The Program

I am going to give a recount of my program in detail for all those who are interested...(it's long and some of it is repeated from former posts, so I won't blame you if you skip it!)

What: Phentermine Rx

Why: I had started trying to loose weight last November. For some reason my body was not budging and I was becoming more depressed and aggravated because any weight that would come would boomerang right back on.
I had done research on the different diet pills out there and decided this one was the safest. I made Dr.s appointment and told him this is what I would like to do. He wanted to do blood work and rule out any other possibilities - so after an agonizing month I went back and got the 'all clear' and he wrote me the prescription. He stated that he normally doesn't prescribe them but in my case it seemed my body was at a unhealthy comfort level and needed a little 'kick'.

What: Hot sip

Why: My Dr. also practices Ayurveda and told me that he wanted me sipping a herbal brew throughout the day every 1/2 hour. He tested me to find my 'Dosha' and told me what herbs my body needed (in my case 2 'pinches' fennel & coriander, and 1 pinch ginger, I have since added turmeric for my joints, my family has really bad joints). You can find Ayurveda tests on the Internet to figure out what your dosha is if you can't find an Ayurevedic specialist. An example of one is here. This is supposed to be for 3 months. The 1st month cleanses the upper body, the next the lower body and the third more cellular. I'm in my 5th month of sips ... Dr. asked me to go longer. I have had a hard time remembering or having opportunity to sip every half hour, so I'm just going longer I guess.

What: Liquid Fast 2Xs a week

Why: My body needed some drastic cleansing and the liquid fast - I assume- helps with that. I can feel my body gearing up for the fasts now. I used to get head aches throughout these fasts, but now I look forward to them. Weird. I can drink apple or pomegranate juice, Dr. told me to stay away from orange juice. I can also have soup broths and herbal teas. I start the fast with hot water with lemon juice and a spoon full of honey to assist the cleansing cycle. Dr. told me to do one of these fasts on a 'spiritual' day, which I though was interesting since our religion believes in fasting (from food & liquid) once a month. I have felt more powerful and in control from these fasts. I also realize the food is not the center of my universe! My energy level doesn't decrease and I don't feel hungry. In fact there have been many days when I have gone beyond the 24 hours not feeling like I needed to eat yet. I do go from lunch to lunch, for some reason that is easier for me. I normally do Wed. through Thurs and Sat through Sun. But I change days to work around other things if I need to. Out of five months I have missed 2 fasts.

What: Daily Walking

Why: This has always been a love of mine. I used to compete when we lived in Colorado and they had 5K walk races. I usually go 5 miles now. I try not to do less than 3 if I have other morning things I need to do. On Sundays, in observance of the Sabbath I take Clover for a stroll around the lake and don't try to exercises. A couple of weeks ago I saw a lady walking quite a ways ahead of me on a portion of the green way. I decided I would overtake her before we had to cross the intersection. I stepped it up and accomplished my goal, and I realized that my walks could be much faster if I want them to be. I let my mind wander and find my pace slows from time to time...that's what happens when I don't have a 'walking buddy' to keep me on track!

What: Yoga

Why: Yoga actually is Ayurevedic. I have always enjoyed yoga, I like the breathing, yes- I need to have a special class to breath right! I like the way my body and mind feel when I'm done with a class. The poses actually help detoxify my body, especially the twists. While holding a pose I'm not only breathing, but my muscles have to works to hold it and my body becomes more limber throughout it. I am able to do poses now that I have never been able to do before. My muscle tone is also improving. I currently am doing 1 class a week, once school starts I'm hoping to do 2.

Just as a side...Dr. isn't a real fan of weight lifting. I still try to get in the gym once a week for a good overall body workout with weights, but I'm not using as much weight or concentrating on body parts for more than one set.

What: Eating healthy

Why: Well it's kind of obvious. Because we have been blessed with a wonderful garden this year I have had access to a fresh organic salad daily. I do think organic is important, if it's available. Not everything in my kitchen is organic...I wish! I think the most important part of eating healthy is making the food from scratch. Frozen and boxed meals have to have preservatives for shelf life. A meal can be a salad, or a soup, it doesn't have to have courses, or a side dish. I try to stay away from meat, I'm not 100% vegetarian, probably more like 90%.

One thing Dr. told me that surprised me was that if I didn't feel like eating breakfast, then don't. I had grown up with the 'most important meal of the day' idea, but - and this is for my dosha- I can skip breakfast and have no problems with my day! Another thing he said was to make lunch the biggest meal. I had known this for awhile. It's hard when dinner if the 'gathering' time for our family. I just eat lighter and try not to eat past 7:00pm.

Of course soda, chips, junk food in general are all partaken of very sparsely. Except for an occasional Virgils root bear, I don't drink pop. When I have a sweet tooth I usually make something, to satisfy it instead of buy something. It doesn't mean that it's health food, but at least I know what went into it and I burned the calories to make it!

Results:

As of last Thursday 42.2 pounds. I really try to hold off on weighing myself until Thursday, otherwise I get too frustrated with the little ups and downs that come daily. I don't always do it though. I was not pleased with my results initially. This is actually a loose of just over 2 lbs a week. With all that I was doing I thought my weight should be coming off faster. As I was complaining to Dr. at my 3 month follow up he just sat there with an ear to ear grin. After I whined for a bit he shook his head and said he was tickled to see someone actually follow the program. He explained the loose/platue cycle to me. He said my body has to platue for a time every so often to allow my liver to 'catch up' to the new weight and reset my metabolism. That's natural and healthy and shows that my body is working correctly. Eventually my body will platue and stay there, that is what my 'ideal' body weight will be.

People get the diet pill and expect it to work miracles. I think it has helped me, but I don't think I would have had near the loss I have had without doing everything else.

Besides the poundage that has come off I feel younger (and look younger according to some people), I have so much more energy, I'm a happier person, and I have more confidence. My clothes are all loose now, and I have even had to get rid of some that just don't work anymore. I'm holding off on purchasing a lot of new cloths until I get to that ideal weight.

tawny looked at my posting last Thursday with my 'before' and 'after' photos and said, "Wow, you really were fat!" I'm taking that as a compliment...