Days 18 - 19 - 20 - 21

Ops...sorry for taking too long to write, Now I probably won't remember details.

Day 18 - Thursday is Jazzercise day. Stomach is a bit off this week.

Day 19 - Friday the 13th.... lets go swimming and add a bit more of exercise because it cannot be bad.

Day 20 - Saturdays are always tough, but I managed to stay away from Saturday night pizza. In the morning there was Jazzercise as well. Did some grocery shopping and will take the advantage of being home alone and pump up on some Omega 3 during this week.

Day 21 (March 15, 2015)  - Preview to St Patrick's day. Whole day was a bit off  food-wise. Munchies but nothing overwhelming. Walked downtown which is always better than just driving.


I learned a little trick in regards to the peanut butter soft mix. The box says it's to be mixed with crushed ice, very cold. I don't like very cold anything, so I just mixed it with water, in the shaker and let it have consistency of a thick drink. The second time I did it, I put for a few minutes in the freezer.
Delicious.

I also made the vegetable chili and mixed it with diced tomatoes and thinly sliced lettuce.

Days 16 and 17

Day 16 - Weigh in time.
After a week of somewhat troublesome digestion (if you know what I mean), I have been feeling a bit bloated and full of that smelly unpleasant natural gas. Despite that, I decided that I should start working more on what I eat instead of looking for the easy way out (no pun intended) of the dieter tea.
I changed ingredients to more greens and leaves and it seemed to work. Hats off especially to fresh spinach. I usually buy the little frozen spinach bricks, but am changing to fresh for sure.

So the numbers - another pound shed, another 1% of body fat gone and an inch from chest. Darn, the measurements are always easily lost from places they shouldn't.

Day 17 - Two mixing ideas for the meals.
At lunch time I had chicken and took spinach salad and the mac & cheese. So I made the meal with a tad bit more water than required. I also left it 20 seconds more in the microwave. Once it was done and still very hot, I just mixed in the spinach leaves. Loved it|.

Another idea - for dinner (I didn't go grocery shopping) I made a vegetarian chili  and then on the side I made a Medifastish egg salad. So the finely chopped hard boiled eggs with spinach (yeah, I bought a lot) lettuce, celery and a few olives very finely sliced. mixed everything with a little bit of mayo just to stick together. Voila!! f I has the ttaco shell it would have probably been perfect, but...

There you go! Come on weekend!

Day 15

Yaay ... I guess I reached the 2 week mark, right? So a quarter of my trial diet period to go. I haven't stepped on my scale at home because I find it is deceiving, so I'll have to wait until Wednesday.
Today was a good day, I don't feel hungry, which is a very positive thing I am getting a lot of vegetables and water in my system.
There has been a bit o bowell problem though, and I will have to address that with the doctor. Bu in the rest, its been good.

Blueberries and pancake mix is my new favorite for the morning. I do miss more morning options though. I have regular and chocolate chip pancake mix and oatmeal. And that's it. Maybe some egg substitute in place of a Medifast meal? We'll see.

Tomorrow is tuna day, so let's see what mix I can come up with.

For now.... be good!

Day 14/56

Sunday and it went amazingly well.
I have learned finally to master the pancake mix.
So I mix the water, put it in the microwave. The difference today is that I put it today on a soup plate, then then had it with blueberries.
It was great. A good start to the day.
Later on, after I fixed all the clocks in the apartment, I had a French Vanilla shake.
Lunch. A chocolate pudding. Then out to enjoy the gorgeous day.

Wasn't it a gorgeous day?

Did a little shopping and came back home. Dinner with a soup. And now a hot chocolate just to go to bed because after all, there was an hour less.

Good nighty! And have a good week.

Day 13/56

Hello.
I woke up with a bit of a headache today. I don't relate it to the diet at all though. Maybe a bad pillow. I should take careful look at that.

My day started with the Medifast oatmeal. I really like it but I came to a conclusion that I like it more when I put a bit more water and cook it to a runny point... almost watery or maybe you could say the consistency is that of creamy soup.
After that... off to get my sweat on. Jazzercise! For those who don't know what Jazzercise is: it's a cool combination of aerobics, strength and dance moves. Today though was a special class called Fusion. Cool but tough.

Back home I had a strawberry shake. Another of the new items. Yummy again.

I needed to go grocery shopping, so I decided to leave around lunch time. That would keep me busy and I wouldn't think of food too much. When I left I grabbed a pack of BBQ bits and a coffee. It worked until I was able to get to a place where I could have a chicken filet. I guess it worked out well.

Now, evening time Medifast meal and see what's on.

Take care and don't forget tomorrow the clocks move forward an hour!

Day 12/56

Hi Friday! Yaay...
I guess there is something to be said for those who follow through with their diet on the weekend, and for me, Fridays are the most complicated days.
Unfortunately for me I can't handle well these complicated days. Making a choice between having this or that outside of the diet... can't do that. So I chose to stay home and avoid the social gatherings that involve food and drink. Having said that, I guess the diet plan went OK this Friday. Yaay!!

In the evening, while enjoying the Chicken Noodle Soup I watched a movie called Still Alice. Pefect acting, such a real story which is unfortunately a sad sad truth. I recommend it

:)

Day 11/56

Hello.
One more day and here is something new. I tried 3 new meal flavors.
BBQ Flavored Bites, Chocolate Chip Soft Bake and Chocolate Mint Crunch Bar.

The bites - as well as the cinnamon pretzels - are great because they are "eat as you go" kind of thing. For me, its the best kind of meal to do during the day. The BBQ flavor is a little bit spicy for my taste but still something that I like. I am not good with spicy, but that is personal.
As for the Chocolate Mint Crunch Bar, its actually good. C'mon.... it's chocolate. As a matter of fact, a lot of chocolate in these meal items. That is good because at the end of the day, isn't chocolate the most feared item to deal with when we start a diet program? I guess Medifast covers that.
Oh, I also tasted the chocolate chip soft bake.... AMAZING!!! That's all I can say.

Moving further with the diet, I am still under the impression that there is a lot of food involved in the Lean and Green meals. The portions of proteins are very generous and mix that with 3 different "greens" you have a great meal.

Well, weekend is here and it'll be another challenge.... but Go Celia Go!!!  Focus on the results. By the way....  15 days to Spring.

Good nighty!

Day 10/56

Hello again.
Another weigh in day and another day to talk about expectation.
First things first.I don't want to be over-demanding on myself or on the program but fact is that there was no change in the weight. That's always a bit disappointing. As I have said before, I am a kind that needs to see numbers going down.
Having said that, I did check 2 inches down from the waist and 2% less of fat mass. That is positive, means that I am not losing only water... I am actually losing fat.
I did count the meals I have more left than I should so realized I am a bit wrong in the daily consumption. A review of the program will do well and start seriously tracking.
Honesty time continues though.... who doesn't eventually "slip" during the diet? We all kind of know when we do something that we shouldn't. The good thing here is that the wake up call is still in the beginning, so shape up Celia! Get your train back on the track.

On a very positive note.... I got the new kit of meals. Obviously the first one I tried was a brownie soft bake mix. Delicious!!!! Even my daughter was looking at it with hungry eyes.
There is a peanut butter mix that should be prepared with crushed ice. Not my thing the ice.... will have to evaluate options here. Hopefully I'll have time to do this over the weekend.

Oh well... time to go to bed. Let's be positive and think of a new week starting as of tomorrow!

Be healthy! Be safe! Be good!

Day 9 / 56

Very strange day and strange feeling.

I had everything nicely planned but then the snow started. I started feeling weird and anxious to get home before the nasty weather hit, actually. Right after lunch (around 2:30 honestly) I left.

Drove home and it was OK, but I got home and all I needed was to rest.

Then went out for a coffee with a friend and managed to go right passed the goodies. JUST coffee.

But then it happened... power outage. First thing is let's eat something now while the place is still warm. So that means I had a sandwich and probably could have waited a bit to prepare dinner, but I was 1. hungry; 2. afraid I was going to be hungry; 3. wouldn't be able to do anything later because I was hungry.... So I had a sandwich. Such a dumb move, but that was the anxiety talking.

There is always a lesson to learn. My lesson is "don't use a possible lesson as an excuse to eat" nor a reason to have 2 cookies after the sandwich (did I fail to mention that?).

Oh well, looking forward to tomorrow. Hope this slip (this?) won't mess my weigh in tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

As for the Medifast meals.... finally start to get right the mac & cheese, pudding and today I also had - and loved - the hot chocolate

;)

Day 6, 7, 8 /56

Three days that I have been a bit lazy/busy. But here is my description of these days.

Day 6 - Saturday.

This was actually a different day because I had nothing special to do and spent most of the day relaxing at home. 

In the morning went to my Jazzercise class and that was it. Got back home and without any additional temptations I was able to plan my meals, do all the Medifast meals, snacks and water. I even added some herbal tea just for kicks and to help... you know.... So it was an easy day. And the cherry on top is that I was able to clean the apartment, have a beauty day including a long hot bath! Yaay to me!

Day 7 - Sunday

Well, we decided to go for a day trip to Niagara Falls. I had my take along meals: cinnamon pretzels and cereal bar and bottles of water.

We did a lot of walking which is always fun. I was able to say "no" to burger and fries. OK, I did go for coffee and had a bagel, but it could have gone soooo much worse.

Once I was home, I was craving for a hot soup and guess what? I had it.

Day 8 - Monday

This is the beginning of a new week and I have overcome the urge to get on the scale at home. This happens mainly because I think my scale is so off all the time and so when I step on it I am always hoping to go somewhere and the scale goes somewhere else.

Anyway, Mondays is Jazzercise day and I pretty much kept to the program. I am excited for next weigh in.

Well... have a good week everybody!

:)

Deep breath - let's get started!

Hello! Nice to meet you all.
Before I start blogging about Medifast 5x2x2 , a little background info on me.
I am currently 52 and “a little” overweight. But let’s leave number for after my first weigh in.
I have – as most – tried all of the diets since my late teen years. From the ever so popular Mayo, through protein, pineapple, liquid, stars, horoscope, etc etc etc, all the way to the post modern Dukan and Venus. Guess what? Nothing. Pounds are shed and recovered at some point.
Biggest success has been with re-education program, but even that one is good to a certain point.Until I was introduced to Medifast 5x2x2.
It is composed by dehydrated meals that you combine with leans and greens, and healthy snacks.
In this blog I will try to write a little bit about the meals, the program, the taste and my eventual goal, obviously, reached.

Medifast 5x2x2 is a program that has recently reached Canadian grounds. For that reason I was invited to participate in a trial group. For this trial group we will be completing the 8 weeks at no cost (doesn't get any better, right?).

So, it will be 8 weeks which equals to 56 days. If I miss a day, I’ll try to make up for it. Fingers crossed, a glass of water and follow me…

Day 1/56

This day started off differently because I started fasting for blood work.A banana on my way to work and then, my first Medifast meal – the cinnamon pretzels. Delish!!
For lunch was a lean and green meal of chicken breast, lettuce and tomato salad. Yes… hungry at 2:30 so I had the chicken noodle soup. Again delish!
Usually I would get home and have a coffee and some form of bread until dinner time, which would be around 8. So here I had an oatmeal and to finish the day I went for the mac & cheese with my add-on of spinach. And still got a French Vanilla shake before going to bed.

About the meals, I am not too sure about the consistency of some of the meals. The oatmeal was a bit watery and so was the mac & cheese but once I mixed something or left it stand, it was OK. The taste though is actually very good.

Change of habits – I should try to go to bed earlier. It’s a plan.

It’s important not to forget that (and this is commom to all diets, dieters should know) water, water, water!

Day 2/56

Tuesday and now let’s plan from the beginning of the morning.
Pancakes it is. Mix, water, shaker. Um…. again, kind of watery. Pour on the skillet and no! didn’t work. It was a mess. You know when you try an omelet and it breaks into crumbles, well tht was my first pancake. Each sachet will make three. Tried a second one and it went 50% really bad (like the first) and 50% just sort of bad. Finally the third pancake was almost OK. Good lesson learned: the taste of all that mess was actually good.
The sn !
Lunch was another lean and green made of pork tenderloin and spinach. My snack wwas a hot cocoa and later on a pear.
Dinner I went with a Sloppy Joe meal, humm… a bit too spicy for my taste, but I am very sensitive to spicy – so don’t take it seriously!
Still keep up the water.
I forgot to mention in Day 1 that exercise is advisable. I have fun with Jazzercise three times a week. It’s great, has some cardio, some strength and a lot of laughs. I am not training for IronMan but I can proudly say that I am active. So, works for me.

I am also working on the going to bed earlier and that means…. good night, sleep tight!

Day 3/56

Hi again.
Today I had a weigh in… remember I wasn’t too worried because I only started on Monday. But hooray! – 2lbs. Not bad. Of course it is the beginning of a diet program, but it’s always a big motivation.
That’s what I decided to write about today.
Motivation.
Don’t we all need it? Shouldn’t we all do things that we are motivated to do? Even the simplest things like go for a walk, read a long book, write a blog, cook a special dish…. whatever you do, you need motivation.
It’s up to each one of us to find what motivates us to do whatever we chose to do.

To me… my motivation when starting a diet are always the numbers that show on the scale. Even when I don’t believe in the work I put up to do something (in this case to keep up with the diet plan), but in the end the number is lower… man!! I instantly feel like pumping up the game. Today I even went to the gym.
Find your motivation. Too many people give excuses. Dare to be the different one.

Now talking Medifast – My oatmeal was good this morning. Consistency and taste. Yummy! I tried the chocolate pudding too. Also quite good, especially for the moment “that I need a little booster of sweet”. Talking over with the doctor that is following up with me I realized that I am not eating everything I should! Yaay!!!

Have fun and be good!

Day 4/56

Posted on February 27, 2015

What to do in case of a diet cheat?
I had one of those today. A party, a special occasion. How to deal with it?
Well, the way I see it, when you start a diet you can make arrangements around these dates and decide not to go at all. That’s fine but will you do it all the time? Maybe hibernate alone in your home? If this is what you want, great ! By all means do it.
You can chose to go and socialize. If you do that there is a chance that you can not eat anything, or maybe a salad, if that’s an option. And you can drink water. There are people who can chose socializing over water. Chances are though, if you are on a diet, you probably enjoy food and drink.

My personal take on this is: I will eat what I like, enjoy taste and texture of food. Before going to the event I’ll try to keep to the diet but once there I’ll actually enjoy. Drinks… well that should be controlled anyway, right. So there you go! Have fun and only allow yourself to intake whatever you really want.

Here’s the important catch: as soon as you are gone…. get back on track. Something like a party should not trigger you to break the diet the day after and on. Go back to being serious on your commitment the healthy eating.

And the weekend approaches….

The Medifast news: I tried the oatmeal again today and this time it was too dry. So between 4 oz and 6 oz of water, I’ll stick to 5 ounces and it should work well.

Day 5/56

TGIF! First Weekend approaching, seven to go (once I get through this one).
So this was the Friday (afternoon off!): bagels in the morning. Skipped! Check!
Donuts halfway through the morning. Skipped. Check!
Had my delicious pretzels!
Lunch came. Had a lunch meeting, tried to cancel it. It would have been easier to deal with the food that was available in the office. OMG! Food in the office??? Well, we tried but no. So let’s head out to lunch.
Montanas. OMG and OMG!
OK, lets pick. Sorry but the beer was a given. A small half pint at least.  Weak weak me. But then I ended up choosing a steak, the smallest one available (8 oz) and veggies and salad.
So I consider I have the 2 leans of the day (it should have been two 5oz pieces of meat, but made it one 8oz).
I still have 3 Medifast meals for the rest of the evening. I’ll win the Friday over.
My daughter has asked for pizza! Nope. Sorry. If I buy, I eat. So no!

Binge on House of Cards, from Season 1. Do something to avoid the kitchen.

Stay strong! See you tomorrow!