so hard! My boyfriend is also working on losing about the same amount of weight, so it's such a blessing having a supportive partner beside you... but even still, this process is SO SO SO hard! After 4 months of being dedicated to the process, I'm down 3kgs as of this morning. It is SLOW going for me. But we'll get there! What I loved was your final paragraph where you said you're an imperfect person just trying to lose weight in a balanced way.. me too girl! If you're on Instagram I'd love to connect with you as it's SO encouraging to have supportive people around you motivating you with their progress :) anyway, sorry for my long message! Nice to meet you!

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