I've been surprised, you know. The maintenance plan is a 1,300 to 1,500 diet and I haven't felt deprived. I've felt full most of the time. I've had a few times I've had a craving, but it's been pretty manageable - AND I've continued to loose a pound or two each week. Wow! Hard to believe. In the next couple of weeks, the dietitian will give us a calorie 'prescription' to meet our weight goals. Many folks in the group want to loose quite a few more pounds, but for me I'll be wanting to pretty much maintain my weight 'as is'. It will be interesting to see what that 'prescription' will look like.
Last week was interesting. I had mentioned my struggle with ice cream. Ryan asked me to conduct an experiment - I had to buy some ice cream, serve up 1/2 cup and enjoy it mindfully. Well, I went to the store and bought the smallest container I could find (it just happened to be Haagen Dazs, which Sue tends to enjoy). On date night, we enjoyed this little treat - mindful eating and all. You know, it was Ok. Whereas in the past, I'd have served up a 1 1/2 cup cereal bowl, then gone back for at least one more bowl, instead I was satisfied with just that 1/2 cup. Normally I'd have gone back for more ice cream night after night until it was all gone (thus the smallest pint sized container - just in case), but this time I was Ok. A week later and I'd forgotten it was even in the freezer. Excellent. The next question is how often, and I haven't got that figured out yet. More to follow.
It is a weird thing seeing photos or videos of myself or even looking in the mirror. It's kind of like 'who is this guy?' Not a bad thing, just kind of an odd experience. There's this kind of reconciliation going on where I am coming to terms with this 'new me.'
Today in group we'll be talking about how to deal with restaurant eating. That should be interesting.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Week Nineteen - Back to 100% Food
Thursday, September 10th was the last day for an Optifast shake. It was really kind of anticlimactic. It was really more about losing my 'bedtime snack' - which that fourth shake has really substituted for all of these weeks. Now THAT has been a much more monumental issue!
Being back to food has required me to think about my meals, and be much more involved in planning my food day than I ever was before. It's not a bad thing, but it has taken extra time every day. Sue has been a big help to accommodate the grocery requests, and to keep a supply of pre-chopped veggies in the fridge - like carrots, cauliflower, broccoli. I've been eating very simple meals throughout Transition, in order to keep a better handle on the daily tracking. I have been full most of the time, and I've had very few significant cravings.
Leaving behind the 'bedtime snack', however has not been all that fun.
It's not that I'm hungry between 9:00 and 10:00pm - but eating around that time gives me joy and comfort. I did go into this program with a promise to myself to keep an open mind and to 'stick with the program.' I'm guessing that there are important reasons why the dietician wants us to not snack during this high-risk time period (high-risk for me based on my past history). So I'm trying to problem-solve this issue. For now, I'm eating a small, healthy snack about 5 pm, then eating my evening meal about 8pm. Then a half hour later I'm having a piece of fruit and a cup of hot chocolate, then I'm 'done' for the day. We'll see this week if this is a good plan.
The weekly group sessions have been talking about recipes and strategies for each of the meals - breakfast, lunch, supper. The topic last week was about increasing exercise - this hasn't been a huge problem for me [I thought it would be at the beginning], but I know there will be challenges coming up. Winter will require new strategies. I will need to be diligent to maintain the exercise over the long haul - traditionally, my exercise commitment tends to peter out after a couple of years.
Being back to food has required me to think about my meals, and be much more involved in planning my food day than I ever was before. It's not a bad thing, but it has taken extra time every day. Sue has been a big help to accommodate the grocery requests, and to keep a supply of pre-chopped veggies in the fridge - like carrots, cauliflower, broccoli. I've been eating very simple meals throughout Transition, in order to keep a better handle on the daily tracking. I have been full most of the time, and I've had very few significant cravings.
Leaving behind the 'bedtime snack', however has not been all that fun.
It's not that I'm hungry between 9:00 and 10:00pm - but eating around that time gives me joy and comfort. I did go into this program with a promise to myself to keep an open mind and to 'stick with the program.' I'm guessing that there are important reasons why the dietician wants us to not snack during this high-risk time period (high-risk for me based on my past history). So I'm trying to problem-solve this issue. For now, I'm eating a small, healthy snack about 5 pm, then eating my evening meal about 8pm. Then a half hour later I'm having a piece of fruit and a cup of hot chocolate, then I'm 'done' for the day. We'll see this week if this is a good plan.
The weekly group sessions have been talking about recipes and strategies for each of the meals - breakfast, lunch, supper. The topic last week was about increasing exercise - this hasn't been a huge problem for me [I thought it would be at the beginning], but I know there will be challenges coming up. Winter will require new strategies. I will need to be diligent to maintain the exercise over the long haul - traditionally, my exercise commitment tends to peter out after a couple of years.
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