Preparing for Weight Loss

So the elliptical machine is expected to be shipped within 8-14 business days. In the meantime, I am going to start thinking about my dietary routine.

As I mentioned before, when I did this the first time (and I think the second time as well, at least partially; I can't really remember) I was on the Slim Fast diet and I was counting calories. I gave myself a limit of 1,200 calories per day. This may seem low, but my understanding is that if you are very obese, it is okay to do it this way. My physician didn't object to it the last time. And, obviously, this has worked for me in the past.

On the other hand, I do recall that the second time I did this, I was much more concerned about my overall health. As I mentioned before, the first time I lost all that weight, I smoked. I also remember taking those "fat-burning" (water) pills they sell on the commercials. I didn't do those things the second time. I think when I was younger, it was much more about losing weight than it was about becoming healthy for me. Now that I am older, I need to be concerned with my health more than my appearance.

Having said that, I will look at some of the pros and cons of the diet:

Pros

• It has worked before.
• The shakes are really good.
• They are convenient.
• It is easier for me when I am on a regular routine, which the Slim Fast diet provides (I do better when I am clear about my limits; will-power is easily attained).
• The shake contains some good nutrients.

Cons

• It is expensive (usually about $6 - $7 for a case of 6, and at 2/day, that would only last 1/2 a week if I am going to let myself go on the weekends).
• The ingredients consist of preservatives, additives, and other things I don't understand...
• I have a higher chance of gaining back the weight I lost because I can't solidify regular, healthy lifestyle choices when I reach my goal.

That last one is big because part of the Slim Fast diet, last time I was on it, was that once you reached your goal, you could switch to 2 meals per day, and have just one shake to replace the third meal. So basically I'm supposed to use Slim Fast forever?? How's that for a money-making scheme?

If nothing else, I may have an occasional Slim Fast shake and just count my calories. I am torn on the idea of going on the diet again at this point...


During the summer of 2011, I watched that movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix. That movie deeply inspired me to try the juice fast, and I actually did it for 2 weeks. I bought a juicer and I stopped eating food for those 2 weeks, and I "juiced", or, as they say on their website, I "re-booted". I went into one of those brief health modes that I had mentioned (I'm pretty sure that at that point, I weighed about the same as I do now).

 

I still think that is a great, very motivational film to this day, and if you haven't seen it, you should! Here is the extended trailer; it explains things pretty well:

 

 

So anyway, the only problem with this is that you aren't supposed to do any high-intensity workouts while on the juice diet. I think they said you should take walks (someone even mentioned light jogging) but they do not recommend any challenging workouts. I feel that exercise is necessary for me right now, so I'm thinking about buying a new juicer (you really need a good one; we destroyed the one we had that summer because we were constantly using it, and we had to dispose of it) and I think I'm going to "juice" as part of my diet, but still eat solid food. So I'm not going to "reboot" but I would still like to get those important vitamins and minerals out of the deal.

 

 

One of the biggest difficulties I do forsee is the fact that over the past couple of years, I have developed a love for cooking; particularly baking...

 

 

^There are plenty more where these came from...

 

So, I would like to start putting together some healthy recipes. Any input would be appreciated!