May 24, 2016 Week 002 – Day 005

May 24, 2016

Week 002 – Day 005

I spent most of the night very restless. I raised my feet with my sleep number bed to maximum, and I did notice a small difference in my leg’s size this morning, albeit I did sit up much last night. I am feeling like I may be losing weight, but that means nothing. We will see on Thursday evening when I weigh in. It is something of a lessor subject, but one that should be noted for all like me. Believe when I say I am humbling myself in order to document fully everything that one may go through during this time. I was having issues trying to wipe myself when going to the bathroom. It was hard to bend and reach around the girth of my body. As I did so, I could feel my liver pushing itself under my rib cage, indicating to me that my liver is very large at this time. Something my doctor has been concerned about for the time I have been heavy. In any case, for wiping myself in the bathroom, as of today, what I consider to be day 5, it has become easier. Food seems to be showing itself everywhere at this point. Watching TV has become challenging due to all the food shown in Ad’s and shows. This confirms to me that I am indeed a food addict. This is important to realize in oneself in order to fix the issue on a forever basis. One must fight moment to moment to keep himself/herself in check. My wife Melanie continues to be of great support, even going as far as getting some SlimFast Shakes (similar to what we drink as meal replacements) from Sam’s Club. They sell them in bulk there. She will be drinking a few a day with me, but not completely replacing her eating. That is true support…. to join in with the one you love. I am a very lucky and blessed man to have her in my life. We have also tried the sugar free, calorie free shaved ice syrup in an ice drink yesterday. Unfortunately, because there is no sugar to thicken the ice to Slurpee or margarita consistency, it comes out as basic snow cone ice with flavor. That stated, if you like snow cones, this is a zero calorie solution! We also ordered a few items to try from Waldon Farms… this company specializes in making zero calorie sauces and spreads. This may be good for when we introduce food back into our systems. It is funny, I never thought I would have this much to report. I can see how important it is now, not only keeping me on top of all I am doing right now, but also to serve others like me whom wish to know what it is like, and show them it is possible to do. Human’s were made to be healthy and functional. I allowed worldly things, and desires to get to me, changing me into what I am today. Nobody else is responsible for what I have have become… only me. As such, I am responsible for pulling myself back. The great thing is, there is an abundance of people willing to help me do that… and I do not have to face my problem alone. I am grateful.

Today’s FitBit Stats:

2355 Steps for 1.1 Miles and 3155 Calories burned. 1 Floors Climbed.

Last Night’s Sleep Recorded This Morning:

6 hour 21 min. Asleep last night, Awake X4, Restless X12

Food Schedule:

10AM – Chocolate Shake & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
12PM – Vanilla Shake
2PM – 1 Cinnamon Protein Bar & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
4PM – Chocolate Shake POWDER mixed with 16oz of shaved ice and a diet lemon/lime soda (I don’t like the powder)
6PM 1 packet Tomato Soup in 8 oz Water & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
8PM – Vanilla Shake POWDER mixed with 16oz shaved ice and a diet orange soda (Not bad. I don’t like the powder).

Calorie Intake for the day = 970

May 23, 2016 Week 002 – Day 004

May 23, 2016

Week 002 – Day 004

My legs are still swelling. I had them wrapped by the doctor last Friday, and the wraps are getting to be uncomfortable. I have an adjustable Sleep Number bed that allows me to raise my head and feet as I wish. I raised my feet most of the night last night, but still found myself sitting up in bed quite a bit to sleep. This may be a habit I need to curb in order to leave my legs raised for the blood to leave them, and allow the swelling to go down each night. My nerve pain medications (Gabepentine) were cut in half at the start of this program, and I am finding that my nerve pain kicks in for a brief time at night, before I fall to sleep.

Today’s FitBit Stats:

3248 Steps for 1.51 Miles and 3264 Calories burned. 2 Floors Climbed.

Last Night’s Sleep Recorded This Morning:

6 hour 41 min. Asleep last night, Awake X4, Restless X18

Food Schedule:

10AM – Vanilla Shake & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
12PM – Chocolate Shake
2PM – 1 Chocolate Mint Protein Bar & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
4PM – Vanilla Shake
6PM 1 packet Chicken Soup in 8 oz Water & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
8PM – Chocolate Shake

Calorie Intake for the day = 970

May 22, 2016 Week 002 – Day 003 & FitBit Report

May 22, 2016

Week 002 – Day 003

I continue to be uncomfortable, legs in pain. I still sit up in bed to sleep, but found I was laying down more frequently to sleep. As far as food, I have never noticed that TV ads are mostly food! No wonder we want food all the time! As I fight the urge to eat food, these are constantly bombarding me during any program I watch live. I can say that my wife is helping me greatly by reminding me what my goal is. I am finding that she holds me up quite a bit, and her support is saving me. I believe this vital to the success of this, or any program. That stated, I have noted for the past two days that I am not hungry with this program, but my formed habits of wanting to eat is prevalent. And it seems that my body wants to actually chew something. I am therefore looking into 0 calorie gum with no aspartame. I crushed up some ice and chewed on that in the mean time. This is bad for the teeth, but a saving grace for wanting to chew. I am still thinking of food, getting flashes of my favorite foods going through my head. I can even smell them from time to time. That is another biggie…. just driving down the street how many food smells there are. I never noticed until now. And forget about the guy next door that is having a BBQ! ARRRRGH! This is easy, and hard at the same time. It seems the world is working against what is right. Like my wife says… I can do this. Second by second…. everyday.

Today’s FitBit Stats:

3102 Steps for 1.44 Miles and 3236 Calories burned. 3 Floors Climbed.

Last Night’s Sleep Recorded This Morning:

8 hour 2 min. Asleep last night, Awake X4, Restless X16

Food Schedule:

10AM – Vanilla Shake & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
12PM – Chocolate Shake
2PM – 1 Cinnamon Protein Bar
4PM – Vanilla Shake & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
6PM 1 packet Tomato Soup in 8 oz Water & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
8PM – Chocolate Shake

Calorie Intake for the day = 970

**

My FitBit Report – Week of May 16 thru 22 of 2016

What is interesting about this is that the week’s number above is what I am aiming my daily number to be!

May 21, 2016 Week 002 – Day 002

May 21, 2016

Week 002 – Day 002

Not much sleep happening as I am so uncomfortable, legs in pain. I sit up in bed to sleep most of the night, laying down on occasion, making for an awful night’s rest.

Today’s FitBit Stats:

2716 Steps for 1.26 Miles and 3191 Calories burned. 1 Floors Climbed.

Last Night’s Sleep Recorded This Morning:

8 hour 2 min. Asleep last night, Awake X4, Restless X16

Food Schedule:

10AM – Vanilla Shake & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
12PM – Chocolate Shake mixed with shaved blended ice (not bad)
2PM – 1 Chocolate Mint Protein Bar
4PM – Chocolate Shake & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
6PM 1 packet Chicken Soup in 8 oz Water & 8 oz glass of water with Orange Fiber
8PM – Vanilla Shake mixed with shaved blended ice and one 12oz can of Diet Orange Soda (Excellent!)

May 19, 2016 MEETING DAY & Meal Replacements Begin Week 002 – Day 000

May 19, 2016
MEETING DAY & Meal Replacements Begin

Week 002 – Day 000

Today we met again at Kaiser, picking up our food ($100 for the week’s supply), weighing in, and having the RN take our blood pressure. First… I was disappointed quite a bit with myself, allowing my brain to get the best of me in the food department. Even though I thought I was doing better… I had eaten worse, shoving in all my favorite foods, and thus GAINED MORE WEIGHT! This is the heaviest I have ever been. Even my blood pressure with sky rocketing….. so much so that the RN (Linda) was worried. Then I showed her my legs and she truly knew something was wrong. She set me up to see the Doctor tomorrow ASAP.

We all met and went over the food we just received. We will all have 6 meal replacements each day. Mine will start tomorrow as follows:

10AM – Shake & Fiber
12PM – Shake
2PM – Protein Bar
4PM – Shake & Fiber
6PM – Soup
8PM – Shake & Fiber

All of that in about 970 calories for each day.

May 18, 2016 Week 001 – Day (T-1 Day)

May 18, 2016

Week 001 – Day (T-1 Day)

Even with my eating some challenged foods, because I am eating less of them, I feel like I am losing weight. I am traversing my stairs better, albeit my legs are still swollen badly. My right leg is still pouring out water, and painful. I am very much looking toward tomorrow’s weigh in to see how much weight I have lost. I will show the nurse my leg. Maybe she will have a suggestion.

May 15-16, 2016 – Week 001 – Day (T-3 & T-4 Days)

May 15-16, 2016

– Week 001 – Day (T-3 & T-4 Days) –

• I have begun eating less. However as I do, I start thinking too much that I will not be having food soon, and I begin eating all the wrong foods. Things I believe I will miss. I basically panic over food. Something true addicts do when they cannot see where their next fix will come from.
• A few days ago my legs began swelling excessively once again, creating large blisters and dry, leathery skin. My right leg started having pain above my ankle on the rear side. An area the size of my fist becomes raw, and begins leaking my body’s water. It is so extreme that my wife placed a thick feminine pad on it, then wrapped my leg before bed time. By morning it had accumulated so so much water that is water dripping off the pad. One could literally wring it out and have water splash on the floor! At this time it became gross to view…. see the below photo. I thought maybe the cool water of my pool would help,… and it did feel better when I soaked my legs, but it did not help the sore. Cleaning it up once again, I let it be in the open air to see if it would dry out and heal. No such luck. Again, here is the photo… NASTINESS….please excuse the dog hairs on my foot. As if that is what you would be looking at…lol.

May 12, 2016 – Week 001 – Day (T-7 Days) – Initial Weigh In and First Meeting

May 12, 2016

– Week 001 – Day (T-7 Days) –

Initial Weigh In and First Meeting

Today we met all who are participating in the program. There are currently 20 of us. We went over what is expected and the food we will be taking in. Since we have no food to bring home with us this week, we are supposed to begin lessening our food intake, and trying to eat better, while logging what we eat, and how we feel during the day. I am greatly hopeful and confident this day!! I believe I can do this!!

Program Description

Phase 1: Active Weight Loss (weeks 1-16)

*Meal replacement beginning in week 2 of the program.
*Weekly group sessions (60-90 minutes).
*Periodic medical checks, lab tests, and EKGs.
*Mandatory purchase of all meal replacements during this phase.

Phase 2: Continued Weight Loss / Early Maintenance (weeks 17-30)

**Transition from meal replacements (weeks 17-20).
**Weekly group sessions (60-90 minutes).
**Mandatory purchase of all meal replacements between weeks 17-20. Optional purchase of additional meal replacements between weeks 21-30.

Phase 3: Long-Term Maintenance (weeks 31-82)

***Weekly group meetings (60 minutes).
***Optional purchase of additional meal replacements – up to 3 per day.

Here is the OPTIFAST Meal Replacement List We Choose From…

May 9, 2016 Food Change T-10 Days

May 9, 2016
Food Change T-10 Days