Round 4, Day 2: Sunny and Bright !

 

Today should have been day 207 of Nutrisystem 2.0 but instead it's Day 2 of Round 4. The first day of this round was much easier than expected. This is probably because my body was using all the carbs and sugar I ate on Friday as fuel ! I knew that today there would be less of that available and at some point my body will have no choice but to burn fat for fuel. That is the goal of low carb, low fat diets !

I weighed myself this morning and I'm at 243. I was at 245 on January 4, 2023 when I launched "Nutrisystem 2.0", so I guess the good news is I've lost 2 pounds this year .. lol ! I was happy with this weight, as I honestly expected to be closer to 250 or more. A realistic goal for my weight is 165, so we'll say I have 78 pounds to go ! Getting to 199 is beyond the halfway mark, so that's a good long term goal right now. My micro goal is to be at 220 or less by 8-31. That is 23 pounds in about a month - very ambitious !

Last night I showered and brushed my teeth before bed. These are simple tasks but I feel like I'm easing back into the routine that brought me success, and that is part of changing my mind set and getting my weight back under control. I wasn't hungry when I went to bed, perhaps thanks to the shot of Metamucil I drank just before my shower. I'm also continuing to tell myself that feeling hungry is a good thing. It means I'm not overeating ! I read back my original Day 2 on Nutrisystem and I was coping better than expected back then too. Of course, my blogs were never 100% transparent as I knew others were reading them. I always kept them positive and hid some of my struggles. Even so, my first time on Nutrisystem went really well. I started to struggle as I got closer to my goal, because my weight loss slowed and became a real struggle. I was desperate to show a loss every week and sometimes I lied about that. I also lied about reaching my goal. I never made it to 150 pounds. I think my lowest weight was 162. That's still impressive considering I used to weigh 304 ! However, I put a lot of pressure and stress on myself because I knew others were "watching", even though no one was judging. I should have been more honest and just admitted when things weren't going well. That was my pride getting in the way ! This time around I want my blogs to be more honest, so I'm continuing to keep the journey private. If I "cheat" I need to document that and try to understand why. I can honestly say that I didn't "cheat" yesterday. My blog accurately depicts everything I ate and drank. The goal is to continue that !

If I can get through 7 days of shakes only and successfully navigate eating out next Saturday, I am going to try doing a second week of shakes only. I will have salad with my lunch and other veggies with dinner. For week 3 I will return to the Nutrisystem plan and see what impact that has in my ability to lose weight. Shakes only for week 1 and 2 should result in a significant loss but bumping my calories up to 1200 will slow it down a little. I'm thinking a week of shakes only every month might be a good way to "shake" things up ! I'll keep an eye out for another 40% off sale on shakes and then stock up again. Right now I have 180 servings on hand, but they go quick when you have 3 a day ! My 6 month supply becomes a 2 month supply !

This morning dawned sunny and cool and I did not wake up with raging hunger ! I got up around 8, fed the indoor and outdoor cats, went back upstairs to make the bed and then settled on the couch with my first cup of coffee. I spent some time playing online slots and around 9:30 I decided to enjoy a second cup of coffee. I wasn't starving, so I didn't rush into having my protein shake. I'm still enjoying the Clubillion slots app. I unlocked a new machine this morning and after only a couple spins I got the bonus and scored over 6 billion coins ! In the midst of the bonus the game gave me a network connection error and I think it was trying to reset itself. That didn't work as the free spins continued and it was an epic win ! Yesterday I actually spent all my coins but after a good streak last night and again this morning I ended up with over 27 billion coins ! Wouldn't it be nice to have that kind of luck in a real casino ? Of course, once that big win was over my luck soon fizzled out. I bailed out with 26 billion coins, gave Abby her baby food, finished my second cup of coffee and made my breakfast shake. I held off on the shake as long as possible and finally finished it shortly after 11 am. After that it was time to get dressed and head to the grocery store ! 

I left around 11:20 and got back home just after 1 pm. For the first time in forever I actually had to pee while I was at Walmart ! I meant to go at Wegman's but I forgot. This never happens, so I'm assuming my body is getting rid of water weight. Two cups of coffee and a protein shake doesn't explain why I had to pee less than an hour after I left home. I've definitely noticed I've been peeing more for the past 24 hours. This shopping trip was a little hard as I couldn't buy any treats or go have ice cream at the farm. I stuck to my list and got fresh veggies, a fresh jar of peanut butter powder and some cat food. I also got some candy bars for the siding crew. 

So breakfast today was a chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a bag of broccoli and a vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. A bit later I had a shot of Metamucil and a cup of coffee to chase away the hungries. I threw a sheet pan of veggies in the oven to roast for dinner and for tomorrow. Instead of roasting a gigantic pan to last all week I decide to try roasting smaller quantities every couple of days. Very often by the end of the week the veggies were soggy and not very palatable because they were 5 or 6 days old. Afternoon snack was some fresh fruit that I bought at Wegmans. I forgot to buy canned fruit but I have 4 full cans and the 2 pound pack of fresh fruit, so I think I'm good until I shop next weekend. Dinner was some freshly roasted veggies and a chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. In a pinch I do have cottage cheese or yogurt that could sub in for the afternoon snack. I had the roasted veggies around 6:30 and I have to say I didn't enjoy them. I guess I just prefer my veggies separate. I'll use up what I bought and then go back to the microwaveable bags of green beans & broccoli.

I have to admit, today was harder. I definitely felt more hungry. However, I expected this ! I knew that all the carbs and sugar I had on Friday would carry me through Saturday. I just have to stay the course and things will settle down. I sure wanted that ice cream. I'd have loved to buy a pizza at Walmart. I'd love to gobble down a few chocolate bars or a big bowl of ice cream before bed. However, none of those things are going to help me lose the weight and they certainly aren't going to make me happy. Sure, I would enjoy the few minutes I spent eating any one of these things but then I would hate myself. It's a vicious cycle. How many times can I tell myself I'll get back on track tomorrow or next week or next month ? Had I did what I said I would on January 4 I might have lost 30-40 pounds by now. Instead I've lost 2. I expect to go to bed feeling hungry tonight and I may wake up hungry tomorrow, but this is not forever. I'm going to try and stay with this plan for the full 7 days.

The humidity left with yesterday's storms and I think the siding crew is going to really enjoy the cooler temps this week. There is rain in the forecast tomorrow but I'm hoping they're still able to make progress on the job.