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Old 10-15-2013, 10:50 PM   #1  
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Default Insanely overwhelmed!!

Hi! This is my first post on here so I'm not sure if I should "introduce" myself or just dive in with my questions. I'm making myself crazy lately with all the research I've been doing about different diet options out there, and I just need some help sorting it all out!!

My goal is to lose the 30 lbs of baby weight I've been carrying for the past 15 months. I have a very regulated body; I played college BB and our coach weighed us and checked our body fat every quarter...I weighed 170 every.single.time. Not a pound more or less. For the 3 times I checked into the hospital to deliver my 3 babies I weighed the exact same for 2 of them, was 2 lbs lighter for the 3rd-- even though my weight gain for each pregnancy ranged from 25-60 lbs! I was the exact same weight while I nursed #1 and #3, during ALL the time I nursed them (I was preggo with #3 while I was nursing #2, so she doesn't count, lol). After each birth, I dropped to 192 and then stayed there, literally, all 11 months I nursed DD1, all 15 months I nursed DD3. With DD1, after I quit nursing, I dropped to 160, but it took about 8 months or so, though I wasn't really doing anything in particular. I've lost about 3 lbs in the 3 weeks since DD3 weaned, but I've also just had foot surgery and it hasn't gone well and now I'm looking at being immobile a LOT longer than we had anticipated.

Soooo.... I'm worried about all the laying around I have to do waiting to heal, and quite honestly, I just so desperately want the weight (or most of it, anyway) gone before we go back home for Christmas and see people we haven't seen in nearly a year, esp. my super-skinny-slightly-snarky SIL.

I've been looking at Medifast, but oh, my, it's $$$$. But my girls are 1,2,and 5-- I cannot count calories/carbs/etc...I LOVE the idea of meal replacements so I don't have to think about what to eat. I'm so pathetic with my foot right now that even reading people's tips about how to make MF foods more edible sound like too much work!

I've written too much already-but my questions are:

1) Based on the crazy "regularity" of my body, will this type of diet even work for me?

2) I know ppl do it, but how do you know how to mix/match MF and Wonderslim (and Bariwise) foods? What is it you have to be "counting" or watching to make that work?

3) If I try to mix and match, is it better to follow the basic guidelines of one of those plans over the other? (ex.: the MF 5+1, with WS supplements vs. the WS 5+1+1 with some Medifast supplements)

Thanks for even reading all that, and any advice you have!

Last edited by Kadorza; 10-15-2013 at 10:52 PM.
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Old 10-16-2013, 01:55 PM   #2  
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I don't write down every number anymore, but I do just focus on making healthier choices for everyone in my household. When I check up on my counts every once in a while, my totals are pretty low calorie (I know you don't want to count).

My nutritionist several years ago said something simple that just resonated with me: make sure your plate is 1/2 non starchy vegetable, 1/4 lean protein, and no more than 1/4 starch. This doesn't mean you need to have these as separate components, but the idea of percentages can be carried over to any dish.

How does your family do meals right now? Is there any way that the person who prepares meals for your family can tweak them so they're healthier? Simple swaps like opting for lower fat cuts of meat, incorporating more vegetables into your meals, reducing some carbs, choosing lower fat dairy, having less sugar and sugary drinks can help tremendously.
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Old 10-16-2013, 02:05 PM   #3  
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Oh, and Dr. Anderson's Simple Diet is an alternative to Medifast that isn't so expensive, and is based off of store bought frozen meals and shakes.

There are some threads for it here, but I know that Kaplods is an awesome source of information on how to make it work for you.
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Old 10-16-2013, 09:33 PM   #4  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchy View Post
I don't write down every number anymore, but I do just focus on making healthier choices for everyone in my household. When I check up on my counts every once in a while, my totals are pretty low calorie (I know you don't want to count).

My nutritionist several years ago said something simple that just resonated with me: make sure your plate is 1/2 non starchy vegetable, 1/4 lean protein, and no more than 1/4 starch. This doesn't mean you need to have these as separate components, but the idea of percentages can be carried over to any dish.

How does your family do meals right now? Is there any way that the person who prepares meals for your family can tweak them so they're healthier? Simple swaps like opting for lower fat cuts of meat, incorporating more vegetables into your meals, reducing some carbs, choosing lower fat dairy, having less sugar and sugary drinks can help tremendously.
Thanks for the response! We usually eat fairly well...I say "fairly" because I was well-trained by my college coach (who had a doctorate in Nutrition, yikes!) so I do know WHAT to do and eat to be healthy, but life often gets in the way of my best intentions. Like this surgery, and being totally laid up for awhile. We moved here just last year and don't have family within 700 miles, so my poor DH is doing everything right now. He does his best, and likes to eat healthy, too--but some nights it's mac 'n cheese for the girls, frozen burritos for us. The girls eat better than I do, because when money is tight, I do the "mama thing" and make sure they get the fresh fruit/veggies first, and they're good eaters, so they'll eat it all! I grind my own grain to make whole-wheat flour, and that's really the only bread we eat (again, not right now, with me laid up). We never drink carbonated anything, have junk food snacks in the house, or eat out much (can't afford to!). I do have a hot chocolate addiction come fall, though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchy View Post
Oh, and Dr. Anderson's Simple Diet is an alternative to Medifast that isn't so expensive, and is based off of store bought frozen meals and shakes.

There are some threads for it here, but I know that Kaplods is an awesome source of information on how to make it work for you.
Thank you for the info--I spent some time looking into it just now and my only concern (because I really like how the rest of it sounds) is the exercise. Is that an integral part of the program? We're an active family, but other than doing Elmo's "workout in a chair" on TV days with the girls , I won't be very active for awhile!

Last edited by Kadorza; 10-16-2013 at 09:35 PM.
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Old 10-17-2013, 12:31 PM   #5  
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I'm a single mom, so I completely understand what it's like to try to do things when you're at a minimum functioning level. Days that I'm sick, I still have to be a mom and make sure that my child goes to school, gets home, eats, is clean, etc.

I am a batch/freezer cooker, detailed HERE but on days when I'm stuck, I have some quick meals in my repertoire that take less than 15 minutes and almost no work. Maybe you can suggest some of these to the hubby since they're super simple?

1) eggs, turkey bacon/turkey sausage, toast
2) Vegetable omelette
2) Black bean/veggie corn tortilla quesadillas with cheese, sour cream/salsa
3) Canned sardines and almond crackers (my daughter won't eat this LOL)
4) Turkey kielbasa, any frozen vegetable, some kind of starch
5) Microwave "baked" potato loaded with oven roasted broccoli, turkey bacon, cheese, sour cream
6) High fiber tortilla/flatbread/pita pizza with toppings
7) Pasta with marinara and veggies
8) Minute rice and canned beans with peppers, onions, Spanish seasonings (this can be eaten as is or rolled into a burrito!)

Things that I keep in my freezer for emergencies or busy days for the little one that I prepare ahead are things like cheese/cauliflower sauce frozen in ice cube trays (quick mac and cheese when you mix a few cubes with cooked pasta), homemade burritos, squash/chicken nuggets, burgers, zucchini/turkey meatballs, and marinara sauce. Any of these can be just microwaved or put in a toaster oven. A rotisserie chicken can be a God-send, and so can canned beans, minute brown rice, and frozen vegetables.

I don't really eat a lot of pre-made food because I am a much better cook, it's entirely too expensive for me, and the fact that I can't control the quality/healthiness of the ingredients. However, I think the Dr. Anderson's diet would work well, despite your injury. Maybe you can try it for a month (it can't hurt) and see if it helps. After a while, you will be more mobile again and can get right back into exercising.

Last edited by Munchy; 10-17-2013 at 12:39 PM.
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Old 10-18-2013, 03:23 PM   #6  
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WOW. Munchy, thank you so much for your post--that was REALLY helpful and full of great info and ideas---I appreciate it!!

I still have a lot of questions about the plan, etc., but I'm about to head out the door for an appt. so I'll ask later. Thanks!!!
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Old 10-19-2013, 02:03 PM   #7  
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Okay....now to my questions.

1) Do you have recipes already written out somewhere on here for all those foods you mentioned? I am not at all asking you to write them out for me, just thought it was worth asking if in the past you had already done so. (These things: cheese/cauliflower sauce, homemade burritos, squash/chicken nuggets, burgers, zucchini/turkey meatballs)

2) Other than what is on the plan, does the Simple Diet differ from Medifast/Wonderslim? In terms of how and how fast you lose weight? (obviously knowing everyone's body is different)

3) And....since you've been here awhile, do you know if there's a thread or sticky that sort of "summarizes" all the packaged diet plans out there? Has anyone that's ever tried, say, Medifast, Simple Diet, Ideal Protein, Nutrisystem, etc, ever written about them all? I need a Diet "crash-course-for-dummies", I think. I feel like the more I read on individual threads about each diet separately, the more confused I get and realize I need to back up to figure out what "rules" those particular posters are living by, anyway, before I can understand their tips and strategies in the first place! Does that even make sense?

Thanks so much for all your help, especially when you're so insanely busy!
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Old 10-19-2013, 03:17 PM   #8  
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On teh main page d 3FC, there is his http://www.3fatchicks.com/diet/diets/diets-detailed/. It will give you reviews of those diets. Hope this helps.
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Old 10-19-2013, 03:24 PM   #9  
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I can answer some of your questions about The Simple Diet (which I'll refer to as TSD for short). The exercise is stressed as important, but you don't have to do any more than you can handle. The 2000 calorie target is just that, a target, something you work towards as you are able.

I don't get anywhere near the target. One of my reasons for switching to TSD was that I was experiencing such pain and fatigue from my fibro, arthritis, and AI issues that I didn't have the energy even to prepare meals.

As to the speed of TSD, it is comparable to any other meal replacement plan. The factors that affect speed the most (in my experience) are calorie intake, carb intake (for those who are carb sensitive) freggie intake, exercise, and to some degree water intake (there's no need to drink more than 3 quarts of liquids, but fluids will help prevent constipation which can can cause gains and reduce losses on the scale, at least until resolved).

The book isn't necessary to get started, but I would highly recommend reading it at least once. I borrowed mine from the library, and initially had no plans to buy it (though I had taken a few notes).

I ended up buying the book on kindle (which I now have loaded on my Nook), because the book has many tips for maximizing weight loss.

The Dr. Anderson's Simple Diet thread here has all the guidelines for the shakes, bars, entrees, and soups.

The basic formula is 3 shakes, 2 entrees, and 5+ sevings of veggies (no fat or sugar added).

The author says that people who eat the most freggies are more successful, and I've found that true for me, especially if I choose the lowest calorie options (you can have sweet fruits, avocado and starchy vegetables such as potato, legumes, and corn, but to maximize losses you would want to pick the higher water and lower calorie freggies like greens and berries).

I've been on a lot of meal replacement diets over the years, and I would rate it as the absolute best, because it gets high marks in all of the factors important to me - cost, results, simplicity, ease of following and ease of food preparation, variety, nutrition, hunger-control and food taste.


There are a few diets that might score as high or higher in some of those categories, but none that can come close to competing as well in all of them.
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Old 10-20-2013, 01:06 AM   #10  
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On teh main page d 3FC, there is his ****. It will give you reviews of those diets. Hope this helps.
Thank you!! I don't know how I missed all that before when I was looking around for exactly that info---again, thank you!!

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Originally Posted by kaplods View Post
I can answer some of your questions about The Simple Diet (which I'll refer to as TSD for short). The exercise is stressed as important, but you don't have to do any more than you can handle. The 2000 calorie target is just that, a target, something you work towards as you are able.

I don't get anywhere near the target. One of my reasons for switching to TSD was that I was experiencing such pain and fatigue from my fibro, arthritis, and AI issues that I didn't have the energy even to prepare meals.

As to the speed of TSD, it is comparable to any other meal replacement plan. The factors that affect speed the most (in my experience) are calorie intake, carb intake (for those who are carb sensitive) freggie intake, exercise, and to some degree water intake (there's no need to drink more than 3 quarts of liquids, but fluids will help prevent constipation which can can cause gains and reduce losses on the scale, at least until resolved).

The book isn't necessary to get started, but I would highly recommend reading it at least once. I borrowed mine from the library, and initially had no plans to buy it (though I had taken a few notes).

I ended up buying the book on kindle (which I now have loaded on my Nook), because the book has many tips for maximizing weight loss.

The Dr. Anderson's Simple Diet thread here has all the guidelines for the shakes, bars, entrees, and soups.

The basic formula is 3 shakes, 2 entrees, and 5+ sevings of veggies (no fat or sugar added).

The author says that people who eat the most freggies are more successful, and I've found that true for me, especially if I choose the lowest calorie options (you can have sweet fruits, avocado and starchy vegetables such as potato, legumes, and corn, but to maximize losses you would want to pick the higher water and lower calorie freggies like greens and berries).

I've been on a lot of meal replacement diets over the years, and I would rate it as the absolute best, because it gets high marks in all of the factors important to me - cost, results, simplicity, ease of following and ease of food preparation, variety, nutrition, hunger-control and food taste.


There are a few diets that might score as high or higher in some of those categories, but none that can come close to competing as well in all of them.
That's a great summary--that clears up a lot of my confusion and you answered some questions I had but had forgotten to ask in my last post! Thanks for mentioning the book and your library, too--- I hadn't thought of that so I just checked online and now I have a copy on hold that should be heading to our local library soon. Hopefully that'll help, too.

DH wants to do it (some of it, anyway) with me. He already lost his extra (ahem--his "sympathy pregnancy pounds", as he called them) 15 lbs doing Insanity but he knows he needs to learn better portion control, especially with the holidays coming up. So that should help-- especially with making meals for the whole family. Thanks again, I'll try again to find that thread on here about the diet!
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Old 10-22-2013, 09:20 AM   #11  
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Okay....now to my questions.

1) Do you have recipes already written out somewhere on here for all those foods you mentioned? I am not at all asking you to write them out for me, just thought it was worth asking if in the past you had already done so. (These things: cheese/cauliflower sauce, homemade burritos, squash/chicken nuggets, burgers, zucchini/turkey meatballs)
Not a problem!
Cheese/cauliflower sauce: simmer one chopped head with a bit of water, puree, stir in whatever cheese you wish, and season to taste. I take this, cool it, and put it in ice cube trays. Once it's frozen, I transfer the cubes to a labeled freezer bag. You can microwave to thaw and mix with cooked pasta for easy mac and cheese.

Squash/chicken nuggets: 1lb ground chicken mixed with 1-2 shredded yellow squash, one egg, season, and bread it with panko (I do a gluten free homemade mixture made from chex cereal and seasonings). Lightly oil your sheet pan and bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

Zucchini/turkey meatballs: 1lb ground turkey mixed with 1-2 zucchini, one egg, breadcrumbs (we do gf), parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Lightly oil your sheet pan and bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

Both the nuggets and meatballs freeze the same. Make sure you "unstick" them from your sheet, cool, then freeze on the sheet pan until frozen. Transfer to freezer bags. To serve, either microwave, use the toaster oven, or bake.

For burritos: Cook the filling, cool, top with cheese, then roll in high fiber flour tortillas, folding the sides in. Once rolled, put them seam side down on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags. You can do this with basically any filling. Rice, beans, chicken, ground meat, salsa, enchilada sauce, peppers, onions, eggs, sausage, potatoes, whatever tastes good. I've even taken leftover chopped veggies mixed with rice and rolled that. You can't really go wrong Last week I made them for the boyfriend with onion pepper homefries, chopped turkey bacon, spinach, and cheese - simple breakfast portable breakfast for "grab and go."
To serve you can just microwave in a damp paper towel for 2-3 minutes, or my personal favorite is thawing them in the microwave then pan-searing for a crisp exterior. Eat plain or with added salsa, sour cream, avocado, etc.

Here's a pic!



I would say that I'm basically following a similar "simple diet" but I'm making my own freezer meals. Whatever works for you and makes your life easier is the way to go! Good luck!

Last edited by Munchy; 10-22-2013 at 10:19 AM.
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Old 11-04-2013, 10:17 PM   #12  
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Thank you SO MUCH, Munchy, for all that!! I'm sorry I didn't post a thank-you sooner, our computer has been in the shop for most of the past couple weeks so I've been mostly offline for what feels like forever. :-) But I do really appreciate it all---though I'm pretty sure my burritos will never, ever look as pretty as yours! ;-)
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:00 AM   #13  
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No problem! I'm in the process of writing out a bunch of recipes for a healthy consulting/catering idea I have. Btw, I realized I omitted squeezing as much water out of the squash and zucchini
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