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!