Week 23 Weigh-In

183.5 lbs

I'm just going to do a quick check-in.  I was very happy with the loss this week, since I had to face temptation to eat during the stress.   It's nice when you get rewarded for making the right choices.  That doesn't always happen, of course.  I'm on program every week, and one week I will have a 1 pound loss and another will be 2.5 pounds.  I even lost zero pounds once.  Go figure.  Anyway, I'm really thrilled!  I'm closing in on the 75 pound milestone, and I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm thinking of starting my Progressive Food Encounters (PFE's) at about 155 lbs.

Speaking of milestones, since summer is here, I wore a sleeveless sun dress for most of the day.  My arms aren't pretty, and they do show signs of loose skin, but most of the time it doesn't look too bad, and it's a great feeling to let my skin breathe.

Tomorrow I head out of town and will be packing my shake packets and shaker bottles.  Since I'll be by myself, there shouldn't be any problems with temptations.  I love setting my phone alarm to remind me to drink.

I enjoyed my group tonight.  Even though I've gone through today's exercise before, I'm learning a lot from the new group members and their insights.  We talked about ways to cope with stress, so it was very relevant to my current situation.  The class reminded me to take some time out for brief meditation.  It doesn't take a long time to reach a relaxed state.  I'll need to try and incorporate this more into my daily routine.  Good night!

Awkward Social Situation Survived

Yesterday we celebrated Easter.  It was a beautiful day here, and we did our family traditions of dyeing eggs and holding an Easter Egg Hunt.  Luckily we were invited to a very nice Easter lunch party a the home of friends, so I didn't have to cook a major sit-down meal for my little family.  Earlier in the week I was feeling a little guilty that I hadn't thought about buying food and feeding my family, who have to actually eat!  What I didn't realize about this gathering was that it was actually a sit-down meal instead of a pot luck.  This was tricky for me!  Potlucks are easy- I can slide from group to group with a beverage in hand and go relatively unnoticed about whether I've eaten or not.  This time, I had a place at the table.  Oh boy.  So I saw no other choice but to fix a small plate of food -- mostly veggies and sides (I didn't want to be wasteful) that I could scoot around my plate and pretend to eat.  It was very scary for me, but I managed to keep up conversation, scoot food around my plate, wipe my mouth on a napkin every now and then and pretend to eat.  When someone got up for seconds, I got up and threw my plate away and went to check on the kids.  This was the closest call with food that I've encountered so far.

When dessert was served, later in the afternoon, I did tell the host's mother that I had just lost over 55 pounds and as wonderful as it looked, I would have to pass.  Weeellll, that brought on lots of questions about how I was losing it and how much I had left to lose.  This was the matriarch of the host's family, and she was being my mama too.  They were very sweet and encouraging, but it was uncomfortable to talk about it with so many people.  I didn't go into details about Optifast, since that often brings up criticism.  I told them it was a strict plan through my doctor's office.  Anyway, I was able to get through it.

It feels very good to have lost this weight.  I bought a really cute dress at Target that I was able to wear, with a sweater over it.  It was my first Easter dress in 20 years, and that felt wonderful!

So there you go, one crazy social situation managed, one positive weight loss milestone experienced.   All in all, things worked out okay.

My First Glimpse of Onederland!

Even though my blog weight comes from my Optifast weigh-in (tonight), I just had to share my elation when I stepped on the scale this morning (undies only, of course) and saw the most beautiful number:  199.8 lbs.  The last time I was at this weight was before I became pregnant with my first son in 1998!

I have to say that the last time I saw this weight, I wasn't happy.  I was at the doorstep of 200 lbs., and a frantic burn-out of Weight Watchers (exchanges, not points), Nutri System (in the clinic), Slim Fast (powder, of course).  Susan Powter (remember the screaming woman with short spiky hair?) was on the tube screaming that I could eat a laundry basket full of bread and as long as I didn't put butter on them, I would still lose weight - Fat Makes You Fat!  Richard Simmons was Sweatin' to the Oldies and Dealing A Meal.  Those were the days, my friend.

But here I am today, older and hopefully wiser. Happy as I can be to see a "1" in the first digit, if only for a fleeting moment.  In this moment I am very thankful that I didn't give up and decide to quit trying to lose weight.  I tried many more programs after the ones listed above, and I can't predict that what I'm doing now is going to last forever.  The point is, I only know this moment in time, and I'm going to take a second to smile, thank God, and feel hopeful.

Weight loss Progress and Milestones to be Reached

WEIGHT LOSS PROGRESS

1/3/14:  257 lbs. (Starting Weight)

1/9/14:  252.5 lbs. (-4.5)  started product on 1/10/14

1/16/14:  247 lbs.  (-5.5)

1/23/14:  241 lbs.  (-6)

1/30/14:  238 lbs.  (-3)

2/6/14:  234.5 lbs. (-3.5)
2/13/14: 230.5 lbs. (-4)
2/20/14: 226.5 lbs. (-4)
2/27/14: 225.5 lbs. (-1)
3/6/14:   223 lbs.  (-2.5)
3/13/14: 219 lbs. (-4)
3/20/14:  214.5 lbs (-4.5)
3/27/14:  214.5 lbs (0, zippo, bupkis)
4/4/14:  210 lbs. (-4.5) - I'm in the "countdown" to onederland!
4/10/14:  207.5 lbs.  (-2.5)
4/17/14:  202.5 lbs.  (-5)
4/24/14:  200.5 lbs.  (-2)
5/1/14:  199 lbs.  (-1.5)  ONEDERLAND!
5/8/14:  197 lbs . (-2)
5/15/14:  193 lbs. (-4)
5/22/14:  192 lbs. (-1)
5/29/14:  188 lbs. (-4)
6/5/14:   183.5 lbs. (-4.5)
6/12/14:  182 lbs. (-1.5)
6/19/14:  179 lbs. (-3)
6/26/14:  176.5 lbs. (-2.5)
7/2/14:  174 lbs (-2.5)  Early weigh-in due to holiday vacation.
7/10/14: 172 lbs (-2)
7/17/14: 169 lbs. (-3)
7/24/14: 167 lbs. (-2)
7/31/14: 164 lbs. (-3)
8/7/14:  162.5 lbs. (-1.5) - lots of travel until next weigh-in
8/20/14:  157 lbs.   (-5.5)  100 pounds down!
9/4/14:  155 lbs.  (-2)  GOAL!
9/18/14:  156.5 lbs (+1.5)
10/5/14:  153 lbs (-2.5)

MILESTONES

• 10 pounds down - Achieved 1/16/2014!
• Wedding ring not tight anymore - Achieved 2/17/14
• Saying "no" to food at a big social situation- Achieved: 1/19/14, 1/25/14, 2/1/14
• 20 pounds down- Achieved 2/6/14!
• Saying "no" to myself when I really, really, really want to cheat   Yes - 5/14/14 
• Losing 10% of my initial weight- Achieved 2/13/14
• First change in pant size - Achieved:  1/27/14 (size 22);  2/4 ( size 20)
• More changes in sizes - size 14 (5/26), size 12 (6/24)
• Fit into my new, cool watch - Achieved 3/21/14
• First time someone notices weight loss:  Achieved:  1/24/14  co-worker
• 30 pounds down:  Achieved 2/20/14
• First time my youngest son can hug me with arms all the way around:  Achieved 2/21/14
• 50 pounds down  Achieved 4/17/14
• Riding on an amusement park ride:  6/27/14 Walked around in a bathing suit all day at a waterpark, swam and played with my son.  Unbelievable - not a hint of self-consciousness.
• No need for seat belt extender when flying.  Feeling more comfortable in seat. Achieved 3/7/14
• Onederland!  First a.m. sighting 4/17/14!  Evening weigh-in 5/1/14
• Fit into original wedding band  Did it!  5/23/14
• Buying first piece of clothing at the normal size section:  Achieved 3/1/14  (XL and L shirts!)
• Wear shirt tucked in:  7/17/14
• Wear a belt:  8/4/14.  My skirt was too big and I got to use a new cute belt.  I was amazed that my stomach looked okay/"normal".  I love feeling "normal sized"
• 75 pounds down - Yay!!!  6/12/14
• Reaching  below 170 lbs and the "Overweight" BMI :  7/17/14 
• Wearing something sleeveless in public - Yes!  6/5/14
• Wear a sundress - Yes!  6/5/14
• 100 pounds down! - 8/20/14!!!!!
• Start PFEs (Progressive Food Encounters):  8/25/14  at 155 lbs. morning weight :-)
• 155 lbs. Gooooooooooaaaaaalllllll!!!  9/4/14
• Overcoming a cheat during transition:  During the fast 6/22, during transition 8/30
• Completing full Optifast Program from beginning to end - big reward for this one.