Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Great First Day!

Just a quick blurb to let you know how the first day went. Well, I'd have to say fantastic. I got a little hungry twice today, but it was when I should be eating anyway. The other times I ate ( a lot of small meals/snacks as recommended by my doctor), I had to make myself eat because I wasn't hungry at all.

That in itself is amazing for me, but the other great things are I conciously made really good choices for everything I put in my mouth today, and I kept my portions small. I had no cravings whatsoever today, and was completely satisfied. I'm thrilled with how this is starting out.

One thing I'm doing different this time, which my doctor recommended I do (and you should too!), is keeping track of everything I eat. It really makes you stop and think before you put something in your mouth or even plan your meal or snack. I stopped at Wally World on the way home from the doc's yesterday, and got some very healthy but very tasty foods to use to put together my meals. I don't know about you, but I LOVE food, and I don't want to eat boring, tasteless meals. It's too easy for me to get off track when the food I eat is boring. And they've got some really great stuff out there now, so there's no excuse.

I'm also keeping a little chart of my daily total calories, fat, carbs, fiber and protein too. I told you in my last post about the weight loss center's website, but I found an even better site to keep track of my calories today, and that's what I'm using. Not only can you look up foods that don't have a label, like fresh fruits and veggies and meats, but you can add your own custom foods to your daily list if you already have all of that info. I was really pleased with how easy it was to put together my list and get my totals. Oh yeah, here's the website:

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/

Just go there and enter a food in the search window, and it will generally bring up several choices. Once you select your choice, for most things it gives you choices of portion size or serving size (it's pretty cool). Anyway, once it brings up the info on your selection, it offers you the chance to sign up for free - I did and haven't found any "strings" yet.

Once you sign up, whenever you select/add a food, it will add it to your chart and total up the calories, fat, etc. You can keep adding food throughout the day and it will keep updating your chart for the day. There's even a place for your daily calorie goal, and as you add foods, it lets you know how many calories you have left to go before you hit that goal number (or how far over you are if you're having a bad day).

Wow. This was a pretty big "blurb". I'll check in tomorrow with details about the supplements I'm taking in case your interested in trying them for yourself. By the way, the doc said I should limit my caloric intake to 1200 calories a day, and as it is 10:40 pm and I'm about to hit the shower and bed, I think it's safe to say my total calories for today are 874. Like I said, not bad for my first day.

More tomorrow...keep your eyes on the prize!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Report Is In...

I had my first visit to the center today, had my testing done, my weight and body composition analysis. I also received my supplements and my prescription, which I started today. I will record my measurements and weight now, and begin tracking my food tomorrow.

My current weight is 156lbs, and my goal weight is 130lbs. My measurements are: waist: 38", hips: 40.5", chest: 38", R thigh: 23", L thigh: 23.25", R upper arm: 12.75", L upper arm: 12.75". My current BF% is 34.1%, and the desirable range for me is 20 - 27%. I'm shooting for 22%.

I learned some important things today beyond measurements and weights too. Today I ate about 1/2 of what I usually eat, and I believe it's because I'm now determined, and I have hope that I will be successful this time because with this program I now have a plan, a program to follow, a clear goal in my mind, and the support and help of supplements and a appetite suppressant prescribed by the doctor. I really BELIEVE I can do this, and I'm excited about it.

The weight control center offers a free website for tracking your calories (has a drop down menu for finding calories for a food), tracking your weight, and keeping a journal. You can join free here: http://www.drweightcontrol.com/online_journal.html

As I said before, there is no hidden agenda for sharing this info with you. I just thought it might help you keep on track, like keeping your own blog journal. I don't know about you, but I'm not the most organized person, and I usually start out gang busters, and fizzle out over time with just about everything I do. Maybe keeping track and written records will help me in both areas of my life.

Anyway, it's almost midnight, and I've got to get some sleep. Anyone out there have any triumphs or pearls of wisdom to share? I'd love to hear from you. Keep your chin up and keep pressing forward.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Batter Up!

It looks like I'm not off to a very auspicious start, but tomorrow is a new day, and I've got a new attitude. Seems I published my original post on July 21, and here it is the 27th at 10:25 pm. Where does the time go? But I digress...

I FINALLY weighed myself on my daughter's scale (I haven't owned a scale for years...prefer to go by clothes size). According to her scale, I weigh in at 155 lbs. That may not sound like much to you, but I'm only 5'4.5". I've gone from a loose size 8 (some 6's), to a very tight 10 (meaning it shoud be a 12), and still going.

But I've got hope. In fact, I'm really, really excited. That's what got me back on here tonight. I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get started on a weight loss program. My niece has been on it for about 2 1/2 months, and she's lost 40 lbs already!! That's right, 40 lbs in a little over 2 months!!!

I can't weight to get started. I have to go in to be weighed, measured, bmi computed, and some tests done (blood, heart monitoring, etc.) before they'll start me on the program. It's my understanding that they give you a prescription for some kind of diet aid that's supposed to suppress your appetite and increase your metabolism, along with some really good vitamins. My niece says she's never hungry, and when she does eat, she feels full really fast.

I plan to exercise and try to eat healthy while I'm doing this program. I want to make healthy living (eating good foods in smaller amounts and exercising) a habit, just like my unhealthy lifestyle has become a terrible, hard-to-break habit. I can't stay on diet pills forever, but maybe I can train my mind and body to live healthy while I'm on them. That's my plan, anyway.

Just to make it perfectly clear, this program in NOT a home business or affiliate program or anything else that I will make money from. The clinic is called "Physician's Weight Control and Wellness Centers" and I'm going to the one in Waco, TX. I'm going to try it because my niece is a walking testimony for this place, and I believe it will give me the help I need to accomplish my weight loss goals.

I want to keep you posted on my progress, starting with the numbers I get from the visit tomorrow. I don't expect quite as rapid results as my niece because she is 19 and I'll be 45 in a few days. But I do expect amazing results, and I'm so excited right now that I can hardly wait to start!

I also want to tell you that I have tried way too many of the over-the-counter and internet advertised weight loss supplements out there, with little to no results, and definitely no lasting results. I've used lots of green tea supplements, several acai supplements and cleanses, Slim Seduction, Quick Slim, Hydroxy Cut, hoodia gordonii supplements, Stacker, and many more I can't even remember the names of. It's kinda scary to think about, and definitely sad and desperate.

But that's about to change. No fads here. Doctor monitored and controlled. I'll go in once a month for blood tests and to check my progress and I don't know what other tests yet. Like I said, I'll keep you posted, and if it works for me, maybe you can find a similar place near you to try for yourself.

Anyway, wish me luck. I'm determined to get back into my closet full of clothes before Thanksgiving. I haven't felt this positive about my chances in over 2 years, and it feels great!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Pre-Battle, Getting Ready for War

Hi. My name is Beth Mello, and I'm about to embark on a mission to lose weight, get fit, and slow down the aging process a little bit. Anybody care to join me?

I'm 44 years old, and I'm tired of looking at a closet full of clothes that I can no longer wear! I'm tired of alternating between 2 outfits every Sunday for church because I can't fit into anything else (or else looking like a sausage in it if I can get it on) and feeling fat in them anyway! I'm tired of feeling tired all of the time, and depressed every time I look in the mirror!

Can anyone relate?!?

How about this? I'm disgusted with the fact that I've tried so many weight-loss programs, spent hundreds of dollars on books and every pill, liquid or whatever that promised to melt the pounds away, stop me from eating too much, give me energy, yattah, yattah, yattah. News flash! I'm still about 50lbs overweight!

Look, I don't need to lose 100's of pounds, but if I keep going the way I'm going, I will all too soon. And I know that there are too many of you that are already there right now. It sucks! Plain and simple.

I have lots of reasons for starting this blog, but two major ones. First, I'm doing this like a journal to help me keep myself accountable. Second, I'm hoping that some of you reading this will share your successes, failures, thoughts and ideas with me and anyone else reading this, and maybe together we can do this.

PLEASE DO NOT use this blog as a place JUST to advertise your affiliate links. By all means, if you've found something that's working for you, feel free to share it, and your link too. But make sure you're a true success story for that product, and not just trying to make a buck. Believe me, I've tried most of the free trials out there (and wound up paying for too many by missing the deadline too!), and I'm still 50lbs overweight! So don't go getting people all worked up about your wonder-supplement unless you're a living success story for it! It's too hard to go through that disappoinment again and again.

Well, I gues that's it for the opener. I haven't even weighed myself to record my starting weight or taken my "before" picture or even developed any kind of a game plan yet. I usually avoid scales like the plague, and wear clothes that make me feel like I'm hiding my fat, even though in reality they probably make me look even dumpier. I'll save those things for my next post.

I'm really hoping that I'll get lots of input from lots of people (particularly women, because I believe it's a lot harder for us than it is for men to lose weight). And I hope this helps a bunch of us do this not only for right now, but for life! Here's to getting fit and feeling good about ourselves again!!! Yeehaaa!