A lot has happened over the course of the last few years. Relationship changes, office changes, houses changes, blah, blah, blah... you get the point. Over that time I found some vices and used them to make myself feel better when times were tough. Slowly I have been able to let go of things I could see were holding me back... so, now, on to the next thing.
What is the next thing you are asking??
You guessed it: Food.
Well, not just ANY food, obviously. But bad, food. You know, the kind that makes you fat.
I've been in kind of a rut for a while now, feeling down on myself for the weight gain and lack of self discipline. I haven't been happy with the way I look in pictures, my clothes, the mirror. After a few different failed diet attempts (more on that topic later) I just thought screw it.... and started eating and drinking whatever I wanted. I knew my bad eating habits couldn't go on forever, but I wasn't sure what to do next... Different people were saying:
"Eat whatever you want, just workout more"
"Just try low calories and don't eat past 7 PM at night"
"I just skip lunch"
"Cut out carbs"
"Just try ________ diet"
But no! Nothing seemed to fit!
So, now what?
Well, after several family members recently lost weight with the
Medifast Diet (more on Medifast later) I decided to also give it a try. Chris, my boyfriend, and I started the plan on Tuesday this week. We both loooooove food, eating out, coffee, wine, trying new things.... so, we knew this would be a challenge. We ordered the food a week and 1/2 beforehand (it takes about 5-7 days to come in) and we knew it was a bad idea to start on the weekend before Labor day, so we decided to start on Tuesday.
Clearly it may have been smarter to start a week ahead with lean and green meals - prepping our bodies for the serious cut back in calories. But, we didn't. In fact, we pigged out instead. We had fast food burgers and shakes. We went out to eat and had fried pickles, Mai Tais, smothered mashed potatoes, New Orleans Beignets... yum. Monday we BBQ'ed hot dogs and burgers, ate chips and had 2 bottles of red wine.... it felt like the "last supper". As fun as eating all of this might seem, to be honest, at the end of the weekend I felt bloated and well, fat. I was tired and actually woke up in the middle of night in pain. My stomach was NOT happy!
I weighed myself that night and holy festivus! I knew it was time. My final indulgence had come to an end and I was ready for the new, lighter, healthier eating.
Tuesday morning we both weighed ourselves and I wrote down the numbers. We had to rush to work so we grabbed a bar, ate it and downed a glass of water. The bar wasn't bad, in fact, it was pretty yummy. I am not one to eat a big breakfast anyways, so a bar works perfect for me. Once I got to the office I was craving coffee bad. I drink coffee every day, so I emailed my sponsor to find out how coffee would impact my weight loss. She let me know that the program allows up to 3 cups of coffee or other caffeinated beverage a day. YAY! Of course I normally grab a coffee with some cream, but hey, I'm going hard - so I drank it black.
I won't bore you with every detail of everything I ate that first day. We had a shake, soup, another bar and headed home for dinner. I was actually really excited for the 5th meal - lean and green. But, I wasn't prepared. I knew we had some fish in the freezer and some veggies in the fridge. I was tired from the day so I pulled everything out, followed the quick guide for portions and simply pan grilled everything on the stove top and added some simple seasoning. It was good - but nothing to get excited about. Still, we were happy to be eating "real food" and ended the night with our final Medifast meal... feeling good.
That night I immersed myself in the blogs... I started researching Medifast lean and green recipes. I spent the night reading forms, boards, reading up on tips. I started a journal. I wrote down recipes, tips, a shopping list... I was excited!
The program recommends a weekly weigh in, but Chris and I decided, what the heck - and started weighing ourselves daily. To my surprise and delight after following day ONE to a T, on Day 2 I weighed in 2 pounds lighter and Chris 7 pounds! Clearly water, the scale we are using, etc can influence weight and what reads of the scale - but still!!! If you have ever tried to lose weight before, you know it's discouraging when you weigh in and nothing has changed. So, for day 1 to already start to see results, we were motivated!
Day 2 we did roughly the same thing. Bar, black coffee, lots of water, shake, more water, bar and home for the lean and green. I was feeling a little cranky and Chris and I were both SO hungry by the time lean and green came I thought I might die. I ran to Trader Joe's and picked up a variety of lean meats, veggies and spices from my list. I wanted to cook something yummy - not just OKAY. I wanted to make the lean and green something to look forward to, something special. The night before I found a recipe for Medifast Taco salad that I found here: http://www.getskinnybehappy.com/medifast-recipes/lean-and-green-taco-salad-recipe/ - it was yummy. The taco seasoning I used ended up being SUPER spicy (which I love, Chris, not so much). I used heirloom tomatoes and fresh salsa over a bed of greens (all portioned and within the quick guide guidelines). I would make it again.
It's now day 6. We haven't cheated. No extra portions, no extra meals, no "cheat" foods... Chris is down a total of 12 pounds. I am down 6. WOOT!
I decided to start this blog for:
Medifast tips and tricks
Lean and green recipes and pictures
Documented mood swings
My (and Chris) successes and setbacks
Random thoughts on dieting, working out and living a healthier life
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or anything else to contribute, please do!
No comments:
Post a Comment