MILEPOST 122 - AGAIN!

MILEPOST 122 - AGAIN!  OR, STILL?

Well, it happened.  Only .4 of a pound lost this week.  I don't think I did anything different, but I will have to follow the program very diligently if I expect to lose the additional 2.4 pounds to make my 30 pound goal by next Thursday weigh-in.

I should know better.  I wrote my blog last week, fully expecting that this week would show another weight loss of at least 2 pounds, if not more. 

I have been involved enough in sports to realize that you have to win the game you are playing before you mentally start the next game.  Never look beyond the game at hand.

I remember when Jack was playing hockey.  His team was tied for first place.  They had won all the games in their bracket - only had to beat the last place team before they got to play the winner of the opposite bracket for the first place trophy.   You guessed it!  They knew they could beat the last place team!  They ended up losing that game 13 - 1.

I think maybe I have done the same thing.  I have to win the battle I am currently fighting before I move on to the next phase.

“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”  - Tom Landry

WHAT'S NEXT?

I am rapidly reaching the point that I will have to move on to the next part of the Ideal Protein weight loss program. 

When I started, I realized that I had to lose 180 pounds, and that was my focus.  I had not really looked beyond losing the weight.  Looking ahead, it seemed like it would take forever to reach the point that I could integrate other foods into my diet.  The program has become my safety net.  I know what I can - and cannot - eat for each meal, and it has become pretty easy to follow the program, although it is very strict and regimented.  The realization that I didn't know what comes next surfaced sometime during the past week or so and I knew that I felt a little nervous about what the future would bring.

So, during my last consultation, I got some information on 'What's next?".

The program consists of four phases (I only knew about two of them previously)  Phase one is the program that I have been following very strictly since August 4, 2010.  I take numerous vitamins and supplements, and have three protein packets daily.  In addition to the supplement packs, I have 2 cups of vegetables (limited selection) at noon, and a meal fit for a queen at night.  Two more cups of vegetables, and a protein that I can select from numerous sources - seven ounces of fish, or five ounces of beef or poultry.  No sauces or butter, but I have come to really enjoy the flavors of the foods themselves.

When I reach the weight that is 10% above my desired weight, I move to Phase two.  I eliminate the lunch protein packet and substitute another meat/fish selection to my lunch menu, still combined with the two cups of vegetables.  This will slow the weight loss process, but will give me the ability to make the lunch veggies more tasty and will be much easier to find lunch while on the road.  I have approximately 30 more pounds to lose before I reach this phase - I calculate about nine more weeks.

Phase three:  Once my goal weight is reached, I move to phase three.  This is where I start reintroducing carbs into my diet.  Limited fruits, breads, etc.  I don't know how long I will be on Phase three before I go into maintenance, which is Phase four. 

I feel as though I have been on program long enough that I have changed my habits.  The next three phases will determine how/if I can manage my food intake to maintain the new ME.

There are so many benefits that I cannot begin to list them all.  Some of them aren't even concrete things that can be identified.  I just ordered a number of pairs of pants because the ones I have purchased on the way down are baggy and just hang loosely on my frame.  I ended up returning most of them because the new ones were also too big.  This is the first time in over 20 years that I have purchased clothing that doesn't have an "X" behind the size.  

My coach asked me to speak at an Ideal Protein orientation meeting next Tuesday night.  That will be fun!