Girl On A Mission: How I lost 23 lbs I didn't know I had to lose...

In the last six months, I've been questioned from every angle as to how I've lost 23 pounds I hadn't even realized I'd gained until I really began looking at it from a health aspect.

For those that have been asking how I lost all the weight, I'm ready to tell all. But before I do, here's a little insight into how I gained it in the first place. If you don't know how you got there, you'll never know how to keep it off in the future.

It was October of 2007, following the break up an almost two-year relationship when I found myself nauseous for 10 days straight. For several months I'd been unhappy. I'd been downright depressed. I'd been eating ice cream (a poor choice not just because it's fattening but also because I'm lactose intolerant) and chocolate candy, and blending the two: chocolate ice cream. I was going out with my friends to the bar and drinking excessively. Throughout the summer, in order to cope, I spent weekends at my apartment complex pool with my friends drinking margaritas and daiquiris and eating unhealthy finger foods. This lousy behavior lead to my rock bottom.

I could barely get out of bed because the room wouldn't stop spinning. I've always been that girl who has nausea so when it first started I didn't think anything of it. But as the days went by and the nausea grew worse, to the point that I couldn't function, I knew something was very wrong. I did everything I'd ever been taught in order to alleviate my symptoms. I drank Sprite, ate saltine crackers, slept a lot, continued exercising and trying to eat a fairly healthy diet and I even got anti-nausea medication in the form of syrup from the pharmacy but nothing seemed to work. I went to two different urgent care centers but none of the diagnoses seemed to fit me and the solutions didn't change a thing. I had been in LA for a year and a half and still hadn't found myself a primary care physician. The day my nausea got so bad, I called my friend sobbing and asked her to go to yet another urgent care with me to find out what was wrong because I couldn't stand it any longer.

When I was finished with work that day, off we went, traipsing from Santa Monica to Marina del Rey in the midst of rush hour traffic. The moment I walked into the urgent care offices, I already felt relief. The nurse started by running down a list of probing questions to which I responded matter-of-factly. The final question: Could you be pregnant? "Umm, NO!" I told the nurse, "I've had my period. I can't be pregnant," to which she immediately responded, "Just because you've had your period doesn't mean you can't be pregnant." HELLO! Where the hell have I been over the last 30 years of life? Did I miss sex ed? Apparently so. At this point, I immediately flipped out. I could not, would not be pregnant with his baby. She handed me a cup and told me to pee in it so she could be certain I wasn't pregnant.

I was so scared. I anxiously peed in the cup and handed it to the nurse. Thank God she did the test right away and it was only a matter of minutes before I officially knew I was NOT pregnant. Thank you dear Lord for that lesson learned. You see, my relationship had ended poorly. The guy had cheated on me and done some other horrible things so this is clearly someone I did not want to parent a child with under any circumstances.

The doctor came into the room and introduced himself. He was not much older than me which made me uncomfortable, yet at the same time I knew I was in capable hands, someone who was up on the latest medical technology and treatments. We talked about the possibility of pregnancy, what my lifestyle was like and how I got to this particular place. He said it sounded like acid reflux but he wanted to run a full gamut of tests to be sure. I also asked him, just to be on the safe side and rule out all possibilities, to test me for all STDs. Scared as I was, I wanted to be certain that I didn't leave that relationship with a gift from my ex.

In the midst of our conversation and the doctor's questions, I filled him in on the relationship. I was sitting in this exam room with a doctor whom I'd just met ten minutes before, with my friend, crying. The doctor told me, "Don't cry. Look at you, sitting in urgent care, wearing a West Coast Choppers sweatshirt, crying." He certainly got a laugh out of me. If you've been living on another planet and don't know, West Coast Choppers is a motorcycle manufacturer based in Long Beach, California which is owned by Sandra Bullock's husband, Jesse James, the host of the Discovery Channel's hit show "Monster Garage." It's fair to say that it's an oxymoron to be crying in this "tough girl" sweatshirt. I loved that this doctor had a sense of humor and knew how to make his patients laugh in a serious and tear-filled moment. In that moment I knew I'd found my new primary doc.

That week the doctor sent me for blood and urine tests to determine the root of cause for my sickness. All tests came back negative which was a welcomed relief. All of the results for blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc., came back normal so I was basically in a normal state of health except for this nausea. The doctor determined that I had acid reflux and the beginnings of an ulcer (thanks to all the Advil I'd been taking along with the Lactaid pills consumed with the ice cream) and he prescribed me the medication Omeprazole (generic for Prilosec) and also urged me to immediately move to a bland diet. That meant no more alcohol, salt, acidic foods like tomatoes (I'm Italian. What am I going to do without sauce?), no coffee or chocolate (caffeine is a huge trigger of acid reflux) and no more carbonated drinks because the bubbles only increase the acid in my stomach. My doctor also suggested going to Whole Foods and checking out its selection of natural remedies for acid reflux. He was the type of physician who preferred to fight illness with food, herbs and vitamins. I knew we'd get along.

So here I was depressed, sick beyond belief and feeling very alone. I drove straight to Longs to get my prescription and picked up a Sees chocolate candy bar with almonds at the register. I'd be taking my medicine and saying my final farewell to chocolate.
As the weeks wore on with no coffee or chocolate and with my new best friend: my medication, the acid reflux was beginning to get under control. Once in a while I'd have a slip up and grab a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or a cup of coffee but I tried my best to avoid the foods the doc recommended against. I started noticing my weight gain when I'd look at photos of myself and I was definitely not happy with the way I looked. I wasn't weighing myself so I didn't know for sure but the spare tire around my waist, which was visible to anybody with eyes, was a huge clue. I'd go back home to visit my family and the photos would haunt me and taunt me, telling me how "fat" I'd become. I'm not trying to offend anyone by using the word "fat" but for me, a petite 5'3", this was fat. My unhealthy lifestyle and weight gain was definitely a factor in my move back to San Jose but I didn't comprehend that until I was home for at least six months and able to fully absorb the effects of LA on my body, mind and spirit.
As I acclimated back into a suburban lifestyle, I began changing my ways. At the same time I was going through my own metamorphosis, a new television show started airing, one I'd been waiting for for over a year: The Doctor Oz Show. I'd watched him on Oprah since his first appearance and slowly picked up many of his suggestions but I never fully incorporated them into my life - until now. Some people think I'm crazy for taking the advice of a man on TV but Dr. Oz is not just any man. He is a real life heart surgeon who heads up the cardiovascular surgery department at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. He is a well-rounded physician and knows exactly what he's talking about when it comes to anything regarding the human body. So with his medical advice, I began changing my life.
These are the changes I made:

I began taking probiotics (Good Belly, the probiotic drink I take, contains a live active culture like most yogurts except Good Belly is dairy-free). These good bacteria help aid your body in digestion by attacking the bad bacteria in your system which in turn, helps in strengthening the immune system. Probiotics can also be taken in pill form but pills do not contain the live culture so it's not as beneficial. Click on the link for more info on Good Belly.
I eat less meat (beef and chicken) and more fish including salmon, cod, catfish and roughy.
I eat more tofu and vegetarian meals. I am not, by any means, a vegetarian or suggest that you become one. But I do know that going back to a basic diet of non-processed/packaged foods is the best thing we can do for our bodies so I try my best to limit my meat intake.
I cut out white foods including white bread, flour, etc. (I do cheat sometimes but I don't make it a habit of eating these types of foods). I replaced white stuff with whole grains and oats.
I cut out sugars including sports drinks, juices, soda and candy (except on occasion).
I exercise 5-7 days per week (running 3 miles a day) and weights, crunches, lunges a few times a week.
I eat breakfast everyday (never skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day) which includes a bowl of Cheerios or oatmeal and a smoothie made of frozen berries (dark berries loaded with antioxidants like blueberries, blackberries and raspberries - you can find a large bag in the frozen food section at Costco), 1/2 banana, soy milk, and 1 scoop of ground flax seed (for extra fiber and Omega 3) plus I take a multi-vitamin, calcium citrate with Vitamin D and magnesium, and fish oil (pill form, also with Omega 3).
Snacks throughout the day that consist of fruits and vegetables, a handful of nuts or pretzels, or granola.
No more alcohol except for the occasional glass of wine or a wine-filled night. Even then, I only drink red wine because there's too much sugar in white.

I'm not going to lie and say that I don't cheat now and again. It's OK to have a handful of chocolate once in a while or that piece of cake at your birthday party but if you don't do it everyday, chances are it won't affect you too terribly. It's like anything else - moderation. I do drink coffee again - one cup a day. While caffeine causes acid in the stomach, I now have my acid reflux under control and the caffeine doesn't affect me the way that it used it. And oh by the way, I quit taking my medication about six months ago! I didn't want to be a slave to medicine for the rest of my life so through changing the things I had control over such as food, sleep, exercise, etc., I have been able to manage my own health and the results have been amazing. In the process, the pounds have melted away, sometimes without even trying.

Before I say goodbye, I'd like to share with you some before and after and transition photos. Living a healthy lifestyle really does work and here are the pictures to prove it.
Happy Living!

Before
4/2008