I lost 60 Pounds on OPTAVIA!

 I didn't think it was possible. 

Like, not even an option, so far out of reality that it didn't actually cross my mind as something that could happen. 

I didn't dream big enough. I didn't trust myself. 

I set short-term goals and even those I wasn't sure I could meet. 

Here I am, just 4.5 months after I started this program, and I have lost inflammation, I have lost weight, I have lost the brain fog, I have lost my entire wardrobe. 

I have gained so much - my health! my energy! my sleep! all the foods I couldn't eat before! my mental clarity! 

You guys, I've lost SIXTY FREAKING POUNDS and I want to shout from the friggin rooftops HOW GOOD I FEEL. 

Please, I want you to consider this program. It has changed my life. I am here to share it with you, and walk with you every step of the way. Change is scary! Find the dreamer inside you, and trust in yourself. You can do this. You can find your health. You've got this!

Recommended Apps

What apps do you use to help track your progress, and keep you on track? I have three apps that I like and use daily:

Lose It! - DOWNLOAD LINK (OPEN ON MOBILE DEVICE)

I like this app over other food tracking apps - it is easy to use, tracks all my goals (weight, waist, hip, chest, thigh, bicep, etc), tracks my macros (fat, protein, carbs, calories), and I am able to completely customize my daily goals and long term goals. It also identifies patterns and projects when I'll reach certain goals. I pay for the premium account (about $30/year - works out to about $2.50/month) and it is absolutely worth the fee. It also connects to my scale, my Apple Watch, my phone, Fitbit, Garmin, and tons of other fitness apps - so everything syncs on its own!

There is a community, so if you're using this app, please add me as a friend! My username is automatik2

Lose It! - DOWNLOAD LINK (OPEN ON MOBILE DEVICE)

Happy Scale - Download Link

I LOVE THIS APP! Yes, all caps LOVE! I weigh myself daily, and this app smooths out the daily weights and gives you trend lines to see when you'll hit certain goals or milestones. You can see true progress and not focus on the daily fluctuations, and see predictions on when you'll reach whatever milestones you input. You can set a big overall goal, and break it down into smaller goals, and celebrate each one of them along the way! It syncs with my other apps so everything is updated automatically. I paid for the lifetime premium access and it is absolutely worth the fee, but there are monthly and yearly options also. 

Happy Scale - Download Link

EatWise - Apple Download Link | Google Download Link

This app is great for reminding me to eat! You can set how many meals you want to eat each day (mine is set to 6), how much time you want in between each meal (mine is set to 2.5 hours), and what kind of reminders you want and when in between meals or approaching the next meal. This is AWESOME for those reminders because using alarms on my phone doesn't always sync with when I ate my first meal, and then I'd be trying to keep track in my head throughout the day, but with this app it starts from the moment I click that I'm eating my first Fueling of the day. This app is FREE! 

EatWise - Meal Reminder app

Progress update - smaller jeans!

I started following the 5&1 program on October 12. That’s less than 4 months ago if your sense of time is skewed like mine right now. 

My goals were more about how I felt rather than my weight. My dream goal was to fit into size 10 jeans again - I’m 5’10” so that is (I thought) a comfortable size for me. 

Today I pulled out some size 8 jeans. They fit perfectly. It’s extra funny because just yesterday I shared this first picture - size 16 to size 10 jeans (same brand, style, rise, etc) and I knew the 10s were getting big but didn’t think the 8s would fit yet. 

This program works!

I lost 50 pounds on OPTAVIA!

This last week has been a little rough - hormones, stress, doctors - all of it playing a part in my overall health. I absolutely believe weight is just a number on a scale, and not an indicator of anything specific to health. I also weigh myself daily because for me, it is a representation of my body, and I like being able to acknowledge "okay, maybe I had too much xxx yesterday" or "wow I can tell that I wasn't as relaxed as normal yesterday" and see how those things affect my body.  

I'm sharing these three graphs because for me, it is so telling how that number on the scale reflects my overall health. 

The far left graph is my weight since I bought a scale in 2017. You can see the ups and downs, over and over, as I cycled through trying to find my health. 

The middle graph is since I started this program in mid-October - straight down since then! This works!

The far right graph is just this month - the little ups and downs that reflect all the external factors that were affecting my health. 

I am SO GRATEFUL I am learning habits of health to help mitigate these factors! I am able to acknowledging that what I eat isn't the whole picture, and what is going on in my life also plays a role in my overall health. I am so glad I'm learning how to focus my day, make choices that are in my own best interest, and I am absolutely LOVING coaching others on their own health journeys -  the positivity I both give and get from this community is making such a huge difference in all aspects of my life. 

All that to say...look at the bottom image. I am in tears typing this because I never, ever, ever in a million years would have thought this was possible. Ever. I didn't know. I didn't believe in myself. I figured I was too tall, too "big boned", too whatever, to ever be healthy. I was psyching myself out before I even got started - self-sabotage is real, you guys. I'm so glad I found this program, it has quite literally given me back my life. I feel more like ME than I have in a long time, and I love it. I feel like it radiates out from me, and I want to share it with everyone I know. I'm ready to help you get started on your own journey to health. Let's go!

I lost 50 pounds on OPTAVIA in 3.5 months!

Week 14 on Optavia - Weigh In Update!

I am SO CLOSE to reaching the 50 pounds GONE mark - and I can hardly believe it. 

14 weeks. 
48 pounds. 

I simultaneously don't feel like I'm even living in my own body, and also feel more like myself than I have in years. I could cry thinking about how much LIFE this program has given me. It's so much more than the physical changes - it's the energy, the sleep, the better and more positive attitude and outlook, and just everything in general. I feel so wonderfully amazing that I just want to shout it and shake everyone who needs this program, and tell them over and over again that IT WORKS and I'm here and ready and willing to help them find their health again. 

Week 13 on Optavia - 3 months!

Three months.
Thirteen weeks.
Just shy of 46 pounds.

I honestly didn’t ever think this was possible.
I feel amazing.
I have energy.
I sleep well at night, every night.
I am eating foods I had been avoiding for years because they bothered me - and those foods aren’t bothering me anymore.
I am not hungry (or hangry!)
I feel more like myself than I have in a long time.

I am 100% worth it.

When Eat Healthy + Exercise ≠ Healthy Body/Weight

I feel like for years I’ve been doing ALL THE THINGS to get healthy, and yet I kept running into a wall. I’ve gained and lost the same 10-20 pounds countless times in the last few years. 

I was following the formula. I knew what to do. Eat healthy + exercise = healthy body/weight. It should have worked. 

But it didn’t. 

I spent a lot of time listening to my body to determine what foods hurt and what didn’t. I forgot to find the foods that helped.

When eating healthy + exercise ≠ healthy body/weight, even when I was doing everything “right”, I told myself I must not be trying hard enough, and to keep trying. I worked out at ridiculous-dark-o’clock every morning. I cut some foods out of my diet, and added others. I ate less (then more). I tried intermittent fasting. I bought all the vitamins and supplements to try to feel better and feel healthy. I was sleeping like crap, exhausted, and barely surviving on caffeine. 

It wasn’t working. NOTHING was working. I kept hitting that wall. I needed a new formula. I found it in October. I am going into the new year more than 40 pounds lighter and feeling a million times better than just 2.5 months ago. I FEEL AMAZING and I WANT THIS for all my friends who have not only struggled with their health, but are also doing the mental gymnastics to simply keep your head above water. I would love to help you find your health!

Optavia Week 11 Weigh-In 12/29/20

I forgot to do my measurements yesterday, so I'm a day off on my post today - so it's really Week 11 + 1 Day

This is going to be short but AWESOME this week. I made it through the Christmas holiday on plan, with only mild cookie temptation. I hit the 40 pound weight loss mark. I'm excited to share this program with people in 2021. 

It was a good week!

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks. 

A Tale of Two Dresses

I bought the dress on the right to wear for an event a few years ago. I loved it - the material, the fit, the way the bottom hem looks. When I got home though, it was a little too snug to wear comfortably. I called all over town looking for another store with the same dress in a bigger size - found it - and went and bought it. That's the dress on the left. I don't have many occasions to get dressed up (especially this year), but I last wore the larger size dress to a Roaring 20s party last December, and absolutely loved being dressed up and out with my friends and felt good in what I was wearing (despite hiding behind a shawl). 

I tried on dresses last night so my daughter and I could take silly pictures in front of the tree (you've seen the pics from the 50s and 60s floating around of women decked out posing with their trees, right?) and the larger size dress was falling off me, so I tried on the smaller size, and that's what I'm wearing in the picture. It actually has too much room in it now, but I still love the material and the way the dress flares, and that's the dress my daughter chose for me to wear last night for our silly pictures because she likes the hem too. 

So, I'm officially retiring the dress on the left, and probably need to retire the dress on the right too, and buy myself some new fancy clothes for the off-chance of getting dressed up and going out someday ever again. If you're like me and have a closet full of clothes you hold on to, on the off chance of maybe possibly fitting into them again someday, let me help you get your someday sooner rather than later. It took me 2 years to decide to commit to this program, and choose myself and my health; don't wait as long as I did. Give yourself the gift of health this holiday season. I'd love to celebrate you fitting into your "someday" clothes in a few weeks!

Optavia Week 10 Weigh-In - 12/21/20

I don't know if I've mentioned it recently, but I LOVE THIS PROGRAM. I love that I don't feel hungry. I love that I'm learning new habits about food. I love that I FEEL SO GOOD. I love that I'm sleeping well. I love that I'm fitting into clothes I haven't worn in years. In fact, those clothes I was excited about fitting into last week, are almost too big already. WHAT?!

If you had told me back in October when I was starting this program, that I'd be on track to lose 40 pounds by the end of December, I would have laughed you right out of the room. If you had told me I'd lose 38.3 pounds in ten weeks, I would have laughed even harder. It seems surreal. It feels like I should be working hard to lose weight and get healthy, and it should be consuming my thoughts, but it's not. It's just...normal. This program is just part of my life, and even though I know it is temporary until I reach transition and maintenance, it isn't stressful or all-consuming. 

I had a little bit of a weird week. I was hungry for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday last week - which is odd, because I haven't been hungry since my first week on Optavia. I think it had something to do with my hormones. I talked to my coach, added in a little bit of extra protein and healthy fat, and after three days I was back to feeling like I usually do. I suspect something somehow kicked me out of Fat-Burn (even though I still lost weight this week), which is odd because I weigh all my food and follow the program exactly, but I guess strange things can happen when hormones go wacky. 

With the holidays coming, it has been a huge temptation to eat the sweets and cookies we are constantly baking in my house, but I keep asking myself - what do I want more - a cookie that I know what it tastes like (and honestly it probably doesn't even taste that great now that my taste buds have adjusted to the low-glycemic foods on Optavia), or to keep on feeling good? When I ask myself that question, the answer is easy - I want to keep on feeling good. I know what those cookies taste like. I don't need them right now. I can have them next time if I want to, but right now I am choosing MYSELF over the cookies. 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks. 

A chart of my health and weight

I started tracking my weight using an app about 4 years ago. I didn't even own a scale before that, because I didn't care about weight, I cared about how I felt, and how my clothes fit. This is still true for me today. Being healthy is my goal. The weight is a side-effect of the health. I care more about my overall health and how I feel, than a number on a scale. Today, I looked at my overall graph of my weight (which, to me, indicates my overall health), and I realized I am at the lowest point I've been since I started tracking in early 2017. That was about the time I started really addressing my health and being conscious of what foods I was eating and how they affected me. I've said elsewhere on this blog how I was gaining and losing the same weight, sometimes in very short amounts of time, and I felt bloated, inflamed, and like my body was irritated with me. The ups and downs in this graph definitely reflect the ups and downs in my overall health. 

LOOK AT THIS GRAPH THOUGH. 

What even is this almost straight down line since October 12, 2020? Holy cow! I almost can't believe that's the difference this program has made on my health. That green arrow is where I am today, and it's lower than any other dip on that graph. 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

Optavia Week 9 Weigh In - 12/14/20

I had a really good week. I feel good, I'm sleeping so well, and I went through all of my clothes and pulled out dozens of items to donate or give away. I'm even wearing jeans that I haven't worn in the 5.5 years since I moved into this house - so my "I'll maybe wear these someday" jeans are finally being worn because "someday" is TODAY! It's funny to think that they probably won't last very long though, maybe just a few weeks. I don't have any smaller sizes, so I need to start buying a few things at a time, just to get me through until I find where my body naturally stops and feels healthy. 

Today I noticed I was hungry. Not bored hungry, but tummy growling hungry. It was strange, because I haven't been hungry in a long time. I made sure to drink my water, and I had an extra Ultima electrolytes and that helped. 

Also, this is a total NSV (non scale victory) but I am fastening my watch band on the third setting instead of the fifth - that's a big difference! 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks. 

I lost 35 pounds on Optavia 5&1!

Let me be completely honest. When I started this program, I didn't know what exactly I was getting into, I just knew that I needed to do something. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I was never feeling rested. I had all the tools to eat healthy, but I didn't know how to use them. I was skipping meals because I was too busy to stop and eat, and then overeating when I did eat. I was snacking on stuff I didn't actually want to eat because it was quick. I had days I felt OK but I never really felt GREAT. I really wanted to lose 20 pounds so I'd fit in my clothes better and because I knew I'd feel better with that extra weight gone. 20 pounds was my goal. I told my coach that number, and she said, well what's your BIG GOAL? And I was like, I dunno, maybe 50 or 60 (all while thinking to myself, yeah right!). I never actually thought I'd lose that much. I thought a healthy weight and healthy BMI was something that was not possible for me to achieve. I'm still not quite there, but now I not only feel like I CAN get there,  I know I WILL get there. 

Today I crossed the 35 pound weight loss mark (and hit 35.5 pounds lost - in just over 8 weeks!). I have a confession - I set my big goal in my Happy Scale app at 70 pounds - that seemed like such a huge goal at the time, but the app breaks it down into smaller goals. I split my big goal (70 pounds!) into 20 smaller goals. Today I crossed the halfway point in my journey. I've met 10 of my 20 smaller goals. I want to shout it out - I have lost over 35 pounds! I have lost over half of my BIG goal, the goal I didn't think I would ever even come close to achieving. I am just over 50% of the way there. 

I am so glad I CHOSE ME. I'm giving myself the gift of health, and that's pretty darn awesome. And you know what? I feel GREAT. Not just good, not just okay, but GREAT. 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

60 Days on Optavia 5&1 - 12/11/20

Today is Day 61, and marks the end of my second month on Optavia. I took photos this morning to document my progress. I never intended to share the original photos with anyone, but the difference is just so drastic I can't keep it to myself. I took the original photos on Day 1 - October 12, 2020. I've completed 60 full days of Optavia. 

Some of the differences I notice every single day:

• I am sleeping amazingly well at night. It is sound, deep sleep - unlike what I've ever experienced before as an adult, especially with kids (even though my kids are 10 and 15). I am well-rested when I wake up and even though I can remember what it is like to wake up tired, it isn't happening for me anymore, unless something is really wacky with my schedule and I'm thrown off my routine. 
• My tastes have changed, because I don't have cravings for sweets, or really anything. I used to want a piece of dairy-free chocolate at night before bed, or some gummies, or something else sweet. I do usually eat a sweet Fueling at bedtime - my favorite is the pudding, but I like the shakes, the brownies, and the cookies too! 
• I am not hungry. I eat every 2.5-3 hours every day, throughout the day, and I am completely satisfied. I know if I'm getting close to the time to eat, but it's more of a reminder from my body that it's time to eat, rather than being hungry (or hangry!)
• I don't have the afternoon slump where I want to take a 20 minute nap mid-afternoon. THIS IS HUGE FOR ME. It means I'm not supplementing with mid-afternoon caffeine to keep myself going. 
• I wake up refreshed and ready to go, because I'm sleeping so well. I wake up ready for the day. The impact of this on my daily life can not be understated. It is so amazing to wake up and not want to stay in bed all day. 
• I wasn't drinking a lot of coffee before, but I was getting caffeine through hot tea (that I was sweetening with dairy-free flavored coffee creamer). I don't even miss it. Sometimes I'll have a few ounces of cold brew coffee blended with a chocolate shake or caramel macchiato shake in the morning for my first fueling, but that's an exception, and not a daily occurrence. 
• My stomach isn't bothering me. I have spent years dealing with gut issues and to have almost none for the past two months is something that is very obvious to me. This is a low glycemic program, and I think that is the part I was missing for all the past years. 

I am so happy I started this program. I am so proud of myself for it, even though it is ridiculously easy to stay on program. I am spending less time cooking, less time shopping, and less money overall on food, drinks, and groceries - which is crazy to me. The cost was so intimidating to me, but when I think back, I can't come up with a good reason to NOT invest in myself. I AM WORTH IT. 

If you are looking to feel better, sleep better, and GET THE WEIGHT OFF, I would love to coach you on the path I'm following, and help you create your own path to a healthier you! Please reach out to me, this program is life changing, and I am so excited for what the future holds. I feel confident and excited to keep going on this path to a healthier me. 

As of today, after 60 days on program, I am so proud to say I have lost 34.5 pounds! 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

Optavia Week 8 - Weigh-In 12/7/20

It has been a crazy week. Between sick kids, the death of my grandfather (in another state), and chaos to my work schedule, things have been anything but normal this past week. 

That said, Optavia fits perfectly into my life, no matter what is going on. I have had zero issue eating my Fuelings every 2.5 hours or so (give or take a few minutes), eating one delicious healthy Lean and Green meal each day, and getting enough sleep at night (for the most part). 

I am so glad I found this program. I am so glad I have quick and easy Fuelings to eat throughout the day, and I am so glad the Lean and Green meals are so easy to customize to fit my schedule and I am still able to eat whatever sounds good that day. 

When I first started this program, I was expecting a loss of maybe a pound or two each week. After 8 weeks, I have lost 32.8 pounds, which averages to over 4 pounds per week. I know that is slightly skewed because the first week was a huge loss for me, but still...wow. WOW. I am amazed at myself, and I am amazed at the simplicity and ease of the Optavia 5&1 program. 

I kinda want to shout it from the rooftops just how easy it is to follow, and how incredible the results are for me. 

Optavia Week 8 Weigh-In

Those are the same jeans, just 8 weeks apart. Wow!

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks. 

Progress Post!

 I like numbers. I like tracking my progress. I take weekly measurements as well and always love seeing inches drop too! This program was not about the weight-loss for me, it was about learning healthy habits to eat and be able to learn and adopt those habits for the rest of my life. The weight-loss is an added benefit. 

I compiled my first seven weekly weigh ins into two graphics - one for October, and one for November. 

Does anyone have a good way to track everything? I have part of it in my Lose It app, and all of it in a Note on my phone, but I'd love to have one place to document all of my progress, so I can refer back to it for motivation and inspiration. 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

Optavia Week 7 - Weigh-In 11/30/20

It is amazing to me that I've been on this journey for just seven weeks, when these new habits of health have already become such a normal and integral part of my life. 

I feel AMAZING. I love the changes in my sleep, my energy, my hunger (or lack thereof), my eating habits, what I eat, and the fact that I have made it through November - a month of celebrations - while remaining on plan the entire time, without even stressing about it. 

I really like starting my day with a Fueling, most days it is a shake blended with water, ice, and a few ounces of cold brew coffee, but sometimes it is oatmeal or even a brownie, because why not?!

I still alter when I eat my Lean and Green. My normal schedule to eat is 8 am, 10:30 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm, 6 pm, and 8:30 pm. I don't usually eat it first or last, but I have eaten it at any of the other times throughout the day, depending on how things are going with my schedule. 

A big milestone happened this week too - I passed the 30 pound mark for weight loss! If you had asked me when I started this program - just 7 weeks ago - how long it would take me to lose 30 pounds, I would have said about 4 months. If you had asked me seven weeks ago what my goals were through the end of November, I would have said to learn healthier eating habits, and lose some bad eating habits. My long term goals were for my clothes to fit better. I am so proud of myself and so excited for this program, and the ability to share it and coach others along their journey to health. 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks. 

Transformation Tuesday - Face to Face!

Six months between these two photos. The pic on the left is after 6 weeks on Optavia. What a difference in my face! I am down over 27 pounds and seeing and feeling the changes in my body. I love this program - it is SO EASY to follow! 

 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

25 pounds! Happy birthday to me!

Five weeks ago I set a goal to lose 10 pounds by my birthday. That worked out to 2 pounds a week, and seemed completely reasonable. Well, I lost more than 10 pounds in the first week, so I changed my goal to 20 pounds, and when I hit that, I changed my goal again to 25 pounds by my birthday.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I am happy to say, I totally crushed that goal too. I lost over 25 pounds before my 40th birthday yesterday. I'm giving myself health for my birthday, and that's pretty darn amazing. Tooting my own horn 🎉 because 25 pounds is like the size of the average 2 year old, or 5 bags of flour, or 6 bags of sugar, and that's awfully impressive to me. Here's to my 40s and my health!

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

Optavia Week 5 - Weigh In 11/16/20

Week 5 felt a lot slower to me than other weeks. It's my birthday tomorrow (it's a big one) and I went out to dinner on Saturday and my salad with salmon had mushrooms in it, and I haven't eaten mushrooms in a few years, and I think they made me bloated. I also spent the several hours yesterday doing yard work, cleaning up the leaves, and exerted more energy than I normally do, so I'm not sure how that will play into things this week. 

Some of the things I worked on this week - the mental work is necessary for my success. 

1. Really feeling in tune with my body. I like knowing what I put into my body, and the effect it has on me. 
2. Planning out my Fuelings. I had to place another order this weekend, and although I have enough Fuelings for two weeks, I am trying to make sure I eat a variety each day, and still limit my bars to 1 or 2 at the most per day. 
3. Planning out my Lean and Green earlier in the day, so I'm not scrambling to eat. 

So here's my Week 5 details from my weigh in:

I lost 3.8 pounds this week! 

That brings my total in five weeks on Optavia to -24.3 pounds. Holy crap. I can really see and feel the difference in my bust and my waist. I tried on smaller jeans this weekend - and they fit! TWO sizes smaller than what I started in! And, my face is much thinner too - noticeably so. 

Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.