Week Two

My weight this morning is 236.8. I have not cheated on my diet once. This week I did not stick to the exercise plan though because of my trip to Kentucky. I only made it to the gym once and no walks. But right after this post I am going to the gym for a workout. I know things are going to happen in life to throw me off course but I have to stay focused and get right back to the program. I can't complain, I have lost over 10 lbs. In 2 weeks and that's pretty good.

I got my daughter and grandson all settled in Kentucky. It was a long drive in the rain the whole time. A few whirlwind trips to stores, a lot of putting furniture together, and then a day on planes and at airports to get home. I really miss my little guy, the house seems really quiet without him (and clean!). I have talked to him by phone but we will have to set up cameras. I guess I know where my next vacation is going to be.

My son, Brandon, is happy because he gets her room. He has had a setback on his P90X program because he lost the hard drive where the workout videos were stored. Hopefully he will download them again, and get back on it. He is waiting for his new laptop to come in and it keeps getting delayed.

OK, I guess I have delayed my workout long enough, time to get to the gym.

Finally! One Week

It has been one week, but strangely feels like longer. I guess because a lot has happened this week. Anyway I was pretty excited for the first weigh-in. I got up first thing this morning and hopped on the scale. I was happy to see that I weigh 239 even. Since my first weigh-in was on the same scale, same place, and in the morning, I think the difference is fairly accurate. My weekly home weigh-ins are done first thing in the morning (that is supposed to be the time of day you weigh the least) and sans clothing. I think that will give me the greatest consistency in being able to do it under the same circumstances. I will also post monthly weigh-ins at curves which will be taken on a different scale, in the evening, and with clothes. This will probably yield a slightly different result than at home.

I did another workout which is good. I just have to make sure I get in there at least 3 days a week. I finally got my electronic tag and it showed I burned 296 calories during my workout. I think I will go to the gym on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and walk at work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That way I will be exercising 6 days a week. I may increase later but this should be pretty good to start.

Today I am going to take Ayden to a playroom to spend some time together before he leaves.
Then early tomorrow morning we head out for Kentucky.

Bad News Good News

I just got some news that has dampened my positive spirits. My daughter and grandson are moving to Kentucky this weekend. I knew they were going to be moving when Brittany's boyfriend Mark, was assigned to Fort Knox, but I didn't think it would be this soon. I have decided to drive down with her and fly back because I don't like the idea of her and the little one driving all that way in the winter by herself.

The good news is that I did my first full circuit at Curves and my heart rate stayed in the zone.

Joining the Gym

Yeah! I made it through day 3. I did not feel hungry at all today except a few minutes when my son was cooking chicken, but I think that was more of a craving triggered by the smell. Anyway I worked through it. I have pretty much got worked out to where I will have a drink-bar-drink-bar-drink as my five meals.

I went to check out Curves and did about two thirds of the circuit. It was a good workout and my back and wrist were OK. They weighed and measured me (I weighed in there at 246) and I ended up joining (my first gym membership ). I will try to go at least 3 days a week to start. It is really.convenient because I have to drive by it on the way home. I went and bought cheap workout pants and sneakers, so I am ready to go on Wednesday when I have to do the whole circuit.

More about the plan

Well I would be lying if I said today went really easy, but it wasn't that hard either. I had a shake late morning (I waited until I was really hungry) and it did not fill me up. I still felt hungry and my stomach did not feel that great, probably because of the milk base. I wanted to wait at least 3 hours before the next drink, but it was tough, I was hungry the whole time. I heard that when you are dehydrated you may feel hungry, so I went to buy some bottled water. I also got a big water bottle (refillable kind) for work. I drank a lot of water. It did seem to help. I felt not as hungry after the second drink, but got hungry about 2 hours later. For the next meal I had a protein bar and drank more water. I am going to have one more meal (either drink or bar) shortly. That will be it for the day. I only had 4 meals today because I slept in so late.

Phase 1 is, as I mentioned, total meal replacement with either a protein shake or bar, 5 times a day, at one every three hours. I will also drink water and tea with no calorie sweetner. I will try to do this for at least 2 weeks, up to 12 weeks. Depending on how I feel. I know this sounds radical, but I researched and found out that this is the diet that many weight loss clinics put morbidly obese patients on (not mild to moderate overweight) initially. Some clinics use Optifast800. It is total meal replacement at 800 calories. (My plan has a little more calories 950-1000). I believe that my plan, while, not using Optifast, is similar in nutrician and calories. Although I do not recommend other try this with medical supervision which is what you get at the clinics. I will also start exercising during this phase and try to keep increasing as I go.

Phase 2 will start after 12 weeks or until I can no longer handle Phase 1. This is a combination of meal replacement and actual meals. I will start by doing 4 meal replacements and one small healthy meal. Then move to 3 replacements and two healthy meals. I will maintain this throughout Phase 2 until I have reached my goal weight. I will continue to exercise and hopefully as I get stronger, expand to varying activities.

Phase 3 will kick in after I reach my goal weight. I will stop all meal replacements and have 5 small healthy meals per day. I will continue with an exercise plan. If I slip and start gaining I will move back to Phase 2.

Also I want to try to get more sleep. I believe that will improve how I feel. I will do weigh-ins once a week, probably on Saturday.

I wanted to mention that I am on two medications currently. Zegerid for my stomach problems and Oracea for rosacia. I will continue taking these.

I have an appointment to try Curve gym on Monday. If I like it and can afford it, I may join. It is really close by and convenient.

Let The Journey Begin

I am up and ready for day one.  I did my first weigh-in and I am starting at 247.6.  I am planning on creating a chart or graph to plot my progress and if I ever figure it out, I will put it up on the blog.

I have planned my diet (or plan for life as I like to call it) to have three phases.  The first phase is the most stringent to jump start the weight loss.  The length of that phase depends on what I can stand.  I designed in second and third phases so that I can progress toward an eating plan for life that will help me maintain the weight loss.  But they are also there as a backup plan in case phase 1 is too difficult for me, I will not just give up, I will move to a less restrictive phase.  The weight may come off more slowly, but it will still be coming off.

In Phase 1 I will be on a total meal replacement.  I will be drinking meal replacement shakes 5 times a day.  I know that eating several small meals a day is better than 2 or 3 big ones.

D-day

Ok, this is D-day (or diet day), well D-days eve anyway.  Tomorrow I will wake up and start my journey as a new person.  A healthy happier and hopefully thinner person.  I will not only be working on weightloss but also learn how to create and run a blog.

I am laying this all out in a blog in hopes that it will encourage me by holding me accountable, hopefully encouraging others, and maybe getting some feedback and encouragement from others.

I will add info to my profile so you can understand where I'm coming from and some photos as well.

Its late so I am going to sleep and rest up for my big weigh in tomorrow.