Wellness Phase...Slight Gain But Manageable.

Losing it was a piece of cake....but keeping it off is going to be my challenge I believe. I'm in the Wellness phase of the Medi program. I recently started feeling like my eating was getting a little unwieldy and my sweet tooth was acting up again so in addition to beginning the week making sure I stick to eating properly to get me back on the right track to losing the 3 pounds that I've gained in the last 49 days, I made an appointment at Medi. I enjoyed visiting with Darlene, my counselor today and discussing the good and bad things I have been doing. The one good thing is that I am walking for 30 minute 3-4 days a week and she just wants me to step that up to 5 days a week and even up to 60 minutes a day if I can. She said that will help on the days that I do tend to eat a piece of chocolate or something. While I have stayed on track with my regularly daily meals, I have been snacking and indulging little bit of candy here as well as drinking wine on weekends and eating a little more than usual when I go to a restaurant. The good thing is I can feel immediately when I'm overdoing it and I can tell my weight has been creeping up a little by the way my clothes have been fitting and by weighing myself every day. So my goal is to get off the 3 pounds within the next 2 weeks before my next followup visit with Medi. Darlene advised to eat protein only for a few days and then add in vegetables for the rest of the week and next week I can add back some fruit. The holidays are coming and this will be the first year in a long time where I won't be hiding form the camera and I can look forward to being in pictures with my family. We all know it is more important to look good than to feel good. hee hee

Losing Weight Prolongs your Life

I was inspired to write this blog entry after a couple of things that happened yesterday. I had a “physical” in order to get life insurance. The insurance company sent a nurse to our house to conduct a physical. She took our medical histories, blood, urine, weighed and measured us. In talking with the nurse I was reminded me of how much weight plays a role in our overall health. Later that day, I saw the Dr Oz show. His show not only focused on his personal journey with a colonoscopy but at the end of the show he talked about our increasing the years of our lives and 5 key life-saving numbers we need to know for our overall health. Those were blood pressure, weight, waist measurement, cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose. For women, weight under 175 is considered good and a waist under 35 inches is good. Blood pressure number to watch out for is the top number or systolic number being 140 or below. I was thinking to myself, well thank goodness I lost the weight. I am now below 175 pounds and my waist size has shrunk to 31 inches. A third thing that makes me aware that losing weight is good for your health is my work. I have been a medical transcriptionist for 11-1/2 years and over that time, I have noticed the trend in the role weight plays on someone’s health. When I start typing on someone who has diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, depression, etc, invariably that person is overweight or obese. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that being overweight contributes greatly to these conditions. In speaking with the visiting nurse during my physical yesterday and mentioning about my gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with Steven 12 years ago, I was reminded at the huge step I took to maintaining my health by losing the weight. I remember reading years ago that women with gestational diabetes stand a higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 10 years. Had I not lost the weight, I feel I would have developed diabetes. My blood pressure has never been an issue for me thank goodness. It has always run low even at my highest weight. A nurse once told me it was the blood pressure of a teenager. I have been lucky in that regard. Losing the weight will help me continue to have good blood pressure readings. Now we await the blood work to return. I had the blood work drawn last December when I started the Medi Weight-Loss Program and my numbers were all within the normal range then so I look forward to seeing if they have even improved somewhat to the lower end of the normal range. So if you have issues with your weight and are fighting with yourself to get motivated to get it off, I encourage you to do so for your health. If you have any issues now with elevated blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc, it can be reversible with diet and exercise. I am not a doctor or a nurse but my experience with transcribing medical reports over the years shows me that with a reduction in your weight, you can be healthier.

Also, get a colonoscopy when you reach 50 – Here is a link to Dr. Oz's web page about his colonoscopy: http://www.doctoroz.com/colonoscopy-videos/screening-colonoscopy It changed my mind about the procedure. If you catch a precancerous polyp early, it will avoid you having real issues in the future.

Maintaining and Loving Summer

Key Largo, FL
August 2010
Outside on the deck at Snapper's Tiki Bar before dinner.

I don't know if anyone is following this blog any more. I haven't posted in so long. I have been maintaining and even survived vacation. It was finally nice to be on vacation and not feel like a blimp. I had so many new cute clothes to pack and wear on the trip. I felt so good despite the wickedly hot weather. I ate a lot of broiled fish, peel n' eat shrimp, fruit, and veggies. I tried hogfish and yellow tail snapper (both wonderfully mild white fish) and one night had 1/2 pound broiled lobster. I also ate a Medi Weight-Loss bar every morning for breakfast with coffee as the lodge we stayed at had a continental breakfast and since I am staying away from wheat products, I could not partake in the danish, cakes, and bagels and I'm also keeping things low carb so I did not eat the yogurt and a lot of fruit either so bringing my bars was a very good thing for me to do and I always started out my day right. I did save my carbs for the wine and I did partake in some Key Lime pie (no crust) that Stan and I shared a couple of nights for desert (we were in the "Keys". How could I not). French fries snuck in there to up the carb count one day (hey it was hot and I sweated a lot, I must have needed the salt). Being able to pick and choose what carbs I have is so nice and helping me maintain when I feel I want to splurge. I try not to do everything at once and if I am bad one meal, I watch the next 2 meals and if I have a bad day, I watch it the next 2 days. So that is what I did and when we got back, I immediately went back to my "new" way of eating. I weigh in again next Wednesday and I definitely to not want to show a gain. So I will be behaving myself from now until then.

Key Largo, FL
August 2010
Outside Jimmy Johnson's Big Chill where we had dinner inside and
watched a beautiful sunset. 

Wellness Phase

I am in the Wellness phase of the Medi Weight Loss Program...So I have held my weight loss for a month and now I am on wellness. What does that mean? That means I'm on my own with my eating and they are going to monitor me monthly and I go from paying $80/week to $35/month. More disposable income to spend on clothes now. I am to still watch my calories, fat and carb intake and they will keep tabs on my weight to make sure I am not gaining. I don't intend on gaining because I do not intend on going back to my old eating habits. I am a changed eater. I have changed my thinking about food and I am very happy about that. Anybody going on a diet needs to know that to lose weight you cannot eat the way you did that got you fat to begin with and you should not expect to go back to eating that way after you take the weight off. I do not look at the wellness phase of the program as my license to go back to old eating habits. There isn't anything that I am thinking about ... oh hey I'm on wellness I can eat such and such. I'm not thinking that way. My plan is to continue to eat the things that I have been eating to lose weight and maybe add things like a few grains and a little more fruit in the mix. Although because of an issue with gluten intolerance, I am not planning on going back to eating wheat-based products so no pasta, breads, cookies, cakes, crackers, etc. I will occasionally have some nonwheat-based breads and crackers but those will be limited. I do not intend on eating rice, white potatoes, or nonwheat-based pastas either. Those have entirely too many carbs for me. I need to keep my daily carb allowance around 50 per day to keep the weight off and 40 carbs for a serving of quinoa pasta is not going to help me do that. Meat, vegetables, and fruit will continue to be the mainstay of my diet. I am feeling so good and love being a smaller size. I also plan on exercising more and hope to start tennis soon. I am enjoying exercising in the pool with swimming laps and other water exercises. I feel I'm toning up slightly and will start incorporating other methods of exercise as the summer goes along.

Two Weeks and Maintaining

Two weeks on short-term maintenance and I've been doing okay. I did gain 2 pounds the first week for some reason but this week lost one that I gained. According to the plan, I can go up to 1000 calories a day. I add another 100 calories of protein and add a second serving of starch. I am not doing wheat because I am suspicious I have a gluten intolerance so I got some rice bread and I am also trying some tapioca bread. I didn't intend on going on processed foods but it is nice to have something else to eat besides meat and vegetables. About every other day for breakfast I have been having a slice of the bread toasted with a little smear of peanut butter. I did meet some friends out for dinner the other night and ordered steak with shrimp. I had a side salad for my vegetable and baked potato for my starch. I only ate maybe 1/4 of the potato (no butter or sour cream) and took such small nibbles out of the potato because it was hard to get used to eating it. I felt like I was cheating. I think the hardest thing about adding foods back in is getting used to not feeling like you are cheating. I am trying to keep a good food diary this week because I have gotten away from it the last couple of weeks this way if my weight is up for any reason, the counselor can see what I have been eating. I don't think I'm going to gain though unless I totally blow it. I have been swimming about 3 days a week for exercise and it has been a fun way to do something with Steven. He gets me moving when we are in the pool because he wants to race and I pull him around while he holds on to the noodle. The water provides good resistance and I definitely feel it in my muscles.

THANK YOU MEDI-WEIGHTLOSS! 40 Pounds Gone

Okay my friends. Here they are -- my before and after side by side. I am down 40 pounds and working on maintenance. I'm so glad that I have the professionals at Medi to guide me through this. I am so afraid of eating more food at this point. I am adding back in calories slowly and tapering off of medication. I will go back to the clinic weekly for monitoring for the next 4 weeks. I know I will be as committed to keeping this weight off as I was in losing this weight. Stay tuned for how this is going. I want to thank you all again for following me through this process for the last 6 months. I also want to thank my friends and family for all their support and encouragement. Stan and the kids have been great as have my mom and dad and brother and sister-in-law. I am so lucky to have a loving, understanding family. They loved me through everything and I am blessed.

The Melancholy Baby and the Prom Queen

I was a big melancholy baby Saturday. My daughter went to her first prom and is seeming so grown up. She looked beautiful in her dress, with the hair curled. My little tom boy all dressed up with heels and everything. I helped her with some of the preparations including sitting at the salon while she had her hair done. We took pictures outside and when she finally left with her boyfriend to go off to his house for pictures, I was so deep in a blue state of mind. I swallowed all my feelings along with the need to swallow some chocolate. I had laughed earlier at a friend who posted on facebook that after helping her duaghter with all the preparations for prom, she was going to need a few cocktails. I thought how bad can it be. Well, I did finally understand where she was coming from. After Carrie and Camil left, I took off to the grocery store to pick up groceries for the week as well as the things for our son's 12th birthday party on Sunday. I walked around the store in a daze and all I could think about was that I needed chocolate. I was doing pretty good until the end and went back and grabbed a couple of large bags of M&Ms (for the party, of course) and checked out. When I got to the car, I grabbed a bag of the M&Ms (peanut butter kind) and ripped them open and starting popping them like pills on the way home from the store. "Medicating" myself with food is the old me. I could not control the emotions I was feeling and thus couldn't control my hand to mouth action. I did stop myself but not until the damage was done and it was not the last time because I did dig into them a little bit later in the evening when I felt the wave of emotions coming over me as she was going to an after party and staying the night at a friends house. Thank goodness this happened as I am at goal and not in the midst of the acute phase of the program. I got right back on track Sunday morning and did not touch an M&M or any of the fudge-iced brownie cake that I got for Steven's birthday cake (okay, aside from the one little lick of icing off my finger after I served the cake to the boys). So the new me on a diet is back and atoning for the bad Saturday but it just really goes to show how food is tied to emotion and up until that point, I had dealt well with other emotions but was not prepared to deal with the one that I felt on Saturday. I will have to make sure I am prepared next time because I'm sure with the kids getting older, it is not going to be the last.

Short Term Maintenance Begins

My brother Jeff has been a great sounding board for me throughout the years and with all my false starts and stops at weight loss he hung in their with me listened to me, offered advice and never chastised me. He always was honest with me about my downfalls whenever I was on a diet. And on starting Medi in December, he gave me some great advice on how to be successful and told me not to be ashamed because I needed medication to help lose the weight. "They have medication to help people stop smoking and to stop drinking" he said. "Why not take medication to help you lose weight if it is available."

So now for the news of the week:

My counselor today at my weigh-in appointment told me to wear something spiffy next week because they are going to take my AFTER picture. I can't tell you how awesome that feels. As I am typing this I am actually welling up with tears because finally after 12 years I have attained a weight loss goal. This is a very emotional for me. I have lost 39 pounds since December 29, 2009, almost 5 months ago. Today, Yancy told me to make sure I get my 500 calories of protein a day and add a fruit serving along with my 2 servings of vegetables. I now will slowly start adding food back into my diet until I get to my calorie requirements for maintenance. She said I can expect to still lose while I am making this transition. This will be fine with me. I actually would love to lose about 5 more so I can use 135-140 as my range. I thank all of you for following this blog and supporting me throughout this process. The blog and talking about it was part of my strategy for being successful.

You have to see this news item. http://www.newscentralga.com/news/local/93626474.html It is about Medi-Weightloss Clinics. I echo the sentiments of the 2 patients featured in the item.

Being overweight is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a medical problem and can be treated with a medical program. It takes a team of doctors, nurses, dietitians and counselors along with the right support of medication and nutritional supplements. Just like any other medical problem. Because I have lost the weight, my health risks for diabetes and coronary disease are greatly reduced. If I had continued at the weight I was I could have ended up with diabetes especially since I was already a high risk factor being that I was gestational diabetic when I was pregnant with Steven. If I would have ended up with diabetes, I would have had to take medication and watch my diet and see doctors, nurses, and dietitians so I decided to use those resources for weight loss instead. I have the angel on my right shoulder to thank for my success. When the devil on my left shoulder would whisper in my ear to eat something not so good for me, I had the angel whispering in the other ear "that's not you." and "You are better than that." Self-talk was a big component. Being accountable was the other component. Knowing I would be going to the clinic visits, writing this blog and talking to my friends and family, kept me accountable for my actions. Another big factor I think is that I saw results quickly. I loved to see the results each week. It always spurred me on to maintaining myself 100% on the program each week. Now that I will be having my after picture taken, I am going to have the same commitment to maintenance as I did with the weight loss portion. This took me too long and I worked to hard to gain it all back.

Weigh In Tomorrow

I moved my weigh-in this week to Thursday. Tuesday was kind of hectic with work and other things so I changed the appointment. Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that according to my scale at home, my weight would have stayed the same as last week. I don't think 2 days will make a difference but I have pretty much made up my mind that after the weigh-in tomorrow, I will ask to go on maintenance. I am very happy to have lost 38 pounds and have gone from a size 12/14 to a size 6. My goal was to wear a smaller size and I have exceeded that expectation as I thought I would at best get to a 10 or at least an 8. My other goals besides the weight were also to get my BMI into the normal range and to get my waist under 32 inches (reference to Dr. Oz's book You on A Diet) and I have done both those things as well.

I am encouraged by a fellow Medi-Weightloss member who was on the Today show recently after losing 293 pounds. His name is Jerome and he is blogging at http://feelinglighter.wordpress.com/. He says that he would like to lose the last 7 eventually just to be able to say he literally lost 300 pounds so I know how he feels. I would like to lose the last 3 just to say I am 140 pounds on the nose. That would actually be a 41 pound weight loss since December 29. I know his and my weight loss needs were different than Jerome's but it doesn't matter that I had 40 to lose and he had 300 to lose. It is all relative to one's particular situation. My 40 pounds might as well have been 300 pounds. It was a real challenge for me and it took hard work and determination to lose it just as it did with Jerome. I can't tell you how impressed I am with his determination to lose the weight. Medi-Weightloss is the one that really works. I am sure that once I relax and go on maintenance that the last 3 pounds will come off within the next month anyway as my body adjusts to the changes and I increase my exercise a little bit. I have decided to re-join a gym. I enjoy the structured environment of an exercise class and really like elliptical machines as opposed to walking in the Florida heat that we have looming over us this time of year. I am not disciplined enough to do an exercise program here in the house by myself so I am going to check out a gym that maybe is about 5 minutes from the house. They just acquired another gym's membership that closed so maybe with the extra members some new classes and class times will be added. I'm sure they have Pilates and Yoga so I will be happy with that. I will be back tomorrow with another update.


Oh, and no special reason for the picture...just felt like including it. It is Carrie and I at the Chocolate Gala (Fundraiser for Alvin Dubin Alzheimer Resource Center) May 1, 2010

I am no longer afraid of my dryer. You know that Cheerios commercial where the 2 ladies are in the laundromat and the one loading stuff in the dryer asks the other for more quarters because she is trying to shrink her clothes in the dryer because she lost weight eating whole grains? I am putting clothes in the dryer that I was afraid to put in the dryer before because I didn't want them to shrink. I have a few things now that are a little too big for me that I am putting in the dryer hoping they will shrink just a little. I even threw in some of my new size things not worrying about if they shrink a little or not. Crazy thing to think about but since I spent so much of my life being heavy and bouncing up and down between 170 and 180 pounds, I never knew how things were going to fit and feel if I washed them and put them in the drier. I love being able to shop and look at a smaller size that I thought I would never see again and don't even remember being. I am a very happy camper despite my 0.2 pound weight gain this week. It was because I was retaining water. Thanks to the wonderful computerized scale at Medi, it told me that my water weight was up and my fat weight was actually down but because I was retaining water my net weight was actually up. Oh well...I did start what I call jog walking this week. That is where I warm up with a 10 minute walk and then for 10 minutes, I alternate walking and jogging between telephone poles. The last 10 minutes is power walking into my cool down. I have done that 3 times already this week. Also, according to Yancy, the counselor I met with at Medi this week, I have to drink more water. Since it is warmer out and I am exercising, I have to drink plenty of water to help relieve the water retention. So, we will see what happens on Tuesday.

Birthday Weekend and Chocolate

The four of us (Steven, Carrie, Me and Stan) posing together at my parent's house after the "chocolate gala"

Saturday was my birthday and I let loose a little on Saturday to celebrate. We went to a fundraiser for the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer's Resource Center of which Stan is on their board. It featured a buffet of hor's d'oeuvres, chocolate tasting, live and silent auction. The theme for the night was Pirates and Pearls. Unfortunately, I did not get my picture taken with the Captain Jack Sparrow look alike. I enjoyed a little chilled shrimp and bacon wrapped scallops and then headed for the chocolate. The chocolate purveyors were there sampling their chocolate creations for everyone to sample and then vote on their favorite. I did not take any of the cakes but I did try a forkful off Carrie's and Steven's pieces. There was one vendor Irresistible Confections with some chocolate candies and something they called "sipping chocolate" which was dark chocolate mixed with Cabernet wine. Oh my goodness, I was in heaven. It was so delicious. I poured some in one of the little sampling cups and brought it back to the table took my sip and then and passed it around to the family. I did of course have to try one more that I kept for myself. It was warm and decadent; almost like sipping hot fudge. Well that was it for the chocolate I had my fill and put all my plastic gold coins that we were given for voting into the basket for Irresistible Confections and, of course, they did win the award for the best chocolate of the night. The kids liked them so much they got Grampy to bid on a Chocolate Party for 2 offered by the same company during the live auction. Grampy won so the kids get their chocolate party. I of course got something for my birthday that Stan bought through the live auction also. It is a 10 karat white gold bracelet with 2 k diamonds. It is gorgeous. We also won somethings in the silent auction as well and all the money goes to a good cause.

Four months on Medi-Weightloss program and 38 pounds lost, I really enjoyed the way I felt in my dress and I did not feel guilty enjoying a little chocolate and wine. My strategy now is to go back on protein only for a couple of days and see what happens at my weigh-in on Tuesday. I'm not expecting anything big but I do not expect to have gained. The chocolate definitely kicked me out of ketosis and that is why I want to just do protein to get back into ketosis.

Hitting a Plateau Means Time to Sweat

Well, I was hoping for confetti and balloons to drop on me from the ceiling today because I was hoping to reach my goal at my weigh-in but actually I found out I hit a plateau. My net weight was only down 0.2 lbs but my water weight was up 1 pounds and my fat weight was down but overall it really means I did not change much again this week. Yancy, the Weightloss Specialist I met with today recommended more intense exercise and breaking a sweat. ARGHHH! Sweating is not my favorite thing to do. Being hot literally makes me nauseous and I have a little anxiety just at the thought of being warm because of my history of nausea with it., which is so crazy since I live in Florida where it is hot and humid 90% of the time (or at least it feels like it). If I want to look hot, I am going to have to endure getting hot and breaking a sweat. I will have to leave the dog at home and go for power walks. I also will go to the power yoga class on Saturday morning. Yoga is my most favorite form of exercise and doing certain repetitions of certain poses, you can get your heart rate up and break a sweat. I am hopeful to have the balloons and confetti next week.

Day 114 - Assessing Dr. Phil's New Weight Loss Solution

After mentioning Dr. Phil in my previous post, I happened to see this item on WebMd's website Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weightloss Solution It is a review of the Dr. Phil's new book. My assessment is "well, duh!" No really, after reading tons of weight loss books including Dr. Phil's first venture into weight loss, I really do not think there is any thing anybody else can teach me about weight loss. I think most people who are obese and overweight all can say the same thing. There is nothing we don't know. We know what puts the weight on and we know what it is going to take to take it off. It is just getting our minds ready to do it because it really is an issue of MIND OVER MATTER. I do not think I would have been successful with the Medi Weightloss plan had my mind not been in the right place. You really have to know that there is going to be sacrifice...great sacrifice to be successful and you really have to be ready for it. I knew if I was going to embark on another weight loss journey, i would have to be really ready mentally. I knew my favorite foods were going have to become no longer favorites because they were the things that helped me put the weight on and kept it on. Now that I am almost at goal, I do not even want to go back to eating the way I did before. I have already made up my mind that there are foods that are just going to have to stay off limits to me and avoid them totally and some foods will have to be eaten rarely. My main diet is going to continue to be low in carbohydrates and free of wheat/gluten products. Processed foods will also be kept to rare-to-none. I will mainly eat lean protein and low-glycemic vegetables and fruit. I find I no longer crave certain things and I'm just going to keep it that way. This week, I should reach my goal at Medi and I will be given the plan for maintenance and be able to slowly introduce some foods that have been off limits. I'm a little apprehensive coming off the Acute Phase of the program but I know with the guidance of the counselors I will be fine.

According to the WebMD article Dr. Phil's book outlines 7 steps to weight loss freedom. I am sharing them with you because they articulate the exact princples that I believe will lead to successful weight loss and maintenance.
1. Right Thinking: Get rid of self-defeating thought patterns, believe that you will succeed, and you will have mastered the first key necessary to overcoming your struggles with your weight.
2. Healing Feelings: Make choices that stop the cycle of emotional eating that has perpetuated your weight problem. Don't let stress, anxiety, or depression lead you to self-medicate with food. Change your emotional response to life's problems, and the unwanted eating behaviors that flow from it, and you can change. He instructs readers in how to identify the "payoff" you get from overeating and addressing those negative feelings -- getting emotional closure, so you stop self-defeating habits, says Dr. Phil.
3. A No-Fail Environment: You must program your environment in every possible way to avoid binge foods and reminders to eat.
4. Mastery Over Food and Impulse Eating: "Did you binge or overeat for one reason, such as a betrayal, a job loss, an illness, some personal tragedy, and you've kept on doing it as a matter of habit? Your pounds came on quickly, but the trouble is, they stayed because you are overeating habitually, whether you are hungry or not," writes Dr. Phil.
5. High-Response Cost, High-Yield Foods: This is Dr. Phil's way of saying, "eat high-fiber and other nutritious and filling foods - whole grains, lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried beans." It also implies eating foods that take time and effort to fix, require lots of chewing, and aren't fast food or other convenience foods.
6. Intentional Exercise: "Regular, intentional exercise is a big deal, a huge deal," writes Dr. Phil. "It unlocks the door to body control - a state of fitness in which your body is metabolically geared for losing weight and keeping it off, and is flowing with energy and vitality People who successfully manage their weight and stay fit exercise as a matter of habit."
7. Your Circle of Support: "Weight loss is not a do-it-yourself deal," he writes. "If you expect to lose weight and keep it off, you must build and nurture relationships that affirm and uplift you in life-changing ways. There is strength and power in support."

The most important of the above to me are Number 7 (Circle of Support). I had wonderful support at Medi and meeting one on one with the counselors provided the psychological support as well as the nutrition education necessary to be successful which also encompases number 4 and 5 (Mastery of Food and High Response Cost High Yield Foods). Numbers 1-3 are really up to the individual to take care of and get their mindset ready to tackle their weight loss issue.

While some people might dismiss Dr. Phil as a quack, etc. and this is not meant to be promotion for his book but rather it is confirmation for me that I did everything right and that all the books I have read in the past have actually contained advice that does work in getting the weight off had I been mentally ready to lose the weight.

Day 109 - Guerilla Weight Loss

Okay, I know this is a picture of a gorilla so it is a play on words. But after 15 weeks on Medi Weight Loss I am a thinner and getting a little giddy with the results. So this week, I lost 1 pound for a total of 37 pounds...3 pounds to go to goal..and I'm thinking to myself, what got me here? Well, I got to thinking about because a lovely lady that I recently met had wanted me to meet her daughter in hopes that I could be an inspiration to her as the daughter has a weight problem as well. In speaking to the mother, the weight issue of her daughter sounded all too familiar to me. The ups the downs, the not finding a program that really works, etc. So now that I am this wonderful weight loss expert because I have been so successful --- ha, ha, ... I thought about the tactics that I took to get me to this place. To finally conquer the enemy. I waged Guerrilla warfare on my weight. In looking up guerrilla on the Internet, Wikipedia defines it as such: Guerrilla warfare is irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army. So aside from the fact that every time I heard the words guerrilla warfare on the news, I imaged hundreds of gorillas fighting battles with guns, tanks, etc, I decided that the way I approached my weight loss was to do something "irregular" or at least "irregular" for me. Something out of the ordinary in terms of a plan for losing weight that I had not done before. The other thing was that I was going to outsmart my fat cells and my brain cells into losing this weight. So in a sense, I ambushed my own cells. I harassed the fat that was in my body as well as my own thoughts about losing weight. It was a 10-year war I was having with my own mind and my own body that I finally conquered. I thought there would never be a program that would help me. I tried and failed so many over the years, structured and unstructured, in meetings, and on my own. It was a long and tortuous road. So basically if I had a chance to speak to that lady's daughter this is what I would tell her. In my best Patton-like rhetoric.

Those fat cells have been with you for so long. They are resistant to everything you have tried. The more you try to starve them, they be after you for more. The more you give them, they will still want more. It is time that you put on your battle fatigues and tackle this war with everything you got.
1. Finally decide that you have had enough. Like Dr. Phil says, GET REAL with yourself. You are not going to spend another summer, holiday, etc. at the weight that you are currently. You are tired of running from the camera because you don't want the way you look immortalized in pictures. This is a talk you will have to have with yourself and you have to be really mentally ready to commit to a weight loss program 110%. This is no time for fooling around and dabbling and trying and see what happens. This is WAR.
2. Do not settle on a program that says to take the pounds off slowly. The reason why you are fat is because of your desire for instant gratification. Food provides instant gratification. So since we are of that mindset, we need instant gratification with weight loss or we will get discouraged and never follow the program through. Slow may be fine for somethings but not weight loss. I don't care what has been written or proven in science that long lasting weight loss has to be slow...get the weight off first and then deal with keeping it off.
3. Commit to the program. Whatever program you decide you are doing. Commit to it. Do not cheat, do not fudge, do not put off. Do it, do it now, and do it all the way. You are in it to win it.
4. The only way to lose weight is to eat less calories than what your body burns. You need to burn the fat by not adding fat in your diet and severely limiting carbs so you can burn the fat instead of the carbs in your body. I will add the caveat to always check with your doctor first or do this in a medically supervised setting. If you need to drop your calories down to 500-600/day and you need medication and supplemental support to do it, don't be afraid to ask for it. There are programs like Medi Weight Loss that provide these things or you can go to your doctor to be monitored on the medication. I was so afraid of "diet pills" because of their rebound weight gain effect that I didn't want to try it. But when I wanted to really do something and do it fast, I did my research about Medi and found that they covered all the bases to make sure that it would be safe and long-lasting weight loss. The dietitians are counselors that you meet with one on one to educate you and motivate you. You cannot do it alone. Also, You gotta shake it up. You can't keep doing the same things you have done for weight loss and expect different results...that is just INSANE. STOP THE INSANITY as another diet guru from the past had said.
5. Focus on what goes in your mouth first and then worry about the exercise. Almost every weight loss program will tell you to exercise to lose weight...BS! Yes it burns calories but ultimately, it is what you put in your mouth that puts weight on. If you restrict your fat, calories and carbs on a daily basis you will lose weight without exercise. I'm not saying become a couch potato by any means but at least in the beginning get your mind right about food first and the exercise will come into play later. Sugar and gluten-based products are not your friends. They are the worst, sinister enemies of your body. Cleanse your body of these vile products and you will not crave them as much and you will be successful. Light walking while you are losing is healthy and helpful but if you are restricting calories and carbs you can do your body more harm than good by exercising too vigorously in that you will burn the protein in your body rather than the fat. Find a diet that is right for you but one that is low carb. The ones I hear recommended by the doctors I work for are the Adkins diet and the low-glycemic diet. The Medi Weightloss diet is similar to both these diets because it requires you to eat 500 calories of lean protein a day and 2 servings of low-glycemic vegetables or 1 serving of low glycemic vegetable and 1 approved fruit serving. Again, check with your doctor before embarking on any weight loss plan.

Since I'm still losing and not in the maintenance phase yet it is hard for me to talk about maintaining but I am a little apprehensive about putting the weight back on now that my goal is close. I have the wonderful dietitians at Medi there to lay out my maintenance plan for me and like I followed the plan to lose the weight, I am committed to following the plan to maintain the weight. I feel and look the best I have in years and I am not going back to the "old me." Those old fat cells can just try to come after my new thinner cells and I will just take the old bazooka out and blow them to smithereens.

Day 101 - No, It's Not My Hair

I like how some people who have not seen me since I started Medi, look at me and know something is different and they immediately say something about my hair. For example, another mother from the neighborhood was out riding bikes with her daughter while I was outside with Bandit and she stopped to talk. After a few minutes she said, "I like your hair. The cut, and color really look nice." I beamed a smile ear to ear and said. "Buffy, I lost 32 pounds" She said, "I knew your face looked different." It happened yesterday again the dentist office. The hygienist was talking about my hair color, which I really have not changed drastically enough to notice and I just smiled and said no, I didn't do anything with my hair. She said "hmmm, well it looks different." I don't know why I didn't mention my weight to her but I figured she could tell because they took a digital picture of me six month ago I was there last and I knew that was up on the computer screen when I walked in the room. Even the girls at the desk when I checked out engaged me in a conversation that they don't usually do, "so what's been going on with you?" kind of sing-songy one said. I said "Oh, not much." and then went on to talk a little about Carrie and Steven. I felt kind of smug in a way but I really did not feel the need to jump right into, "well, I lost 35 pounds...blah blah..." If they could tell I lost the weight, why wouldn't they just ask? I think they were probably just being polite. They were of the mindset that you don't ask a person about their weight. I think I may have read something like that in Dear Abby. It is like you wouldn't say "Wow, you've packed on some pounds." So I guess saying that somebody lost a lot of weight is like saying "Wow, you were really fat before." It's kind of like asking a woman, "how far along are you" when they are not pregnant. That unfortunately happened to me years ago and was mortifying. But to that person's defense (besides that he was a senior citizen and a man), I was pudgy, and I was wearing a loose fitting top so it was understandable. That man just hadn't read that column in Dear Abby where she said you never say that to woman if you are not sure. Dear Abby said that you could ask them ask them what's new in their lives and wait for them to tell you if if they are pregnant. So I guess for weight loss the same could thing apply and maybe it depends on how well you know the person. it is a very interesting study in psychology. The polite thing to do is say that somebody looks great and then see what the response is. I had an acquaintance say to me last week, "You look different." I smiled broadly and the other friend who I was with who knew about the weight loss said "She lost a ton of weight" and almost simultaneously I beamed that I lost 34 pounds. The acquaintance said that she wasn't sure if it was me when she first saw me and she had to ask somebody who I was...While I took that as a compliment because I am so proud of myself with the weight loss, at the same time I thought to myself, Wow, I must have looked so bad before that now I look so different to some people so I pulled up my before picture taken at the Medi Weightloss Clinic and I definitely can see why people would say that. I mean my hair does look great (thanks to my friend Diane at Profiles), it just looks better on a thinner face. Now that I am officially 5 pounds away from goal since my weigh-in on Wednesday (I lost 1.5 pounds this week so now I am official 145 pounds)... I will share with you my before picture...

Okay now quickly go back to the picture at the beginning of this post and erase this image from your memory.

Day 92- I made Par ...

...on my dress size that is. Well in golf, the lower your score is the better. Another area where a lower number is good is in dress size. I am proud to say that I am now in single digits. I ventured out shopping the other day. With a trip to the "club" with my mom and dad for Easter dinner, I needed a dress to wear. While I was at "Dress Barn" (shopping in Cape Coral is really limited and we are hardly the fashion capital of the world), I saw 2 dressses I liked. One was good for Easter dinner and the other would be perfect for an event we have coming up in May. I picked a size 8 in the floral dress for Easter and tried it on and it fit nicely. Unfortuantely, the one I liked for the other event was not available in an 8 but they had a 6. I thought, well it may not fit now but it might in another month when have reached my goal of losing 40 pounds of which I have 5 more to go. I tried the size 6 on and it fit. It is just so awesome to pick out clothes in a smaller size. What was even nicer was when I asked the sales associate if she had a little jacket to wear over one of the dresses, she said well we only have larges left and that would be too big for you...I felt like a gong went off in my head....someone said a large would be too big for me. Having always looked at size L and XL clothes for so long it was nice to hear someone say it that size would be too big for me.

This week, I lost 1/2 pound. I think it was because I had a couple of days where I might have snacked a little too much (on approved items only) and my walking had petered out toward the end of the week because work got heavy. I think the other thing that was happening was my "time of the month." I am not upset and know that I will have a loss next week. Illeny the dietitian suggested that I stick strictly to the plan and eliminate the snacks and make sure I get my walking in. She was very encouraging and we had a great conversation. I expressed a little concern about what happens after I reach goal and that I am a little apprehensive about reaching goal and getting to maintenance. I am afraid that once I'm off the medication, shots, etc. that I will go to bed one night and wake up and all the fat will be back. She said the only way that will happen is if I put the food in my mouth. She broke down the steps after I go on maintenance and wrote it down on a post-it note for me to take and I felt a little better. I will be fine. I can't go back to that old size...I like my new dresses to much to not have them fit any more.

Day 85 - Happiness and Satisfaction

Okay, it is Tuesday and time for another blog post about my weight...Are you guys getting bored of these yet. I'm not bored of them I'm just trying to figure out what to make this week's post about. I am happy that I am almost to goal and happy that Yancy, the dietitian I met with today told me I needed to get smaller clothes...I am happy that I have all the barriers to being a healthy weight licked....so I guess the theme for this week post is being happy. I'm just so doggone happy! In speaking with my mom today, who knows me all to well, told me today that I finally have the right mind set this time. And that really is all it takes is having the right mind set. Maybe that is why I am so happy. Because I realize that I can tackle a major challenge and be victorious. I think really the only time I tackled this sort of challenge with this much satisfaction at the end is getting Bachelors degree. I was never a kid who liked school. I was there just for the social aspect of it ever since I was a little kid. I liked seeing my friends and looked forward to recess and between classes to be able to socialize with them. In elementary school my best friend who lived on the corner and I liked to be dropped off a few blocks before school so that we could walk to school with our friends who lived closer to the school. In middle school, I loved when it was time to change classes so I would have a few minutes to chat with a friend or flirt with a boy. In high school, there was lunch, and between classes at the lockers gossiping and flirting. I just used to love to hear that bell ring because it meant it was time for Cindy to socialize. It was almost the same in college. I loved to socialize then too but I did get a little more serious about my studies and worked hard. Once I got close to getting my AA degree from the community college, I had decided I wanted to go on to get a BA. So I worked hard for that too. To go from a person who hated school to a person with a college degree it was a push for me and every little victory (passing an exam, finishing a paper, or getting an A in a class) was filled with so much satisfaction and spurred me on to the next goal. I hate that I had to get to 181 pounds and have to work hard at losing it to feel that satisfaction again but I guess that is what happens in life. So where am I this week...after 12 weeks, I lost another 2 pounds this week for a total of 34 pounds. Six more pounds to go. The success this week is compounded because it was actually 2 pounds of fat. They can tell that by that magical computer scale that I stand on. It gives what percentage of your weight is fat, water, etc. My fat lb number was down the 2 pounds. My total fat weight is down 30 pounds. When I started my fat mass weight 79.2 pounds and today it is 49.5 pounds. I'm so close to goal and I am so ready to go on maintenance --- mainly because I'm tired of paying them every week now, nah I'm just ready to start living my life as a normal, THIN, person. Well, the money spent on the program can now start going to a new wardrobe....so...shopping will make me happy and therefore weight loss makes me happy and satisfied. Have a happy day.

I think the walking did it. I finally engaged in the "E" word regularly and it really helped with the weight loss this week I believe. It actually was not too painful and the weather has been perfect. With the help of our dog Bandit and my new Droid phone, which now carries an app so I can listen to music and/or my favorite radio talk show, I was able to walk in 30-40 minutes sessions over the weekend. So, how did I do today with my weigh-in....well, I am down another 2.5 pounds for a total of 32 pounds. I put that in big font because I broke another 10 pound barrier. It still feels so good to see the scale move. The nurse also measured my waist today and it is down ----here's another big font -- 5 inches. I am starting week 12 and still have the momentum but Yancy, the dietitian and I talked about cravings as I am getting chocolate cravings and did indulge slightly with chocolate covered almonds this past weekend. I monitored my intake and controlled myself and I did do the exercise to help offset any extra calories or carbs. Yancy gave me a tip to get some Swiss Miss Diet Hot Chocolate. It is only 25 calories and 4 carbs and I can add a little Cool Whip Free. It is not something I will make a habit of because it defeats the purpose of getting off sweets but once in a while when those female monthly cravings hit, it is a very safe alternative to indulging in any other kind of chocolate and blowing what I got going. (ha, I'm a poet and I don't know it).

The psychological aspect of what is going on right now is that even my pajamas are to big for me. Weird thing to thing about but I'm going to have to get some PJs in a smaller size. It is just amazing to me to get dressed and have my clothes hanging on me. I'm still dealing with that. That...and the fact that I don't think my weight has been below 150 since before I got pregnant with Carrie (17 or so years ago). WOW. That just blows my mind. So, I'm not clothes shopping yet seriously yet but I'm already thinking about an Easter dress and a dress for an annual fund raiser we go to, which is on May 1 (uh huh, that's my birthday). Looking forward getting off the Acute Weight Loss phase and on to the Short-Term Maintenance phase of the program, which will hopefully be around the 1st or 2nd week of April as I have 8 pounds to go now!

Day 72 - Stopped Rearranging Chairs on the Titanic

Today, I've done something I never thought I would do. I had my acrylic nails taken off. This seemingly small thing has actually very deep psychological roots oddly enough. When I think back as to why I had the nails put on in the first place it was because I perceived myself as being unfinished. I always admired people with nice nails and always thought they looked so put together. So because I had difficulties maintaining my own nails, I sought out getting acrylic nails and have had them on for approximately 8 years or so. I think in my mind, that having perfect nails meant I was put together and paid attention to detail about my appearance but I was ignoring the biggest part of my appearance. My weight. I was not dealing serious enough about my weight. So, I realize now, that was kind of like rearranging chairs on the Titanic. Doing little things but not really dealing with the big problem. I had come to that realization prior to my starting Medi Weightloss when I would sit at the nail salon and watch other women getting their nails done. There were women in the salon that were my size and larger. I thought to myself. Look at them, they are so worried about their appearance that they are getting their nails done but why? Why, when their bodies are so big are they worrying about such a little detail...well, I turned that mirror back on myself rather quickly. I realized I was doing it for the same reasons they were. They couldn't control their weight so they were, like me, making themselves feel better by attending to their nails. So, now that I've lost 30 pounds and I'm feeling good about myself, I can stop rearranging the chairs. I have tackled the bigger problem. I think I would appreciate the natural nail look a lot more now. So my weigh-in was yesterday and I was down another 1.3 pounds for a total weight loss of 29.5.

To see Day 70 post - click here

Day 70 - Post Jersey Boys Euphoria

This is mom and I in the theater before the show. It was awesome!!!! The singing, the music, the dancing, everyting was fabulous. Great story of the rise and fall of the Four Seasons all set to their own music. I didn't get a full shot of me but I can see how my face has thinned out a lot from 70 days ago. I did find something to wear at Belk. iIt is the white tank and cardigan set with a pair of charcol gray pants. The top is a medium and the pants are a 10. Looking forward to getting down to a single digit size again. Four more weeks and I should be there.

The show started at 6:30 so mom and I went out to eat at about 4 so it was really a late lunch early dinner. We went to a restaurant called Cru and they were only serving lunch as they closed at 5 on Sundays. Since the weather was nice, we dined al fresco. The menu was very limited but I had no problem finding food that fits my program. I had 3 broiled scallos topped with raw Ahi tuna. I asked them to leave off any glaze or sauce. The scallops were sweet and tender and the Ahi (which I love) was mild and did't over power the scallops. I did "cheat" a little and had a glass of Chardonay to go with it. Weigh-in is tomorrow so I'm anxious to see where I am and hoping my scale at home is within 1 pound of the one at the clinic which it has been all along.

Day 69 - First Goal Achieved

Today is the day I set for my self to get to 150 pounds. It is the day I chose because I am going to see the show Jersey Boys tonight with my mom. If you remember from my first post from December I got the ticket as a Christmas gift and my goal was to lose the weight and wear a really cute outfit in a smaller size to the show. Actually only 2/3 of the goal is achieved. I have lost the weight, I am in a smaller size, but I don't have the cute outfit. Obviously, everything in my closet is too big (I stood in there yesterday trying everything on and I have no pants that fit and none of the tops work for a cool evening). I went shopping yesterday, when I really felt like shopping for clothes, and could not find anything that I liked. I don't know what is about the style this season but the clothes are all hideous colors and patterns that I would never wear. I would have thought I could find something but what I did like was either too casual, too dressy, or too business-like. So what am I doing? Well, I'm running up to another store this morning to find a black pair of slacks to wear with an okay sweater that I have. I don't think I wore the sweater much because it is off white and it did not hide my muffin top. Why I bought it I don't know but at least it is an option for tonight. Maybe I'll see something else I want to wear tonight when I am getting the black pants. The down side of losing weight (if there could be one) is wardrobe in the transition. You don't want to spend money buying clothes as you are losing but at the same time you want to look half way descent. A good problem to have, perhaps, because it is short-lived. I will hopefully post a first goal picture when I take one tonight with my Mom. Can't wait for the show. I'm already singing all the songs it is going to be so much fun.

Day 64 - Jersey Boys on the horizon.

Okay so here I am starting week 10...Lots of good things going on, weight is coming off and I had a good weigh-in today. I am within 2.8 pounds of my first goal weight, which was 150 pounds. I lost 2.4 pounds this week and my total weight loss is 28.2 pounds. Sunday, March 7 is just around the corner and that is when I am going to the show the Jersey Boys with my mom at the performing arts hall. Mom and dad got me the ticket for Christmas...please reference my before picture in my sidebar. That is what I looked like on Christmas and my goal was to get to 150 by March 7....I don't weigh in again until Tuesday, March 9 but I'm positive by then I should have shed the 2.8 pounds, meaning that I made my first goal! That makes me feel really good, especially after setting goals and failing to meet them so many times in the past. I have never been more committed than I am now and I am so glad that I have the support of Medi Weightloss clinic between the biological support of the shots, supplements, and medication and the one-on-one counseling support every week, I have been so happy.

I also feel really good when I assess the statistics. One great thing about Medi Weightloss is that they give you more to look at when you are losing than just your weight. There are other measurements such as Fat Mass, Fat mass percentage, body water weight, and BMI that they measure. I am just as equally amazed at my progress in those areas as well. For example, When I first started Medi on December 29, 2009, my fat mass was 72.5 pounds. Today, my fat mass measured at 54.0 pounds. That is a decrease in 18.5 pounds. The total Fat % went from 40.1 to 35.3% and my BMI went from 30.1 (lower limit of normal for the obese range agghhh) and it is now 25.1, which is just slightly above the upper limit of normal for the normal weight range. They also measure waist circumference and my waist measurement on signing up at Medi...was 38 inches (ughh, embarrassing) now it is 34. I lost 4 inches off my waist and my loose clothing is a testament to that. I am not usually a statistics kind of person but it is fun to see the changes in terms of numbers and really helps keep things in perspective when I see the progress I am making besides the number on the scale. I am really looking forward to going to the show on Sunday. The reviews have been in the paper and I am even more psyched about how good it is going to be. I am also looking forward already to my weigh-in on Tuesday. My final goal is 140 pounds and that is within reach within the next month.

Thanks again for all your support and for following this journey with me. Have a happy week!

Day 57 - Remember to Always "Be Prepared"

What I learned this week...is to be like the famous Scout's motto BE PREPARED. And what is that other saying, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." While the week started out well, by the weekend I guess I had planned to fail because I did not prepare for the weekend as far as getting my 2nd shot at the clinic and having food for me to eat in the house. I had not gone grocery shopping so the variety that I usually have was not here and I did not go to the Medi Weightloss Clinic for my 2nd injection for the week and consequently did not get to replenish my supply of the protein shake or protein bars. I use those to mix up my meals a little bit and they are great when I'm busy and on the go don't have time to make a meal. So on Saturday, I was craving things and was wanting to graze and pick because I did not have anything to make a meal with other than chicken breast and who wants a chicken breast for breakfast...yuck. I nibbled on some pancakes that I made Stan and the kids and then nibbled on some pizza later in the day. Not really wanting to eat a whole piece but just kept breaking off pieces of the crust, which may have amounted to a piece in the end. If I would have had my foods, I would not have been even tempted to nibble on anything else. Anyway, bottom line is that I did lose ... it was only 1/2 pound and I guess I should be glad about that. It could have gone up a pound I guess. So in my discussion with Ileney the dietitian today, she said that after 2 months on the plan it is natural to get a little burnt out and not having my supplies in the house made it a lot more difficult for me to cope. Ileney made a plan for me for this week to only eat the 500 calories protein for 3 days to kind of kick start me back on the path to have a bigger drop in my weight next week. Since I am so close to my first goal (30 pounds) that it would be good if I can finally get there and that will motivate me to get to the ultimate goal (40 pounds). She also wants me to exercise a little bit. There's that darn E word again. It keeps haunting me...I just can't get motivated to do anything. Although, I did walk the dog a little bit longer than just down the street and back yesterday...so I will do that again today. I will do what Ileney recommended and be back next week with another progress update.

Day 50 - Weight Loss Benefit --- Smaller Clothes

I went up to Belk last night to find an outfit to wear to a luncheon. It was fun to pass up the size 12s and large/x-large clothes. It is nice to be the opposite of the cartoon on the left. I knew based on my current clothes fitting looser that I could go down a size. I picked out some size 10 slacks and medium tops and took them into the dressing room. I would like to say I was surprised that they fit but I wasn't. There was no sucking it in and praying to the clothes gods "please let it fit, please let it fit, please let it fit." There was no exhaling after zipping it up and then to look in the mirror and feel like I am looking like Violet, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. What you see in the mirror in the dressing room is important and I can definitely say, I had a better image of myself after trying on those clothes than I have in a long time. So while I did not leave the store with anything tangible, I did leave the store satisfied in the fact that I am now a size smaller than I was 7 weeks ago.

Today was weigh-in day at the Medi Weightloss Clinic. I am happy to say that I lost 2.2 pounds this week for a total loss of 25.8 pounds. Darlene, the dietitian I met with today was happy with my progress and told me that the weight is just melting off of me. I should just keep doing what I have been doing. So, next week...my prediction will be another 2 pounds. Thanks for the support. I appreciate you good wishes.

Day 43 - Scale Still Going in Right Direction.

It wasn't a big loss this week but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be based on how I felt this week but it was a loss anyway and the scale is still moving in the right direction. There are a couple of reasons for the slow down this week and I have it figured out so I'm hoping for a 3 pound weight loss next week. So what was the result today, 1 pound. Total loss 23 pounds. Nothing to sneeze at for sure. At this point, I am averaging almost 4 pounds a week and I think that is very reasonable. The first thing I think I did wrong was not getting the vitamin B injection at last week's visit. The week before that sucker burned when the nurse gave it to me and I did not like it at all. It had burned before but it was particularly bad that day. So I decided not to get it the next week as it is optional (as with all the medications, shots and supplements) but the vitamin B does cost $10 extra so I thought that I didn't like it because it burned and for an extra $10 maybe it is not worth the burn. I think I may have been wrong. It was not one day later that I started feeling like I was back to my old self on a diet. I was wanting to go rooting in the kitchen for chips, cookies, crackers. I had not felt that way since I started the program and I was mad and confused. I didn't attack the things I was craving but I think I did go over board with my allowed snacks, nuts and turkey pepperoni. In speaking with my brother over the weekend, he asked me, so what is the Vitamin B shot supposed to do for you and I read him the information out of the Medi literature that talks about what it does and he immediately keyed on the fact that it helps keep energy level up. He said that my energy level was low so my body was craving carbs to combat that. He's so smart for a baby brother...I love having him to talk to. The other thing that happened was I could have been PMS. Not to get too personal but after having the hysterectomy (I still have my ovaries) I don't get periods so I don't keep track of my cycles but because of that I don't know when I am cycling. The dietitian today said that my hormone levels could have played a role also. She said maybe that coupled with not having the B shot was a good possibility. And then she said the E word. Exercise. I did not exercise at all this week. I don't know why but I have to really push myself to get motivated to do any thing. It is not like I don't have opportunity. I have a dog, I can walk him for 30 minutes a couple times a week. I have a gym membership. I have the dreaded mini-trampoline that Stan keeps arguing with me about because it doesn't need to be cluttering up "his" garage but I won't get rid of it because I will use it....eventually. The other bad thing that happened was on Sunday, Superbowl Sunday. I was actually taking Steven to Naples for his baseball tournament and knew I was going to be there all day. I planned for the day by bringing 2 Medi Weight-loss Protein Bars so that I could have one for lunch and one for a snack. I didn't know if we were going to be able to leave to get something to eat between games so I was prepared with my bars. I had planned on getting home in time to eat before going over to our neighbors' Super Bowl party. Well the first baseball game went in to extra innings ...fortunately Steven's team won and was going to be playing in the championship game but we had to wait for the 2nd game of the day to be over before that. So we actually did not start the Championship game until about 4:00....That means we left Naples at around 6:00 pm. We drove home 45 minutes got through the door in time to change clothes and freshen up slightly to run over to the Super Bowl Party. Once there and on pretty much an empty stomach, I was not too discriminate with what I ate. While I did not indulge in the breads, potato salad, macaroni salad, etc. I got too many carbs from the sauces in the cocktail wieners and sweet and sour meatballs that I tasted and the Sloppy Joe meat. When I figured it all out I think the total for my day was 41 carbs which is almost twice of the amount of carbs I had been eating a day. So while it was still a loss and I'm so used to it being 3 or 4 pounds a week, I am just feeling okay. But it does really make me want to be sure I do everything right this week. I am planning on exercising at least 3 times this week and see what happens next week. By the way, Steven's team came in 2nd place in the tournament in a game that ended 6-5. It was a good game and he is an amazing catcher. I'll be back later in the week for more updates.

Day 38 - Amazing Weight Loss Story - Jerome Biggars

Simply anyone who has been a diet no matter how much weight they have to loose feels it is a daunting task. Can you imagine wanting to loose 300 pounds? I read about this amazing gentleman, Jerome Biggars on the Medi Weightloss facebook page. His Blog "Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds", chronicles his journey. He lost the weight and looks great. I think the lesson behind his story is to just make up your mind and do it. Set goals whether it is 10 pounds, 30, pounds, or in my case 40 pounds, you should just do it for your health and well being. I read about Jerome's goals such as running a 10k and becoming a personal trainer and now that he is at goal, I know he will achieve them. While I have not openly set such physical goals (mine have been purely the banal "to look good" and "to be healthy") but in reality I do have some things I would like to do that I don't think I would have wanted to do with the extra 40 pounds on my body. I always thought playing tennis would be a fun. It would be a way of getting exercise and just having fun. Since I'm in Florida, are their any indoor tennis courts with air conditioning? While I know I won't do it competitively, I have been thinking about how to achieve that goal when I get to my goal weight. Another goal is I'd like to teach yoga. I would at least like to study yoga and be able to be more consistent with practicing on my own even if I don't teach.

When I started Medi, 40 pounds to me might as well have been 300 pounds, but seeing Jerome's story really put it in perspective for me. It was the way I felt whenever I heard about any body's tremendous weight loss story on TV. If they could lose 100 pounds, 200 pounds, why can I not get this stinking 30 to 40 pounds off. Those "big losers" had finally found their motivation and found what worked for them. I'm so glad I finally came to that point in my life and will be able to appreciate the hard work I am doing and stay motivated to keep it off. People who need to lose weight have a lot in common no matter how many pounds it is. My 40 pounds is just as important to me as Jerome's 300 pounds is to him. Find the right program for you, no matter how many you have to go through to find it and once you find it, stay focused.

My challenges this weekend will be another baseball tournament Saturday and Sunday and then of course a Super Bowl party. I already have planned what I'm taking to the tournament. I am not going to eat pickles and peanuts for my dinner if we are stuck at the field and cannot leave for dinner this time. I will share what I did with you when I see you back here on Tuesday for my weigh-in post.

Day 36 - I FEEL GOOD DADADADADA I KNEW THAT I WOULD DADADADADA

I'm channeling James Brown today after my weigh-in at Medi. because I feel good. So good that I was singing the James Brown song on my way home. Do you want to know why....wait for it...I lost 3.5 pounds this week for a total of 22 pounds! I broke through another 10 pounds. Now the needle on my scale is below 160. I never thought I would ever get it below 170 and now it is below 160. That is just messing with my mind. Not much else to share other than I was told by the dietitian Darlene to make sure when I exercise I don't burn more calories than the protein I'm taking in because then I will start burning muscle and that is not good. I need to keep it a steady mild intensity workout for now and get that 3rd day in this week. Other than that...I'm doing great right on target and averaged about 5 pounds a week. It is nice to hear from a couple of people including Darlene, that I have the right attitude. That is as important as the weight loss for me. I am not only changing my body but I am changing my attitude about food. My brother, Jeff, always told me that you should not live to eat but eat to live. Meaning that food is just sustenance. I think that is true. I have always enjoyed good food and trying out new recipes and going to eat at good restaurants and eating other peoples goo cooking. It was always an event or a celebration for me when I ate. My food now is so much more toned down than it ever was. I am eating just for survival. I have to eat the right amount of protein a day, the nonstarchy vegetables and the fruit to survive. I have learned to like them and look forward to them. The bible says gluttony is a sin...I was a sinner. I was a glutton when it came to food. I said WAS! Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying at some point in the future when I have maintained my new weight that I will never indulge in something decadent or savory but right now, I definitely do not seeing myself getting into the bad habits that got me to 180 pounds and kept me there. This is a mid-life crisis moment for me. I am changing my life and I plan on making it stick...at least until I am 80 and then I'm not going to give a crap anymore and just eat what the heck I want. (just kidding)...Have a great week everyone and thanks for following my progress. All your support means a lot to me.

Day 34 - Liking my Closet Again

My closet and I have become friends again. It is no longer the black hole that I keep throwing clothes and shoes into. It is not big enough to be an official walk-in closet so I call it a step-in closet and that is when it was not cluttered with stuff all over the floor. Then it was a reach-in closet. I would reach in grab what I needed in a hurry and get out and likewise with hanging stuff up, hurry up stick it on the rack and get out. I didn't really want to face what was in there. Clothes that no longer fit me or looked good on my 180 pound frame hung in that closet and I just couldn't face them. Well, we became friends again. I have been really feeling the weight loss and decided to clean it out the closet so I could step in and really take a look at what was in there. I decided to try on a few things that I haven't worn or haven't worn for a long time and see how they look on me. The very first thing I tried on was a gorgeous black designer top that my brother, Jeff and sister-in-law, Lauren got me for Christmas a few years ago. While it was a size 12, it was neither blousy nor stretchy and I was never able to zip it up comfortably and my bulges showed so obviously I couldn't wear it. When I tried it on yesterday, I didn't have to suck it in and have help zipping it. I zipped it up with ease and really liked how it looked. I almost didn't take it off. That was a really good feeling. I then proceeded to try on a couple of other things that I can move to the front of the closet and start wearing again. There are still a few things that will have to wait maybe another 10 pounds but for now, that is okay and since the are actually so old I may not want to be wearing them but the idea is that I will be able to again. I also got rid of a few things that I know I won't be wearing again...because they are TOO BIG. I dumped them quickly so I wouldn't keep them hanging around the closet because I do not intend to fit in them again. Anything that I have that is of really nice quality that I really like, I will have altered to fit my new frame but there won't be much of that. My self esteem had been so low due to the extra weight that I really didn't pay much attention to what I was buying to wear. I would just buy something just to have something different. It was blousy and oversized so I will not be tempted to keep those.

On a note about my progress, I did get in 2 exercise sessions this week and I have been doing some yoga stretching on my own at home. My first session, I went to the gym and did 35 minutes on the elliptical machine in interval mode (going up hills and then down flat again) then went again on Saturday and did 50 minutes on the elliptical but I did that one in the cross country mode and that was a workout. I had my heart rate up at a good rate and was really using my muscles when I was climbing the steep hills. I am planning on going to the gym again tomorrow thus getting my third day in for the week (my weeks now start on Tuesday since I started Medi). I plan on at least doing 3 days of exercising next week and increasing the time by 10 minutes and hopefully adding a 4th day. The next week, I will start adding weight lifting to start toning.

Tuesday is weigh-in day and I am hopeful for a very good result. See you back here then.

Day 32 - Little Triumphs

Just had to take a picture to see my results from the camera's point of view. I should have held my stomach in a little more but in 22 more pounds, I shouldn't have to worry about that. The thing I am most concerned about is my face and neck. My face does not look as bloated has it had 18 pounds ago. I am so thrilled to be losing and I did step on the home scale this morning and I think I am actually at 20 pounds now but I will wait for the official weigh-in on Tuesday. The thing is it has been 4-1/2 weeks and the eating habits and the resolve to lose weight is sticking. We celebrated another birthday at my Thursday night card group and my dear friend Carole brought a red velvet cake that she baked for our friend Sue. Oh my goodness it looked so delicious. Well the old me on a diet would have said "oh just one little piece and then I'll be good tomorrow." But the new me said (to myself) "well some day I may be able to have a taste if I want but not while I'm trying to lose weight." The old me on a diet is practically history but I like celebrating my little triumphs. For three weeks in row my weekly group celebrated birthdays and I was not tempted one iota to break the program and eat cake. Last night too I even resisted the urge to eat the little crunchies in the bottom of the fried chicken box. I picked one piece up and I said to myself "that's the old me." Our hostess last night said her husband was doing Medi Weightloss. She wanted me to give him some tips for being successful because he has been on it for 7 months (actually on and off it for 7 months). He claims he lost 30 pounds but he is a big guy and he did eat a piece of the cake. I don't understand spending all the money for a weight loss program and not following what they are telling you. Another friend told me about some really low carb ice cream bars that I could probably have and I just told my friends, I am paying big bucks for this program so I am eating only what they tell me to eat. For any of you on a diet also, FOCUS is important. Stay focused on your goal and you can do it.