Sara's progress...

[sara7]

So, I graduated week three and I'm into week four!!! Despite the advice, I've been weighing myself weekly. :) It's actually a huge motivator for me. I know that after a while the weight loss will slow down, and I may stop weighing myself weekly, but for now, it's just fun.

So far I've lost 17 pounds and 15 inches!!!!

I think the most surprising things have been:

1) The number of INCHES!!! That's insane. I'm literally shrinking. Where does it go??? (It freaks me out if I think too hard about where it goes, because I really don't understand... I don't rec it).

2) I'm NOT hungry! Everyone is always asking me if I'm STARVING???? Nope, not at all. In fact, I'm shocked by how little my body really needs, and am a little grossed out by how much I used to eat. Even when lunchtime arrives, I'm just not starving. I could eat, or wait to eat, I don't ever feel desperate about it (whereas I used to be starving at lunch and felt like I needed a giant sandwich or something).

3) Maybe this is TMI... but I poop so much less! Once a day, tops. Sometimes every other day. That's insane! And it doesn't really smell... I feel like my body is running so smoooooooothly.

4) My clothes are so loose! Even when I've been lighter than this, my clothes haven't been this loose. It's amazing. I put on a pair of jeans from two years ago (that haven't fit since then), and I know for a fact that I weighed about 5 lbs less, and even those are loose! Yay!!!!

5) People are weird. Yup, they just are. They're reactions to me doing this diet are so crazy. So many people who know what I'm doing continue to offer me non-diet food DAILY, especially people at work. It's become almost comical to me, b/c I have no interest in it, but I'm still so surprised every time that they STILL ask. "Want some M&M's?" with a sly look on their face.... NO THANKS! :)

So, I'm going away this weekend and am already prepared with a scale waiting for me at my destination and am going to get off the plane and go to the grocery store for all my food. I'll be around a lot of family, which tends to be stressful, but I know for a fact that I can do this.

All of your stories, tips and successes are such a motivator- thank you thank you thank you!!!

Happy Labor Day weekend!
Sara

[Dayanira]

Well done Sara!!! CONGRATULATIONS! What a great achievement!

My trips to the loo were exactly like yours. I'm done dieting and in spite of the increase of food during Refeed, it's still the same.:innocent4:

Many times while eating with friends, they would ask me if I wasn't starving. I was amazed myself that such a small quantity of food will keep me going and when comparing my plate with theirs it looked so ridiculously small!

You are doing sooo well! CONGRATULATIONS, again!

[jporter513]

I am so glad to hear that your week went well! Loose clothes is a great feeling. People are so dumb sometimes. I had someone tell me that it didn't sound very healthy. My response was that it was a lot healthier then what I was doing to myself before the diet. Other ones are absolutely behind me one hundred percent and are cheering me on all the way. Those are the ones that I can really count on.

[Aqua Eyes]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]WELL DONE SARA! BRAVO! :party6:

I have a friend that hasn't seen me since I started this diet. I know she doesn't like the fact that I lost all this weight. She thinks that one shouldn't have to change to enjoy life. We differ on so many things now that I think about it. She will see me on the last day of my program when I'm so near to goal.

I loved watching myself shrink. It was an amazing thing to watch. It's hard to believe that I did it some times. I loved it when I had to throw all of my underpants away because they literally were falling off of me!

Start thinking about what you will do with all of your "fat" clothes... who will benefit from them? You won't be needing them anymore! LOL! Good job![FONT]

[sara7]

Thanks so much, Marie!! I already have 3 bags of clothes... I'm thinking Goodwill? Other ideas are welcome!

And yeah, I had someone tell me today that it seems like I'm losing too fast, and it isn't healthy. Um, she was NOT a medical professional. I begged to differ.

:)

Yay!!!!

[Dayanira]

Last night I a retired doctor and dear friend of mine called, at the end of our conversation she asked me how I was feeling with my "rapid" weight loss. She said that she was kind of worried for me, she sincerely thought that I was hiding and suffering from some sort of terminal illness. I had to reassure her several times that I was fine and that on this diet you're supposed to lose the weight fast. I think it's the "old" way of thinking that you must kill yourself doing exercises and dieting for long in order to lose weight in a "healthy" way.

[sara7]

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one getting this "concern"! :)

[L-cat]

Sara,
I was just off the DIET for about a week and gained almost 10 llbs. I had lost around 25 and found I was down only 15. So this week I followed it faithfully and am down 24lbs overall. It’s only my third month. My first month was really easy but my second month was really hard and so I fell off the bandwagon completely :(BUT only for a week! The gain, you must admit, is quite fast too. Let's be happy the loss is NO LESS fast.:party1:
And a Happy Labor Day to you!

Dayanira,
My gp is a little concerned too. I agree it's old shool but I recall reading that someone had the cholesterol measured and it had skyrocketed. I would not like that. It's not easy to request lab tests here but it isn't understandable that cholesterol would rise ... have you had any kind of check up since the diet?
Luce

[sara7]

Today is my 4 weeks, but I was in Chicago this morning without my scale, so I will weigh tomorrow.

The weekend out of town went pretty well... with only one slip up. I bought my food, had a scale, and packed up my food whenever I wasn't going to be at the home base.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring food to the wedding I attended, and I ate there. It... didn't go so well. It wasn't horrible, I can say that it was far better than it would have been if I hadn't been on this diet for almost a month before the wedding. But, I had foods off the list, and a glass of champagne.

Honestly, I felt like crap immediately. I was so FULL after not even a full plate of food.

I'm anticipating that I won't have lost in the 4th week, but I am still thrilled with my progress so far. Last time I weighed I had lost 18 pounds and 15 inches, and that's an amazing start, and I don't want to slip backwards. Unfortunately, I have to go to another wedding in October... has anyone ever brought their own food to a wedding???

I'm happy to be back and in my routine... it's so much easier this way!!!!

[jgiolas]

Sara, It sounds like you are doing great and learning a lot! I bet you have lost some. I hope that scale gives you some good news!

[sara7]

Thanks so much, me, too!! I'll report back tomorrow! :)

[sara7]

Well, I weighed and measured this morning, and I lost 2lbs and 4 inches in my 4th week. Not great, but not bad (especially seeing as I had the slip up at the wedding).

My 4 week total is 20 lbs and 19 inches. I'm so excited for the rest of this journey!

Thanks for all the support. :)

[jgiolas]

20 pds. in 4 weeks....way to go!!!!!!

[sara7]

So, I had to take a day trip for work yesterday (fly out and fly back), and it was really hard. I didn't think it would be.

First mistake--- I didn't pack my food. I find it annoying to carry food on the plane (esp cut up tomatoes and such)-- but clearly I need to get over it.

Second mistake--- It was 5am went I left for the flight and I didn't take my breakfast (or eat it first).

Third mistake--- Not keeping my eye on the prize. During the 7 hour meeting (all sitting around a table with cookies, pasties and chocolate) was really hard. I ended up eating some things I shouldn't have.

If I had packed the food, I would have been okay.

So, I remember reading someone's post that when you make a mistake, don't freak out and beat yourself up over it. I'm going to try to go by that. I was really disappointed in myself yesterday, but today is a new day.

I just hope it doesn't mess me up for a week!
:(

[KMac]

You learned a lesson, now move on and get back on program.
If you ALLOW this to mess you up the rest of the week, it will and I know
you won't let that happen. Someone once said to me " Ok, so you tripped up a little,
there is no reason to throw yourself down"
Keep pushing, your almost under 200!!

[sara7]

I know, you're absolutely right!!! Thank you SO much for the encouragement. Today has been a great day and I'm totally on track. I have to go to a wedding shower tomorrow and I'm all psyched up to eat beforehand and just sip diet coke and remind myself that cupcakes aren't as good as getting into my mid-diet outfit that ALMOST fits! :)

I feel amazing on this diet, and it makes me really hate to be out of my routine. I feel so comfortable going through my days- and it's been so easy to turn down offers of cookies, chips and cake when I'm in my normal environment. Weddings, showers, travel, etc. just feel like an annoyance right now. I feel bad about that, but it's the truth (and if I can't tell you guys, who can I tell??). :) But that's life, right? I'll have to learn how to turn food down when I'm off the diet, too, so it's good to be in those environments.

Tomorrow will be fine, though, and I still have two full days before I hit the end of week 5 (I weigh myself weekly, I like to know the progress- so far it hasn't discouraged me, even when it's just 2 lbs down. That's 8 sticks of butter!).

Thanks again for the support- what would I do without this forum!!

[KMac]

Phyllis had a great quote " Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" - I think of that often and its so true.
You can do this, I'm excited for you to get under 200 ( that was a major acccomplishment for me- I was so excited, it recharges you to keep going)
Goodluck

[Aqua Eyes]

You lost 20 pounds in just 4 weeks!!! That's FANTASTIC! Now you must stay 100% perfect on the program for 2 weeks before you take your blood test. It takes 2 weeks after a cheat to get your body balanced again, according to what the consultants have told me.

I was so afraid that a cheat would hold me back from the fast weight loss that I wanted, that I didn't cheat by eating at parties. Besides, I told everyone that I was on this special program and that I couldn't eat any of the party food until I lost all my weight. I couldn't let them see me cheat. I already had the stigma on me that I would say I am losing weight and then the weight never came off. HA! This time, on this program, it was clear to me that I couldn't cheat if I wanted it to work for me. I went through 2 weeks of detoxing and getting used to the quantity of food, which wasn't particularly fun for me, and I didn't want to go through that again.

Phyllis is correct with her statement of "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!". Proper social eating has got to be one of the hardest lessons to learn from being on this diet. I went to so many parties this summer... all of them having a bounty of food. I would look at the food and there was not ONE thing I could eat. I began to look at the party food and see the fat side of it. These foods are never going to go away. They are always there available to us. We only need to stay away from them during this short time that we are on this program. We aren't missing anything by not eating them.

I learned that I don't need to eat them at all. In the future, I probably will continue to avoid the party foods and choose my poisons wisely. It's also been interesting to go out dancing and not to have a drink. I will probably continue that practice as well. I learned that I have changed my attitude about food. I have become more detached from food. I'm not going to starve and the sweets and other goodies will always be there if ever I choose to eat them again. I'm not missing a thing.

[sara7]

Wow, thanks, Marie! That's all so true and really inspiring. I loved going to the party today b/c I wore my mid-weightloss new outfit, and it fits! I did eat salad with dressing and sliced tomato, but NO bagels, frittata, cake, cookies, bars, chips or anything. Other than the small amt of dressing nothing I ate was off.

I will wait for two weeks until I do my next blood test- that's very helpful to know. I want to make sure that what I send to Dr. Cohen is a true reflection of where I am.

I am EXHAUSTED today; after travel for work on Friday, working all day yesterday, and this party today, I've had no time for myself. That's really hard for me. My husband even commented that I look tired- which I don't feel that I have since I started this diet.

Maybe it has to do with the cheats on Friday and the salad dressing today? Ugh!

Onward and upward! Thanks for all the support!!!

[sara7]

I realized today that I've lost 10% of my body weight... and I got SO excited! Then I Googled it (naturally). :) Just thought I'd share some of the benefits!

A Healthier Heart

By losing just 10 percent of your body weight, you can lower your cholesterol and reduce your blood pressure, says G. Ken Goodrick, PhD, psychologist and associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. High cholesterol and elevated blood pressure are two major risk factors for heart disease.



Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

If you're overweight, you're at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, which means your body can't make enough, or properly use, insulin, a hormone that helps convert food to usable energy. By losing just 10 percent of your body weight, you'll improve your body's ability to use the insulin it makes, possibly preventing the onset of the disease, Miller-Kovach says. If you already have type 2 diabetes, shedding that 10 percent may improve your symptoms and possibly prevent complications, she adds.



''We have seen a consistent pattern in our weight loss studies that when patients lose 5%-10% of their body weight, they lower blood pressure, reduce LDL ["bad"] cholesterol, improve glucose tolerance, and in general, lower the risk for cardiovascular disease



YAY!!!!

[jporter513]

You are awesome! 10% is worth so much more then the number on the scale! You are getting so close to breaking from the 200's. I bet you can hardly wait!

[sara7]

Oh you KNOW i can't WAIT to get under 200!!!! Soon I hope... :)
Thanks for the support! :hii:

[Dayanira]

Thank you Sara for posting that info. I'm going to check about my own percentage when I log out from the forum.

[sara7]

Hi ladies!!!

I just wanted to check in and say things are going well! I am coming to the end of week 7 (I weigh on Tuesday), and I feel great. People are really starting to notice now that I've almost lost 30 lbs. It's interesting, when you're big it takes a WHILE for people to notice the change. It's nice now that they are, but I am getting tired of telling everyone about the diet! I think I'll take up the cards with the URL written on it... sounds so much easier! I get sick of hearing myself talk about it!

I have had a few slips-ups so far on this journey- mostly b/c I've found it hard to travel for work and go to events and stay completely on track. Luckily, I've continued to lose weight every week, and when I've slipped-up, it's been relatively minor. I know that every slip-up impacts my body chemistry, so I've gotten right back on track afterwards.

I still need to do a new blood test, but I haven't done it yet. I guess I've been stalling b/c I know that having a slip-up in my recent past will impact the blood results. I'm going to do it anyway this week. :)

I continue to feel amazing, albeit a bit bored with the food. I've been trying to change it up- and discovered that green pepper and sweet onion on the grill is AWESOME. Yay!

Anyway, thanks for all the support! I'm so excited to hopefully get under 200 next week. It's been a LONG time and I'm PUMPED about it!

[Dayanira]

So, are you under the 200!!! Keep going Sara, your motivation is great, don't lower your guard!