A Goodbye: But Not For Good!

Hello all after a long absence! I cannot believe I find myself in the middle of March 2014. I have been working on another blog, plus life, as you know, interferes along the way. Before typing this, I went back over some old posts here because I wanted to take stock of my weight loss/weight gain history since I reached my 160 lb. goal in January 2013. It's interesting to see how I was thinking/feeling throughout the course of my first year of maintenance. My, what a journey I've had!

I am currently weighing in at 185 lbs. -- a 25 lb. gain -- and according to my blog history, I started to creep up in weight towards the end of July 2013. I held at goal for six months, but the weight ascent started slowly during my Wild West Trip to California, and never really let up. Things began to rapidly escalate throughout the winter, which was brutally cold here in Ohio. By my estimation, I put on 10 lbs. alone during January/February 2014.

What caused the gain, you probably want to know. It can really be broken out into some simple things. Cold weather = more eating and drinking. No exercise. No calorie counting. Soon, I no longer watched portion sizes with my dinners. I kept right on track with my breakfast, lunch and snacks all the way through. The problem is dinner, and occasional "sweet treats" at night.

Now, I am a strong woman. I am also a frugal woman. And I am not going to undo the "investment" I made in myself by losing 80 lbs. So this of course means the 25 lbs. must come off. The brakes need to be hit now before things get worse. The feeding frenzy is over. Not controlling my portion sizes of high calorie dinners must come to an end. The time to act is now.

And act now I am.

I have decided to use the Optifast products to shed this 25 lb. gain. I have removed the food again to get back to the routine I know so well, and along the way seriously outline the steps I am going to take to protect my weight loss. One thing is crystal clear: Exercise must be a part of this second time around with Optifast. And it's also clear that's a major hurdle for me, for as you know I just don't like to exercise and I just don't want to exercise.

Because different issues and challenges arise when you decide to Optifast again, I have started a new blog: 'Round and Unround: Optifasting the Second Time Around. There is a link to my new blog under the "About Me" on the right side of this page. I did hesitate breaking out my overall weight loss journey into two separate places, but I'm finding there's a big difference between Optifasting the first time and Optifasting the second time. I needed to start fresh.

I have also noticed there are many folks walking this same path as I am. I'm definitely not alone. Regardless of how we got in this same boat, we're working to get the weight back off by following a regime that works for us. I've got friends and family cheering me on and that's wonderful.

I'm expecting a slow loss rate -- 2 lbs. a week -- but I'm comfortable with that. Carving off 25 lbs. is a little more palatable than needing to lose 80 lbs., as I did before. Frankly, I'm quite proud of myself for nipping this gain now before things got worse! I'm getting lots of support on the "Optifast Support" Facebook page. Great people there.

So this will be my last Optifast Gourmet post for awhile. But rest assured, I'm moving forward. This cookie don't crumble! Come follow me on my new blog and join us on Facebook. We'd love to have you! Always remember: One day at a time. Stay in the "Precious Present." And in my case, yes, the turtle can win the race.

Happy Optifasting!