Pregame

I'm starting Medifast in the morning. I'm more excited than nervous. Honestly, I got the food in the mail yesterday and I can't wait to eat it, it looks delicious. Hey, maybe it won't be. But at least I won't be fat anymore! Haha

So for anyone who doesn't know what Medifast is, I'll give you a simple breakdown of the program. The plan is called the 5 & 1 plan. 5 Medifast meals a day, and 1 Lean & Green meal. Medifast meals are ordered online through Take Shape for Life and come prepackaged. Take Shape for Life is a more support oriented way of doing Medifast (um, hello, necessary!) I have known Michelle, my health coach, for 4 years now and after seeing her results on the program, decided I wanted to do it too. Which worked out perfectly because she had decided to become a health coach at TSFL. Somehow knowing there would be someone on my side and asking if I lost weight each week made me feel good about the program. Some of my personal selections for food were macaroni and cheese, soup, bars, pretzel bites, and shakes. From what I understand, you can order the food in a great big variety pack and it's somewhat cheaper, but being a picky eater, I just chose my own 20 boxes of food (4 weeks worth). With this large purchase I got a week of food free. The food came in two days with expedited shipping (10 dollars). So I now have 5 weeks of food sitting on my shelf. Well, 5 weeks of the Medifast meals. The lean & green meal for me will consist of preportioned chicken breast and green beans/green peppers/lettuce (green veggies... get it... green?) since I don't eat any meat except chicken. I found a Weight Watchers pack of chicken for 5 bucks. 

Here it is... 5 weeks of meals. Brian says this wouldn't last him a week. It probably wouldn't normally last me a week either. That's why I'm here :)

The great thing about the program is no one cuts you off after you're done losing weight. There is a transition month where you start adding other foods into your diet and during the maintenance period, you stay in contact with your coach. And hey, if you gain back 5 pounds, just go on Medifast for a couple weeks to kick it to the curb.

I'm not sure what kind of expectations I should have for my first week. Part of me thinks I can do really well if I stick to it perfectly, but the other part of me thinks I can never lose weight because I never have. I've never lost more than... 5 to 10 lbs? And never on purpose. My ultimate ideal goal would be to lose 30 lbs. In a perfect world, of course. So for my first week, I really think I'd be happy with anything more than 2 lbs. If it's less than 2 lbs, I will not be a happy camper. However, I would LIKE to see 4. I think I deserve a big fat 4 ;) I mean, I'll be eating roughly 800 calories a day... That's cutting out a LOT of calories compared to what I am eating now and maintaining my body weight with.

I guess the next thing I should address is why. And why now. Well, this is the first time I've had money since I heard about Medifast/TSFL. I'm getting married in 15 months. I graduate in 4 months. My brother is getting married in 2 months. So many important things that I don't want to look fat in pictures for. I'm sick of being how I am. No, I'm not huge. Yes, I am overweight. Don't tell me I'm not. Medifast is expensive. I won't lie. But so is being fat. And honestly, with eating out and groceries that I was buying before, Medifast really doesn't come out to being THAT much more expensive. The convenience is amazing. I can bring the meals to school or work and eat them quickly.

So my expectations for this week are that I will be unhappy, tired, grouchy, and feel awful. I'm not incorporating any sort of workouts until week 3 when I'm sure I've adjusted to the lower calories. 

Tomorrow morning will be my first weigh in. I'm also going to record my body fat, muscle mass, and inches. That way if I have a non-losing week I can still see other differences. Oh, and I guess a before picture? Ew. I'll post it all here at the end of the day with a summary of how it went. I honestly think day one is going to be easy. It's day two and three I'm concerned about. 

Any questions? =D Wish me luck!