Working Toward Weight Loss
Can you believe it is already November? This year has flown by. For me personally this past year has been a bit of a whirlwind. Starting back in February was when I started going to the doctor, and then ended up having surgery in May. Then my recovery was a lot of laying around and not being as active as I usually am.
And the one thing I was worried about after having a hysterectomy was gaining weight. As I have gotten older I have struggled with my weight. Then adding my hysterectomy to the mix, and I am a a perfect candidate for weight gain.
Since I came home from surgery in the end of May I have gained 12 lbs. And I am not happy with how I look, or how my clothes are fitting me. I have tried to reclaim my activity level, but it’s been a struggle. It’s much more fun to sit around, work on blog posts or videos and then watch TV.
At the end of September I made a commitment to myself that I would get healthier, get in shape and lose weight. But it has definitely not been easy.
First Diet Fail
Back in September, I decided to try and go on a Keto diet. And I shared some of what I learned about Keto in this blog post. but I have to be honest, Keto didn’t really work for me. I have no will power, and I love carbs. And no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t commit to the work that was required for a Keto diet.
And I am great at figuring out ways to not do something, like exercise. I can justify a lot to myself such as, if I clean the barn, I deserve that dessert, or an extra helping of whatever. So Keto didn’t work for me. I found myself always hungry and always eating more than I was supposed to. And I was tired. So tired that I was working out even less. So I was eating more of what was ‘good’ for me, and still hungry, and working out less, so instead of losing weight I was gaining it back instead.
Talk about frustrating.
Trying Something Different
Once I figured out the Keto diet wasn’t going to work for me, I decided to go a different route. I am always looking for the quick fix, or something that will work for someone with no will power (that would be me) And I found a natural product that looked promising. Enter in Glucomannan. And I have no idea how to say it. But what I do know is it works, well it is working for me.
So this is a photo of me from back in early September…
After my husband took this photo, I could see that I was gaining weight instead of losing it. This is when I decided it was time for a change.
And this was after committing to Keto. Not much difference.
And now this is a photo taking earlier today. After just one week of trying glucomannan. Not a huge difference, I know. But this is my starting point. It’s interesting, I seem to wear a lot of blue…hmmmm…..thinking about that now lol.
I have been using Glucomannan for one week, and I have lost 5 lbs. That didn’t happen with the Keto diet. With Keto I struggles on a daily basis. The grocery shopping and preparing of meals took forever. And I always felt like I was missing out, my body was craving carbs, and I had a zero increase in my energy level. Talk about depressing!
My Weight Loss Journey – Ups and Downs
However, with the Glucomannan I am eating less AND I have energy, how is that possible??!?!? I am still eating the foods I normally do, just not as much. So I have energy to exercise, and I am in a better mood. And losing 5 lbs in a week, well that is just awesome. And I know what you are thinking, it’s just water weight I have lost. But I don’t think that is the case. Because I am actually drinking more water!
What Is Glucomannan
I first learned about Glucomannan when I was doing a Google search for weight loss pills. (#Don’t judge) And I found a very interesting article on Health Line discussing weight loss pills. I was looking to see if there were any pills that actually delivered what they promised, and Glucomannan popped up.
Glucomannan is a is a natural, water-soluble dietary fiber extracted from the roots of the elephant yam, also known as konjac. It’s available as a supplement, in drink mixes and is also added to food products, such as pasta and flour. So when you take it as a supplement, it is fiber that fills you up, making you eat less. And it also delays the emptying of your stomach contents, meaning you stay full for longer periods of time.
It’s not a drug. So you don’t get the side effects of jitters, or mood swings, which I have gotten when I took other diet supplements. And it has a quite a few health benefits as well. Through different research studies that have been done on glucomannan, the results show that is can
- Lower cholesterol
- Lower triglycerides
- Lower blood sugar
- Help treat constipation
- Improve gut flora
Ad of course help to promote weight loss. And this is the main reason I wanted to try it. I love the added health benefits, but my main reason for trying it was to see if it would help me lose weight. And so far it is working better than anything I have tried in a very long time… I am actually losing weight!
How To Use Glucomannan
After doing some comparative analysis of the different glucomannan supplements available, I chose one that had good reviews and people seemed happy with.
And the best thing about the glucomannan I chose was the price. It cost me $13.00 for a bottle of 100 capsules which will last about 16 days if I continue to take 6 capsules a day.
I was a little worried about how fast the capsules would dissolve and put the fiber powder to work in my gut. Because the one drawback that all of the articles talk about is the possibility of choke, or the finer opening up in your esophagus before it gets where it is supposed to be, in your stomach.
So I did a test. I opened up a capsule, and put it into a glass of water, and waited for it to expand. It took about 30 minutes for the fiber powder to expand. So if you take it with at least 8 ounces of water, you will be fine.
The capsules are easy to swallow, they aren’t horse pills!
My Personal Glucomannan Test
The capsules I bought are 600 mg each. And the ideal dose for weight loss is approximately 3 grams per day. This means you take 2 capsules at a time, 3 times a day. I have been doing this for a few days so far, and I have not had any ill effects. I even ate at McDonald’s yesterday for lunch, and I still lost weight.
There is no stomach discomfort, no jitters, no bloated feeling, nothing. I think this is because I drink a lot throughout the day. Usually I will drink at least 96 ounces of fluids a day. And I am able to do this because I mix a little water enhancer…aka Mio into my water bottle.
And to get the benefit of the fiber, you want to take it about 30 minutes to an hour prior to meals. Which means you will take 2 capsules about an hour before you plan on eating. And be sure to get enough water or liquid in to get the fiber down into your stomach so it can get to work. The capsules will not be effective if you take them after you eat. So you do need to do a little planning before you eat. Because there are no drugs in these capsules, no appetite suppressants, or caffeine, or anything that claims to break down the fat and calories you are ingesting.
Glucomannan Works For Me
I know I have only been using this supplement for a week, but it is working for me. I do not have a loss of energy, and I am able to exercise every day. Making sure to get at least 10,000 steps a day is important too.
And bouncing on an exercise ball for at least 25 minutes a day. (More on that in my next blog post!) And the best part is I can eat what I want, it just ends up being a lot less.
This has been extremely helpful for me in the evening. Because after I get home from work, and if I sit own to watch a show on Amazon, or Netflix I typically will get hungry and have a bowl of cereal, or ice cream. But since I have been using the glucomannan, I haven’t been doing that. I am sure my ball bouncing is helping too, but I’m not hungry in the evenings! No more late night snacking for me, and it is making a noticeable difference.
I know it has only been a week, but I have seen results. And I am excited. I am motivated to continue and can’t wait to share my results with you. I guess I am kind of the crash test dummy to see if this supplement works, and might be helpful to you. And if my weight loss continues, that makes me even happier to share my results with you. I will keep you updated with my progress and how this is working, so stay tuned for my progress. My goal is to get into the normal range for my weight and BMI. I want to get down to 150 lbs. Not too thin, but well within the ‘normal’ range for my height of 5’7″. Time will tell if I can reach this goal, only 25 lbs to go.
And as always, I have included some affiliate links within this blog post, which means if you make a purchase from clicking on one of my links, I may receive a small commission from your purchase. This helps me to be able to continue to do what I do on my blog, and YouTube channel. Thank you for your continued support! Now, how about we get thin and fit together?!?!?
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