A sweet introduction to my journey

Since we haven't met before, I will briefly introduce myself. I say briefly because I always interject personal stories into my writing, so along our journey together, I will share more. 

I have not always been overweight. In high school, even though the scale said that I was "obese", I had a BMI of 19%. I was extremely active, peddling my bike miles a day to work and sometimes even school. But in the 1990s, there was very little emphasis on BMI at the doctor's office, so I was told repeatedly that 165 lbs for a 5'6.5" (yes, I count the 1/2 inch) was obese. I tried to lose weight but my body was comfortable with my weight. If there is one thing that I would have changed then, it would have been that the number on the 

scale does not define who I am. That began nearly 2 decades of yo-yo dieting with everything from the 3-day military diet to the cabbage soup diet to Weight Watchers. 

In 2008, my husband and I welcomed our son. His presence made it ever more present in my mind that it was not okay to live a life of what had now become morbid obesity. Since high school, I topped out at 250 lbs. It became painful to look in the mirror and I often hid behind the camera while missing out on capturing these precious memories with our family. In November 2012, I learned about a diet unlike any other. 

I initially read Pounds and Inches by Dr. Simeon to learn why everybody was doing this diet. I was skeptical, to say the least. I was hoping to find reasons to dispute that it was a healthy option. Instead it motivated me to change my life forever.

The number on the scale does not define who I am. 

35 weeks pregnant
215 pounds

I completed 3 rounds (a total of 132 days) and felt incredible! Not only had I lost inches, dropped sizes (from a snug 18 to a comfy 14). Then we learned that our family would be growing again. Our beautiful daughter was born in February 2014. Since I had stayed perfect on protocol, I maintained my weight of 203 pounds throughout pregnancy with very little effort. At delivery, I weighed 215 but most of that was baby. At my first postnatal appointment, I still weighed 203 pounds! 

A year has passed now and our daughter is 15 months, so I decided to complete my journey. My biggest obstacle this time was cooking normally for 3 people while preparing separate dishes for myself. With a little forethought, I decided not to cook separately. Instead I've begun revising our well-loved family recipes to be family friendly. That is what I will be writing about. My goal is to help you succeed. You can successfully lose weight by following the HCG protocol. I follow Dr. Simeon's protocol very closely and recommend that you do too. If something is not allowed on Dr. Simeon's protocol but I have included it, I will explain why but you have the option to disregard my opinion. What may work for me may not work for you, and vice versa.

Now that I've rambled on for too long, I promised a sweet. Pounds and Inches allows a single cup of coffee or tea with 2 tablespoons milk in the morning. Sometimes I don't want coffee, so I make chai latte instead. There are several variations of these Chai powders but this is my favorite!

Ingredients:
2 cups instant tea powder

2 cups instant milk power

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cardamom *

* since cardamom is so pricey, you can substitute it 

by doubling the amount of nutmeg to 2 teaspoons

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

Stevia, to taste

1. Mix together all the powder ingredients in a blender to finely ground them. This helps them to dissolve easily.
2. Transfer this mixture to an air tight container for storage.
3. When you're ready for a cup, add 2 tablespoons mixture to a mug. Pour hot water over top. Stir. Add stevia to taste. Remember that stevia may have a bitter aftertaste if too much is used, so add a little at a time.
4. Enjoy! 

See all the yummy spices on top!

A single cup accounts for about 1 tablespoon of your allowed milk. But since the 2 tablespoons milk is not required, you can forego the other portion or include it at some other time of the day.

Please remember to check back soon as I will be posting updated recipes regularly! The next recipe you will find is a white chicken chili. When I modified this recipe, my husband (who is pretty picky) told me to include it in our weekly meal plan! And the children both ate a hearty bowl themselves. The great news is that even the family recipe is healthy... Don't tell them though.