My Experience

For me, the program has exceeded any expectations I had.  My willpower perfect, my weight loss uninterrupted, my lifestyle interrupted.

After my second week on the program, I thought to test my willpower by partaking in a 3 day motorcycle trip up to Timmins, Ontario.  If I buckled, I would have only interrupted the start of my journey, not shattered a month or more of discipline and starting from scratch.  I was confident I could stay clean though.  And I was right.

I admit, as I passed a sign along the highway near Parry Sound for Lick's, that I was unsettled; gosh, been years since I had one of their burgers or even seen a Lick's.  However, I never even glanced at the off-ramp, let alone got off the highway.  

The trip was ultimately a spectacular success.  I was never tempted to a point of struggle.  I was never overly hungry.  I could manage pre- and on-demand making my Optifast shakes, to pull over when it was time.  It was perfection, and I knew once I got home that I was going to sail through the rest of the program without worry.  One discovery though was that I had to avoid broadcast TV.  I don't use cable TV at home, and I found the endless sensationalised food advertisements on TV in my hotel room to be difficult.

I survived the trip and found I was several times stronger than any impulse or temptation.  I'd tested myself, and I won.  I had no more concerns about my willpower for the rest of the program.

A Key to Success

One of the key aspects to my success was The Plan; first shake within the first hour after waking, then every 4 hours.  If I felt hunger, it was usually within 30 minutes of my next scheduled feeding; no problem, I can easily wait for 30 minutes, and got back to what I was doing.  No floundering about trying to decide what to have, no thoughts of "gee, a pizza would be incredible right now."  Time for my shake, let's get at it.

It helped that I enjoyed the tastes of the shakes.  We had two flavours; Chocolate and Vanilla.  Chocolate was an excellent breakfast and day-ender, while Vanilla was excellent when mixed with a calorie-free orange squeezee thing like Mio Sport (creamsicle!) 

On those occasions when I needed a munchie, I partook in my veggie allowables.  My favs are radishes and cauliflower, and also made salads with lettuce and Walden Farms salad dressing on occasion.  It was perfection.

Next:  My Tools