Day One

Thom has begun! He did well today. He enjoyed most of things he ate. His least favorite was the chocolate chip cookie. But the rest of the items he chose for today he enjoyed eating. This is HUGE! We were nervous that the food would be awful. He could not continue the plan if he did not enjoy the food. I saw a negative review of TSFL online that said the food was mostly sweet, so how was that going to teach anyone to eat healthy? But you know what? I think it is GENIUS!  We all like sweetness; it is easily appealing. So when people who have a love for unhealthy food decide to make a change, their taste buds don't all of a sudden love the taste of spinach and tomatoes. Having the meals be pleasant makes the program so much more doable day in and day out.  He didn't feel too hungry between meals today. There was some hunger but he said it was not extreme. So today was a beautiful beginning overall.

I am very interested in learning so much more about this program. I have begun reading the Dr A's Healthy Habits book that came with Thom's food. I've already learned so much in just a few pages. I have not ever struggled much with my weight.  People deal with stresses and life in different ways. When I am busy or anxious or stressed, I do not eat. So despite my appearance of "looking" healthy I am not. I know I do not fuel my body with the right things each day which is evident when one of my 2016 New Years Resolutions was to eat one piece of fruit and one vegetable each day. (This was before we decided upon the TSFL journey by the way). I am so excited to learn how to properly fuel my body to get to the optimal health that I desire!

Before Pictures

 Starting Weight 334 lbs

 Normal

 Pushing Belly Out

Flexing Stomach

Flexing Other Muscles

Sucking In

Measurements:

Waist 59.6

Neck 20 3/4

Bicep flex 18

Bicep relaxed 17

Thigh 30

Chest 54

Why Take Shape For Life

My husband and I have begun an exciting journey together. A mutual friend presented Take Shape For Life (TSFL) and we were very hesitant at first, but after a few months we decided to try it out. Jamie signed up to be Thom's health coach for the number one reason of saving a few dollars a month on his food. Although the more we both learn about the program the more excited we both are at the idea of how being a health coach for others could be amazing and so rewarding!  We both want to see first hand how the program goes for Thom before we attempt to attract other clients. And Jamie wants to get walking the walk and not just talking the talk as well.  A hypocritical health coach would be a disservice to all.  What attracted us the most to TSFL was the simplicity and lack of effort associated. The goal is to eat 6 small meals a day, five of which are provided for you in Medifast meal replacements. The one meal not provided is to be a lean and green meal which is explained in detail as to what it should and should not contain. PERFECT!  Thom has tried weight loss plans before where there were similar ideals of many small meals a day and there were recipes to choose from. I spent at least an hour in the mornings preparing all of his meals for the day. Um....I have 5 young children. I do not have the time to do that right now and Thom does not particularly want to wake up an extra hour before work to do such. He has tried fad diets of crackers, tuna, cottage cheese as well as others. You can only eat these items for so long. He now cannot stand to eat cottage cheese. He has tried using the information we already know on what is and what is not healthy, counting calories, trying to choose good options, working out. But all of this did not stick. We are very busy people. We need simplicity or it's not going to happen. And TSFL offered that to us! We are excited and very hopeful that this journey will be a success!

Birthday celebrations. Tomorrow TSFL begins.

Today we celebrate Thom's 37th birthday.  Tomorrow is the big day, the day he officially begins the TSFL program. It's exciting that tomorrow begins the journey, but with the excitement and hope for what this could mean for him and for us, there is also a feeling of almost mourning. Food is Thom's go-to for pretty much all emotions, whether he's happy, sad, stressed, bored, celebrating, depressed, or overwhelmed.  We know that no longer being able to use the food he loves in these areas will be hard and so to celebrate his life and mourn the loss of the foods he loves, we have eaten at all of his favorite places today.

As his wife and health coach I want to be the most supportive as possible. He plans to eat his lean and green meal at work, where all of the options are provided in the cafeteria, so that these foods are not something that I need to think about. I would LOVE to say that I would instead cook and prepare a lean and green meal for him at dinner that we all would eat as a family BUT we have 5 young children ranging from ages 9 to 1. And I have unfortunately enabled, somehow, them to become very picky eaters. I cannot at this time switch completely to the TSFL way of eating. Thom's journey will not be short. With more than 100 lbs to lose to get to his ideal weight, this journey will take most if not all of this year. So the plan for now is that I will have dinner with the children and clean up completely before Thom arrives home for work each day so that he is not surrounded by temptation. I am anxious to learn all of Dr. A's Healthy Habits and incorporate them into my life as well as the children's lives over the course of this next year. My goal is that by the time Thom enters the maintenance phase, we will all be on board completely as a family. He will not eat separate things than us and vice versa any longer. We want to become an optimally healthy FAMILY as well as individuals.