The Results Show!

Seeing as how I've been experimenting with Paleo for the past week, I think that puts me at the end of the Medifast part of my weight loss journey. How'd I do?

Beginning/Ending: 2/28/10 ... 11/14/10
Weight: 210.2 ... 179
Waist: 38 ... 32
Hips: 45 ... 40
Arm: 14 ... 12
Thigh: 26 ... 23

I should note that I hit 179 on 10/3, and went as low as 177.8, but have been hovering in the 180 for a while now.

This means 30 pounds lost in about 7 months. I was an XL/size 16 and am currently a M/size 10-12.

Am I happy with the experience?

• I'm happy I lost the weight in a very easy system.
• I like that Medifast seemed to reformulate and offer new product based on client feedback.
• The portability of the food made it very easy to stick with it while I was out and about.
• I really think this is the program to use if you need to lose 100+ pounds. It happens quickly and consistently enough to get you down to a manageable weight.

What didn't I like?

• It's expensive.
• The food recommendations can be puzzling since they add processed sugar to the product (it's usually ingredient #2), but subtly discourage real food like carrots and tomatoes for being too high in carb.
• Sometimes, I found the advice given to be unsubtle. The "nutritionists" seemed to be going off a script when I emailed them questions. Also, the same program is offered to a 5'2" woman who wants to lose 100+ pounds and a 6'2" man wanting to lose 30 pounds. That doesn't seem right to me.
• I remain suspicious of the MLM system they have. Though I've never once felt pressured to obtain a health coach or become one, it's clear when you Google around the web for information/discussion, the health coaches are the main presence on the web, speaking the company line and trying to solicit new clients.

Anyway, I'm glad I did it, but I'm equally glad to be moving toward a more natural way of eating.

The end?

I've been quiet for 2 months. What has happened? Well, almost nothing, literally: I'm about the same weight I was back in September.

Now, what explanations do I have? I ventured far off the path of Medifast-compliant food far too often. Why is that? This is a complicated question!

Some answers:

a) Taste fatigue: its all kinda tasting the same to me, and its not a good taste. I'm dying for food that isn't so strongly flavored, which is why I've been eating mostly oatmeal, bars, shakes and eggs.

b) Complacency: I'm perhaps secretly comfortable at where I am (180 lb, size M top, size 10/12 pants). Not a lot of motivation to say no to the bagel.

c) I'd like to eat real food again: its hard for me, some days, to reckon the 150-calorie processed bar is "better" for me than something made with real food.

Solution: I'm building in a cheat day. I'm borrowing an idea from a Crossfit gym that you can have 1 (one!) cheat day a week, and you can have 3 (three!) non-compliant foods that day. I'm hoping that the promise of nachos (or whatever) will help me derail the temptation to eat a bagel during the week.

More permanent solution: moving away from Medifast.

I read Robb Wolf's "Paleo Solution" the other day and it makes a lot of sense to me, a whole lot more sense than Medifast's science. The truly ironic thing about this is the Paleo Solution is actually STRICTER than Medifast, and yet I'm still considering it. (In short: eat meat, nuts, vegetables & fruit. No dairy, sugar, potatoes, grains.)

I'm not 100% buying the Paleo science, mind you, but its hard to argue that eating exclusively minimally processed whole foods isn't the healthiest diet of all.

Wednesday

Return of the aches and shakes!

The 1st two days back on Medifast, I felt fine. Today, though, I got the characteristic persistant hunger, chills and fatigue of going on a low-carb/high-protein diet. I had some bread at dinner, unfortunately, but it was out of true hunger rather than anything else.

I also had an extra Medi-meal, as they direct when hungry.

Saturday - epilogue

Interesting note: my sense of portion size has decreased. I had a 13 oz pkg of gnocchi, the kind you get in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. I eyeballed half of it for myself, and when it came time to dish out, I really felt like I could eat only half of what I cooked.

Saturday

What have I eaten today, you ask? Oatmeal, dried peaches, chicken, broccoli, garlic bread, frozen yogurt w/ mango and mochi. Dinner is going to be some gnocchi and tomato sauce and zukes. I might have this brownie thing I bought at the store.

I'm feeling bloaty and very tired, actually. But, not at all surprising.

It was strange being at the grocery store. I realized right before checkout that I had to buy something to eat for dinner, and for tomorrow.

The plan is to reboot on Monday. On Sunday, there's a bagel in my future and then what? Slice o' pizza? Pho? I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Reboot!

A change in plans: I've gone off-diet for the weekend. I had a disturbing gym experience the last two times I went. After about 20-25 minutes of elliptical, I had unusual sensations, like my body was subtly vibrating. In the shower, I held out my hands and they trembled.

My feeling and undereducated guess about what happened is that I've switched back to glucose as my primary fuel source because of excess doughnuts, but I don't consume enough carbs to sustain a workout. I also think mentally, I'm absolutely sick of the one-note, artificially sweetened taste of the Medifood and, quite naturally, would like to eat real food. Which is a completely normal feeling, but somehow feels antithetical to the diet, to say that I'd like to eat real food.

My instinct is coming from a good place, though, and I don't think the body should be denied. So, I'm going to eat what I like and start over on Monday. No gym for three weeks, just like in the beginning.

I suppose my husband thought I was going to go on some gorge-fest at the mall, but it wasn't like that at all. My stomach is still small, so I didn't eat excessively. Though, I ate what I wanted (bagel, sausage with fries. Cookies!)

It was a relief to be able to eat whatever I wanted yesterday. I took more pleasure from being relieved from restriction than from the food itself. I suppose I had one restriction, actually: I ate when I was hungry. But that was a relief as well: I feel so married to the clock when I'm on this diet, and yesterday, I was permitted to do as I please whenever I wanted.

I'm sure there's some subtle commentary about American Puritan ideals here, about bodily pleasures and the cycles of denial and release and guilt and redemption we put ourselves through.

For now, I'm going to have some unsweetened oatmeal.

Saturday

1: oatmeal
2: pretzels
3: oatmeal
Snack: almonds
4: swiss mocha shake
5: Fried tofu, cauliflower
6: shake? doughnut?

OK, horrible about foodlogging this week. I did eat off-plan a lot. (CPA exam stress. Diet fatigue.) Mostly along the bagel/doughnut variety. Friday, I did try an blueberry oat thing at Starbucks, but later learned it was 370 calories.

Steve and I are eating more tofu lately (fried with curry powder), and thought we were limited to the 7 oz. Turns out you can eat 15 oz! That's a whole package!