crazy sexy diet support group

I'm surprised this has not gotten any responses. I modified my diet for awhile, but then slipped back into my old bad ways. Trying to get on the right path again (just ate spinach and cabbage for supper, with an orange for dessert). Sugar is my downfall.

Karen

fredntan - In March, I entered the Kaiser Weight Management program, which was closely medically supervised. It was an Optifast program, so between March and July, I was basically on a liquid diet at 960 calories a day.

I had a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, soup for dinner, a nutritional bar, and a shake for a snack at night, for a total of 960 calories a day.

I pretty much quit food cold turkey. My MO wanted me on Anastrozole; I said no way - I HAVE no estrogen in my body, being post-menopausal and post-hysterectomy for the past 15 years. She politely pointed out that estrogen is produced in body fat, of which I had plenty. I made the decision to lose 40 pounds, just to get her off my back.

But a funny thing happened along the way.....my fibromyalgia pain almost disappeared (Optifast is gluten-free) and I went off ALL my prescription meds. I had been taking probably a dozen or more a day.

Exercise was mandatory, and I found that I actually liked it. My favorite was the 94 degree water in my water aerobics class in the therapy pool at the local rehab hospital.

In July we transitioned back to regular food. Right now, my diet is about 50-50 Optifast, and fresh, healthy real food.

I've lost 60 pounds and more than 65 total inches. I feel better now than I have in 20 years.

LOVE my VitaMixer, use it four or five times a day. I look at all food differently now...chocolates, sweets, chips, all those empty calories kind of turn my stomach.

My MO is thrilled. Her plan is for me to eat what I want within reason. Fresh foods, no processed foods, no preservatives, chemicals, additives; plenty of water, cut back on sugars and fats, get my carbs from fresh fruit, and if I want treats, have them and enjoy them, but exercise portion control.

I'll be in the program for another year, but I've met my weight loss goal, and now my challenge is to keep it off, and not return to my former habits!

chatter99 - juicing is great, but you lose all the good fiber when you do that. If you can afford it (they're not cheap) a VitaMix is awesome for juicing fruits and veggies. It completely pulverizes whatever is put into it, so your juice retains all the nutrients and fiber. Soooo yummy!!!

Fredntan, I have not gone quite that far, and I fell off the wagon this weekend, but I do try to stay away from red meat, sweets and alcohol. However, I love red wine too much to give it up completely, so my normal "dose" is a glass 2X a week.

In addition to sweets, I have also cut out almost all white carbs. This can be a bit challenging when you start, but I was surprised by how quickly it becomes second nature.