That Time I Yelled at God

June 27, 2018 By: Jessi2 Comments

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far from my deliverance
and from my words of groaning?
My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.
But you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
~Psalm 22:1-3 (CSB)

We were in church when Zoey came up to me, glassy-eyed and lip quivering. Glenn leaned over to me and said: “she held the baby and got emotional…”

Zoey turned to me and buried her face into my chest during the remainder of worship, and she cried. And cried. And cried some more.

Me?

I was angry. I’m talking mama bear angry.

I was angry with God.

I stood there holding her, stroking her hair, and I prayed. But I didn’t pray to God, I prayed AT him. You know what I mean? There’s a distinct difference. It went down a little like this:

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“How do I start Keto?”

Ever since I started Keto, I’ve been asked several times each week what I recommend people do to get started. I wanted to share what I did to prepare for Keto, knowing it’s a major change, and what I recommend others do so they are better set up for success.

Disclaimer: This post contains a few affiliate links. Please know that it doesn’t cost you anything extra to use them, but I will receive a commission from purchases. Read my full Disclosure Policy.

Step 1: Research Why and How Keto Works

For some, this includes watching the documentary “The Magic Pill”. For me, I waited until I was five weeks in to watch it because I have a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to documentaries and how one-sided they are. If you like documentaries and can watch this one with a grain of salt without being a crazy person about it, watch it. But don’t use it as your basis for starting Keto. The documentary is great, but know that the results are not going to be the same for everyone. Truly dig around on the internet for reasons why it works, who it works best for, the risks involved for some people, and then decide if it’s worth trying for you. Do not just say “I’m starting Keto to lose a bunch of weight” and then jump in without doing your research. Read message boards where people ask questions and share their experiences, including blood test results. This is crucial before starting Keto.

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Two Months of Keto {Plus: How I Handled Keto on Vacation}

June 16, 2018 By: Jessicomment

Today marks two whole months of Keto! I truly can’t believe I made it this far, but here I am, and I’m planning to continue for another month. Today I wanted to share my progress as well as how I handled Keto while on vacation.

Two-Month Progress

I started Keto on April 16 and since then I’ve lost 14.2 pounds! My first month I lost 9.6 pounds, and my second month I lost 4.6 pounds. My workouts have consisted primarily of weights and resistance training in my living room while watching Netflix. I don’t go to a gym (I HATE gyms), I don’t do a lot of cardio that makes me miserable, I just do what I like… and that’s weights. When watching a favorite Netflix show, it goes by much faster and it’s a lot less miserable of a time.

Keto on Vacation

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I’m Still Standing: “My Miscarriage Wasn’t Just A Heavy Period”

June 13, 2018 By: Jessi2 Comments

When I found out I was going to miscarry, I was 7.5 weeks pregnant and had already seen the heartbeat twice. The baby was looking strong, and even after experiencing a subchorionic hemorrhage that led to an ER visit, everything looked how it should. When it went from “how it should” to “how it shouldn’t” during my post-ER follow-up, I was devastated. While the baby did lose its heartbeat at 7.5 weeks, my body waited until 10.5 weeks to miscarry, and it was the most agonizing 3-week wait of my entire life.

6.5 Weeks of Keto {My Results + My Plan for Keto on Vacation}

June 1, 2018 By: Jessicomment

Tomorrow we are leaving for our beach vacation, so I wanted to do a weigh-in and document how much I’ve lost in my first six (closer to seven) weeks of Keto. I started Keto on April 16 at my highest weight ever while not being pregnant. None of my clothes fit correctly and I was down to only fitting in leggings (barely – I looked like a busted can of biscuits) and one pair of jeggings. On May 16, I checked in with 9.6 pounds lost, fitting back into my normal jeans, and I was ecstatic with the results!

Today, I’m sitting around 6.5 weeks of Keto (Monday will be the start of week 7), and I’m thrilled to share that I am down a total of:

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May 2018: Restoration for My Heart

May 31, 2018 By: Jessi7 Comments

Restoration

The act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment

Restitution of something taken away or lost

Something that is restored, as by renovating

Read the whole restoration series here –> My Word for 2018: Restoration

My heart has undergone so much healing during the month of May. I shared a little bit about this in my Fertility Update, but I wanted to expound upon that post a little bit more for my May Restoration update.

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Fertility Update {one year after a miracle pregnancy that ended in miscarriage}

May 26, 2018 By: Jessi4 Comments

It’s been exactly one year since my last pregnancy began. May marks the same exact cycle that resulted in a shocking miracle pregnancy that I never expected after five years of waiting, and it ultimately ended in miscarriage. Now here we are, in year six of waiting, exactly one year later, and I felt compelled to give a quick update on what’s happening, what the last year has looked like in terms of fertility, and my hopes for the future.

Photo by Artem Bali on Unsplash

Fertility After Miscarriage

It’s no surprise that my state of fertility after the miscarriage went right back to its old ways. I had very sporadic cycles with a lot of intermittent bleeding (in fact, I had 11 “cycles” in 9 months) but finally regained control once I started using essential oils for my cycles. Sometimes my cycles are textbook perfect and sometimes they’re very similar to the cycle I last got pregnant on, but either way, I’m functioning like a woman should. Sure, ovulation feels like a grenade went off in my abdomen, and it follows with 2 lbs of excess fluid and bruising, but hey, I’m ovulating. Beggars can’t be choosers, right?

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One Month of Keto

May 16, 2018 By: Jessicomment

Today marks exactly one month since I’ve started Keto and I wanted to give an update on how it’s been going, what I’ve learned, and my plan for the next month.

Weight Lost

So far I’ve lost 9.6 lbs and my clothes that were too tight are fitting so much better. I wish I had taken measurements because you often see more results in inches lost than pounds shed, but based on how my clothes fit, I’m extremely excited. In my first post about starting Keto (you can read that here) I mentioned that my goal was to not have to go up in size and to be able to wear the same shorts that fit me at Disney last October to the beach. Well, they DO FIT! And not only do they fit, but they fit comfortably. I do need at least one new pair of athletic shorts because one got a hole in the fabric (that’s what I get for being cheap – they only lasted a few months of minor wear), but I don’t have to go up a size and that was my true goal.

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Mother’s Day After Miscarriage

May 12, 2018 By: Jessi4 Comments

I should have a 9-week-old curled up next to my 8-year-old this Mother’s Day. That’s really hard to acknowledge. Last year at Mother’s Day, I had no idea that the cycle I was starting would lead to pregnancy and then miscarriage. After 5 years of waiting for that pregnancy to come, I had given up and accepted that it just wasn’t meant to be. We’d be a family of 3, I was grateful for that, and I moved on.

This year, Mother’s Day is different.

Photo by Josh Adamski on Unsplash

I’m so incredibly grateful for the beautiful daughter I have, but I do mourn the baby we’ve lost. It doesn’t make me ungrateful… it makes me a mother. Child at home or not – miscarriage still means motherhood on this side of heaven – it means a baby is part of the family… we just don’t get to raise that baby.

Or in some of your cases: babies.

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I’m Still Standing: After Miscarriage: “How Many Children Do You Have?”

May 5, 2018 By: Jessicomment

I don’t know why this bothers me so much, but I never thought I’d be in the position to have to think this through. I’ve always been very public with my story, so talking to people has become very easy. But I had no idea how to properly respond to that question when someone who didn’t know my story asked it.

How many children do you have?

One…

…on this side of heaven.

And one we’re missing deeply.

Life Abundant Blog

That Time I Yelled at God

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far from my deliverance
and from my words of groaning?
My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.
But you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
~Psalm 22:1-3 (CSB)

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