Sunday, February 20, 2011

The D Word

I'm not skinny. Never have been and never will be. I'm just not built that way unfortunately. I've dieted and failed so many times that I've learned to keep my mouth shut about it. But I've been doing pretty good on this one and broke my own rule recently when I mentioned a weight loss. That brought up some questions about this dieting thing and what I'm doing to lose. So I decided to share.

When I got on the scale last March during the physical for my homestudy update, I was quite shocked by the number. It was bad. Really bad. As I've mentioned here before, I'm an emotional eater. Big time. And the stress of the last 5 years of this adoption had taken it's toll. It's called "The Wait" weight. LOL!

I started working on it right away. But I still wasn't that committed. Six months later, I was only down about 25 lbs or so. And trust me when I say there's a lot more than that to lose. Then I went up and down struggling over 10 lbs during my vacation in October, then Thanksgiving and finally Christmas. By the first of the year, I was back to my 25-26 lb loss.

But the clock was ticking. This referral is right around the corner. And I knew I had to take drastic measures and get really serious if I wanted to be smaller before going to China. There are all kinds of reasons why I want that.

First and foremost, I want to be a healthier mom. I wanna be able to run after my daughter and roll around on the floor with her. And as a single parent, I need to be more conscious of my health for her sake. I also know the trip to China is physically very difficult. I'm so not looking forward to that uncomfortable plane ride. Ugh! I just didn't need to stack the deck against me before I even got there.

Then there are the vain reasons, of course. I wanna look better in my clothes. I don't wanna be disgusted at myself as I look at all of our photos of the China trip. These aren't photos I'll be able to hide away and never look at again. They'll be a part of our lives permanently and looked at year after year. And even when I'm in a good place about myself .... I'm still not real happy with having my picture taken.

I knew I needed to get as much weight off as fast as I could. I really wish I hadn't procrastinated this. It would've been a lot easier to do this sooner rather than later. But here I am.

I'm doing the Medifast plan. Several people I work with have been very successful on it. So I thought I'd give it a shot. Let me just say.... it's horrible. But it's effective so I'm sticking with it.

It's one of those very low calorie, low carb meal replacement plans. I buy food from them. And when I say "food" I use that term very loosely. LOL! Pretty much all of it tastes like crap. But you get used to it.

This is what I eat. All bought from Medifast except my "lean and green" meal. Breakfast is oatmeal. A couple hours later I have a granola bar type thing. Then lunch is a soup. Another bar two hours or so later. Then my lean and green. And another snack later. For me that's usually a shake, pretzels, hot cocoa or this other thing that looks like Kix cereal but is supposed to be cheese puffs.

You can configure the plan however you want as long as you eat five of their things and the "lean and green" meal. If you like the bars, you could actually eat five bars all day. Or mix it up any way you like. My way is just what works for me.

It's VERY restrictive. I have a list of acceptable meats and veggies and portion sizes. Even the condiments are super restrictive. You have to be really dedicated to it. It's hard. I'm not gonna lie. But it's exactly what I needed right now. I needed something where there was no thinking involved. I know exactly what to expect every day with my eating.

And I needed something that didn't allow me to cheat. Cuz I will if you let me. That's why Weight Watchers won't work for me right now. If you tell me I can have pizza.... then I'll eat too much. I just know how I am. I've done WW before successfully. And will probably go back to something like that in the future. It's a much more realistic way of eating long term.

But in the short term, this is exactly what I needed. A no BS, set in stone, no thinking kind of plan. And because it's so restrictive the weight comes off faster. Which helps you to remain motivated to keep going.

Yesterday was my week 4 weigh in and I'm down 18 lbs!! Added to my loss from what my "homestudy weight" was... I weigh 43 lbs less than last year. I haven't been this weight since maybe 2008. I'm fitting into clothes I haven't worn in years. I feel great physically. But more importantly, emotionally. I'm working my way back to my happy place. And it feels good.

I haven't started any exercise yet. But that's coming soon. If you're not physically active, they want you to wait three weeks while your body adjusts to the huge carb reduction. The first week was hell. I was in serious carb withdrawals. Headaches, shaky. But now... I feel fantastic!

My first goal was to be about 10 lbs less than where I am right now before referral. I think I'll make it. After that, I just want to get off as much as I can before going to China. Whatever that number is.

I still won't be in my ideal place. Not by quite a bit actually since I put on so much weight in the last 5 yrs and then procrastinated trying to take it off. But wherever I end up will be better than where I started. And that's a good thing. :)

21 comments:

Johnny said...

Thumbs up.

Nicole said...

Congratulations - that's awesome!!!

Unknown said...

Way to go~ Continued luck with the program.
Donna

GGHadden said...

Good Job Krista...........I've done Medifast, yep it works-the soups are terrible!!! I can do the bars, it's very easy. My cheat is powdered ff creamer but I started using some of the vanilla shake as creamer. Keep going girl!

Shannon said...

Awesome. Yes, you are simply awesome. =)

dawn said...

Yay, you. Tell us when we get to call you Miss Skinny Knickers would ya?

~Kristen said...

Great job Krista!! It is such hard work... and worse when stuff tastes gross! I agree on the carb reduction... it was hell in the beginning, now I don't miss them at all.

Keep up the awesome work!

Lindsay said...

Wow congratulations, sounds like fantastic progress. Good luck in getting to your target weight before referral day.

Alyson and Ford said...

Congratulations for all that weight loss! You sound so positive and happy! Lots going for you and a referral soon! Can't wait!

Alyzabeth's Mommy

Kelli said...

Way to go Krista! I have been more successful with my weight loss this time around because I finally told myself to do it for Aiden. He needs a mom who is healthy. You'll be glad you lost so much before referral. That was my plan but I only lost about 10 pounds....and then put back on 15 as I adjusted to being a mom. Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Good for you!

wzgirl said...

I did something similar to get ready...lost the weight and, let me tell ya - it is SO much easier once you get to exercising! ::Cheering you ON::

aust2china said...

I'll lay money on it, that you'll lose weight once you have Mia!!! Time to eat? NO WAY! If you're lucky you'll get your babies left overs, or pre-chewed nibblets!!!

I lost weight with each of my kiddos... that's why I'm cotimplating another?!!! :) Need to lose a few kilos!!! (its either another baby, or a divorce... but I really do fancy my husband, so a baby is a much nicer option!!!)

Kim said...

Congratulations..
Keep up the great work..
Hugz..

chris said...

i have lost 60 pounds on mf. it really is a great tool. now i can run around after my 2 daughters from china who are 5 and 8!

Catherine said...

Way to go!! I'm a firmbeliever in doing whatever works for you at the time. Congrats on the great weight loss!

Catherine said...

Have you heard??? Referral calls are being made up to June 9th. March could/should be your month!!!

Come on Mia - Mommy's waiting!!!

k1 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
k1 said...

Catherine beat me to it. RQ is reporting that a European agency has advised a June 9 family that they have a referral. Thats only FIVE days before you!

Roanna said...

I came across your blog from Tale of the T's. And since I found it quite inspirational I have decided to follow you. Hope you don't mind :)
KEEP IT UP!

K said...

Great job! It'll be sooo worth it.