This week was a bit of a downer on the weight loss front. I only managed to drop 2 lbs. Not bad I suppose considering this was “that week of the month.” Since several have asked how I’ve managed to drop over 40 lbs since this past February I suppose I’ll fill you in.

I’ve sort of been following the Slim Fast diet plan. When I sort of, I mean that I have to modify the shakes or they taste horrible. Well the Cappuccino one is alright but the rest suck. Shortly after starting on the 2 shakes and a sensible supper plan they came out with the Slim Fast Optima variety which is supposed to help control hunger longer. I have no clue how it does this but it does quiet well. But I still have to bulk up the shakes. I usually keep a can of the French Vanilla powder and a can of the Milk Chocolate powder on hand. I use the 8 oz. of skim milk but then I’ll add frozen fruit or ice into the blender with the milk and powder. Sometimes adding a tablespoon of instant cappuccino mix makes it a really heavenly treat. When I get hungry during the day I usually make some popcorn. But not the microwave variety. I want to control the amount of sodium and fat that goes into it so I pop it in a pan on the stove and it’s generally the afternoon snack for all of the boys and myself with them eating far more of it than I do.

When I first started on the Slim Fast plan, I had a lot of people snicker and tell me, “Oh boy, you’re going to be running to the bathroom a lot!” But as a person who’s lived with severe IBS for the last 20 years, this diet seems to have done a great deal to keep that under control. I think it’s because I’m finally getting the dietary requirements that I need and my body isn’t having to struggle to digest what it’s taking in. That and lots of water. As an added bonus, my blood pressure, while it still tends to go sky high during moments of intense stress, has stabilized to a reasonable  123/76 which any medical professional will tell you is outstanding for a person with diastolic heart failure. Even my pulse has settled down to the low 90’s and upper 80’s. I attribute that to medication changes, though.

So there you have it. That’s how I’m doing it and it seems to be working.