Well, I suppose 'Terror' is a little overly dramatic, but tomorrow marks a significant milestone in the medical weight loss program: (1) The shakes-only portion is half over; and (2) the medical weight loss program is one quarter finished.
You'd think that I'd be thrilled, you know, in a kind of, 'Yeahaw - Only six more weeks before I get to eat some solid food' kind of way. Well, there IS that! But there are also the gnawing thoughts: (1) 'What if I can't handle food, and gain weight back - like all the other times'; and (2) 'Oh no, there are ONLY 6 more weeks left - what if I don't lose the weight that I want to lose?'
I guess I'll just have to close my eyes and try to just trust that the medical program will work. It's hard though - very disquieting. Perhaps I will have to lock the scales away in the spare bedroom so that I'm not tempted to step on every day - the joy of seeing a sliver of weight come off is WONDERFUL, but it's hard when days go by and the scale is frozen in place!
And I guess there's something I was reminded by a fellow Optifaster - I feel fantastic and look good, even if I didn't lose another pound! I'll try to cling to that and be patient.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Friday, June 19, 2015
Week Six
Well, the weigh-in scales continue to favour me - it's been averaging 3 - 4 pounds per week. Every once in a while the weight stalls for 3, 4, 5 days, but eventually it starts to fall off again. The trick is not to get discouraged, but trust that the lifestyle changes will pay off.
My closet of 'skinny clothes' is starting to get a little sparse. I've started to collect frequent flyer miles at stores like Value Village and Phase 2 - it's amazing how often you can find brand new clothes if you look diligently. When I shop, I'm looking for sizes that will fit me in a few weeks - that way I'm constantly re-building my 'skinny closet'. I've had to start getting ready to go places 10 minutes early - sometimes I have to try on multiple 'outfits' before I find one that fits And I've got two rapidly growing piles: one for taking for alterations after my weight loss stabilizes, the other to donate back to Value Village - sort of a clothes rental scheme!
Today was a little difficult - I went out for lunch with a buddy from work who didn't know what I'm doing. I planned to order a pot of green tea, so I sucked on water an tea while he ate - I wish I had a photo of his face when I ordered! We had a great conversation about healthy habits, and it felt really great to be able to do it.
Physically, all is well but I've had some increased abdominal cramping the past 2 weeks, so I decreased the Benefibre and started on a probiotic capsule daily. Seems to help.
In group this week we talked about building our support team. I'm grateful to have a wonderful bunch of people around me, but I need to examine if there are support pieces missing and figure out how to ask for help and assert myself if I need to do that.
A special shout out to my # 1 supporter, through 'thick' and 'thin' - literally- my # 1 partner, Sue Aiken.
My closet of 'skinny clothes' is starting to get a little sparse. I've started to collect frequent flyer miles at stores like Value Village and Phase 2 - it's amazing how often you can find brand new clothes if you look diligently. When I shop, I'm looking for sizes that will fit me in a few weeks - that way I'm constantly re-building my 'skinny closet'. I've had to start getting ready to go places 10 minutes early - sometimes I have to try on multiple 'outfits' before I find one that fits And I've got two rapidly growing piles: one for taking for alterations after my weight loss stabilizes, the other to donate back to Value Village - sort of a clothes rental scheme!
Today was a little difficult - I went out for lunch with a buddy from work who didn't know what I'm doing. I planned to order a pot of green tea, so I sucked on water an tea while he ate - I wish I had a photo of his face when I ordered! We had a great conversation about healthy habits, and it felt really great to be able to do it.
Physically, all is well but I've had some increased abdominal cramping the past 2 weeks, so I decreased the Benefibre and started on a probiotic capsule daily. Seems to help.
In group this week we talked about building our support team. I'm grateful to have a wonderful bunch of people around me, but I need to examine if there are support pieces missing and figure out how to ask for help and assert myself if I need to do that.
A special shout out to my # 1 supporter, through 'thick' and 'thin' - literally- my # 1 partner, Sue Aiken.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
One Month In
I was going to write, "One Month Down", but that isn't right; the latter implies that it's a bad or difficult thing and that there's an end. "One month In" denotes that we've embarked on a lasting, life-long journey of lifestyle changes - changes for a bright future of fun and health!
I can't believe the change that a month can bring, and it's not just that people are starting to notice the pounds coming off. I've been exercising at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity almost every day - and NOT hating it! Sue mentioned the other day that I am really happy. I hadn't really thought about it, but I am. Even times when a few days go by and the scales aren't so kind.
One of the highlights of this week (and there were several), was rollerblading for about an hour with Val - and not being totally gasping for breath like days of yore.
And I'm beginning to dream. I'm hoping that when I get down to my 'best weight' that I'll be able to go mountain climbing - something that I love, but haven't been able to do for a few years. We'll see. And if it turns out I can't, well roller blading is pretty awesome!
I can't believe the change that a month can bring, and it's not just that people are starting to notice the pounds coming off. I've been exercising at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity almost every day - and NOT hating it! Sue mentioned the other day that I am really happy. I hadn't really thought about it, but I am. Even times when a few days go by and the scales aren't so kind.
One of the highlights of this week (and there were several), was rollerblading for about an hour with Val - and not being totally gasping for breath like days of yore.
And I'm beginning to dream. I'm hoping that when I get down to my 'best weight' that I'll be able to go mountain climbing - something that I love, but haven't been able to do for a few years. We'll see. And if it turns out I can't, well roller blading is pretty awesome!
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Week Three - New Ways of Thinking.
Well, 3 1/2 weeks actually on shakes only. It's always curious how the week will go in terms of weight loss. This was a good week with another four pounds coming off. I keep worrying that one of these weeks the weight will stop dropping off, but so far so good. I'm sure that exercise is helping keep on track.
It is funny all the things that I am rethinking. Body image. It is great to see this thinner guy in the mirror, it's nice to be able to do things like bend over to tie up shoes more easily. OTOH it is taking some rethinking about who I really am. Exercise. I am slowly beginning to rethink exercise - for years I have dreaded it, but lately it is becoming more fun, and I'm starting to plan exercise and even think about new sports and activities. Like we met up with some friends at DQ and I decided to go by bike, NOT by car - and it was fun! Washrooms. I'm thinking quite differently about washrooms - when you drink 4 to 5 liters of water (2.0-2.5L water added to the shakes, plus 2.0 to 2.5 extra water n top, you REALLY have to plan your day around toilet availability! Hope. For 3 decades I had pretty much lost hope that I could ever get down to a healthy weight. With the valuable information I've been getting, I've become hopeful that I can get to a healthy weight and keep it off.
And I'm coming to think differently about food. Somehow, it is pretty nearly impossible to thing objectively about food and eating when it is readily available. When all you have to think about is 'chocolate or vanilla?', it's easier to think about things like 'why do I eat?' This week in group we were examining the concept of conditioned eating - basically eating out of habit. I've known for a while that my worst times for overeating is 9-10 pm. Another time is social events where there are lots of munchies about. They say that in a few weeks they will give us ways to cope with this mindless eating.
Stay tuned...
It is funny all the things that I am rethinking. Body image. It is great to see this thinner guy in the mirror, it's nice to be able to do things like bend over to tie up shoes more easily. OTOH it is taking some rethinking about who I really am. Exercise. I am slowly beginning to rethink exercise - for years I have dreaded it, but lately it is becoming more fun, and I'm starting to plan exercise and even think about new sports and activities. Like we met up with some friends at DQ and I decided to go by bike, NOT by car - and it was fun! Washrooms. I'm thinking quite differently about washrooms - when you drink 4 to 5 liters of water (2.0-2.5L water added to the shakes, plus 2.0 to 2.5 extra water n top, you REALLY have to plan your day around toilet availability! Hope. For 3 decades I had pretty much lost hope that I could ever get down to a healthy weight. With the valuable information I've been getting, I've become hopeful that I can get to a healthy weight and keep it off.
And I'm coming to think differently about food. Somehow, it is pretty nearly impossible to thing objectively about food and eating when it is readily available. When all you have to think about is 'chocolate or vanilla?', it's easier to think about things like 'why do I eat?' This week in group we were examining the concept of conditioned eating - basically eating out of habit. I've known for a while that my worst times for overeating is 9-10 pm. Another time is social events where there are lots of munchies about. They say that in a few weeks they will give us ways to cope with this mindless eating.
Stay tuned...
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