Back On Track :)

Date: 02/23/2010
Starting Weight: 219.6
Current Weight: 167.0
Goal Weight2: 155
Final Goal Weight: 145-150
Loss Since Last Weigh In: 2.4
Total Weight loss: 52.6
Pounds left to lose: 12

My first week of coaching was a success! As far as I know it was, anyways. My first three clients did great this week. It put me right back in my first few weeks of Medifast and what a change it was. It pushed me to try harder and get to my goal. I am finding these last 20 pounds are not an easy task. Mentally I really want to start transitioning off Medifast. I have been at this about six months now and I am just ready to start a new chapter. The reality is I need to reach my goal weight, I need to stick to this through the end and I still have some things to really drive home in my mind before I can start doing this 100 percent on my own. I think coaching is just what I need to push me to achieve those last few pounds. I am staying in contact with my clients pretty closely and their attitude about making such a positive change in their lives pushes me into that mindset. My parents are actually gearing up to start Medifast in a couple weeks. I am so proud that they are deciding to finally take that step. Although I am not EXACTLY where I need to be, here I sit 52 pounds lighter than I was six months ago. I am happier than I have ever been. It makes me happy to know that hopefully a few months from now, they will be feeling the same way.

I know the area’s where I could buckle down and drop the pounds quicker.
· I don’t need a snack, every night. Water helps curve those cravings, and quite frankly I know I am not hungry, just in the mood to munch. That is habit that I really need to break.
· I could cut down my diet soda and coffee intake. In the past month or two I have started drinking coffee in the mornings. Just one or two cups with a few Splendas mixed in. Before I didn’t keep diet soda in the house. If I found myself craving a soda, I would get one at work or buy one to bring home and have with dinner.
· Stop cooking my veggies with the Smart Balance butter and go back to steamed veggies for most of the week.
· Eat a few more chicken salads for my Lean and green.
· Go back to balancing the meat that is not as lean with lower carb greens.

I can say with 100 percent certainty that I haven’t reached a plateau. Simply this last month or so, I sort of lost the real drive and willpower that I had at the beginning. I had been going out dancing and having a few cocktails on quite a few weekends. That is the extent of my “cheating”. Here or there I probably had a bite or two of food that wasn’t on the plan. But I can attribute my weight loss slowing down and stopping completely to my drinking habits recently. This is something I have completely stopped and I won’t drink again until I reach my goal weight or until I go on my vacation in April. Don’t fall back into old habits! It’s easy and sometimes seems harmless, but you can tell by my stats that it is detrimental to the program. It also defeats half the purpose of Medifast. One half is to lose the weight, the second half is to create NEW habits and move away from old mistakes that got you into hot water in the first place.

Now in true “coaching” fashion I am going to make a little list of Medifast starter tips I have run into, while coaching my clients through their first week.
· Before starting, get a shaker for Medifast shakes or cold drinks. Get a thermos for making Medifast soup and giving it plenty of time to soften. A digital scale to weigh out your lean meat portion. A scale to track your progress. It is important to weigh in on the same scale to keep accurate results.
· You may find yourself getting hungry in-between Medifast meals. Your body is adjusting and is set in your old habits of eating for many different reasons other than necessity. Don’t be afraid to have your allotted snack. Grab a Pickle, Celery sticks, Sugar free Jello, Sugar free popsicle, Sugar free fudge sickle.
· If you are having trouble drinking all 64oz of water a day, try to mix it up with some sugar free flavored water. Make sure the label is all zeros. You can also add some Crystal light with your water to help it along.
· Keep your first couple weeks pretty basic. Basic lean and greens, that are quick to make and get in the habit of your new schedule. It can seem overwhelming at times to get in all your meals and in the time frame you are supposed to.
· Remember your first week is all about getting a schedule and really learning what the program is all about. If you make a mistake, remember that tomorrow is a new day. You have lived your whole life with completely different habits. Your body is adjusting.
· The most important thing for all new Medifast people. This first month you are figuring out which meals you like and which meals you don’t care for. If you don’t like the taste of something. Don’t eat it. End of story. If you eat a meal out of a box you can still send it back. You will never be successful if you are eating food you don’t like.

“The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.”-John F Kennedy

<3
Tiff

Coaching and Renewed Energy

It’s been a while since I blogged and I plan to keep this one short. These past two weeks writing my blog keeps getting moved to the bottom of my to-do list. It’s still sitting there at the bottom. I have a million things ahead of me to do. This week, I have been literally out of energy. I went home from work and went straight to bed and yesterday stayed home all day. You would figure with all that bed time I could write a decent blog entry. Things just seem to be a blank lately. I thought I would give a little update of some new interests and commitments in my life.

These past few weeks I have been having what I like to call a quarter life crisis. I usually mull over my life and fear for my future. My last quarter life crisis was in August and it felt as if Medifast fell into my lap and opened up a whole new way of living and eating. Recently my fear has mostly been for my career. An opportunity to go back to school, hit me quickly. I started worrying about my lifestyle and although I don’t have the nicest car and live with a roommate I still manage to find myself living pay check to pay check. This is the fear that keeps going back to school seem like a great idea (making more money in the future) and that makes it seem like the worst idea in the world (I already have quite a few student loans I am paying back, this would make keeping a full time job impossible while adding more debt to the pot). I was discussing my woes at a girls night out type of dinner. My health coach was there and a few days later she decided to approach me about being a Medifast health coach. I mulled it over for a few days and then decided to jump in feet first and go for it. I have been coaching for only four days now. I have small insecurities here or there, but it has given me a great refresher and a new drive for kicking my own diet into gear. “Got to walk the walk, if you’re going to talk the talk.” I am officially signing up today, and will add a new little section into my blog about what it’s like to be a coach.

I also have just borrowed a vegan cooking/lifestyle book. It’s not something that I see fully committing to but not something I would be opposed to checking into. I think that a lot of the food looks delicious and might be something I am willing to commit to eat for a couple days out of the week.

A better blog to come next week after I have caught up a little bit. I am thinking of writing out a list for tips of those just starting out and common problems I am finding my clients are running into. Keep up the good work!

<3 Tiff