I have a confession to make. I am completely intimidated by the Lean and Green option. I worry I will make something with too much fat or too many calories. I will likely take a stab at the taco salad that TWINCA posted. I know my anxiety is unwarranted.

Cheers,
Laura

Laura ~ How wonderful you got clearance to start MF from your doc! He sounds like he knows what he is talking about! He clearly understands the program and doesn't think it is some kind of fad diet. (Some docs do, unfortunately.)

You are going to be great at this, I just know it!

Now as far as being intimidated ...no worries! Did you get the free "Food Journal" with your Medifast order? On the back page it spells out what you can have for your Lean and what you can have for your Green and what you can have for your Fat serving. The type of protein you choose determines 0, 1, or 2 Fat servings.

You do need a food scale. That is paramount. They are completely portable, so you can take it on your business trip. Just google or get one at Bed, Bath and Beyond with a coupon.

I do very simple meals. Here are some samples:

1 6.7 oz. package of Starkist Tuna (just shy of 7 oz. allowance)
1/2 bag (170 grams) of bagged Walmart salad ($.98 for the whole bag)
4 TBSP Hidden Valley Yogurt Creamy Parmesan Salad Dressing (2 Fat Servings)

Mix it all together. Voila. Delicious!

or

3 Hard Boiled Eggs
Broccoli (remember the vegetable list I included earlier this week? Tells you exactly how much you can have.)
No Fat Allowed

or

6 oz. Rotisserie Chicken (Sam's Club is best IMHO)
Zucchini Noodles (Fresh zucchini put through a spiralizer, sauted with seasonings
1/2 TBSP Trans Fat Free Margerine (1 Fat Servining)

or

Texas Roadhouse Restaurant:

6 oz. Dallas Filet
Grilled onions
Broccoli
Salad (I use red wine vinegar as condiment)
No Fat Allowance

Believe me, you will enjoy your meals so much more. It seems our taste buds are more sensitive to the flavors of foods now, as opposed to pre-Medifast when we either gobbled our food, ate too many different foods at one time (smorgasbord, anyone?) or just ate without even paying attention to what we were eating.

Don't be afraid!

"I saw an angel in the marble and I chiseled until I set it free."
Michelangelo

Thanks Joyce! Those are great ideas. Unfortunately my shipment was missing the food journal and they're sending it to me. I know the digital version is on the website so I will check it out today.

Cheers,
Laura

Alright! I've started. I finally weighed myself and as suspected I regained all that I lost 7 years ago... I initially have set goals, that I will update once I have a sense of how my body is going to react to this program.

Here is the first draft (approximate 4 week increments except for Saturdays that fall when I'm travelling):

Starting weight 1/14/17 - 299.8
Goal#1: 2/14/17 - 290
Goal #2: 3/18/17 - 280
Goal #3: 4/15/17 - 270
Goal #4: 5/13/17 - 260
Goal #5: 6/10/17 - 250
Goal #6: 7/8/17 - 240
Goal #7: 8/5/17 - 230
Goal #8: 9/2/17 - 220
Goal #9: 9/30/17 - 210
Goal #10: 10/28/17 - 200
Goal #11: 11/25/17 - 190
Goal #12: 12/23/17 - 180
Goal #13: 1/20/18 - 170 Goal weight

Here we go!!

Cheers,
Laura

Hi ladies! Hope you are all doing well! I am on day 3 today. Days 1 and 2 were not bad at all, but today I am not feeling that awesome to be honest. I had some trouble sleeping due to hunger I think and now I just feel generally a bit sluggish and mentally foggy.

The good news is that it is a long weekend so I have a few more days to just rest and focus on the diet. Im sure by Tuesday I will be feeling much better.

Im really happy to be back on this diet and on a good path again. I was feeling so out of control with food the last 6 months or so, it was like my cravings were controlling ME. I would make attempts for a few days to eat healthy, but I would get uncontrollable sweet and fatty food cravings and I just got in the habit of giving in. I have been watching my weight creep up for awhile now, and now my clothes don't fit me anymore. It feels awesome to be in control again.

For the newbies-this diet WORKS and it works very well. You just have to commit to it. There are times when you will be very hungry and want to quit, but the good news is that your next meal is likely around the corner. When I would get those extreme hunger feelings I found if I just made a cup of tea, or got up and did something to distract myself that they would go away after 10 minutes or so.

A quick food review-I love the Chia Bliss Smoothie!! Also the sweet potatoes were pretty good and that cream cheese cake was very yummy. Really happy with the Optavia line, it seems just a bit "higher quality" to me, will definitely be ordering some more of that.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Best,
Carmen

Laura ~

What great goals you've laid out for yourself and so reasonable knowing how well Medifast works with an 100% commitment that you certainly have.

Joyce gave you some wonderful L&G ideas. I keep mine pretty simple and often repeat them.

You've really organized yourself well for success! Good for you.

Karen

Carmen ~

You are going strong. Day 3 was hard for me too. Try to stay busy. I cleaned many closets out my first week on plan. :-)

It is such a good feeling to be in control of what you are eating. You are clearly on cloud 9 knowing that once you get past the first few days the cravings are controlled well on Medifast. So happy that you picked a day and started your way back to success.

We're cheering you on.

Karen

Joyce ~

I envisioned this for myself this morning. Thank you for sharing.

How'd your weigh in go today?

Karen

Hello, dear friends.

I lost 1 pound today. I am very pleased with that number considering I lost 4 last week and 2.5 the week before. Perhaps this is the pattern for me. Lose less for 3 weeks in a row, then more the next 2 weeks. I will check my records. Or it could just be, as I approach my goal weight, it will be a slow go from now on.

No matter....I am in this for the long haul. I asked for the booklet on transition and maintenance today. I am mentally preparing for the next step.

It seems that at my goal weight of 125, then factoring in my age, height and exercise level (sedentary), my target number of calories to maintain this weight is 1274! Of course if I increase my exercise, the number increases!

Therefore, they are recommending 2 MF Thrive Bars (200 calories each) plus 2 Lean and Green plus 2 Options called a Balanced Meals (they are lean proteins, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy and healthy fats or regular MF meals which equal 100 calories each). There is a tapering off of the regular MF meals and adding new foods that actually equals 10 weeks of transition. There is a wonderful chart which simplifies the whole process.

I like it! It is sustainable and easy!

Honestly I am so happy with the meal plan now, I will probably utilize regular MF foods for the Options. I am NOT going to use starches or sugars to fill the void. That is where I got into trouble in the past.

BTW, I asked for a more detailed condiment list. Did you all know that 1 cup of Silk unsweetened vanilla or original almond milk = 1 condiment? I was so happy to hear that for some reason...just gave me another option for daily variety!

So there you have it. It is so much fun to update my ticker and the stats on the New Year, New You Challenge!

Oh, I changed my weigh in day to Saturdays at the Medifast Center. This works well with my schedule.

Whoopee, Laura, you are on your way!!!

Carmen~ Those first 3 days are the pits...but have no fear...very, very soon you will be feeling so much better! Just keep thinking of all of us.

Your tactics for diverting your attention away from the hunger are right on target.

And wait until you see that number on the scale! That will certainly boost your morale!
Keep checking all these boards: day or night you can always find a helping hand or a word of inspiration to keep you going!

Thanks, Karen! Appreciate the words of encouragement.

Well, so far day one is okay. I have noticed I get hunger pangs about 2 hours after the previous meal, but drinking a little water makes it go away.

I probably was TOO busy today. I did four loads of laundry, changed the bed, delivered some donations and ran errands, and tidied up around the house. I only noticed around 2 that I was feeling slightly wobbly.

I'm now chilling out playing a video game to relax. Interested to see how I sleep and what tomorrow brings.

Cheers,
Laura

Hi ladies-

Reluctantly did another weigh-in this morning, and still trending downward:

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
01/03/2017 - Medifast Day 35 (Week 5): 224
01/14/2017 - Medifast Day 46 (Week 6.5): 222

So I'll take the "yay" for another 2 pounds. Still coming off my bloated / travel week, so I am cautiously optimistic that next week will be a bigger loss. I also have major cold/flu thing happening today. Yuck!

I think I need to refocus my attention on my water consumption. I haven't been drinking my "usual" gallon, so maybe that is the reason for the slow down...

Here are my menus since last post:

01/11/2017 (Day 43) - TRAVEL DAY - Oatmeal raisin crunch bar, cinnamon pretzel sticks, chocolate crunch bar, smoked chicken breast with lettuce, mixed Greek olives and buffalo cauliflower. 664 calories, 64 g protein, 46 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 24 g fat. This was a rough day eating-wise because I had a reception and client dinner. Made wise choices

01/12/2017 (Day 44) - TRAVEL DAY - peanut butter crunch bar, cinnamon pretzel sticks, airtport sliced grilled chicken breast sandwich w/ cheddar, lettuce, tomato and pesto mayo (deconstructed, no bread), chocolate crunch bar. 662 calories, 72 g protein, 40 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 30 g fat.

01/13/2017 (Day 45) - French vanilla shake, cinnamon brown sugar cereal, Optavia wild blueberry almond hot cereal (NEW), Optavia spinach pesto Mac & Cheese (NEW), peanut butter crunch bar, L&G taco salad (shredded beef). 848 calories, 82 g protein, 81 g carbs, 25 g fiber, 26 g fat.

Thoughts on NEW (to me) food:

Optavia spinach pesto macaroni and cheese - I prepared this in the morning, and let it hydrate in fridge until lunch. Cooked in microwave for about 30 seconds longer than instructions. Overall, it was pretty good. I LOVE pesto, and I LOVE macaroni and cheese, so a pretty perfect combo in my book. Would definitely order again.

Optavia blueberry almond hot cereal - Ok, wow. This was not very good on first few bites. I think I was expecting sweeter, like the apple cinnamon oatmeal, which I really like. It grew on me, though, by the end. Probably won't order again, but will eat the rest of the packets.

I got my Medifast shipment #3, and half of my Optavia foods on Wednesday, so the 69 day bag assembly process is already underway. I have them in their respective ziploc bags, which are then stored in a big reusable grocery bag in my pantry. Will do the rest this weekend as the rest of the Optavia products should arrive today. For me, this is going to make things so much easier!

Carmen - The first 3 days are the worst. I had headaches due to low carbs (I think), but after that there was no looking back. Cravings gone, energy up, all is well. You seem like you have a great, realistic plan in place.

Shiela - WELCOME to our little corner of the virtual diet universe! It makes me insane that men drop weight SO much faster than women? My hubby is the same way. 8 lbs in 9 days for you is AMAZING! Keep it up!

Joyce - One pound is one pound in the right direction. Just remember it is the trend. I, too, seem to lose big fir a few weeks, then lose 1-2 lbs, then back to 4, etc. again, the downward trend is what is important!

Laura - Glad to hear your doc is on board, and your mini-goals are very realistic. From all your posts, you seem to be on the right state of mind to make this work. It is a long haul, but will be completely worth it in the end! For me, I needed to be in a place where I was ready to be 100% committed, and that happened 6.5 weeks ago. I am on a serious mission now, and no slice of pizza or pie is going to get in my way! As you can tell from my posts, I eat taco salads almost every night! I LOVE THEM! You should use ground turkey (healthiest) if you can. I use Del Real shredded beef, and it is yum (and faster). 1 package can be used for 4 days of taco salads. I have to say, it is truly the only way that I'd get my required amount of greens as I'm not a lover of the vegetable. Rather, I am more if a (high carb) fruit kinda girl. Plus, I just don't have time to cook. I'm in a very intense, high stress job with long hours, and the last thing I want to do is cook when I get home. I used to hit the fast food drive-thru or order pizza-->major weight gain. BUT MF + my daily taco salads are just SO easy!

Curious--How old is everyone? I am 45.

Looking forward to the continuing updates!!

Joyce! We must have been posting at the exact same time because your posts weren't there earlier.

on the pound down! Do you know if the Medifast site also shows the comprehensive condiments?? That's surprising about the almond milk. I think that's what has been feeding my anxiety about my lean and green. I am a creative cook and feel restricted by a perceived lack of condiments to pump up my dishes. I'm going to do some research!

Your maintenance plan sounds very solid. So pleased that you're going there in your mind and planning.

Cheers,
Laura