Our guest blogger, Tricia, provides a word-for-word account of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) program at Dean Clinic, part of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. If you’ve been reading along, you know that’s a fake name, but she’s absolutely a real person.
When we last left Tricia, she had spent the day shopping, treating herself to a few new outfits to go with her 35-pound weight loss. Then the phone rang, and she learned that her friend’s mom had died. With a pending funeral and reunion, how would the diet stand up to stress, close friends, family and the inevitable group meals?
April 20. I traveled north to my home town today to attend my friend’s mom’s funeral. Catherine was my “other mom” growing up. I spent nearly entire summers on their farm, riding horses and exploring the woods, fields, creeks and barns. It was a tough day, but it felt wonderful to honor my friend and her mom by participating in the service.
It also felt wonderful to be able to go home quite a bit thinner than I was when I last saw all the members of this family. I could walk up to the podium feeling confident and not self-conscious. What a gift. Once again, I found it easy to stay on plan while out of town. I had two shakes before I started driving, and I brought shakes and bars for the trip.
I stayed with another dear friend last night, sipping tea and solving the problems of the world until it got to be quite late. We got up early, I had my breakfast shakes and we took a long, brisk walk down past my old school, around and through the cemetery so I could give a hey to my grandparents, parents and brother who are all buried there. Then we looped back home. The exercise was great prep for what I knew was going to be a difficult day.
A luncheon followed the service. I did not want to call attention to my diet program so I passed most of the bowls and plates and just took some green beans, cucumbers and one small piece of white chicken. That way I got to participate in all the conversations and appreciate the celebration with no guilt. I suspect my eyes enlarged a tad as I got close-up whiffs of mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, macaroni salad and the gorgeous dinner rolls, but it is getting easier to make the choice to not want to indulge in those things.
And then the desserts. Yikes! There were two beautiful options (am I making you hungry?!) that I passed up. One of them I really wanted to try since I never heard of it–it’s called a kneecap, and it’s a donut-like thing, covered in powdered sugar, with a whipped cream tuft in the center. I just kept mentally trying to translate it into calories, which was a great deterrent. Plus, I knew if I skipped it, I wouldn’t have to wonder if I was wearing the telltale powdered-sugar lips I saw on everyone else at the table.
From there, the rest of my day was driving back to Madison (bars work great when you’re on the road) and having a shake for my evening meal. Again, I’m amazed at my strength and how well the program is working. In the past, a day like today would have been a disastrous calorie binge.
If you’re keeping track of where I am weight-wise, I’m happy to say I have now reached…
(You didn’t really think I would tell you the ACTUAL weight, did you? Silly!)
OK, instead of my actual weight, I’m happy to report pounds lost. A this point, I am minus 36 pounds – and hoping to drop another 20. I know I can do it with this program, no matter what life throws at me. When I take a few minutes to think back on this whole thing, I can honestly say I’ve done really well.
I have a weight class tomorrow night. I wonder if it’s time to move on to the next phase.
To see all of Tricia’s posts and her journey through the Very Low Calorie Diet program, use the word “Tricia” in the search box above.
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