Preparation

Having a week before I went on the 5 and 1 meal program seemed to be a good thing for me.

It gave my wife and I time to eat up foods in our pantry and refrigerator that weren't allowed on the program. It also gave us time to replenish our fridge and pantry with food that was allowed.

We went on a farewell tour of restaurants and foods that we would not be visiting/eating for awhile. I think this has helped me to not crave them so much.

It gave us time to visualize how this will fit into our life. We had to consider what we will prepare for our kids when we are only having a bar or shake.

It gave me time to map out how I was going to fit 3 extra meals into my day.

I also used the week to think about upcoming events that could provide pitfalls and come up with strategies to overcome them. There were restaurant invitations, birthdays, mini vacations, and Father's Day meals with family within the first couple of weeks on the program.

I feel like I was able to better hit the ground running on Day 1 because I had a week to prepare for it.