How does this work long term?
 

Thinking in terms of lifestyle change vs. diet. What I'm doing right now which admittedly is early on is definitely a diet, not a lifestyle change. I do not see myself drinking HNS, never having chocolate or pizza for the rest of my life.

Anyone on maintenance that can share how this looks longer term?

I'm not on maintenance, but I have a friend who went through it all. After you reach goal, you go on stabilization which is 6 weeks or reintroducing different foods back into your diet (fat, carbs, dairy) and then maintance which is a 1200-1500 calorie plan. During stabilization you cut back on HNS until you are not having any at all. The biggest thing to know and follow is "everything in moderation". After you have reached your goal and stabilized your weight, there is no reason that you cannot treat yourself to chocolate/pizza once in a while (lord knows I will). They key is to make good choices 95% of the time so that when you have something a little unhealthy, it's ok.

My friend still watches everything she eats (its now become a habit for her) but she does have treats when she wants them.

Ditto what sgustin8 said. It seems wildly restrictive at first, but now it's just a way of life for me. If I eat off plan, I feel gross and bloated. I will be starting stabilization soon, which will add foods back in to see how my body reacts to them. I may have to choose not to eat certain things for the rest of my life in order to stay healthy - and I am willing to do that! It feels fantastic to be thin and energetic!

Ditto all of the above. Let me share with you how I'm thinking about it as I get close to stabalization.

Before this diet, I never really thought much about my total day or total week intake. I took each meal as it's own and would decide about treats or no treats, eat healthy or have something tasty. They were never really connected together - which meant, I probably treated myself way too much.

Now after paying such close attention to what i've been eating for the past 7 months, in maintenance, I'll see the bigger picture. Pizza for dinner means healthy breakfast and lunch that day or a couple treats in a row means get back to basics for the rest of my meals that week. I'm not really thinking of it in terms of what i'll never eat again, because I don't see how there's anything i could never eat. But what it does mean is to pay attention to the whole day or the whole week and make sure you that of the 21 meals a week, 14 or so are really good for me so I have the flexibility for the other 7 (or whatever percentage it turns out to be). Now I'm used to thinking like this so I won't accidentally go like 10 meals that aren't very balanced.

I hope that answers your question. Moderation is indeed key, and trust me when I say that i'm planning a very decadent dinner (with dessert) for my maintenance celebration meal... which i'll followup with a healthy breakfast and lunch :)

I am currently on week five of stabilization. Yes, the center gradually introduces food back to your diet. Every week something new is added every other day or so. You find that you don't want the new foods. When corn was added, it was,"well, so what."
During one of the weeks, dairy is added and that brought my homemade lattes back in the morning. Yeah! Yogurt was also added and now I can have two a day.
You find that the menu will be a lot of food. My center said that you don't have to eat all the food and that in fact, they do not.
I've lost about five pounds on stabilization. I'm really concerned about putting the weight back on. I hope that I'm smart enough to keep this off.
With your program, you might have a year's worth of maintance. I plan on visiting my center every other week to keep in check. And yes, I weigh daily.
Oh, one other thing. They really encourage exercise which is not a problem for me.
Many people have asked me how I lost the weight and I feel much better and can move around easier. I can see how this program can be used in your life even after the days at the center. Yes, there will be birthdays, celebrations, etc. but they don't have to be a habit. You can still enjoy life and eat "on program" the other days.
I wish you success. You can make this program work for you.

I have been on metabolic for 4 weeks now. Can anyone help me with what the average weekly weight loss should be? I am wondering how long I will take me to loose 50 lbs? When I joined they told me to expect to loose 20 lbs in 4 weeks. I lost 10. I am feeling like I am not doing something right? I follow plan. I had a brownie one weekend and it blew me for the week so I learned that the hard way.

Sorry to hear your expectations were set so high. 10 lbs is great, congratulations. The center 'guarantees' 2-5lbs a week if you stay exactly on plan.

I have been on program for almost 7 months and average 2 lbs a week. Sometimes it dips a bit below that and sometimes it goes above, but right now my overall average is like 2.13 or something.

I basically expect about 8-10 lbs a month for MY body, but everyone is different, some lose faster and some slower.

Hope that helps!

I would think you could expect a minimum of 8 pounds in 4 weeks and a maximum of 20 pounds in 4 weeks so if you've lost 10 you're right in the expected range.