Losing weight with THRIVE!

Two weeks ago I signed up with a weight loss program called THRIVE! I have had two friends and their husbands lose a lot of weight doing this program and I have been interested. Well through May 9th, THRIVE is running a special for their 7 week course and I took advantage of it. (You can do this in house or online.)

In two weeks I have lost 10 lbs. (according to my scale and it is pretty close to the scale I use at that Cartersville center). It is by far the easiest program I have ever used.

The reason I'm willing to shout this from my blog is because this morning I woke up after walking the Georgia Renaissance Faire yesterday and my knees don't hurt. My knees have been hurting for a number of years and I'm not interested in knee replacement surgery. Also, my hips had started to hurt because of the weight I've been carrying and that pain is starting to lessen also.

Anyone that knows me, knows how much I HATE to exercise. As far as I'm concerned, it is a DIRTY word. I have not added exercise to my daily schedule to lose the 10 lbs. One of the miracles of this program is that for the first time in my life, I am interested in maybe adding a few push ups or crunches to my daily routine. (We'll see...)

I have not been hungry on this program other than the first day and the day that I fasted. I have not felt like cheating other than the day I fasted. Well, last night, I was actually looking for some "legal" chocolate and didn't have any in the house and I survived. (Chocolate is not a big problem for me, usually.) My biggest vise is potato chips and I have not missed them at all. In fact, most of the time, I'm thinking "Do I really have to eat more food now?" I haven't MADE my family (like any of them need to lose weight, right?) change over to this, though it is not a whole lot different than how we have been eating all their lives.

So what is this program? It is basically how a person eats a combination of foods, timing, journaling, eliminating refined foods, and drinking water. It is more than that of course, but not too complicated. So far, I haven't been bored or really missed anything. If you like puzzles and/or games, you'll LOVE this program. They "allow" 100 "blow it" days a year which means you didn't follow their recommendations to the letter - ah, so the "bad" foods can still be eaten, just not as often. I figure that covers the holidays and most weekends. I haven't tried to have an on purpose "blow it" day yet, but I've heard that the "bad" foods aren't as appealing when the opportunity presents itself. (Yes, I'm planning a major cheeseburger and fries "blow it" day:o)!) I have had some "blow it days" all ready though not intentional and I've still lost the weight.

Lack of energy hasn't been a problem for me in years. But as I've gotten older, it has felt good to take a quick power nap in the afternoon. This week that has been a thing of the pass. I'm not tired nor do I feel weak. I have heard others "complain" that they feel tired or weak at the beginning of this program, but I THINK it's because their bodies are adjusting to the sugar and some caffeine withdrawals.

Mood swings haven't been an issue either. The first week I was doing this, we had an incident that normally would have shot me over the edge and for the most part I was able to handle it calmly and even fairly politely. I think I'm better able to handle issues/problems (read STRESS! and I didn't need desserts to handle 'em) since I started this than I ever have. (That doesn't mean I don't still have my moments, it's just I'm able to identify the problem easier/quicker.)

Others that have been on this program have had phenomenal health improvement stories. I have ignored my health related issues, so I can't really testify to that other than my knees and hips. If you have cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetic issues, you do need to check the testimonies out.

There are NO special foods to buy on this program. Of course, there are foods they recommend and others that I wouldn't live without, i.e. Double Fiber Wheat Bread by Nature's Own. That is the only food that is a little out of the ordinary that I have really added to our grocery list. Of course, I'm purchasing more fibrous vegetables (AND eating them) and leaner cuts of meat (though my sister, Ann, helped me figure out how to cook hamburger leaner). Most of their food recommendations can be found at your local grocery store. If you LOVE catsup, you will want to change your catsup. That is the only food item, I would ABSOLUTELY have to change if my children decided to do this. And Gordon would have to give up his ice cream, though he could have it on his "blow it" days.

To check it out, here's the url: www.thriveweightloss.com. Let me know if you do it and what you're results are.