The Big Reveal

For the past few days I’ve been teasing about a new chapter of this weight loss journey that I’ve embarked upon. I’ve cryptically referred to the new plan a few times, and I think it’s time for the big reveal.

I’ve followed this program twice before, and I know that it works while you’re on it. When I was a senior in high school I lost nearly 50 pounds, and got down to 130 lbs. I looked and felt great. My second attempt was nine years ago, and I lost about 20-30 pounds, but quickly got bored and moved on to something else, which led to something else, which led to…well, you know how that ended up.

Now it really seems like the third time is the charm. I can tell you that I haven’t felt this confident, this self-assured in months, if not years. I feel energetic and positive, and I know it’s a matter of WHEN not “if.”

So what is the program?

Yes, it’s expensive, but I’m worth it.

Yes, the food can get boring after a while, but I’m not doing this for the long haul, I’m doing it to reach my pre-surgery requirement. I’ll be following it for about 2 months, and I can do anything for two months, especially with results like these (more on that in a minute). I’ve been trying to make the JC food as appetizing as possible by re-plating it onto my dishes.  Here are some photos of the food I’ve been eating this week:

Day 1, Lunch: orange chicken w/ side salad (mixed greens, cucumber, red bell pepper, ranch dressing)

Day 2, lunch: Turkey burger with side salad.

Day 2, dinner: chicken Florentine (Alfredo) with sauteed kale & onions. Each night I’m supposed to have at least two cups of a veggie of my choice.

Snack: 1 cup of vanilla nonfat yogurt with a white nectarine

Day 3, lunch: rotini with meatballs, side salad

Day 3, dinner: fish & chips (with ketchup and sriracha) and summer veggie stew.

Snack: cheese curls, cucumber, light string cheese, & cherry tomatoes

Day 4, dinner: meatloaf with bbq sauce and potatoes, broccoli rabe with onions

Yes, it’s packaged food that has a higher sodium content than fresh, whole food. It’s also easy and convenient. Instead of spending hours cooking and prepping, I have been free to workout, grade papers, and spend time doing more of the things I love – reading, blogging, watching tv, and spending time with family & friends. I feel like a whole compartment of my brain has been cleaned up and sorted out now that I don’t have to think about cooking, prepping, and planning my food.  JC is built in organization, which I love.

A wide view of my fridge, filled with inspirational magnets and the JC food plan for the week.

I think this photo is close enough so that you can read what the magnets say; I love the inspiration they bring me.

I’ve still been weighing myself daily because it keeps me motivated.

Here’s what I ate today, as an example…

Since Friday (when I headed to the JC center and signed up), I’ve lost 7.2 lbs! (5.4 on JC since Sunday; the other 1.8 from walking around at Bark in the Park on Saturday). I have two more full days to go after today before my official weigh in, and I can’t wait to see how much I drop by then.

Why am I so sure that I can stick with this when I couldn’t stick with anything else?

• The food tastes good and is satisfying, unlike Medifast.
• I have the accountability that comes with weighing in each week in front of someone else.
• I’m spending a lot of money, so I’m not going to waste it by not sticking with this for the short term.
• It’s working!

One interesting thing is that the calories are a lot higher than I was eating. I average 1750/day on JC; Kaiser’s plan had me eating 1200. While Kaiser had me eating 3 meals of 400 calories, JC has me eating 3 meals and 3 snacks which is more in line with what most experts suggest. I can feel my metabolism working because I feel hungry right before it’s time for a snack or meal, but then feel satisfied (never stuffed) once I’ve eaten.

So, that’s my news.  I wanted to try it for a few days and see how it was working for me before I wrote a blog post about it.  I hope it was worth the wait.

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