I hope you all had a great week! Today ended week # 2 of the restart and I honestly couldn't ask for things to be going better in every aspect of my life right now.
As you know from last week's post, at the end of the week last week, phase 2 of the program started and the addition of 'healthy' carbs were introduced in the form of fruits and vegetables. There couldn't be a better time for fruit and vegetables to be a big part of my menu plan every day. It's peak strawberry season here in Florida and they have been wonderful! I love the availability of all of the fresh fruits & vegetables we have access too, makes it easy to plan meals for sure!
While things are going well, there were a few little challenges over the last week. I was on the phone with a couple of people through the week this week who don't understand when I say that this really has been easy. I know I just said there were a few little challenges, but 99% of the time, the program is easy. I honestly don't even have a desire to do something that's not on the program. The challenges come in where it is occasionally (one day this past week) incredibly difficult to drink all of the water. The other challenge is in finishing all of the protein servings allowable/recommended in a particular day. I wrote a bit about this last week but it seemed to be a bit of a challenge every day this week. I know I need to eat a larger breakfast and that would help that a lot, but it's difficult to get up early and cook breakfast for myself!
As far as sticking to the program and not having a desire to deviate, for whatever reason, it honestly doesn't phase me a bit. Yesterday I spent the day at the Strawberry Festival with Todd & Elise and wandered through the entire day with bottles of water, stops at the restroom (endless!) and when we stopped for Elise to have Strawberry Shortcake it didn't even look appealing to me. It's got to be the meds! :)
Speaking of the medication, that's something I am doing better with this time around as well. I seem to remember last time on the program I frequently forgot to take the meds, and when I remembered, it wasn't always on time! This time, Todd has a reminder alarm set to remind me when it's 4:00, just an odd time of my day for me to stop and take meds, but a text...I seem to always be able to read and respond to, so that has worked great...Thanks, Todd! The appetite suppressant medication honestly makes the hunger 'feeling' really non-existent. I can't remember a time so far since the restart that I could say I was "hungry". It was close yesterday, we had a late supper, but even at that, it was fine. They really do curb cravings.
The other medication is Calcium Pyruvate. For those of you who might not be familiar with what exactly that is, I found a pretty informative article and have copy pasted some of it here:
Calcium pyruvate is a nutritional supplement that combines naturally occurring pyruvic acid with calcium. While pyruvate is produced in the body and aids in the conversion of sugar and starches into energy, calcium pyruvate can help enhance the metabolism and speed up the creation of energy. Along with helping people feel more energized, using the supplement can also aid in weight loss when used in conjunction with a sensible diet and regular exercise.
Because calcium pyruvate helps in burning fat to create more fuel for the body to use, the supplement helps to reduce fat that is retained in the body. Thus, the supplement can minimize the amount of excess fat that is stored around the abdomen and other parts of the body. The additional energy that is generated helps the body to function more efficiently and comes in handy when exercising as part of an overall health improvement regimen. In an indirect manner, this also means that calcium pyruvate aids in mental as well as physical health, since emotional issues often have a physical origin.
Combining pyruvate with calcium creates supplements that will not interfere with any body function, nor will using calcium pyruvate cause the body to produce less pyruvate in the system. Instead, the supplements will enhance the effectiveness of the pyruvate already present in the body and increase the ability to maintain energy for the day and prevent the accumulation of extra pounds. However, calcium pyruvate should not be viewed as a way to eat and drink anything and still lose weight. The product works best when used along with eating lean meats, plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit, choosing complex carbohydrates over simple carbs, and getting at least thirty minutes of exercise each day.
As far as the exercise routine goes, after Week 1 I was able to start back with my exercise routine. Dr. Garcia's office did, however, recommend that most of the exercise be cario and not much on the weight lifting type things since muscle weighs more than fat and that can throw off the goal at this point in the program. I've modified my schedule to add a couple more cardio classes to take place of the weight training classes that I had started previously. Now I have between three & four classes a week that are predominately cardio based and it seems to be working out well.
So, as a recap, food program is going great. I just need to find a way to have a larger breakfast and get all of the servings in during a day. The medication is working how it's supposed to, especially when I take it on time and the exercise program has been adjusted and working well. Things are good....(and you've been waiting, I know...) SO good, that today's weigh in showed a 5.8 pound loss during week 2 and a total over the two weeks of.... 15.4 pounds. It's really hard to complain about that!!
On we go to Week 3...no expected challenges or anything particular that sticks out as a stumbling block at this point. One day at a time, one glass of water at a time, keeps the program moving in the right direction!
To end tonight, a quote that shows the progress, even during a 'restart', by C.S. Lewis
“We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”
And finally, a thank you to those of you who live through this every day with me, listening to me talk about what I ate, what I can have, what I can't, encouraging me to move forward...your support means so much to me, as do each of you! Thank you, again!
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