Take Shape For Life – Day One:

To say that I’m excited about finally starting this program would be a crass understatement. Ever since I decided this was the move I wanted to make, I’ve been feeling like a revved up racehorse, anxiously waiting for the starter gun to go off. Getting the order placed for the first month’s food was a trial in and of itself (and less so thanks to KJ), but once that obstacle was overcome it became clear that another, more daunting task lay ahead; figuring out which of these “meals” are going to be palatable for the duration of the program.

Right away I’ll be frank and say that the oatmeal is one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten. I suspect the pretense of sweetener is the culprit, nevertheless a wholly unsatisfying experience in terms of flavor and texture. Was I full? Pretty much, I’m shocked to admit. If nothing it else, that chemical aftertaste served as a severely good motivation to drink more water! HA! My TSFL Heath Coach assures me that my taste buds will adjust. That may be. I feel like maybe I could just do without the oatmeal and eat something else. After all this program is about getting the weight off, developing a life-long healthy relationship with food and convenience of not having to count calories and spend my whole weekend fixing meals in advance. It’s not to retrain my taste buds to enjoy food that isn’t actually delicious. I would genuinely hate that. Good food is art to me. I certainly wouldn’t let someone jab out my eyes just because gazing at Calder mobiles all day made me tubby!

That said, some of this stuff actually is reasonably tasty. Right away, I can tell that the Mint Chocolate bars are going to be a regular go-to. I’m sure there are those who would find this ironic, but I don’t crave and choose to eat sweets very often and a lot of this stuff gears toward the sweet tooth. Usually, I do want a little sweet thing after a particularly savory meal, but often a mint would do just fine and any over-consumption of candies has been due to having nothing else quick to grab out of the machine at work. So when I look at the vast majority of the food in the big box that arrived on Friday, I find these questions coming to mind, “Will this program cause me to crave sweets as a result? Or will I have so many sweet things that I pretty much never want anything sweet again?” Time, I suppose, will tell.

Its 5:39 and I’ve just eaten meal FIVE of the day. I can’t believe I still have one more to eat. I’m sitting here thinking, “Dear GOD, I don’t think I can fit any more in.” The reality is that I don’t normally eat this much which is largely why I have been packing the weight on. The assumption that all big people are constantly “hoovering” in mass quantities of snack cakes and bacon and cleaning out the buffets is, at this point, ridiculously ignorant. Some do! But we all get to this place by different routes. For me, lately, my bane has been lacking time and appetite, crossed with 12 hours of sitting at a desk. Generally I would eat two big meals a day. One at lunch time (then sit), then one after work (and sleep). Even with waiting three hours before bed, your body isn’t going to kick in the metabolism that way. So eating constantly during the day is momentarily a massive shock to my body. It’s not as though the meals are huge. But the cocoa is really filling (which I had for meal three) and it took me a while to drink it while I work. The bars aren’t huge either, but if you listen to your body, they fill you enough without making you feel like pleasant. Even the heinous oatmeal put a dent in my hunger quite easily and I had soy crisps for a snack. So four meals and a snack more than I’m used to having by this time of day, I am stuffed! I’m fine. I avoided not one but TWO birthday cakes, donuts, scones, pizza and hot wings… and there is no part of me that feels deprived.

It’s all about deciding that this is what I want… to succeed. There will still be cake when I’m done. There will still be hot wings and pizza. I may not want them or crave them, but if I do, they will be there. And by then, I will be working out so regularly and living so much healthier that one indulgence won’t kill me. So even with the horrid oatmeal, I feel well supported for the road ahead.

Coming soon... the before photo and measurements!