42 and subtracting!

It's been a while, not much has changed, except for my weight loss! I am happily past the 40 pound point, and heading for 50!

Although I'm overjoyed by my progress, I thought 42 pounds would feel like more. I thought my clothes would be a lot more loose by now. None the less, I'm still very happy with my progress!

I've got about three weeks left to the optifast shakes, then we start the transition back to food. I haven't been a saint over the past three months, I've cheated at least once a week. I've learned a lot from the cheats, mainly, I can't eat the same serving size as before.

I was always fixated on getting as much food as possible on my plate and my largest of the food groups was always the protein or the carb.

For the transition, I've decided to stop using large dinner plates, instead I'll use small plates. This will deter me from over eating. I'll concentrate more on filling up with veggies than starch, and I'll cut back on my fat consumption by choosing leaner meats and more fish.

The next 6 months will take a lot of work, the easy part has been the weight loss, maintaining is a completely different battle, but I'm ready for war.

Here's to the next three weeks, let's make it count!

I cheated

I've dropped the ball lately, probably because I didn't want to fess up to last weekends events.

Yes, I cheated....I had a lot of bad food eats and wine...the wonderful red, full bodied goodness, which comes with 140 calories per glass. I was well over the 900 calories optifast allows. It's done and now I move on...

On a good note, once I got over the sickness, I was back on track Monday morning. I've said it before and I'll reiterate, life will constantly be full of challenges, it's up to me how to deal with them. I will sometimes fail when it comes to food choices, but the most important part is getting back on track.

I will allow myself a bad meal once in a while, once the optifast routine is over, I just can't escalate.  I won't turn into two meals, then three, then a full days worth. Those days are over!

I stepped on my scales this morning, and I'm happy to report that I've made it into the 240's. Good riddance 250! You were always so hard to achieve, I'd get to 254, 256....then go back up. 250 was always my goal, since that's the weight limit for zip lining, something I've always wanted to do but couldn't because of my weight. watch out Humber valley Newfoundland, I'll be zip lining this year, you know it!

Happy Halloween folks! Wow, can't say I've ever celebrated a Halloween without the candies...so far so good!

Thankful....but still wish I could eat some turkey!

Well it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Nova Scotia and I'm drinking Optifast. The fact that I live away from family and close friends is the only saving grace this weekend, and my neighbors are all away. Social media, on the other hand, has been hard. 

As much as I want to be happy for everybody who's enjoying time with their families and great food, it's also driving me completely crazy!!!!!

It's hard enough being away from family during holidays, at least I've always had food to enjoy and help me cope with it. Today I sit here patiently awaiting 4pm, so I can have my next shake, while Gary makes turkey soup. We decided there would be no turkey cooked here, so turkey soup is Gary's fix. The smell permeating through the house...I have to keep telling myself, "this is three months of your life, get over it!" 

So I will be thankful for the sense of smell, at least that's one thing I get to enjoy!

One week down...

I managed to survive my first week on Optifast, but I wasn't completely faithful. I snuck a couple ounces of chicken and had some coffee and still managed to drop a couple pounds. This week I'm going to smarten up. 

The hunger was pretty bad the first few days, but it did pass. I didn't find that my energy was affected, I did get my regular walks in along with lots of playtime with dogs. I burned an average of 3300 calories a day and ate an average of 1250. 

I drank a lot of water, I mean A LOT! I found my mouth to be dry all the time, I may have mistaken it for dehydration, which caused me to drink 4x16oz with shakes and 3x24oz water bottle. That's over 4 litres of water. I was advised to cut back and try to aim closer to 3 liters of water. I'm hoping with this adjustment, I'll get better results next week.

Overall, I'm happy with the taste of the shakes as long as I add some cocoa to it. Here's hoping the chocolate ones arrive shortly. I add about 14-18oz of water to each shake to help dilute the sweetness and its artificial taste.

I'm 17 pounds down and counting....for this, I am grateful

Optifast...Optihungry

So I'm five days into my three months on Optifast. I'm not going to lie, it's been hard, but I I'm surviving. 

I have cheated a little, with a bite of lamb and a piece of chicken, along with a small ice cappuccino form Tim Hortons. I felt pretty horrible afterwards, both physically and mentally. Control has always been my problem and apparently I still need some help with it.  I must be doing something right since I was 15 lb as of last week, and i'm hoping to be down another 5 this week. 

I've been having my four shakes at 4 hour intervals, 8am-12noon-4pm-8pm. So far it's been working. I've mixed most shakes with approximately 14oz of water, and my last shake of the evening I tend to mix a little thicker, making it resemble chocolate pudding.

I've kept up my walking, the optifast doesn't seem to affect my energy levels, but I have been sleeping for about an extra hour. I normally sleep form 11pm - 7am, but lately I've been heading to bed around 9pm and reading my book for a little while before going to sleep around 10.

I'm very anxious to see what my loss is this week...hoping for another 5-6lb loss, finally securing myself a spot in the 250 range. I'm getting very close to my first goal of getting under 250...so close. I can't believe that next summer I'll finally get to zipline!!

I feel like I'm in prison and my time is almost done...the ability to do so many things is like getting my freedom! Bring it!

15 pounds down and Optifast starts tomorrow!

After a bad week including takeout, steak, coffee, and ice cappuccino, I lost 2.5lbs! I certainly made up for the extra calories with a lot of walking. We hiked and geocached all day last Saturday and on Sunday we completed a corn maze. 

Tonight we were given our Optifast and we reviewed the" what to" and "what not to" do items.

In celebration, I ordered takeout.....oh the irony!

I decided to have a meal before optifast started tomorrow, and I have to say I'm very much regretting it based on how I feel right now, and I'll spare you the details. The negative impact from this meal, both physical and psychological, will stay with me, and I hope this is the beginning of a broader understanding of healthier choices and why I should make them.

15lbs lost in the first four weeks, that's almost 5% of my total body weight! Can't wait to see how the next three months pan out!

Ever feel like the world is against you?

Blame it on PMS, blame it on food withdrawals, blame it on shorter days. Whatever it is, it's making me quite sensitive.
I know there's nothing I can do about other people's actions, except control my reaction, and it's never something I should take personally, but lately I've been doing both.

I'm new to self employment, my business is barely a year old. From the get go people were critical and negative, or at least that's all I remembered. What I should remember are those that supported me and still do.

On good days, the positive thoughts crowd me head, but on "sensitive" days, like today, I struggle to understand why some people try to tear you down.

Am I overreacting because a friend (or so I thought) never shares my business page but shares other business of the same nature? Is it a competition to her? Does she not want me to succeed?

Am I overreacting when a neighbor has stopped inviting us to her monthly get together? Did I do something wrong? More importantly, why do I care and let it bother me so much??

Are all these emotions affecting me more now because my clutch, which is food of course, is gone?

What I should be doing is thinking of those who've been supporting me, and support those who want to help others succeed. Forget the rest, my energy shouldn't be exhausted over negativity!

Onto food related topics, I did cheat a little today. I did exceed my 1200 calories, but I also walked 5k. Plus I really wanted to taste red meat before starting the shakes on Friday :)

Tomorrow is another day.  Stay positive, listen to positive, a push negative away.

Now go be awesome!