So, today was the official end of the first week and the weigh in and medication refill. I made it through the week at 100% on the program and it's been relatively easy, with no deviation from the program at all.
Saturday was my most difficult day so far. For some reason I was hungry all day. It was Day 5 and the start of phase 2 of the program, where I am able to add fruits and vegetables and unlimited amounts of "diet gelatin" YUM!
I anticipated Saturday for four days, just to have a salad. I went to Publix, bought everything I wanted for it. I needed fat-free salad dressing and on Saturday afternoon made what I thought looked like a pretty good salad. I got the dressing out of the fridge and reviewed my "rules" only to find out that the dressing was 10 calories over the allowable. I know what you're all thinking, it's only 10 calories...I stood there for a minute and contemplated what to do. I put the salad dressing back in the fridge and used the olive oil and vinegar that was allowable on the plan. YAY!
After the salad, I was hungry all day. I hadn't been hungry any of the other days, and yesterday and today was not hungry either. I didn't finish my water until late on Saturday, so maybe that was it. I don't know.
Anyway, at the official weigh in today, I was down 8.2 pounds from last week. I had to see the doctor today for him to review my bloodwork, which was all normal. The first thing he said to me when he looked at my chart was, "You didn't cheat, I can tell". He was amazed at the progress in a week, especially a holiday week. He encouraged me to add exercise into the routine this week and expect a 2-5 pound loss next week, as long as I stay on plan.
We discussed the medication and the mood I've been in since starting this. I told him I wasn't exactly sure what was in the meds, but I want more! I've just been in a fantastic mood. Nothing much seems to bother me, I'm happy, rested, energetic and just feeling great. I sure hope this part doesn't go away!
He did tell me that it will start to become harder to fight temptation, that I'll start "showing" the loss and people will say things like "you've done so good, one bite won't hurt" but I assured him that my support system is phenomenal and I didn't feel like it was an issue.
I go back next Monday-every Monday from now til the end and will keep you posted along the way.
Potential challenges for this week: New Year's Eve party and Girls Night dinner, but I have the determination to get through both!
Wishing you all a safe and happy New Year!!
By the way-there is a link at the bottom of the blog if you'd like to subscribe and receive the posts in email. It prevents you from coming here to check and see if I've posted anything.
December 29, 2008
December 27, 2008
Program Detail and How Things Change
Since I did the posts yesterday, I realized I didn't put my goal in here anywhere! As of right now, the goal is to lose 62.2 pounds. My initial goal was 52.2 and the date was July 4th, but I'm going to not change my date for now and see what happens when I talk to the doctor on Monday.
Mondays are the official weigh in days. Mondays I also get the medication refills and the injection.
A little about all that: The medications are three different things. One is a pharmacy grade multivitamin with minerals. One is called Calcium Pyruvate and it helps burn body fat, increases endurance and improved physical performace as well as helps maintain lead body tissue and aids in increasing muscle mass. The last one is Phendimetrazine, the appetite suppressant. I'm not so much a medicine person, so the difficult part of this for me is taking 11 pills throughout the day. There are 4 times during the day I am supposed to take the meds. I had to put a reminder in my phone so that I'd remember to take them.
There is also a weekly injection and that includes: MIC, Chromic Chloride and Vitamin B12. The MIC is Methionine which prevents fatigue, works as an antioxidant and has lipotropic actions, Inositil helps with redistributing body fat and promotes healthy hair and skin and the Choline helps to control weight and cholesterol levels, also helps prevent gallstones. The Chromic Chloride regulates carbohydrate metabolism and blood sugar. The B-12 part is the "energy vitamin".
This must be what has me bouncing off the walls sometimes. The one issue I am having is that I'm not sleeping well. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm sleeping well, once I get to sleep. I just haven't been tired at all. The other night I was on Wii Fit at 12:30 because I was awake and nobody was on Facebook to chat with! I've been going to bed about 2 hours later than prior to the program start. I might need to ask the doctor about that on Monday.
I certainly seem to have more energy and really, I've been in a great mood. I'm not sure why, I just feel like I'm a lot cheerier than I maybe was a few weeks ago. I'm just happy and motivated and I know I'm on a mission!
Let's talk about water--do you all know how much water I drank before this all started? Right--NONE! Michelle is not a water lover!! I'd be lucky to drink something other than tea at lunch and a cup of coffee in the morning, if I even had coffee.
Now, I have two problems! I got this awesome coffee maker for Christmas, it's like a "crack-machine"! It's one of those Keurig single cup brewers. Everytime I go in the kitchen I make a cup of coffee or tea. Luckily most of the tea is caffeine free, but I used to drink one cup a day, if that, and now I want coffee all the time.
So, now I want coffee, but I have to drink a gallon of water a day---yes, a GALLON! So I've pretty much resigned myself to a schedule. One cup of coffee when I wake up and run down to the crack machine, then at least 1 liter of water before I can have any more coffee. There are 3.78 liters of water in a gallon. I've been drinking a full 4 liters. The goal is one liter before lunch, one liter at lunch, one in the afternoon and one with dinner/evening. Then I can finish the night off with hot tea. So far it's working well, but drinking that much water has definitely been a change for me. I think I need to buy stock in Zephyrhills Water Company!
Thanks for reading and thank you all for your support!
Never give up. Every step you take is one step closer to success... or a step closer to destruction. You choose...
Mondays are the official weigh in days. Mondays I also get the medication refills and the injection.
A little about all that: The medications are three different things. One is a pharmacy grade multivitamin with minerals. One is called Calcium Pyruvate and it helps burn body fat, increases endurance and improved physical performace as well as helps maintain lead body tissue and aids in increasing muscle mass. The last one is Phendimetrazine, the appetite suppressant. I'm not so much a medicine person, so the difficult part of this for me is taking 11 pills throughout the day. There are 4 times during the day I am supposed to take the meds. I had to put a reminder in my phone so that I'd remember to take them.
There is also a weekly injection and that includes: MIC, Chromic Chloride and Vitamin B12. The MIC is Methionine which prevents fatigue, works as an antioxidant and has lipotropic actions, Inositil helps with redistributing body fat and promotes healthy hair and skin and the Choline helps to control weight and cholesterol levels, also helps prevent gallstones. The Chromic Chloride regulates carbohydrate metabolism and blood sugar. The B-12 part is the "energy vitamin".
This must be what has me bouncing off the walls sometimes. The one issue I am having is that I'm not sleeping well. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm sleeping well, once I get to sleep. I just haven't been tired at all. The other night I was on Wii Fit at 12:30 because I was awake and nobody was on Facebook to chat with! I've been going to bed about 2 hours later than prior to the program start. I might need to ask the doctor about that on Monday.
I certainly seem to have more energy and really, I've been in a great mood. I'm not sure why, I just feel like I'm a lot cheerier than I maybe was a few weeks ago. I'm just happy and motivated and I know I'm on a mission!
Let's talk about water--do you all know how much water I drank before this all started? Right--NONE! Michelle is not a water lover!! I'd be lucky to drink something other than tea at lunch and a cup of coffee in the morning, if I even had coffee.
Now, I have two problems! I got this awesome coffee maker for Christmas, it's like a "crack-machine"! It's one of those Keurig single cup brewers. Everytime I go in the kitchen I make a cup of coffee or tea. Luckily most of the tea is caffeine free, but I used to drink one cup a day, if that, and now I want coffee all the time.
So, now I want coffee, but I have to drink a gallon of water a day---yes, a GALLON! So I've pretty much resigned myself to a schedule. One cup of coffee when I wake up and run down to the crack machine, then at least 1 liter of water before I can have any more coffee. There are 3.78 liters of water in a gallon. I've been drinking a full 4 liters. The goal is one liter before lunch, one liter at lunch, one in the afternoon and one with dinner/evening. Then I can finish the night off with hot tea. So far it's working well, but drinking that much water has definitely been a change for me. I think I need to buy stock in Zephyrhills Water Company!
Thanks for reading and thank you all for your support!
Never give up. Every step you take is one step closer to success... or a step closer to destruction. You choose...
It's Day 5
It's day 5 of the journey and since I just started this blog, I'll just say that today starts phase 2 where I am able to add in fruits and vegetables.
The first 4 days of the program are strictly lean and very lean proteins. I made it through the first day (and hadn't told my friends yet) with much success and finally an explanation to my friends as to why I didn't eat dinner during our "family Christmas".
Days 2 & 3 were Christmas Eve and Christmas. I arrived at my parents, shopped for food I could eat (chicken, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, etc) and while 7 other people ate Spinach Lasagna, sausage, meatballs, caesar salad and desserts galore, I ate my dinner and drank water. As those that know me know, I am not a dessert person, but my absolute favorite dessert is Carrot Cake. Christmas Eve dessert tradition is Carrot Cake (mom, when did that start?!-LOL) and one of my mom's clients makes an "amazing" carrot cake. Not even a temptation to have a bite. I was way proud of that moment! :) Christmas dinner at my uncle's house was the same way-I just did my thing and it was EASY, well, not EASY but none of it phases me.
So far the program has really been manageable for me. I'm drinking the water, I'm eating only when I'm hungry, I'm taking the meds and I don't feel like I'm losing out on anything. Last night for Friday Night Party Night we went to the movies, the popcorn smelled great, but no desire for any. After the movies we went out to have a drink and a snack. I had "servings" left in my day, so I had cold, steamed shrimp and more water. I had a great time, not having food or drink didn't seem to diminsh the fun I had. Don't get me wrong....I'd love to have a drink, but I am on a mission.
Yesterday I bought a pair of "transition" jeans in a size 10....I can't wait to wear them!!
This morning, I was down 8#, but I'm sure most of that is water at this point. But every day and every pound motivates me even more.
The first 4 days of the program are strictly lean and very lean proteins. I made it through the first day (and hadn't told my friends yet) with much success and finally an explanation to my friends as to why I didn't eat dinner during our "family Christmas".
Days 2 & 3 were Christmas Eve and Christmas. I arrived at my parents, shopped for food I could eat (chicken, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, etc) and while 7 other people ate Spinach Lasagna, sausage, meatballs, caesar salad and desserts galore, I ate my dinner and drank water. As those that know me know, I am not a dessert person, but my absolute favorite dessert is Carrot Cake. Christmas Eve dessert tradition is Carrot Cake (mom, when did that start?!-LOL) and one of my mom's clients makes an "amazing" carrot cake. Not even a temptation to have a bite. I was way proud of that moment! :) Christmas dinner at my uncle's house was the same way-I just did my thing and it was EASY, well, not EASY but none of it phases me.
So far the program has really been manageable for me. I'm drinking the water, I'm eating only when I'm hungry, I'm taking the meds and I don't feel like I'm losing out on anything. Last night for Friday Night Party Night we went to the movies, the popcorn smelled great, but no desire for any. After the movies we went out to have a drink and a snack. I had "servings" left in my day, so I had cold, steamed shrimp and more water. I had a great time, not having food or drink didn't seem to diminsh the fun I had. Don't get me wrong....I'd love to have a drink, but I am on a mission.
Yesterday I bought a pair of "transition" jeans in a size 10....I can't wait to wear them!!
This morning, I was down 8#, but I'm sure most of that is water at this point. But every day and every pound motivates me even more.
How The Journey Came About
This past Tuesday, December 23, I started a "Weight Management Program". It's a medically supervised program with medication, weekly injections, and a food plan. I went to the consult on Monday and even the girl who did the consult was trying to discourage me from starting Christmas week.
My thought in this as I made the consult appointment was that I was ready. For those who know me, when I decide I'm doing something....I'm doing it. There's not much changing my mind.
How this all came about: I moved back to Florida almost two years ago. Since that time I've lost quite a bit of weight, and have maintained the weight loss, but wasn't really doing anything to continue losing. I'd thought about doing different things, but I have a friend who was on this program and it worked well for her. We had been discussing that sometimes going out to dinner you end up eating like it's the Last Supper.
I finally have gotten tired of food controlling everything in my life. When I decided that I could afford the program (it's quite expensive) and decided I was going to do it, I did. My point to the girl at the office that tried to discourage me by a couple of weeks, was...well, I still have to eat then too. I could wait until after Christmas, but on January 3 I'll have some friends over for a dinner party and my mom will be in town. So, I could wait til after that. Well, on February 7, my friends are throwing me a birthday party, so maybe I should wait til after that. But, on February 17 it's my birthday....so maybe.....WHATEVER.....there's always a reason.
I thought if I could make it through Christmas week, family dinners, etc...then I could make it through anything....so it begins.
This is the journey through the experience.
My thought in this as I made the consult appointment was that I was ready. For those who know me, when I decide I'm doing something....I'm doing it. There's not much changing my mind.
How this all came about: I moved back to Florida almost two years ago. Since that time I've lost quite a bit of weight, and have maintained the weight loss, but wasn't really doing anything to continue losing. I'd thought about doing different things, but I have a friend who was on this program and it worked well for her. We had been discussing that sometimes going out to dinner you end up eating like it's the Last Supper.
I finally have gotten tired of food controlling everything in my life. When I decided that I could afford the program (it's quite expensive) and decided I was going to do it, I did. My point to the girl at the office that tried to discourage me by a couple of weeks, was...well, I still have to eat then too. I could wait until after Christmas, but on January 3 I'll have some friends over for a dinner party and my mom will be in town. So, I could wait til after that. Well, on February 7, my friends are throwing me a birthday party, so maybe I should wait til after that. But, on February 17 it's my birthday....so maybe.....WHATEVER.....there's always a reason.
I thought if I could make it through Christmas week, family dinners, etc...then I could make it through anything....so it begins.
This is the journey through the experience.
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