Personal Trainer Food, part two

As promised, here is the follow-up on the Personal Trainer Food program. I followed the diet for 25 days and I am very pleased with the results!

Remember my "before" shot in this dress?

I can barely pinch the fabric on the left side.

Here is the after:

It's a three inch difference! Hooraaaaaaaaaaay! I weighed myself at Larissa's house and asked her to take this photo. She was so excited about the difference that she suggested I try on one of her dresses:

This dress is a size four.
I'm shocked that Larissa was able to zip me into it without any
problems, especially since our body types are so different!

I did not weigh myself before I started the diet; I did weigh myself on the last day. I am guessing I lost about 10 pounds. I was a little disappointed by the number on the scale, but that's the reason I didn't replace the batteries in my own scale -- I wanted to be encouraged and not discouraged by my hard work.

The happy result is that my clothes fit MUCH better now. I was even able to wear my Sleeping Beauty costume to Salt Lake Comic Con (my mom made that dress for me when I was 20 and had a 20 year-old's metabolism). No, I don't fit into my skinniest jeans, and no, I don't mind all that much.

The food, for the most part, was tasty and satisfying. I definitely liked some of the frozen entrees more than others, but I always liked the vegetables. I ate some combination of eggs, bacon, and cheese for breakfast, and cheese, nuts, and apples for snacks. I never felt like I was starving. The program allowed for variety and decent portion sizes as long as it was the right kinds of food. The frozen meals saved me -- I never could have made it as long as I did if I'd been required to prepare my own meals during the first few weeks of rehearsals for Jekyll and Hyde.

The main drawback was my timing. I tried to fit the program in between my trip to Cedar City and Salt Lake Comic Con/my birthday, so I shorted my diet three days: 25 instead of the full 28 days. I also got sick (due to allergies and the weather change) during the third week, so I wasn't able to exercise as much as I would have liked, and I slept through a couple of lunches. I'm trying not to think "what if?" I had been able to complete the entire program without interruption.

I cannot pretend that my cravings for sugar and carb-loaded food went away entirely. After the first two weeks, I dreamed almost nightly that I accidentally cheated and ate something chocolatey: cookies, pudding, frosting, brownies, you name it. I will say that it was tough ending the diet. I felt major anxiety at that first day of Comic Con when I had eaten all my snacks, needed a meal, and bought a pulled pork sandwich (I cannot bear to buy a salad when out to eat). The sandwich and Sun chips were delicious -- everything I wanted them to be. By the end of the second day I had eaten a Snickers, a Wachamacallit, a cheeseburger, fries, peaches, and ice cream. At that point, I missed vegetables and wanted to go back to being strict again!

My mom says that Weight Watchers has a saying: "The day you end your diet is the day you begin gaining the weight back." Isn't that awful? It's probably true, but I don't want to be afraid of food. If I eat healthy most of the time, I don't want to beat myself up if I eat a Snickers, too. I tend to go a little overboard and am either all in or all out. This is why I don't feel too sorry for myself when I am with people who are eating foods that I'm abstaining from (I did smell a lot of desserts, to the amusement and exasperation of my friends) -- I'm all in the diet and I'm okay with my choice. In the future, I'm determined to strike a healthy balance so I can enjoy life.

My goal now is to maintain my weight loss and strengthen and tone my body. I started getting up early to run again yesterday, and I did yoga this morning. I still have four days worth (well, three now) of frozen meals to eat which should get me through this work/rehearsal week. Happily, some of my family members gave me a crock pot for my birthday, so I should be able to cook up some healthy and delicious meals this weekend to get me through next week, too. It IS possible to eat healthy when I'm busy, and I am determined to do it :D CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!

In conclusion, I hope I can keep this up. I honestly enjoyed the food choices and am considering purchasing the program for another 28 days in the near future. I don't particularly need to lose more weight, but I like the food and I really like feeling in control of my cravings!

And I LOVE looking better in my clothes!!