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.