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.

Day 29 - Four Week Mark

Had my weekly weigh-in after a month on the Medi Weightloss program. The amount of weight I lost this week is not as big has it was in the previous 3 weeks and I expected that somewhat. I knew eventually a slow down was coming and maybe even a plateau after my body got used to the amount of food I was eating and that is why exercise will come in to play now. The weight loss for the week was only 1.1 pounds but I lost a total of 18.5 in 4 weeks.

So this week, my goal is to exercise 30 minutes 3-4 days a week and stick to the program like glue. While meeting with the dietitian today, I was lectured about getting enough protein. Apparently, when she reviewed my daily food log, I was below 500 calories on a majority of the days. I got into a little fear of over eating since I was adding back in vegetables and fruit that I was undercutting my protein portions. The other lecture I got was about drinking enough fluids. Any noncaloric, nonsugary fluid counts just so long as the at least half of it is water. I did get a way from drinking a lot of fluids. That tends to happen when I get busy and I will just remember to keep a bottle of water with me especially when I am in the office working and remember to sip frequently.

Weightloss on the Road
We went away over the weekend for Steven's baseball tournament and while I did not eat off the program per se, I was a little off schedule and away from my usual foods at home. Dinner one night at the ball field consisted of a pickle, peanuts and some turkey pepperoni. While all are allowed on the program, I am not allowed to eat more than 6 small nuts 3 times a week and I know I ate more than that and then I had some more nuts on Sunday. The other bad thing I did was to pick off the cheese and pepperoni of a slice of pizza during the "back at the hotel" pizza party and had a glass of wine while I sat and talked with the other parents. All in all though, I controlled myself and made good choices at the restaurants which consisted of Cracker Barrel for Breakfast, Bahama Breeze and Olive Garden. The Cracker Barrel and Olive Garden would have normally been a carb free for all for me but after almost 4 weeks of being on the program I feel my brain is programmed well enough and it helped me stay on track. I had eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast, a chicken skewer with roasted veggies for lunch and the next day at lunch at the Olive Garden, I had grilled chicken with asparagus and broccoli and told the waitress to put the sauce on the side. It was a sticky sweet apricot glaze. I did taste a little but at least my chicken was not soaking in it. The good news for the trip was that Steven's team won the championship in their division.

Day 25 - Good Choices and Portion Control

So today I was reflecting on my success so far with the program. What have changes have I made be on the right track and staying on target so far almost 4 weeks in. I would say that following the program's guidelines for good choices and portion control. For portion control, I took a picture of some of my tools that I use. The scale of course is to weigh my protein. I am to have 500 calories of protein in a day. Even though I pretty much know for example, what a 4 ounce piece of chicken should look like, I still weigh it to make sure. My total calorie count per day is around 600-700 and 500 of that is the protein. Sometimes I actually have a hard time getting up to the 500 calories of protein. So the weighing is not so much so that I don't get too much it is that I make sure I get enough. The measuring spoon measures my condiments. I am not fudging with these items either. The program allows me Miracle Whip Free, which I normally just use to mix in my tuna or chicken salad. I measure it each time. No guessing, no mistakes, no messing up and no guilt. The other thing I measure each and every time is my CoffeeMate sugar free liquid creamer. Other condiments are allowed such as mustard, Butter Buds, lemon juice, Tabasco, dry spices, salt and pepper, so basically nothing with sugar in it. So my beloved ketchup is out. The chopper...not as fancy or as new as the "As Seen On TV" Slap-Chop but it is an old Pampered Chef one that I think is old as Carrie, my 16-year-old. Anyway, I use it to chop up the onions, celery and pickle for the tuna and chicken salads as well as chopping the tuna and chicken into finer pieces (which makes it look like more). I forgot to put my measuring cups in the picture but I do measure my veggies. I can eat 1 cup a day of veggies and a cup of fruit or 2 cups of veggies and no fruit. I usually opt to alternate the days I eat fruit.

The picture on the right, is a picture of my food staples. A few posts back, I mentioned Dr. Oz's book You on a Diet. In that book he describes that to be successful, eat the sames things every day. You can mix them up and alternate but basically eat the same things. The reasoning behind it is that you know what you are going to have, there are not a lot of choices to trip you up and you already know the calorie and carb content of each item so it is easy to keep track. This thinking falls right in line with that of the Medi Weight loss program. My problem in the past was that I hated keeping track of what I ate and researching all of the food counts, fat, carbs, calories, fiber, whatever....with the program, I don't have to look anything up. I know that 1 ounce of very lean protein like skinless chicken breast, tuna, shellfish, white fish filet, and 2 egg whites are 35 calories per once. Regular lean protein sources are 55 calories per ounce, and they include dark meat chicken (no skin), Pork, Salmon, etc. Medium fat proteins like ground beef, prime rib, ground turkey are 75 calories per ounce. The Perdue chicken breast package is my favorite choice for chicken right now. Those are the individually wrapped frozen 1/2 breast portions. Normally they weight 3-4 ounces and cook up relatively quickly. The turkey sausage has really grown on me. I normally have 2 patties for breakfast with 1 egg. I have also cut them up to add to an egg white omelet with some peppers. As far as vegetables go the nonstarchy vegetables, 1 cup of raw vegetables or 1/2 cup cooked, are 25 calories and 5 carbs along with 2 grams of protein. They include things like Asparagus, Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery, Zucchini, peppers etc. I have learned to love celery. I eat it in place of crackers or chips with my tuna or chicken salad. I buy a big bag of frozen broccoli florets throw them in the microwave to have with my chicken, steak or fish. The frozen peppers are great for also throwing into the egg white omelet or for having with the chicken or fish. The little green apple in the picture is my fruit serving. Fruit is 15 grams of carbs and 60 calories. I pretty much have just stuck with little green apples. Occasionally, I will have a salad with my meal and my choice for convenience is the bagged salad as seen in the picture. Although I can use a dressing that has only 30 calories, 2 grams of fat and 2 carbs (do you know how hard that is to find) I choose to use just rice vinegar. It is not as tart as other vinegars so I don't need to add the fat from adding oil to the vinegar. Snacks: I am allowed to snack on the program. In the picture you will also see almonds (just 6 almonds 3 times a week). Other snacks can include Lite and Fit Sugar Control and Carb Control yogurt, Jello, dill pickles, Laughing Cow cheese, turkey pepperoni, which so far, I have not wanted to get used to snacking so I have avoided all those things. Lastly is the Powerade Zero in the picture. Because the diet is so restricted, the Powerade provides electrolytes that water does not and because it has no calories or carbs it is a good choice according to the program. They recommend drinking 64-128 ounces of non-caloric fluds every day. So those basically are my good choices and portion control strategies for this program. I'm looking forward to a good weigh-in on Tuesday and hope to be back soon with more good news. Thanks for following me.

Day 22 - Have a Nice Day

This symbol is how I am feeling today. Anybody can say to me "have a nice day." I have been smiling as big as my round yellow friend here. Just had my third week visit to the Medi Weightloss clinic and my smile is ear to ear. After the weigh-in i lost another 3.6 pounds for a total weight loss of 17.4 pounds in 3 weeks. The dietitian I met with today, Illeny said I am right on track where I am supposed to be. I have never had this much success with any other program I have been on. Usually I get to this point and the scale either never budged or went up. This is a real testament to the success of the program coupled with my resolve to stick to it for 3 whole weeks. I know I have the support of the supplements, vitamin shots, and medication but there is a lot going on with me psychologically also. Being successful and having a good weigh-in just gives me the determination to continue. I even asked them today to lower my goal. I am not going to stop at 150...I'm going to 140. That will put me in the good BMI range, even though I know the BMI is bogus per se but it is a good marker to go by and I think 140 is realistic for my height, weight and age and really does not put me too far from where I was before I started gain all this weight.

No new foods to add this week but I am going to add exercise in 3-4 days a week. I have my membership at the Wellness Center so I guess I better start using again before it runs out next month and I can decide if I will renew. I will start with just 30 minutes on the elliptical cross trainer and a little strength training to start building up some muscle. Now that my yoga instructor is back from her vacation in Europe, I will go to Yoga class tonight. Yoga always makes me feel good.

Well, that is my good news for the day and I will be back to post some things I have learned over the past couple of weeks that helps keep me on track.

Day 18 - Temptation Thwarted

Last night I hosted my friends for our weekly card making night. We have dinner and then clear the table for all of our card making paraphernalia. Well, I made chili, which I think I mentioned in a previous post that I love. The big news is that I did not make it with the usual huge bottle of ketchup (old family recipe) instead I used a can of crushed tomatoes, seasonings, etc.. When it came time to eat, I was able to portion out what I thought looked like my usual portion of protein and I picked out the beans (beans are not allowed on this phase of the diet) and ate my salad dressed with rice wine vinegar. I ignored the garlic bread that I served with the chili. That really wasn't bad. I had the taste of the chili without feeling guilty as that with the small salad I think constituted the protein and vegetable requirements for that meal and it was enough to make me satisfied without feeling deprived. We also celebrated one of our member's birthdays and another member brought the birthday cake...a Publix Bakery birthday cake with the butter cream icing and big luscious flowers. Chocolate cake with white icing....omg. Well, the devil on one shoulder wanted me to go back to my old way of thinking and say "oh, just one little piece won't hurt. I've been so good for 17 days." That's when the little angel on the other shoulder was saying "That's was the old you. That's not you any more." So, aside from one tiny little lick of frosting off my finger, I did not have any cake but boy that lick of frosting off my finger was good. Losing weight is such a battle within your emotions and thinking. My approach to temptation in the beginning of the diet was to tell myself, "that's why I look this way" and "that's why I have to be on this program." and now that I have lost weight and can feel the difference, I tell myself "that was the old me." I know the patterns and the habits that got me into trouble with my weight over the years and I have to be conscious of that and be able to have those self-talks with myself to keep my resolve that I will lose this weight and I know that will help in the future to keep it off.

Day 15 - Doing A Happy Dance

Just got back from the clinic for my weigh-in and counseling session. With adding the vegetables this week, which added some carbs back to my diet, weight loss was a little slower than the first week.

However, I am proud to report that I lost 5.8 pounds for a total weight loss of 13.8 pounds. I am thrilled because I broke my imagined 170 pound barrier that I have been unable to break for 4 or 5 years.

This week, I can add 1 cup of fruit a day. I was also given a list of snacks from the official list that I can have 3 times a week. I'm supposed to still be having 500 calories of lean protein along with the the 1 cup of vegetables a day that I added last week. Maintaining 20-25 carbs a day is the goal. I have to stay in ketosis so checking that every morning is key. If I add a fruit one day and it throws me out of ketosis when I check the next morning, then I know I have to cut the serving of that fruit back or cut it out entirely. Sticking like glue to the program works. I am following everything to the letter and obviously it is what I need to do. I'm hoping for another 5 pounds next week so I'm off to start another week.

Day 14 - Second Week In the Bag

I haven't been doing my daily posts because they are pretty much the same as far as what I am eating. The good news is that I have stuck with it 100% for an entire 2 weeks and I am excited about the weigh-in tomorrow. This is a lot better than a couple of the other programs I was on where I was dreading weigh-in because I was not sure if it would show a loss or not. I'm pretty sure I am down from last week as I can see a little difference in my face and how my clothes are fitting. I do not feel overstuffed or bloated. Stan and I went out to do a few errands and shopping and stopped at Macaroni Grill for a bite of a late lunch/early dinner and fortunately their menu was conducive to staying on my plan. Grilled shrimp skewers and roasted vegetables. The menu did say the shrimp was brushed with olive oil and as well as the veggies but on the plan this week, I am allowed 2 teaspoons of olive oil 3 times a week. The shrimp and veggies weren't overly dripping in anyting, The shrimp was dry with only a slight flavor of olive oil and the veggies, other than their own moistness were not slushing in oil so I felt confident I did not go over the 2 teaspoons. Three times a week the clinic wants you to have 6 almonds, peanuts or cashews , 2 teaspoons of olive oil or 1-1/2 tsp of regular salad dressing because your gallbladder needs fat to be healthy. Who knew. I do remember hearing about people who lost a lot of weight quicking going on to have gallbladder problems so their diet probably did not have enough healthy fat to sustain their gallbladder. So anyway...I will be back tomorrow with the big post on the weekly weigh-in.

Day 10 - URI On A Diet

9:24 p.m. - No real post for today. I have a cold hence the URI (upper respiratory tract infection) in the title of this post. My nose is running and my head is throbbing with sinus pressure. Getting work done but that is about it. Had to force myself to eat and didn't take one of the doses of the medication because my timing is all off and I didn't want to take it too close bedtime. I don't know if the lack of appetite is from the cold or if the medication kicked in has really taken effect and I'm just not hungry. I will see what happens tomorrow. Now that I can eat veggies, I should be able to get my nutrients to stay healthy. I only ate about 360 calories today because I skipped a meal. I didn't eat breakfast until 11:30 and then I was really busy with work and that ran in to everybody coming home so I really didn't think about eating until Stan and Steven left for practice. So I ate at 6:00 p.m. I hope the dietitians doesn't yell at me when I show her my journal on Tuesday.

• 11:30 a.m. - Egg White Omelete (5 egg whites) with Spinach and onions - 143 calories.
• 6:00 p.m. - Ground beef crumbles, salad and dressing - 220 Calories

Total for day - 363 Calories

Day 9 - Self Sabotage A Thing of the Past

5:56 p.m. Self sabotage...that is something that I have always done to myself with a diet. It is something that you don't think about but every little bite of something is a calorie and has the ability to put weight on or prevent weight loss. I believe now I have the motivation not to sabotage myself while on this program. I know how I had sabotaged myself in the past but don't know really the reason why. Maybe it was that I felt a need that needed to be fulfilled, maybe it was immediate gratification, maybe it was just a weak moment. Whatever it is, I engaged in it more than I care to admit. Every diet I ever tried, I managed to sabotage myself and then moan the fact that I had no weight loss or gained at weigh in time. I think that led to my always giving up on the diet. This time I'm not going to let that happen. This afternoon, I drove through the Mickey D's drive through with Steven after school. We don't do that often but we were crunched for time between school and baseball practice (because of my lack of preparation to have something at the house for him to eat before hand, bad mommy!) and the smell of fries filled the car but you know what, I didn't snitch a one. I was not even tempted. I was shocked at myself about that actually, pleasantly though. On previous diets, I would always snitch a few and think that it was okay because they weren't "my fries" I was just having a couple. That is when I didn't totally submit and order myself a meal along with the kids. Yeesh...guess I was never really that committed before to loosing weight then, was I? The other good thing was that Steven didn't finish his chicken sandwhich and I didn't even given it another look. I will confess to finishing my kids' food in the past. Yes, it is a bad habit a mother gets into when the kids are small and then it is hard to give it up but when I think about that those little portions that I "cleaned up" were a lot of extra calories. So is it any wonder how some mom's put on weight over the years and can't get it off. Now that I think about it, I have done a lot of things over the years to sabotage my weight loss efforts (if you could call them efforts) and that also helped packed the pounds on. This is where I think the Medi Weightloss program is helping me get through these times. Maybe I would be able to resist the fires or finishing the sandwich at first but I think I have would eventually succumb and eat if I didn't have the support of the medication and the supplements, along my resolve to be accountable either to the clinic or here in this blog. The clinic is teaching me how to eat and giving me the support while I work on changing my relationship with food so I don't continue to sabotage myself.

8:30 a.m. Hard boiled eggs (2) 140 calories.
12:30 p.m. Spinach salad with 3 oz of Shrimp and vinaigrette dressing 175 calories.
6:00 p.m. Chicken 4 ounces 140

Day 8 - First Week Results Are In

12:36 p.m. Drum roll please: First week results are in. I lost 8 pounds. I feel vindicated that sticking to the plan like glue worked and now I know I can stick to it for a second week. Fortunately, I can add in some nonstarchy, low glycemic vegetables. I never thought I would be saying that I'm excited to have salad. Okay, salad with low fat, low sugar dressing but salad. Still supposed to eat 500 calories of protein a week and a now I can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of vegetables with each meal. They gave me list of approved veggies. I call it rabbit food, which includes lettuce, cabbage, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, etc. I can expect to loose half of what I lost this week so 4 pounds... Week 2 here we go.

12:00 - Chicken salad (3 oz of Chicken) with Miracle Whip free and lettuce shreds, 6 peanuts. 162 calories.

Day 7 - Staying Strong

9:57 a.m. - I can't believe that I am on the 7th day and I have stuck with it. I can't say it was easy because there has been a gnawing hunger since day one that just kind of stays with you. I believe the medication takes the edge off slightly and that whatever works on the brain that tells you you are hungry but you don't have to eat is working. Whether that is psychological or chemically induced at this point, I really don't care. It is working! I am able to ignore the hunger signals and all the temptations around and that is a good thing and a big step forward for me. The program advises not to weight yourself except for once a week but I have to admit that I have snuck a few peaks at the scale just out of curiosity and even measured my waist but I will hold off on posting anything until the official weigh-in tomorrow at the clinic. I will say that I do feel different in the sense that being off sugar and starchy carbs has made me feel less bloated. Today, will be another test because Christmas break is over and it is back to the daily grind of school, baseball practice and my long weekend is over so I am back to the regular work schedule which was pretty much suspended because of the holidays since I started the program. I'm glad I was able to have that little bit of a head start while things were not so crazy and that will help me stay motivated through the crazy times. I have been typically a "stress eater" and I will employ different coping methods when I get stressed or harried. A regulated sleep schedule will also be implemented as sleep helps in the restorative process and also helps the appetite.

9:15 a.m. Hard boiled eggs (2) 140 calories

Day 6 - Me on a diet with Ghrelin and Leptin

10:00 a.m. Woke up this morning and had some coffee while reading the paper. In the USA section was an article featuring Dr. Oz. Seeing Dr. Oz reminded me of the book he wrote with Dr. Rozien, "You On A Diet." I bought it when first came out and read it almost cover to cover. I learned a lot about how weight works and began to practice some of the principles in the book. I think it was another time that I lost some weight that got be back down to the 170 mark but failed to be consistent and did not go beyond the 5-10 pound weight loss. The one thing that stands out in my mind is the part about the weight loss hormones ghrelin and leptin. According to the website pubmed.gov

Leptin and ghrelin are two hormones that have been recognized to have a major influence on energy balance. Leptin is a mediator of long-term regulation of energy balance, suppressing food intake and thereby inducing weight loss. Ghrelin on the other hand is a fast-acting hormone, seemingly playing a role in meal initiation. As a growing number of people suffer from obesity, understanding the mechanisms by which various hormones and neurotransmitters have influence on energy balance has been a subject of intensive research. In obese subjects the circulating level of the anorexigenic hormone leptin is increased, whereas surprisingly, the level of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin is decreased. It is now established that obese patients are leptin-resistant. However, the manner in which both the leptin and ghrelin systems contribute to the development or maintenance of obesity is as yet not clear.

So in other words grhelin bad/leptin good. Dr. Oz equated them to grhelin being a gremlin and leptin be a leprechaun. I guess that kind of gives you a visual to work with. Grhelin stimulates your appetite while leptin is the hormone that when stimulated tells you you are full and satisfied. Anyway, the idea is to stimulate more leptin secretion by your habits and food choices and reduce the habits and food choices that encourage grhelin secreation. Things that stimulate grhelin that are bad in patricular are lack of sleep (hello...night owl here). I recently did some more research on this issue. From WebMD "So what's the connection to sleep? "When you don't get enough sleep, it drives leptin levels down, which means you don't feel as satisfied after you eat. Lack of sleep also causes ghrelin levels to rise, which means your appetite is stimulated, so you want more food," Breus tells WebMD." I am totally guilty of not getting enough sleep. I usually use the late night quiet hours to chill out making cards and sometimes I am up until 1, 2 or even 3:00 in the morning. Not good for weight loss apparently and obviously a very major contributor to weight gain. From Running Times Magazine : "There are two hormones associated with sleep that influence eating behaviors: ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that lets your body know you’re hungry. Leptin’s role is to send a message to stop eating when your body has had enough. When you’re sleep-deprived, your ghrelin level increases. At the same time leptin levels decrease. So you crave additional food while simultaneously not getting the proper message to stop eating. The extra calories and poor self-control soon follow."

Given this information, I am guessing I will have to stop my night owl ways at least until such time that I can consistently sleep in until 9 o'oclock every morning. Until I get get my sleep cycle regulated, the appetite suppressant I am on called phendimetrazine, is working on my nervous system to help suppress my appetite. For me personally, I need a crutch to help get me through the rough patch of decreasing calories to see significant weight loss to stay motivated. Note to myself to find the book and see if what Drs Oz and Rozien say about appetite suppresants.

Quick snapsot of You on A Diet Principles found HERE

2:00 p.m. I am encouraged in that I'm definitely feeling a difference. What normally has taken me weeks to to get to I am feeling it after 5 days. I am in the middle of day 6 and everything is working the way the dietitian said it would.

11:00 a.m. Egg White Omelet (4), Turkey Sausage (2) and Coffee 190 calories

2:00 p.m. Tuna fish salad 135 calories

Day 5 = Going good

5:15 - It is day 5. I made it through another round of a shopping trip and going out to lunch without blowing the plan. Brought my medication and supplements to take when we got to the restaurant and ordered the shrimp cocktail staying withing my parameters (such as they are). Bread was brought to the table and the kids had fries...because I am committed, I was not even tempted. I'm in moderate ketosis now and that means I'm burning fat. We will see when I go for my appointment on Tuesday. Actually, I have a doctor's appointment for an annual exam on Monday so my weight will be taken then. Company coming tonight and we are just doing desert so I think I'm pretty confident right now that I won't be tempted to touch what we are having. I will just eat a healthy dinner of chicken or tuna and should be good for the night.

9:30 - Hard boiled eggs (20) 140 calories

1:30 - Shrimp cocktail about 3 ounces 105 calories.

5:30 - Tuna fish salad 195

Total for the day: 440

Day 4 - Happy New Year

10:16 a.m. - Happy New Year! Enjoyable evening at home last night. Since I really could only eat protein, I hated the idea of going out but you know it was nice to stay home with the kids and play games. We ate dinner and played a game of Scrabble and then around 10 pm we made appetizers and played Tribond and then Steven and I played another game of Scrabble until the ball dropped in Times Square. We had Champagne (the kids had sparkling cider) and toasted the New Year. How did I do with the diet? Well all in all not too bad. I think the psychological factor of knowing I'm on the program and the supplements and medication helped me not blow it. I paced myself with food earlier in the day so and only had chicken for dinner so that I could have some shrimp as my appetizer while Stan, Steven and Carrie, had chips and dip and pizza rolls. I was temped with the chips but I snitched one and even though I handled the pizza rolls a couple of times, I did not take one. My normal routine when I was on a "diet" was snitch a few because, what would it hurt? Well that is why I look the way I look so with my new determination, I was not tempted. I did however, sneak a couple of bites of the chili I made for Dinner. I love chili and of course I had to taste it to see if it was seasoned right. Anyway, I made a chicken breast to have while the fam ate the chili and garlic bread. So overall, I think I was 75 cals over my 500 goal for the day. But since it was mostly protein I don't think the dietitian will yell at me.

10:31 p.m. Made it through day 4 not too bad. First day I tested my ketones and they were in the minimal range and that is good. Being in ketosis means I'm burning fat. I have to measure it every day. Not hard ...just pee on a test strip. Enjoyed the day lounging at home in the morning/early afternoon. Then Carrie and I set out for a little shopping/errands. I made it through taking her out for lunch at Fridays by ordering a grilled chicken dish with the glaze on the side. My thought was that since the dish came with a full breast instead of just 1/2 the breast, I would eat the 1/2 of the breast and box the rest to take home for either Stan or Steven to eat. I hate being one of those fussy people in a restaurant asking for special things so that was a good compromise for me. I also asked the waiter to bring a box immediately so I wouldn't be further tempted. The next challenge was the coffee shop at Barnes and Nobels. The sweet coffee drinks I usually drink have to become a thing of the past for me so while Carrie got her usual Strawberries and Cream frappuccino, I ordered a plain coffee and added the Splenda and half and half on my own and even then, I just drank half of it. Half and half has 1 carb per table spoon so that is okay for me to have in moderation. That at least replaced one habit with another. Headed home and played a game of Scrabble with Steven and then had my last meal, which was 3 ounces of Tuna with the Miracle Whip Free. Satisfied with that. Calories for the day were under the 500 at 385...but with my going over yesterday I think that is okay. It is probably even less than that because believe or not, I couldn't even eat the entire breakfast that I had planned out that would have put me to the 500. I made a 4 egg white "omelet" (with nothing in it can it be called an omelet?) and only ate about 3/4 of that and instead of the 2 turkey sausage patties I planned, I only ate 1 (it did help that they did not taste like real sausage and in which case I would have eaten both). So I deducted the one sausage patty but left the full count for the egg. Here's the count for the day.

Noon - Egg Whites (4) and 1 Turkey Sausage Patty 115 calories
4 p.m. - Chicken Breast 4 oz 140 calories
7:30 p.m. - Tuna salad 135 calories