2 week experiment, day 2

Well, day 1 on medifast was a hell of a lot more pleasant than day 1 on liquids!

I did not stick to the plan entirely but the good news is I didn't eat anything that was inherently off plan, just needed a little extra. I start my day with my own protein shake that is 100 calories and 18 grams of protein. I did 4 medifast "meals" during the day and split my 1 "lean and green" into lunch and dinner since my banded stomach can't do 7oz of meat and 3 cups of vegetables at once! In the late afternoon between lunch and dinner I was really hungry so I had a tablespoon of peanut butter, which is allowed. Then when I got home really late last night I made my last medifast meal (peanut butter flavored "soft serve" which was surprisingly good!) I was trying to go to sleep but my stomach was growling so I had a tablespoon of almond butter. Total calories: 1328. Burned 332 in exercise from the barn. So I netted 996.

Day 1 breakdown of nutrients is as follows:

Calories: 1328 (996 net)
Carbs: 94
Fat: 61
Protein: 124
Water: >70 oz

I think the huge amount of protein definitely helped me not feel hungry. I am a daily weigher and did not have any change between yesterday and this morning but I only "count" my weekly weigh-ins so I am definitely going to give the plan a chance. This is so much better quality (and less volume) than I have been eating that I know it's got to make a difference.

Today is going well so far and I have my first session with the personal trainer at the gym tonight. My goal is to be at 173 on my doctor's scale by 8/5 (if I even end up going in to get a fill - I may not need it.) That would be 100 lbs according to his scale and that would make me feel really great. I know I could lose more quickly if I didn't add in an extra protein shake but I think most people doing this plan are not exercising this intensely and I know if I don't get it I will be hungry. I'm willing to see how it goes for 2 weeks and re-evaluate. But so far so good. I think if I can keep up this level of calories, protein, carbs, and fats and amp up my exercise a bit more I'll really be making progress.

I'm just really happy to report the lack of hunger. I have been trying really hard lately to recognize the difference between hunger and thirst. I really like that everything on MF is portioned out and with my band the portions actually seem like plenty. I can only imagine what it must feel like to un-banded people not used to eating this tiny amount of food. Well, I did do MF pre-band when I was 20 I think. I lost 17 lbs in a month but I couldn't keep it up. The food has definitely improved in quality since then. Even more so since my mom did it when I was a kid and the food was literally all just shakes and broth.

I'm actually so happy with the plan that I'm considering buying more food but I think I should wait another week just to make sure I'm going to want to stick with it longer term. Slowly learning which foods are better than others but so far I kind of like everything.