# 16 CAUGHT WITH MY PANTS DOWN!

I didn't realize until this morning that I was almost out of Medi-Fast meals. I like the bars so much that I still have a lot of them but, allowed only one of those a day, I'm way over-supplied with them and have only a few other choices. So, this morning, I placed an order for more food, enough to run out the bars.

Since I was so low on food (and the thought of choking down another bowl of dry rice krispies was not appealing), I cheated again and went to Jimmy's for breakfast where I had a couple of poached eggs and one slice of whole wheat toast. It tasted really good and I don't think it will do much harm. I'll eat Medi-Fast food for the rest of the day and skip my usual  lean and green meal at dinner.

To make up for the eggs, I took my old, one-mile walk this morning, for the first time since I began this diet program. The walk is down Thames Street from Jimmy's all the way to the Morgan Stanley building, around the building and then back to the Fells Point Square via the harbor walk. To keep myself going, I always have a little tune running in my head that keeps me walking: dah, dah, di-dit dah, dah dah. I admit that the last quarter mile, I was straining some and tempted to go through the Bond Street Wharf but pushed myself to go around it, as usual. This is the first time I've walked this far in two months and, of course, I'm very pleased with myself, even if the last leg was somewhat slower. Now when I go to the gym this morning, I won't have to ride the bicycle for 10 minutes because my knees have already had their work-out.

And my pants down? In addition to letting my supply of food run so low, I've also lost so much weight (37 pounds) that the Levis and work pants I have traditionally worn every day now fall down without my belt to hold them up. Still five pounds to go.

Stay tuned.

#15 FIVE POUNDS TO GO!

After weighing in this morning (as I have every morning since the Fourth of July), I find that I've lost 37 pounds and have only five more to go! I'm thrilled, of course, not only because I've lost the weight, which is reason enough, but also because I'm having some trouble gagging down this morning's breakfast of berry flavored cheerios-looking dry cereal. Although I've lost visible inches off my waist - my usual belt is now in the last hole - and I can now see my cheekbones again, I must admit to being very tired of the food, especially the cheerios. But, as someone at Weight Watchers once said, "The best thing about losing weight is that you can go shopping in your own closet." I'm wearing clothes I never thought I'd get into again. I wonder if I can keep the weight off long enough to get into that beautiful yellow cashmere sweater I couldn't resist buying some years ago in Nordstrom's basement for $35.00?  And without all that 37 pounds hanging off the lower spine, my back no longer hurts. I hope to lose the last five pounds before my two-month anniversary next week. Wish me luck, and

stay tuned.

#14 AMOST THERE!

I've been in a slump, plateaued at a loss of 32 pounds for a couple of weeks but sticking to the process like my former housekeeper used to say, "Just keep on keeping on." And yesterday, I cheated again, going out for brunch with a friend and having an egg white omelet with crab, asparagus - okay so far - and fontina (that's the cheating part). It tasted really good. So I was very surprised this morning to see that I had lost another 4 pounds for a new total loss of 36 pounds since the Fourth of July! I must admit that I'm growing very tired of this program. Eating dehydrated food for most of every day is not a lot of fun, especially when I long to get back to cooking some of my favorites. But the program does work and I'm almost there. Only 6 more pounds to go.

Stay tuned.

# 13 EXERCISE

Before my first knee replacement in 2007, I was a loyal member of the DAC and went first thing in the morning, when I followed a routine that exercised all the main muscle groups. I didn't much like doing it, but I always felt better after it was complete and I basked in the smugness of doing something healthy for my body. But when I was scheduled for the surgery, I let my membership lapse and never went back. I did, however, start a minimum exercise program of my own and was in physical therapy for a number of months. I started walking every morning and from then until my second knee replacement last year continued that routine. Man, that hill just north of me on Mt. Royal Avenue was a killer! But at least I got to go down it on the way home. Therapy for the second knee replacement was more complex and lasted a lot longer, partly because I fell and fractured two of my vertebrae so  any exercise was difficult. Just bending over to shave gave me such a back ache that I had to sit down for an hour afterward. And entertaining, which I love, was very difficult.

Then along came Medi-Fast, which urged beginners of the program not to exercise for the first two weeks, but then to at least take a short walk every day. Since then, I've been walking every day but I could only make it around one block: down Oliver, up Maryland and around the Lyric to back home. Then the weight began to come off. Miraculously, my back stopped hurting. I guess losing 32 pounds hanging on my spine helped and my doctor put me on a mild anti-inflammatory (for other reasons). So back to exercise.

I now walk around two blocks - soon it will be three - and then go to the gym in my building, fully equipped and blinking at me, like a beacon of health. I started slowly but now do a gradually building routine, increasing the free weights and the weights on the machines every week. I ride the stationery bike for 10 minutes at a fairly hefty speed at the beginning of my routine (mostly to keep the knees flexible) and do 150 sit-ups on a big ball at the end, hoping to build muscle under my girth. I do these 50 reps at a time and at least for now, they haven't hurt my back. So exercise is good.

I've lost another pound, 33 in all now, and only 9 more to go.

Stay tuned.

#12 IN A PLATEAU

I've lost weight enough times to know that at some point in any weight loss program, one is apt to plateau, or get to a place where one seems to be stuck, with no weight loss for a while. I'm in that place, stuck at a loss of 32 pounds. But I also know that the plateau only lasts for a while and then there's usually a fairly big jump downward. So I'm sticking to my program - just had my oatmeal with brown sugar (the Medi-Fast kind) - knowing progress will come. Now for a walk and then 150 sit-ups on a ball, in the gym.

Stay tuned.

# 11 CHEATING

This morning, for the first time, I cheated. I went to Jimmy's for breakfast. In the old days, before this Medi-Fast program, I went to Jimmy's several times a week and especially on weekends. I had the same thing so much that the waitresses, who've been seeing me there for many years, asked if I wanted "my usual." This consisted of two eggs over light, one pancake, and bacon with coffee and a glass of water. Since I only had one pancake, the cook usually gave me twice as much bacon. And, of course, I slathered the pancake with butter and syrup. It was first a weekend treat that gradually grew into a weekday habit. Those breakfast certainly contributed mightily to my being overweight. But today, I had two poached eggs on one slice of dry whole wheat toast. I knew I was cheating. Eggs are not on the program. And I haven't had a piece of bread in more than six weeks. Man, it tasted good!

One of the rationales for cheating was that I take a lot of medication in the morning - 11 pills, to be exact - and the combination, I fear, makes me a little light-headed. I wanted to see if a "real" breakfast, instead of a rehydrated one, would make a difference. It didn't. So I won't be back at Jimmy's at least until I reach my goal weight, still 10 pounds away. And just to reassure those of you who may wonder, my doctor recommended the Medi-Fast program, prescribed all my medications and is monitoring my condition closely. I have another appointment with him in early September. And I will eat rehydrated food for all of my other five meals today (I'm chewing on a Medi-Fast Mint Chocolate Bar as I type this).

So, to reiterate, I've lost 32 pounds since the Fourth of July and only have 10 more to go. Yeah!

Stay tuned.

# 10 GETTING CLOSER

I find it odd that this is my tenth post and as of today, I have only ten more pounds to lose. I'm sticking to the dehydrated food and following my "lean and green" one "real" meal a day. Tonight I'll go to the City Café and have my usual Monday night filet of beef with two vegetables. I long to go back to my mashed potatoes, which are so good there, but not until I reach my goal. And no alcohol. And no dessert, for me a real hardship. Well, not really, since I'm over the sugar addiction now. Since the Fourth of July, I've lost 32 pounds!

Stay tuned.

#9 Hooray!

My new shipment of food from Medi-Fast came yesterday so I am back on the dehydrated food routine. But this time I ordered food I actually like, heavy on bars, and shakes and puddings, with some oatmeal and other cereals thrown in. Hooray!

And I've lost another pound, now 27 total since the Fourth of July.

Stay tuned.

 

#8 PERFECT TIMING

It couldn't have happened at a better time. After almost a month of eating rehydrated food, I felt like I just couldn't choke down another package of Chicken Rice soup or Tomato Bisque, two of the staples from the Medi-Fast program. And as it happened, since the packages of food come in labeled boxes, I didn't realize until I took the last package out of the box that I was dangerously low on food. An inventory revealed that I had only a day of food left. So I went on line to order more. And this time, I chose those things I knew I liked, like the bars (a little like granola bars) and the shakes - French vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. Since the program headquarters is here in Owings Mills, the replacement food should come today. In the meantime, I've eaten "regular" food. What a relief. But to adhere to the Medi-Fast guidelines, I made a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and dill, with a tiny bit of olive oil and lots of vinegar. This was fine for me to eat as a snack in mid morning and mid afternoon and I still had some of my homemade chicken soup (made from a Medi-Fast cookbook) to eat for lunch. For breakfast, I've had a soft boiled egg, and for my lean and green dinner, I went last night to The City Café for their steak night and had a filet of beef, broiled tomatoes and grilled squash, all within the guidelines of the program. So I'm happy to report that since the Fourth of July, I've lost 26 pounds.

For those of you who may be contemplating this program, there are two aspects (in addition to the food) to which I can point for my so-far success. One is to eat six meals a day at three hour intervals. This revs up the metabolism. And the other is to drink at least eight glasses of water every day (when home, I have a glass of water with me all the time). The water washes out the fat and although I've been in the bathroom a lot, that aspect of the program is manageable. No alcohol. And no sweets. To satisfy my craving for sweets, I eat one tablet of chocolate at noon, the kind of chocolate that has no sugar additive. I'm very pleased with myself for sticking to the program and every day I see evidence of its effectiveness. I can now put my belt in the very last hole!

 I have 16 more pounds to go. Wish me luck.

And stay tuned. 

# 7 A BONE TO PICK WITH THE FOOD CHANNEL

I have a bone to pick with the food channel. I used to watch it all the time, picking up tips on cooking and recipes from the many cooks with their own shows: Ina Garten, Giada di Laurentis, Bobby Flay, Taylor Florence, Nigella Lawson and yes, even the one who used the "N" word. They all hosted shows where they actually cooked something and many of the segments were both fun and informative. Then the powers that be must have decided this flavor of show wasn't entertaining enough viewers. So they switched to things like "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" (who cares?) "Restaurant Impossible" (I do like to see the make-overs and the host has nice arms) where the restaurant owners often cry, and competitions like "Chopped" where someone loses and has to be "sent home." I want shows where I can actually learn something and this new breed doesn't do that for me. So I'm now confined to Ina Garten (a substantial cook), Giada (the food channel's sex star), and Sandra Lee (who despite being Cuomo's girlfriend is so sweet I could just slap her upside the face!). There is one new show I like and that's "The Frontier Woman" who has given me lots of inspiration for brunches. So Food TV: GO BACK TO COOKS, NOT ENTERTAINERS.

I've remained loyal to my diet and the Medi-Fast meals although they do become boring after a while and always leave a slight under-taste of chemicals. I don't think I can choke down another bag of Parmesan Puffs or Pizza Sticks but fortunately they're all gone and it is time to reorder my favorites. Yeah! And since the Fourth of July, I've lost 26 pounds. I can now go clothes shopping in my own closet.

Stay tuned.