Total inches lost: 18.5
Pounds lost this week: 0.6
Inches lost this week: 1.5
I went into a stall this week. From Friday of last week on, I didn't lose an ounce. In fact, I gained a pound! I racked my brain trying to figure out where I'd screwed up. Yeah, we'd eaten out a couple times, but I'd tried my hardest to select items on-plan (salads with grilled chicken, no cheese, sauce on the side). Other than that, I know I was on plan 100%.
The big difference was that I'd increased my exercise routine. I'd been doing 15-20 minutes of walking, every day since week 3, increasing the mph I was walking. This week I'd bumped it up to 30 minutes per day.
After searching the Medifast discussion boards, it appeared that the exercise might be the culprit. The Medifast Nutrition Support/Personal Trainers said that you can over-exercise and send yourself into conservation/starvation mode. Symptoms include being hungry, tired, irritable.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner. I decided to cut back on the exercise (doing it every other day vs every day) and bumped up my water intake from 64 oz to 128 oz/day to try and help break the stall. Thursday morning, a two pound loss on the scale.
*Queue angels singing*
I still find it hard to believe that I was over-exercising. I felt great, in fact, working out daily. I was just depressed with the scale not budging/going in the wrong direction. But when you think about it, Medifast keeps you at about 800 calories. My workout was burning 200, leaving my body just 600 calories to work with. Thinking about it that way, it makes total sense that my body was in starvation mode.
Going forward, I'll be working out just every other day until the weight loss tapers down, then I'll bump it up slowly.
(I worked out Thursday evening, apparently still too much, because I was up this morning a bit. ) :(
(I worked out Thursday evening, apparently still too much, because I was up this morning a bit. ) :(
I learned something this week: don't ever, EVER, EVER trust that something on a menu is healthy unless you check the nutrition guidelines. Yeah, this seems like common sense. This hit home for me when I ate out with my kids for lunch yesterday. I ordered my usual, steamed veggies with a double order of teriyaki chicken, sauce on the side (my kids love the sauce, so I give it to them to put on their rice), and pick out the carrots from the veggies (for some reason my kids won't eat these... o.O)
I have ordered this meal from Panda Express probably once or twice a month since starting Medifast. I was tentative the first time I ordered it, but my scale moved in the right direction the next day, so I figured it was fine. I weighed out the chicken the first time to see how much it was - nearly 9 oz of chicken! I gave 3 oz to the kids. Never once did I think to check the nutrition facts. I knew the sauce they marinated it in probably was a little off-plan, but how bad could it possibly be? it's not like it's swimming in sauce.
So yesterday after devouring my lunch, I decided to check the nutrition facts. *Queue horrified scream here*
The veggies were 70 calories, with over half of that from fat. The chicken? 250 calories a portion (and I had a double portion - 3oz)! Granted, I'm guessing that was including the sauce they drench the chicken in, but still. Holy. Moly.
I totally screwed myself. I was in a stall as it was, and now I had completely blown it. After breathing into a paper bag for a while, I jumped on the Medifast message boards and posted my screw up. Within minutes I had a bunch of people just like me telling me not to skip my meals and that I would be okay. Forgive myself for making the mistake, chalk it up to a learning experience and move on. If you're doing Medifast and haven't found the boards yet, DO. They are AMAZING!
I had already vowed not to let it derail me from my plan (although PE is dead to me now. lol). But it was so reassuring to know I wasn't alone and that I'd survive and it was okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from it.
My big lesson? ALWAYS check the nutrition facts for restaurants before eating there.
Doctor's Like To See You Succeed Too!
I had my 3 month follow up last night. As a diabetic, you have to see your doctor every 3 months to ensure that your treatment plan is working and your diabetes is in check. I knew when my doctor nearly bulldozed my nurse to get into the room that he'd just looked at my test results.
He literally was dancing in the office, he was so happy about my progress. When I first went to see him, in January of 2012, I wasn't taking care of my diabetes. I was in denial that I had it, and my A1C of 8.0 showed that. My A1C this time around was 5.7. When I informed him that I'd stopped taking ALL of my medications 2 weeks into the program, which was 6 weeks prior to the blood test, he literally fell out of his chair. My blood pressure is normal. My A1C was at non-diabetic levels.
We parted ways with a plan to follow up in 3 months, and if my progress continues to improve (which it will - I'm not stopping until I'm at my goal weight, and even then I'm in this for life!), we can extend the frequency in which I see him.
*Happy dance*
So that's it. Sorry about the long post, but I had a lot to say this week! ;)
I've developed some new recipes, including a Broccoli and Cheese Grilled Cheese and a Breakfast Sandwich . I also developed some recipes but didn't take pictures of them. They include a Cobb Salad, Shrimp with Garlic sauce, and a Greek Salad. I'll post those recipes next time I make the dish (and I'll take pictures too! Hehe!)
Sometimes it's not about what the scale says, but the test results and the tape measure that really makes your day. If you're going through a stall on the scale, see what other ways you can measure your success. Don't let it get you down!
Until next week, Onward and Downward! ;)
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