Week 12 -- GOOOOOOOOAL!!!

Shera Dalin at goal weight

In my entire adult life, I’ve never been at my goal weight. What a thrill! And in only 12 weeks with some slips, planned deviations and plenty of imperfection along the way.

And the numbers please...

Weight: 135.5 (down 3 lbs; a total of 26.5 lbs)
Fat percentage: 26.1 (down 0.8 percentage points; total of 3.7 percentage points)
BMI: 23 (unchanged; down 5 points total)
Fat percentage: 26.1% (down a total of 3.7 percentage points)
Muscle Mass: 30.5 lbs (down 2 lbs; not ideal but recoverable)

You could argue that I still have half a pound to go, but on my scales at home, my weight is even lower (134.2 lbs). So as far as I’m concerned, it’s goal time baybeeee.

Even I have to confess that I wasn’t expecting to hit goal this week. To lose 3 pounds at this late stage of the game is fantabulous. And it made Drs. Laffey and Miller scratch their heads--in a good way. Based on my metabolic test, I’m burning 1120 calories a day if I just sit on my good intentions. Of course, I’ve been exercising about an hour or a bit more a day (Zumba at home, walks or runs in the neighborhood, calisthenics). But I’m no jock folks. Just a regular person.

So the docs are suspicious that I’m actually burning more calories at rest than the test shows. For the upcoming week, I’ll be adding omitting two of the shakes each day and adding in 500 to 600 calories of regular food. The extra calories will give them an idea of whether my metabolism is really higher now or actually at the rate tested.

My plan was to try to lose a bit more to reach 130 pounds. I’m not sure I’ll get there. I’m pretty durn happy with my SIZE EIGHTS (oh yeah baby!). Although I’m unexcited about my poochy belly, that’s how it goes when you’ve had a baby and lose nearly 27 pounds (actually I lost 17 pounds before starting with Thinnergy, so that’s even more flop to contend with). I’ll consult with Dr. Laffey at my next appointment/weigh in and see where  I’ll go with this next.

But for now, I’m going shopping. See you at the mall!

Week 11--In the Zone Again

How low can you go?

I reached an all-time low for my weight, which was especially delightful after gaining last week.

Weight: 138.5 (down 1.5 lbs)
Fat percentage: 26.9 (down 0.1 percentage points)
BMI: 23 (unchanged)

So officially, I’m 3.5 pounds away from my goal weight and I’m tremendously excited.  I’m also encouraged that my muscle mass hasn’t decreased, which means I’m burning fat instead of muscle.

At this point, the challenge is to just keep going, stick with the plan and perhaps even boost my exercise to compensate for the fewer calories burned by carrying less weight.

I’m still using a resistance band to do some exercises when I watch TV. But I’ve also started running a bit. I walk quite often, particularly up the hills along my route. So I may yet become a runner--at least when its not blistering hot.

I’m excited for what next week holds and getting even closer, if not reaching, my goal.

Week 10—A Setback

It was inevitable, I suppose. This week I didn’t lose weight, and in fact, gained a pound. It was the attack of the Easter ham that did me in. I cooked Easter dinner for my family and a couple of friends and between the ham, which we rarely indulge in, and all the fixin’s, I overindulged.

The numbers:

Weight: 140 lbs (up 1 lb)
Fat Percentage: 27.0 (unchanged)
BMI: 23 (unchanged)

I have to confess that I was very nervous about this week’s weigh-in. I knew that I had gained weight (only a half pound by my scales). And I wasn’t sure what sort of reaction that would garner. In other weight loss programs with a weekly weigh-in, any gain would be met with negativity or consternation. And in some cases having to pay money.

But I was relieved that Dr. Laffey was so positive and encouraging. She assures me that the salt in the ham and other foods affected my weight and that it was only a temporary setback. Life happens and weight loss isn’t always a straight line downward, she reminded me. The main thing is to keep pushing ahead and don’t give up.

So that’s exactly what I’ll do. I’m soooooo close to my goal. There’s no way I’m giving up, especially with summer just around the corner and...swimsuits. Yikes!

Time for Zumba!

Week 9--Crossing the Great Divide

I’m officially below the 140-lb mark now and that feels super-incredible-awesome-great. I haven’t seen this neighborhood in eight years, and boy it’s good to be back in town.

Here are the digits:

Weight: 139.0 (down 1.5 lbs)
Fat Percentage: 27.0 (down 0.5 percentage points)
BMI: 23 (unchanged)

In terms of inches, I’ve lost about a half inch off my waist and hips each in the last week. Ever so lovely.

Now comes the hard part. I found that adding in a 500-calorie meal in place of two shakes or bars was difficult. Just because I’ve lost 23 pounds in nine weeks doesn’t mean that my triggers and bad habits disappeared. Eating a controlled meal was hard, particularly at a restaurant where either the staff wasn’t able/willing to make substitutions or the available choices were just problematic. (Why does every salad HAVE to have cheese?) Even at home, I found it difficult to avoid nibbling as I prepared meals. That’s nothing new for me, and these are bad habits that I’ll have to confront to keep the weight from returning.

But I’ll get to do that a few weeks from now. After assessing where I am physically, I suspect that I won’t be entirely satisfied with how I look when I hit my goal in four pounds. I have this ever-so-poochy abdomen that I would really like to reduce a bit more before I go on maintenance. I discussed the possibility of setting a slightly lower goal--130 pounds--with Dr. Laffey. After looking back over my numbers, she said she was willing for me to go back on the low-calorie diet to reach that weight. I really like that she is flexible and reasonable. Her concern was that my percentage of body fat would drop too low or that I would begin to burn muscle, which would lower my metabolism. And when you have “sea slug” metabolism, dropping muscle is not helpful. She also suggested that I begin a Pilates class--not the mat class I'd taken before and found terribly boring--but one of the classes that uses the Pilates equipment that really targets strengthening the core muscles. I'll consider it, but given that I dislike exercise as it is, it's going to be a tough sell. For now, I will add in a five-minute abdomen regimen from an app called Ab Workout (how clever) that I downloaded to my iPhone. I did it once (while watching TV) and kicked my ... belly.

So I’m back with the low-calorie plan (four shakes, 1 meal replacement bar) a day until I hit my original goal and perhaps a bit beyond that.

Since spring has finally arrived (more or less), I’ve started a (very pokey) morning jog. I’d call it a run but no one else would if they saw it:-) But the point is that I’m upping my cardiovascular output and getting outside in the fine weather, which just helps me stay interested in exercise and moving. Here’s to keeping it interesting.

Week 8--Changing up the Plan

I still continue to be amazed at my rate of weight loss and how consistent it is. I’ve never had this much continuous weight loss on any other diet since my thyroid went wonky. Even when I don’t follow the plan exactly, like this week, I still lose weight. Remarkable.

Here are the stats:

Weight: 140.5 (down 2 lbs)
Fat percentage: 27.5% (down 0.9 percentage points)
BMI: 23 (down 1 point)

Since I’m so close to my goal of 135, Dr. Laffey is having me switch to the modified food plan. Instead of four smoothies, or shakes, and a bar, I’ll be eating two smoothies and a bar plus a 500 calorie meal. I’m pretty excited to eat real food again but nervous at the same time.

The beautiful part of being on the low-calorie Thinnergy plan is that I consumed only the smoothies and bars each day. That kept “my hand from slipping” and serving myself a larger portion. And because what I have been eating is so defined, any deviation would absolutely be a slip. For someone like me who can come up with lots of excuses and rationalizations for eating more than I should, this was a great solution.

Now my challenge will be to stay within the 500 calorie add-on. Being a nearly professional dieter, I’ve got the tools and knowledge to stick to the plan. It’s just a matter of being committed. Since I’m so close to my goal, there’s an added incentive for me to stick with it for “just a little bit longer.”

I use little tricks to stay on track. For instance, I remind myself when I feel tempted that I only have to do this for today, just this 24 hours. I can’t diet for tomorrow, only today. I also ask myself when I’m staring down a food that I want, “Do I want to eat this or lose a pound?”

It also helps me to look at my weight loss log that I keep in the Lose It app on my iPhone. This is stunning to me: I’ve dropped 39 pounds in the last year--22 of those with Thinnergy. Yeah!

I’ll be using the Lose It app to track what I’m eating and my exercise so that there are no excuses. Accountability is critical for me staying committed to any weight loss program and logging my food and activity helps. Plus studies show that dieters who track what they eat lose more weight.

But half of this or more is the mental aspect, and I’ve been winning that game for these past 8 weeks. I’m certainly not stopping now.

Week 7--Ready to Cross a Big Milestone

This week’s weigh-in was good--even excellent if you consider that I wasn’t able to stick entirely to the usual plan because of social events. First the numbers:

Weight: 142.5 lbs (down 1 lb)
Fat percentage: 28.4% (down 0.3 percentage points)
BMI: 24 (same)
Inches lost: 1 at the waist, 1/2 per thigh, 3/4 on hips

I attended four different social engagements this week that all included meals. I’m not one of those folks who can easily sit at a formal dinner and just eat a diet bar or drink a smoothie. So that meant eating and being very careful and thoughtful about it.

I did fairly well. Certainly not perfect. I avoided desserts and bread, kept the alcohol to a small amount and increased my exercise on those days. When I consider the extra calories I consumed, losing a pound this week was phenomenal. In the past, I would have lost no weight or gained.

Dr. Laffey advised me to be proactive by drinking some water or tea with several teaspoons of fiber added (I use Benefiber) to help fill my stomach so that I wouldn’t be ravenous by the time the tasty morsels arrived. That helped. We also gauged when to eat my bars/smoothies so that I would be less hungry and consumer fewer calories during the day.

In addition, I met with registered dietitian Jennifer McDaniel to test my resting metabolic rate. Since I’m only 6 pounds away from my goal, I am mentally preparing myself for maintenance. I wanted to know how many calories I burn a day without exercise (my resting metabolic weight) so that I can figure out exactly how many calories to eat on maintenance.

The good news is that my RMR is up 100 calories to 1120. That’s still pretty low, Jennifer says. But I have to give the credit to Drs. Laffey and Miller for working through my low thyroid and metabolism issues with medication and natural supplements that increase my RMR. Since every little bit matters, Jennifer has also advised me to add more weights to my workouts. I’ve been concentrating on aerobics through Zumba to burn calories, but building muscle will increase my metabolism and allow me to eat more calories on maintenance. So that’s next on the starting block.

I’ll spend one more week on the low-calorie Thinnergy diet and then we’ll modify by adding food for one meal a week. Scary and exciting, at the same time. But I’m so glad I’m not doing this alone, and I have great professionals guiding me.

Week 6--Goal Line in Sight

There’s nothing but good news here. This week was another great week with a super strong finish. Here are the stats:

Weight: 143.5 lbs (down 2 lbs)
Fat percentage: 28.7% (down 0.3 percentage points)
BMI: 24 (down 0.2 points)

I rejoiced when I saw my numbers because not only am I now 6 pounds from my goal weight (minus weight from clothing), but for the first time in years my body mass index is in the normal range.

Pants that were tight when I started with Thinnergy are now loose and baggy. What a wonderful problem to have!

Even Dr. Laffey is surprised at how well I’ve done. At the beginning of this journey, she predicted that I would lose 11.5 pounds in six weeks. Instead, I’ve dropped 18.5 pounds.   I give her the credit for working on my thyroid issues that were, most likely, keeping my metabolism in the basement. We have adjusted my regular thyroid medicine dosage and then added another thyroid medicine to bring me up to normal functioning.

I also have to give myself a pat on the back for sticking to my exercise plan. Each day I try to get a minimum of 30 minutes of Zumba or resistance/calisthenics in. I also make a point of taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking a bit farther away from businesses entrances and slipping in a few squats or wall pushups whenever I can. I keep an rubber exercise resistance band beside the sofa so I can whip out a few arm/leg exercises while watching "Dancing with the Stars" or "Survivor." Every little bit counts is my attitude.

Since I’m so close to my goal, I’ll be making an appointment with Diet Diva Jen, nutritionist Jennifer McDaniel, to retest my resting metabolic rate so that I can prepare for maintenance. I’ve worked hard to take the weight off; I sure don’t want to wear it again.

The coming week will present a few challenges: a former dinner, a dinner buffet for a work function and a dinner at one of my favorite restaurants--all on three consecutive days. Dr. Laffey and I talked about how to manage my food choices (have the waiter put half of my meal in a to-go box before it comes to the table, cutting the entree in half before I take the first bite, foregoing bread and dessert, etc.). It helps to have a plan and makes these planned deviations feel more manageable. I’ll write a full report after it’s all said and done.