HMR Day 2

I didn't write yesterday because Day 1 of HMR was just as bad as any Medifast Day 1.  I got the headache, hunger and exhaustion and ended up going to bed a couple hours early.  Today was easier though, I didn't get the full force of the headache and I'm not as tired, but I was pretty hungry.

I was right about how it's easier without a Lean/Green.  I love it that at lunch and dinner I get to eat a "meal."  If I think too much about it I will know that I'm getting tricked into thinking I'm eating a meal, because this food only vaguely resembles food (more on that later).  But so far it's really working for me.  I get to eat a meal that it only took me 1 minute to prepare, there's no clean-up and it's cheaper than what I'd usually eat.

Another thing that is really working for me is being able to eat fruits and vegetables.  I originally was going to do the full, medically supervised and hideously strict version of the diet which doesn't allow produce.  But I've been looking in my backyard at my orange tree full of oranges and feeling cross that I was about to embark on another diet where eating fruit is considered cheating.

I decided heck with that!  So here are the concessions I'm allowing for myself:

• I can eat a fruit or a vegetable when I'm hungry.  The program indicates that when I'm hungry I can eat more of their meals, up to an unlimited number.  But I'd rather eat a free orange off my tree than the $2-4 meal they suggest.
• I can eat a Medifast meal instead of an HMR shake.  I say this because I really do like the hot chocolate and the brownies and HMR doesn't have anything similar.  MF also has meal replacement bars and HMR doesn't, and those can be REALLY handy.  I will compare the nutritional info in a future post.

Successes:  Oh man, Day 1 was donut day at work and I avoided the break room all morning, but after lunch when I went in to get some water there was a Krispy Kreme box with one donut left and wouldn't you know it was my FAVORITE kinds - Raspberry filled.  I seriously almost caved right there and had practically talked myself into eating it and restarting the diet the next day.  Somehow I got out of the break room and back to my desk, phew!

Confessions:  Guess what - NO confessions.  For reals.  Eating an orange and some green beans was going to be my confession but then I decided to incorporate veggies/fruit sparingly when I'm hungry so I wasn't even cheating when I had them.  When I don't cheat I get to say I'm "in the box" and I get to check off a place on my weekly food diary that says "in the box."  I am so proud when I get to do that!

After being pretty good on Medifast for 2 weeks and losing around 14 lbs, I went off-plan for about a week and a half and gained back about 3 lbs, but I'm pleased it wasn't more and feeling positive I'm going to lose that and more this week (*note - had lost 3 lbs by Day 3).

As far as the the meals, here are my initial thoughts and I'll post some pics later.  The meals aren't nearly as visually appealing as they are in the advertising:

• Lasagna with Meat Sauce:  Probably my favorite of the meals.  Kind of strange texture, and lots of stuff inside, like carrots and peas.  Not used to having that inside lasagna, but it was okay.
• Mexican-Style Enchiladas:  I really wanted to like these.  But the sauce on it was just too fiery for me.  Also, the "tortilla" was more like soggy cornbread.  The filling tasted okay so I scraped off the sauce and just ate the enchiladas.
• Chicken with Barbecue Sauce:  I liked the sauce, but the chicken was crazy over-processed, like pressed chicken, and the beans/rice were very unseasoned and bland.  I ended up eating them with the BBQ sauce.
• Chicken Pasta Parmesan:  I ate this while my husband and kids at real spaghetti for dinner tonight, and mine didn't taste half as good as their smelled.  Again, the chicken is too heavily processed, but overall it was good enough for what it is.