30-in-30 Challenge: Week 1 wrap-up thoughts

A few thoughts now that I have successfully wrapped up Week 1 of the 30 in 30:

1. I went through a lot of my 30 items, but there are still 3 layering tops, 2 blouses, 2 sweaters/jackets, and a pair of pants left unworn. I am starting to think I may have gone too heavy on the tops, but it also gives me a little breathing room if I am unable to do laundry over the weekend. :)

2. I am glad I did some swapping out of a couple of unworn items; I will be more ready for my Tucson trip which was unplanned when I started the challenge. I swapped:
-silver loafers for new Pikilinos
-purple cardigan for cheetah flats
-black layering top for brown
-white short-sleeved layering top for LOFT red sweater (decided yesterday, but the shirt is still unworn in the challenge)

3. The simple look of 1-2 accessories was fun this week, but I am ready to mix it up more. It's time for scarves to come out and play!

4. I have a lot of professional-attire meetings this week, which does worry me a bit. I did not include an actual suit, so my tweed jacket is going to get a workout. Glad I held off wearing it so far.

5. A few readers have made comments that they can start to see me getting smaller, and while I appreciate the sentiment, it doesn't feel like that is true close up yet. That said, one of the parts of this challenge that I am looking forward to is when that *does* start to happen. Wearing the same clothes for a month is the most definitive way to see when those clothes get looser and/or fit better. I like that I will have photographic evidence of that.


Which then leads me to some Week 1 wrap-up thoughts of my Medifast week:

1. Hitting ketosis on Day 3 was the best gift ever. I have never been so happy to have my mouth taste like something died in it. ;-D

2. I've re-evaluated which of the MF packaged foods are going to work best in my lifestyle: doing any more than 3 bars a day is just, well, it makes me too gassy. (LOL!) But I need grab-and-go items so my next order will have more of those yummy puffs and I might try the brownie and other new items. The hot drinks are good (although the hot cocoa is just too lumpy despite all my tricks) and the soups sometimes take more effort than I have time for. But they feel like a real lunch, so I make them work for most days; I just need a backup MF lunch for when they won't.

3. We've got three default Lean & Green dinners that we cycle through during the week: spaghetti squash and turkey meatballs, chicken and blue cheese salad, and a skillet of shredded cabbage, portabello mushrooms and ground turkey with Polish seasonings. With the insane hours I am working right now, that's just fine by me. If I get a free weekend sometime soon, I will dig around for any other ready-to-eat-in-minutes dishes we would like.

4. Conversely, I am trying hard to shake up my routines, at least with the MF foods. The second time I did this (when I was unsuccessful), I kept a strict pattern of hot drink in the morning, soup at lunch and bars in between. This time I am mixing that up and having them at different times -- so my chai latte (which is caffeine-free) is an afternoon meal sometimes, or I skip soup altogether and have puffs, 2 hot drinks, and 2 bars. Anything so I don't get bored and let temptation creep in.

5. I'm already down 6 pounds this week, but I don't want to acknowledge or celebrate that. These last 20 pounds...I've been pretending for months that I never gained them at all, so it seems hypocritical to crow about getting rid of them now. I know, it's a strange mental game but it is where my head is at. I want to get rid of this top layer of bloat/fat to get myself under 200 again. Working my way down from 200 to 180, *that's* what will feel like an accomplishment. That's where visually it makes the biggest difference; I can see it when I look at my photo archives. That's when my dresses will come back out to play. :) This part right now, this is...just me getting disciplined again and stepping away from the "women's" departments before it's too late.

So I'm concentrating on the little things -- keeping myself interested on my 5 MF meals, fitting them into my demanding schedule during work hours, making sure I am still looking forward to my Lean & Green and not getting bored and daydreaming about pizza instead. The poundage itself...if I can do all of that, the pounds will take care of themselves.


And them's my thoughts on Week 1. :)