To The Market We Go!

Had a great visit at the clinic yesterday, even though I was absolutely exhausted from a lack of sleep the night before. I got to bed late, and I have an elderly Basset Hound who keeps waking up at 4:00 a.m., needing to go outside, and I found I couldn't go to sleep after letting her out. I actually had to leave the clinic early because my husband called and wanted me to come home -- he was worried about me driving in the dark. But I got some good sleep last night and I'm feeling great today!

At the clinic, we wrapped up all the transition materials and I have a food guide and sample menu ideas for the maintenance plan. I will eventually go up to 1,400 - 1,600 calories a day (probably lower side of that range). I have been having about 1,200 calories a day right now and I'm very comfortable with that, but I need to incorporate more things into my daily diet. I definitely need to be eating more fruit, vegetables and more starch/carbs -- as long as I balance the carbs with protein I do okay. But I do have a slight fear that if I increase my caloric intake, I will gain weight. So it's a touchy issue, but I will be in contact with my dietitian and the clinic if/when I'm struggling, and my experience to date has shown that things get easier with time.

So I'm now entirely on "real" food, and it's getting easier and easier every day. Progress! I thought I'd list the "staples" I've been stockpiling so far for my meals, and relying on for my transition/maintenance stage. Now fully in maintenance, I will build out from here:

BREAKFAST
No-fat Stonyfield organic yogurt
Eggland's Best large eggs
Eggo Nutrigrain whole wheat waffles
Thomas whole wheat English muffins
Steel cut oatmeal/Quaker oats
Organic brown rice (to mix in yogurt on occasion)
Small oranges (Mandarin, clementine)
Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries (for yogurt)
Sliced almonds (to mix in yogurt; oatmeal)
Sugar-free Smucker's jam (to put on one waffle or on 1/2 English muffin)
Light brown sugar (for oatmeal)
Cinnamon and nutmeg (for oatmeal or rice-yogurt-orange-almond "concoction")

LUNCH
Small, whole wheat pitas (I have 1/2 pita sandwich + no fat cottage cheese for lunch)
Very thinly sliced Lite deli turkey
Sliced good quality cheese (I use 1/2 slice in my sandwich)
Dijon mustard
No fat cottage cheese
Grape tomatoes (red and yellow/orange)
Dill (for cottage cheese)
Low sodium V-8

DINNER
(Pick one)
Salmon
Trout
Misc. filets (orange roughy; snapper; tilapia; cod; tuna; swordfish, etc.)
(All fish is eaten the day I buy it.)
Thin-sliced chicken breast
2 oz. Starkist albacore tuna pack + hard boiled egg
90-95% lean ground beef (I typically have one 4 oz. patty a week.)
Filet mignons (on special occasion only)

Bake fish. Pan fry chicken cut into strips or hamburger patty in non-stick pan lightly coated with Canola cooking spray. Grill filet mignon.

Mix protein in a salad made from (choose a few things and switch up meal to meal):
Fresh Express 50/50 salad blend OR Fresh Express baby spinach
Capers
Artichoke hearts
Bush's Canellini beans (white kidney beans)
Chick peas
Par-boiled green beans
Red onions
Scallions
Cucumber
Dressings: Lite Ken's Steakhouse dressings; Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressings; I often make my own.)

SNACKS
No fat Stonyfield organic yogurt
Sliced almonds
Sunflower seeds (unsalted)
Fiber One cereal
Fiber One chocolate cereal
Ghiradelli 60, 72, 80% cacao squares (1 square crumbled into Fiber One/almonds/yogurt "concoction" on special occasions)
Jif peanut butter with Omega 3 (1 1/2 tsp. on 1/2 English muffin)
Low moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks
Red peppers
Baby carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Homemade hummus (dip vegetables in it -- watch amount used carefully)
Snyder's of Hanover mini pretzel/peanut butter bites
Jolly Time 100-calorie popcorn
Low fat, whole grain Wheat thins

DAILY SPLURGE: Large ("Grande") Starbuck's Latte with no fat milk and cinnamon sprinkled on top (roughly 90 calories). Absolutely refuse to give this up!

I always sit down in the morning and map out my meal plan for the day on MyFitnessPal. This lets me know if I might exceed my calorie limit, and where I will need to make subtractions/substitutions. My protein intake always exceeds their suggested amount, but I ignore that. My body likes a diet emphasizing protein. What I keep a very close eye on is the balance between protein and carbs and the total calories. So far, everything is going quite well. I'm so pleased. I'll continue to update my list as we go along, and will keep you informed every step of the way!

Working In "Phases"

Gathering cobwebs?

Sitting here, I am thinking that I am someone that likes to tackle a problem in "phases" versus multi-tasking it to get the end result. I've been thinking in earnest about my great resistance to exercise right now, and trying to come up with an explanation of why this is so. What prompts this is I had my first maintenance class two nights ago and we were going to go around the table and each talk about our daily exercise routines. I just froze -- I instantly felt very, very uncomfortable, because I knew I would hear stories about people working out religiously, five days a week, and power-walking, and I would have to meekly toss out some pathetic example of something, anything. Normally quite talkative, I did not want to speak. Thankfully, we ran out of time and I didn't have to. But clearly, I had a big problem on my hands.

The clinic stresses exercise so much, and of course I know why. It's not rocket science that a healthy diet, coupled with regular exercise, makes weight maintenance possible. For many, the exercise requirement poses no problem. And it didn't for me, years back. But now, it is like a big mountain I must (literally) climb and I am failing miserably. I know there just has to be others facing this similar situation. I cannot be alone. We are quite familiar with exercise, have successfully integrated it into our lives in the past, know the physical and emotional benefits it provides. We know what to do, how to do it, when to do it. What's not as clear is why we don't do it.

Yes, some can call us lazy, we will say we are over-worked, tired, there is no time -- and every excuse will be met with a battery of reasons, justifications and suggestions for changing the behavior. Yet we do not budge. My husband is at me every single day to do something. He is relentless and lately, I have been getting resentful. I guess I feel like saying, "Look -- I spent 9 1/2 months on a liquid diet and you're still not satisfied? Who do you think I am, Wonder Woman?"

In order to stay 100% committed to my Optifast program, I had to channel most of my waking thinking and action on taking those products every day and not cheating. That was a huge deal for me. I am seeing that I am someone that has to go in "all the way" to get the desired outcome. Incorporating exercise into the equation started to get difficult for me. I did not have enough "obsessiveness" left in the tank to commit religiously to a 4-times a week workout schedule. It just wasn't there. Yes, I take my dogs on long walks every day, and that is good. But it is not going to give you the satisfaction of a fast walk or work-out. That's a fact.

It's dawning on me crystal clear that Optifast multi-tasking -- doing a full fast coupled with a successful daily exercise routine -- is just not one of my strong suits. I'm not using this as an excuse -- it's just a statement of fact. I have tunnel vision, I'm basically only capable of obsessing on one thing, as far as the program goes. But let's step back and try to see how to turn this into a positive. My full fasting phase is through. Right now, I am in the transitioning phase, gearing up for the diet maintenance phase. And I think at that juncture, I will be finally ready to move into the exercise phase.

My plan is to locate a trainer. Now that I buy very few Optifast products and no longer have to pay for doctor visits, I have the financial resources available. I cannot be left to my own devices. And if I know I am making a financial investment, nothing motivates me more to do something. I also like set, pre-established times for exercising. I need a strict routine, for time-budgeting purposes. Working with a trainer will give me that.

As far as my husband's nagging goes, I am going to try and have a lengthy talk with him about my plan of attack. I am going to let him know that when the weather gets nicer, I will join him more for the 3-mile walks. I want to go to some local parks. I just need some breathing room, some time to get re-focused on this new phase. I am getting comfortable with my new diet. The exercise will come. I am not going to beat myself up. And if you are like me, don't beat yourself up either. We all go at our own pace. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Onward we go.

A Bold Step: Leaving The Products Behind

Now's the time

Perhaps it was my dietitian pointing out that one should not take in less than 1,000 calories a day without a physician's oversight. Or maybe it is the scale, which shows me coming in at 154 lbs. -- my lowest weight in a decade. Or it could just be that it's finally time for me to take a deep breath and step into the unknown. Whatever the reason, as of three days ago, I have only had "real food." No clinging to Optifast products because I was afraid to let them go. In the cupboard they have sat. And I'm feeling pretty darn good about it!

As you know, I've been very tense, emotionally, with transitioning off of the products. Anxious, afraid, confused, overwhelmed. It's been a real struggle, one that I never expected. But as my dietitian pointed out, if you just give things time and accept that progress can include imperfection, change is indeed possible.

Now, what is working for me quite well is sticking with a very, very simple menu plan, and eating pretty much the same thing every day. Similar to my Optifast routine. I add a few twists here and there, but I'm definitely not ready yet to branch out into full-blown creativity. The clinic has given me various ideas for sample meals and I'm working off of that, to some extent. Here's a rough idea of my menu:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup no-fat yogurt with 1/4 cup brown rice; 1/2 small mandarin orange; 1 tbsp. almonds; cinnamon, nutmeg, Splenda.

Lunch: 1/2 whole wheat pita with 2 oz. lite deli turkey or ham; 1/2 slice cheese and 1 tbsp. Grey Poupon mustard; and 1/2 cup no-fat cottage cheese with 4 halved grape tomatoes and dill.

Dinner: 4 oz. fish or chicken and salad (includes various things that rotate -- green beans, artichoke hearts, capers, Bermuda onion, hard boiled egg, red pepper, white beans, cucumber, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.)

Snacks: Low-moisture, part-skim string cheese; 1/2 cup no-fat yogurt with 1/2 cup chocolate Fiber One, 1 tbsp. almonds and 1 tbsp. sunflower seeds; 1/2 Thomas whole wheat English muffin with 1 1/2 tsp. Jif peanut butter with Omega-3; occasionally Jolly Time 100-calorie bag popcorn.

I drink lots of tea at night. Lately, I have been getting one latte a day with skim milk. I am really enjoying that. (In the summer, I have plain iced coffee in the afternoon.) This is all working out very, very well right now. No hunger, I feel satisfied, I have energy. Now, I'm taking in roughly 1,200 calories a day, and need to ultimately edge that up to 1,500-1,600 calories a day, but I'm not there yet. This is just a start. And it's baby steps. I'm comfortable, and that's what counts.

I have my first maintenance class at the clinic tonight. It meets on the last Monday of the month. I'm very excited to see who's there and to get a feel for how the class is run. So onward we go. Hooray!

 

Eating "Real" Food While Full Fasting: It's About Choice

A McDonald's choice: Yes or no?

Someone's feelings were deeply hurt on the Facebook Optifast Chat Support page yesterday and that always gets me greatly concerned. In a way, I guess it's inevitable, because when you are dealing with electronic communication -- versus face to face -- things can be easily misunderstood. Also, each clinic runs their Optifast program differently, and we tend to write from our own experience. So when it comes to being in a place where you are giving advice and support, you are going to relay what you know.

Let me outline what happened: A person on the full fast was in a situation where they faced a craving for a hamburger. She posted that her program nurse gave her a "green light" to go to McDonald's and get one. As you can imagine, this set off major warning bells for several people, myself included. The upshot from me was first, disbelief that a medical professional would advocate an Optifast full faster go to a fast food establishment versus advising she have a plain hamburger patty, made from 92% lean meat purchased at the grocery. Actually, I was confused as to why the nurse didn't give her tips for managing cravings so she didn't break the fast, but that's a side issue.

But also knowing that cheats, slips, program deviations, whatever you want to call them happen when you are full fasting, I tried to make suggestions of what can be chosen if you feel you must eat (or even are in a social situation where you have an AOK by the clinic to eat). I based this on the guidance I received from my own clinic, which allowed me to have one dinner out once a week after roughly 7 1/2 months on the full fast. The guidelines are very simple: 4 oz. chicken or fish, baked or grilled, not fried; a small, simple salad; and a small serving of vegetables. No carbs, no sugar, minute fat. Importantly, this is designed to keep you in ketosis and keep losing weight and shedding fat. So, for example, the McDonald's chicken sandwich pictured above would not be allowed.

Now, as you know from my posts, we have fairly hefty odds stacked against us that we will not keep our weight off after we conclude the fast. Some have argued that this is because we lose the weight quickly, and don't learn how to make the behavioral changes necessary to maintain our weight. This is certainly the case with many. Subsequently, our clinic spends a great deal of time and effort educating us about the changes we need to make -- and importantly, the choices we should make when it comes to our daily diet.

I've heard and read in countless places that if you can get yourself comfortable preparing and cooking your own healthy meals, you've got a very good chance of maintaining your weight. I know this can be very overwhelming at first for some, but please believe me when I say things can be prepared quickly, easily, and you can have fun doing it. And the food tastes great. If you are hit with an uncontrollable urge for hamburger -- and I mean really uncontrollable -- make a small patty yourself with ultra-lean meat. This is my advice. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that McDonald's, and other fast food chains, play a key role in the obesity epidemic in America. Cheap, fast, feed cravings for salt, sugar and fat -- it all adds up to weight gain. We are working so hard to be true to our fasts. And in my opinion, we must also devote just as much work on making healthy choices when it comes to deviating from the full fast routine.

Yes, I had "real" food while on a full fast -- in controlled situations and I only ate certain things. You can do this too! Get comfortable saying "No!" to fast food. You don't need it! The goal is to learn how to eat things that are good for you -- and still taste good. They are out there if you eat out, and even better, you can have full control by preparing things yourself. Give it a try. You'll be so very glad you did.

Doing It On Your Own: Some Caution (Again)

Folks, I am very, very blessed to have an outstanding Optifast clinic in Columbus. I do not take this for granted, and as you know, I am taking full advantage of everything they offer to program participants. This includes attending all of the educational classes (I'm on my second go-around), seeing the dietitian in a special one-hour session every two weeks, doing regular weigh-ins, browsing through the books and cookbooks they have on display, and reading the informative articles they put up on the wall. I have always seen this as a "package deal" -- I had to invest a lot of money in the program, but it offers so much in return. Best decision I have ever made.

As I indicated in my last post, I did email my dietitian about my "strategy" (if you want to call it that) for carving off that 5 lb. weight gain from my vacation. She responded with a fantastic breakdown of the entire process, why it worked and how it worked. One thing she pointed out that did give me pause was I was consuming a very, very low amount of calories without a doctor's supervision. I have preached here numerous times about not doing Optifast without a doctor -- and here I was letting panic over 5 lbs. drive me, one day, to take in under 600 calories a day without a physician's oversight. Not wise, stupid, actually. And I know better.

I am to go back to my transition eating schedule which had me consuming roughly 1,200 calories/day (I think -- need to go over my materials). I started back in with that yesterday. Honestly, I felt a little "dicey" all week. My sleep has been horrible -- up at 3:00 a.m., starving, holding off on eating and then going back to sleep for a few hours. Work has been a real struggle. I haven't been sharp. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. again this morning, and after I finish writing I am going to have my yogurt "concoction", take something to help me sleep, and go back to bed.

My dietitian also told me NO weighing until I see her next week. This is because there will be fluctuations. In my case, that gets me very, very upset. Look, I lost 80 lbs. and I'm completely freaked out about gaining it back. That weight gain from my trip really upset me and that is no way to go through life. A great friend on the Facebook Optifast Chat Support page made an excellent point that weighing = accountability, and that's key to maintaining, protecting your weight loss. I completely agree. I just think for some, like me, weigh-ins need to be weekly. For psychological reasons.

Now, obviously many, many people who gain weight after discontinuing the Optifast products -- after a trip, for example -- and are familiar with the Optifast program, may choose to get some Optifast products online and just start using them until the weight gained is back off. On their own. In my case, for me to have success with Optifast, I needed to use Optifast 70 products (84 calories per packet) in conjunction with Optifast 800 products. My calorie intake was under 650 calories a day. To the best of my knowledge, Optifast 70 products are not available anywhere outside of a registered Optifast clinic -- unless we are talking some illegal avenue.

Subsequently, it is a "knee-jerk" reaction for me to strongly caution everyone from using the products on their own. We all have our own perspective, and experience, and I speak as someone who used the Optifast 70 products. So that explains my genuine concern for those taking things into their own hands. My dietitian made it very clear: if you are going to take in under 1,000 calories a day, you need a physician. And given what I felt like this week, I believe it. Yes, I got those 5 lbs. off, but look what I had to go through. It's insanity. So I am back to following instructions. The best way to go.

All right, it's some food then nighty night for me! Have a great day all.

Back To Normal...But So Quickly!

Well, something interesting has happened. Three days have passed and I have shed the 5 lbs. I gained. How did I do it, you ask? It wasn't that complicated. I followed this plan:

Day One, I used leftover products and did a full fast of 3 Optifast 70s and 2 Optifast 800s.

Day Two, I had two Optifast 70s; 1 Optifast 800; a dinner of 4 oz. salmon served with a salad with Bermuda onion, capers, cucumber and 1 tbsp. 25 calorie Bolthouse Farms Honey Mustard yogurt dressing; a yogurt concoction of 1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt (not Greek yogurt), almonds, crushed Fiber One chocolate cereal and Splenda; a part-skim, low moisture mozzarella cheese stick; and 11 baby carrots with 1 tbsp. of the honey mustard dressing.

Day Three, I had two Optifast 70s; 1 Optifast 800; 4 oz. grilled chicken with a salad with Bermuda onion, cucumber, sundried tomatoes, and 1 tbsp. of Lite Greek Vinaigrette (25 calories); a yogurt concoction of 1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt, 1/4 cup plain Fiber One cereal; sunflower seeds; almonds, raisins and Splenda; and two cheese sticks.

Now, my dietitian told me earlier in the week that my weight gain was most likely extra sodium, and to give it 4-5 days and I would most likely shed it. So I am not entirely sure that my eating routine was responsible for the loss. But needless to say, I feel much better and "cleansed" (if that makes any sense). I think the protein-based diet -- where protein is for the most part balancing out the carbs -- works well for me.

The downside is I have been feeling weak, tired and hungry during the day -- reminds me of the first few days when I started Optifast. I don't like that at all. I also just started following this plan without fully consulting with the clinic, so I emailed my dietitian last night to notify her what I am doing and how I feel physically. Some may find this not needed, and if in my situation, just use the products on your own. But I tend to lean towards the side of caution. That's just me.

I'm also not sure if I go back to my transition/maintenance schedule now. Honestly, something is tugging at me, telling me, "Oh, just keep going and try to lose as much as you can with what you have." I like that scale going down, down, down. But I have a healthy weight range and I like my new, healthy diet. So I'm trying to ignore this little voice and focus on easing off of the products and resuming my "real" food diet.

So this is where I am today. It's very early in the morning and I am hungry, so I am thinking about having one scrambled egg and 1 Eggo whole grain waffle with a scant amount of sugar-free strawberry jam. Sure, I could hold off and have that Opti 70 in three hours, but my body is telling me it needs something more. So I think I will listen to it. I'll keep you apprised of my weight over the next few days. Hopefully, this "back to normal" is here to stay!

Back In The Saddle...Again!

Hello dear readers and apologies for my absence! I have been on a trip with my husband, and it included a whirlwind of restaurants. You can perhaps guess what happened: I have gained 5-7 lbs. (it fluctuates) and this of course has me freaked out, panicked, and completely overlooking the most important thing: I had fun! So I don't want to forget that. But clearly, some evasive action is needed.

I decided this evening that I would like to go back to 4 products a day plus the "restricted" meal of 4 oz. protein plus small serving of vegetables. I need to clear this with the clinic -- perhaps there is another avenue I can follow. I emailed my dietitian and I am awaiting her response. I will be going to the clinic tomorrow to attend the class session, but I think I am going to hold off on the weigh in until next week. I'm very vulnerable around the scale right now, and I don't want the pressure. It's not going anywhere, and I'm very committed to my weekly educational sessions. So neither am I. The scale can wait.

One thing I have noticed is I feel "bloated" and uncomfortable physically. I know the products offer a kind of  "de-tox" and I really want and need that. I have friends on the Facebook Optifast Chat Support who have reached goal, slipped a bit, and followed this course of action. So I have support from them if I need it. Which is great.

I think if I try to look at this as a learning experience, it will put me in good stead. Perhaps it was indeed inevitable that I would have a vacation and gain some weight. I think the key thing here is to get right back into the Optifast saddle to bring things back under control. And that's my plan. Hopefully, I won't have too much of a problem resuming the product schedule. Only time will tell. But here we go again! I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Sayin' No!

All right, another trip to the ice hockey arena tonight, and I am firmly committed this time: No hotdogs! I have inputted all of my food for the day in MyFitnessPal and I am following my eating schedule so far. I have made a space for two small Tim Horton's 1/2 hot chocolate/half coffees, as it is very cold in the arena and I like having something warm. That is to be my "treat." Everything else I am having for the day is very healthy and well-balanced.

This will be a test -- a big one for me, actually -- and I am enlisting my husband to assist. I know this is not a good thing to do, but I'm still in fragile territory and it helps to have support along the way. I have also been reading back over my blog, particularly the very earliest entries, and it has really hit home just how long the leg of my journey on Optifast was. I fought for every pound lost, every inch shed. It was a long, long haul for me. I don't need that stupid hot dog. I'm strong, I know what to eat and I am not going to undo everything I worked so hard to accomplish.

One hot dog can lead to two hot dogs, then a breakdown for the rest of the evening. Forget it! I'm saying hell no, and I may go through a pack of gum but if that's what it takes, so be it. I am also going to do something that believe it or not, I have never done in the eleven years our team has been playing: walk around the entire arena during one of the intermissions. Heck, I may do it at both intermissions. I've just got to get more exercise. Enough is enough.

This is another critical juncture for me: either I really get focused and committed to daily exercise or I am going to slip, slide away right back into the sedentary lifestyle I so comfortably embraced in the past. I'm avoiding it, but I am almost transitioned off the products, I have full energy, and I know what to do. So let's do it.

All right, off I go to get ready for the evening. Go team and go Melissa!

    

Managing Weight Obsession

A long time ago, last July when I was in my fourth month of Optifasting, I posted the following:

"I refuse to fall victim to the horrible weight obsession that grips so many people. An obsession with numbers that are given so much power that the person can no longer determine who they are and what is truly important in life. I do not want my life wasted by spending all of my day thinking about my weight. Actually, I don't want to start my day by weighing myself. Maybe at night, once a week. That's all I'm going to allow."

This certainly gives me pause, because as I sit here today, I find that I spend a good deal of time thinking about my weight and I'm weighing myself twice a day, in the morning and at night before I go to bed. The exact opposite of what I said I would do. Now, I still very much know who I am and what is important in life -- that has not changed. But the scale has firmly entrenched itself in my daily routine and shows no sign of leaving anytime soon.

What's clear to me is that, in my case, because I have lost a significant amount of weight, I have changed -- dramatically. This goes way, way beyond being a smaller size, buying "regular" clothes, and now following a healthy diet. It is much deeper than that. Now, I'm a very "cerebral" person and analyze things quite a bit (if you can't tell already!). There are pros and cons to this, but I would say it certainly lends itself to my hyper-sensitivity to scales and my weight. The way I view these two things now is vastly different from how I looked at them before Optifast. Some might say this is good. But me, I am more cautious. I am "hot-wired" to jump to worry, to jump to anxiety. So I need to pull in the reins a bit. But how?

I do find that the MyFitnessPal.com food tracker is very helpful as far as providing structure to my daily eating routine, keeping me in the allowable caloric/carb/fat/protein range to maintain my weight, and subsequently giving me some certainty as to what could otherwise be chaotic. A friend on the Facebook Optifast Support page said there is a MyFitnessPal weight tracker that I can use to begin inputting my morning weight each day to see how it is trending. Although this is initially sort of overwhelming for me, I am pushing through my techno-fears and following this path. Sometimes I wish I was younger and more comfortable with this stuff, but I'm learning. So here's to that.

I guess I just have fears of the unknown, and in this case it is the unknown world of maintenance/dieting. I keep trying to remind myself that things will become more familiar in time. I also know that I have the capacity to be highly focused and committed to anything I set my sights on -- and I truly want to keep this weight off for the rest of my life. So that means I must be willing to "go the distance," get through these ups and downs (literally), and keep living each day to its fullest. I'm nervous, a little bit scared, but moving forward as best I can. I'm a tough one, when push comes to shove. Patience and time. That's what I need.

Addressing Hair Loss: Maintenance Foods To Consider

As I mentioned in my previous post, foods rich in B vitamins are helpful for promoting hair growth. Those in maintenance might want to consider incorporating the following: (Article courtesy of Livestrong.com)


"The B vitamins include thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate (also called folic acid or folacin), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, biotin and pantothenic acid. The B vitamins work collectively and individually in every cell to perform many different jobs, including helping the body release the energy it gets from carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Some foods are especially good sources of just one B vitamin, while other foods contain several B vitamins. Luckily, B vitamins are widely distributed throughout the food supply, so if you're eating a varied, balanced diet that includes foods from all food groups, you're most likely getting as many vitamins as you need.

THIAMIN
Some of the best sources of thiamin are pork, ham, dark green leafy vegetables, fortified whole-grain cereals and baked goods, wheat germ, enriched rice, green peas, lentils and nuts such as almonds and pecans.

RIBOFLAVIN
Milk and milk products such as yogurt and cheese are rich in riboflavin. Asparagus, spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables, chicken, fish, eggs and fortified cereals also supply significant amounts of riboflavin to the diet.

NIACIN
Chicken, turkey, salmon and other fish including canned tuna packed in water are all excellent natural sources of niacin. Fortified cereals, legumes, peanuts, pasta and whole wheat also supply varying amounts.

FOLATE
To remember which foods are high in folate, remember that the word folate has the same root as the word foliage. Leafy greens such as spinach and turnip greens and other fresh fruits and vegetables are all excellent sources of folate. All grain products such as breads, pastas and rice are fortified with folate.

VITAMIN B6
Some of the best sources of vitamin B6 are poultry, seafood, bananas, leafy green vegetables such as spinach, potatoes and fortified cereals.

VITAMIN B12
Animal foods are the only natural source of vitamin B12, but many products, including soy products and cereals, are fortified with B12 so it is widely available in the food supply. Other good natural sources include shellfish, such as clams, mussels and crab, fin fish and beef.

BIOTIN AND PANTOTHENIC ACID
Liver and egg yolks are the richest dietary sources of biotin, but fortunately this B vitamin is well distributed throughout the food supply, so it is unlikely that anyone eating a balanced, varied diet will experience a deficiency. Salmon, pork and avocado are good sources; most fruits and vegetables contain a little biotin, as do cheeses and grain foods.

Yogurt and avocado are both excellent sources of pantothenic acid, but it is also available in a wide variety of foods such as legumes including lentils and split peas, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and broccoli."

On Hair Loss

I don't think I've posted in depth about the possible hair loss you could have as a result of the products. I now know of two cases where this was quite extreme, and as you know that can be most upsetting. As I've noted, Optifast can have many side effects, and hair loss is one of them. It's something you should be prepared for and here's my experience:

In my case, I didn't really notice anything until 4-5 months into the program. This fits with what our dietitians tell us: if you are going to have problems, it typically crops up at this time. What I noticed was when I brushed my hair after my shower in the morning, the brush was filling up with lots of strands. Now, I have thick hair, so I didn't think much about it. But when I went to the salon in October (around seventh month on product) to have my hair highlighted and cut, and washed my hair the next day, I really noticed that a substantial amount of hair was now gone.

I have no bald spots -- in severe cases, they will typically appear on the crown of the head -- but my hair is really thinned out. Strangely, I didn't ask the dietitian about what to do about it until a few weeks ago. Not sure why I never mentioned it to her before. I guess I was wrapped up in the Christmas season mess and transition anxiety and it didn't cross my mind. Regardless, she suggested taking no more than 2,000 mg/day of Biotin. It is available in the vitamin section in your grocery store or Target, Walmart, etc. I started in with 1000 mg/day and wouldn't you know -- I am already seeing new hairs growing back!

I also purchased Nioxin shampoo for thinning hair and I am using that as well. And I take a Magnesium vitamin every day for anxiety, and that can possibly stimulate hair growth. Elana from the Facebook Optifast Chat Support page posted the following information that I found very helpful:


"Hair loss occurs when the diet is inadequate in the B vitamins - especially B6, biotin, inositol and folic acid; and the minerals magnesium, sulfur and zinc. The B vitamins, especially B5 (pantothenic acid and B3 (niacin), are especially important for hair growth. Certain essential amino acids are found to control the thinning and thickening of hair in laboratory animals. For example, when rats were fed a diet deficient in magnesium, they lost their hair in bunches. The situation was even more serious with some other B-vitamins. When rats were fed a diet low in biotin or inositol, they became hairless! This nutrient-deficient condition was found to be reversible. When the rats were fed a diet that was rich in B vitamins, it resulted in the complete restoration of hair. 

Heavy intake of vitamin supplements, in some cases, have resulted in stimulating hair growth. Men deficient in vitamin B6 often lose their hair. When they are deficient in folic acid, some men became completely bald! As in case of animals, when normal intake of theses vitamins were restored, the hair also returned in most instances."

So in sum, I would advise starting in on Biotin and a multi-vitamin including the B vitamins early on in your program. Just to be safe. You might also want to add magnesium. Of course, this is just a suggestion, and the best course of action is to ask the clinic what they suggest.

Turning A Corner

I've been a little more relaxed the past few days. I'm finding as each day passes, I am getting a little more comfortable with my eating routine. Yes, there is still a little anxiety there, and I still cling to one or two Opti 800 shakes a day (breakfast and lunch), but I am starting to branch out and experiment with a few things. Utilizing the MyFitnessPal Food Tracker every day is really helping -- I have found if I consume between 1,200 - 1,300 calories a day, and don't exceed the allowable fat and carbohydrate allotments, I stay in my comfortable weight range.

What is really working well is having a few different dinners I alternate between each night, and then my yogurt concoction (and occasionally a 100-calorie bag of popcorn) at night. My dinners are primarily salads, made with a protein, veggies, occasionally legumes, and tossed with a vinaigrette I make. Examples include:

4 oz. salmon; baby spinach leaves; capers; thinly sliced red onion; cucumber; Vinaigrette dressing (basalmic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, shallot, salt and pepper)

2 oz. Albacore tuna; hard-boiled egg; spinach/arugula salad blend; capers; artichoke hearts; par-boiled green beans; white beans; 2 tbsp Bolthouse Farms Honey-Mustard Yogurt dressing

4 oz grilled chicken breast strips; baby spinach leaves; cucumber; thinly sliced red onion; sundried tomato strips; Vinaigrette dressing (above)

The nightly yogurt concoction is easy to whip up and very, very good. It consists of:

1 cup 0% fat Stonyfield plain yogurt (OR 1 cup no-fat Greek plain yogurt); 1/2 cup berries (blueberries/raspberries/strawberries); 1/4 - 1/2 c. Fiber One cereal; roughly 2 tbsp. crushed nuts (walnuts, pecans, or sliced almonds); and Splenda. Now, you have to be careful with the nuts -- they are caloric and fatty (although very good for you). Personally, I love them so I splurge occasionally and go to 1/4 cup. Also, if I really want to make this a special occasion, I will take 1 Ghiradelli extra dark chocolate square and crumble that up and toss it in there.

The repetitiveness of my eating options really works well for me as far as controlling my eating goes. Some may not like eating the same thing every day, but I am finding it works out very well and keeps me on the straight and narrow. It also allows me to go out for a dinner once a week and still be okay. Granted, my meals out are, for the most part, very low-calorie -- I check the menus on-line before I go out -- but I feel comfortable having a splurge maybe once a month.

Yes, I still have the cravings almost every night, but I am finding if I drink herbal tea (my new favorite is Tazo's "Passion") and water and chew my gum, I can handle them. I had a slip the other night with some Hershey's kisses but I managed to stop it relatively quickly and my husband hid them. So for the most part, I've been okay. I go to the clinic this evening for my weigh-in and class (not seeing my dietitian until next week), and I'm looking forward to that. So all in all, I'm doing well today. Which is nice!

All Aboard

Sitting here at goal, in transition/maintenance after 9 1/2 months on the Optifast products, gives me some fairly good 20/20 vision about the upsides and downsides of Optifast. Of course the overwhelming positive points are I am at a healthy goal, I have lost 33% of my body fat, and I have tools to employ a good maintenance program to keep the weight off. And the fairly obvious negatives are that it cost a heck of a lot of money to reach this goal and me personally, I'm an emotional wreck, frightened of gaining all the weight back.

I chatted with a friend who was on the Optifast program about whether or not the program "messes with your head." I've been thinking about that this morning, and I've come to the conclusion that whenever you drop a massive amount of weight it messes with your head. Point is, we wanted the weight gone. Optifast is just a vehicle that moves you (somewhat rapidly) to your destination. Other diets can do the same thing. What's messed up in my head is I have never done something like this before -- I have never been on a diet before -- and now I'm sitting here, at the destination, floundering about and trying to figure out how to set up shop and stay awhile.

I hopped aboard the Optifast train, paid my fare, and settled in for a long journey. When the conductor shouted out my destination, I hopped off onto a platform in a very strange place. I don't know my way around, I'm not comfortable, and honestly, I'm a little bit scared.  I've got some survival skills in my luggage,  but they are new and I've never used them before. I only bought a one-way ticket, so I'm here to stay. I need to get a roof over my head and steady line of work. And I'm overwhelmed. In a way, I want to cry.

Now, you are not me. It could very well be that you shed your weight and are happy and joyous and embracing maintenance with gusto. You disembarked the train, immediately set up shop, and are raking in the profits. I know this is how I expected things to roll out for me when I started the program. But it has not come to pass. Maybe it will materialize eventually, and that is what I am hoping for, but as you know by now I've been struggling -- almost entirely emotionally. I'm going to give myself an "A" for admitting this honestly and writing about it openly.

I want to be very delicate here and not put anyone off from the Optifast program. My journey with the products showed me I can bravely board the "train" and dedicate and commit myself 100% to a very rigid program with strict parameters that I must follow. I am so, so proud of myself for sticking with the full fast and following it to the end. Not jumping off the train before I reached my destination. I continue to go to the educational classes, and participate in the dialogue every week. I have bi-weekly sessions with the Optifast dietitian. Some just sit in the waiting room/caboose and don't come into the classroom, and never come back to the clinic when they reach goal. Not me. I am there to succeed, to receive every piece of maintenance information I can get.

The train that brought me to where I am now does come back from time to time to carry passengers back to the place they left behind. Lots of seats are available, for a very low price. Sometimes you can hear it approaching in the distance, if you listen carefully. I know I don't need a reservation to get on board. And it would be so easy to just run away. But I came out here for a reason. To prove something to myself. To "improve" myself. I've come too far to throw in the towel. Besides, there's an apartment available I can rent. I saw it when I was browsing the want-ads. So stay away from the train station I will. I'll keep my suitcase in the closet and (new) clothes in the drawers.

I'm not going anywhere. This is my new home. Things will become more familiar -- in time.    

Lazy Graze

Did someone say popcorn?

I can see quite clearly now that my two biggest problems with maintenance are going to be a.) the strong desire to graze at night and b.) breaking the desire to be sedentary. Now, with a kitchen stocked with only healthy items, the caloric intake from my nightly sojourns into the "battleground" is curbed, but I know darn well that I shouldn't even be in there in the first place. And on the laziness, I'm going to get brutally honest here and just admit this up front: I am forcing myself to get out and walk every day. I hate it. Plain and simple.

So far, the night eating has been the following: my "concoction" of plain, 0% fat Stonyfield yogurt, Fiber One cereal, berries (alternates between strawberries, raspberries or blueberries) and occasionally a few walnut, pecan or almond pieces. On very, very limited occasions, I will take one Ghiradelli dark chocolate square (about 65 calories) and crumble that up and toss it in there too. I typically have this every night, about an hour after dinner.

But then the dilemma starts. After about 30 minutes, I start to feel a craving for something else. I am not hungry. This I need to emphasize. I start thinking about what is in the kitchen that I could get. A 100-calorie bag of popcorn? A string cheese and some low fat, whole grain Wheat Thins? A slice or two of thin sliced turkey deli meat? I know I don't need it, that I'd feel guilty if I ate it, but I keep thinking about it. Some nights, I'll make the popcorn. Others, I'll go for the string cheese. Last night, I wanted the popcorn, but stopped myself and just went up to bed, did a little bit of reading, and fell asleep. This morning, I feel a lot of relief that I followed that strategy.

What is also helping is I am pushing through my techno-newbiness and I set up an account at MyFitnessPal.com (it's free) and I log in everything I ate for the day. My "target" caloric intake according to them is 1,400 calories a day, and I make sure to never, ever go over that -- so far I've been under it every day. Subsequently, my weight is staying the same -- 158/159 lbs., according to the day. Actually, my morning weigh-ins register 156/157 lbs., so take your pick. But if I give in to the grazing urges, I'm going to go over my caloric limit. That's a fact, plain and simple.

Now, it's fairly obvious that anyone who has a solid exercise routine in place is going to be able to offset the extra calories and maintain their weight. And there are many exercise options available, whether it is the dead of winter or sweltering summer. Of course, I have many, many friends raving about how wonderful exercise is, embracing it with gusto, religiously following their routine. But folks, I'm just not that way. Sure, when I was younger I committed myself wholeheartedly to daily work-outs. I've had trainers. Swam a mile in the pool five days a week and took water aerobics classes.

But now -- it's almost torture bundling up for my daily walk with the Bassets. I do not want to go. Granted, it's about 10 degrees outside and who would want to go outside in that? But I have to and I do. And I rush my poor angels as quick as I can so I can get back in the warm house, into my recliner, and bundled up nicely with some blankets and a cup of hot tea. Some aren't going to admit they hate exercise, but I'm telling you right now I resist it, it is not fun, and if I could get away with not doing it, I would. Clearly, an attitude adjustment is necessary.

So what I need to work on is avoiding becoming a "Lazy Grazer." In other words, halting any movement back down the path to the "me" prior to joining the Optifast program. This is going to be very, very difficult. I know it and I'm not going to sugar-coat it. I'm not going to pretend I can effortlessly ease into this committed exerciser/controlled calorie consumer. Just forget about that. On some days I have to fight tooth and nail to keep walking the healthy path. I get frustrated. Sometimes mad. I want to be back full fasting again. But, that is not going to happen. Forward I must go. Accepting the difficulties, working my way through them.