Update!

Judging from the phone calls and emails I've been getting, I know everyone is anxiously awaiting an update from me on how the weight loss program is going! Again, I really appreciate the interest everyone is taking and the support everyone is showing - it makes it a lot easier.

It's going really, really well. I'm off to a fantastic start and I'm sure that will make a huge difference in how successful I am long term. It's hard to decide which to write about first -- my success in my efforts and how I'm doing from the standpoint of sticking to it, exercising, feeling positive emotionally, etc. OR the bottom line success at the scale. Of course they go hand in hand and success at the efforts should equate to success at the scale, but this is a long process and I want to make sure that my focus is more on the process rather than the end result. So you'll have to wait to the end of this post for that! :)

Anyway, it's been three full days. The three days that they said would be the hardest. I haven't deviated from the plan, of course. But I don't anticipate deviating at all, so that's a given. A few people in my group tonight said that they couldn't help themselves and had some food because it was so hard. Overall, it hasn't been that difficult for me. I get hungry around dinner time, but I don't know if that's real physical hunger or more psychological hunger. It's actually really, really difficult to not eat, but I'm so determined and positive that I'm doing ok. I have been able to successfully make meals for the family and go grocery shopping. Marlon has been helping out a ton, but he's not always here. he's handling most of the dinners, but he was late getting home last night, so I started getting it ready. I'm just separating myself from it in my mind and distancing myself from it. I haven't been tempted to eat anything that I've been preparing or that we have in the house. I do, however, have some really weird cravings. I would love a big juicy hamburger or some scrambled eggs or a plate of refried beans and rice. Those aren't necessarily even my favorite foods, just what I'm craving!

It's hard at night, after the kids go to bed. That's when I used to enjoy a nice snack, while relaxing with a book. So now I stay upstairs after they go to bed. Probably better anyway, I'm going to sleep about an hour earlier.

Physically so far I feel fine. Not tired, no headache. Just normal. Energized, actually.

The shakes themselves are actually quite good and satisfying. They gave us tips on ways we can add variety, such as adding extracts, sugar free jello, sugar free instant pudding, etc. I thrive on variety, so I bought a bunch of that stuff at the store and have been trying out different things. Sometimes (esp when I'm on the go) I just mix it up in a shaker cup like chocolate milk and it's tasty. Otherwise I use the blender to make a more milkshake consistence. I made a really delicious "mocha" this morning in the blender by using half chocolate, half vanilla and adding a tsp of decaf coffee. I also had a good "root beer float" yesterday by making a vanilla shake with a diet root beer. The shakes are really, really good as puddings, and can be mixed with instant pudding to make all kinds of varieties. I have the chicken soup broth once or twice a day for something more savory and warm. When I feel the need to crunch, I eat some ice. The kids are very into it and want to taste it every way I make it. It won't hurt them, so I'm letting them so they can feel involved. We can actually buy the product for friends and family and they said it's fine for kids - makes a very nutritious breakfast on the go, so I may let them have them once in awhile. The main reason I don't want to do that often is because it's actually pretty darn expensive!!!

I've been doing awesome on the exercise. I've been keeping up with my daily swim and have added a 30 minute walk with Midnight every morning. I'm going to gradually increase the swimming time and add a second walk. I love the walks - I crank up the ipod pretty loud (it gets me going) and off I go. If anyone knows any good fast paced upbeat music that's good for power walking, let me know b/c I need to add more songs to the ipod.

Marlon's knees have been bothering him, so he decided to try swimming with me today. He was exhausted after 15 minutes (I go for 30-45) and decided he has a new respect for it because it's harder than it looks. It'll be fun to swim together. I appreciate all the offers to go walking together, but please don't take offense if I say no. I like to have my own pace and I don't like to talk and walk - I really just want to have my music loud and spend time with Midnight. (I bet I'll trade being overweight for being hard of hearing b/c I like the music so loud!)

We're supposed to keep daily records of our shakes, blood sugars, blood pressure, amount of water drank, exercise, etc. and show them to the dr and our health coach. They were impressed and both said they've never seen such detailed summary sheets turned in as mine were. I guess they don't know me very well yet! :)

So as you can see, it's going really, really well. Once I got in my mind to do this, I became so excited and motivated and now that I'm into it, I have this inexplicable inner peaceful feeling like I know I'm doing the right thing and this is the right time and the right plan. Of course I probably should have done it years ago, but I had to be in the right mindset to do it and maybe I just wasnt' there a few years ago. Anyway, I'm doing it now and that's what matters.

Ok, so ready for the "bottom line," the numbers on the scale? Before I tell you don't get too excited. I'm sure a lot of it is water weight. It will fluctuate from week to week and every week will be different and you always lose a lot at first with any diet. Still, I was quite pleased with my number at the scale because I've only been doing the fasting since Monday, so that's just a couple of days, not a whole week. I lost 7.8 pounds! So, yes, I'm off to a great start!

Nothing major is going on in other respects. This has been the focus this week. Everyone else is fine and school is going great.