257.8: Tripped up by a trip, I guess...

I'm in a bit of scale shock this morning. I do wonder if it's a bit skewed because of flying on Wednesday, but I assumed by today any water retention would be gone. I admit to not being 100% diligent while on vacation.

I left last Saturday for a short trip to Bristow, Virginia. It was wonderful to see Katie, Tamsin, Emma and Sam. My intent for the visit was to do just that--visit. I miss having them closer to Utah where I could see them more often. We shopped, watched the Olympics and Bunheads, rented a couple of movies, played with Emma and laughed at her continual quirkiness, talked, relaxed and ate super yummy bacon wrapped chicken. Oh, we did throw in a visit to Mt. Vernon (or Mountain Vernon as Emma calls it) since it's only about 40 minutes from Tamsin's home. It was cool to learn more about George Washington and to see the home. We had a great time there!

How did Medifast go while tripping? Well, let's see.... For the flights over and back, I made pancakes and brownies ahead of time, then also ate some of the Nacho Cheese Puffs. I chose these instead of shakes just because they were a bit more portable and shaking up a drink on a plane felt kind of, oh, I don't know, attention-grabbing? So, it wasn't hard to stay on track in the airports and such. On the flights over I did have 4 packages of peanuts (two on each flight). On the way back, on one flight I had a package of peanuts and the other flight I ate one Bischoff cookie--oh, and spicy tomato juice which I think has sugar in it...

I didn't drink nearly as much water as I have been. Most days I drink 128 oz. By the way, if you're not impressed by that, you should be... :) Anywho, I averaged was between 32 and 48 oz while I was there. My fault. I also had nibbles of popcorn--I'd guess (that say's it all--"I'd guess") a total of 1 cup with butter, 4 of Katie's gluten-free sugar cookies (spelling out London and with the Olympic rings in honor of the Olympics) over a span of three days, 4 Dorito taco flavored chips, 3 strawberries, 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes at least 4 times (it would be easier to say 1 cup, but I'm painting a picture here folks), 2 slices of bacon, 3 miniature marshmallows, about 10 chips with salsa when we went to lunch, 10 french fries...that's all I can think of to list right now. Geesh! I wonder what I ate that I can't even remember.

Wow. The list makes it easier to see the reason I gained. So, today begins the three days it takes to get back into fat burning mode. I'm on a quest!

261: Convention Check In Day

The scale wasn't kind this morning but I'm okay with it. Today was a busy, busy, busy day. Did I say busy? Cuz it was. Lots of behind the scenes work; class rehearsals, setting up for night stamping classes, hugging friends, smiling at friends-to-be, and preparing for classes tomorrow. I'm tuckered out!
It was easy to stay on my Medifast program today. I did have two potato chips with bacon dip at lunch, but otherwise I was happy with my Medifast food. For dinner I had salmon, roasted veggies, and caprese salad. I'm certain mozzarella isn't on my list of Lean and Green right now...and the salmon and veggies were prepared with some oil or butter, but overall I'm feeling okay both physically and emotionally. I also forgot to eat my 3:00 meal until nearly 4:30. I was just...busy.

The most amazing part of today was all the supportive friends who commented on my progress and efforts. I am feeling so motivated by their encouragement! That social support means so much to me...especially from friends who are on the same journey. Jennifer--you started it all and made my day. Really and truly.

Okay, I'm ready to hit the hay. I've got more chapters in The Game of Thrones to read before I close my eyes. I'm kind of eager to see the scale in the morning--lots of dashing to and fro today (doesn't that count as exercise?).

The Results are In!

First let me report on my science fair experiment (sorry Cathi, no poster!). I got SICK. Soooo sick. Pain in my gut, please let me throw up or die sick. Couldn't sleep sick. Then sick because I couldn't sleep.

I should confess that the evening of the sushi lunch I took a friend to dinner for her birthday. I ate the fish and cabbage from two fish tacos. The fish was ono (very tasty, like halibut in firmness and not fishiness) and was lightly coated/breaded. Oops.

I'm not doing that again. I'm not sure if the sick was from too many carbohydrates all at once, too many calories total for the day, or gluten. To tell the truth, I don't care. I won't be doing more science experiments to isolate the causality of the SICK. You'll just have to deal with the ambiguity!

I finished week three with a two pound weight loss bringing me to a total of 18 pounds (I've lost one more since then). I'm feeling pretty darn good about my progress and choices.

It's surprising how when something clicks; it works. Wait. That makes it sound like this is all luck. I guess I mean that I hit the proverbial 'rock bottom' this time--not because of a number on the scale, but because of poor health as a result of poor eating habits. So because I was ready and determined to make a change, Medifast has been a perfect fit for me right now. I truly feel I was inspired to look at the website and take the plunge.

Why this is working:
1) The time of year--shakes and drinks are perfect for hot days. A brownie is perfect anytime.
2) The support system--family, friends, colleagues and my Medifast coach.
3) Having a meal every 2-3 hours. My glucose levels are stable--no peaks and valleys.
4) I have a big event in a few weeks--a nice motivation.
5) I am seeing results nearly every day.
6) I've been diligently recording my meals on the Support in Motion site for Medifast users.

My sister Loene lost 100 pounds when she was 50. I'm looking forward to sharing that accomplishment with her! She proved that even if you're "older" or going through hormonal fluctuations, weight loss can be a reality.

Medifast Day Seven

I'm nearly done with my first week on Medifast. It's been easier than I thought and as difficult as I thought. The breakthrough on Monday really has been encouraging. I've also found some ways to make the meals a bit more interesting and add variety to them without adding calories. Nifty! As of this morning I've lost 10 pounds. We'll see what the scale says tomorrow. Can't wait! How often does a person say that?

So in my quest online for recipes and such, I found a site called GetSkinnyBeHappy. The blogger of this site shared all sorts of tips, tricks and recipes...but I can't find a post later than 2010. I'm worried about him. In one post he said he'd lost his job but was still committed to the diet. What's he doing now?  Is it strange that I am concerned about this random person I've never met but whose blog was helpful to me? Probably.

Or maybe not. I'm invested in him because he's a fellow survivor of the first few days of Medifasting. And I want to know if this highly motivated person has kept of the weight he lost. Will I? Can I?

Okay, back to the here and now. First I need to finish this day and this week. Then I can worry about day 8 and week 2!

My Medifast meals for a day.

My way of organizing all the meals for the month.

A cute dog to make you smile!