So, this week may be the most challenging so far. . .. . it's my Birthday week. . . . I do celebrate a birthday month, but the week is even more special. So, I'm limited to Shake cake . . . . while yummy, not nearly the same as a Nothing Bunt Cakes cake or a Vons cake, or Albertson's, Costco, or even home made. . . . Yum!!! But, that is not for me this year. Instead, I get to celebrate 43.3 pounds lost!!! In just over 3 months (maybe close to 4 now). I haven't eaten out of the box once since starting on April 6th I can't have my birthday be the breakdown!!!

I'm 8.7 lbs away from no longer being in the 'obese' category, just the 'overweight category. That is exciting! It's been 6 years since I've been at a weight lower than 'obese' and even then, it was only for my wedding!

I just have to try on my old clothes that no longer fit to remind myself why a 'real' birthday cake is just not an option this year!!!

My treats to myself, instead of food, are 1) a nice 2 hr massage on Thursday night and 2) my motorcycle class this weekend!!! If I like & pass the motorcycle class then I get my scooter!!!!

I'm hoping to have someone take some pics this weekend with me on a bike. Maybe I'll post some 'before' and 'current' pics then. (Notice I didn't say 'after' cause I'm not 'after' yet. . . . still in the process of SHEDDING pounds!! Explanation on the use of shedding vs. losing to come in a future blog).

Ok, so I realize how TERRIBLE I've been at keeping my blog up to date. Guess I just didn't have a whole lot to say except 'more of the same'. So, we are on week 14 of HMR. We finished 'Phase 1' and are now on 'Phase 1 on-going', meaning, we are still medically supervised, still only eating HMR products and going to class each week. The one thing that has changed for me is I added vegetables at the beginning of June. The main reason for this was that my department at work decided to have an off-site in mid-June. Everything was fine until I heard it was going to be at a winery, grrrrrr. . . . have I mentioned that alcohol is not allowed in Phase 1 or Phase 1 ongoing? Needless to say I was quite successful that day, stayed well within my box and didn't make a fool out of myself by becoming inebriated. In fact, it was quite fun to be the sober one of the bunch.

Now, that you are caught up on that part, let me share the wonderful success that I have had on the program; 14 weeks in and I've shed 39 pounds, yes, I said 39 pounds!!! I am more than 1/2 way to my ultimate goal and more like 2/3 of the way to my intermediate goal! Gary has shed 67!!! By all accounts, I call both of us a HUGE success!!! We've been shopping in our closet a lot lately, giving many clothes to goodwill and having quite a few good laughs over the items that no longer fit.

You'll notice I said 'shed' vs 'lost'. I am a big believer that you get what you put out there, meaning, if I'm going to 'lose the weight' it implies I will 'find it' some day. I never want to see those 39 pounds again!!! Just as I have never been a big believer in saying I'm 'on a diet' because again, that implies that some day I will go off it. I have never seen the things I do to lose weight as a 'diet', have always seen it as a lifestyle change. And, as long as I have seen it that way I have been successful -- BUT all the other times I did manage to slip back into bad habits.

If someone were to ask me why I believe I have been successful on the program I would say there are many reasons. One is the structure of it, stay in the box and you'll do fine, the other is that it is taught by medical professionals and provide a TRUE education. Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and the like are simply sales people or folks who have 'been there before' who talk you through it. In a medically supervised program it is registered dieticians, RNs & MDs that you are working with. The final item that has led to my success is the level of accountability of the program. It is UNBELIEVABLE. Could I cheat, sure I could, could I lie about it, sure I could, but the proof is when you step on the scale each week -- in addition they have this cool thing called 'momentum' to see if you got it or need to rebuild it. It is based upon the amount you have lost over the preceding 4 weeks. I'm glad to report I've been able to stay in "got momentum" area for the entire time.

Okay, enough of my rambling, this became longer than anticipated, but it is because it has been SO long since I've posted AND, I'm just so excited about the success that both Gary & I have had!

So, off to make one last shake for the evening!

Happy Shedding!!!
Mo

PS, just realized I haven't posted my stats since the first night, so, here are a few of my updated stats!

Height (unchanged): 4'10 3/4"
Age: 38.96 :-)
Weight: 159.5
BMI: 32.2 (only 13 pounds away from a BMI of 30, WOOHOO)
Size: 12 - 16 depending upon manufacturer.

Week 5

So the challenge for this week is to get in all my, minimum of 2,000 calories, physical activity (PA). Would really like to do 2,500 to 3,000 calories worth of PA.

That said, I also believe I've been doing more PA than I've given myself credit for. According to the numbers, I should have only lost 2 pounds this week, but the scale said 4!! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm exstatic about the 4 pound loss, but want to figure out why the numbers say less. Oh well!!!

So, here are my numbers for now:

5/10/10
Weight -- 178.2 (~20 lbs!!)
BMI -- 36 (4 points down)
Weeks on program -- 5

So, if you are considering HMR, I say consider it seriously. What have you got to lose . .. . . . . . but weight!!! Again, always consult your physician first, but as I shared tonight in class, I know I've never gained 20 pounds in 5 weeks, but it sure feels good to have lost 20 pounds in that timeframe!!!

4 Weeks -- 16 Pounds!!!!

Wow, 1 month, in the books, 4 weeks, 30 days, 720 hours, 43,200 minutes. . .. . AND . . . . . . . 16 pounds lighter!!!! Woohoo.

So, you think I'm happy about my progress?!?!?!? I'm estatic -- I don't know of anyone whose gained 16 lbs in one month, so losing that in one month feels INCREDIBLE. Oh, and did I mention that I went shopping on Saturday?? I'm down two pant sizes and can now fit comfortably in 1x or XL shirts :-)

The funny thing is, while a month is in the books, the majority of the journey is still ahead of me. 6 more weeks of phase I, then on to "Phase I On-going". . . . which lasts until I 1) get to my goal weight, 2) lose momentum or 3) miss more than 1 week of class. With the amount of weight I want to lose, if I can keep the rate of 16 lbs per month, I'm looking at a total of 4.5 months, or 3.5 months left, hmmmmm.

This week in class we talked about the momentum factor and what that looks like. It definitely is a great gage and one I look forward to keeping in mind as I go forward on this journey (it looks at the 4 most recent weigh ins and the minimum amount of weight that should be lost. Ex., a woman who is 180 lbs should have a 6 lb weight lost over the most recent 4 weeks of weight in -- PLEASE NOTE: this is just an example, not actually from the momentum chart).

Physical Activity still is a challenge to get in. Last week I JUST fit in 2,000 calories. Gotta work on that this week.

Happy weight loss to everyone!!!

--Mo

New Experiences . . . . Challenges with PA

This week had new challenges & experiences. My challenges were to get in all the physical activity in. I was to do 2,000 calories worth which is approximately 300 calories per day. I didn't quite make it. Between the rain (yes, rain in April in San Diego -- what's up with that?!?!?!), prior committments in the evenings, and the desire to have a massage one night, impeded my ability to get in all my excersize. One of the challenges we were given this week was to try a new excersize for 10 min. I decided to do the stairs at work as mine, as it was raining out. There are 7 flights of stairs in the building I work in. I went up and down them 4 times -- that's 28 flights of stairs!!!! Needless to say my legs were very sore most of the week.

Other new experience & challenges this week had to do with lunch meetings that I had. Thursday the Program Managers went to a local sandwich shop & have a meeting. The pannini sandwiches smelled delicious, but the real challenge was the mac salad. This sandwich shop has one of THE best mac salads that they serve as a side to the sandwiches. However, I was good and had my vanilla shake with diet coke -- yum!!!!

The second challenge & experience was taking my project team out to Dave & Busters for lunch & an afternoon of fun & games. This time I took an entree as well as a shake. While I would have MUCH prefered to eat the food at Dave & Busters, it was good to have the self-controll (with help of my co-workers knowing what I am doing) not to stray off the diet. This is week 3 and I haven't eaten out of the box, not once!!!!

Yesterday we went to a ballgame in Anaheim which presented its own challenges. The biggest one was stopping at my parents house on the way back. We stayed for 'dinner'. My mother was making liver & onions which is one of my absolute favorites but I don't have it very often, 'cause its something I like mainly when she cooks it. Gary told me I could have a little and he wouldn't tell anyone. I however, said, but I would have to tell on myself and didn't feel it worth it. So I ate my mushroom risoto entree (for those that know me, know I HATE mushrooms. I'm learning to like them, but this entree wasn't too tasty).

We also made cookies & muffins this week with the shakes. Not too bad and they give a nice variety to the week.

I've placed my current stats (as of 4/19/10) below.

-- Mo

Weeks on program: 2
Height: 4'10 3/4"
Weight: 187
Total Lost: 11 lbs
Total to go: 57 - 67 lbs.

Week 2 -- In the books

Ok, so I decided not to blog everyday this week as there is only so much I can say about "not hungry," "like entrees," etc. However, I didn't mean for it to go a week without posting.

This week was very similar to week one, had my ups and downs, challenges and successes. On Friday I was extremely happy that my husband is doing this program with me. I hadn't done my excersize and was going to write the day off. Gary still needed to do some of his so he got me out and I did 30 min rather than the required 20 min that was a great feeling!!! Then yesterday he came home early from golfing (7:30 AM) as he decided not to play. I was on my "initial wake up" of Saturday morning and ready to get back into bed. He convinced me to stay up, we took the dog for a 30 min walk and then ran errands all day.

On Friday I decided to go to lunch with the 'gang' at work. Good news was they were going somewhere I really didn't like. So, I took my vanilla shake packet with me, ordered a water and diet coke, made a mess trying to make my shake, and then got a bowl to mix the remaining mix & soda in. Needless to say, diet coke mixed with vanilla shake was wonderful and because I was at a place where even the smell of the food is not appealing to me, I had no problem staying with just my shake. Of course the loaf of bread that came with one of the soups looked DELICIOUS. But, my co-workers also kept me honest.

If you are considering ANY type of medically supervised weight-loss program, I highly recommend you tell those around you, even if you are self conscience of the reaction you might get. I was very hesitant at first to tell those I work with, however, as I shared the information I received nothing but support. In addition, they encourage me to stick with it and have expressed happiness that I have chosen to change my life to be more healthy.

Tomorrow is the second weigh in while on the program. I'm expecting a loss of soewhere around 3 lbs, but ANYTHING is acceptable!!! I know I'm living healthier, I feel better, look better, and can't wait to be on the other side of this journey!!!

Ok, enough for now, gotta go find something 'fun' to do.

--Mo

End of Week One

So while today is the 7th day of the program, it is actually the first day of week 2. It is also the first official weigh in of the program.

Great News!!! I'm down 8.5 lbs in the first week! While I know much of that was water, 8.5 lbs is still 8.5 lbs!!! WooHoo!!!

Tonight our instructor shared statistics of about 450 previous people on the program -- the more product you eat, the more weight you lose because the longer people stay on the program. The more product you eat, the more you "eat in the box" and thus are more successful.

So, my goal for this week is to ensure I don't get hungry. Which means, to eat as much product as I need. Not sure I can do more shakes than I did this last week, but, I'll try. Variety will definitely be the key.

My weight goal for this week is to lose 4 lbs. Regardless of what weight loss I have this week, any loss is good and I will be happy for it.

I've noticed I've been happier lately, a little less stressed; all good things.

--Mo