The first seven

Yesterday was my first weigh-in since starting the OPTIFAST program at Alaska Premier Health. I should have written last night but I had a friend over to help make my dryer work again; the capability to complete laundry took precedence over this update. My apologies for making whomever is reading this wait that one extra day to find out that I... lost SEVEN pounds!!!

Even better than the seven pound weight loss is the fact that the OPTIFAST products are not irritating my digestive system and I'm starting to feel somewhat human again. Where I found some relief from taking my diet down to only rice and lean meat previously to avoid digestive issues, with OPTIFAST I am now enjoying the return of an old friend I like to call "Umph" (pronounced OOM-FH). Umph up and left back in December. I lost the Umph to walk to a nearby lake just for the heck of it. I had no Umph left to even think of socializing after a day at the office. I was utterly Umphless. In the last week since Umph has returned, this is what I have done outside of my normal week of working Monday through Friday, learning Hmong and teaching music on Tuesday evening, and church on Sunday:

-I drove a new-to-Alaska friend to Girdwood and back to Anchorage while checking out all the sights including walking all the boardwalks of Potters Marsh on Monday.
-On wednesday evening I went to a summer religion class that started a few weeks ago that I just haven't felt up to attending after work.
-On Thursday after work I walked to one of the LDS (Mormon) church buildings and back worry-free except for the cotton-wood fluff in the air and the rude guy who hollered at me.
-After the walk on Thursday I enjoyed the company of a good friend for a few hours during and after fixing the dryer.
-Tonight after work I spent nearly 5 hours at a social gathering with a bunch of Mormon young single adults who were very much involved in eating, and eating... and eating some more. I was even nice and sight-read a few piano pieces while a group sang before I left to come home.

I can hardly believe not only that I did all this... but that I did it willingly.

Conclusion: A happier digestive system = A happier Joanna