It’s been three weeks since I started my Shaklee 180 weight loss journey, and I just wanted to let you all know how it’s been going. My plan is to check in with my weight and measurements every 2 weeks, but I’ve been so busy, I just haven’t had time to check in. Even though this one is late, I’ll still let you know how I’m doing at the 4-week mark next week.

What I’m Eating

The last time I wrote, I was getting ready to begin my journey. Now, I feel like an old pro. Each day, I replace breakfast and lunch with either a Shaklee 180 meal bar or shake. Some days I have two shakes. This was a huge challenge for me during the first week because of one simple fact: I hate milk. Hate may seem like a strong word, but for me, it’s not quite strong enough. This includes cow’s milk, soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk — ANY milk. So why the heck did I sign up for a program that requires me to drink milk shakes, right? I was asking myself that very question the first day.

To be honest, when I first tried these protein rich shakes, all I could taste was chalk. The combination of hated milk — albeit light vanilla soy milk — and much more protein than I’m used to was a shock to my taste buds and my body. And while some of the meal and snack bars are awesome (peanut butter chocolate or chocolate decadence, anyone?), some of them initially had that chalkiness that I wasn’t happy with in the shakes.

But in spite of the fact that the taste made me balk, I persisted, telling myself that it would get better. And you know what? It did! I’ve learned to add a variety of fruit and even peanut butter to my shakes to boost the taste, and there are a couple of combinations that I really like:

Pina colada

Vanilla shake with light vanilla soy milk, fresh pineapple chunks, and frozen, shredded coconut OR 1 tbsp. cream of coconut.

Vanilla with frozen mixed berries

Seriously, once I found some good combinations, I started looking forward to the shakes. They’re crazy simple to make, so I really don’t have to think about what to have for lunch.

For dinner, we are tasked with preparing our own healthy meals. I’ve been doing pretty good, I think. Some of my meals:

Whole wheat penne pasta with sauteed garlic shrimp and grape tomatoes with a raw spinach salad.

Green leaf lettuce with roasted salmon, ONE small serving of yellow rice and steamed broccoli.

And you know what else? I’ve rarely craved sugar. And when I do, I can grab a sweet Shaklee 180 snack bar to satiate my sweet tooth. Have I cheated ever? Yes, but I didn’t go crazy. Instead of sitting in front of the TV late at night with a bag of sugar- and calorie-laden chocolate chip cookies, I opted to eat a single serving of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies — 120 calories and 5g of sugar. Just enough to let me feel indulgent without stuffing myself. And I do this maybe once a week, and ONLY on days when I have calories to spare.

Bumps in the road

Speaking of calories, it took a while for me to find the right number. I started off eating just 1300 calories a day (net, after exercise). I quickly learned that this wasn’t enough. Instead of dropping pounds, my body went into starvation mode and held on to everything. But once I boosted my calorie intake to 1800 net, I started losing weight. Not terribly quickly, but I was losing nonetheless. The higher calorie count also meant that I had to spread my calories throughout the day. So I eat a little something with breakfast and lunch and eat healthy snacks in between, like nuts, fruit and the occasional handful of low-fat popcorn.

So where am I today? Here are my current stats:

5.5 lbs. and 8 inches lost! My goal for 3 weeks was 6 pounds, so I’m pretty close, and therefore, very proud of myself. Especially since I got off to a slow start with a much-too-low calorie count.

Here’s hoping that next week, when I check in, I’ll be reporting 8 pounds lost total. Cross your fingers and cheer me on! If nothing else, I FEEL different. I exercise for at least an hour almost pretty much every day, and I’ve found that I have more energy and I’m starting to actually look forward to the exercise. What?! Yep.

You see this face? That’s me, happy about where I’m going. I feel and see a change not just in my body, but in my outlook on health, and that’s better than I could’ve asked for.

Disclosure: I was chosen by Shaklee to be a #Cinchspiration blogger. As a result, I will receive a 6-month supply of Shaklee 180 products along with online support and incentives as I document my journey. As usual, all opinions are authentic and mine. Results and experiences are unique for each person, so results may vary. People following the weight loss portion of Shaklee 180 can expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week.