Back in the saddle....

okey dokey, i'm back on MF, day 2. i'm like a broken record - on 2 wks, off numerous weeks then back on....
not the way to be doing this but the scale is moving down to smaller numbers...
i started out great guns in Sept but hit a HUGE emotional wall, could have been an element of detox contributing to the cry fest....

so i ended up taking 3 wks off, no MF meals, no walking.... the scale moved up 4 lbs but i knew alot of that was water from the carb intake.

happy to say as of this a.m., 3 of those lbs have dropped off the scale...

some changes in my life that will help and possibly hinder my weight loss and using mf this month:
on sept 21, i applied for 2 part time sales job and i was hired for both of them...

soooooo that means i must plan my meals, my water consumption time and my exercise time.
thankfully i don't start the one job until 9:45 a.m. a couple of days this week so i can walk at the park early.
water/bathroom stops is a problem as i will be manning a mall kiosk by myself, which means locking up the Ipad, the cart drawers and leaving the cart merchandise unattended. the job is selling specialty olive oils/balsamic vinegars. i don't think they will be food triggers, at least they haven't done so when i was there several times this week.

i will also adjust my L&G MF meal to 4 p.m. the days i work 9:45 -3:45. (actually the time is a bit earlier and later to pass off the Mall parking pass to co-worker.)

i know from many decades ago of working that having food on hand is imperative when i get off work....otherwise fast food will be screaming at me as i drive by..

there is also a 'chew' component of ADHD to de-stimulate myself.

the biggest danger time though is when i get off work at 9:15 p.m. definitely will have to have MF crunchy snack in the minivan...
my other job is Sat/Sun passing out coupons at pet food store/s. i don't have the details yet, but hoping/expecting the pet shops (petsmart, petco) have restroom in the store

drink water til you slosh does create some employment problems...

THIRTEEN WEEKS TIL JANUARY 1ST, 2013....

WHAT WILL I WEIGH ON THAT DAY?!!!

I'm in love with medifast cauliflower crust pizza

really folks if you had told me that i would EVER be in love with a pizza that had a crust made out of grated cauliflower i'd have fallen on floor laughing. seriously, cauliflower seemed about 180 degrees away from anything pizza like, although i did have a great cauliflower dish in a tuscan town in 1999 that i've tried to recreate.

who thinks up using foods in such an unusual way?!!!! Medifast users are pros at this, they turn cream of tomato soup into sandwich rolls... the food group i miss the most is bread so i'm trying out bread like substitutes... and i know i will be losing weight doing it....  getting me closer to when my weight is low enough for me to start back running... what a happy day that will be.

i'm not sure who developed this pizza recipe but it is called Kurzweil's Cauliflower Pizza Crust based on a tutorial she posted on the internet

yesterday i assembled the ingredients and baked the crusts. figure i burned some cals grating the 2 cauliflower heads since i couldn't find the mini food chooper bowl

(where do my menfolk put 'strange' dishes in my house?!!!!)

 i didn't want to mess around with just making one serving so i had enough eggbeaters to make 8.5.
i had never eaten eggbeaters before starting medifast but i am a big fan now...

finally at 10:30 this a.m. i could wait no longer, i'd nibbled on a few broken pieces of crust yesterday that i really liked... but the real test would be when i added the toppings. would it be a 'PIZZA'......

i whirled canned italian diced tomatoes in the blender, added a scant 1/2 cup to the 'crust', 1.5 oz mozzarella cheese and several zucchini slices and green pepper strips. baked for 15 mins at 400 on parchment paper...let me just say:

YUMMY YUM YUM

i doubt one could hold the crust, the center was a little soggy, and eat out of hand but i slowly cut a fork full at a time (medifast guidelines stress taking 15 minustes to eat a meal.) i might spread the crust thinner or bake longer next time...
all the others are assembled w/ sauce, cheese, veggies and in the freezer...

so eating my lean and green meal starting at 10:45 is early in the day, it will be interesting to see when i get hungry. my normal L&G is 6oz of cooked chicken breast on a salad, w/ veggies eaten between noon and 1 p.m.. that pretty much keeps me full the rest of the day and i have to 'make' myself eat the rest of the MF meals... the 'secret' to the fullness factor is high protein.. takes stomach longer to digest protein.

i've been firmly on the medifast plan since Monday, hooray, little half a week blip off started by 4th of july and Sunday almost seasick is behind me.
now that i've done 3 wks of Medifast, i'm slowly trying some new things. the goal is to still not spend much time fixing food, keep it simple. if/when i get bored, then i will try more of the recipes

btw, i bought their lean and green meal cookbook. the recipes look fabulous and easy. i think it would make a great gift for a household of 1-2 people,
alrighty tooo much time on computer this morning, but a nice change of pace from starting my gardening at 5:20 a.m. this week.

here's the recipe:
crust
1 c grated cauliflower
1/4 c egg beaters
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1 oz light ricotta cheese
1 oz light mozzarella cheese
mix together, line a cookie sheet w/ parchment paper, spray w/ none-stick spray,
spread the mixture out on parchement paper with back of spoon until dinner plate size.
you will have to experiment with cooking in your oven...
bake in preheated 400 degree oven 20-25 mins on one side, then flip and cook additional 15 mins. i found that the old fashioned cookie sheet placed on oven rack below the center got the crusts nice and browned. an air cooled double layer of metal cookie sheet was very hard to get the crusts to brown and crisp up

topping
1/2 c diced tomatoes, whirl in blender if you want smooth sauce
1.5 oz light mozzarella cheese
some slices of bell pepper, zucchini... maybe some spinach leaves or cherry tomatoes. i froze mine so i just used bell pepper, zucchini.
bake, 400degree oven on parchment paper, sprayed w/ none stick spray for approx  15 mins,
i like spicy pizza so i sprinkled red peper flakes after baking
gosh i should have taken pictures so you could see how much like a 'real' pizza it looked...
next time i will have a charged camera near by
let me know if you try the recipe, heck you don't even have to be on medifast or trying to lose weight, these are just plain yummy. course not being able to eat regular pizza currently probably made these extra good to me.
now let's be serious for a moment.... as good as i thought this was, it isn't real pizza. so don't go thinking it will match up to eating 5-6 slices of pepperoni pizza. but i was thoroughly happy with my meal.
EDIT: well it's the next day and let me say i am a little bit obsessed about cauliflower pizza in the freezer. guess i'll have to flip a coin to see if my L&G meal is pizza or grilled chicken salad...

starting to exercise again

what's the biggest reason or excuse you make for why you don't start an exercise regimen? i KNOW my weight regain has alot to do w/ NOT moving. i've spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON THE INTERNET or watching tv.
it was back in June 2011, i hatched the plan to run a marathon vs a half marathon when i turned 60. dang if i didn't waste a whole year of not losing weight..
plus i continue to have problems w/ my feet so i am doubtful on running a marathon but i don't have to decide NOW
NOW i need to concentrate on dropping pounds and starting up an exercise program. for the last 3 wks i've been concentrating on planting flowers to bloom for my son's wedding two weeks from today. i've also been pulling weeds, deadheading lavender so it can rebloom for wedding decorations... all of these activities have clearly SCREAMED at me how having this HUGE BELLY interfers with bending over..
i now want to start back to a workout routine using the garage gym... sure hope ds moved his books that were stacked on recumbent bike.
course now i must deal with when to work out...
i hate to use the cool mornings for an aerobic bike ride as it is no fun to garden during hot part of day...but then it is no fun to work out in a hot garage. this is a quandary i've never solved. usually i do one or the other if i'm being active.
keep in mind i have no a/c but my weather is nothing like the triple digit heat wave most of the country experienced.
my body has a natural rhythm of being more active in the a.m. so i'd like to channel that energy to burning calories with yard activities and then some how find the resolve to go into the garage mid-morning to ride the bike.
for the next 2 wks going into the wedding, i would soooo like to ride the bike mid-morning and again in the late afternoon. i just need to turn the switch on in my brain and MAKE IT HAPPEN....

the Biggest Losers work out about 5 hrs a day for their impressive weekly weight losses... i surely have wasted 5 hrs a day many a day on internet and tv watching
i am basically sedentary so i need the bike workouts to up the lbs lost. i know i also need to start up the weight lifting again...muscle burns more calories than fat.

i'm not gonna drive myself nuts over getting multiple workouts in daily
BUT I MUST KEEP ACTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!
 if i want to read a book or be on the internet playing during the day, there really is NO reason i can not  be pedaling the bike at the same time....
off to start moving for the day, a late start, i like to get outside at 5:30 but i had the last of the cauliflower pizza 'crusts' baking. they look soooo yummy. i miss bread the most so hoping these pizzas fill that void
HAVE A GREAT DAY AND MOVE YOUR BODY
moving usually gives one more energy, not less...so i challenge you to join me in starting an exercise regimen for these last 2 weeks of JULY. By moving our bodies, we can move the scale downwards and weigh less

went off the "tracks" but i'm back on program

well dang where does the time go?
i had done soooo well on Medifast plan this 2nd go round until the 4th of July. I have surely learned that having my lean and green meal at 12-1 is the best plan for me. on the 4th i sat down that evening w/ family to eat my l&g, problem was i didn't stop with that. i had some potato salad, an ear of corn and a small serving of angel food cake and strawberries. that was on a Wed nite, then Thurs, Fri, Sat i was off plan, eating corn on cob, potato salad and angel food cake. calorie wise i didn't do badly but even carbs to knock me out of ketosis i'm sure.
so Sat nite dh and i went down to san diego to fish on sunday on our boat, i took all my MF meals and intended to get back on plan Sunday.
well nature had other plans for my body. my first trip away from the dock on this boat which we've had for 2 years. there was a north wind and the water was choppy. i started the day at 5:30 w/ oatmeal at the boat dock, by 8:30 my tummy was not doing well. i switched over to some 100 calorie cookie packs dh had... by 10:30 i was feeling quite nauseous.... he gave me half a turkey sandwich of his a bit later. i didn't progress beyond just feeling nauseated...but that was bad enough.
for dinner i had a chicken sandwich and french fries.
when i went to bed that nite i got 'land sickness', strange as i had felt fine on the 2 hr drive home but something happened when i laid down.
Monday morning i went outside to water flowers and 'land sickness' stroke again... but i stuck firmly on Mf meals...thankfully i felt fine after awhile, so strange to feel sea sick on land
i've been very active doing some planting and other gardening. today i upended 6 32 gal trash cans of grass clippings into my compost bins, mixed w/ the scads of new zealand spinach i pulled up so hoping i burned alot of calories
looking forward to Monday weigh in, soooo hoping to leave the 230s behind...

so i must do everything possible to stay firmly on plan til then...

it seems at times dealing with family relationships can impact how easily i stay on Mf plan, How about for you?  what tactics help deflect relationship quagmire to derail your staying on eating and exercising plan?
i don't plan on blogging too much about relationship issues i have with living family... which makes it hard to share some of the things i'd like to on how/why these issues contributed to my allowing myself to be 100 lbs overweight and how a bad relationship day gives the 'fat chick on my shoulder' more of a say on the choices i make on those bad days
but i can share that allowing myself some time to stamp my feet and vent helps... then keeping busy really knocks the 'garbage' out of my conscious mind. for me, i KNOW having extra vitamine B as i probably receive w/ the medifast meals blocks the hyperfocus on upsetting situations...
well july is almost half over, 2012 IS half over. I intend to stay focused and drop lbs, get healthy the rest of 2012...
i'm sure dh will be having a 60th birthday party in March 2013 and it seems feasible i could be at goal weight then with some hard work between now and then...
i will set some short term goals as well to keep me focused. what weight goals did you set for yourself in July?

meal eating quandary

oh this is occupying TOO much of my brain for the last several day....
having family/friends over for a turkey burger bbq at 7 tonite.
i've been 99% on Medifast for alittle over 2 wks (lost 9 lbs!!!) and i'm concerned when to eat my Lean and green meal today. there are 3 options i can think of, but i'm not sure which one will WORK. the fat chick on my shoulder will surely be in attendance tonite, saying EAT THIS, EAT THAT...

i want to eat it all at noon lunch time as that works great for me, i'm not hungry the rest of day if i'm home alone and not stressed, then if any guests notice i'm not eating, i can just plead i'm not hungry now. if i fixed some mf shakes to drink those meal choices would fill me up in the afternoon, evening.
plan b would be to split the L&G, half for lunch half for dinner. couple ways to go here: eat half of my veggies, half of my meat OR eat all the meat at lunch, and have salad at 7
plan c, eat my L&G meal at dinner time alongside the guests. lean turkey burger and salad on the menu so those would be on plan
concern with waiting til 7 pm is that i will be hungry just having the other MF meals earlier in the day....i've not been hungry on MF unless i've been sleep deprived

the wedding is 3.5 wks away and i don't want to mess up what has been working perfectly. this is a learning experience for other occassions that will come up on this weight loss journey....

what ever happens happens and i will learn from it. I don't intend to lose to FAT CHICK on the shoulder with out a fight though, so i will be pulling out all the MF fighting tools: water drinking, 2 celery sticks if i need a bit of extra food, keeping busy.
grrrrrr i'm such a 'seefood' eater, even though i've got healthy choices on the menu for tonite's gathering, i'd prefer to not see the food.
lots to do today so i will burn some calories that way

the pitfalls to losing weight or how relationships might change

what, there could be pitfalls to losing weight? how annoying would that be?!!! think about when someone wins the lottery, they think "boy all that money will make me happy", but it also will bring lots of changes to their lives and change their interactions with family and friends.
losing a large amount of weight is in someways similar to winning the lottery. if you lose 100 lbs you are almost unrecognizable to folks and yourself. folks will interact differently with you and you will probably act different..
i don't discuss my weight with my husband. he knows i'm trying once again to lose weight. in the past when i lost 60 lbs i really don't know if he could tell( i kept that weight off for 7 yrs, thought the healthy habits were ingrained, not so... so this time i'm thinking i won't tell him when i've lost 10 lbs or so, i'll just keep quiet about my loss and see if at some point he says "oh i've noticed you've lost weight"
relationships are tricky dealing with weight. i feel some folks have chosen to not be friends with me because i'm obese. fat discrimination does exist. i might even be guilty of it myself. when i'm active, i want to chose folks that can exercise with me.
last nite hubster arrived home while i was watching an episode of extreme makeover, weight loss. not sure of the exact title, it's a series on TV where the trainer selects an obese person and spends one year working with them on their weight loss.
Last nite the 30 yr old woman wanted to lose 200 lbs in 365 days. she had been overweight for 15 yrs so never had normal weight teenage or twenties experiences. her husband seemed slightly overweight.
last nite and this morning i was commenting to dh some of the pitfalls the couple might face due to her losing 207 lbs, YEP she did it! she weighed 355 at start and 148 at the finale.
many of us might have reasons we are hiding behind our weight, losing the weight can open up lots of fears.
her husband had only been in a relationship with an obese wife, he might unconsciously try to sabotage her by saying Oh you've worked hard, one time eating this won't hurt
the wife might so enjoy her sexy new body that she goes out and flirts, finally having attention from admiring men. i think there was another tv show where some of the folks divorced when the newly thin person chose a new admirer...
(in her case, a rape at age 14 was the cause for her hiding behind weight. hopefully receiving attention from men won't be so scarey she runs back to the fat suit. i hope she received/s some psychological support during the yr's time. in her case, wanting to clear up a health problem to achieve pregnancy was her driving force so she probably won't regain the weight

 on a personal note, when i lost 60 lbs i did feel more flirty so i saw first hand how that could lead to problems. i think that was about the time i saw that other series episode dealing with changes in personality so that made me aware of my behavior before a problem started. wish i could find that episode to reference, it showed how major weight loss changed partnerships, friendships, family dynamics...
maybe you have never analized why you might be overweight. you don't have to figure yourself out before you start to lose weight but during the process it could help to do some work in the mental area

law of physics doesn't apply to weight

why do i feel thinner at a weight point on the scale when i am losing than when i am gaining and reach that weight?
it's crazy, lose 10 lbs to reach down to that weight and feel 'thin'
go up 10 lbs to reach that weight and feel FAT
obviously one would feel lighter having lost 10 lbs vs carrying around a new 10 lbs but i'm more referring to how i FEEL psychologically at the 'thinner' weight than when i gain and my body posture, movement
 tomorrow is weigh in day for wk 2 on Medifast, the scale is down 8 lbs, and i was noticing how i am carrying my body. with out looking at my reflection in the patio doors as i walk by, i just feel 'thinner'. my posture is taller, i'm tightening my stomache muscles
looking at my reflection, my face is thinner, my stomache poof in the middle above waist band has lessened in size...
speaking of my face, at the top of my cheeks there are 2 darker areas, like an inflated balloon that was stretched, when you let some air out, i can tell that is what happened to that area.

so taking off even a small amount of the weight i need to lose has already made a difference in how i feel

it's empowering me to continue...
today i reviewed my Medifast meal inventory and placed an order
i'm glad i have a plan on when to eat and which meals i like to eat when. i will have enough variety to make meal switches though so i don't get bored

here's wishing you your own aha or light bulb moment to getted started on your health plan

as they say "one step at a time",  just make one change today to get yourself started...

firmly on plan

hooray the emotional upset i felt yesterday has disappeared. guess it was good to cry out those bad chemicals.
firmly on plan today,
some errands this morning, 1 was to buy the smart and final skinless boneless chicken breasts, they look good (i am not a fan of some non-foster farm chicken so even if on sale they aren't a good buy)
i will divy these up into correct portion size. some i might cook and freeze. i think for DS's rehearsal dinner i will take cutup chicken breast and put it on the caesar salad. the wedding is 4 wks away so i've got time to figure out if i'm going to try to stay on MF for that day's dinner. i will take a long hard look at the buffet menu and i will definitely be packing MF for my other meals
here's my NSV for the day: NOT eating the extremely tasty looking sweet cherries i bought for dh and ds. I did have 2..then stopped. around 11, i thought i might not have willpower to ignore them so packed them up to give to the physical therapy crew but forgot them at home
i'm taking each day from now through 4th of July on a day by day basis, not going to worry  about having folks over to eat for dinner on the 4th. i plan my meals for that day when the day arrives (lean turkey burgers and salad on the menu, so i can have those no problem)
the main reason i didn't get back on MF from my hiatus mid-Feb til now was the fruit and artichokes growing in my garden. I love my homegrown organic food but a light bulb moment went off in my head this week, i can FREEZE or can the fruit in my yard until i get to the pt on MF i can eat fruit. i don't have to give up fruit forever. it makes more sense to lose the weight now vs staying this weight and eating the fruit now.
what's the biggest challenge in your environment to staying on an eating or exercise plan? what modifications can you make for the weight loss phase of your plan
good luck, just take it a day at a time or an hr at a time if need be.....stick w/ it and the weight will come off.
(whispers ahead of weigh in day: the scale is down 8 lbs, 6 last wk 2 lbs since Mon so i've got to stay firmly on plan as i want more than 2 lb a wk loss)

modifying my environment to modify my body!

I've lost weight many times over the years. Thankfully as I started Medifast this month some of the positive changes i'd followed in the past are still in my memory bank...so i pulled them out to use again
Planning and setting up the refrig and pantry so i have the foods on hand I need.
Workout clothes.
2 scales, 1 for me and 1 for food
measuring cups, spoons, microwave cooking pcs

This time i've been doing some new thinking on changes to my environment and the choices i make
One change is to NOT watching cooking shows on TV. For the most part I can watch Anthony Bourdain and Top chef without triggering urges to eat but other shows i'm sure had me thinking about cooking and consuming the dishes.
so for now it's better i not expose myself to those shows...

oh i rode the recumbent bike in the garage TWICE yesterday, an hr each time. A total of 27+ miles, 700 cals. and I am not at all sore today. (grrrrr family member stacked books on the bike and all around so not ride today)

Week 2 is half over, today was a rocky day emotionally, again not a coincedence i had a small amt of sleep and then an actual melt down of crying today.
But I had a NSV (none scale victory) I DID NOT turn to food.

heave hoo

so not only am i heaving my extra pounds out, the B vitamins in the medifast are helping me to de-hoard, de-crapify assorted 'stuff i couldn't part with'. the spring cleaning bug bit me HARD yesterday.
now to just keep chipping away, room by room, drawer by drawer. I always said I didn't need to get rid of stuff as long as I had room in the cupboards, ahem Jeanne, you reached cupboard capacity years ago...
i've heard that some Drs have their OCD patients take Vit Bs as it acts on the part of brain that the OCD is generated from.
over many years of taking vitamin Bs I can surely corelate throwing out magazine collections etc to taking vitamins daily.
looks like i will need to get the larger trash can size from my waste hauler.

1st wk back on Medifast plan is going well

long time no post... son's wedding is 6 wks away and i lost my opportunity to be no longer obese in the pictures. i believe i will be the fattest person at the wedding, not a prize i wanted to win... so i've told myself although i will be immortalized at this huge weight in the wedding photos, i don't have to remain at this weight and i can be immortalized in future pictures in my normal weight body....
hurt my back Sat of Memorial day weekend, so that has put some limitations on my body movements. doing physical therapy 3 times a week and being in that environment had some influence on me starting to ride the recumbent bike again.

so i started out strong on medifast back in Feb. i let valentine's day choices de-rail me and it's hard to believe but it took until June 18th to get solidly back on the medifast plan. i'd tried several other times but chose to let being around DH and the food around me to get me back off again.

case in pt, last Sat i went down to san diego on our boat for 22 hrs. day one had been 100% on plan  (did i purposely let the fat chick sabotage myself by going to the boat, subconsciously did i want and know i'd let being there be an excuse to not stay on for the critical 3 days start up?!! ) sun was day 2 and at lunch i went off plan. my "excuse" was i had to go off  boat while DH ran the motors cuz it was extremely noisy and diesel fume-y , so i went to the little restaurant at the top of the boat dock ramp.  didn't take the time to find something that would have worked for my L&G meal of the day...

BUT when Monday arrived i had a plan. which was to stay at home alone as much as possible so i wasn't tempted by outside food choices (I'm a "seefood" eater- see food=eat food) and i avoided interactions with folks that could have lead me to chose to eat off plan due to emotional reasons or "join" in on what they were eating. i knew if i could get through Thurs that DH was going away fishing from thurs nite -til sun nite and i'd be able to follow my body's awake schedule and get alot of housework done to burn some calories and keep me occupied so i didn't think of eating. yep the spring cleaning bug bit just as summer started, better late than never, it's been a couple of years. and i owe it all to the energy that Medifast plan gives me.

I have a huge problem dealing with the candy jar that sits nearby my desk so I especially didn't want to be around it this critical week getting back on plan.

Back in Feb, ago DH moved it further down on the counter so it is out of sight while i'm sitting at my desk but i walk by it still... TRUTH BE TOLD- i manufacture reasons to walk by it!!!!
I HAVE BEEN such an "enabler" to the fat chick that sits on my shoulder....

BUT i'm working hard to stop that behavior, I brainstormed and came up with a plan... fortunately the office rest room can now be accessed from bldg front hallway so I  WILL start taking that route vs past the candy jar...

I had seriously started up with emotional eating this Spring, not something I'd done much of in the past. Really it might have been more of a way to unwind, to transition from work to off work, i'd gotten in the habit of eating fast food meal on the way home but i would buy way more food than for one meal's worth (hey we know those meals contain enough calories and fat for several or almost a whole days worth of meals so imagine buying several to consume.....). But i know i was behaving like the food was a 'drug' or alcohol, using it to mask other issues. I imagine it was like a cigarette smoker having the first morning cigarette, there's a ritual that gets into place that is soothing...what is comparable in a good choice---- i've come up with doing some yoga breathing in and out for several minutes... it's all bout finding a new habit that supports a healthy lifestyle...

ironically i must have been doing something right as the scale stayed with in 2 lbs of the weight i stabilize at...HUGE though it is when i hit this weight i stop. my body just can't carry any more weight, it's difficult to put my socks and shoes, reaching things on bottom kitchen cabinet shelves a problem, thank goodness some physical limitations manifested or it's possible i'd be headed to 300- 350 who knows where...

so lots of thinking this week about setting in place the tools to make medifast plan work...

the days/ meals blur together so I place the day's meal pack choices in the cupboard (and i've started to log in on work sheet again) so i don't have to rely on my memory.

 I love the plan. it works for me. comparing it to HMR, the most similar plan, i like the MF Lean and Green plan. I got bored with the HMR entrees. With MF, i can change up my Lean and Green meal endlessly...i disliked Nutrisystem because they made me order 2 unhealthy snacks a day. i don't eat sweets or chip type snacks at home and didn't want being on NS get me in that habit. but i know many folks have been successful losing weight on those plans, experiment to find what works for you...

i lost 5.5 lbs, if you find do NOT return to me, thanks

day 8 on medifast, 1st weigh in,
i lost 5.5 lbs!!!! if you find them, DO NOT RETURN THEM TO ME....last time i want to lose weight, i do not intend to REGAIN LOST POUNDS!!!!!
 i'm out of the 240s and in the 230s. hooray.
i stayed 100% on plan those 8 days, the last 2 days the fat chick on my shoulder tried her flawed logic to get me to eat office candy. but i was strong...
last nite, i did have my last fat serving late: laughing cow light garlic & herb cheese, i used my optional snack for the first time. i chose celery to spread the cheese on. snack was delicious and crunchy...
for me i've found the chew, crunch aspect is sometimes needed more than the food in the tummy, something to do with my ADD brain, soothing to chew, calms me down. took a long time to realise it wasn't about eating the food but chewing it...sad that medifast has a 3 pc a day gum limit
my exercise for the week was several walking workouts

day 8 on medifast

hooray, day 8 just about to come to a close. 100% on medifast plan. i think this has been the easiest first week on a new food plan. until i came in to my day job office yesterday, i had just not had any temptations.
in the office there's a big glass jar that gets refilled once a week with assorted mini chocolate bars and other candies to advertise a termite company affiliate. my 2012 plan was to get the dang jar moved 4 ft so it wasn't in my direct sight line (not to mention the pavlov dog style psychological conditioning every time someone lifts the metal lid and i hear the DING) yesterday Dh moved it, but it kept moving back. today he talked to office admin and it's official.... it is not in my sight line (i do still hear the DING and must walk by it to do work tasks.
last nite and tonite the fat chick on my shoulder is SCREAMING AT ME-----EAT A PIECE OF CHOCOLATE. I actually stopped at the jar, and looked inside tonite. but managed to walk away. i just ate MF peach oatmeal for my evening snack.
i hope i can be strong enough to not give in to the treat, I'm not listening to chatter it probably is ON PLAN, nope, not going over to medifast to look up chocolate....
I had a very tastey lunch: cod w/ spiralized zucchini, cherry tomatoes, some water and 2 wedges of laughing cow light garlic and herb cheese.  was quick to prepare, a dash of italian seasoning and mrs dash as well.
definitely a "KEEPER"
here is the spiral slicer i have
http://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Chen-51-0662-Saladacco-Spiral/dp/B0000DDVYE
walked 1 hr at park this a.m., also walked 18 mins in back yard this afternoon
i had a sneak peek on the scale ahead of tomorrow's weigh in, i'd like a bigger number but i've done well on food/water.

2 days in on medifast 100% on plan

well my food arrived midday friday so i started right up (beings how i've done several other weightloss plans i had nutrisystem soup on hand, very close to the nutrition parameters of a MF(medifast) meal. also had HMR shake on hand so those 2 items got me started fri until UPS delivered MF box.
i'd already done the grocery shopping so i was set to go.
fri was easy to stay on plan. i did notice that the late afternoon evening i started watching the clock about 2 hrs after i'd eaten. the plan calls for eating every 2-3 hrs.
i managed to distract myself so i could go 3 hrs between meals.
Saturday morning i woke up early, dawdled around and went to park to walk at 6;50, i took a mf bar to eat at the park or otherwise my 1st meal would be so late it would push all the other meals late in the day
walked 30 mins, i could feel in my calf muscles i'd walked the day before.
HOORAY i walked 3 times this week....
i went into the office Saturday morning, i noticed some of the side effects MF tells you can occur when you start: i was lightheaded if i stood up too fast, some dizzyness, nausea.
i'd taken meals to work w/ me but forgot a microwave bowl to cook them in
decided to stop at our fav mexican restaurant Rosa's La Cabana. i ordered a chicken salad for my mf lean and green meal of the day.
darling hubster had told them on Fri that i had started a new 'diet'. i told them no chips or salsa. rosa's daughter was my waitress so we had a nice chat, i found out the chicken is weighed out, 3
oz on the salad.  Rosa came out of the kitchen to chat and so now i can order the chicken salad w/ 5 oz of chicken. they also will cook me mushrooms and zucchini. rosa is interested in serving what the customer wants in the way of healthy meals. We have been going there since 1989, pre-rosa even when it was freddy's la cabana. business is slower now due to the economy. we want rosa to be able to stay open!!! she's added quite a few new items to the menu so there are several that will work for my lean and green meal.
i felt fine after the 'real' meal, the startup symptoms went away
turns out i went there for early dinner w/ hubster as his san diego trip was cancelled. i had the remaining 2 oz of my chicken and 1 cup lettuce plus water water water. must drink at least 8 cups a day...
finished off the day with tomato soup, a strawberry bar and a HMR shake.
no hunger, no side effects this evening.
critical i stay on plan 100% tomorrow, which should get my body into a mild state of ketosis...
wish me well...

well where have i been...

it's true, i've not done a thing about losing weight and getting in shape for months. now i must say many of my food choices are healthy so i've not gained weight but all ive done is veg out on the couch and that is not the type of VEG folks are talking about when they say have your VEGgies to lose weight
January has almost escaped outa my clutches and still i laid on couch and read way tooo many books on kindle...
so 2 days ago i took the plunge:
i signed up for Medifast. http://www.medifast.com/
 it seems they have many types of meals not just shakes and bars.
They have oatmeal in several flavors, pancake mix, soups...Then folks take the MF(medifast) meals and turn them into something different. like chicken noodle soup into a pancake or a tortilla like wrap. pancake mix turns into muffins or donuts...i just read a recipe for cauliflower pizza, it's wild i tell out....and it's all on plan. i think there are enough types of food it will seem like eating regular meals, oatmeal, pancakes or eggs for breakfast seems the most normal, then soups for lunch, snacks

My friend Mickie in AL has done so well following this plan.
She gave me some info on what meals she eats and when she eats then.
so  i decided to give it a try.
my food arrives sometime on Fri. i have to stock up on my LEAN meal items and my GREEN choices
i will start on Saturday Jan 28th....
the first 3 days are critical to get my body going on the plan.
hubster will be out of town Sat nite into Sun nite so that makes the first two days less complicated.