Date: 04/29/2010
Starting Weight: 219.6
Current Weight: 156.8
Goal Weight2: 155
Final Goal Weight: 145-150
Loss Since Last Weigh In: 4.2
Total Weight loss: 62.8
Pounds left to lose: 1.8
Well my weekly blog turned into more of a “whenever I have time” blog. I am going to try my hardest to post more often. I want this blog to be a reliable source of information and encouragement to those on Medifast. I also don’t want it to end up being dull because I have some sort of deadline to meet. I am hoping to find a happy medium.
A little update on my past month. It has been sort of a rollercoaster for me in many different areas of my life. I pictured April and May to be more of a downtime, when I could really dig my heels into my goals and get there. I still am not doubting myself or my ability to get to my final goal by June 3rd. Rather rolling with the punches and coming out the other side confident and still making progress.
I did go off the program for five days while on vacation to California. I will admit again I went a little crazy and just ate and drank whatever I wanted. I didn’t gain an un-godly amount of weight, but by the time I was flying home my body felt like complete crap. I was bloated and the way I felt when I looked at myself, in the mirror was drastically different. I am sure being around the glitz and glam of the beautiful plastic that surrounds you everywhere in California didn’t help. I will admit I was flying home in pity party mode. I got back to work my first day back. I made a plan for a new exercise routine and some stricter guidelines to follow by. I find when I let myself go so far off what I know is right for my body, strict guidelines are a good way to jump start my attitude and satisfy my need for a schedule and some order.
Medifast isn’t just about eating some diet food and losing weight. It’s about learning to live and entire healthy lifestyle. Complete body heath, not just what goes into your stomach. You might notice that I often blog about leg pain and how it restricts my life. I decided while in California that living a year with this pain, enough is enough. I scheduled and appointment with a neurologist. After some tests it revealed I have a herniated disc in my back that is causing the pain in my leg. Insurance problems are keeping me from getting surgery right away. I will have to go to a different neurosurgeon that is “in-network” with my insurance provider. This will take until probably September time to get worked out. Everything is in god’s timing and I am okay with that. This affects my work out routine. Until then, I am trying to keep to lower intensity work outs. I stopped going the actual gym, but I might resume in a few weeks. I sure do miss Spin Class and Circuit training. For now I am doing nightly walks with my parents (who are on their second month of Medifast). It’s a pretty steep straight incline up a hill and then down hill the other half. Right now they are only able to do one loop, so to keep it challenging for me I run 5 blocks to their house from my apartment before we start the walk. Once we get to the bottom of the hill I try my best to jog back to my apartment. Once I get home I do a 7-10 minute abs routine from the 5 day abs dvd. It’s important when you feel ready, to add in an exercise program. It’s just a fact of life. You need exercise in your life, even if it is something small like a walk once a day. Don’t be afraid to push yourself. Trust me that five block job to and from home feels like death. Lol
Lastly, I encourage everyone to take a look at their past lives as they take steps toward a new one. Identify the negative habits and reasons that lead you to that breaking point of being overweight or even obesity. I was faced head on with mine on Monday, although I identified it early on in this process. I’m and emotional eater. When I feel hurt and broken I want to fix it with food.
If you don’t face those demons now they might come back to haunt you later. You will find yourself falling into old patterns. It’s all a part of learning and growing to be a better you that you can love and be proud of. Keep up the good work everyone! 1.8 pounds to go until my second goal and 11.8 pounds until my final goal. I never thought I would get to this point, but I am. I’m here, the door is open and all that’s left is for me to take the final steps and walk through it! If I can do it. You can too.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Picture update 2
Here's some full body pictures that I took this morning. I am still trying to figure out the whole "adding picutres" to my blog thing. Or I would have put them all on one blog entry.
Before and After...So Far.
Date: 03/31/2010Starting Weight: 219.6
Current Weight: 161.0
Goal Weight2: 155
Final Goal Weight: 145-150
Loss Since Last Weigh In: 2.4
Total Weight loss: 58.6
Pounds left to lose: 6
Thought I would do a little picture update. The first picutre is me last Aug 2009 in a purple shirt. This was the month I started this blog and Medifast. The Other was taken today!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Life
Date: 03/12/2010
Starting Weight: 219.6
Current Weight: 163.4
Goal Weight2: 155
Final Goal Weight: 145-150
Loss Since Last Weigh In: 0.7
Total Weight loss: 56.2
Pounds left to lose: 8.4
Well, another week down and almost another pound down. I didn’t expect high losses this week or the upcoming week. One of my best friends is leaving for Europe for a few months and we are celebrating his last week with us. So in turn I have been working out less and partying more. I know this goes against an earlier blog post I made, where I had decided that I wouldn’t party anymore, until my vacation to California next month.
Life is always going to get in the way of your plans. That lesson we all know well and learn at a young age. Sometimes things don’t go exactly the way you hoped. How you handle it makes all the difference. I think this lesson is a big part of the reason we got un-healthy in the first place. “I could work out, but I’m tired.” “Sure, I could make a healthy dinner but this pizza is more convenient tonight.” Slowly over time this mentality snow balls. I don’t want any of my readers to get the impression that I am letting these little things that come up, get in my way and take me off course.
I feel like personally I have learned enough, in the six months of being on Medifast that every now and then I can allow myself a little break. I don’t recommend this to people just starting out. Find your willpower, learn new habits, break the routine you have been stuck in. Otherwise you might find yourself “cheating” more and more, before you know it you are stuck right back in your old unhealthy routine.
Just like everyone else, I get caught up in the “life happens” excuse. It’s not always easy to push through those little roadblocks. The more you stick to your commitments the better foundation you are laying down to keep making smart choices in the future.
I really want to step up my game in the next few months. I have given myself a time line for meeting my goal weight. I really want to be there by June but I think that might be pushing it a little too much for me. I want to keep my goals realistic. I think I will be able to lose another ten pounds by June and then push all the way through to my final goal by August or September. September is also when I am taking a trip to Vegas! I would love to be bikini ready by Vegas time. Time to kick it into gear!
Starting Weight: 219.6
Current Weight: 163.4
Goal Weight2: 155
Final Goal Weight: 145-150
Loss Since Last Weigh In: 0.7
Total Weight loss: 56.2
Pounds left to lose: 8.4
Well, another week down and almost another pound down. I didn’t expect high losses this week or the upcoming week. One of my best friends is leaving for Europe for a few months and we are celebrating his last week with us. So in turn I have been working out less and partying more. I know this goes against an earlier blog post I made, where I had decided that I wouldn’t party anymore, until my vacation to California next month.
Life is always going to get in the way of your plans. That lesson we all know well and learn at a young age. Sometimes things don’t go exactly the way you hoped. How you handle it makes all the difference. I think this lesson is a big part of the reason we got un-healthy in the first place. “I could work out, but I’m tired.” “Sure, I could make a healthy dinner but this pizza is more convenient tonight.” Slowly over time this mentality snow balls. I don’t want any of my readers to get the impression that I am letting these little things that come up, get in my way and take me off course.
I feel like personally I have learned enough, in the six months of being on Medifast that every now and then I can allow myself a little break. I don’t recommend this to people just starting out. Find your willpower, learn new habits, break the routine you have been stuck in. Otherwise you might find yourself “cheating” more and more, before you know it you are stuck right back in your old unhealthy routine.
Just like everyone else, I get caught up in the “life happens” excuse. It’s not always easy to push through those little roadblocks. The more you stick to your commitments the better foundation you are laying down to keep making smart choices in the future.
I really want to step up my game in the next few months. I have given myself a time line for meeting my goal weight. I really want to be there by June but I think that might be pushing it a little too much for me. I want to keep my goals realistic. I think I will be able to lose another ten pounds by June and then push all the way through to my final goal by August or September. September is also when I am taking a trip to Vegas! I would love to be bikini ready by Vegas time. Time to kick it into gear!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Persistence
Date: 03/04/2010
Starting Weight: 219.6
Current Weight: 164.1
Goal Weight2: 155
Final Goal Weight: 145-150
Loss Since Last Weigh In: 2.9
Total Weight loss: 55.5
Pounds left to lose: 9.1
I am finally making some progress again and it feels good! This morning while getting ready for work I tried to wear a dress that I wore on my cruise. It was so baggy I had literally no shape in it. I am not the “pack rat” type, so when something is no longer useful to me I throw it out. So when my jeans start getting to baggy I pass them on to someone else or take them to a thrift shop. This is really the first outfit I haven’t put on in a couple months and to find it’s so big on me is such a great feeling. The belt had a lot of room away from my waist even on the tightest notch. I can remember back to when I bought it and it was tight fitting on me. I had to wear spanks with it for it to feel comfortable. Now it’s on it’s way to the nearest thrift store and I couldn’t be happier!
Medifast is a lifestyle change and one that I am happy to make. It isn’t easy for me still. The process is a piece of cake, the logistics anyways. Eat five Medifast meals, one lean and green, and 64 oz of water. Eat every 2.5-3 hours. Easy. My life has always been centered around food. It’s how I deal with life in general. When I get a cold, I crave fast food for comfort! When I want to celebrate, I want to have a big dinner celebration. That is something that is embedded inside of me. That will take time to replace with good habits. I think that is the point of Medifast or any diet and exercise program. We have not been able to make the right choices up to this point. So we are re-learning how to take care of our bodies and creating new habits. No matter how many pounds you need to lose, how long it takes, or what you do to get there we all need to teach ourselves a new way to live. So after it’s all over we don’t end up right back where we started.
A Small change I have found is I find myself checking out the labels when I’m walking through the store. I have been shocked at the amount of calories, fat, and sugar in the foods I used to love to eat and bought without even one glance at the label. It’s something small you can do and also a deterrent for when you are craving those sweets and junk food. I urge you to try that in everyday shopping. It will probably help you curve your cravings and gives you a head start for when you are in your transition phase.
Coaching is harder than I anticipated. I thought since I had been on the program for a while now, that answering the questions would be really easy. Every person is different and their needs are different. I bought a daily planner and that really has been my lifesaver! Keeping up with the business end of it, is actually easier than I thought. I just get frustrated with myself because I don’t always have the answers they are looking for on the spot (Of course, I find them through contacting Medifast or through my WONDERFUL coach!) I have always had pride in myself for giving 100 percent in anything I do. It feels sometimes like I am falling short, but I know that is just my own insecurities getting the best of me. I need to find my confidence in being someone’s coach. I know that comes with time, like usual I am just in a hurry!
And for you bleeding hearts out there, here’s your quote.
“The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.”
– James Whitcomb Riley
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
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
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
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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
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
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