For the sake of brevity, I came here looking for some advice on the L&G. I just placed my order for my first month of Medifast but I'm still a little confused on the program. If I wanted to eat all bars, pretzels and puffs one day, could I? That may seem silly, but I work long hours and they seem the most travel friendly.

For the L&G, do I have a specific amount of calories I'm suppose to stay under or do I just strive for the required protein and vegetable serving sizes? Also, where can I find the list of approved condiments? I found it once and can't find it anywhere!

Basically, the plan seems really simple but then I find myself questioning it's simplicity!

Next is the ***LONG*** part, so feel free to skip it and at least comment on the L&G! :-) lol

So, here's a little background since I haven't had a chance to really blog about this experience at all. I'm a graduate student studying neuroscience with a specialization in reward pathways... I know food can be highly rewarding (and addicting!) but I can't seem to apply the principles to my own life.

For the last year I was working 50-70 hours a week. Yes, it is possible, I was finishing collecting data for my thesis and also writing it up. On top of that, I was teaching a senior level college course at a large public university. I was also applying to PhD programs as I found out a year into my adviser was retiring.

Fast forward to May of this year: I gave a final exam to my students and mentally prepared myself for a two week break (FINALLY!). When I got home, I realized there was ponding water in the downstairs bathroom of our (me and my husband's) condo. Yep, our upstairs neighbors flooded us!!! (We live in a townhouse facing one way and they live in a townhouse facing the other way and above us). WIthout going into great detail, I will tell you we had to live in a hotel for two months while we waited for repairs, asbestos abatement, and the flooring guys messing up our tiling TWICE. Crappy timing because while this was going on I was finishing up writing my thesis. So incredibly stressful.

Fast forward to July: I finish my master's thesis, finish teaching the summer term, and now it's time for vacation! Whoo! My husband and I had planned a trip to Vegas, New Orleans, and then ending in Houston to see his family. It was fabulous except for one minor detail: I broke my fibula in New Orleans on the first day we were there (no, I wasn't drunk! It's a really sad story lol). BUT I walked on it for 2 days without realizing it was broken. It felt like a nasty sprain. When we made it to Houston I went to a doctor and had it put in a splint, flew back home to DC with it (and had our luggage fall on it after a shuttle driver took a sharp turn) to see a doctor only to have him tell me it was "too swollen to do anything with".



GREAT! Especially because the following weekend I had to move to Philadelphia to start in my PhD program. Sooo, I moved to Philadelphia in a splint. I didn't have to do any heavy lifting, at least! lol! Finally got the hard cast and then had it taken off about 2 weeks ago (total of 2 weeks in the splint, 4 weeks in a hard cast, and now I have 2 months of an airsplint).

Anyways, throughout this time period I have literally BALLOONED. Thus begins my Medifast journey. I feel like crap, I can't fit into ANYTHING, and I normally beat stress by exercising but I can't even do that right now. So, I will continue posting and finding strength in these forums.

ONE LAST THING: I actually moved away from my husband to pursue my PhD. We're still happily married but I use to do all of the cooking and would have felt EXTREMELY guilty if I had done this while we were still living together. Now I have a roommate (a girlfriend I've known since we were 12) and she relies on me for homecooked meals. I don't mind cooking for her (since I don't feel the need to do it everyday) so this should be an interesting dynamic throughout the next few months.

Well... I'll start with the questions you have at the beginning.

You can eat any Medifast meal at any time, and if you want to eat all bars, all day, you can. So pretzels, puffs, and bars--just fine! The meals are different but interchangeable. Not everyone likes the same things.

There is no need to count calories while doing Medifast. The important thing with the Lean & Green is to weigh and measure. Six ounces of cooked chicken is a lot of chicken, as we've all noticed! But that's what you're supposed to be eating. Don't skimp on the L & G.

You can find the condiments list, along with lean options, green options, meatless options, and many other useful lists here:

http://www.medifast1.com/support_too...nformation.jsp

As for the rest of your post--wow! Lots going on! One good thing is that you don't have to exercise on Medifast, although they do recommend that you can start a mild exercise program after the first two weeks. In your case, your broken fibula needs to heal first.

Your new roommate can share in the L&G meals without any problem. As for her other meals--well, I imagine she has resources of her own she can rely on. You don't have to cook her every meal, do you?

Don't make the program more complicated--it really is a simple program, although following it isn't always easy, especially at first. Expect that the first few of days could be a bit rough--but once you're past that, it gets better. Be sure to drink water!

Good luck!
Jay

Welcome and good luck ! I think with your determination that you can and will do it !

Welcome, geekedlove!

The beauty of Medifast is its simplicity. I LOVE how it's not complicated. It's still not easy, but there's not a lot of thinking required.

If your roomie doesn't mind eating lean & green for dinner, you should be fine. If she wants carbilicious foods in the house, maybe she could have her own cupboard/container/shelf that you remind yourself is not your food.

Don't worry about exercise yet - it's not neccessary. Someone on here has a quote - diet to lose weight, exercise to get fit.

If bars, pretzels and puffs are what you like, go for it. Those have become my daytime favorites - every month I order more. Brownies and hot cocoa are my nightime faves. Now that fall is coming, I'll start having soup for lunch again. If you want a brownie for breakfast, or oatmeal for lunch, it's fine. If you're craving chocolate, have 3 chocolate bars and 2 brownies that day.

Drink lots of water - it really does help, even with hunger. I prefer my water flavored - I drink lots of iced herbal tea, crystal light, and the Medifast calorie burn strawberry lemonade. I'm not a big soda drinker, but I like fizz, so I drink a lot of flavored seltzer, too.

You can do this! I LOVE to eat, and I'm still motivated 5 months in.

Good luck, and take it easy on that leg!

Aww, thanks you guys!

My order just arrived today and I plan on starting on Tuesday. I have a girlfriend visiting me this weekend so I know this is not the weekend to start. I really wasn't planning on it coming so quickly!

I'll definitely be in the forums as my schedule allows Are any of you in the medifast community?