I’ve got 4 days under my belt, and I’m not hungry, and I’m not dreading another day of this. How unbelievable. I was so optimistic that this would work for me, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if it didn’t, because what does work? I just love food, and I just hate saying no. I’m under 1000 calories a day, but I’m typing it in My Plate every night, and I’m actually getting more vitamins than the last time I was dieting. And then I was eating almost double the calories!

      I can’t wait to weigh tomorrow. I just love that feeling.

I can’t believe it, I’ve lost 3 and a half pounds! Must be water, or something - I don’t care, I’ll take it! Today was harder - what is it about Day 3 that is always the hardest.  After a workout, after surgery, after starting a diet … I always hear it’s the pits! I’m glad I weighed, or I might have cheated. The others were eating burgers today, and they smelled so good. I had Medifast Chili, and I LAYED the Tabasco to it! I couldn’t have tasted a burger if I wanted to, my tongue was fried, lol.   Tonight I had another salad, and this time I had a pouch of sweet and sour tuna with it. It was good!

       I had the munchies tonight. 2 Pickles are allowed for a snack, and I had 2 cucumbers with a little salt and vinegar - same difference. I’m dying for another snack right now. I guess I’ll have some hot tea, and maybe go to bed early.

   Whew, today was a little harder than yesterday, but I tried not to think about it. I had oatmeal before I went to work, and then about an hour later I had a chocolate shake. I wish it were from DQ! Oh well, DQ won’t make me svelte! I mixed it early and left it in the fridge in the breakroom until it was time to drink. That was less grainy than drinking it fresh. I had another shake at lunch time, and then this afternoon we had a slow period, and I sat under one of the dryers and drank my chai and imagined myself skinny. I like sitting under the dryers, that is my time to get away from it all!

    Tonight I was late getting home, so Joe and the kids ate leftovers from the cookout yesterday, and I had a pouch of tuna and another salad. That dressing is GOOD. I could eat a salad the size of my head!

     I’m sipping my Medifast Chai, happy with my day. I can’t believe I made it! We went to Joe’s parents house, and I was afraid that I might give in to the sweets they always have. But for some reason, there wasn’t too much around. I was also really scared looking at those packages in my purse, thinking I would starve. Medifast has supposedly specially formulated their products to prevent hunger, and it really did work.

    My meals today:

Medifast Oatmeal

Medifast Orange Shake

Medifast Minestrone Soup

Medifast Chili

Roasted chicken and salad with tomatoes and red onions, and viniagrette

Medifast Chai

     Some of the food was kinda bland, and I wasn’t too crazy with the Minestrone, but I have read a lot of tips on the Medifast boards to make it better. I’m going to add things like Splenda, cinnamon, hot sauce (not all on the same dish, haha!) and try and make it tastier.  I shouldn’t have brought soup for a hot afternoon - I’ll plan smarter next time.

    Tomorrow is the test when I’m back at the salon. I wish I felt as pretty as the customers look.

     Oh my GOSH. I measured and weighed. This is the big day, and I’ve just discovered that I’ve got a bigger job ahead of me than I thought! I am now 248 pounds. Oh boy. And my waist is as wide as my daughter is tall! That’s ok. I will be transformed by years end!

     I have today’s food all ready in my purse for work. Kinda scary to think all my food fits in one little bitty space. I am bringing 4 pouches. When I get home from work, I’ll have a small snack while I make a Lean and Green, and then have some Chai for a nightcap.

I can’t believe I picked Memorial Day to start this. I’m off work, everybody in the neighborhood will be grilling…woe is me! ;)  I’ll be ok. I normally approach a diet with a little apprehension, but honestly - after reading all the success stories on Medifast, and mapping all this out carefully, I’m excited. 

 Tonight was a fabulous bon voyage dinner. I had a delicious gourmet macaroni casserole (yes, macaroni can be gourmet, but I won’t tempt you!), roasted vegetables, my mothers ‘famous’ potato salad, and a whole plate of desserts. I won’t be eating pasta or potatoes for a long time.  Don’t frown, I shared the sweets with Joe. My family is famous for big  colossal covered dish dinners! Hopefully, what I’ve read is true, and I’m not going to be hungry.

T - 2 hours… and counting!

My box of Medifast meals came today, I’m so excited!  The box was pretty big, though it’s hard to imagine a whole month’s worth of food in there.   I’ve got boxes of Medifast food all over the dining room table.   Each box has 7 packets in it, so each box lasts a week.  I’ll eat 5 boxes per week, then I’ll also have a “Lean and Green” meal each day. There’s oatmeal, shakes in 4 flavors, soup mixes, hot drinks like cappuccino (yum!) and bars that look delicious!

I’m going to wait until Monday to get started. I’ll try hard not to binge over the weekend, knowing that this is my last chance for “real” food.   But we will have a special family dinner Sunday night, and I’m going to make one of my favorite dishes.  Then on Monday my new life begins!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, it’s official. I’m starting Medifast in 3-5 business days! I just placed an order for all kinds of things. I hope they taste as good as they sound. I have oatmeal, hot cocoa, shakes, soup, and some fruity drinks. I am going to miss fruit. I’m also going to miss pasta, but especially fruit. I fully expect the first few days be hard, but I know it gets easier.

Tap, tap, tap..

Is this thing working? Write me back!

I was googling for weight loss success stories and found this guy who lost a lot of weight on Medifast http://www.holycow.com/joe/archives/2006/06/06/anybody-remember-this-fat-guy/ I know guys usually lose weight faster than us, and sometimes it looks easier for them.  But guys are notoriously picky eaters.  If this man could stick to Medifast long enough to lose 78 pounds, then maybe I could, too!  I showed the blog to Joe and he’s starting to agree with me.   I really need his support if I’m going to make this work.

I starved on Slimfast. I am laughing as I type this, but to be honest, I’m very frustrated and borderline crying. I didn’t last but a day and a half! Well, a day and a half if you count that I changed my sensible dinner to a sensible lunch, and gave up on drinks by dinner.  

I don’t know what I will do. But I’ll do it, that’s a promise. Maybe I’ll still try Medifast. Reading about it, it seems to be miles ahead of Slimfast. I Googled the pros and cons of Medifast and Slimfast, and I saw that Medifast shakes have 9-13g of carbs, and Slimfast has 48. I’m sure I had a lot of carb cravings and supposedly people aren’t hungry on Medifast.

Why don’t I have willpower??? I do, but apparently not enough. I’m so sick of looking like this. I’m so tired of not feeling good about myself. I worry about my health in the long term. I’ve got kids to keep up with, grandkids to hang around for, and a husband that I don’t fully relax around because I’m always looking for a way to hide myself.

I want a long, healthy, active life! I know there is a plan for me.