Break Free from Obesity

BELOW IS A "COMMENT" I LEFT ON A FRIEND'S BLOG ... I'VE COPIED AND PASTED IT BELOW SO FOLKS WHO FOLLOW MY BLOG CAN LEARN WHAT HAPPENED ...

Lyn,

I applaud you!!! I recently went on vacation and knew before I started Medifast I was going to be on "vacation" from my diet in June.

Let me tell you, I didn't binge but I had a lot of the "WRONG" foods. I couldn't eat everything on my plate (as you predicted would happen when you wrote this blog).

I must admit that I gained 4.8 lbs that week. I came home, got back on Medifast and lost 5.2 lbs in the first 3 days and I'm still losing.

HOWEVER, all I have thought about since I've been home is if I gained 4.8 lbs that quickly -- what the heck am I gonna do when I get to the transition phase?

OK -- I will admit that TOM was a factor that week but I still didn't like how I felt!!! I couldn't wait to get home (FROM VACATION) so I could get back on plan! That's sad when you want to get back home from vacation!!!

I was nerved up over my son's wedding and I didn't eat much at the wedding but I did have a piece of the wedding cake and that was the probably the best off program thing I had the entire the trip.

ALL the things I had that was off plan using the "only these foods are in my home town" excuse didn't even taste as good as I hoped they would. OK, they smelled good and tasted good but I hated how I felt after I ate them!!!

The lesson learned here is that I still have a long way to go on this journey. Not only the amount of weight I need to lose but my "relationship with food" has a long way to go, too!!!

God bless you for having gotten through your planned binge. As they say, "This too shall pass!" and for you it did.

Your little one is in my thoughts and prayers!!!

MJ

June 5th is my 3 month anniversary from starting the TSFL plan using Medifast replacment meals. I am happy to report that I have lost 42 lbs in 3 months!!! I will admit that I would have liked it to be more but that was always my problem with "diets" in the past. They didn't work fast enough.

Well, an average of 3+ lbs per week is pretty darn good and I am going to be content with that pace. I have noticed signicant changes in me and with food. I had a very disappointing day a few weeks ago. I went on a job interview, which would have been a fantastic promotion for me and I didn't get the job. :( The amazing thing was I didn't want to binge over it. WOW -- that is HUGE for me.

Here I was driving home -- knowing that my dream job had just eluded me and I was crying but at the same time the thought of saying "F**k it!" popped into my head for a moment. My next thought was, "No matter how bad you feel right now -- eating yourself into oblivion is not the answer!"

I may have been upset -- but I had a victory that day. I may not have realized it so much then as I do now -- definitely a victory for me!

I am leaving June 9th to go home to Central New York (Syracuse Area) for my son's wedding. I will admit that I was hoping to lose around 5 lbs a week which would have been about 70 lbs. Well, TSFL guarantees 2.5 - 5 lbs per week and I have consistently lost on average 3 lbs per week. Monthly female changes affect the scale but overall it catches up. I had one week where I only lost .2 lbs but the next day after my weigh-in day I dropped 2.4 lbs, which was calculated into the following weeks weigh-in day.

I have basically learned that my weight fluctuates at certain times of the month and I need to be patient. I have also learned that if I just stay focused on "keeping it simple" and simply hang in there -- the scale does move again.

Have I been true 100% on this program? Honestly, I have not been 100% so I need take an inventory of those times and account for them when I return home from my son's wedding. I plan to hit this program "true to form" when I return.

From June 10th - June 14th while I am up home I plan on being mindful of what I am consuming but I am not planning on doing Medifast 100% while I am on vacation. The key word here is on "vacation" and that means from everything (including my diet). Some folks balk at that but the truth is even healthy people at a normal healthy weight take a "vacation" from eating healthy when they are on vacation. My eventual goal on TSFL is to learn how to eat like a "normal" weight person.

I am on vacation and I do not need the "guilt" nor the "stress" of what I can and cannot have while I am away. I will have some Medifast foods for my breakfast and snacks and I will make the best choices I can make for my meals but that is what I will need to be doing when I get to the transition and maintenance phases of TSFL so this is just a "practice" run. :)

I will check in here when I return to let y'all know how the wedding went and how I did when I return home and hop on the scale. LOL

Until then -- happy trails ..............

Today is Day #1 of Week #11 -- I have completed 10 weeks on TSFL plan and I have lost 37 lbs! I still believe this is the easiest "diet" I have ever tried and I must admit I have never stuck with a diet this long before.

I also had a very discouraging day yesterday. I was not feeling too good about myself and was amazed that I did NOT have an urge to go binge!!! I will repeat that -- I DID NOT HAVE AN URGE TO GO AND BINGE!!!!! I cannot begin to stress how HUGE that is for me.

I thought it through and realized that no matter how "low" I felt -- throwing away everything I have accomplished over being disappointed was not worth it! I knew it wouldn't change the situation so why bother eating over it. I'm sitting here smiling (even though I'm still bummed out) simply because I didn't eat have to eat over being disappointed.

Thank you God and thank you Medifast!!! :)

MJ

Today, May 5, 2010 (Cinco de Mayo) is my 2-month anniversary since I began my "diet" with the Take Shape For Life (TSFL) program. How it works is I eat 5 nutritionally fortified replacement meals by Medifast and eat 1 Lean & Green meal each day. It is the simplest way of eating I have ever tried.

Well, I am happy to report that I am ↓34 lbs. in two months! YAY ME!!!!! :)

I still have a very long way to go but when I see the scale is moving on an average of 17 lbs. per month -- that motivates me to stick with it!!! :)

I will be honest here folks, the scale has slowed down the last few weeks. I guess you could say I hit a plateau on TSFL. Well, I increased my water intake and I have also added the Medifast's "Flavor Infusors" I ordered this month and I think that has helped to get the scale moving again. I am being more "mindful" of my Lean & Green choices too.

As much as I love the Cauliflower Pizza, I have decided to only have that on occasion when I am really needing a pizza fix. I'm not sure why but 1 cup of reduced fat cheese in one meal was definitely slowing my efforts. I seem to have gotten the "need to eat pizza" out of my system, though. I have been reading and working on Dr. A's Habits of Health so I can identify what my issues with food are and finally "feel, deal, and heal" from this food addiction.

Recently, another blogger friend of mine posted an article on seeing her reflection in a window and how that made her painfully aware of how large she still is and I could totally identify with her pain. I, too, am quite large and my mind plays tricks on me. I "deny" that I am as big as I am (like I don't know that I am fat) but for some reason I avoid looking at a full length mirror or avoid getting my picture taken so I can stay in my little world of denial. Denial is a BIG factor in addiction. DENIAL = Don't Even Notice I Am Lying (to myself)!

Well, I did take "Before" photos when I started this program. However, I am too embarassed to post them until I can take new ones that show me with a significant weight loss. The shame and remorse is too much right now for me to post my "Before" photos to show the world. Acceptance is a very hard thing when you break free from the denial and accept that no one else is responsible for how I got here except ME. I am where I am because of my own eating habits. No one made me eat the way I was eating. I am responsible for my circumstances (despite genetics) because I am the one who allowed myself to eat the way I was eating and not do anything about it until 2 months ago.

Don't get me wrong, I have verbalized that I am a food addict before BUT I never accepted what that meant so I kept on eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I will become a slave to food if I don't remain "mindful" of every meal I prepare and eat. That is why this program is so easy for me -- it takes the "thinking" part out of it except for the Lean & Green meal. Even then there is a list of what I can and cannot have so that keeps it simple, too!!! I love to keep it simple!!! :)

All I can say is I am finally on my "weigh" to a healthier weight and lifestyle -- THANKS to TSFL and Medifast!!!

Signed,
Kis MJ

I came home from work and my NEW Lean & Green Meal Cookbook by Take Shape For Life (TSFL) was here!!!  It was released last Monday and I have been waiting over a week for this helpful tool in my journey to Break Free from Obesity!

I am in Week #8 and still doing well on this program (down 31 lbs) but there is no doubt that I can definitely use some help in the Lean & Green meal area.  What is a Lean & Green meal?  It is a part of the Take Shape For Life (TSFL) eating plan or as they call it the 5 and 1 plan.

I eat 5 pre-packaged replacement meals (Medifast) every 2-3 hours per day plus 1 Lean & Green meal, which is made by yours truly.  Basically, the Lean & Green is 5-7 ounces of cooked lean meat (or meatless protein options) plus 3 servings of vegetables from the allowed list.  We are also allowed condiments and 1 serving of fat each day, too.   If you click here, you can see the condiments that are allowed on this .PDF file.

Well, I was running out of ideas on the Lean & Green meal but now TSFL has released a new cookbook with tried, true and tested Lean & Green meals. :)

I will definitely be trying these recipes out and posting about them on this blog so stay tuned!!!

Thank you TSFL and Medifast!!! I am finally on my weigh down to a healthy weight for the first time in over 25 years.  You have given me hope where I thought it was lost.  Thank you!!!!!  :)

♥,
MJ

Feeling very blessed today!  I work in an IT department for the biggest Hospice in the US (Suncoast Hospice).  We have about 1,200 employees and maybe 700 or so work at the same service center (office complex) that I work in. 

Well, in the last two weeks I have had two people that I work with and have lost weight on the Take Shape For Life (TSFL) program give me their leftover food they are no longer eating.  They are both on maintenance. 

The VP of my department gave me 6 boxes of the beef stew, 2 boxes of tomato soup, 1 box of chicken noodle and 1 box of chicken wild rice.  I was stunned! She told me she is so proud of me and wants me to keep up the good work.  She says she is no longer eating these (the soups) anymore.

Then another co-worker from our Admission Department dropped off 1 box of Maryland Crab soup, 1 box of Chicken Noodle, 1 box of Chicken Wild Rice, 1 box of Vanilla Pudding and several packets of different stuff.  She has lost 55 lbs on TSFL (Medifast) for a total of 106 lbs.  I was flabbergasted.  She and I are now email buddies and she is offering her support anytime I need it.

I was sort of bumming out because finances are pretty tight right now and I wasn't sure how I could afford another month of food.  Then these two people I work with give me their food out of nowhere -- both told me they are showing their support and want to help me reach my goal.  :)

On top of that I ended up with an $80 credit from my health coach because I had made a small mini order after my first monthly order and because it was under the $225 I didn't get my 2nd week of free food.  She told me she didn't think to tell me that placing an order in between my monthly orders would stop the 2nd week of free food so she credited my account $80!

WOW -- I am truly blessed!!! ♥

Pie Crust:

1 cup shredded or mashed cauliflower
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup 2% mozzarella cheese

Spread out somewhat thin on an aluminum pizza pan sprayed with Pam olive oil spray and bake at 450° preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. The edges should look like they are starting to burn.



Then remove crust from oven. Let cool down for a few minutes and flip over. Add desired toppings -- keeping in mind to stay within the Lean & Green guidelines.

Topping Pizza: (I added the following to my pizza)

1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup meatless crumblers
1/2 cup 2% mozzarella shredded cheese



Bake at 350° until all the cheese is melted and beginning to brown. Some folks like to put the pizza under a broiler but this requires watching it carefully not burn it.

Below is delizioso pizza pie!



Who knew eating this healthy could taste this good!!! :)