Day 11 – Give Me Something to Chew On

9 lbs lost…good bye! This week’s Dr. Appointment was magic. 9 whole pounds lost and the good Dr. seemed please with my progress. Neither of us mentioned the fact that much of my loss was most likely water as I played my role of excited patient and he the encouraging medical figure. Truly, I was just pleased that I didn’t pass out, throw up or get homicidal with coworkers between breakfast and the mid morning shake. Of course, the good doctor inquired to any potential side effects I might be experiencing with the Phentermine. I confirmed that, yes I had the classic dry mouth symptom and headaches but was adjusting to it quite nicely. It is a very small cross to bear indeed by comparison to the usual obsession with the next meal that has been lifted.

We were at the end of our chat when the good doctor indicated my trial hazing period was over and I was now allowed to put some real protein back into my diet. The first day I could add in 30 grams and then the 2nd day, 60 whole grams between 2 meals a day. 60 grams a day would then be maintained daily for the rest of the week. Wow, real “meat on a plate” protein never sounded so good! My reaction was surprising to me since I never considered any emotional attachment to meat before. A good burger on the rare occasion sounded good but beyond that, nope, never think of it.

My husband definitely has deeply rooted attachments to meat and dare I say separation anxiety if 6 hours have passed without at least an infusion of drive thru burger to sustain him. I really wouldn’t put it past him to sleep with a rib eye under his pillow if he could figure out how to get it in the bed without me seeing. But me? I have always been drawn to bread, chips and you guessed it, donuts. Now there was something to snuggle up too!

Rubbing my hands together with fresh new rules in my head and keen anticipation of gnawing on something substantial for lunch, I felt like a character out of Clan of the Cave Bear. Of course, I would be from the beautiful, tall yellow haired clan and not the short, flat headed brown hairs. I set forth to track down my prey at Whole Foods, replacing my spear with a very chic recycled grocery bag. This is California after all and one must look stylish and “green” while going on a hunt at Whole Foods. After several moments of drooling over the beautifully laid out meat and fish cases, I selected chicken breasts, tilapia, tuna and shrimp to start.

The result of adding these delicious chewable proteins into my diet 2 meals a day was the slowly ebbing feeling of constant hunger. Ingesting these 60 grams or 10 oz of chewable meat each day makes all the difference in the world. Imagine? No worries, my beloved Mocha, Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry shakes are still firmly planted in my daily routine. I think I will forever be cleaning my blender and my family is not appreciative of it whirling at 6 am. What is a hungry girl to do?