Keep On Keepin' On

7-28-14

5 More Pounds Down, 5 More to Go!

It has been awhile since I’ve updated my progress publicly.  Today’s the day!  I have officially lost 15 pounds since starting the TSFL food.  I have officially lost 20 pounds since I began supporting Boyd in his efforts.  And I’m 30 pounds away from my all time high of last Summer and Fall.  20 pounds in two months is unbelievable to me.  Remember the hypothyroidism?  And yet I’m still “typical”.  Wow.  Being average has never felt so awesome!

I’m now in kind of a weird mental place..  I find myself justifying slipping back into old patterns: “I’ve lost so much;  I’ll surely never gain weight like that again;  Just one __________________ won’t slow me down; I can manage the last few pounds on my own.”  It takes a lot of energy to mentally change habits--far more energy than I ever needed in the beginning.  That part was easy.  Eat the food and lose the weight.  No problem at all. So now I need to ask myself often throughout the day, “What is my ultimate goal?  Does what I want to do/eat now support that ultimate goal?”  I’ve made some contrary choices through the last few weeks for sure, but they were always mindful ones.  I’ve also made some really great choices and those continue to outnumber the contrary ones.  I am much more self-aware.  I’ve decided that I do need to stay focused to get to my goal of 135 tops.  If I can reach 125 in the next few weeks that’s even better.  There are still more clothes to shrink back into, even though I’ve pulled more from the back of the closet and into circulation.  When I reach that ultimate goal  I’ll transition out.  I’ll be telling myself that often, I’m sure!  In the meantime, I’ve got lots of bars and brownies to enjoy.  Keep on keepin’ on!

Guess Who is Down Nearly 10 Pounds Today?

Lose weight without exercising!?

6-29-14

I’ve had a setback.  I was pretty excited about the weight loss so I started exercising a bit harder every day.  So for a few days I began feeling pretty fatigued (I’ve had plenty of energy while eating the TSFL food up until then).  It turns out that you really should cut back on your normal levels of exercise for the first 3 weeks minimum.  I stopped the exercise and the energy levels rose again.  It seems so illogical to lose weight without exercising.  I really have to get my head around that.

The weight continues to drop--little by little.  The key, however, is that it continues to drop.  I’m still in awe of the process and how I’m actually making steady progress.  I’m enjoying my “new” clothes, bringing them from the back of the closet into circulation again.  I may even need some fresh new things to go with them. :)  It is now a habit to plan for my meals (a sack of TSFL pretzels while I run errands or a bar smuggled into a movie theater).   I’ve got some great momentum!

Cost Neutral

7-1-14

Rather than elaborate on the same things (I’m REALLY losing weight and it’s exciting to me) I’d like to talk about some questions that have come up from others about TSFL.

COST NEUTRAL

Shelling out $300+ on food is never a comfortable thing--even at Costco just ahead of a big event.  People have asked if it’s expensive and my initial reaction is “yes”.  But it’s actually not.  The cost of the food covers SIX weeks of food, or $50 per week.  Not bad.  I don’t buy nearly as much for myself in the family grocery budget--I’m only eating some vegetables and a small protein portion each day.  Here’s the math:  

Cost of TSFL food minus what I would normally eat (homecooked and restaurant/fast food) = just about even.  If I further subtract the cost of gym memberships, exercize DVD’s, supplements, etc, I come out ahead.  And since I’m getting results, it’s more than worth it to me.  As I phase off of the TSFL food and increase the amount of REAL food (minimally processed) my overall food expenses will be less than they were before I started.  

FOOD

I’m not a foodie.  I’m usually satisfied with what I make.  I’m no gourmet chef and I’m not picky.  I’ve heard some people say that they’ve heard the food tastes bad.  That has not been my experience at all.  I love the pancakes and cereal.  I REALLY love the bars--all of them.  The “hearty” meals that I have tried have been satisfying.  Chicken noodle soup and sloppy joes?  I like them.  The mac and cheese?  Nope.  It does taste like the Kraft mac and cheese, but since I don’t really like that, it was no surprise that I didn’t like the TSFL version.  I LOVE ice cream so I have really appreciated the TSFL soft serve.  It hits the spot on our 100 degree days, and it’s actually a bit filling.  The soft bake chocolate chip cookie isn’t my favorite, although it tastes fine.  And the brownie is definitely a luxury at the end of a day.  I just selected the food for my next shipment and I’m pretty excited to try some new things.  There are different variety packs that you can buy (gluten free, chocolate lovers, on-the-go, etc) or you can completely customize your order.  I went with the “favorites” last time.  This time I selected 20 boxes, item by item.  

Boyd, on the other hand, loves the salty-crunchy snacks.  His favorites are the pretzels and puffs of all flavors.  He has never been a cereal or pancake guy, but he looks forward to his TSFL breakfasts every day.  It’s kind of a morning treat for him.  He’s also a big fan of the shakes and bars.

So in summary, I have been happy with the food.  A fussy eater might have a different opinion.  The solution is just to buy what you like to normally eat.  Chances are, something will come close enough to your tastes.

7-8-14

Guess Who is Down Nearly 10 Pounds Today?

Holidays are tricky.  We just had the Independence Day holiday--complete with snacks,  treats and celebrations.  That holiday is not really famous for it’s food (unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas).  But there are plenty of picnic traps to maneuver.  I admit that I haven’t been the best at avoiding things.  The best I have done is not to eat as much as I would have otherwise done.  The result is that weight loss has slowed (but it still continues to drop).  I’m nearly down 10 pounds since starting the special food--halfway to my goal.  One more order of food should get me there!

Everything is Awesome (and Baggy!)

6-18-14 - Everything is Awesome

Accountability is awesome!  Yesterday I made my weight loss journey public, via Facebook.  That evening I went to a church youth activity where I knew there would be pizza and Dutch Oven cobbler.  I knew I could skip the pizza...but could I pass up a bite of cobbler?  When I entered the room a couple of my Church/Facebook friends complimented me on my success so far.  How could I even think of taking a bite of cobbler then?  No way!  I came home without cobbler and went straight for a TSFL brownie.  Whew!

This morning I was rewarded with more weight lost and more (fractions of) inches gone. Hooray!  Thank you, friends!

6-20-14 - I Love it When a Plan Comes Together

The last few days have been pretty textbook, according to the plan.  I ate my meals on schedule, drank lots of water, and continued to see success.  After 7 full days on the plan I weigh 151.6 pounds.  The 3.5 pounds I’ve lost in a week fall right in the middle of “typical”—two to five pounds in each of the first two weeks.  So why do I feel like a Superhero?  Maybe because in the last year it took WEEKS of hard effort to lose three pounds.  And here I lost three pounds in just one little week.  Awesome!  

My foot feels well enough to start exercising so I added a low impact weight training DVD to my morning schedule.  It feels good to start that again!  Thank you to my beachbody friend for inspiring this.  I find it to be really helpful to be doing this with Boyd as my coach and also as my co-TSFL follower.  It is really nice to have that support.  And it’s also really nice to be able to swap meals between the two of us (“I’ll give you a chocolate pudding for a mac and cheese”.  Done!)  I guess that even if I didn’t have someone in the home to share this journey with, I could still enjoy the benefits of having a Health Coach to be accountable to and to celebrate success with.  I love the built-in support system.

6-22-14 - Baggy Clothes!

Yesterday was an extended family picnic.  I volunteered to bring the green salad.  It was easy to simply take the deli meat provided and garnish my salad with that and just a bit of dressing.  The lean and green meal was taken care of.  I love taking out my smartphone and pulling up the free myTSFL app.  It’s so satisfying to enter the checkmarks onto the daily meal schedule.  “Great!  Your Medifast meal was saved successfully!”  That’s a nice touch to an already great program.

Lately my clothes have been baggy.  The things that were snug (but wearable) have now become loose.  I might have to retire them soon.  But I’m so excited to bring other favorites back out of retirement!  I’ve already been able to bring back a couple of pairs of capris. J  A few weeks before I started the program I tried buying some summer clothes but walked away empty handed.  I just didn’t want to buy size 12 anymore.  And the 10’s were tight.  I was really discouraged about it.  I know it’s just a number on a bit of fabric, but where I’d spent most of my life as a 6 or 8 I just couldn’t spend my money anymore on things that reinforced my discouragement.  Kind of like giving up.  Fitting into old favorites is SO much better than that.  Now I’m trying on pants that I consider to be the reward at the end of my weight loss journey and I’m getting closer and closer EVERY DAY.  When the weight loss is done then I’ll transition into a healthy lifestyle that will prevent the gain from ever happening again.  I look forward to that!

Can a 40+ Woman with Hypothyroidism Lose Weight?

Background

I’d like to start this off by thanking my parents for some good genes.  I’ve been able to carry 40 extra pounds pretty well.  I don’t look awesome, but I don’t look heavy.  That has been a good thing since during the last 10 years that I’ve tried and tried to lose weight I’ve been able to conceal victories and losses pretty well.  It has also been a bad thing in that any time I’ve mentioned my desire to lose weight someone always says something about how I “have an ounce or two to lose?” while rolling their eyes.  Not much sympathy from the crowd, I’m afraid.  Neither have they been very supportive.  

But deep inside I know that I have always felt healthiest between 125 (post 2 kids, never exercise, don’t need to) and 135 (post 3 kids, lift weights and do aerobics—smaller than ever and feeling awesome). 

It has been really hard to see the weight creep up and up after my 4^th child and my hypothyroidism diagnosis, topping out at 172 last summer.  My husband has seen my frustration and has been very supportive through the years.

I have been trying all year to exercise consistently and eat better.  And my efforts have paid off.  Since my all-time high last summer I lost 10 pounds and a little off of my hip and waist measurements.  It has taken a long time to lose those 10 pounds and it is all too easy to gain them back so I have to be careful.  But since I now know that I’m a stress eater it’s all too tempting to throw it all out the window during a bad day. 

6 weeks ago I watched my husband begin the Take Shape for Life 5:1 eating plan.  He started the plan just before we had some family plans to eat at a specific restaurant and just before we had an already scheduled family pizza night.  It was hard to fulfill the commitment to the kids and watch my husband longing for just a taste and finally leaving the table so he could remove himself from the temptation.  Since then I have tried to show my support in not having treats and unhealthy snacks in the house at all.  That has made a big difference for me too.  Not having convenient snacks around for stressful times has made it easier to ask myself if I’m REALLY hungry?  Or just feel like eating for no reason?  That awareness has allowed me to answer honestly—that actually I’m not hungry at all—and I can wait for the next meal with no problems.  

My husband started drinking tons of water so I did too.  He started eating a “lean and green” dinner so I did too.  And I saw some great results, losing a few more pounds, even though I’m not able to exercise as much as I’d like to (stupid heel injury).

My overall goal is to get somewhere back in the 125-135 range where I have felt my best.  So I’ll just say a 20 to 25 pound loss is what I’ll be working for.  My husband is now a certified TSFL Health Coach and has agreed to help me in my efforts.  It’s SO nice to have that support.

June 13, 2014: The Experiment Begins

Today I begin the big experiment.  I’m starting the TSFL 5:1 plan.  I weighed in at 155.4—the lowest reading the scale has given me in years!  The changes I’ve made in recent weeks have given me a great head start and have helped me to develop eating strategies that will help me to adjust. 

I do love how easy Dr A has made the plan to follow.  I’m a “stay at home mom” which means I spend most of my afternoons in the car shuttling kids from place to place.  Having a meal replacement bar in my purse will definitely make it easy to stay on the program.  I believe that my biggest challenge will be the temptation to cheat.  I know that cheating can make it take longer for my body to enter “fat burning mode” and will kick me out of that mode once I finally get into it.  So I really need to remain self disciplined in order to maximize results during the 6 weeks that I have the Medifast meals.

June 16, 2014: Progress Already?!?

I’ve already lost 2 pounds!  That’s amazing to me since it is usually SO hard to get the scale to budge downward.  Hip and waist measurements confirm it.  

I love the fast results because I understand that day 3 or 4 tends to be the toughest for people.  Day 3 (yesterday) I felt a bit weak and today I just feel like eating.  Anything.  And lots of it.  But knowing that it’s a common hurdle makes it easier to keep it in perspective.  The hungry feeling is just a temporary thing and that if I stick with the plan I should feel better tomorrow.  And knowing that I’ve lost 2 pounds already makes me want to keep trying. 

The food is pretty good so far.  A few things have been underwhelming, but not bad.  I love the bars—any flavor.  The pretzels and puffs are pretty good.  I like the pudding and cookies the most.  Did I mention that I’m a stress eater with a sweet tooth?  I was gone all day on Saturday but it was easy to stick to the plan.  I just had to throw a few “meals” into my bag and I was all set.

I keep thinking back to my past.  When I was still in High School I used to work after school at a Doctor’s office making copies and doing general filing.  I remember seeing several “before” pictures of people as they began their Doctor-supervised Medifast programs.  

As the weeks went by I’d file reports and photos of the same people making incredible changes to their bodies and health.  I remember being impressed that this was such a great tool for those who were very overweight.  Now I really appreciate that a person can buy everything directly from someone who can coach them to success.  And that person doesn’t need to be so at-risk to be considered.  This is open to anyone who needs to make some positive changes—even if it’s 20 pounds.  Of course a Doctor should be consulted.  And Take Shape for Life repeats over and over that typical results show that people can expect to lose 2-5 pounds in each of the first two weeks and 1-2 pounds in each of the following weeks.  That can really add up.

June 17, 2014 -- I. Am. Stunned.

To follow up on yesterday’s post, I made it through the day, sticking to the plan.  My evening snack was a really, really good brownie—the perfect reward for hanging in there.  And it was lovingly prepared by Boyd—my husband and coach.  The result?  This morning I’m down another pound, verified by smaller measurements in the waist and hips.  I. Am. Stunned.  

Did I mention that it has been really tough in the past to lose weight?  Did I mention that I’ve been dealing with hypothyroidism for 10 years?  Did I mention that I’m over 40?  Did I mention that I have a heel injury that limits me to walking for my exercise?  None of that seems to matter with this plan.  I’m losing weight and inches in the “typical” range of what is predicted.  And it has only been 4 days!