Day 7 with NO regrets!

     So today is the beginning of the seventh day on my mission to get healthy and I would not have believed it if I had not just lived it.  I started the Medifast Health Program weighing in at 188 and today I am down ten...that is right, ten (10) pounds lighter and have no wants to go back from where I started.
     The program was a little bit of a challenge for me because I am not used to eating so many times a day.  Taking my daily medications and vitamins was super easy because the handful I took 2 times a day is now down to prescriptions, B supplement (which is suggested) and Fish Oil caps.  I do have to say after identifying the various times during the day that I need to refuel and making adjustments if I forgot to eat got easier as the days went on.  I still have a bit of a time in the morning hours keeping up with the refueling schedule and find that the afternoon I am eating every 2 hours or slightly less and eating a meal as I am going to bed.  So it really seems like I still have more getting used to things but know it will get easier.
     The water aspect is not a problem because I can get down water pretty easy.  This program actually makes you thirsty and want to drink water which puts my water input to an average of 120 ounces a day.  That might seem like a lot and it is, but it really is only 2 - 1 liter bottles plus 3 of my large glasses a day...I am actually kind of scared to see how much I drink when the weather gets hot!
     Prefered snacks are available to those that need them but I found that it was not a problem for me because I found it wasn't necessary...I just wasn't hungry even being the junk food junkie and pork out session kind of person I WAS!!!  I decided when I started this venture that I would give it my all...focus and be honest...DO NOT give into the Blueberry Fritters....dang!  But keeping in mind the impact that they have on my shrinking love rolls gives me the incentive I need to keep on keepin on!!
     Lean and Green meals I knew were going to be a bit of a challenge with my busy schedule, so prior to starting my new health plan I studied up on what was the best meat and vegetables that I could eat.  This was made very easy with the assistance of the Medifast Quick Start Guide and the options that you are givin to choose from.  It is outlined really well and makes you completely in control of your own destiny and ultimate weight loss and is the first step in learning and acheiving optimal health.  I purchased quick and easy to prepare lean meats, fish and egg beaters with a large variety of low carbohydrate vegetables and found that I was on the right track with my dieting that I had done over the years.  The only difference is that before my bodies health was out of control which made healthy habits not easy to compy with for any length of time.
     As with everything there is rules and the biggest one at this point is to take 15 minutes to eat each meal...taking time is essential for your tummy to acknowledge that it is filling up and alllows your tummy to not get over full.  For me this is a huge challenge because 75% of the time I am running from one place to another or am so busy that I don't have 15 minutes to eat.  I find that when I do take the 15 minutes to eat I feel fuller, more comfortable and can judge easier when my tummy says it is content.  Seems funny to not actually know what your body is telling you at age 40 something but you would be surprised how wrong I was!
     Growling tummies scarfing up fat cells is a unnerving consiquence of having healthy habits but knowing the different feelings for hungry and thirsty are something that I thought I understood...guess again!  Being on this program for only one week has taught me the difference (I am getting to know) and now when my body cries for sustinance and liquids I know better what it wants and how to respond.  My tummy has talked more in the last week than it has in years and the gas has been quite abundant but I keep in mind that I am like a toddler learning how to walk...it will get better over time and will depend on what I eat!  I keep thinking that it is my bodies way of telling me that each explosion is fat cells being destroyed and digested...yuck, but inspirational.

Day 2 and I am feeling fat and happy!

     Yesterday I had no doubts about continuing on with the program.  One thing I did learn is that the Cappacino fat burning hot drink does have green tea in it and after having two of my meals being the Cappacino in my coffee as two meals in a row is not a good idea...I was flying somewhere without a ticket.

 Here is my day with a revision or two from the day before.

7am - 20oz water
first meal starts first thing in the morning
1 package Cappacino split into two cups of coffee (12oz each)
10am- 20oz. water with my vitamins and meds
10:30am - Scrambled Medifast eggs
12pm - 20oz water
1pm - 1 package Cappacino in 1.5 cups of coffee
2:45pm - 20oz water
4pm - Medifast Chicken and wild rice soup
5pm - 10 oz water
6pm - 2 Boca Burgers, 6 Brussel Sprouts, 1.5 cups Romaine Lettuce with 1tbsp lite Asian dressing
8pm - Orange Medifast Shake

     I went to bed feeling fat and happy but I must have been in the bathroom 50 times during the day...only seems like it. The first night I was up 4 times during the middle of the night.  The second night (last night) I was not up even one time but definetly needed to go when I woke up and then fell on the floor after I weighed myself.

     On the morning of my third day I am a very happy girl!!!  OK, you are going to want to sit down for this one! I started with Medifast Saturday morning and weighed in at 188 (can't believe I am posting that). I was totally faithful to the program and even drank on average 120 oz of water both days which was amazingly easy. I studied the first three chapters in Dr. A's Habits of Health book and did NO exercise like I was instructed.  This morning I weighed myself (this is where you should be sitting) I weighed 181...NO SHIT!

     The only problems I had was on Saturday I needed the crunch factor so I slowly ate a bag of Chili Cheese puffs that are part of the program. Sunday my husband was sitting on the couch eating our favorite chips...Like we normally would do...I go up and found something to do while he ate them...I am so proud of myself!

Dr. A. says it's not my fault!

     It is not my fault that I struggle to be healthy.  10,000 years ago there was no obesity, heart disease or diabetes.  People actually had to forage all day to get enough to eat and when they found it abundant they gorged themselves because they may have to go for long periods of time before their next meal.  Our bodies were designed to store and conserve fat and calories for those times when we can't find food...today that is not an issue.  Today in our part of the world food is readily available and abundant and we consume an easy 1,500 calories with only 20 calories used to obtain it.  Unless you exercise like crazy you are not going to be able to get rid of the extra calories and where do you think they go?  Calories consumed versus calories used is enourmously off balance especially when we are surrounded by food that is served on platter size plates with larger portions and are more calorie dense then anyone would have imagined even 40 years ago.
     To quote Dr. A "It's not your fault that you were born in a time of unparalleled plenty and physical ease, with a body that stores and conserves energy.  It's not your fault that you're confronted by food that's more plentiful and addictive than at any point in history, with a day-to-day lifestyle that most often finds us in a chair at our desk or on the couch in front of the television".
     Most people go through periods when they have a real desire to lose weight so they diet with a goal of getting healthy to live longer and then find themselves falling for the ancient instinct to eat whenever they can to satisfy their biological instinct and then put it back on which tips the balance and creates the yo-yo factor.  If I fall for it again it will be my fault!
     According to a 2003 Baylor University study, over 90 percent of us will be overweight or worse by 2032 unless we significanlty change our behaviors.  You can continue to yo-yo or you can take the steps necessary to find optimal health and in turn live a longer life!  Take Shape for life with Medifast!!

A healthy beginning - Day 1

Day 1 started today (186.8) and I have been successful with my first day of Medifast meals.  I understand that if it was needed I could choose from a few things to snack on (extras like celery) to get me through the day.  My FREE Health Coach advised me to first try drinking a full glass of water if I got hungry in between meals which I did and found that I didn't need any extras.  At the end of the day I was able to drink 100 ounces of water, eat 5 Medifast meals and a Lean and Green meal. I am going to enjoy the ease of this program but going to miss being able to stop anywhere for a quick meal, I am told that this too will pass.  I am surprised at the amount of stomach talking and gas today but my Health Coach Darli told me that it is normal for some people and should subside for the most part.  This is what my day looked like...

8am - 20oz water and began drinking Medifast Cappacino in 2 cups of (12oz each) Coffee
10:35 am - 20oz water
11am - Medifast Cappacino in 2 cups of (12oz each) Coffee, but won't do that much coffee so close together...zoom, zoom & zoom (Dr. A's Habits of Health tell me to limit caffiene)

12pm - 10oz water with vitamins and meds
1pm - 10oz water (feeling very over bloated, to much water, need to let some digest)
2pm - Chili Cheese puffs
5pm - Manhattan soup that has been soaking all day
6:30pm - 20oz water
7pm - 6 brussel sprouts, 1 cup Romaine lettuce with 1tbsp lite asian dressing and a 3inch round cube steak that my hubby made

7:30pm - 20 oz water
9pm - Medifast Brownie

If I had to change anything I did today it would be the steak that I had for dinner.  My husband is not so into this Medifast thing and still deep down thinks that I will be eating everything I used to.  He made cube steaks cooked in Cream of Mushroom soup for dinner and then asked me what I was going to make to go along with it.  I told him that I would make a salad and steam some brussel sprouts, he quickly said I am not on the diet with you...Meat and POTATOES!  I mentioned that rice would go really well with the gravy that the mushroom soup made and he was happy with that.  When it came time to eat he said aren't you eating then I had to tell him that it was not time and that I had a half hour before I could eat...he just rolled his eyes!  So when it was time for me to eat I could not disappoint so I fixed myself a salad, few sprouts and the smallest steak (wiped off as much soup goo as I could) and bypassed the rice!  I am proud of myself today but will eat super lean and green dinner tonight to make up for the steak of tonight!

Pledge to never starve again!

     I raised my kids in a single parent household where I was both mother and father.  During the early years I worked but the income did not make ends meet so often I looked for help at food banks and from welfare.  You know as well as I do that beggars can't be choosers.  My kids were always fed and many times I ate scraps, leftovers and sometimes nothing to make sure that the kids ate and other times food was abundant and I inhaled food like I had been starving.
     As a single low income parent I fell into the trap of cooking, feeding and eating everything that the kids ate...mac and cheese, hot dogs, spagettios, chips, donuts and other bad for you foods. I also used a lot of noodles, potatoes, bread, real butter, eggs and cheese which most of those things are super dooper cheap and make really good fillers...for your butt!
     Over the years I learned a little about having better eating habits and I understand the concepts of carbohydrates, calories, fat and sodium but how they all work together to make things jive with my metabolism...NOT SO MUCH!  You get alot of people who are happy to share their story with hopes that you can benefit from thier wisdom and a lot of the information kept coming back to how important it is to eat right, drink water and take your vitamins.
     So my next step was to buy alot of ready to eat foods that I can have with me during the day for example salads, carrots, grapes, bananas, celery, zuchini, apples, yogurt and granola bars to name a few.  Making a healthy dinner in the evening was pretty easy unless I starved myself during the day then all bets were off...if it was edible and ready to eat then I was eating it.  I learned many years ago that it is better to eat more smaller meals and spread them out over the day but that too backfired because self control, more like portion control wasn't completely understood nor obeyed
     Off and on for many years I have taking mulit-vitamins along with other suggested suppliments.  The doctor told me I needed more calcium and a vitamin D to help the calcium absorb, a friend told me that a vitamin B will give you more energy and that a fish oil capsule is good for your heart and the next thing I knew I was taking a whole handful of vitamins and supplements...literally!  Ok so I am eating pretty healthy (for the most part) and if I am missing meals wouldn't it stand to reason that I am covered and am at optimal health...NO...I still feel like I am missing something...still starving!  
     I would gear myself up for a big change of loosing weight and honestly make it weeks to months of eating healthy, taking my vitamins and getting a bit of exercise (dislike that word).  I would lose enough weight that I could put my "big girl jeans" in the back of the closet but found that I could not stick to anything particularly healthy for any length of time.  The biggest problem is I am so on the go (all the time) that I find there is nothing in the fridge because I haven't gone shopping so I set off for my day and end up starving myself because I have no food.  I bought trail mix so I always have something to snack on with me and would end up eating half the bag.  Now I am semi satisfied with happy anticipation of the intestinal pockets that will be hurting later.  It seems after everything I try still feel like I am lacking something but can not tell you what it is but it sends me into a tailspin of starting the bad habits all over again and worse!  What keeps coming back to me is how great I feel when I go to the Donut House and buy a big dark blueberry fritter (sometimes 2)...that will break ALL the rules because there is no moderation in moderate...give into the fritter!!  So the question and subsequent answer becomes...to starve or not to starve...how about NOT!
     I have a habit of not buy things I do not need which includes food and being an on the go, always busy person I find that when I open the fridgerator and find nothing there I will just make another cup of coffee and pick something up that is fast and easy while I am on the move.  Try going into the grocery store when you are hungry (starving) and buy something healthy...LOL...isn't it easier to just pop by McDonalds, Burger King or Jack in the box for a dollar sandwich. 

Return to the world of Starvation Soup...if only for a moment!

     I was raised in a single parent household mostly with mom and weekends with dad.  From the time I was pre-teen and up until I started my own family I lived in a world of DIET.  My mom was always searching for the miracle and most common weight loss scheme or fad.  We tried everything and the one thing that stuck with both my sister and I was STARVATION SOUP.  Basically the soup consisted of cabbage, celery, onions and broth but the best part was you could eat all you want all day long and still not be full so goes the word starvation. 
     Mom struggled with her weight going from skinny to NOT and back again on a regular basis, which is something that I also have fought with my WHOLE life too!  I can safely say that I am a closet junk food junkie who hid food in places that normal people do not do.  To this day even though my kids are grown and gone still hide food just not in the same old places.  I married the most wonderful man who is also a junk food junky and as the days go by I am finding out that I no longer want to live like this and want to extend my life as much as possible and having some extra energy to help me through the day would be nice too. 
     As I have aged I found that my closet needed to consist of three sizes of clothes to account for my changing waist.  I am not looking for a miracle cure but a change in my overall well being which needs to start from within.  I am so done with judging my weight on how my clothes fit and then starving myself if my big girl jeans are to tight and not seeing my little girl jeans that have a habit of not being seen very often. 
HERE STARTS MY JOURNEY...I hope that in the process I can encourage others too!