My weigh-ins this week have been kind of cooky. Mid-last week I weighed-in at 162.0 for two days straight. I was hoping by today I'd even break into 160.something - but alas, 161.8 - but hey, I'm not complaining at all. That's a 2.6 loss for last week, finally a number I like. I'm hoping that I've finally broken my plateau and my body is going to start responding again. I'm pretty optimistic that I will start to see the numbers go down and down and down. No more of this jumping back up and sticking on a certain number for weeks at a time. I could be wrong, but I feel pretty good in saying that. I'm really hoping that a week from today I will be in the 150s - it might be asking for too much, but 1.8 pounds in a week is definitely not unheard of, so we shall see! By the mid-to-end of April I REALLY want to be settled in around the mid-to-low 150s. Again, I may be asking for too much, but I'm really hoping these next few weeks give me some pretty solid numbers. I definitely need to make up for lost time.

It's been about a week and a half since I made the decision to leave the MyMedifast boards, and I honestly feel like my attitude about this diet and losing weigh in general has really improved. I don't want to say that the boards were a large part of my stress, but maybe they were. I am not a huge fan of tough love with things as personal as weight loss, and I am definitely not a fan of people who give advice in a condescending manner, or who use their own experiences to carve into stone a path in which they believe everyone should follow. Weight loss is a completely individual journey, and what works for some may not work for others. Medifast, although a structured plan, can, like anything else, be customized to fit each individual, within reason of course. ANWAY ... [/end tangent] ...

I feel like I am in control of my plan now. My mom has decided to stop Medifast and start up with Weight Watchers. Since my grandpa's passing last fall my mom and aunt have been splitting the responsibilities of taking care of my grandma. Because of this, my mom has been eating out quite a bit and following Medifast has become to restricting for her. Good news for me because I get to take all of her uneaten food when I go home in a few weeks. I have faith she will be able to make Weight Watchers successful - she has a very good attitude about it, and that's key. So, with my mom leaving the plan and with my break from the boards, I feel like I've given myself a new sense of self. By that I mean I feel like I am completely dependent on myself right now, no one else. I am the one who will make this plan work. I am responsible for helping myself through the pitfalls and the struggles. I am the one who will make myself succeed. Maybe for me, a "support system" was what was holding me back and making me feel bad about myself. Feeling like I wasn't making the cut, feeling like I was always in competition, feeling like if I didn't do as well as I should have then I failed. Now, it's just me. I have no one to compare myself to except myself, and I think my stress level has gone down quite a bit because of it.

In other news...

My sickness, although still lurking over my shoulder, has for the most part cleared up and so this week I will follow through with my seven points from this post. Simplified, here are my points (I changed up the order for the sake of organization):
1. No Cheese - Thursday and Sunday are exceptions (see below)
2. No Peanut Butter
3. 2-3 Flavor Infusers a Day
4. 82 oz of Water a Day
5. 8 Hours of Sleep a Night
6. New Workout Routine (30 minutes, 4 days a week - 2 days Cardio and 2 days Lifting)*
7. Lean and Green Rotation:
- MONDAY: Pork chop with broccoli and cauliflower.
- TUESDAY: Grilled shrimp salad.
- WEDNESDAY: Julienne salad from Jack's (eating at work this day).
- THURSDAY: Cauliflower pizza with chicken and mushrooms.
- FRIDAY: Grilled shrimp salad.
- SATURDAY: Lean ground turkey with spaghetti squash.
- SUNDAY: 2-egg omelet with spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, and a little shredded cheese.

I'm really hoping with these additions I will jump start the downward motion. The 2.6 pounds last week was great, but I don't want to level out again as I have before. Gotta keep trucking!

*My machine of choice for cardio is the Arc Trainer. I have a bad knee so I don't use treadmills and I never feel very "worked-out" with ellipticals. I've been wanting to start a high intensity interval training program with the Arc Trainer and I think I found one here. I am excited to try this out tonight!