On Thursday January 14th I started the Dr Bernstein Diet. I weighed in at 214.4 pounds. At 5'10", my BMI was 31.2 according to my Doctor and I was considered obese. Not cool. I'd just turned 30 and decided I was sick of being fat. Many people said to me "you're not fat, you're in amazing shape". Oh how such an active lifestyle can fool so many people. Cycling, hot yoga and Crossfit are amazing but I had plenty of weight I wanted to get rid of. The Dr Bernstien nurse told me my goal weight was 150-160 pounds. I laughed out loud. I'd be a waif with no muscle; not exactly what I wanted to do to myself. I'd decided I wanted to be 180 pounds like I was when I was 23 years old. I realize that a lot of things in my life had changed since then, many of them contributing to my weight problem. My metabolism, my new-found love of wine, my sleeping patterns, bad boyfriends etc. I didn't announce to anyone that this was going to be a new me, blah blah blah. I just wanted to make these changes for myself and not make a huge deal out of it. Oh, plus my sister is getting married in September and as the maid of honour, I have to fit into this little black dress that she'd bought for me. God bless her for choosing black for her bridesmaids dresses. God damn me for being too fat to fit into a size 14. Anyways, I digress.

The first two days of the Diet are designed to ease into the new diet and I was semi strict with myself. I received a B6 and B12 shot on both Thursday and Friday, they do the shot in the bum and it made me feel like a steroid user. Strange. The B6 is supposed to break down fat and the B12 is supposed to supplement energy that is no longer being provided by the diet.

The second day I had to wake up at 0200 and work at 0300. By about 0430 I had to eat as I was falling asleep (while driving at work) and since I was on the road, my options were limited: I had a bagel with cream cheese from Tim Hortons, it was yummy.

On Saturday, my strict start began, I had a veggie omelet for breakfast and went to the gym. I felt great through out the spin class and the workout but by the afternoon, I was starting to feel some pain. I had pain in my hands, fingers, legs (especially my right thigh), head and chest.

By Sunday I was flat out on my ass, lying on the couch and not wanting to do anything. I'd heard this lack of energy is typical for the first few days of the Dr B Diet but the pain was not something I was expecting. There is no sugar allowed on the diet. I'd heard that the body gets used to not having sugar and eventually stops craving it. One small bit of sugar and the body goes back to square one, so to speak, and starts craving sugar. All I had to do was not think of Starbucks or Tim Hortons. The tv was not helping. There were so many commercials for Pizza Hut (pizza is one of my favorties, not necessarily from Pizza Hut though), McDonalds, Tim Hortons, of course and many yummy others. I somehow managed. I think being stuck at home helped a lot, I was not out driving around, passing Starbucks drive-thru's etc so the temptations were low.

My boyfriend Rob was being an amazing supporter. He was cutting up fruit for me, getting me cough syrop and what ever else I needed him to do. His support never subsided and I was soooo impressed :)

On Monday January 18th I went to the Dr B clinic to weigh in and to get my shots. I weighed in at 207.6 pounds, wow, I was impressed! I was getting used to what I was allowed to eat and what I was not allowed to eat. I was eating lots of chicken, shrimp, broccoli, spinach, home made tomato soup and apples. I was also sleeping a lot. I was full on into the flu, coughing up crap, aches and pains and loss of appetite. I wasn't sure if the loss of appetite was from being sick or if it was just me getting used to the diet. Rob had insisted on taking me to the Dr B clinic and anywhere else I needed to go.

I was supposed to work on Wednesday the 20th but I had no energy. I was all good with the diet, I wasn't hungry, struggling or having cravings. But I was in no shape to go out and fight crime. I called in sick to work, well I text messaged my boss, and dragged my ass to the medical clinic. Rob, of course took me. I explained to the doctor that I was hacking up lung butter but besides that had no other lingering symptoms. She told me I had bronchitis and wrote me off work until Friday. I should also mention that I was coughing up green and brown phlem. Yum.

On Friday January 22nd I weighed in at 204.6. Holy crap! Results! And I wasn't dying from the diet, just the illness, which I didn't believe was a result of the diet. I still don't think they're related, just bad timing! On Saturday I felt better-ish. I went to the gym and had a good workout. At noon I went to work. I wanted to see if my uniform fit better but I had no intentions on staying at work. As soon as my boss heard my voice (similar to that of a 1-900 line operator) he sent me home. I spent Saturday watching hockey on tv and reading. I'd been reading a lot the last week, it's a wonderful novelty that I don't think will ever wear off.

On Monday January 25th I weighed in at 201.6. That's down another 3 pounds in 3 days. I was happy with the rate at which I was disappearing :) Rob took me back to the walk in clinic and told the doctor (a different doctor this time, thank God!) that I was not getting any better and I demanded (nicely) that he give me drugs. He listened to my chest and told me that I had pneumonia. I was surprised. I felt fine, except for the lung butter. And I thought to myself, "I dont get pneumonia, old people and people who are not me get pneumonia". It was the strangest thing. Rob was nice enough to point out that I'm now 30 and not young anymore. Thanks honey. The doctor prescribed my anti-biotics and sent me for a chest xray; the results came back quickly. On Tuesday I went back to the doctor (by myself this time as Rob was sleeping between night shifts) and he told me that yes, I had pneumonia in my left lung. Excellent. Actually, not that bad because I felt fine, was relatively high on energy and had plenty of reading and hockey wartching to do. All that, plus I had the braggin rights of being able to say that I had pneumonia and survived. Well, I'm not out of the woods yet but I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days.

So that bring me to today. At home, bored, blogging about something other than Crossfit for the first time in over a year.

Some one suggested that I take before and after pictures of my body to document my weight loss. Its a good idea but I dont want that flabby belly documented. Besides, I 've had enough pictures taken of me in the last few months in Mexico at Erin and Mark's wedding and at Amy and Tim's wedding that I don't need more.

The pills that are included in the Dr B Diet plus the anti-biotics plus the pro-biotics all add up to a wonderful cocktail. I took a picture to include here but I can't seem to upload any pics into the post.

The girls at the gym say they can see the weight loss but I cant see it yet. Even my neighbour commented but again, I can't tell the difference looking in the mirror. I can tell the difference in my yoga pants but not my jeans. I can tell the difference at the gym when doing (assisted) pull ups. Its easier to get my chin over the bar, its exciting!

I guess that's it for now. 10 days into the diet and 13 pounds gone. I'd say that's good results!