Progress and Challenges

I had a great first week on the diet! Our weekly class is on Thursdays. We meet at the hospital, check our weight, meet with the nurse and discuss our week with the class. My first week was one of the more successful weeks of anyone in the class. I was 8.3 lbs less than the last weight check. I was actually 10 lbs down at one point. I quickly realized I was dehydrated and increased my water intake. 8.3 lbs in one week is not bad at all. I know most of it was water weight, but it still feels good to see progress. I hope to average 2 to 3 lbs per week throughout the 13 week program.

My blood pressure was down from the initial check a couple of weeks before the program started. I am very anxious about the blood test we take every three weeks. My cholesterol has always been a bit high. Throw in the fact that I am endurance athlete, and my cholesterol levels look really bad. I hope to see a major decline in my cholesterol by the end of the program.

This program requires that you meet a minimum number of shakes and meals. The shakes are comparable to any meal replacement shake on the market, but they are more nutritionally sound. The meals are similar to any Healthy choice meal you can pick up in the supermarket, but with more vitamins, minerals, and much less sodium. I have no problem with the meals, but I have problems getting in my minimum of three shakes. I have never been much on liquid or cold food. Other than the occasionally cold cut sandwich, I prefer my meals to be hot. Unfortunately, you have to get in those three shakes to get your nutritional needs. I think I have figured out my shake plan. I am making double and even triple shakes. That way, I can get them out of the way and satisfy my taste buds with the meals.

My second week has gotten off to a rocky start. I started having horrible food cravings on Friday. Someone mentioned McDonald's at work, and I thought I was going to go crazy. My mouth started watering and I swear I could smell fries. Driving home from work was a nightmare. I felt like I was in a tunnel with no way out. Everywhere I looked there was a fast food restaurant. I rushed home and had a quick meal. That helped, but I spent the rest of the night with the munchies. I can’t explain how hard it was not to raid the fridge. There wasn't much in there, but I would have killed to just have a piece of cheese.

I was so relieved to wake up Saturday morning and find the cravings had vanished. However, I still had something to worry about. Not only was it the weekend, we a birthday party to attend. I had developed a plan. The party wasn’t until 3:30 so I had plenty of time to get some meals down. My plan was to eat a meal just before we left, drink a double shake on the way and eat two meals while I was at the party. It was a great plan and I could do it.

We arrived at the party with the plan in motion. I had just finished a double shake and was ready to party. Just as we get out of the car, I froze. I had forgotten to bring my two emergency meals. This was a disastrous situation. I already felt defeated and we hadn’t even gone inside. Rebecca's sister and her husband pulled up at the same time. Being polite, I ask if I could carry anything. Gary, Rebecca's brother in law, hands me a bag to carry. Are you kidding me, it was a bag of Ribs! Just poke my eyes out that would be less painful. A few months ago, Gary had purchased “The Big Green Egg”. This is an awesome smoker and grill. He had smoked these ribs for around twelve hours. I have had them before, they are delicious. I quickly switched bags and headed for the house.

The party had the usual tidbits of finger foods and sweets. I saw two immediate threats, cheese dip and those little pizza bagel bites. I love those things; I use to eat them by the box. I grabbed a diet soda and mingled into the crowd. As I feared, I started to get hungry. I eased over to the diet sodas. I was starving and had to nibble on something. I had accepted the fact that was at least going to nibble on some finger food to tame some of my hunger. I surveyed the table for anything that I could resist eating by the pound. I saw some type of stuffed celery sticks. I could care less what it was stuffed with, it was a green vegetable and I was in no danger of eating very much. I slipped over to the table and grabbed one. I took slow bites. I ended up eating two of them. By the end of the party, I had nibbled on a couple of items. I didn’t do much damage. I anticipate I ingested around 500 calories. I was disappointed and a bit depressed at first. I regrouped and realized that I may have weak moments. This diet is a big change for me and I will have some rough moments, but I will make it.

I awoke Sunday morning very motivated. I had a couple of small meals and went on a bike ride. I rode almost three hours with great friends and had an awesome time. I ended the weekend well. Next week will be another great week.

I have to tell a funny story. A friend I work with was having some medical issues. She goes to the doctor. The doctor recommends a blood test to check to see if she was pregnant. He calls the next day to tell her she is pregnant. She makes an appointment with her normal doctor the next day. The doctor does an ultrasound and verifies the prognosis. He turns to the mother and father and gives them a bit more info that didn’t expect. Not only was she pregnant, she is due in four weeks. That is a true story. They have roughly three or four weeks to prepare for this baby. Suddenly, cheating on my diet doesn’t seem so bad.