March Chat
 

I can't believe that no one has started a March chat....

I fell off the wagon. Last Tuesday I reached 25 pounds!!! Wooohooo!!! It was my birthday week and my family insisted on taking me to dinner...bad move...

I then had an out of town conference and ate lunch out....bad move....

Then I ate a donut at Fat Friday.....bad move....

Then I said, screw it! I'm off plan until Sunday.

Saturday night I had yummy tacos.....bad move....

Sunday I recommitted!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!! With all my bad moves I only gained 3 pounds. I'm totally back on plan and I'm feeling wonderful about it!

I'm a scrapbooker and made a really cool layout of my progress thus far.

http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/...pounds-web.jpg

and here's the journaling to go with it:
"It was the end of January when I decided to embark on a serious plan to not only control, but lose my weight. This time I was serious. My plan was not just to lose a few pounds, but to take it all off. When you actually look at how much you weigh and figure out that you literally need to lose 100 pounds, it becomes a little frightening. I began asking, how did I get this fat? I only gained 25 lbs with each of the kids. BINGO!!! I was so comfortable in my marriage that I
had let myself go. Growing up I had never been fat, I
was always very healthy, tall and somewhat lean with
amazing muscle tone. The truth is after two kids, not
eating healthy, and not caring about myself, I let myself become fat. Since I began my final weight loss journey five weeks ago, I’ve lost basically one quarter of the weight I want to lose. I’m down 25 pounds.
I’m thrilled with my progress and I’m motivated to see this through. I no longer want to be the fat mom. I want to be the mom that is out running and playing with her kids, I want to be the mom that’s not afraid of the swimming pool. You ask, what does 25 pounds look like? Look at me!"

Congrats Hope! :carrot:


So, I'm a moron and fell at school yesterday. I either severely sprained or hairline fractured my right ankle. (The doc told me there is a possibility of a fracture that won't become apparent until it starts to heal.)

I couldn't drive myself home; no one could come and get me. My very wonderful friend at school took me home with her. She's also the one that made me go to the hospital in the first place, drove me there, helped me learn how to use the crutches, brought me pain meds and waited on me last night.

I didn't want to impose anymore on her or her wonderful family so I did drive myself home this morning. It hurt but I thought going early in the am would be better than a.) trying to do it myself in rush hour traffic or b.) imposing even more on her to drive me home after she worked at the hospital.

Thank you God, for such wonderful friends.

It's going to make the dieting difficult because I can't carry anything and walk on crutches at the same time. Plus I need extra protein so I can heal as fast as possible. I'll have to miss clinical this week but if I miss it next week I automatically fail. Then the whole semester is scrapped which will really be carppy as we are over half way through. :cry:

Here's a tip . . . rain + high heeled boots + tile floor = bad things. :dizzy:

Samara: What a coincidence! I just joined this site about 5 minutes ago and your's is the first post I find! I'm a scrapbooker (part of the SBG Crew) and I just left a comment on this layout the other night! I almost PMd you to ask how you lost the weight cause I was thinking of trying Medifast. I got so excited just now when I saw your post and you've just convinced me I need to try it!

To Everyone Else: I'm brand new and I'm sorry for the unusual introduction! I've Yo Yo dieted for decades and I just keep losing/gaining the same weight over and over. 4 years ago I lost 40 pounds and reached my goal weight, then I managed to gain ALL of it back. Last summer I lost 18 pounds doing a low-carb Atkins plan, but since gained all of it back again. This past January I tried doing low-carbing again and the weight wouldn't even budge!

I suspect I've totally messed up my metabolism at this point. But, the idea to just exercise and eat healthy doesn't work for me. If it did, I wouldn't be overweight right now. the problem is that the weight loss is so slow that it's almost non-existent and eventually I end up eating too much and I start gaining instead of losing.

Just so you know, I'm a lifetime member of WW. But I lost that weight when I was in my 20s and it was easier then. I've tried WW 2-3 times since then and was unable to stick with it (I was hungry all the time an dmy weight loss stopped after a few weeks due to cheating). I've also tried Cambridge, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem. I've pretty much tried everything except Medifast and Optifast.

To make matters worse, I have Night Eating Syndrome. I wake up in the middle of the night and eat. During these night binges I have no willpower or self-control. This is one of the challenges that makes losing weight so difficult for me.

Okay - I hope I haven't totally depressed everyone with this introduction. But, here is the thing....even though I've been fighting this battle for years, and I've been unsuccessful, I'm not going to give up. Giving up is not an option because I don't want to accept being overweight as a permanent situation.

I'm getting ready to place my first Medifast order. Please wish me luck! I hope that I can contribute to this community in a positive way.

To Zeute: So sorry to hear about your ankle. It's always something isn't it?

Karen M

Best of luck to you, Karen. I think you will like MF.

There is virtually NO prep work. Not much shopping or cooking. The MF meals are delivered and you add water. The Lean & Green is so easy. I like to say KISS...Keep It Simple Stupid. I just keep plenty of chicken breasts, talipia, ground turkey, and frozen veggies on hand for that and throw most of that in the microwave in a Steam bag.

I hope you find that it halts the night time eating. I can't sleep if I am hungry. I too used to get up and night and eat everything in sight. That is a problem for me on most other plans. On MF I am just not hungry at night. I don't get hungry much at all! I eat every 2 to 3 hrs all day long with my last MF meal around 8 or 9 pm.

Sometimes if I get a little bit of a nagging feeling to eat during the day, I will pop in a piece of Extra SF gum and that stops it. Also, having the gum in my mouth when I get home in the evening helped stop one of my bad habits. I used to go straight to the kitchen and start stuffing in junk food such as cookies or chips or even cold pizza.....anything within reach all the while I was cooking another fattening supper. Now, I just keep the gum in my mouth while I prepare my Lean & Green.


Zeute: I know how tough nursing school can be. I went for a while. I made it half way through my last semester. I dropped out because I was a single mom of 2 teenage boys, one of which was giving me a lot of trouble at the time. I didn't have enough time to study after being up all night with family problems. I never went back. My life and career took another path, but if it is your passion, you will get back on track. I truly belive that there are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason. We may not believe it when it happens but I KNOW everything always turns out for the best....in it's own time. Just hang in there and keep your goals in mind.

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar-le...4/125/185/.png

Poor Zeute! Increase your lean? That's pure protein.

Hi everyone!

OMG!!! HI KAREN!!! I'm totally excited that you are here with us!!!!

Zeute- you poor thing!!!! Like Brooke suggested, you might increase your lean.

Zeute, so sorry to hear about your fall. :( When I wrecked up my leg (because of a fall too) I used a backpack to carry all my stuff. Maybe you could try that?

Like the others said, maybe you could increase your lean or spread the protein out during the day more by having string cheese or one of those little cups of LF cottage cheese. I can't think of any other portable leans right now --> brain dead :dizzy:

Hope you are feeling better soon! <3 :hug:

I am starting Medifast tomorrow.
 

Hi Everyone!

I have been lurking on the medifast boards and have really enjoyed reding everyones post. I am starting medifast Sat. and I am excited. I have struggled with my weight for the past two years and enough is enough. I hope that medifast can help me reach my goal of being at a healthy weight again. I am ready!!!!!! Please show me your support ladies and I will return the favor!

Choa Bellas

Zeute, you could carry a lunch bag with cheese and/or boiled eggs for extra protein..... Poor you! Which is worse - the embarrassment or pain??

Welcome Hotmom (it feels weird to say that.....) Good luck. The most important thing to remember is to soak your oatmeal and add cinnamon and splenda.

Karen, Wow, night eating?? I've seen news shows about people who eat while sleeping. Is that what you mean? Or do you wake up out of a sound sleep and eat uncontrollably? Either way, that's terrible! Good luck and welcome.

I've been diligent and focused. I stayed perfectly on plan and lost 3 pounds this week. It was actually only 5 days, but I like to weigh on Fridays, so there it is. Once I lose this pound, this will be the smallest I've been in over 2 years. Once I hit 200, it will be the smallest in 5 years. I haven't seen the 160's since my 20's!! This is exciting, but since I messed around SO LONG it feels like it's taking forever. No more messing around.

What are this week's losses??

Hey all,

Like HotMama I have been lurking on the Medifast Boards. I've been on Medifast for one week now, and I lost 4 lbs. I didn't expect to lose that much and I'm sure some of it is water weight, but it's encouraging.

Good luck HotMama, this has definitely been the easiest plan I've ever done. Though I do miss certain things like having a drink at dinner and eating a bun with my hamburgers. But once you see the scale it's all worth it!

This week is going to be hard as it's Spring Break and I'm gonna be with some friends in a rental house. Hope I can stay On Plan.

2 lbs for me - my body is playing catch up I think :)

Good Luck Hotmom and Rachel - you will do great!

Michelle - You are doing terrific :carrot:

Zeute - Hope you are feeling better!

Waving Hi to everyone I missed!

SweetP - Day-ummm! Girl you are SO amazing!!

Good luck and hello Rachel.

Today I exercised for the first time since last summer. Good Grief!! Last year I did Jillian's (from The Biggest Loser) circuit training program, which was VERY difficult. I was 259 pounds and I was working out like no one's business. Here I am 15 pounds lighter and I can barely do 30 squats. I had to keep sitting down because my heart was beating out of my chest. My 5 minute warm up lasted for 17 years! I can't believe how out of shape I am....

How's everyone doing?

I have a appointment at a Medifast Weigh Control Center (I thnk that is what they call it). Anyhow I am trying to figure out if I should go that path or just order the products on line?
Anyone ever try the actual Control Center?

They didn't have Medifast centers when I started & there are none near me anyways so I had to order online. I would definitely check out the Center. You could ask them if the prices are the same as online & how you can get access to the My Medifast support boards.

Look forward to hearing what you think of the Center. :)

Hi Everyone,
OK I was suppose to start Sat but end up starting Today. So far so good. I think overall the food is cool but the oatmeal is just plain nasty to me. I need a recipe for the oatmeal...lol. I am going to weigh in on Friday, I hope to see at least 2 pounds gone!!!!

Michelle127, Rachel and Sweet P - good luck ladies, from reading the boards everyone is doing great.

I will update you ladies soon!

Try making the oatmeal with just hot water, don't microwave it.

I made waffles with my oatmeal, very good. I tried a lot of recipes and this is the only one I like.

Any MF oatmeal
2 T eggbeaters or 1 egg white
1/2 tsp baking powder
between 1/4 and 1/2 water to make batter the right consistency, go slowly with the water. If you add too much just let it sit.

You can add vanilla syrup, cinnamon, splenda etc but it was good by itself. It still has the odd oatmeal taste but it's really good. It makes 2 small square waffles or maybe one big one.

Good luck! :hug:

Jen,
WOW!!!!!!! Great job!!

Hotmom,
I accidentally figured out what way works for me. I tried the muffins, bread, waffles, and pancakes. I didn't like them and anyway I try to keep with the basics. I hear that people lose more quickly if they stay away from the recipes.

I mix my oatmeal (apple & cinnamon or blueberry) with 3/4 cup of water. Stir in cinnamon (extract is best) and 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of splenda, depending on my mood. Then put the bowl in the fridge and let it soak until you're done getting ready. Nuke for 2 minutes - yum!

You're going to have to play around with the food and figure out what you like. I could not live without PB2, Davinici's sugar free syrups, my magic bullet, and the fancy shaker for 3.99. Good luck.

tracer,
I would definitely go to the center if I could. Let us know what happens.

So I went on the eliptical today. Wooooshh! I managed 20 minutes, but WOW it was torture! I can't believe how out of shape I am. I'm gonna keep it between 20-30 minutes - that's it. I might be tired cuz stupid TOM showed up at tad early. But I guess 3 pounds this week was pretty good!

I'm BAAAACK!
 

:sunny:

Ok so here I go on a cruise right? Scared to death that I won't be able to eat anything or I will gain everything I have lost back:dizzy:

So I go to New Orleans-land of great restaurants-eat very carefully, take my bars and shakes and do a modified plan. Get on the cruise ship where I'm sure I will do shakes and bars and two lean and greens every day, forget about it!

I stayed on a low carb plan for about two days but then ate everything I wanted. I drank wine and had a good time. I also worked out every morning and drank lots of water. Bottom line is I came home and thought, Oh well if I gained 10 pounds back I know how to take it off. I weighed this morning and gained 1.5 pounds!!!:carrot: I was in shock!

So now back to plan, but more important I know that I won't just pack the weight back on when I've reached my goal. I also realize I can't possibly eat like I did on the cruise all of the time, but it is possible to live a normal life with celebrations etc and not lose the battle!

Welcome all of you newbies! I am thrilled that you have decided to try this wonderful program! You will find that this is the best thing around for us chronic dieters! I too have tried them all and this is the one that works.

Wooooo Hooooooo!! Great job! You know, I would have eaten everything too..... You have to live and enjoy life too.

Now back to the grind! :D

Hi Again everyone!

I just want to say I made it through Day 1 yesterday! It wasn't too bad, however I did find the MF meals extremely small! I didn't feel quite satisfied after them, but I'm hoping once I adjust to eating smaller amounts I'll feel more full. On the other hand, the lean and green was very filling (6 ounces of chicken is more than I would normally eat).

vbevens - I'm going on a cruise in just 3 weeks and I'm worried about what I'll do. But, it was a choice between starting MF or waiting another month and I decided to go ahead and start. I'm hoping to lose 6-8 pounds before the cruise. I already know I won't be able to stay on plan during the cruise - it's my first cruise and I want to be able to drink a glass of wine and indulge just a little bit! I'm inspired that you made it through a cruise with very little damage! And of course there is the challenge of getting back on plan after the cruise.

Michelle - there are two kinds of disorders: Sleep Eating Disorder and Night Eating Syndrome. I have Night Eating Syndrome so I'm not actually asleep. I am awake, but it's like I don't have control. Almost like I'm in a trance. People with Sleep Eating are actually asleep as if they are sleep walking. Sleep eaters will sometimes consume non-food items like soap! Luckily, I didn't wake up last night. Hopefully, I can break out of the syndrome with MF!

I am very inspired by all of your successes! I'm amazed at everyone's tickers as many of you have lost a LOT of weight!

Goodluck to all the other newcomers!

Dear iamkaren-my advice for the cruise is to drink LOTS of water and work out. That seems to have been the key for me. Since I've been back (three days now) I have lost another 5 pounds. I think going off the plan kind of kick started something.

Where are you cruising?

Just wondering if anyone has tried the new Momentum products from MF. I just ordered some to come with my next order. Supposedly they have the stuff that is in green tea and some caffiene to help boost the weight loss.

I have lost 11 pounds total in 3 weeks so I am not complaining, but I haven't lost anything in over a week. I even gained a couple of pounds then back down. I think it was because I have been sick with a horrible cold. Sunday I went off plan but didn't eat much. I just didn't eat MF foods. I had fever and chills and just nibbled a few items such as pretzles and some FF chips. I know.....carbs!! Also, the cough was so bad I slept with a cough drop in my mouth for a few nights. I did count the calories....15 per drop. I still kept my calories on average the same.

I am just thinking that the Momentum stuff may help. Anyone with some personal input on them?

Tootsie

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar-le...4/125/185/.png

Congratulations on your continued weight loss! I'm very inspired by everyone's successes here!

I'm going to the Bahamas. It's my first cruise ever and it's only 4 days. Of course, I'll be traveling a day or so on each end to get to/from the port. As I already mentioned, I almost didn't start Medifast until after the cruise. But then I figured if I can lose 5-10 pounds before the cruise, I'll enjoy it more - and maybe I won't go crazy eating everything in sight!

The water and exercise are good suggestions. I'll be with my SIL. She and her son are runners so they will be good influences!

My biggest challenge will be getting back on plan right afterwards. Maybe you guys can help me be accountable.

Jen, I craved salty things like chips and I normally crave sweet. I think MF is sweet so we miss salt and crunch. I bought the MF crackers and put Laughing Cow lite cheese on them every night and that helped a lot. I would also make eggs and salt them. I normally don't use salt much but seemed to want it.

I am not on MF any longer but tonight I had MF oatmeal waffles. I still like them and I use MF to keep my calories low. In the 3 weeks or so that I have been off I have only lose an additional 5. I seem to be having a hard time getting my calories back up to a normal amount for losing, 1,400. I zig zag them from 1,000 to 1,800. Today I stayed under 1,000 just to see. I wonder if MF screwed up my metabolism?? Exercise might help but I am lazy!

It's finally getting warmer in WI. The puppy comes in muddy but its worth it!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Could it be almost your TOM? I have a few hard days just before when I want to eat everything. Maybe add an xtra shake on those days?

When calories are low our body catches on and lowers metabolism so we don't starve. Zig zagging is a way to fool the body. Eat low for 3 days then high for one or two then back down. Change up what you eat, carbs, protein etc. I was watching Biggest Loser and they have a cheat day to fool their metabolism. When you hit a plateau you go down in calories by 100 but if you start at 1,200 you don't have anywhere to go. Most tell you not to go below 1,200 unless you are doing MF. I have read a lot of good about MF. Also, eating every 3 hours is very important and keeps metabolism higher. Exercise as well.

You are going to love Laughing Cow. It tastes so yummy after being on MF.

brooke-you said you are no longer doing MF? Can I ask why?

I think the zig-zagging occured for me without trying because of my cruise and I have seen fantastic results since I have been back. There has been a lot of discussion on the MyMedifast.com about the level of calories and the metabolism stalling.

I have tried the Momentum and it's good. I have to say I had some and then I had a Diet Coke and the total cafein made me a little nauteous. (sp?)

I had real problems with my body not moving things through and that made me feel awful. I tried everything but it didn't help. So I am doing a modified MF still using the meals but eating healthy otherwise.

Oh that's right I remember now.

I have been adding flax meal to everything I make with the MF recipes and that really helps. (However it's got some BAD gas making material)

Are you doing the Weight watchers? You and I are going toward the same goal and about the same height.

Are you exercising now?

Hi Brooke, I have a question for you. Can you describe the Medifast modified diet? Do you just use like 2 Medifast meals a day and then eat healthy for the other meals?
I'm asking because after I finish my 5 initial weeks on this diet I don't know if I have the willpower to follow the full plan for more weeks! But I'd still like to incorporate Medifast meals into my diet.

I haven't figured it out yet. I am having trouble eating a normal amount of calories. I have charted daily and my calories have been between 1,000 and 1,900 but average 1,250. I should be able to eat 1,600 and still lose at my weight. I have been trying to zig zag, down and up days. If I am not losing much at 1,250 that worries me because if you drop too low, you have no where to go if you hit a plateau since you drop 100 per day every time you plateau. I think MF lowered my metabolism. I've read all kinds of info about how not to lower metabolism but not much on how to recover if you have done that. It has gone slowly this month, down only 4. I need to up my exercise, I go on the elliptical but not every day.

I some days have 1 or 2 MF meals and some days none depending on the day. I still eat every 3 hours.

I think I may try to find a nutritionist just for peace of mind so I know what I am doing. Onederland is so close and I am so impatient! lol :D

Brooke - I share similar concerns and yet I just started MF so I can't blame my slow metabolism on MF. But, as I mentioned in my introduction earlier in this thread, I feel like a chronic, unsuccessful dieter and I fear that my metabolism is really messed up. The last diet I tried prior to MF was Adkins and I did it for 3 weeks and didn't lose weight.

I'm almost finished with my first week of MF and I've only lost 1.5 pounds. And aside from some very minor 'cheats', I stayed on plan. I did have one glass of wine at a friends house, and one night a had a handful of checks Mix. Other than that I've done the 5 and 1, even measuring everything on my L&G. Oh yeah - and one night I sprinkled some toasted almonds on my green salad.

My only thought is maybe I'm going too long between meals and my body is already in starvation mode. I tend to not eat upon awakening and have my first meal at about 1:00 or 2:00 pm. You may recall, I have a problem with night eating so I save my MF bar for when I wake in the middle of the night. So, typical of a night eater, I have most of my meals between 1 pm and 2 am. Then what would normally be a sleep-time fast, is between say 3:00 am and noon to me. As I said, I'm all screwed up.

Maybe this week I'll start forcing myself to eat my first MF meal before noon and see if that helps. In the past, when I eat early, it triggers hunger for the rest of the day. Anyone else have this problem?

Brooke- if you figure out how to jump-start your metabolism, please share!

Brooke,

I didn't even think about my TOM. I have never really been one for cravings before, during, or after but now that I think about it, I bet that is exactly what it was.

I think I will try the zig zagging of calories once I make my goal. I like the idea of low cal./carb. for a couple of days and then maybe having a little something more on another day. Am I getting this right? For example, you would have a lower cal on MTW and then say on Thurs. you might have a couple hundred more calories? If that is what you are saying then I can see how I would be satisfying. It's sound like treating yourself and I like treats!

Do you know of any good sites that talk about zig zagging calories? I'd really like to look into this a bit more.


Jen

Weigh in today 3.5 pounds down...yeah!

Karen, you really should try to eat earlier. I believe you should eat within 1 hour of waking. And then every 3 hours. Hang with it a bit longer and see if it gets better. Also, I had a hard time getting water in, are you doing that?

Zig zag sites are hard to find. They also call it calorie shifting but they say I should be way above where I am in calories and that hasn't been working.

Most of the sites are for body builders. Look at this one, 2,500 calories for breakfast!

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Cal...hift&id=814828

This one is interesting, it combines zig zag and Weight Watchers.

http://www.stormpc.com/ww/wendie_plan.htm

I am off to make MF waffles.

Hi guys!!

I'm in need of serious help!!! I don't know why, but it's like I REFUSE to stay on plan. I'm so proud of the weight I've lost so far, but for whatever reason I keep eating CRAP!!!!

It all started with the week of my bday, Feb 28. Since then I keep "cheating". The only reason why I haven't gained weight is because I'm still eating nearly all my MF meals too. I've started working out, riding my mountain bike nearly 2.5 miles every day.

I so wish they had a MF center here so that I could go to meetings and be more motivated.

Oh, did I say that a few weeks ago I stopped entering my meals into my Online tracker? Today I counted all my meals, entered the correct totals, and started tracking my meals.

Hi Samara Sweetie!

I wish I had words of wisdom.... I can manage about 10 days on program before I fall off and go Whole Hog - so to speak. I feel like a dumbass, but there it is. I'm going to go back on program for 3 days. 3 perfect days. I'm going to log my meals and work out. After those 3 days, I'm going to go for 3more days, then 3 more. I will NOT eat anything off program because I can NOT trust myself. When I hit day 11, my personal best, I'm going to buy myself a shirt. Then I'm going to start all over again.

Will it work? Can Michelle finally and forever get below 245 stinking pounds? It hasn't happened yet, but hey, let's give it a try.

Samara, let's log in each day and keep each other honest.... Today I was 100% OFF program.

I'll talk to you tomorrow.