Sam's Optavia Journey

 This post has been in the making for several months now.

As I have mention in previous blog posts and on my social media accounts, 

I've been participating in a health/ weight loss/ lifestyle program.
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Here's my story...

In January 2018, my friend Aubrey decided to give Optavia a try.

I remember talking to her on the phone just a few weeks after she started.
And then we got together for a double date a few weeks after that.

She kept me updated on her progress. After 5 months she had lost 50 lbs!

She texted me around that time and asked if I wanted her old clothes that she didn't fit into anymore.

We are close enough that she could ask that and I wasn't offended at all to be getting her "fat clothes."

I was actually excited. Around that time, I remember it was for Mother's Day 2018,

Sean took me shopping to buy new clothes. I needed bigger ones. 

A lot of the shirts Aubrey gave me fit.
But several of the pants were too small. I kept them and decided to make them "goal pants."
(They ended up being the pants I used in between my old size and my new one.)

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In August 2018, Aubrey came over to our house for the birthday party we threw for my dad.

She looked and felt amazing. I was so happy for her.

She told me that she was considering becoming a coach with Optavia.
I told her that she should and that I was interested.

The next week she called me and we talked more about the program.

She had decided to become a coach and I decided to become her first client.

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After my dad's party, I decided to make some dietary changes.
I knew the basics of Optavia from following Aubrey's journey.

So I implemented some things into my life before I officially started the program.

I started drinking lots of water, gave up desserts, and started eating more frequent but smaller meals.

I started walking my kids to school everyday. And then I weaned Ty.

By the time I started Optavia I was already down 9 lbs!

I couldn't believe it and I was so motivated to keep loosing.
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I officially started Optavia on Tuesday Septemeber 4, 2018.

The day after Labor Day.

I took my first picture on the night before I started.

I remember feeling so self-conscious. 

I was sure that I would never show anyone the "before" pictures that I took that day.
And here I am sharing all of my transformation pictures from my entire Octavia journey!
Seeing all of my pictures together like this fills me with lots of emotions.
I feel shocked by what I used to look like. I knew I was over weight but I was in denial.
I didn't own a scale until a few weeks before I started Optavia so I was ignorant to my weight.
And I never wore tight or revealing clothes like I am in these pictures.
I hid my weight the best that I could.

Seeing my pictures always fills me with so much pride and gratitude and excitement for my future.

Week 1 I lost 5 lbs. Week 2 I lost 3.2 lbs.

Week 3 I lost 3.2 lbs. 

Week 4 I lost 4.2 lbs. This is the week I took my 25 lbs sugar picture.

Week 5 I lost 3.6 lbs. At the end of this week I sprained my foot.

Week 6 - 3.6 lbs. Week 7 - 1.8 lbs. Week 8 - 4 lbs.

Week 9 - 4 lbs. Week 10 - 1.8 lbs. 

Week 11 - 3.6 lbs. This is the week I hit the 50 lbs mark and took my next sugar picture.

Week 12 - 2 lbs. Week 13 - 2.8 lbs. Week 14 - 2.2 lbs.

Week 15 - 2.4 lbs. This is the week I hit a healthy B.M.I.

Week 16 - 4.8 lbs. Week 17 - 1.2 lbs.

Week 18 - 1.2 lbs. This is the week that I switched from the 5&1 plan to the 4&2 plan.
Week 19 - 2.4 lbs. Week 20 - 1.8 lbs.

Week 21 - 2.4 lbs. This is the week that I started going to the gym.

Week 22 - 1.4 lbs. This is the week that I hit the 75 lbs mark and took my last sugar picture.

Week 23 - 2.8 lbs.

Week 24 - .8 lbs. 

Week 25 - 2.4 lbs. I hit the 80 lbs mark! 

And this is the week that I start transitioning out of the program.

Week 26 - I maintained.

Week 27 I lost .6 lbs.
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Once I week, I weighed myself, took my pictures and took my measurements.
Here's my inches lost...
Waist - 14 inches
Arms - 5.25 inches
Thighs - 7 inches
Chest/Back - 10 inches
Hips - 9.5 inches
Neck - 1.75 inches
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And here are my side view transformation pictures...

Around week 9 is when I bought my Bluetooth phone tripod.

So I started taking my pictures in the day during Ty's nap instead of having Sean take them at night.

So you'll notice that they are brighter and the angle has changed a little.

One thing that I didn't realize while I was taking my pictures, 

is how much of a difference posture makes.

One thing that you'll notice in these pictures, well more in the forward facing ones,

is that as I got thinner, I started wearing make up and jewelry more frequently.

I started to feel better about myself and started to care more about how I looked.

Here are my three sugar pictures.
25 lbs - October 4, 2018, 50 lbs - November 21, 2018, and 75 lbs - February 9, 2019.

25 weeks was a big week for me. That was the week that I hit the 80 lbs mark.
I took some pictures in some of my "before" clothes to see how much my body had change.
Sometimes I forget how much I've changed because it's been so gradual.
These pictures still just blow me away!

For anyone who wants to know how Optavia works, let me briefly explain the basics.

While on the program you eat 5 "fuelings" (meal replacements) and one "lean and green"
(meal you make yourself with 5-7 ounces of a protein source and 3 servings of approved veggies).
You eat every two and a half to three hours.
By eating 6 times a day, every few hours, your body learns that it will always be fed
and that it never needs to store any of the food that you're eating.
So you go into a state of constant fat burning.
You are taking in less calories that you need
so you start burning fat to make up the calories that you're not eating.
The fuelings are completely interchangeable and you get to pick which ones you want to order.
They are all low in calorie and high in protein.
I drank a shake every morning, ate a bar while I was out on the go
and had a cookie, brownie or pudding right before bed.
I actually really enjoyed the fuelings.
I never felt deprived because I was eating chocolate everyday and eating so frequently.
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While on the program you drink TONS of water. At least 100 ounces a day.
Although, my own personal goal was to drink 150.
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Another big part of the program is creating healthy habits.
The doctor who created the program Dr. Anderson wrote a book all about healthy habits.
The goal of Optavia is to have optimal health and longevity.
Reaching a healthy weight is just the first part of the program.
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Once I hit the 80 lbs mark, I started "transitioning" off the program.
That's when you start slowing adding back in foods you weren't eating on program
and start increasing the amount of calories that you eat.
The first week you add in startchy veggies. The second week you add in fruit.
The third week you add in diary. And the fourth week you add in whole grains.
I did the first two weeks of transition and then just kind of stopped when I got to the third week.
You'll see that I hit my goal weight at 25 weeks
but then only continued the program for two more weeks instead of four.
I'm not sure why I struggled so much with transition.
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 I have now "transitioned" off of Optavia.
I am still trying to eat more frequent, smaller meals.
And I am definitely eating more fruits and veggies than I was before Optavia.
I am trying hard to find new healthy recipes to use for dinner.
I am going to the gym three to four times a week.
I am trying to see the My Fitness Pal app to keep track of what I am eating.
I'm trying to figure out the right amount of calories to eat to maintain my weight.
So I am hopeful that I will continue to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.
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If anyone has question I am happy to answer them.