Day 38: The Right Fit

One of the frustrating things about losing weight is that I don't seem to be changing sizes.  Sure, my clothes fit significantly better and some are getting too large, but for the most part, I haven't dropped much in the way of sizes.

I started the diet a size 16/18 ... and actually wearing a 20 in certain brands.  Well, the size 20's are, in fact, too big now and the 16's fit much better, but I still haven't had to buy any new clothes yet.  

Logically I know 25 pounds isn't that much on my body.  I'm 5'11" and can gain or lose 10 pounds and not even notice.  So 25 pounds, of course, wouldn't make much of a difference either.  Unfortunately, it's a bit, deflating, I guess, to have lost so much weight and not see the difference in clothes.   Although, perhaps I've been a bit delusional about what fits me - maybe I've actually been wearing clothes that were too tight.  That's just embarrassing!

I did make a pile of clothes that are a little big in the waist.  I plan on taking them to the tailor for alterations.  Once I begin dropping sizes, this will help me save money.  I'll be able to just take in the clothes I have and save my money for new clothes once I get to my goal weight.

Looking Ahead

Some dates to keep in mind:

Day 50:    November 27th (the day before Thanksgiving)
Day 84:    December 31st (end of the year, 12 weeks into the program)
Day 100:  January 16th

One of the women in my group decided she would stick with the plan for a full 100 days.  It accomplishes both goal-setting and gives her an end-date to keep in mind.  A light at the end of the tunnel scenario.

I haven't decided how long I'm going to stick with the program, except to say I'm definitely staying with it through the end of the year.  At that time I'm going to re-evaluate where I am weight-wise, my finances as well as how much longer I can continue not eating real food.  (Believe me, it's getting tough!)  Ideally I will continue until I have lost 80 pounds ... and at 24.3 that's not so far away anymore.

If I average 3.5 pounds for the next 7 weeks, I will have lost 50 pounds by January 1st.  That could easily happen.  The lowest week I've had was 3.4 pounds ... so it is possible.  However, in order to reach that 80 pound mark, it will likely be February before I can go into maintenance mode.

Day 37: The High Cost of Weight Loss

One of the drawbacks of losing weight with this particular program is the cost.  It can be pretty costly.  I guess it really depends how much you typically spend on food whether it's prohibitively expensive or not.

I tend to eat out a lot (well I used to anyway).  Almost once a day and that really adds up.  I never really added up how much I spent on food, but I'm pretty sure it was ridiculous.  So for me, the food part of this diet is actually saving me money.

So here's the breakdown:

• Monthly fee: $390  (This covers doctor visits, blood tests, etc.)
• Weekly fee: $120-$150 (This is just for food - so it depends on how much you get)
• Each box of food is about $16.30, but some of the meal replacements are cheaper than others. If you were to just get 8 boxes of the WMP basic it would be $130.40 a week.
• Total Cost: $2,730 This is how much I will have paid through the end of December.  Obviously if I continue past the new year, it will be another $900 dollars or so.

So yes, it's not cheap.  However, remember that I am not buying any other food right now.  I'm not buying Starbucks, sodas, sandwiches ... nothing.  So the only real *new* cost to me would be the $390 monthly fee.  I think it's worth it to be able to lose weight so quickly and so simply.  

Day 36: Real Food, Pt. 2

Even better, Avocado fries.  This recipe is from Self Magazine.  It's not terribly low calorie, but it is much healthier than regular french fries.  I've died and gone to heaven (or maybe hell since I can't eat these yet!)

Courtesy Self.com

Hot & Crunchy Avocado Fries

• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons ground flax
• 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
• 1 egg
• 2 peeled avocados
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• Salt
• Hot sauce

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400°. In a bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs, flax and chili powder. In another bowl, whisk the egg. Cut avocados into 16 wedges, dip wedges in egg, press into breadcrumb mixture and transfer to a baking sheet. Coat with vegetable oil cooking spray. Bake until outside is crispy, 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and drizzle with hot sauce.

193 calories per serving (approx. 4 fries)

14 g fat (2 g saturated), 15 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 5 g protein

Day 36: Real Food

I'm still no eating real food, but for some reason I was looking at low-cal recipes today.  (Yes, I am torturing myself!)  This one is from Weight Watchers Magazine July/August 2013 issue.   It looks delicious!  I think I'll try it once I'm back on real food.

Courtesy WeightWatchers.com

Turkey, Rice & Blackberry Rolls

 ¼ cup Thai chili sauce

2 Tbl. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. chopped thyme

¾ cup fresh blackberries halved

8.8 oz package brown rice

8 (8½ inch round) rice paper wrappers

8 leaves Boston lettuce, tough ribs removed

2 mini-cucumbers, cut in 3-inch strips

1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into 3-inch strips

½ small red onion, thinly sliced

¾ lb grilled turkey cutlets, thinly sliced

1. To make dipping sauce, mix chili sauce, lime juice, mustard, and thyme in small bowl.  Finely chop 3 T blackberries.  Stir into sauce.

2. Rinse rice in sieve under hot running water.  Drain well.

3. To make rolls, working one at a time, dip rice wrapper in bowl of warm water just until soft, 20 seconds. Place on damp, clean kitchen towel.  Fold 1 lettuce leaf to fit center of wrapper, leaving 1½ inch border on two sides. Spoon scant ¼ cup layer of rice over lettuce, layer top with 1/8 each of cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and turkey (3-4 pieces).  Top with 1/8 remaining blackberries, cut side down (4-5 pieces).  Fold in sides of wrapper and roll up.  Press gently to seal.  Cut each roll in half diagonally.  Serve with dipping sauce.

Calories: 277 (2 rolls w/ 2 Tbl. sauce)

Day 35: The Sweet Life

Something interesting happened today.  I ran to the mall to return a shirt to Bloomingdale's and decided to stop by Teavana to try their new White Chocolate Peppermint tea.  I figure if I can't have dessert I might as well have some tea that helps curb the craving!

Courtesy Teavana.com

Teavana actually had samples of the White Chocolate Peppermint tea.  So, I had a swig.  I almost had to spit it out, it was so unbelievably sweet.  Apparently Teavana doesn't give straight samples of their tea, everything is sweetened with their special German Rock Sugar.  That's fine and all - but warn a person, please!   At least I only had a sip, so I'm not counting it as a "cheat".  I am surprised that they sweeten the tea.  You'd think consumers would want to know what the tea tastes like without any sugar.

Anyway - there was a lesson in it for me today.  I realized that it was just too sweet for me.  And I am the type of person that used to put at least 2 teaspoons of sugar in every cup of tea.  Wow.  Five weeks without real sugar and a taste of the real thing was too much.  And that's a good thing.

Oh, and I did buy the tea.  It tastes even better without the sugar.

Week 5

I lost another 4 pounds this week.  Woo hoo!

Today's Weigh in:
-4 Pounds!

Total: 24.3 pounds

I have now been on this diet for five weeks and have lost nearly 25 pounds.  I still don't feel like my body has changed that much, although my clothes are fitting a lot better or are starting to get a bit baggy.   I am hoping to lose 50 pounds by Christmas.  That's six weeks from now (yikes!) so, based on my weight loss so far, it should be totally doable.