Changing my Life through Accu-weight Loss

Well, I’m 19 years old and I’ve always been overweight. Every birthday meant another 5-10 lbs gained since the year before. I couldn’t understand why I kept gaining weight, I looked around and people my age ate the same amount and usually more. It took me a while to accept that sometimes that is just how we are built. I had a shape, and muscle from playing tennis a lot, but I stopped playing it as frequently. So at 5′ 3″, I looked less than I weighed.. but still overweight.

Anyway, so my sophomore year of high school, my mom heard about this diet called the “Accu-weight Loss” system or something. It’s holistic, and combines western and eastern teachings. At the time that my mom heard about it, she only knew that the person had lost 30 lbs. in about 2 months. At this point in time, I had tried dieting and it failed… she told me that the program was near my town… but I had lost faith and motivation to lose weight at that particular point in time. Finally, later that year when I was a junior, I became pretty motivated and decided to give it a shot. Orientation.. was amazing.

In fact, the diet and the program itself is amazing. I met people who lost 70+ lbs. and kept it off for a year.. (one had come back to lose a quick few lbs. before a wedding)..  Anyway, so its this program where you combine Chi Gong breathing with 2 accupressure beads that are attached behind the ears. You rub them every 2 hours, and it kinda works like an on/off switch to your hypothalamus.. By rubbing them, your body thinks you’re full and you don’t feel hungry. Sounds good right? Well the part that is the hardest is the diet… the diet is very restrictive in order to work with the chemistry of the program.. You can only eat veggies/fruit, no starch, for 2 days, and then the next 2 days whole yogurt/milk. Also you can only eat between 12 - 6 pm.  Here’s the website for anyone who wants to check it out.

www.accuweight.com

 I know it sounds crazy but it worked… the first week is the hardest b/c your body is still adjusting.. There is a lot more that goes into this program that makes it actually sound sane.. Orientation explained a lot of it but I don’t want to go too into the details. You will lose at least 15 lbs. a month w/o having to add in exercise, though you should. This, however, assumes you follow everything to the word. Mentally though, it is very strict and hard to give up those chocolate cravings or food at a social gathering.

So now that we’ve established the diet, here is what happened. I was on it, lost 8 lbs. the first week (some is water weight),  and then another few after that. But then I started cheating.. cheating is a no-no on this diet. You cheat and you get setback. When you eat foods that don’t work with the diet, even a piece of bread, it disrupts the chemistry and your body realizes it is not full and goes into starvation mode (slows down metabolism to soak up calories and gain weight back). The good news is that if you cheat that day, accept that you won’t lose as much weight that week depending on how much you ate, and then get back on track the next day, then you can still lose it. Well I became very on and off and it became expensive. Finally, I went back, got the beads in place, and then when I missed an appointment… instead of becoming discouraged (b/c you need to change them every 10 days or so), I just continued rubbing the beads and doing my diet.I realized that I could still lose weight. 

Senior year, I found a site that sold the beads online and I bought them myself. By this time my weight had gone down from 192 to around 175. I used the beads myself..  after 2 months of furiously dedicating myself, and having some cheats/setbacks here and there, I went down to 148.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this diet does not make you tired, in fact it made me more energized!  I took a daily vitamin, drank tons of water, and I slowly started walking on the treadmill. Working out along with the diet made me twice as energized and helped me lose weight faster. My goal was 135. Now, at 148, I was at that place where I was pretty comfortable with my body, I just had a little gut and a little excess around my arms that I wanted to get rid of.At 148, I looked transformed! I could wear all these clothes that actually looked good on me. I received compliments left and right, and I felt confident too. 15 more lbs. and I would be perfect…. Unfortunately.. I told myself I would lose the remaining 15 during the first month of college and then go back to the doctor to do the transition phase since I didn’t know how to transition off of it so I would not gain back the weight. 

Well.. Freshmen are required a meal plan in college, and as hard as I tried, I started to gain back the weight. I struggled to diet here and there but it is next summer and I am back around 180..!All my cute clothes.. are waiting. I tried dieting during the semester, but the lack of food that suits my needs… combined with the social aspect where your roommates who are stick-thin are grubbing 24/7… not to mention how stress makes me wanna eat.. well it was all too much. I got out of school last Tuesday.. and told myself I would start on Monday.  

Well. Here I am again. at 180. I have about 3 months to lose 45 lbs. (15 lbs. a month + working out). If I really commit myself.. I can do it. I realize I may have to finish up in the beginning of the semester again, but this time we get apartment-style suites with kitchens.. so I can make the most of my diet and follow the recipes that are up on the site to avoid failing.

Also, I found out how to transition off, so this time I’m going to do it right. Today is day 1.. I’m also near my period so I’m bloating up a lot right now. That’s another thing, you lose less weight around your period because of the water retention… so I’m probably not going to lose a lot this week, but it’ll make up for itself next week. I’m going to weigh myself in another 2 days and keep updates on how this goes!

I want to be down to 155 in July because that is when I felt comfortable enough to wear a lot of clothes I couldn’t wear.. So I could be comfortable during the summer. Also at 155, my shirt size dropped to a medium (I think its largely due to my bust size dropped from a tight 38D to a snug 36D). My pant size had dropped to 11 (from 13), not as much as I wanted, but appearance-wise I didn’t look “fat”. My goal, 135 and hopefully size 9…  This is a big step for me.

I know I can accomplish it because it is the summertime, I’m at home, and the temptations that were too much for me are no longer there. Also, my boyfriend of 3 years, 3 months and counting.. he is dieting too, not the same diet though.. he is sticking with one that worked for him before he met me.. Well anyway so we are supporting each other, and well it’s amazing to know your bf finds you sexy at any weight.. In fact, part of his family’s culture in Spain is that “bigger” women are looked upon as more classy, elegant and beautiful.. While really thin women are looked at in a “whorish” sense. At least that’s what he told me.. haha.. well either way this weight-loss is for myself!

By the end of this summer we are going to be one hot couple ;).  

So here’s to the summer and my goal! I know I can do it! And for those of you who are reading this, and have read this, thank you! Whether you’re at a low-point with your weight, are dieting, or have lost weight, I support you! Weight-loss requires a lot of mental commitment and awareness… It’s tough but the results are so worth it. Here’s to the summer!