Stick with the plan for results.

Struggling.  Wondering why I cannot be consistent and stick to the plan.  I need to keep my food diary and stop snacking.  I know what I need to do but having a hard time being disciplined.  My days at work are good it is the nights that I struggle with now.  I also think it has to do with my not getting enough sleep and also not getting enough calories during the day.  I will work on getting my protein calories in during my work hours and then I will not feel like I have to overeat at night.  Having Decaf coffee instead of regular after dinner is a good start to a good night's sleep.  Would like to have a little down tick on the scale before my next visit to Medi in a couple of weeks.  Disgusted by what I see in the mirror.  That is a good motivator.

This weight thing is a B-tch.  I'm so disgusted with myself.  The old me is back and it is a struggle fighting her off.  Just seems like I cannot stay in control long enough to start a weight loss trend.  I have good days and bad days that cancel out the good days so I'm stuck.  AGAIN.  Trying very hard to get in the right mind set to stay strong and make it through.  I did go back to Medi but I do not want to got back on the medication.  I want to prove I can do this without a crutch, so I met with Darlene on of the counselors last week and she suggested a week of protein only at 500-600 calories and then go back in a month to get weighed in and for more counseling.  I know I can do it once I become consistent.

I have Bad News/Good News

Argghh...not doing so good with this stop and reversing the rebound weight.  Up almost 20 pounds from my goal weight and feeling tired and sluggish.  Had to come back to the blog to remind myself of all my progress from 2 years ago.  While I think going back to Medi had it's merits I was a little concerned about being on the medication again and having another rebound so I haven't been back there since April and obviously did not do so well without any plan or accountability.  I have decided to tough it out without the crutch of the medication and doing it "naturally."  Installed My Fitness Pal app on my phone so I can journal what I eat.  I think I still need some level of accountability so blogging again about it is one way and also visiting with Medi and see what we can do without the medication if anything.  If I can't do anything with them without going on the meds, I will seek an alternative program.  I refuse to go back to my starting weight.  I have way too many cute outfits in my closet in my smaller size that I intend on wearing again before the end of the summer.  I do have some GOOD news though.  Thanks to this blog, I attracted the attention of a writer from Allure magazine who wanted to interview me about my experience Medi Weight Loss.  I hope I provided some good information for her research and I hope they are positive about Medi.  Even though I had some weight gain, I know it was my fault as is the problem with every weight loss program I have done in the past.  If you don't make the changes permanent the weight will rebound. The good thing about Medi is that once you are a patient and go back within a year of your last visit, you don't have to pay the initiation fee again so I will be making another visit to sit and visit with my counselors.  I'm glad the writer contacted me because having to admit that I gained the weight has motivated me to get back on track and that is a GOOD thing.

Stopping and Reversing the Rebound Weight Gain

Well, it is April and I am farther from my goal weight.  When I began my journey back in 2009 and lost 40 pounds I always said losing it was the easy part.  Keeping it off will be the hard part.  Well that is what happened.

What has happened?  Going to work outside of the house has brought a change from my daily routine for one thing.  It changed my normal daily rhythm and has been a disruption in my life that I have not dealt with it in a positive way so I resorted back to old eating habits.  The old "fat" me emerged and I have engaged in totally mindless eating and have been satisfying the need for immediate gratification with carbs thus gaining back 1/2 the weight I lost.  But the good news is, I'm going to stop that and reverse the process.  So now it is time to go back to the drawing board.  Reading my old blog posts will help remind me of my weight loss journey 2 years ago.  But I am went  back to the 1st day of my journey and met with my Medi Weightloss Clinic counselor today.

Here's my plan:
1.  Eat 3-5 small meals a day.
2.  Keep a journal of  what I eat.
3.  Weigh my protein.
4.  Increase fluids.
Strategies to help:
1.  Prepare meals.
2.  Get organized.

What this means:
Sometimes I have to go 4-5 hours without eating (depending on what time I ate my last meal) so I have to make sure I can take something to work that I can eat for a snack during a 15 minute rest break and go another couple of hours before my hour meal break.  So maybe I can take a hard boiled egg, a container of chicken salad, a protein shake.  Planning and preparing my meals for the day will be helpful.   Instead of reaching for the wrong foods when I come home from work, I can have prepared food so I can have a low cal, low carb snack when I put my feet up at night.  Drinking plenty of water during the day and getting proper amount rest at night is also key.

Lastly:
Yes, I am going back on the medication, phentermine as an aide to help me.  Everyone who knows me knows I do this with a large amount of trepidation because I very much dislike the Big Pharma and the fact that they have created drug addicts out of normal healthy people.  I will be happy to have that discussion with anyone about if you want to call or email me.  So I am a hypocrite in taking medication.  While I do not feel that people should take medication chronically to fix one problem causing a multitude of other serious and just as chronic health problems, I am acting against my own wisdom for the sake of losing weight.  Here's why:  Phentermine is not to be taken chronically so I will be on it a short time.  I will be monitored weekly for any signs of an adverse reaction.  In my own research, I feel it is proven and safe.  That's all anybody can do when it comes to taking medication.  In essence, do the research yourself on any medication and drill down in the results when you "google" any medication to find out the truth.   Don't just take your doctor's word for it.  He or she has been trained and maybe paid to dispense the drugs.  So am I a hypocrite? Yes but at least I will be a hypocrite that weighs 20 pounds less.   My weight is definitely a result of my emotions and being overweight has an effect on my emotions.  It is a vicious cycle that I believe the medication even if it is used as a crutch, will get me to where I need to be weight wise and in the process deal with the psychological aspects of my eating behavior as I'm losing so when I get to my goal weight I do not rebound again.

So for the next month or so, you can expect at least weekly postings on this blog as it was tremendously helpful to chronicle in my journey to lose weight before, I plan on doing it again.  Thanks for following my journey again and I appreciate your support and encouragement.

Happy New Year - New Commitment to Lose Weight Starts

Well, it has been 2 years since I lost 40 pounds with Medi Weight Loss.  I loved the program and it worked but unfortunately, I managed to regain 15 pounds so I am again on a quest to lose the 15 I gained plus a little extra for a total of 20 pounds.  I am not the type to make new year resolutions so I don't consider this a resolution but it is the day I am starting.  Blogging about my weight loss experience helped before so I'm turning to my blog again for accountability and support.  The big question now becomes whether I go back to Medi or not.  I know what to do as far as eating and exercise go and I wonder if now I need the expense of Medi.  I tried going back before the holidays and was not able to stick to the plan then and I wonder if it would be of any benefit at this time and whether being on the medication is a wise thing to do.  Now I'm thinking I will just follow the eating plan without the severe reduction in calories and without the medication and just follow a low-carb eating plan that I can stick to once I reached my goal.  My goal is to lose 20 pounds by May 1.  My 50th birthday.  Before and after pictures to follow.  I wish everyone a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2012.

Thank You MEDI! YOU ARE the one that WORKS!

Well, it has been over a year since I joined Medi and I have lost the 40 pounds I set out to lose and maintained even over the holidays.  Amazing.  It was finally good to go through the holiday season without feeling like a schlub.  I enjoyed getting clothes this year and doing a little fashion show for my mother and sister-in-law to show them how what they bought me fit.  I owe it all to my Medi Weight Loss Clinic.  I am still going regularly and even trying to lose 10 more so I can make it my ultimate goal loss of 50 pounds.  So, I made these cute little bookmarks for the wonderful staff that helped me, motivated me and inspired me.  I am so lucky.
   This is the year I also was brave enough to do a family portrait.  Here are a couple of pics from the little photo shoot we did in our backyard.  The photographer was a friend of Stan's from the local camera club he belongs too.  He shot all the pictures and then gave us a CD with all the shots on it.  We made Christmas presents for my family with them.   I will post later about how I made it through the holidays and what I'm doing to maintain but I just wanted to share with you my gift for the Medi staff and my family pics. 

I wish you all a wonderful happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

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