Taking it off | Week 3

You know how I said that last week was hard? Well, staying on plan this past week was even more of a challenge… I binged a couple of times and felt awful afterwards. Both physically and mentally. There was no emotional trigger… not that I can think of anyway. The food was just there, in front of me, and I went for it. Again and again.

That’s a bit of an exaggeration. I mean, I didn’t consume 3000 calories or anything. I just ate a lot of something I shouldn’t have eaten. The first was on Sunday. My youngest daughter asked for some animal crackers. As I was serving her some in a bowl, I popped one in my mouth. Mind you, I had bought these specifically because it’s not something I eat. I can’t remember the last time I had animal crackers, but, mmm… they were better than I remembered them being. So I had another one. And another. I finally stopped at 30, in the span of maybe a couple of minutes. Yes, I counted each one. Just over 200 calories and 40-or-so carbs.

The next binge was on Monday (the very next day – gah!). I decided I’d make the girls a hot lunch rather than the usual cold sandwich… spaghetti with a little butter, shredded chicken, and some Parmesan cheese, and a side of broccoli leftover from the previous night’s dinner. I served them and went back to the stove to clean up a bit. There was a little pasta left on the serving fork, so I took a bite. Um, yum! Buttery, cheesy… so I had another bite. And another. Until I had finished more than half of what was left in the pot. There wasn’t much, as I had only planned on making lunch for two little girls, but it was at least a cup of pasta, plus the extra calories from the butter and cheese. A total of 300-ish calories, I’m guessing?

The thing is, both times I went right back to Medifast for my next meal, two to three hours later. I didn’t exercise like crazy, or skip a meal in an attempt to reduce my calorie intake for the day. I just took it as a little bump in the road. This is a big step forward for me, not to feel like I failed just because I ate a handful of animal crackers! In the past, I would’ve just blown it for the rest of the day. For the rest of the week even. Or just dropped the diet completely.

So I’m adding animal crackers to my long list of trigger foods: Nutella, Goldfish, cookies, crunchy cereal, chocolate, ice cream… I’ve realized that I just have to eliminate these foods from my kitchen. It sucks for my daughters – who do have these snacks in moderation – but hopefully it’s only temporary.

That said, I’m feeling great energy-wise, and am so inspired.

Last weekend I met two contestants from The Biggest Loser at a health & fitness expo in DC – Jessica Limpert and Ramón Medeiros – and they couldn’t have been nicer. They look great, radiate happiness, and they’re so in love, which was beautiful to see.

I also stopped by the Medifast booth and met some of the staff, including Brian, the director of social media for the company. So cool. The team members that I’ve met (or talked to on the phone) so far have been really awesome. And they’re so close! Medifast HQ is in Maryland, just outside of Baltimore.

I’m thankful that my kids are finally starting to get used to the fact that 5 out of 6 of my meals or snacks come out of little pouches LOL. No more offering me their leftover PB&J sandwiches! Maya was so cute today; she told me that next Sunday morning I have to sleep late. I have to. And I can’t get out of bed until she tells me to. Why? I asked. “I can’t tell you, it’s a surprise!” And then she grabbed a Medifast Chocolate Chip Pancake packet and asked me how to prepare it, you know, just out of curiosity. 😉 How sweet is that! And it’s not even my birthday or anything. I’ll just have to clue my husband in on this so he can offer to help her.

LEAN & GREEN

My new veggie for this week was bok choy! To accompany a 5-oz filet, I sauteed half an onion, half a red bell pepper, and a few garlic cloves in a little bit of oil until softened. Then I added the bok choy,a handful of sliced mushrooms, a dash of ground ginger and black pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a squirt of soy sauce, and let it simmer for a few minutes on low heat. I basically added whatever I could find in my fridge that needed to be eaten. Bok choy has a really mild taste, a little like cabbage. I really loved it and so did my husband. Something like this is hard to measure as far as Medifast goes, so I just went for a cup, hoping that I didn’t go too crazy. Definitely making this again!

EXERCISE

I’m taking it nice and slow!

• Up to 7 minutes on the elliptical, (I hope that doesn’t sound as sad as I think it does!) doing it three times a week and adding another minute every week.
• I just finished my 2nd week of the “5K Your Way” running program, where I alternated between walking for 3 minutes and running for 2, for a total of 25 minutes, also three (different) days a week.
• Sunday is my day off. From formal exercise, that is – because you’ll find me running up and down the stairs with baskets of laundry all day!

MY WEIGHT

At the beginning of this journey – on December 31st – I had just about 52 lbs to lose. If my goal is to get there by the end of 2012, that works out to a loss of one pound a week. Perfectly manageable, right? I figure if I set myself up to surpass expectations – as I have up until now – I’m much more likely to succeed.

Starting weight: 211.6 lbs  /  Current weight: 200 lbs

• Weight lost week one: 7 lbs
• Weight lost week two: 2.8 lbs
• Weight lost week three: 1.8 lbs
• Still to go: 40 lbs

REWARDS

To celebrate my 10 lb loss I got myself EARBUDi clips. I actually bought these back in November, but I never opened the package after stopping Medifast. I guess I felt like I didn’t deserve a reward. I’ve been wearing them a couple of days, and I am loving ’em! If you have those white Apple earbuds, you’ll want to check EARBUDi out.

Regular earbuds hurt my ears, and if I go for a run or am active in pretty much any way, they fall out. Annoying. That’s where EARBUDi comes in. They clip on and off your Apple earbuds, turning them into running headphones. The over-the-ear part is soft and flexible, keeping the earbuds in place, but not in your ear.

Customer service is awesome, by the way. Judging by the tracking on Amazon, my original order got lost in the mail, so I messaged the company and a new set was sent out the same day, which I received a couple of days later. Oh, and did I mention these are only $9.99?!

Past rewards:

• -5lbs: Silver earrings DONE!

MEDIFAST DISCOUNT!

If you use my coupon code, BUZZ56, and sign up for Medifast Advantage, when you order $250+, you’ll receive 56 free Medifast Meals and free shipping! Medifast Advantage has a lot of perks, including free customizable meals and a free BlenderBottle with minimum purchase. Check out Medifast’s website for complete details on the program and discounts.

Disclosure: I receive free product in order to evaluate and comment on my experiences on the Medifast Program. Medifast products and the Medifast Program are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Any medical improvements noted while on the program are related to weight loss in general, and not to Medifast products or programs.