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.