Patch Takes It Off: Oh Motivation, Where Are You?

The word of the day is motivation—or, in my case, the lack thereof. I’ve been having a really rough time staying motivated in my weight loss efforts. I really wish I could say why that is, but I’m just not sure. It’s a combination of things, I would imagine. Summertime, parties, kids home from school, vacations—all the usual excuses. And really, that’s all they are, nothing but excuses. If my head were really in the game, none of these things would matter.

So here’s what I’m going to try. After Labor Day, Sept. 6 to be exact, I’m going to start the Ideal Protein diet through Black Bear Fitness. I’ll be working with Katy Leonard, one of the owners of Black Bear.

According to Ideal Protein’s literature, it is a medically designed protocol that results in rapid fat loss while sparing muscle mass. It has been in existence for 23 years by a doctor who worked with Olympic athletes.

The protocol is based on the fact that the body has three compartments of energy from which to meet its metabolic needs: blood glycogen, satisfied by carbohydrates, muscle, satisfied by protein and fat. The body draws on glucose first, then muscle and fat. By lowering the amount of carbohydrates and fats in the diet, and basing food choices around protein, the body will go into a process called ketosis, wherein fat is burned.

The company’s literature said that typical weight loss for women is 3-5 pounds a week, with a 4-7 pound typical loss for men.

I’ve been told the program is very restrictive. For me, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is probably just what I need.

In the meantime, I will need to find alternative ways to keep get my motivation back in gear. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.