Where do I begin?  The last month has been full of ups and big downs.

Up – I moved from my home town to a new home on the water. Moving is an amazing source of exercise. As I was arranging my new kitchen I had to make room for my Medifast drawer. My boyfriend asked why I still have Medifast food. I explained that I love the food. It’s a part of me now and I crave it.

Up – I took a vacation. I went to the beach for an entire week with my family. It was a great way to relax and reflect on how much I give to work.

Up – I took more time off from work to research new job opportunities. Did you know that there are jobs that allow time to see friends or spend holidays and weekends with family?!?! I want one!

Big Down – My dad had a heart attack. My dad has been big since I can remember. He was very active growing up and when he stopped sports he gained weight – like father, like daughter. I have been trying to get him to start Medifast but even after seeing my success he just won’t try it. It goes to show, if you don’t want it bad enough, you won’t do it. You have to be ready to change. Change can be scary, even if it is for the better. Medifast changed my life, that’s for sure!

Up – you’re reading this so maybe you are going to make a change for the better. Being healthy is a really good thing – really.

1 year ago I wrote about the quote, “A year from now I will wish I had started today.” I am so happy that I did! You will be too.

5:55 - turn off first alarm

6:26 - turn off 4^th alarm

6:47 - open one eye and walk to the bathroom for a shower

6:48 - open other eye

7:00 – 7:20 - let dogs out, pick out an outfit, blow-dry hair, brew a cup of coffee

7:20 - get a travel mug and mix a half cup water and Medifast Cappuccino pop in the microwave

7:21 - let dogs back in and give them treats

7:22 - add the coffee I made and 2 equals to my Medifast Cappuccino

7:23 - in the rush to my car throw the newspaper up on the porch (that counts as exercise right?)

7:23 - 8:25 - enjoy my latte-esk coffee and try not to think about wasting an entire hour in my car

8:30 - get to work, join the morning huddle with the hotel staff

8:45 - tell Linda, the little hotel chef that thinks I’m too skinny, that I do not want a Belgian waffle with walnuts and blueberries (just typing it makes me long for the days when I would eat one with reckless abandon)

8:46 – 9:12 - review hotel performance from last night and get caught up on the crazy hotel gossip mill

9:12 - turn down Linda’s 2^nd offer for a calorific breakfast sandwich

9:30 - cover the hotel front desk for clerk so that he can eat a stack of Linda’s French toast

9:45 - make a mug of Medifast blueberry oatmeal and put in the microwave

9:46 - drive a guest to the airport because he did not get his wake up call and missed his shuttle

10:24 - reheat oatmeal that I left in the microwave

10:25 - 11:00 - process timecards and enter payroll (enjoy oatmeal)

11:00 - 11:45 - go to a guest room to help a ‘not so computer’ savvy guest connect to the internet

11:46 - think to myself “I have to go to the bathroom” 

11:47 - put Medifast Chicken and Wild Rice soup in the microwave and start off towards the bathroom.

11:48 - In route to the bathroom notice a light out in the lobby – go call engineering to have it fixed, answer a ringing phone at the front desk.  Give a guest driving directions to the hotel. Notice a line of people forming at the desk and assisting the clerk.

12:35 - Linda brings me my re-heated Chicken and Wild Rice soup

1:05 - remember that I had to go to the bathroom – ignore everyone that I pass on my way to the bathroom so that I don’t get pulled away again.

1:10 – 4:00 - accounts payable, accounts billable, associate coaching and counseling, inspect sleeping rooms to make sure that they are cleaned well, conduct 3 interviews for new employees

4:05 - put a Medifast Oatmeal Raisin bar in the microwave for 10 seconds.  Explain to anyone who sees me eating my bar why I am eating it with a fork and knife – it’s melty.

4:10 – 7:00 - Welcome guest to the hotel and help the front desk clerks with any issues.

7-ish - Head home – reach into the back seat and pull out a bag of soy crisps to munch on

8-something - Time for dinner – Start with a mixed greens salad, sprinkle 10 sunflower seeds and 2 green olives, add pre-cooked chicken pieces and top with 2 tablespoons of Kens Lite Northern Italian dressing.

9:30 - wind down while watch TV and enjoying a bowl of Medifast chocolate pudding.

11:00 - let the dogs out and in, then head to bed and try not to think about what I didn’t get done today or have to do tomorrow.

So many people have the same story. I guess we wouldn’t be looking at this diet or all the pages of the website if we weren’t in a similar place. I love having so many people supporting each other. I can remember coaxing a friend to try Medifast and then helping her through the tough first 2 weeks. Now she looks amazing and is reminding me of all the basics.Â

I recently celebrated my one year anniversary with Medifast. I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started Medifast and I am so grateful that I found this amazing wonder-food. I have been able to maintain my weight by eating several small meals throughout the day, always eating breakfast and the continuing to incorporate Medifast Meals in my crazy life.

I thought I would share some of my favorite meals:

Diet Dr. Pepper and a chocolate or vanilla Medifast shake mix – it’s like a root beer float.

Mix orange cream Medifast shake mix, ice and a dollop fat and sugar free cool whip.

Vanilla Medifast shake with cinnamon, vanilla extract, 2 equal packets blended with ice – it’s like drinking a cinnamon roll.

Shake a chocolate Medifast shake with almond extract and 2 equal packets, put in the fridge overnight and grab on the way out the door in the morning.

Mom’s chili - Medifast chili mix, ground turkey, diced tomatoes, chili powder and cumin.

My absolute favorite treat is the oatmeal raisin bar heated up in the microwave for 10 seconds. YUUUUMMMMMM!

Let me know what your favorite meals are. Let’s keep up the good work! And thank you for all your support!

You know how they say, “You don’t just diet, you have to make a lifestyle change?” I wouldn’t go that far, but I wouldn’t do what I did over the last month either. 

After losing 40 pounds, I transitioned with much success. I was maintaining my weight by continuing to eat 2 or 3 Medifast Meals a day. I was looking phenomenal and felt so happy. It was easy to maintain. So I don’t know what came over me between my birthday, Valentine’s Day and numerous dinners out. I splurged to the tenth degree. I went off the deep end. I have had drinks, fondue, ice cream, pasta galore, and my favorite sandwich, the Rueben. 

I have been avoiding my friend the scale because I know that it would tell me what my jeans have been gossiping about for the past 2 weeks. I knew once I got on the scale my feeding frenzy would be over. 

Finally, last night, I faced the truth of the scale. I gained 9.3 pounds over the last month.  AAARRRGGGG!!! What did I do?!?! Why have I been such a slack tail?!? The horror.

I am done beating myself up. This is a minor setback. I know what to do and I know that I can do it with ease. I have plenty of Medifast food and I will be able to drop these “overindulging setback pounds” quickly.  

The moral of this story is this: Even if you lose 40 pounds in a healthy way, no one is immune to the evils of cheese, ice cream and the Rueben. They will sneak up and jump on your hips with no concern for all your hard work. But, if you follow the rules, you will find so much success. I wouldn’t say you have to make “a total lifestyle change” but I have to remember how I got to weigh 191 in the first place.

Wish me luck in the next week or two. 150 here I come (again).

Last week I turned 29. On my 28th birthday I was depressed, lonely, single, and overweight. Now, a year later, I am happy, healthy and in love! I love myself, the way I feel and my wonderful boyfriend. Now, I’m not going to blow a bunch of sunshine up your screen and say that if you try Medifast your life will only be filled with rainbows, glass slippers and happily ever afters.

I still get stuck in traffic, have bad days at work, and I don’t like everything I try on when I’m shopping. What I am saying, is that by sticking to Medifast I have found happiness in myself that I have never felt before. I’m confident in all aspects of my life. Medifast has sent me down an amazing path, bringing me to the life that I have now.

I am looking forward to getting a new drivers’ license. My old license has the old me pictured. I was reticently asked for my ID when I ordered a glass of wine. The woman took a triple-take, I thought because it was my birthday but then she said “you look great!” Wow, that felt good.

In the last year of my 20s, I want to continue my healthy lifestyle and outlook on life. I’m going to turn 30 looking amazing. I am so happy that I changed my destiny.

This past month was no different from all the rest, busy. I had an awesome holiday and then left to go skiing in Vermont. I haven’t been skiing in 12 years, I wasn’t good at it back then either. The exercise was good though and I could feel my muscles toning up.

I needed the exercise ‘cause I made a critical mistake, I waited too long to eat almost all week. I sabotaged my metabolism. I would eat breakfast but then go all day long with only a few breaks on the sight-seeing days and a small lunch on skiing days. By the time food was available I would devour whatever I could get my hands on. I know, I should know better than that by now. This is one of the cardinal rules to eating healthy. But in the rush to pack and leave Christmas night, I didn’t pack appropriately and forgot an adequate amount of Medifast Meals.

I’m back home and would love to continue to learn to ski, but only if I have a personal instructor (and extra pockets that can sustain all my falls, to store a bar in).

I keep hearing all the January ads for weight loss and gym memberships. I can remember milling over all the offers and trying to decide which ones were real and which ones I could really do. I tried a couple and failed only to gain more weight after giving up. Medifast worked! I love this stuff and hope that you will too, if you are like I was this time last year. Happy New Year and good luck to the Newbie’s!

My friend Katie started Medifast after seeing my success. I saw a picture of her from Thanksgiving and she looks outstanding! I sent her an email about how great she looks and she reminded me that it’s all about hard work and dedication. When she started Medifast we traded several emails about sticking with it and the ultimate payoff. Well Katie, I’m glad you stuck to it because you look GREAT!

My mom has also been on the program and lost 20 pounds! She showed me the outfit she was planning to wear to her holiday party. It was a cream sweater with matching cream dress pants. I put white pants in the same category as bathing suits � they could show too much if you’re not careful. When I saw how great she looked in the outfit, I was so proud. She is even wearing lower waisted jeans (you know, not mom jeans).

I made People magazine! I mean, I’m in People magazine, n a Medifast ad! My grandma is so proud! I had a friend of mine from high school email me to tell me he saw me in People or US weekly, then quiz me with questions about the program. All I can say is that if you are considering it you should just try it. Make it a gift to yourself. Being healthy is the best gift ever!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Like a lot of people, I got to go to 2 houses to celebrate. My boyfriend’s family has dinner at 2:00 and my family has dinner at 6:00. Perfect for the boyfriend because he could eat all day long, take a nap and then get up and have 3 slices of pie.

I was able to enjoy the day within my limits. I love turkey with a sprinkle of salt and a side of green beans almandine. Yes, I gave up green bean casserole and my aunt’s famous sweet potato yum yum casserole but all for a good cause. I even made a pumpkin roll for each house, but didn’t even sample it. Ok, so I have never liked anything pumpkin (except salted seeds) but whatever works right?

I did indulge in a holiday flavored coffee creamer in my after-dinner coffee. Which I am SO happy I did. On my way home I got a call from work that I needed to work 11pm � 7am…

I am placing another order to replenish my favorites and try out some of the new stuff that’s coming out. Did you see that they now have vanilla pudding and blueberry oatmeal? New and improved bars are even coming out too! It’s so great how they continue to add new stuff so that I don’t get tired of the same old meals.

I still have my favorites: the maple and brown sugar or apple cinnamon oatmeal, both banana and chocolate puddings, dutch chocolate shake, chicken & rice soup, minestrone, oatmeal raisin and the caramel bars. I love to heat my bars in the microwave for 10 seconds, it’s almost like I’m cheating because they are so good.

This weekend I had several people call off from work and I had to cover a few shifts, including the 11pm to 7am shift. Luckily the hotel was quiet so it gave me a chance to catch up on comments and questions and even check out what’s new with the Medifast site � besides seeing me on the home page. …

Let’s see a show of hands for who avoided the candy bowl. It can be tough but if you put a pack of pudding or a meal bar in the bowl you can have that extra reminder to stay strong.

My family has started having dinner together each weekend. This past weekend it was on Saturday night. But I already had plans to go to a costume party that same night. I went to dinner and planned on going to the party after. With a jam-packed night I didn’t have time to get a costume. My boyfriend was not able to make it to dinner so I gave him the task of getting my costume, not knowing how scary that would turn out to be.

I told him that I would like to be (but didn’t have to be) a police officer. I would have been fine with just a hat, badge and cuffs. But when he called and started talking about fishnet stockings, I realized I had made a huge mistake. The officer costume that he found was a skintight, plunging neckline, short jumpsuit. Oh, the horror. I am comfortable in my body now, but not that comfortable! I left dinner early and met him at the costume shop.

The place was packed and he was about to lose his mind. The poor guy went to 4 different stores looking for a police outfit with pants. He took the liberty of changing my outfit to a pirate. Not just any pirate ~ a hot pirate. The costume had pants, a belt, a top, (sort of) and a bandana…