Moving Right Along....

Wanted to start off by saying how great everyone has been in verbally supporting my journey. Very grateful to hear all of the positive comments... keep em coming! :)

It's been a few months now since my very first visit to the University of Michigan as part of this program. June 1st being the initial meeting before the research portion began. Since that day, I'm proud to say I've lost a total of 24 lbs. While it's a slower pace than what I would have liked, I'm VERY happy with those results. I looked up what weighs 24 lbs and now I want ice cream. <3

This program is a LOT harder than I could have imagined. Drink 5 shakes a day and now I'm able to add in 2 cups of non starchy veggies. That is just crazy to me. I believe I have some will power but this has just been insane. You don't realize how much you think about food until you basically can't have any... ever. Between prepping meals, eating, thinking about what you're going to make for dinner and cleaning up dishes... Not doing any of that is pretty bizarre. I'll admit, I am having food here and there so I feel like a normal person. 95% of the time, that food is a good choice. :) 

When attending events such as weddings and parties, I'm indulging but in a good way. Definitely appreciating the food a lot more and not going too nuts. Just realizing that is not how you can eat ever meal every day. 

This past week I started to go to the gym more regularly; taking a few spin classes before work. WOW, that is VERY HARD. I enjoy taking myself out of my comfort zone every once and a while and it definitely worked. During my first class, I remember thinking at one point, that I couldn't go ANY longer. I looked up at the clock and had literally been in there about 13 minutes of a 60 minute class. Needless to say I made it the hour and lived to tell you all about it. It was one of the hardest things I've done in a while but definitely be back. It's a killer 60 minute work out! 

My next appointment is on Sept 21st and look forward to seeing the results! After that I do some traveling for work and fun... all about staying on track. 

Thanks again everyone! 

LBS LOST: 24

Back in the game... and scared as ever.

Boy... when I saw the date that I last posted it almost made me cry. That was a LONG time ago but I guess you have to start somewhere.

It's July 2015 and I'm right around the same weight I was when I started in the beginning of 2013. That is a slap in the face but at least I'm not up a lot of lbs. I did gain back what I had lost this go round in 2013, but am ready to take this on.

I recently started the weight management program at University of Michigan. It's a two year program that is for people that want to lose a lot of weight; which I do. The program consists of 12 weeks of meal replacements (Optifast shakes) and then you transition into foods. This program is heavily monitored by Dr.s and Dietitians. I have to give blood and make sure all of my vitamin and blood sugar levels are good to go. When taking my original blood work it was apparent that I needed to take a Vitamin D supplement. I take an OTC (over the counter) as well as prescription; my levels were extremely low.

I actually have to take a supplement for my gallbladder as well; I guess that the dramatic change to the diet can really take a toll on a gallbladder. I am not going to pretend I even know what the gallbladder does. Looking that up now.... Wow. No gallstones please.

As part of the program I'm also participating in the research part. This part was pretty interesting....

My first appointment was a bod pod & exercise test. This was an interesting day to say the least. The bod pod machine looks like a space ship... funny stuff. Doing this gives you your exact body composition (BMI, body fat, lean fat). Numbers were shocking to say the least. Seeing that your body is made up than slightly less than 50% fat is ALARMING... I knew it was bad but geez.  How I have to look at this.... is I'll have some great numbers to compare my "after" information to. I won't just know how much weight I've lost, but how much body fat I've shed and lean mass I've gained.
This is what the weird bod pod test looked like.

I took this test on June 11th. During the duration of the research I'll take this three times total. I do it after I go off of the meal replacement shakes (this takes approximately 12 weeks) and then again after the two year program is over. I'll share my differences when those appointments take place. #letsdothis

Another test I did was to test my bone density (DEXA). Takes this measurement by using a low dose x-ray machine. VERY strange seeing your full skeleton x-ray. Thought it was pretty sweet. I was happy to see that my bone density is fantastic and good for my age.

This machine also told me how much mass each of my body parts was. This, not so happy about. I carry a lot of my weight in my stomach which is terrible. Time to get rid of it... Very hard picture to share but I need to get over that now.

After all of these appointments, I was then able to start the MRP (meal replacement plan). I have four shakes and one soup (or five shakes) a day. This is an 800 calorie a day plan for the first 12 weeks and it is going to be VERY hard for me to do. The shakes don't taste bad really, it's the fact that I won't be chewing food for about three months. That seems impossible. Seriously... impossible.

I've been reading blogs, social media posts, watching youtube videos and chat rooms for any type of support that I can find w/ others that are doing this program. There is a LOT out there to find; I'm so grateful. Wanted to see if anyone was struggling and how they coped with it if they did. I read a log of: just have grilled chicken in your fridge, keep spinach on hand. It's important that if you do snack, that what you eat isn't a carb, and no calories. Sounds like some great snacks to me. :) haha

I'm three days in and I did eat some food at a golf outing I was at the other day. Other than that, I've just drank shakes and sipped on soup. Sounds exciting I know.

I made them take some "before" pictures at my appointment... Here's to being positive that in a few weeks I can report some pretty dramatic weight loss.