FINALLY!

Even though only a few (or less) weeks have passed since I first heard about Ideal Protein, it felt like it took forever for this day to get here. We met this evening to learn about the plan, receive our food & supplements for the week, get weighed, and have our body composition measured. My body fat is high--no surprise there! What completely blew my mind was my lean mass; it's 171.3 lbs! Granted, I'm 6'2", but still! My lean mass--bones, organs, muscle, anything that isn't fat--has a BMI of 22.3. Ha! If I were to weigh 194, which is 24.9 on the BMI chart, I'd have about 10% body fat. 10% is the bare minimum for women for essential fat. 25%-ish is recommended for my age. 25% body fat would put me at around 230 lbs. That completely floored me. While Ideal Protein is big on maintaining lean mass, I'm guessing mine will shrink a little as I have less fat to carry around. I've weighed 230 lbs before. While I didn't have cellulite or rolls, I still had a good bit of fat. It'll be interesting to see how things change as I lose!

I got home pretty late & haven't really had a chance to go through everything I received today. I'll post pictures tomorrow, and start reviewing the food :)

SO excited to finally begin!

Anxiously waiting

A few weeks ago, my mom sent a text asking me to call her. This is rare for my mom, so I called right away, fearing the worst. We chatted for a few, and then she told me the news that has since changed my life: her office is opening an Ideal Protein clinic, and would I like to join? Without even really thinking, I instantly agreed. I've been desperate to get "back on the wagon" with weight loss; her news could not have come at a more needed time. She told me it would be a few weeks til we started, since they were just getting trained & had to wait for shipments.

I've spent the interim reading every Ideal Protein-related blog and message board I can find. Thankfully, the waiting is about to end; we're having our first meeting the day after tomorrow, where we'll learn the ins and outs of the program and get our food for the week. Yay!

I haven't ever been this excited for a new eating plan/lifestyle/diet. After trying everything under the sun, losing 100 lbs, becoming bulimic, going through treatment, and regaining 100 lbs at the 10 lbs/year rate, I've had a roller coaster decade. I've learned from my experience that I feel my best when I stick to lower carb diets. My body does not handle carbs well, and I have to eat <1200 calories/day in order to see very slow weight loss on typical carb-heavy low fat/low cal diets.

Anyway, I'm not planning to write out my entire life's history here. The past has happened, and now I'm here. Excited for the next chapter of my life. Fantasizing about cute clothes, bikinis, feeling comfortable in my skin. And on an airplane :-p

I'm going to post progress pictures, thoughts on the program food, and weight loss stats. I'm particularly excited about the body composition tests I'll have every week. It'll be really cool to see just how much of my body is fat, muscle, water, etc. I'm ready!