HMR in a nutshell

 The diet I'm on is called HMR (www.hmrprogram) and is billed as "The #1 Fast Weight Loss Diet 5 Years Straight" by US News. (https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/hmr-program). It is a meal delivery program you supplement with fruits and vegetables, and comes with support (by way of an app and weekly conference call, as well as emails, literature and a Facebook group) to get you on the diet and towards a healthy lifestyle. 

I chose it because i'm lazy, and the less thinking I have to do for myself, the less I have to rev myself up, and the fewer opportunities I have to talk myself out of the changes I need to make.

As it is, I get to keep my same eating schedule, aligned with my work schedule. In anticipation of starting the diet I went to Korean barbecue twice last week, and gained four pounds. I started on Saturday, and as of yesterday I've lost the four, and an additional two. Yes, I realize it's water weight. 

Five days in I'm feeling okay. The first day was hardest, mostly because I happened to eat some of the worst food they have. The beef stroganoff with noodles was pretty bad, and the 70 vanilla shake sample included in my first box tasted like Optimum Nutrition's. I resolved that their entrees are just condiments for the vegetables I'll be living off of for the next few months. Since then things have been better. The food reminds me of the MREs I would have every so often growing up (I'm a Navy brat). 

My food arrives in a shelf-stable box every two weeks: three shakes and three meals (two entrees and oatmeal for breakfast) a day. My minimum consumption is to be that plus 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and I am to eat as many fruits, vegetables, meals and shakes as I like, if that's what it takes to "stay in the box". Lately that means four meals a day and 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables.

This has been good for me, particularly digestively, as i haven't been eating much in the way of fruits and vegetables for a while. I end up hungry in the evenings because the food I'm eating now is so much bulkier and low-calorie than I'm used to, I'm having trouble gauging how much I need to eat to keep my energy up. I do make up for it after work, and don't go to bed starving. I miss having savory snacks to graze on. I did have seaweed snacks but went though them all too quickly, and pickles are a little too high-sodium and similar to the steamed vegetables I have with most meals.