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.