Day 30

I feel great. I'm really noticing a difference in the way my clothes fit. Even though the stupid scale refuses to budge. Also, I'm wearing my special boots today. I always feel thin when I wear them. I can't always wear them for the whole day though, heels are a bit high. It also probably helps that I actually got a good night's sleep last night AND I've taken tomorrow off for a few medical appointments, but those don't start until later in the day so I get a bonus day to sleep in. 

So it should be Day Two of my new shipment of food, but it's not. I've got two days' worth of meals from the last shipment left. Oh well, I'll just either skip some flex meals or get a few more days of my money's worth. 

Here's to a whole month on Nutrisystem with just a few slips here and there. Woot!

And here's a little reminder that's been helping me keep going and keep a positive attitude. 

Day 27

Tomorrow should be the last day of my first 4 weeks on Nutrisystem. But I had a few slips this week. So after today, I'll have three breakfasts, four lunches, four breakfasts and seven snacks. My new shipment arrived this week, but I'm trying to finish the stuff from my first month before digging into the good stuff. It's difficult though, as I'm down to the stuff that's not my favorite. Somehow I need to find the will power to eat 2 chicken pot pies...

But I don't feel like this is a failure. No one can sustain on 1,000 calories a day for weeks on end. BUT this is still working. The bra I sometimes wear no longer feel like a tourniquet at the end of the day. Progress. And people are starting to say they can really see it in my face. Now, is my face where I was to be losing weight from? Not my number one choice, but hey, I'll take it! 

My mom's coming to visit in early December and I'm really hoping to have lost a whole pants size by then. So cheer me on! Let's do this! 

Day 20 - Non-scale Victory

**I accidentally deleted this post. Thank goodness I subscribe to my own email updates!**

Non-scale victory. You hear this all the time when you're trying to lose weight. 

What is it and why is it important? Well, sometimes, like now for me, the scale doesn't move. But that doesn't mean you aren't making progress. So it's important to focus on these non-scale victories to avoid getting discouraged. I'm bad at this. 

My boss was in the office today after a week away and actually commented that I'm looking thinner! She said she can see it in my face and my belly (she didn't use the word belly, but that's what it is). Woot! 

This is a big victory for me today since it's been a rough one. I almost stopped at McDonald's for a sausage biscuit this morning on the way to work. Wait, let's be honest. Two sausage biscuits. This alone would be almost my entire calorie allotment for the day. I kept driving. I then almost got a bacon egg omelet with hash browns and sour cream from the cafeteria. But I didn't. I had my pre-planned Nutrisystem breakfast. This is another victory. Another big one. 

I'm about to hit three whole weeks doing this and my next order shipped today. I'm rather proud of myself that I'm still going, despite the lack of movement on the scale. I know I shouldn't need external validation that I'm getting thinner, but I do, as I've said before. I see myself too often and Chuck sees me too often to see incremental changes. 

Tonight or tomorrow (depending on my motivation after work) will be a Flex Meal so I'm going to try a recipe from the Nutrisystem website for a Ginger Soy Noodle Bowl. Sounds yummy huh?

Also, for the record, I did cheat today. I know you're supposed to find non-food rewards along the way of a weight loss journey. But you know what? I don't get pedicures, I don't like to go to the movies, I sleep in on the weekends no matter what. So I celebrated my willpower to not drive through McDonald's and not get a big fatty breakfast from the cafeteria by putting RANCH DRESSING on a big salad at lunch. The salad was composed of all Nutrisystem approved veggies, no meat, no cheese, no croutons, just veggies and ranch. And after that, I had my Nutrisystem "hot pocket." All of this is completely on plan, except the ranch dressing. And in fact, that might even count as an "extra." I don't care enough to look. I could have made a much much much worse choice and I'm proud that I didn't.

Day 24

Just to clarify, I took yesterday off of Nutrisystem, not work. And it was glorious. 

I have been completely honest with you all here, about the struggles, but also about how very easy this program is. It is nice to not have to make decisions about what to eat. And there's no guilt. But to have one day was really nice. 

Now, here are some justifications/excuses for why. Aside from the fact that hash browns are delicious. I did read somewhere at some point that it's good to have a day here and there where your calorie intake is higher. Something about your body and metabolism getting used to having less food. So I'm thinking maybe my day off will kick my metabolism back into higher gear? Maybe? 

Also, I read on the Nutrisystem site that weight loss counselors consider a person successful if they follow a program 85% of the time. So I think a day off here every few weeks is totally acceptable! 

Well, at the very least, it was good for my soul. 

In other news, I purchased the Nutrisystem Activity Tracker. It was on sale for only $30, so I figured why not. It's only day one, but it's amazing how little I move. Yet another excuse, it's a work day and I'm at my desk all day. But really, I move even less at home on the weekends and days I work from home. So we're gonna work on that...

Day 23

I took today off. I needed it. 

I'm not going to tell you what I ate. I made decent choices, but it was a day off. We all need them right?

Day 18

I haven't been including my meals in my posts because, well, I thought it might be getting tedious for you. But, if you know me, you know I have a tracking spreadsheet, in addition to the Nutrisystem app to keep track of everything. So here you go, in case you care, are my meals and snacks for Days 9-18.


Day 9 (the bad day) 
Breakfast: Oatmeal Cranberry Bites + Cheese Stick 
Snack #1: Cheese Stick 
Lunch: Western Bacon Cheeseburger (not on plan) 
Snack #2: Nothing (not on plan) 
Dinner: Western Bacon Cheeseburger (not on plan) 

Day 10 
Breakfast: Cinnamon Streusel Muffin + Cheese Stick 
Snack #1: Cheese Stick 
Lunch: Red Beans and Rice 
 Snack #2: Cheese Stick + Apple 
Dinner: Mac and Cheese with Turkey Sausage 
Snack #3: Nothing (not on plan) 

Day 11 
Breakfast: Buttermilk Waffles + Peanut Butter (more than on plan) + ½ cup cantelope (not on plan) 
Snack #1: Vanilla Shake 
Lunch: Flex Meal – small turkey sandwich + slice of Swiss cheese (Extra) + 2 pickles (Extras) 
Snack #2: Cheese Stick + Apple 
Snack #3: Zesty Pizza Snackarounds 
Dinner: Mushroom Risotto with cherry tomatoes 

Day 12 
Breakfast: Flex Meal – Two Egg Scramble with veggies + Whole Wheat Toast w/ Butter (extra) 
Snack #1: Vanilla Shake 
Lunch: Turkey Pot Pie Melt 
Snack #2: Small Turkey Sandwich 
Dinner: Santa Fe Style Chicken 
Snack #3: Cheesecake Flavored Bar

Day 13 
Breakfast: Turkey Sausage and Egg Muffin + Hard-boiled Egg 
Snack #1: Hard-boiled Egg 
Lunch: Spinach and Cheese Pretzel Melt 
Snack #2: Small Tuna Sandwich and 2 pickles 
Snack #3: skipped (not on plan)
Dinner: Flex meal – 4 oz turkey + granny smith apple 

Day 14 
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Granola Bar + cheese stick 
Snack #1: Hard-boiled Egg 
Lunch: Loaded Potato 
Snack #2: Orange Cream Bar 
Snack #3: Hard-boiled egg + whole wheat toast with butter spray 
Dinner: Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza 

Day 15 
Breakfast: Cinnamon Streusel Muffin + Egg 
Snack #1: Hard-boiled Egg 
Lunch: Tuna Salad, Whole wheat toast, capers 
Snack #2: Hard-boiled egg + whole wheat toast with butter spray 
Snack #3: Zesty Snack Mix 
Dinner: Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast 

Day 16 
Breakfast: Flex meal - Egg white veggie scramble + bacon 
Snack #1: Hard-boiled Egg 
Lunch: Pepperoni Pizza Melt 
Snack #2: Hard-boiled Egg 
Snack #3: skipped (not on plan)
Dinner: Chicken Enchilada 

Day 17 
Breakfast: Turkey Sausage and Egg Muffin + Cheese stick 
Snack #1: Vanilla Shake 
Lunch: Chicken Mozzarella Melt 
Snack #2: White Cheddar Popcorn 
Snack #3: Half turkey sandwich and 2 pickles 
Dinner: Stuffed Shells 

Day 18 
Breakfast: Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal + Hard-boiled Egg 
Snack #1: 2 Cheesesticks (more than on plan)
Lunch: Red Beans and Rice 
Snack #2: Flex Meal - Small Tuna Sandwich 
Dinner: Chicken Parmesan 
Snack #3: White Cheddar Popcorn

Day 17

The scale has begun to move again! I didn’t share with you guys that it did go back up a few pounds last week, so I’m still right around that 5 lbs mark, but there’s movement. I’ll take it. It’s getting easier and easier to just hang in there and keep going. I am 100% confident that this will work. Five pounds in two and a half weeks is still nothing to sneeze at and at some point my body will recognize this new normal and it’ll all just start melting off. I just keep reminding myself that it took time for my body to get here and it’ll take time to get down to where I want to be. 

My senior year in college, I completed a survey for a classmate for her psychology thesis on body image. I remember there were a few questions on there asking if you’ve ever had thoughts of cutting off parts of your body, like your stomach, thighs, etc. And at a size 2, I couldn’t imagine what the deal was with that question. But now, I really wish there was some magic wand that could just lop off my belly. I actually made an appointment at a local “body contouring” place, thinking that the cost of getting the fat sucked out would probably equal the cost of a few months of Nutrisystem. And how great would it be to have it happen so fast, so easily, and with very minimal effort. But I didn’t go. I didn’t even cancel, I just no showed. I’m not quite ready yet to be “that person” the surgically alters their body. But my lord, is it ever tempting. 

And so onward we go, chugging happily along. I’m not miserable. In fact, I’m really loving how easy it is to just grab a package from the freezer or pantry for my meals. The challenge is eating when I don’t feel like it. I know I’m supposed to eat everything on the plan, but it’s a lot. I mean, it’s less than 1200 calories, but it’s frequent. I feel like I’m always eating. 

I have to admit that I’ve skipped many of my last snacks of the day. Mid-way through Day 17, I have 10 breakfasts, 10 lunches, and 11 dinners left (since there are flex meals still to have as well). But snacks? I have 14. When I started this I never would have told you that I would have trouble getting through all my snacks. I’m learning a lot about myself on this journey and I can’t wait until the results are visible. There’s really nothing more motivating than people commenting on weight loss. What does that say about me and my need for external validation? Not sure. That self-examination is for another day.

Day 15

Yes friends, we're here. As the great philosopher Bon Jovi said "whooooooaaaaaa we're halfway there!"

Well, halfway through this first 28 days at least. I FINALLY have this thing figured out to where I can still function like a normal human being. Am I still hungry a lot? Yes. Is the scale moving yet? No. Do I feel a difference in my clothes? YES. That's a big fat yes. Just a reminder to myself and others that the scale is not the end all be all of weight loss. 

Last night's dinner was a frozen Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza and MAN was that thing good. Small, but good. I'm very much adjusted to the small portions, however. To the point where I see people's plates when I go to the cafeteria to fill up my water and I think "OMG that is SO much food!" 

So I have until 10/19 at 3pm to decide whether to order another 28 days' worth of food. And you know what? I think I will. As I predicted, it is so much easier to not have to think about what to eat. I have a variety of options for each meal, but that's it. No unlimited choices at the grocery store. No unlimited choices of restaurants and drive throughs for when I don't want to cook. This is it. Period. There's really no room for error. With Weight Watchers, it was so easy to say "oh, that was probably 2 oz of lunch meat" when in fact it was more like 5. Or to estimate how many points that giant tuna salad sandwich was and you know in your heart there's probably way more mayo in there than you're reporting. Man, I love me some tuna salad. Good thing Nutrisystem has it! I've yet to try it, but I have three packets of it. And you know, if it's bad, I'll just measure like hell and make my own for my snacks or Flex lunches.

I discovered that the best PowerFuel snack is a hard boiled egg. So filling and a great source of protein. I feel this is the key to my feeling normal again since before I switched it up, I was eating a cheese stick. All last week I purchased hard boiled eggs from the cafeteria, but even at $1 each, it's obviously cheaper to make them myself. But I've never been successful at this. They are so darn hard to peel and end up looking like Edward Scissor Hands peeled them and half the whites are down the drain. Well let me enlighten you people. Steaming! I put about two inches of water in my big stock pot, brought it to a boil, and put a whole dozen eggs in the steamer basket. Twelve minutes of steaming and an ice bath and BAM! Perfectly cooked (no green around the yolks) and so easy to peel. Life has changed. 

This has been a long way of saying that, yes, I think I will sign up for another 28 days of this. It's easy and it's working. And at some point, the scale will move. It has to. And the money we're saving on groceries and Taco Bell? HUGE. The price of Nutrisystem comes out to about $12 a day, not counting the snacks and vegetables. Even so, I won't even tell you how much I was probably spending on a cafeteria breakfast, lunch out, and a drive through dinner. Not to mention the groceries purchased, unused, and thrown out. 

The next few days will be spent making sure I eat the items I haven't tried yet from my freezer and pantry so I can be sure my next order won't include anything gross. But I honestly have only had two truly gross meals so far. There are just some that were fine, but I could do without. Now, that Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza, I'll be getting several of those for November!

Be well my friends. Self care is important. I'm indulging myself today with a charcoal face mask and a deep moisture treatment. What are you doing for yourself today?

Day 13

Things continue to improve. I woke up this morning feeling almost normal. Phew! Looking forward to the weekend for some good sleep. I've been sleeping, but it's been fitful, but finally last night was great. I could have easily slept a few more hours but adulting and work... (I have insomnia, so this may not have been Nutrisystem-related). 

Still no further movement on the scale, but I'm still going! I feel a big difference in my jeans so I think I'm losing inches. Of course I didn't take before measurements because the number on the scale is bad enough. 

I do want to tell you about the Cheesecake Flavored Bar that I had as a bedtime snack last night. It was disappointing. Not because it tasted bad. It tasted like cookie dough, yum! But I was expecting cheesecake. If anyone from Nutrisystem is reading this, please consider renaming this bar so its taste matches its name.

Day 12

So much better yesterday and this morning! I followed the guidance of the online Nutrisystem counselor yesterday and OMG what a difference! 

First of all, I swapped up my schedule so I now have two snacks between lunch and dinner instead of one after lunch and one after dinner. Really helped me get through the afternoon. 

Secondly, I decided that yesterday would be my first Flex Meal. Each week, we get to swap out one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner and one snack where we would usually have a Nutrisystem meal. Here’s what they look like: 

And yeah, let's just take a moment to discuss how unfair it is that it's separated by men and women. The only difference, however, is lunch where men get TWICE what women get... moving on...

So for my lunch, I had a piece of whole wheat bread with two slices of turkey and a piece of cheese (an “extra” of which we get three per day) and two dill pickle spears (also extras). Kind of glorious to have “real” food. I felt better almost immediately. 

This morning I’m having my Flex breakfast. A two egg veggie scramble from our cafeteria and a piece of whole wheat toast with butter (an Extra). Still no further movement on the scale, but as I’ve said, it’ll drop several pounds all at once eventually if I just stick with it! 😊





Height: 5'5" 
Weight: 180lbs 
Short term goal: 150lbs 
Longer term goal: 130lbs 
Weight Loss So Far: 5lbs

Combining Product Lines

Some of you may know that for the past two years or so, off and on, I've been taking Plexus products to support gut health. These products have helped my stomach problems IMMENSELY so there's no way I was going to stop taking them while on Nutrisystem. 

Plexus has a protein shake that you can Google and see that all kinds of people are mixing it with coconut milk and their Slim ("The Pink Drink") and have seen massive weight loss. I tried it once, it wasn't for me. 

But last week while on Turbo Takeoff, I did decide to mix my Slim with the chocolate shakes to kill two birds with one stone. It was pretty effective in that I'm not a big fan of the taste of either, so at least I didn't have to drink them separately.

Well let me tell you my friends, I am not seeing the same success with the Vanilla shakes. Looks pretty good at first, right? Like a strawberry shake! Um, no. The flavors don't mesh well (to quote Clueless) and everything quickly separated and became chunky. Glad I tried it, but today will be the first and last I do this with the Vanilla shakes!

Day Eleven

Still feeling quite wonky. I think my body has been fueled by food for so long that it no longer remembers how to eat itself. I hope it learns soon. 

I just did an online chat with a counselor on the Nutrisystem website, having added extra protein and a serving of fruit to my breakfast. She basically told me it was important to make sure I'm eating everything and to switch up what I'm eating for my PowerFuels (protein) since I'm pretty much just eating cheese sticks. 

Makes total sense. I will try that. I could really use about 5 more hours of sleep at night too...

I'm also pleased to report that my cheeseburger on Monday resulted in no weight loss, so I'm holding steady at a five pound loss at this point.

Day Ten

Remember what I said about Day Eight? Total bullshit. I should really start writing these posts at the end of the day. Fair warning: this post is absolutely not a silver-lining, unicorns, and rainbows kind of post. Nutrisystem, while thus far effective, is not a picnic. 

I basically spent the weekend asleep or in some sort of stupor. I took two 3-hour naps on Saturday, which caused me to get all out of whack on my Day Seven schedule. I even (gasp!) skipped my shake and had my lunch and second snack at the same time instead of spreading them out. 

Sunday I was at least awake, but somehow managed to watch several shows out of our DVR and a few Lifetime movies with almost no memory of the plot lines. I kept pretty close to the Nutrisystem plan, except for the after dinner snack, which I was just too exhausted to even deal with. Chuck got home from work around 10:30pm on Sunday and was convinced I was drunk (which I was not, just had one vodka with diet tonic water and a squeeze of lemon. very refreshing). I was pretty sure going to work on Monday was a no-go. 

Sure enough, I woke up around 6am Monday with major shakes. I had a lot of trouble with hypoglycemia as a child, so this feeling was incredibly familiar. I texted in to let my team know I was taking a sick day (not even working from home, this is serious) and, even though I wasn't entirely sure it was safe for me to be driving, headed to McDonald's and got a large Sprite, large Coke, and a Dr. Pepper for Chuck. I really wanted a cheeseburger but was thankful they only serve breakfast that early. I still wasn't convinced that I needed to break with the Nutrisystem routine. Aside from this blast of high-fructose corn system, that is. 

Potentially, the Coke decision was a mistake. I haven't had any caffeine to speak of since the beginning of this whole thing and probably even longer than that. So after half the Coke, I was feeling even shakier. 

I tried to take a nap in the hopes that sleep would magically heal whatever this was. No dice. Our fantastic cleaning lady was there, so the dogs were in protection mode. Finn sure is cute but his bark is SHRILL.

Chuck headed off to work for his 11am to 11pm shift, and I was on my own. I still wanted a cheeseburger. I watched Philadelphia (good movie, I'd never seen it), had a yummy Nutrisystem breakfast (oatmeal cranberry bites) and still wanted a cheeseburger. Around 2:00, I finally decided to do it. We're a third of the way through this first (and maybe last) month, I can have myself a little treat. Calling in sick for the next three weeks is definitely not an option, so I had to decide how to find a balance. Off I went. But I decided that if I'm gonna blow this whole thing, it's not going to be for some stupid McDonald's cheeseburger. A Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr. was going to be the ticket. I ordered two more large Sprites as well. 

Oh boy oh boy did I feel better. I had to meet up with Chuck mid-shift to drop off something he forgot at home and he noticed the change immediately. Same when I talked to my mom on the phone. 

I'm back at it today. Back at work and have all my food packed up. Even with an extra few cheese sticks, just in case. 

The human body can only take so much you guys. When you've been eating like a fat ass for as long as I have and you suddenly drop to 800 calories, it's going to take a toll. The scale didn't move after my indiscretion though, so I suppose no harm no foul. But no matter what you're doing, you have to 1) be safe and 2) LISTEN to your body. It's talking to you, sometimes screaming and 3)make sure you're taking care of yourself and doing what's right for YOU. I have a hard time believing Marie Osmond never took a few meals here and there to indulge or had an extra snack because her body just couldn't take it. 

Height: 5'5" 
Weight: 180lbs 
Short term goal: 150lbs 
Longer term goal: 130lbs 
Weight Loss So Far: 5lbs

Day Eight

Let me tell you, day eight is amazing. It's quite astonishing actually how fast a body can adjust to a change in calories, whether more or less. The small amount of extra food is delightful.

I can also tell you that I am exhausted. I took two 3 hour naps yesterday and still slept a full night's sleep. I could probably do the same today, but I'm determined to stay awake. I might be getting sick, it might be the drop in calories, who knows. But I do hope tomorrow, a work day, will be better. I may have to give in and have a diet coke for some caffeine. Stay tuned...

I was pleased, however, to weigh myself this morning and see that it's the same as yesterday. My drop in weight wasn't some strange anomaly in the gravitational pull, but legit weight loss. Now to just hang in there and wait for the next drop.   

Breakfast - Turkey Sausage and Egg Muffin + a cheddar cheese stick
Snack #1 - colby jack cheese stick
Lunch - Pepperoni Cheese Melt
Snack #2 - Cheese stick and an apple
Dinner - Santa Fe Chicken Style Chicken
Snack #3 - Zesty Herb Snack Mix

Height: 5'5" 
Weight: 180lbs 
Short term goal: 150lbs 
Longer term goal: 130lbs 
Weight Loss So Far: 5lbs

Day Seven

At last, you guys! I'm down FIVE pounds. The scale finally dropped. My body finally decided we're not starving and it let go. There is triumph in having stuck it out when I could have hit the McDonald's drive through for breakfast or the In n Out when I got gas after work the other day. Please oh please let this serve as a reminder for the next time the scale remain stagnant for days and days, that if I just stick it out, it will drop a few pounds eventually. And this feeling that IT WORKS is so motivating. 

So here we are, the final day of Turbo TakeOff. It's really too bad it's Saturday, but I figured two weekend days in a row would break me. Luckily I have this new found scale victory to push me through. And I saved the best sounding foods for today. My breakfast bar has FROSTING!

I'm very busy fantasizing about what I'll eat tomorrow. Suddenly, my Nutrisystem meal options seem endless. So many items to choose from! And on top of that, I get to add a protein to my breakfast (they call this "PowerFuel"), I get an extra snack composed of a PowerFuel and a "SmartCarb" (which can be a fruit, starchy vegetable, or whole grain item).

My TurboShakes for the next three weeks are vanilla, which I'm pretty excited about since as you know I'm not the biggest chocolate fan. This seems like it's getting hard to follow. Here's the daily deal for the next three weeks:

Breakfast: Nutrisystem meal + PowerFuel
Snack: TurboShake or a PowerFuel
Lunch: Nutrisystem meal
Snack: Powerfuel + SmartCarb
Dinner: Nutrisystem meal
Snack: Nutrisystem meal

See? When you take into account the variety of items in my freezer and pantry, PLUS the freedom of having hard boiled eggs, toast, string cheese, apple slices, hummus, peanut butter, cous cous, oranges, the list goes on and on.

Now, these items do add the expense of the month, when I had expected it was a one and done "grocery bill" and only budgeted for Chuck's food. But still... how much does a tablespoon of peanut butter and an apple cost?

But for today, the last of my Turbo TakeOff food. I've purposely saved the best looking/sounding items for today. Much like I also save the red Skittles for last (and the red gummy bears, the red Lifesavers, etc)

Breakfast - Blueberry Lemon Bar
Snack #1 - Chocolate Turbo Shake 
Lunch - Loaded Potato
Snack #2 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar 
Dinner - Rotini w/ Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

Height: 5'5" 
Weight: 180lbs 
Short term goal: 150lbs 
Longer term goal: 130lbs 
Weight Loss So Far: 5lbs

Day Six

I’m beginning to doubt myself and this decision. I’m HUNGRY. And shakey. This is not a lot of food you guys and I would have hoped for more movement on the scale by now. I know from past experience that the scale will stay stagnant for days and days and then suddenly drop several pounds. And especially with such a sudden change, my body is hanging on to all it can. 

But it’s hard to wait for that drop. I keep telling myself that if I just make it to Sunday, Turbo TakeOff will be over and I’ll get more food. But then again, won’t more food mean even slower weight loss? 

It’s hard, these weight loss journeys that most of us have been on. It’s hard because you make a decision, a commitment, and a lifestyle change (sometimes a major lifestyle change) in order to meet a goal. But it takes SO long to reach that goal. And there’s really only so much you can do to get there. You eat less, but not too much less because then your body goes into starvation mode and clings to those precious pounds of fat. You exercise but there are only so many hours in the day between work, sleep, the commute, and, for some of you, children. My foot is stuck in a boot for awhile due to an injury, so my “move more” options are quite limited as I try to heal.

It’s no wonder so many of us fail when we try to lose weight. No matter how much we know we need to and no matter how desperate we are to do so. And it’s no wonder it’s a multi-billion dollar industry (is that true? I don’t know, but a LOT of money is spent in the American effort to get and stay thin). But onward. Day Five. Pity party over. For now…

Breakfast - Harvest Nut Bar
Snack #1 - Chocolate Turbo Shake 
Lunch - Beans and Ham Soup
Snack #2 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar 
Dinner - Chili with Beans

Height: 5'5" 
Weight: 183lbs 
Short term goal: 150lbs 
Longer term goal: 130lbs 
Weight Loss So Far: 2lbs

Spanx

'Scuse me, "shapewear." Why do we do it ladies?

For those of you who aren't currently at the end of a long work day wearing them, I know what you're thinking...

- they smooth out your bra line
- they make your belly, butt, thighs, or other problem areas smaller
- they just make everything in general less... jiggly

These are all true facts.

But here are some other ones. When you put on Spanx in the morning, you know, before you've had anything to eat or drink, and you check yourself out right before you walk out the door, make up fresh and perfect, hair on point, you think "Damn! I look good!" Then the day goes on and they start creeping and rolling (you know what I'm talkin' 'bout), you start to feel more like "Damn! I feel like a sausage!" and you end up feeling fatter and uglier than you would have if you just hadn't bothered with them to begin with. Am I right? You know I'm right...

Day Five

I made it to Day Five. I honestly wasn't sure I would. Yesterday was rough. I spent the morning feeling pretty light-headed and wonky. After eating the cardboard granola bar, I almost caved with (gasp!) a hard boiled egg from the cafeteria. But I powered through and gulped down my mid-morning protein shake 30 minutes early (yes, I have scheduled this thing out so all my meals are evenly spaced). I think what got me through was knowing that I was going to get that extra 100 calories for lunch. 

I sat down last night and made a spreadsheet. Well, another spreadsheet. You know I have a few for this journey already. Because I was curious the distribution of calories coming from fats, protein, and carbs that I'm eating. Turns out, a typical day looks like this:

Not bad in my opinion. Yes, it's a lot of carbs compared to, like, Atkins, but carbs are good and they're the good, whole grain kind of carbs. And yes, it's more fat than I would have expected. But fat means flavor and with less than 1,000 calories a day, I need those calories to taste good. Am I justifying this graph because the weight loss community probably thinks I'm eating too many carbs and too much fat? Probably. But oh well. Judge away. 

Turns out, as I created this spreadsheet, that most days I'm getting between 800 and 900 calories. Except today. Today totals out to a whopping 780 calories. This is my own fault for not looking more carefully at the calorie count of my choices each day to ensure this didn't happen. Tuesday was a big day, 920 calories. Sigh. Oh well. Life goes on and people have survived on less for longer.

In other news, I've discovered that our cafeteria has caffeine-free diet coke! I needed a treat today, but I haven't had caffeine in so long I was worried about the jitters (on top of the hunger jitters). But hallelujah! Yes, it's basically just brown, bubbly water full of chemicals, but it feels like a treat nonetheless.

Breakfast - Cinnamon Raisin Bar 
Snack #1 - Chocolate Turbo Shake 
Lunch - Three Cheese Chicken
Snack #2 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar 
Dinner - Hearty Beef Stew

Height: 5'5" 
Weight: 183lbs 
Short term goal: 150lbs 
Longer term goal: 130lbs 
Weight Loss So Far: 2lbs

Day Four

Here we are on Hump Day of Turbo TakeOff. I'm adjusting pretty easily to the drastic drop in caloric intake. It's definitely easier during the work day. I am, however, counting the days until Sunday when I get to eat more food. 

I'm pretty excited that I'm done with the muffins at breakfast and the bars at lunch. At least for this Turbo TakeOff Week. I did this by design. You know I'm a planner, right? The next four days will be bars for breakfast and soups for lunch. Feels more like real food that way, don't you agree? In addition, my company has a cafeteria where I can get a big salad to supplement lunch. Sadly, these "salads" are veggies only with a little lemon juice and/or balsamic vinegar. No good stuff like cheese, eggs, croutons, and beans or chickpeas. Definitely no yummy, creamy dressing. But still, the bulk helps with the hunger. 

I was also thrilled that this morning's breakfast bar was the first bar I've had (out of six) where the first ingredient isn't "soy nuggets" or "whey protein crisps." Praise the lord, the first ingredient in the Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar is rolled oats. Yeah, I was prematurely excited. It tasted like cardboard. However, I'm counting myself lucky that this is the first item that I felt this way about. 

In addition, I've chosen today to have the extra Chili with Beans dinner they sent me as a replacement for the Chicken Noodle Soup lunch. This may not sound like a big deal, but "dinner" items pack about a 250 calorie punch versus the 150 calorie "lunch" stuffs. It's gonna be a party in my belly today!

Breakfast - Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar 
Snack #1 - Chocolate Turbo Shake 
Lunch - Chili with Bean (technically a dinner option but as you may recall, they gave me an extra instead of Chicken Noodle Soup) 
Snack #2 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar 
Dinner - Chicken Pasta Parmesan (again, with added roasted mushrooms. I could eat those all day man!!) 

Height: 5'5" 
Weight: 183lbs 
Short term goal: 150lbs 
Longer term goal: 130lbs 
Weight Loss So Far: 2lbs

Day Three

I discovered something great yesterday. In addition to the prepackaged food you purchase with Nutrisystem, you also supplement (after the first hellish week of Turbo TakeOff) with a small amount of groceries. For example, breakfast is a bar, muffin, etc from Nutrisystem, plus a serving of protein like a hard boiled egg. 

You also get "Extras" to add some indulgences. These can include a teaspoon of mayonnaise, 7 olives, a tablespoon of avocado, etc and you can have up to 3 per day. 

There are also "Free Foods" to add flavor but not calories and include things like salsa, no calorie salad dressing, and lemon juice. Hallelujah! I'm thrilled to discover that low-sodium vegetable, chicken, and beef broth are on this list. So I supplemented my morning muffin with a warm mug of broth. Comforting since I'm coming down with a cold, and satisfying as there's a good amount of protein in there. 

I'm thankful that my day yesterday was lighter on the chocolate and supplementing my teeny tiny pizza with roasted mushrooms was definitely the right call. I'm checking off the items that I would and would not order for my next month, happy to be learning and feeling that progress is being made. 

Breakfast - Cinnamon Streusel Muffin
Snack #1 - Chocolate Turbo Shake
Lunch - Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar
Snack #2 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar
Dinner - Chicken Alfredo (I'll be adding more of my roasted mushrooms and may have some dressed arugula on the side as well. Depends on my mood)

Height: 5'5"
Weight: 183lbs
Gender: Female
Short Term Goal: 150lbs
Longer Term Goal: 130lbs
Weight Loss so Far: 2lbs

Day Two

So here we are on Day Two. I have a confession to make. I went a little crazy on the carbs and cheese while waiting for my food to arrive. And so I will need to go back and change my starting weight on my past entries. I thought about just keeping it, but then it'll just take me that much longer to report any loss. And aren't blogs supposed to be some magical source of truth and openness? I mean, if I'm going to admit my weight, I might as well admit the right one. 

I made it through Day One. Let me tell you that 890 calories is NOT a lot of food. Especially after eating like a pig for who knows how long. But it feels good to be following a plan and with one this rigid, there's no temptation to add a little extra to my portions. I eat what's in the package, and that's it. I'm happy to report that the food is not gross. Most of it is actually pretty good. Let me tell you, as someone who's not big on chocolate, I was completely chocolated out yesterday and was THRILLED to heat up my Tuscan Pasta for dinner. Not only was it not chocolate and was more calories than I'd had in one sitting all day, but it was hot and I could eat it with a fork. It's the little things... I almost made it to the 64oz water goal and only had three carrot sticks. Not quite the "at least" four servings of veggies I'm supposed to add, but we're taking baby steps here.

So here are my Tuesday meal selections. I made my choices today to be as chocolate-free as possible. The Turbo Shakes are all chocolate for the week and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bars are all week as well. 

Breakfast - Blueberry Muffin
Snack #1 - Chocolate Turbo Shake
Lunch - Trail Mix Bar
Snack #2 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar
Dinner - Italian Herb Flatbread Pizza (this is just a cheese pizza, I'll be adding roasted mushrooms. This serves two purposes: 1) It'll be more filling and 2) It'll help me get more veggies.)

Height: 5'5"
Weight: 185lbs
Gender: Female
Short Term Goal: 150lbs
Longer Term Goal: 130lbs
Weight Loss so Far: 0lbs 

Day One - Finally

 It’s finally here. Day One. And here is what I get to eat today. I can add four servings of veggies as well. Correction: I'm supposed to add at LEAST four servings of veggies. But I'm not a big fan of veggies, especially raw or cooked with little or no deliciousness added. I bought some carrot sticks, so I *might* get one or two servings in. Plus 64 oz of water. 

I added it up. Actually, Nutrisystem's tracking app NuMi added it up. There are 890 calories in this photo. So, here's my strategy for the day. Please note: I'm fully aware this is NOT the correct way to go about dieting. Chuck works today from 6am to 6pm, so I'm on my own. 

Step One: Plan ahead. Check. Last night I chose which delicious meal choices to eat today. Since I don't have the distraction of work today, I needed to ensure my food tasted good. Not so easy when I have yet to try anything, but I did my best.

Step Two: Sleep late. Check. I slept until 10am

Step Three: Wait as long as possible before eating my breakfast meal. Check. I ate my breakfast meal at noon. This allows me to eat every two hours, finishing up at 8pm. 

Step Four: Stay busy. Check. I made myself a to-do list, which I'm sadly almost finished with at 1:30. The list included grocery shopping for Chuck, setting up our Alexa-run Smart Plug for the space heater in our bedroom, and yes, I even added a shower to my list just to be able to check it off. All that's left is washing our sheets. 

Step Five: if all else fails, nap. This is why I've yet to wash our sheets. This would inhibit my nap ability and I'm not quite ready to commit to doing Day One 100% conscious just yet. 



So here's my menu for the day:
Breakfast - Double Chocolate Muffin
Snack #1 - Chocolate Turbo Shake
Lunch - Fudge Graham Bar
Snack #2 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar
Dinner - Tuscan Inspired Pasta

Height: 5'5"
Weight: 185lbs
Gender: Female
Short Term Goal: 150lbs
Longer Term Goal: 130lbs
Weight Loss so Far: 0lbs (But that's okay because it's Day One)