Hey all, I'm caligirl in OC... Sorry for the long 1st post, I've just decided to transfer my blog entries to this thread for support. I'm in my 3rd week on MF, and I'm doing well. Much better the first week than the 2nd, but I've got a new resolve, and am super motivated. I'm 34, 5'8" and my husband and I have a 10 year old daughter. We'd like to add to the family next year, and I hope to reach my goal first. Wish me luck!!!
Happy Mfasting!
Weight loss progress: 252/239.5/145
7/4 252
7/10 243.5
7/11 242.5
7/12 243.5
7/13 242.5 Wk. 1 = 9.5 pounds
7/14 241.5
7/17 239
7/18 242 Wine... dumb. Never again!!!
7/19 240.5 Wk. 2 = 2 pounds (11.5 total)
7/24 239.5 Did great today
7/25 239.5 Okay, still not losing, but not gaining!
Journal entries from start date:
7/5:
Well, today I started Medifast.
I am recovering from my second ankle surgery. They just removed the hardware they put in last August. I'm glad to have it out, but am walking very little. I'll be off for 3 more days, then back to work on Monday. I'm really surprised how well it's gone so far. I was able to walk on it the same day! Very impressed.
I though it a good time to start a new regimen, since I'd be home. I'm giving Medifast a try. It's not as expensive as the HMR and involves more choices than just the shakes, so I think I'll stick to it. I have to. I also like how I make a lean and green meal each day too. Going to eat every 3 hours (9-12-3-6 and another when I'm hungry in between). In addition, I'm allowed an optional snack each day.
Still getting used to it.
7/6-
Well, second day on the Medifast program, and believe it or not, I feel empowered.
I love that I don't have to do any shopping or planning YET. I do have to plan my lean and green meal each day, and I get to eat dinner with my family (minus the carb-y side dish).
As for the rest of the day, I'm satisfied, and the products are pretty good.
I like that I just have to spend seconds a day picking the 5 meal supplements I'll need, and I'm out the door. No preparing, or obsessing over food. I really like that for a change. Also, I can't fudge on the portion sizes! I realize that my eyes are bigger than the food scale. I'm a big portion eater, so this is a wake up call for me. I like that I am going to see quicker results than 1-2 pounds a week, more like 2-5. That will keep me motivated.
I also like that there are salty options in the soups and crisps, since I'm not a sweet tooth.
All in all, I'm optimistic, and keep telling myself, that I'm ready to take the bull by the horns and take responsibility for getting the weight off. I like the structure of Medifast, and am going to keep with it.
7/10-
I'm on day 4and I'm finding it pretty easy to stick to. Takes the guess work out of it, and I seem less obsessed with food choices. I find that I look forward to my lean and green meal, and really am making that meal count more. Healthy choices, and tastier preparations. I've been doing a salad AND a steamed veggie along with my protein for bulk, because I find that it gives me a bit more variety, and I don't feel as deprived about not getting to eat the carb-y side dish I have to prepare for hubby and daughter. Naturally they're skinny! It's working well. I must say that I have a shake and oatmeal for breakfast, then a shake and soup for lunch (I add hot sauce to EVERYTHING), and then a bar mid afternoon. If I must snack in between, I've gotten celery sticks and pickles ready, along with sugar free jello chilled and ready to go. I confess I bought the sugar free lite cool whip for a dollup on my jello as a little treat. Don't know yet if this will do much damage, but it's a psychological pick me up. Also, it only has 1g of carbs, and 20 calories, so it's about the same as if I had 1 serving of ketchup, or other condiment, and I try to stay away from those. I've also become a fan of the I can't believe it's not butter spray on my steamed veggies. 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 fat for 5 spritzes and it really packs a flavor punch. I'm still very motivated, and am pleasantly surprised by the taste of the shakes (creamy), and oatmeal. The soups are a little harder to take, but I like them because I get a little tired of sweet, and they're convenient for work. A little lime and chile, and I'm OK with them. Not a big fan of bars in general, but these are as good as any others I've tasted and I like their convenience. I ran went to the movies with a friend yesterday, and brought one with me. Was a life saver. The pudding is great as a sweet treat, and I'm still waiting to get the soy crisps and crackers for snacks. Trying to drink as much water as possible.
I've gone down already, and am happy about the progress. I'm averaging 900-1000 cals per day, so it's bound to come off. I have to say that I'm very satisfied hunger-wise too. No surprise, as I took in over 80 grams of protein today. My weigh-in day is on Monday, but I started the diet on Thursday. Last Monday I weighed 252, and today I weigh 243.5. Can you believe it??? 8.5 pounds and I've still got 2 days to go to finish the 1st week.
I'm at a size 20-22 now, and am looking to get into a 8-10 in the end. About 90-100 pounds to lose. I can't believe my success, it's definitely motivating!
I don't think this diet is for everyone, you're really not eating food but one meal a day. 5 MF meals (shakes, bars, oatmeal, soup) every 2-3 hours and your own dinner (lean protein and a veggie) each day. I have to say that it's been a good money /time saver, and it helps me decide what's for dinner.
The message boards are really inspirational as well and helpful.
7/14
Well, I'm still motivated. I can't believe it either!!!
I've been on Medifast for over a week, and I'm not bored. In fact, I seem to be looking forward to my one lean and green meal each day, that I'm enjoying cooking more than ever. Since I don't have a lot that I can have (no carbs - pasta, rice, bread, cheese, etc), it forces me to get creative with the meat and veggie. I'm doing a lot of shish kebobs, and such. Liking veggies a lot.
Dinner is much faster as well. Doesn't take that much time to cook the basic things.
As of this morning (8th day), I've lost 10.5 pounds!
I've had an a-ha moment about temptation. It all started yesterday...I went to a birthday lunch with my department to El Torito Grill, so fattening they don't offer nutritional info for their menu items.
This is what I did...
Kept the conversation going during the yummy chips and salsa eating... Not one did I have! Had to stay strong against the warm tortillas and honey butter as well. But I was great, and strong.
Kept telling myself, "this will be over in a matter of minutes, your lunch will get here, and you'll feel stronger. If you eat that junk, you'll only feel horrible, and for much longer than this short challenge you're facing!"
It worked!
I ordered a steak fajita salad. Wait, don't worry. I got it plain (romaine only - no yummy tortilla strips, cheese, or pepitas and NO DRESSING for this girl). I asked that the fajitas be cooked in very little oil. I really like their roasted salsa, so I asked if they could bring me a side of that instead of the dressing.
By the the time my salad came, I'd drunk two glasses of iced tea, and was starving! Had I actually survived the chips and salsa, tortillas and butter, more tortillas, and more butter!!!
Yes, I had! And I felt STRONGER because of it, not weaker. It was quite strange for me. I would normally eat chips and salsa, AND 3 tortillas with butter before my meal would come. That's nearly all my daily calories these days. No wonder I'm fat!
FYI, about the plain fajita salad... It was so good and satisfying! I was happy I'd asked for the salad plain, so I could eat the WHOLE thing. I'm much more satisfied if I can eat it all, than have the fattening extras.
But I wasn't out of the woods just yet...
Come dinner time I was quite hungry again. Unfortunately, since I'd already eaten my lean and green meal for the day all I had left to eat was soup and crackers. Not very filling. So I asked my husband to make dinner for himself and my daughter, so I wouldn't be tempted... This was going to be hard!
I had my soup and crackers, and went to elevate my foot in my room (recovering from surgery) and also to get away from food, and the smell of it! Turns out it was a good idea, I was tired, and my foot was swollen anyway.
As the night passed, I grew hungrier. I thought of food, and what I could have, but I thought of how I handled temptation earlier in the day. I know that it will pass, and I'll be stronger for it. Not weaker. Even though I felt like it then. I picked up a magazine and gulped down 6 bottles of water!!!
I didn't eat another thing. I did it!!!
This morning I was down another pound! It paid off!
7/21-
I'm still going strong 252/239/145, I've lost 13 pounds in 2 weeks +1 day! I've remained very motivated, since I'm seeing constant results. At least most of the time.
I'm sticking to it well, all except for last Sunday night. I had a couple glasses of wine in the evening, and it threw me off big time. The next morning I went UP 2 pounds, and it took me 2 days to lose them. Needless to say, it the rest of the week to lose the other 4 pounds (9 #s first week, 4#s second week).
I'm surprised at how I'm sticking to the diet. I'm just not tempting myself. I'm cooking fast and simple l&g meals, and try to stay OUT of restaurants. They are dangerous. Even when it seems that you're making a good and healthy choice, the fat and carbs are often double than homemade.
I got almond extract to put in my banana shake, and chocolate pudding, it's great. Also lemon extract to add to a vanilla shake and poppyseeds to make muffins.
I'm getting a lot of recipes off of a MF forum. But, I honestly haven't been fooling with too many recipes as of yet, as I fear that I'll get too confused. It seems great as a simple plan. I'll probably wait until I get bored before I do this.
I'm just amazed that I'm still doing so well.
7/24-
Well, I did just OK over the weekend. I had a lot of events to work around, but managed to keep my carbs and calories in check. I'm glad to be back into my routine at work and get back to business with my diet. It's funny, the routine really helps. I've got more struggle during the weekend. And I always ate worse during the week before what with fast food, etc. Now that I've got Medifast, it makes my week much easier to plan food wise. It's not as much trouble at home either. I can manage making a good meal each night when I've only got to think about 1 meal per day. But on the weekends, my routine gets out of whack!
First of all, I sleep in, so by the time I wake up, it's when I'd be eating my 2nd meal. Then I'm out and about all day, so I'm starving by the time I get home. I need to plan my weekends better. So that I don't get starving.
It all takes some getting used to. The good news is that I still managed to lose a 1/2 pound, even though I didn't stick to plan as I should have.
I just purchased my 2nd month's worth of food as well. Even though it's just the beginning of my 3rd week. The first time I ordered the pre-packed month, because I didn't know what I'd like or not. Now that I do, I'm looking forward to trying some new things and getting some others that I know are good. I feel better when I have more in the pantry, so I feel like I have many choices. I think that's important.
I'm ready for the week!
7/25-
Here I am. I've decided to post this journal to be MORE ACCOUNTABLE. I've got a private blog on another website that I use to track nutrition and exercize, but I really like this site after hanging around for a few weeks. It's nice to see such success stories IN PROGRESS. I think they're more inspirational since they're in real time. I'm grateful for MF and for this forum.