QUESTION: Do you HAVE to choose breakfast items to eat for breakfast or lunch items for lunch etc etc...what if I just want to eat 5 soups in a day or 5 soft bake brownies...you know what I mean? I mean I'm not a breakfast person so I'm not really interested in the cereals, oatmeal or pancakes...but I love soup I could eat that all day....

PQ, I think the best way is to eat what you like. If you have things you don't like, you'll avoid them and it could lead to derailing you.

I was putting together my order for next month and I don't like the desserts, so I eliminated them all together. Work with what works for you is the bottom line.

PQ, I agree with Laura. All the meals have the same nutrition so have all soup if you want! I often have pretzels for breakfast or a bar for lunch. Do what is easiest!

I am going out to dinner tonight so I have to be sure and make great choices. I'm not sure where we are going yet but I can always get meat and vegetables of some sort, or a salad with chicken on it most places so I'm not too worried. Plus I am very motivated to do well and get a good loss for my Sunday weigh in!

THANK YOU. That's what I was thinking. For my next order just get the things that I want to eat lol. I have heard bad things about the oatmeal!

Welcome to you, Polynesian Queen! I have been on Medifast for 3 months and have lost 28.3 pounds thus far. Getting nearer to goal each and everyday! You are going to do great!

Well my Medifast Center called and will be closed tomorrow. So my dilemma is this: do I weigh in at home tomorrow (my regular weigh in day at the center) or forego it this week and just wait 'til next Saturday? I have not used the home scale at all (no so-called peeking!) so I am not sure of the difference in readings. The more I think about this the more I am prone to wait.

Decision made: I will wait until next February 11! I am so curious, but I would rather not be dismayed next week if the scales vary too much! Whew, now I feel better!

It has been an extremely busy week so I am sorry for the lack of personals. I am always amazed at how wonderfully everyone is doing! I couldn't be as successful thus far without our amazing group!

Good morning all!

I'm trying to be positive but am struggling. I weighed in this morning and lost 1 lb. My three week total is 16lbs which averages over 5lbs a week but I'm still disappointed. I know the number is going in the right direction and I'm trying to prop myself up. I just have so far to go that I need each week to have significant progress. I'll be okay, I just need to vent.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,
Laura

P.S. I am enjoying a nice breakfast of fully formed pancakes thanks to your advice!

Hi Everyone-Happy Saturday!!

Laura: Don't get discouraged, 16 lbs in 3 weeks is awesome. You and I started within a few days of each other and you have lost double the amount I have.. I remember the first time I tried this diet I lost a ton the first two weeks and the third week I didn't lose, the fourth week I lost a ton again. It could be so many things contributing.. water, hormones, stress, etc. Also-what is the alternative?? You go off the diet and gain back the 16 and be right where you started?? This diet works-there is enough evidence of that here in this thread, so I see no reason to give up or even be discouraged, you are doing great.

Last night I made the best lean and green. I had a can of fancy white lump crab meat, and I mixed that with a tiny bit of chopped red pepper, an egg, and crushed up a packet of the rosemary crackers for "breadcrumbs". I formed those into crab cakes and cooked them in my cast iron skillet. For my green, I peeled a turnip and cut it into wedges and put those into the oven at 350 for about 15-20 minutes and then flipped the and roasted until they turned a light brown. I had a huge plate of food, for like 350 calories and it was so delicious- the turnips legit tasted like French fries!! Yum Yum Yum. Definitely making this one again.

Ive been increasing my activity level the last few weeks and it hasn't really sped up my weight loss but Ive been feeling better all around. MOre energy and stamina. Ive been taking my dog to the park for a long walk so it is benefitting him and I. I cant wait until I lose these first 20 lbs so I can hit the gym hard core!! I plan on getting a trainer and I a going to focus on building muscle. I have always wanted defined arms and I feel really motivated to get there. Like Ive said before I am about to turn 40 and I plan on my 40's being my best decade yet!!

IN addition to getting myself as healthy as possible I am also trying to grow professionally and spiritually. Ive been on this journey for a few years now and I am amazed at how much better life gets when you actually make an effort to be a better person. I quit drinking a little over 3 years ago and that was the beginning. I went to AA and everything, worked the steps, you name it. I highly recommend 12 step programs for people. There is literally a meeting for everything.. Overeaters anonymous is another one. I cant tell you how beneficial it has been for me.

Anyways-just some of my musings this Saturday morning. I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Carmen

Thanks, Carmen. My brain knows not to fret but my spirit hasn't caught up. I have spent the morning looking at MediFast coach videos on YouTube to get my head back in the game. I love the crab cake recipe! I need to bookmark that to come back and try making them when I have the crackers.

I come from an AA family, I spent my youth in Alateen and totally agree with the 12 steps philosophy. I coincidentally stopped drinking after New Years because of how it affected my heart, so I have that going for me to make sticking to the program easier.

Today is my official 3 week mark where I can add exercise and I'm looking to take a walk later today or returning to light yoga to stretch myself out. Thanks again for the support!

Laura

It's a beautiful, sunny but cold day here. Just seeing the sun makes me smile. This morning as I was packing to drive to visit my family in for the week, I decided to try on clothes. Wow, was that fun! It was great to pull those things from the back of the closet and even pack some for my trip. Others are too small still but not for long. I feel more motivated than ever which is great because for the first time since beginning this journey, I felt weak last night. Not weak as in, I want to eat everything in the house. But weak as in, I sure would love to go out and have an unhealthy dinner. I shook it off pretty quickly and told myself that this week, I will be eating out a lot and making smart choices will be critical.

My weight is same today. Since I am an every day weigh-in person, I am happy with because after a couple days of decent losses, its time for a few days of maintaining or even a show of a bit of gain or two. I am actually ok with that as long as I know I'm doing the right things. Overall, I've been at 3 1/2 lbs a week except for the first week and I am thrilled with that rate.

Laura, Carmen is right, try not to get discouraged. You are doing amazing things. The very reason most people don't like to weigh themselves daily, is the reason I do it. If I am up one day (which I have been), it generally falls off the next and even more then next. Weight fluctuates even during a diet. I would be more disappointed with seeing only a 1lb loss in a week than seeing a 1 lb gain in a day. I had that happen this week and I knew I hadn't done anything off plan except to lift weights. Within the next 2 days, I was down 3 lbs. I'm not advocating you start weighing in more frequently, only trying to show how much it can swing with no change in diet (totally on plan). I'm betting you just happened to weigh in on an "up" day. You've been doing amazingly well.

Carmen, I MUST try your crab cake L & G. I'm hungry just reading about it. What a great idea!

PQ Really excited for you to start the program with us on Monday. Please check in as frequently because Joyce is right, This is a wonderful support forum. The first few days are truly the hardest. Once you get past that, you'll feel great.

I wanted to weigh in on the topic of becoming healthier physically, mentally and spiritually. It really warms my heart to see both Carmen and Laura talk about their experiences with the 12 steps program. We all have something or someone in our lives that prevents us or them from being the best they can be (for a thousand reasons). It weighs heavy on the heart and soul be it yourself or watching someone you love. Generally speaking, everyone wants to put their best selves/A game out to the world. The reality is we all have struggles.

Several months ago, I spent the weekend with a group of women I lived with for year at the age of 18 when we all started college together. Its amazing that just shy of 40 years later, we still love to be together despite the differences in our lives. We spent hours sharing what had been happening in each one of our lives (it had been 10 years since we'd all been together). When I spoke, I told the good, the bad, and the struggles. I love and trust these women. We shared everything together as very young adults yet from listening to their stories, you would think that everything was rainbows and puppies. I shared that my ex-husband had become a compulsive gambler and how negatively that had impacted my sons lives as they were going through high school and college. And worse yet, his family history of addiction had manifested in one my own sons in the form of drugs. Soon, every single one of my friends was able to share what was weighing on their souls. Every struggle, big and small, matters to someone. Being able to share, helped us all.

I have no experience with the 12 steps programs because those in my family that need it, have flat out refused to even try it. But for myself, I find that sharing with those I truly trust, helps immensely. On a positive note, my youngest son's struggles with drugs has turned the corner for the first time in 3 years. I've invested more time and money in this child than I can count and wouldn't change a minute of it because he is still here. His father has also turned his life around in the past year. None of this came easily.

The point of all this rambling was certainly part vent but more to say, support, be it 12 steps, a message board on weight loss, or good friends and family along with a "get it done" attitude can make all the difference. For everyone here, remember, just being here shows you are making good choices and have the right attitude. That's 1/2 the battle!

Stay the course!

Sheila

Great Post Sheila!

Sheila and Carmen ~

Thank you so much for sharing a much appreciated glimpse into your private lives.
I, too, am on a spiritual and emotional quest. I have joined a small group led by a psychotherapist. We are delving into the emotions at play during binge eating. I have been rewarded with new insights into reasons why I had turned to this behavior.

I have also joined two spiritual groups within my Catholic church that are exploring the purpose of life, the need for gratitude and the outreach to others that can be extended in so many ways. I tend to "hibernate" with my thoughts and yet it is so good to get outside of myself and experience others' experiences with life's problems and how to cope with them.

Friends, as Sheila has so beautifully illustrated, are a key element in our recovery.
I meet with 4 courageous women in all stages of their lives who share weekly at lunch their innermost turmoil and their acceptance of their situations in a very peaceful way. And yet we still display our anger, resentment and resolution to those areas of our life in which we have no control.

I certainly do think that AA is very relevant in so many ways. The twelve steps deal with the internal development of our addiction and the map to overcome one day, one hour or one moment at a time, the physical or emotional pull to numb ourselves for whatever reason we discover on our journey.
I often hear people who say that alcoholics are different. They give up alcohol, never have to drink again, but we as bingers still have to eat! My response is it IS the same. We have to give up sugar (or whatever the addictive food might be) and not touch it again - just for today.

Medifast is a tool to physically orient our bodies toward a healthy lifestyle. And yet we know underneath the facade of control, there are all these emotions that need tending. I am so glad our discussion here has taken this turn. I believe it will beneficial in the long haul.

We are good for each other.

Wow you guys, I think I shared that I bought a few Optavia packets from someone who quit Medifast. I am now so glad I only bought a few. I had the Chipotle Mac and Cheese and thought it was just awful!! I made it according to the package and it was very soupy and watery. I added some cooked broccoli to take up some of the cheese sauce, but it was still just awful to me. I got most of it down and I have 1 more packet. Ideas to make it better? Then today I tried the Optavia honey cinnamon sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes!! These though, they had the smell of hot protein powder, which I hate, so I let it cool a bit until just warm. It tasted like warm protein powder to me. I am so disappointed. I thought these would be delicious. Maybe I am just too picky. I have one more packet of the sweet potatoes as well. I might just try making a shake out of it with some vanilla sf syrup. It might taste like pumpkin pie shake?

Editing to add, I tried the biscuit, sigh, not a fan either I guess I am just an old fashioned shake, bar, hot cocoa, and pancake kind of gal. I could probably live on just those things plus an occasional mac and cheese or pretzels.

Steph- I have also not found a single Optavia food that I like better than MediFast foods. Frankly, most are pretty bad (to me). SUPER disappointed. The upside is that I LOVE the MediFast foods, so I, too, will just roll with that for the next several months.