[StephGetsHealthy]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory1950

Karen ~ I am so excited for you!!!

Steph ~ I am glad you found your way back here! I understand that you are doing both the Medifast and WonderSlim - seems to be a good combination per your doctor's orders!

I can only speak for myself but per your suggestion:



I feel like the additional foods you are incorporating could be a trigger for me.
I see you also are posting in another Medifast thread. If journaling your daily meals is conducive to your success, then perhaps recording your daily meals there would be acceptable to you.

But please know we are so glad you are joining this thread - you have so much to offer!
BACK!

No problem! I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable about what I am sharing. I know some of it is technically off plan (although on plan for me) so I can just omit that from what I write

Having a good day today! Feeling better and less sugar cravings.

[TWINCA]

Hi ladies-

Well, today marks the official completion of week 5. Time has gone by SO FAST! I swear, I keep calling Medifast the "miracle diet."

11/21/2016 - Medifast Center weigh-in: 246
11/30/2016 - Medifast Day 1: 244
12/03/2016 - Medifast Day 4: 237
12/11/2016 - Medifast Day 12: 233
12/20/2016 - Medifast Day 21 (Week 3): 230
12/27/2016 - Medifast Day 28 (Week 4): 228
12/31/2016 - Medifast Day 32 (Week 4.5): 226
01/03/2016 - Medifast Day 35 (Week 5): 224

YIPPEE! That's a full 4 lbs since last week, and 22 lbs overall!

Here is my menu update for the week:

12/28/2016 (Day 29) - Maple Oatmeal, Dutch chocolate shake, beef vegetable soup, cinnamon pretzel sticks, fruit & nut crunch bar (NEW!), cheddar & sour cream popcorn (snack), L&G taco salad (shredded beef). 883 cal, 79 g protein, 84 g carbs, 26 g fiber, 31 g fat.

12/29/2016 (Day 30) - French vanilla shake, maple oatmeal, vegetable chili (NEW!), Carmel crunch bar, L&G In-N-Out burger protein style on bed of spinach and 2 Claussen pickle spears (YUM!). 730 cal, 65 g protein, 73 g carbs, 23 g fiber, 25 g fat.

12/30/2016 (Day 31) - strawberry shake, maple oatmeal, chicken & wild rice soup (NEW!), cinnamon pretzel sticks, cheddar & sour cream popcorn (snack), Carmel crunch bar, L&G taco salad (shredded beef). 898 cal, 84 g protein, 81 g carbs, 26 g fiber, 30 g fat.

12/31/2016 (Day 32) - Dutch chocolate shake, chicken noodle soup, sour cream & chive mashed potatoes, chocolate chip soft bake, cinnamon pretzels, L&G taco salad (shredded beef). 828 cal, 80 g protein, 77 g carbs, 25 g fiber, 26 g fat.

01/01/2017 (Day 33) - HAPPY NEW YEAR!! - Dutch chocolate shake, tomato basil bisque soup (NEW!), multigrain crackers (NEW) w/ 1 wedge Laughing Cow white cheddar cheese (YUM!) (snack), peanut butter crunch bar, L&G Flavors of Home Turkey Meatball Marinara. 695 cal, 62 g protein, 62 g carbs, 16 g fiber, 24 g fat.

01/02/2017 (Day 34) - Dutch chocolate shake, beef vegetable soup, chocolate crunch bar, Phils BBQ "Broham" pulled pork sandwich (no bun, no BBQ sauce). 540 cal, 54 g protein, 42 g carbs, 13 g fiber, 23 g fat.

01/03/2017 (Day 35) - BACK TO WORK - Dutch chocolate shake, cinnamon pretzel sticks, sour cream & chive mashed potatoes, beef vegetable soup, oatmeal raisin crunch bar, L&G Taco Salad (leftover shredded pork). Weak moment - Ate the toppings off a slice of pizza (YUM!), but no carbs so... 870 cal, 80 g protein, 80 g carbs, 26 g fiber, 31 g fat.

So far, so good. I missed a Medifast meal on a couple days, but usually when I knew I'd consume more in another meal. I need to make sure I eat all 5 every day for the vitamins (at least)!

Thoughts on the NEW Items I tried this week:

Fruit & Nut Crunch Bar - Ok, but like the other bars better. Probably won't order again.

Vegetable Chili - Ok, but was not my favorite compared to other soups. Probably won't order again. I let it rehydrate in fridge for about 4 hours before heating/eating.

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup - I did the same for rehydration (4 hours in fridge), but soup (rice) was still crunchy. Flavor ok, but I do not like my soup to crunch, and much prefer the chicken noodle. Will definitely not order again.

Tomato Basil Bisque Soup - This was so-so. A little watery tasting (vs creamy), but grew on me after a little while. Added lots of salt and pepper. Will not order again.

Multi Grain Crackers - Good, but then again they were spread with the Laughing Cow cheese. Good little cracker. I'd order them again.

I have to say being home all day last week doing nothing much was sort of hard. I was thinking about food a lot, most likely because I was bored. Once I got back to work today, I was distracted so just ate when my Fitbit alarms went off. EASY!

Wishing everyone a successful, healthy new year! We will DO THIS!

[TWINCA]

P.S. Forgot to mention this...

I'm going to be traveling next week, so made sure I set aside enough bars/pretzels since I don't think the room has a microwave. I will survive, but work dinners are always a challenge.

In any event, with the slow-ish shipping speeds, I'm ordering again this weekend to make sure I have more than enough food when I get back.

I half-signed up for TSFL over the weekend as I wanted to try the Optiva (or whatever) line. I was going to order 10-15 individual packets. You know what? Shipping was like $25 on my $35 order. Ummmm...no thanks. Unfortunately, I didn't find that out until way at the end of checkout after I had "signed up" and --voila--was assigned a coach who both called and emailed me. I didn't even order, but now I'm in their system--and I do NOT need a coach...I have you ladies for support. LOL.

After all that, I decided I'm going to stick with regular ol' Medifast Advantage. I also decided that I am a creature of habit, and don't need that much variety. By now, I've figured out what I like most, so I'm just going to roll with that for the next shipment.

Drum roll please...

MEDIFAST ORDER #3

MEAL #1 (28)
Dutch Chocolate Shake - 14
French Vanilla Shake - 7
Strawberry Shake - 7

MEAL #2/3 (28 + 28)
Cinnamon Pretzel Sticks - 21
Cinnamon Cereal Crunch - 7

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal - 14
SC & Chive Potatoes - 14

MEAL #4 (28)
Beef Vegetable Soup - 14
Chicken Noodle Soup - 7
Macaroni & Cheese - 7

MEAL #5 (28)
Peanut Butter Crunch Bar - 14
Chocolate Crunch Bar - 14

EXTRA (21)
Original Pancakes - 7
Chocolate Pudding - 7
S'more Crunch Bar - 7

So there you have it. I honestly can't wait until summer in I can't remember how long -> GOAL. GOAL. GOAL. GOAL!

[MorningGlory1950]

TWINCA ~ Wow, fantastic! 22 pounds since November 21 is unbelievable!

I love your menu postings and review of new foods! I think you have an excellent history of eating a variety of Medifast foods each day...that certainly keeps the plan interesting!
Keep us posted on your progress.

I see you joined the New Year, New You challenge, too!

[kwalk50]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory1950

TWINCA ~ Wow, fantastic! 22 pounds since November 21 is unbelievable!

I love your menu postings and review of new foods! I think you have an excellent history of eating a variety of Medifast foods each day...that certainly keeps the plan interesting!
Keep us posted on your progress.

Yes to this!!! Joyce ~ I feel the same way about TWICA and all her menu posting. Love reading them.

I joined the challenge, too. It will be another measure of accountability.

I've been having 100% on plan days. I feel like a new person now that I am no longer consuming caffeine. I think I was drinking more coffee than I realized...easy for me to figure that out once I began paying attention to what I was eating/drinking throughout the day.

One thing I am changing for sure is less TV watching in the evenings. TV makes me crave food even though I am not hungry. I am working on one of my new hobbies, knitting, for which I am slowly learning but it is keeping my mind (and hands) busy concentrating on something besides commercials if the TV is on. I can easily start pity parties for myself during some of those food commercials. I'm really on a hunt for ways to divert my attention when I start thinking about food that I can't have. Although I am not craving anything at the moment it seems that once I start going down that path (which happened to me in Thanksgiving) I have to find a way to get my mind fixed on other thoughts. Anyone dealing with this scenario?

I hope you all have a wonderful evening. TWINCA - safe travels.

Karen

[kwalk50]

Originally Posted by StephGetsHealthy

No problem! I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable about what I am sharing. I know some of it is technically off plan (although on plan for me) so I can just omit that from what I write

Having a good day today! Feeling better and less sugar cravings.

Steph ~

I'm glad you are posting here. We all have to figure out what works for us and that is clearly what you are doing.

I haven't been successful unless I follow Medifast perfectly. If I stray I begin to crave and the best part of Medifast for me is that if I stay 100% on plan I don't crave anything.

I'm a fan of going in the direction you think is best and IF it ends up stalling your weight loss or if you can't get cravings under control, then maybe tweak it as necessary.

The first few days are hard. We're here rooting for you! Go Steph

Karen

[MorningGlory1950]

Karen ~ I am in agreement with you about the TV. I rarely watch it...too many suggestive pics implant thoughts of "sugar plums dancing in my head." Then I feel like this And then I feel like this and and then I want to eat and eat and eat.

When I write this it seems so silly. And yet this is what happens to me. So instead of watching TV I read or come on here and I always feel better.

I am glad you have found a new hobby. What are you knitting? My friend made me a beautiful prayer shawl which I love.

You sound so grounded. I feel the same. As long as I am following the program 100%, I have no worries, no cravings.

I am so glad you joined the New Year, New You Challenge! I would recommend you change your intermediate goal on the spreadsheet. This is a goal you hope to meet at the 9 week end of the challenge, not your final goal. As Riestrella stated, you can change it at any time during the challenge. It is something to strive to attain. The winners are actually those who lose the most % of weight loss. So the goal is just a personal one.

TWINCA~ Yes, have a safe and medifastable trip!!!

[MorningGlory1950]

Steph ~ Thank you for understanding. I am so glad the cravings are subsiding. Each day gets better and better! You are doing so well!

[kwalk50]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory1950

Karen ~ I am in agreement with you about the TV. I rarely watch it...too many suggestive pics implant thoughts of "sugar plums dancing in my head." Then I feel like this And then I feel like this and and then I want to eat and eat and eat.

When I write this it seems so silly. And yet this is what happens to me. So instead of watching TV I read or come on here and I always feel better.

I am glad you have found a new hobby. What are you knitting? My friend made me a beautiful prayer shawl which I love.

You sound so grounded. I feel the same. As long as I am following the program 100%, I have no worries, no cravings.

I am so glad you joined the New Year, New You Challenge! I would recommend you change your intermediate goal on the spreadsheet. This is a goal you hope to meet at the 9 week end of the challenge, not your final goal. As Riestrella stated, you can change it at any time during the challenge. It is something to strive to attain. The winners are actually those who lose the most % of weight loss. So the goal is just a personal one.

Joyce ~

I loved your description of what happens to your food "crazings" when you are watching TV. It is amazing what can happen. I tend to now only watch movies or something from Netflix that doesn't have commercials.

So, for the knitting, my mom is teaching me how to knit baby hats. She is part of a knitting group that knits hats, blankets, and sweaters for newborns who are born to mothers who are on drugs and will not assume the care of their infants initially. It is a really special thing they do. So, after hearing my mom talk about it that is what I thought I would learn to do first so that my knitting had a greater purpose. Surprisingly I am getting the hang of it. My mom said I was a "natural". Ha! I'm not sure about that! I think I am so happy doing it that my joy is definitely keeping frustration at bay.

Thanks for setting me straight on the challenge. For some reason I thought it was for the entire year but now realize it is for 9 weeks. I adjusted my total and will work hard for a 20 lb loss.

I hope everyone is doing great!

Karen

[yumyumgirl]

Hi everyone,

Ive been reading the thread for a few weeks now, knowing that I was about to re-start medifast. Although I don't usually post(more of a lurker) I thought I would do something different this time as I think I need all the support I can get.

I'm currently around 174 pounds which is pretty heavy for me. My comfortable spot is around 160-165, I can maintain that pretty easily. The weight I would like to be, however, is more in the 145-150 pound range.

I had great success with Medifast years ago, lost about 20 pounds and kept most of it off for a few years. A little over 3 years ago I decided to quit drinking alcohol and in doing that I switched my indulgences over to food. I immediately went from about 155 to 165 and pretty much stayed there until this summer. I had some significant life changes that happened around that time and in the 5 months since then I have put on almost 10 more pounds to bring me to where I am now.

I know I deserve every one of these pounds though. I indulged in a lot of awesome foods and ate lots and lots of sweets. I also stopped going to the gym and doing yoga as well as started driving a car(due to a job change) rather than taking the train and/or walking.

Now Im basically at the point where my clothes don't fit and I refuse to buy new ones. Along with that I'm not feeling very cute and im also starting to feel depressed and have much less energy. Im tired all the time and have no motivation to do anything but eat!!

So, here I am. Im giving Medifast another try because I like its strictness(I need that) and it works!! I don't usually cheat when I set my mind to something so Im really hoping this will help me like it did last time. Id really like to get to 145, but I will take 150 too. Im also hoping to feel better about myself and to be able to wear my clothes again.

I hope you all don't mind my joining the thread-thank you for starting it and keeping everyone updated on your progress. My food arrives tomorrow so Ill be starting on Friday and Im doing the 4-2-1 plan. Wish me luck!

Carmen

[kwalk50]

Originally Posted by yumyumgirl

Hi everyone,

Ive been reading the thread for a few weeks now, knowing that I was about to re-start medifast. Although I don't usually post(more of a lurker) I thought I would do something different this time as I think I need all the support I can get.

I'm currently around 174 pounds which is pretty heavy for me. My comfortable spot is around 160-165, I can maintain that pretty easily. The weight I would like to be, however, is more in the 145-150 pound range.

I had great success with Medifast years ago, lost about 20 pounds and kept most of it off for a few years. A little over 3 years ago I decided to quit drinking alcohol and in doing that I switched my indulgences over to food. I immediately went from about 155 to 165 and pretty much stayed there until this summer. I had some significant life changes that happened around that time and in the 5 months since then I have put on almost 10 more pounds to bring me to where I am now.

I know I deserve every one of these pounds though. I indulged in a lot of awesome foods and ate lots and lots of sweets. I also stopped going to the gym and doing yoga as well as started driving a car(due to a job change) rather than taking the train and/or walking.

Now Im basically at the point where my clothes don't fit and I refuse to buy new ones. Along with that I'm not feeling very cute and im also starting to feel depressed and have much less energy. Im tired all the time and have no motivation to do anything but eat!!

So, here I am. Im giving Medifast another try because I like its strictness(I need that) and it works!! I don't usually cheat when I set my mind to something so Im really hoping this will help me like it did last time. Id really like to get to 145, but I will take 150 too. Im also hoping to feel better about myself and to be able to wear my clothes again.

I hope you all don't mind my joining the thread-thank you for starting it and keeping everyone updated on your progress. My food arrives tomorrow so Ill be starting on Friday and Im doing the 4-2-1 plan. Wish me luck!

Carmen

WELCOME CARMEN ~

So glad you decided to go back on Medifast . You did so well on it previously. Sometimes it does take us finding we have less energy and our clothes aren't fitting as well to say "YES" to doing something different.

I like the strictness of it, too. Medifast really requires that we put some good strategies in place so that we become more and more successful at fighting off the temptations that keep us 100% on plan. Out of all the addictions I think addiction to food is by far the HARDEST because we HAVE TO EAT, there's no way around that one. It is however the good choices we make each day that keeps us successful!

We are SO HAPPY you joined us here. So excited for you to start you first day of Medifast.

Karen

[kwalk50]

I just wanted to hop on here real quick to share this quote that sits on my desk:

"Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most."

When I started Medifast I put it on my refrigerator and my pantry door, too.

Karen

[MorningGlory1950]

First , I would like to shout out a very warm to Carmen! I am so very glad you joined us! I am glad you read through the posts because there is a wealth of information and encouragement there. We have been known to reread them to see how far we have come since day 1.

As you know, the first three days may be a little daunting, but after that clear sailing! The time flies...just keep coming here...anytime...you will always find a gentle atmosphere, motivating and encouraging you along the way.

As a sugar addict, being on Medifast has been a saving grace. I can attest to the fact that for the 2 months that I have been on this program, I have been tempted only twice and that was because I was extremely tired and/or stressed...it was at night, my former time to eat and eat and eat, to numb myself. So instead, I came on these boards, got some positive feedback and then went to bed. I was so very happy when I woke up the next morning!
And then I followed the plan...no worries.

So tomorrow will be the beginning of a wonderful life for you. And we are right beside you!

[MorningGlory1950]

Karen ~ The knitting project is such a worthwhile venture! You not only are giving a gift of yourself to those in need, but are rewarding yourself with an outlet for the relief of bingeing.
Plus the pride you feel in learning a new skill is a very positive motivator!

I love it! It gives me a to venture into new territory!

I like the quote you shared. So true.

Another I keep saying to myself: Food won't solve anything...sometimes repeating this mantra over and over again. It helps.

So Day 5 of the new year is splendid! May we all enjoy ourselves!

[MorningGlory1950]

Just thinking of HalfPass, TWINCA, naturamom and StephGetsHealthy...I miss you!

I know HalfPass and TWINCA are on the road for work...I hope all is going well for each of you.

And anyone else that has stopped by our little world, know that you are always welcome!