Rant and rave from a newbie
 

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. :mad:

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".

:yikes:

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! :lol: 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! :welcome2:

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. :D

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! :hug::hug::hug:

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?