Howdy. It's been nearly three weeks since I started Medifast and well - it's been a week of ups and downs. On the plus side, I haven't gained any additional weight, and I'm making huge changes in how I eat and what I eat. On the down side, I've realized that food is a very social thing for me and so this week was particularly hard for me to stay honest to the Medifast diet.
The other large issue I had was my 10 year old fried my microwave. Instead of leaving nachos in for 15 seconds, he accidentally left it on for 15 minutes, causing my house to fill with smoke, the alarms to go off, and the microwave is now in the trash. I bought a very cheap replacement last week not realizing that the wattage was so low (which is why it was so cheap) and I'm having a hard time adjusting to new cooking times for food. Because of that, I've given said microwave the middle finger and just not eaten right.
I know my road up there is dark and gloomy and that's more because of my mood. Like I mentioned, food is a very social thing for me, and I love to celebrate with people, with food. I had a dear coworker retire (after 23 years!) but instead of eating her celebratory monkey bread, I had brisket tacos with her instead (look, I'm trying people). But instead of having a sweet tea with her, I had unsweet tea so there are little victories. I also celebrated a friend's birthday with a big old sandwich filled with pepperoni, swiss cheese and avocado but said no to the chocolate cake. I did finally break down at the Halloween party at work and had a mini Snickers and one mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup... but I normally would eat a King Size of each so that felt good to just get one small one and move on.
Thankfully, I'm at the point where I can reorder for November's food. I am DEFINITELY getting more of the crunch bars, oatmeal, and the cruncher meals. Once I restock the cabinet, I feel confident that I'll get back on my wagon, back on my happy road. I really have enjoyed many of the meals - a new favorite is the French Vanilla Ready-to-Drink Shakes and that's what replaced my breakfasts when I ran out of the Cinnamon Roll Crunch Bars and Blueberry Oatmeal.
I did want to address some questions I had gotten from others... headaches: I did get a total of three headaches but only one needed medication and those were all in the first week. My stomach: I haven't had ANY issues with my stomach feeling backed up or needing additional fiber or anything like that. Water intake: I know I'm not getting 64 ounces but I am drinking significantly more water than I ever have in the past. My skin is clear and not nearly as red (rosacea) which I definitely contribute to eating better. Hunger: When I'm totally doing Medifast all day long, I HAVE to eat every 2 hours or I get hungry and cranky. However, as soon as I eat a Medifast meal, I'm fine. Also, I realize that some of the meals require me to drink water with them (especially the crunchers Cheese Pizza and Cinnamon Pretzel Sticks) so I'm definitely full after that. That has led me to not eat nearly as much when I have binged off the diet with food items like burgers or tacos.
Another thing I realized was just how crappy I felt when I did binge on food. After one particularly stressful day, I ate a TON of potato chips. That night, I had a terrible stomachache and my feet were ridiculously swollen. I don't know if it's all the salt in the chips but it made me miserable.
I also am looking at the way ahead. This is only a 12 week program for me, and I'm 25% done with it. What am I going to do come January? Do I stay on Medifast (which costs about what my entire grocery bill for the month normally does) or do I transition to "normal" foods again? Regardless, I want to keep eating 6 times a day. I never realized how much of a difference it makes in my day but also how my body has been losing weight. The other thing I've really liked about Medifast is the sugar content is super low in all the foods which has made me label watch the items I buy for my family. I'm shocked at how much added sugar is in our foods - even "healthy" things like yogurt and applesauce!
This next week, I plan on adding the gym to my lifestyle. I tried to last week and found out my membership had been canceled so that's out. Thankfully, I have access to a great gym for free through work, and there are 2 Zumba classes that are free nearby that I'd like to try. But just 30 minutes of the treadmill or elliptical will make a difference and I am looking forward to it.
A few people have mentioned that I look slimmer. My stomach doesn't look or feel nearly as bloated as it has the past few months and I can get my feet into shoes that I haven't been able to wear lately. I also was able to tighten my belt a little so that was neat!
My next post will be late next week as we start getting into Veteran's Day (a big deal over here since I work for the Navy). It will also be our last tailgate for our local college football team and the nosedive for me into the holiday season.
Now for some accountability:
SW: 248
GW: 160
CW: 234
So as you can see, I only lost one pound in the past 2 weeks but I absolutely did not stick to the Medifast diet, and it shows. I'm eager to jump back on the train and start feeling great again about what I'm doing.
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Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company as part of a sponsored posting. For more information, please read this post.
DISCLAIMER: Always talk to your doctor before starting any diet. I am NOT a doctor and cannot make decisions about your health. *Average weight loss for Medifast Direct® customers using Medifast Go™ is 11 pounds. Medifast Direct customers are in weight loss, on average, for 8 weeks.
