[FlippinBeans]

Howdy all.

First time caller, short time lurker.

Growing up I was always pretty thin (graduated high school at 5'11" 160 pounds). Around 27 I started packing on pounds.

I work in IT and have a fairly sedentary lifestyle. Blew out my knee in college so my normal physical activities (tennis, skiing, cross country running, bicycling) stopped abruptly which set the table for weight gain when my metabolism slowed down in my late 20s.

About 2 months ago I started having some medical issues and it was determined that I was type II diabetic (yuck) and I started metformin. This also prompted me to completely change my diet which until then had consisted of a #1 with large Dr Pepper at the McD's drive-through on the 1-1/2 hour commute to work and other fast food garbage for lunch & dinner.

Did some research, initially looking at 30/10, and ended up on TSFL.

Dropped $800 on my first order and crossed my fingers. I wanted a significant monetary investment to keep me on track and to make it harder to quit. The first week was **** but I was seeing progress which was all the encouragement I needed and pressed on. The hunger subsided midway through week 2 and the results have been consistent.

I've lost 22 of my 42 pound goal in the first month. I've cheated a little bit, and I do mean little. 4 plain M&Ms and a Coke zero (none on the same day). Celebrated 20 pounds down with a McD's cheeseburger. Drinking 100oz of water per day along with the 5&1 plan.

The rate of weight loss has subsided but I'm averaging 5 pounds per week with TSFL & a little excercise (treadmill, jump rope, brisk walks). Clothes that haven't fit in a few years look great. My skin feels & looks better (had some complexion issues), I'm sleeping better, and the bags/dark circles under my eyes have almost disappeared. My blood glucose levels have dropped significantly.

One of the biggest surprises has been my affinity for cooking. I actually love going to the supermarket, picking out lean meats, vegetables, researching 'lean and green' recipes, and making a mess of the kitchen. This is something I never had any interest in prior to my 'health scare'. My girlfriend loves it as well.

I love the convenience of Medifast and it's easy. Just grab 5 of anything and eat at 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm and watch the weight drop off.

Some of the food is not great and I've quickly compiled a list of 'never order this **** again' items. But, overall, TSFL is working and I'm glad I stumbled across this forum when doing a Google search for 'this plan vs that plan'.

Thanks to all of you from a lurker. Your stories, struggles, anecdotes, recommendations, warnings, and encouragement have helped tremendously.

This may very well be my one and only post but I wanted to throw a shout out to the 3FC.

Gracias all.