Keeping It Off Ain't So Easy

Two months ago, I'd lost 50 pounds since October 2011. Best thing I've done for myself in years! The Beta HCG Diet works well for me -- I lost 25 pounds in Round 1 and another 25 pounds in Round 2. (See previous posts.) Keeping the first 25 off was easy-peasy. I ate what I wanted and kept off the pounds, including after some of my not-so-great, late-night sugar pig-outs (or at least piglet-outs). The second 25 are lurking like the monster in the closet, watching and waiting for me to fall backward, deep into the pit of my bad habits.

I'm a carb-aholic. If sugar is one of the first ingredients, I'm in! Maybe food-aholic is a better term. I've been known to keep snarfing down at one time more, uh, fill in the blank: cookies, ice cream, popcorn, cereal, french fries, fried chicken, pasta...than would be normal for any three meals. I learned early on after losing my second 25 pounds that I can't do that anymore. The penalties are swift and severe. I gained back 9 pounds.

The cardinal rule in the Beta HCG Diet (and many diets, probably) is to weigh yourself every morning at the same time and address the weight gain immediately after gaining two pounds. I didn't do that for about a week and I ate like a human vacuum cleaner. So I blew it. And then I got scared. I just cannot and will not go back to the morbidly obese, miserable person who needed a crane to lift her up off of the couch. But what to do?

Along came ViSalus. A good friend called me and sold me on the idea of going with supposedly delicious, nutritious shakes as meal substitutes. I've not found shakes to be particularly flavorful or satisfying in the past (other than Atkins shakes, which I used to have for breakfast, which I liked a lot but that was years ago), so I was skeptical. But he's a persuasive guy so I said yes. I not only said yes to trying them but also to getting into the business, which is "network marketing," aka multi-level marketing, which I've never been fond of. But I did it and waited for my shakes to arrive.

A few days later, my starter box arrived and I couldn't wait to try the shakes that supposedly taste like cake mix. They actually are good! Very good, in fact. They don't have that grainy texture - they're smooth and creamy and yummy. And I find that the shakes keep me unhungry for four or five hours most of the time, though I still have to fight my I'm-deprived mindset that most addicts have. Yes, I am an addict. A carb addict. Adding fruit (bananas, blueberries, strawberries, etc.) or other flavors (lots of recipes online) helps that mindset and gives me the variety that keeps me engaged.

So far I'm very sloppy when it comes to discipline in having the shakes every day. I had one for lunch today and one for lunch yesterday but it was a few days for the one before that. But regardless of my haphazard program, I've lost 5 of the 9 pounds I'd gained back. Yahoo!

I checked with my holistic M.D., Dr. Pieter DeWet, and he endorses the shakes (and just got into the business end of it himself, even). So I will use the ViSalus shakes to lose the last 4 pounds I've recently gained back, and then I want to go back on Beta HCG in July to lose the next 20 or 25 pounds. That takes about 6 weeks total. I'm quite excited that he said he thinks we can use the ViSalus shakes as meal replacements while taking the HCG, at least some of the time. It'll take some of the brutality out of the HCG regime.

Then I want to go back on the ViSalus shakes once a day to maintain the weight loss. Everyone does things differently and good for them. I think this will work for me. Ironically, to actually lose the weight, it's easier for me to go on the very drastic Beta HCG Diet than it is to go the shakes-and-moderation route. I just don't do "moderation" well at all. But I think I can be less piggy with the shakes, as long as I weigh myself every day and don't let myself gain back more than 2 pounds. (A friend who tried the shake today and liked it also intends to have the shakes for maintenance, which is great since she only wants to lose about 5 pounds. Ah, envy!)

All programs suggest - strongly suggest - combining exercise with eating healthful food. Ooooh, I've avoided that like I'd get sick if I went that route. But tomorrow I'm going to meet a friend at a gym who will help me figure out a regime of cardio and strength training and then it will be up to me to stick with it. Wish me luck!

Changing my lazy, piggy habits is harder than anything I've done in a long time. Years. Decades. But I don't want to end up dead or debilitated after a stroke or heart attack, so exercise and eating better are mandatory at this point. (You can just hear my enthusiasm, can't you?)

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I just have to get my focus off of myself and on to something productive or on doing something good for someone else and this hunger/addiction/resistance stuff will diminish. And I have to...just start! So now it's nearly 1:00 a.m. and I have to get up at 7:00 to get to the gym, so here I go. Stay tuned.

P.S. I am not the pushy type or the hustling type and I don't do cheerleader-level enthusiasm convincingly. But if you'd like to try the ViSalus shakes and look into the ViSalus 90-Day Challenge, let me know or click here. Hey, why not?!