Medifast: Day 2

Okay, so today was actually a little worse as far as the food goes. Okay, a lot worse. But I don't have headaches yet and I don't feel starving. I even did not give in to my multiple temptations for various things, including Wheat Thins, popcorn drizzled with white chocolate, Skinny Cow ice cream bars, the multitude of fun-size candy my husband produced from his secret stash at game night, or the dumplings from his dinner. So, here's what I did have:

1) Pancakes
2) Cinnamon Pretzels
3) Chicken Noodle Soup
4) Chocolate Chip Brownie
5) None
Lean) Cafe Rio Chicken Salad - no tortilla, no beans, no rice, no cheese. Just lettuce, chicken, pico de gallo, and some tomatillo dressing.

And here is the review:

1) Pancakes: Good glory. HORRIBLE. I followed my coach's advice and added a little baking powder to the mix and made it as one large pancake in a skillet. I didn't realize how quickly it would cook so it got burned. A lot. I hadn't gone to the store yet so I didn't have any sugar-free syrup. Instead, I spread a thin layer of strawberry jam over the top. I couldn't even eat the whole thing. I got through about half. The last bite I did have, I couldn't make myself swallow. It was awful. My sister said she liked the pancake. I'll have to try again and make sure to NOT burn it and now I have sugar-free syrup to use.

2) Cinnamon Pretzels: These are the same ones I ate yesterday and didn't like. Today, they weren't that bad. The after-taste was less noticeable and they felt less dry. I think I actually like something! Woo-hoo! Maybe I'll just eat pretzels until I get some other stuff I like.

3) Chicken Noodle Soup: I liked this. Not as much as the chicken and wild rice from yesterday but this was good. I let the powder soak for about 20 minutes before I put it in the microwave. I've read that it's supposed to help. I'm not willing to try it without.

4) Chocolate Chip Cookie: This is actually pretty good. I mean, not anywhere close to my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but ya know. Diet good. There are real chocolate chips. And like most stuff I've tried, it's better piping hot, rather than lukewarm.

5) My other options for today were the Parmesan Cheese Puffs (YUCK) or Vanilla Pudding. I don't even like regular pudding. I think I'll probably gag on Medifast pudding. The texture of regular pudding grosses me out. Blech. So, I just didn't eat a 5th meal. And I know that's really bad. But I did eat two celery sticks so I think that sort of evens out. Maybe.

Lean) Cafe Rio Chicken Salad sans extras: I love Cafe Rio. I used to get the Chicken Tostada with black beans, rice, cheese, strips, and a tostada shell. I was thinking this "sans" experience would be awful. It wasn't! Sure it was lettuce, chicken, pico, and dressing but it was alright. For some reason it was spicy to me. Maybe they up'd their pico but I was having a hard time with it. The salad is massive (which is why I used to get the tostada) so I was super full when I was done. I will totally do this again, although I might ask for the pico on the side. There was lots of juice in the salad from the chicken and pico. I had to drain my salad. Which was weird.

I've been drinking lots of water today. I'm still not great about the 2-3 hour meal schedule but I did better today than yesterday. When I was supposed to have the meal I didn't eat, at about 3pm, I took a nap for 90 minutes. I was exhausted and the nap was great. I woke up not feeling too hungry and I drank some water and headed to the store to get some new things. I got almond milk, light buttermilk dressing, spaghetti squash, red bell pepper, zucchini, celery, sugar-free maple syrup, spinach, salad bags, egg beaters,and Powerade Zero. I got other stuff but not for me, for my boys. 

I'm looking forward to making lean and green meals for my whole family, not just me eating out. It's hard because I am still learning what I can and cannot eat.

I think the weird taste in a bunch of this stuff is soy powder. It's in everything and everything has this weird after-taste. Some is worse than others. I don't know if I dare try the cereal ever again. I did get almond milk today so I guess I should try it tomorrow. I think that's what I have to get used to: soy powder. Huh. Enlightening.

I had Tyson take pictures of me this morning before work. I'm not posting them until MUCH later but at least I have them. I'm trying to stay positive but I feel the grouchiness setting in. Today was rough in that department. I just keep thinking "Make it to the weekend."

I also decided to weigh myself once a week. Weight fluctuates too much for day-to-day weight checks. I'm going to get a food scale and a new people scale :) tomorrow. Ours is digital and fancy but it's also wonky. Bed, Bath, and Beyond - here I come!

Medifast: Day 1

I probably won't write up my every day experiences with Medifast but I think I will for the first week since that is supposed to be the hardest hurdle. So the plan is 5 Medifast meals and 1 lean-and-green meal per day, eating 2.5 to 3 hours apart and drinking water all the time. Really. Here's what I had today:
1) Mixed Berry Cereal
2) Cinnamon Pretzels
3) Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
4) Parmesan cheese puffs
5) Chocolate Brownie

Lean) Wendy's Spicy Chicken Ceasar Salad - no cheese, no croutons, minimal dressing.

Now, here's what I thought about them:

1) Mixed Berry Cereal: I thought I would try to eat this plain, like a snack, without milk. Horrible decision. The cereal left a taste in my mouth like a nasty multivitamin. So gross. William seemed to like it though.

2) Cinnamon Pretzels: Similar. Okay first taste. Kinda puffy, airy. Weird aftertaste but not as bad as the cereal.

3) Chicken and Wild Rice Soup: Pretty good, actually. I read that it's good to let the mix soak in the water before putting it in the microwave. So I did that. I was worried it would be gross too but it was good. It got worse the cooler it got but I added a little pepper and made it through. That was my sister's favorite so I trust her :)

4) Parmesan Cheese Puffs: EWWW!!! I know I have to eat this whole bag so I'm trying to chew them as far back on my molars as possible. I need to grab some more water. I'm not a Powerade drinker but Powerade Zero is on the plan and if it will help wash away this NASTY taste then I'm all for it.

5) Chocolate Brownie: Meh. It wasn't terrible. It wasn't great either. It took me a while to eat the whole thing.

Lean) Wendy's Spicy Chicken Ceasar Salad: Nice and spicy. Great lettuce. I put on barely any dressing. I could barely tell it was there at all. The tomatoes were good but William wanted them so he got most of them. I was nice having "real" food. I told Tyson I will probably be eating out for my lean meal until I get the hang of this new way of cooking. Then I will make lean-and-green meals for dinner for the whole family, not just me.

I've been looking on Pinterest for ideas for these lean-and-green meals. Looks like I'm going to be BFF with cauliflower if I ever want a rice or mashed potato substitute. We already eat mostly chicken so that's easy. Incorporating more greens is going to be a bigger challenge. I used to buy bagged salad but then I'd never eat it. Maybe I should bake up a ton of chicken breast, cut it into strips, and then add it to salad every day with other veggies and some dressing. I thought I could have no cheese but I can have some Laughing Cow. 

My coach, Alice, gave me this outline for the first week:
Day 1: pretty easy - no big deal
Days 2-3: slight headache, tiredness, some hunger (drink some Powerade Zero... that seems to help!)
Days 3 or 4: (body is starting to physiologically change - to transition to fat burn!!) so... cravings are really revving up, feeling extra hungry and you want your carbs. This is the point where you need to really push through it -You are just about there.
Day 4-5: Welcome to fat burn! reduced hunger, no cravings, and more energy!

I think this little outline is going to be extremely helpful when Wednesday rolls around. Today has been alright. I have to finish these icky Parmesan bites and the chocolate brownie. I feel like I'm eating all the time. I need to be better about spacing my meals. The food I have to start with is all the stuff my sister didn't take with her. So she either didn't like it or just had extra. They also have meal bars that are tasty but I don't have any of those yet. This is good to try out new stuff but scary since I don't have other options if I don't like it.

Anyways, I'm going to take a "Before" picture in the morning since I forgot to do one today. I also need to get a kitchen scale and a regular person scale. 

I'm tired. I'm thirsty even though I've been drinking a ton of water. The next few days are going to be interesting. Is it Friday yet?