naturamom ~ We are so glad you found us!! !

As far as your first question, I would say wait the three weeks as recommended before you get into work outs. The first three days are crucial to your body's adjustment to the lower calories and carbs. Follow the plan. If you do have a coach, that might be a question for her.

Transition is the toughie for a lot of us. I don't think calories in vs. calories out will work. You need to keep the magic number of calories that will support your weight goal AND the macros (carbs, fat and protein) need to be accounted. Otherwise one might fill up on junk, count the calories and regain the weight.

I did not follow a good transition program the last time. I did the calories in/calories out. When I get there this time, I plan on using 3 Medifast meals and probably 3 Lean and Greens per day...I know I can't handle sugar, so for me it will continue to be that way when I hit transition and maintenance. I have accepted, and diagnosed with, Binge Eating Syndrome.

Many use the app my fitness pal to monitor your food intake... all of this it is surprisingly easy. All the maintainers swear by it.

But that is what your coach is there for. I go to a Medifast Center...the coach there will be there to work me through it. I am sure it will be a trial and error...

I am not there yet, I am aiming for April 2017... for now just happy to be following the 5 and 1 program and feel completely satiated.

Please keep coming back. We love all the input!

To all ~ I mentionned the Chicks Up for a Challenge, but failed to mention the actual thread:
Delicious for Christmas Challenge! The creator's name is Riestrella and she is the one who makes the spreadsheets, the graphics, the award stickers, etc. She is amazing! Check it out and join the next one when its up!!!

I can't tell you how excited I am to be a participant! Just another way to motivate myself!!!

Medifast - Day 15

6:00 - Strawberry Shake

8:00 - Honey Mustard Pretzels

10:00 - Maple Oatmeal - It took some time, but getting closer to figuring out the perfect consistency.

12:30 - Chicken noodle soup

3:30 - Peanut butter crunch bar

6:00 - Taco Salad (L&G), but this time I made it with extra lean organic ground turkey. Healthier it seems.

7:00 - Sour Cream & Cheddar popcorn (Snack).

Good grief, my husband ordered pizza tonight. Thought I was going to die. Pizza is a perfect food, and my most favorite thing to eat. UGH. I picked off a piece of sausage (0 carbs)--well, 2 pieces--to eat, but otherwise held strong. Patting myself on the back for that bc I wanted to eat the whole thing. LOL.

Worked too darn hard these past two weeks to flush it down the tubes. I'd rather be thin than eat pizza that will only satisfy me for like 15 minutes. :-)

I bought the big 30 day variety pack so tried lots of things. You know, the chocolate chip chewy bar was okay, but not my favorite. This defies logic since I love chocolate chip cookie dough! Still, I liked all the crunch varieties much better. The PB crunch is my fav bar so far so I have high hopes for the PB chewy bar though.

Anyone try the hot chocolate drink "meal"? I have serious doubts that will tie me over. At least the shakes/smoothies have some substance...

Random musings on my first encounter with Medifast food:

**MEDIFAST "MEALS"
Brownie Soft Bakes - Yum! The thing is that they just seem to require a little extra effort to make, and I like quick and easy.

Chocolate Chip Soft Bakes - Yum! Ditto.

Chocolate Pudding - Double yum! Chocolaty goodness.

Sour Cream & Chive Mashed Potatoes - Yum. Could eat these all day long.

Chicken Flavored Noodle Soup - Yum! Needs a dash of salt/pepper, and 2+ hr. rehydrating soak in a mug. I usually do this first thing, then stick it in the fridge until lunch.

Ziti Marinara - Like, but do not love. Also requires 2+ hr. rehydrating.

Dutch Chocolate Shakes - Love these. Shakes are always my first meal of the day.

French Vanilla Shakes - Second favorite of the shakes.

Strawberry Shakes - Prefer the other flavors more, but will order for variety. Reminds me of those '90's SlimFast shakes.

Honey Mustard Pretzel Sticks - Was not initially a fan, but they've grown on me. Still, prefer the cinnamon pretzel sticks better (got a trial through a MF center). I love they are grab-n-go.

Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal - Also growing on me. I've had a hard time figuring out how to get a perfect consistency.

Original Pancakes - So-so. Only made them once so far, and had w/out sugar free syrup. Anything in syrup is good so I'll give them another chance this weekend. Also need to figure out the mug recipe.

Mixed Berry Cereal Crunch - I usually eat these straight from the bag. They look like Fruit Loops, but taste? Not so much. That said, they are pretty decent, and I also like they are grab-n-go.

Peanut Butter Crunch Bars - Really, Really, REALLY good. My fav of all the bars so far.

S'mores Crunch Bars - Really, Really good. 2nd fav of the bars so far.

Oatmeal Raisin Crunch Bars - Really, good.

Cookie Dough Chewy Bars - Good, but probably my least favorite of the bars in this order.

**MEDIFAST SNACKS
Good for a little pick me up!

Parmesan Crisps - Slightly weird taste, but like them for some reason.

Sour Cream & Cheddar Popcorn - My fav (by far) of the snacks.

Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers - Okay, but a little bland. I like eating them with the Beef Stew L&G Flavors of Home meals.

Chili Cheese Puffs - Never, ever again. YUCK! Honestly, this was the only thing I didn't like out of the whole shipment so not a big deal on the whole.

**MEDIFAST L&G FLAVORS OF HOME
For no fridge foods, with good shelf life, I'm pretty happy with these. I was admittedly skeptical at first, but love the idea that they are there for a full L&G meal if I can't find the energy to cook! Yahoo for us busy (or lazy) people!

Chicken Cacciatore - Still haven't tried yet.

Turkey Meatball Marinara - Yum! Closest thing to pizza-ish flavors

Beef Stew - Yum! Needs a bit of salt, pepper and/or Mrs. Dash.

Chicken with Rice and Vegetables - Still haven't tried yet.

So there you have it. Overall, I'm pretty much loving (or at least liking) EVERYthing, except those chili cheese puffs. Thank goodness, b/c that is half the battle with dieting... Finding good, filling, convenient food!

15 days in, 13 lbs down, and 67 lbs to go!

I can be thin again...I can be thin again...I can be thin again...

Goodnight ladies!

TWINCA ~

Enjoyed reading through your product reviews. On your list the ones I've tried I share many of your same likes/dislikes. I especially gravitate to what is easy, too. The first month I bought the soups and never re-ordered those because I could never get the "cooking" part down well enough so they'd taste good to me. The best part of Medifast is the grab-and-go concept that appealed to me from the beginning. So, I only order now the bars, shakes, crunchers, hot drinks, cold drinks. I also order the brownie and oatmeal which are the only "meals" that require "cooking" and I finally figured out how to get the consistency I like.

Your weight loss is AAAAMMMAAAZZZIIINNNGGG!!! Wow - you are doing fabulous. Medifast works when you stick to it 100% ---- and you have! Good for you!

Well, I finished day 3 strong! I feel like once I get to day 4 I am basking in the no cravings feeling again which really help me stick to eating 100% OP every minute. The key for me is water. I drink 1-2 cups of water an hour consistently throughout the day. I do not drink anything else beside a cup of coffee in the AM with my shake mixed in. I was a big coffee drinker before Medifast but really cut it down to 1 cup and never more than 2 on the weekends.

Forcing myself to stay off the scale until my weekly weigh-in. My TSFL coach in the beginning said it is good to get on the scale everyday but that tends to put me on an emotional roller coaster so once a week is best for me.

Bring on day 4 --- I'm so ready for it!

Karen

Yes, I have had the hot chocolate drink. It was good to me and kept me full. I added it to my order for next month. I often add it to my first cup of coffee in the morning which made it kinda taste like mocha...okay, not a Starbucks mocha, but one that I did like.

The one I especially like for hot drinks is the cappuccino calorie burn. This one is my favorite hot drink but only drink it in the morning so it doesn't affect my sleep.

Karen

naturamom ~

On my first go-around on Medifast, which began September 2016, I started back exercising the second week on Medifast and really struggled that week with cravings. In the end it wasn't worth the effort because it made the eating plan so much harder for me. You definitely want to let your body adjust first to the lower calories and ease back into exercising. It isn't worth the cravings to start exercising earlier IMHO.


Karen

LOL. I have no problem NOT working out. I HATE working out, though I guess that is part of the problem. Haha. I'll happily take a hiatus as long as I can!!

Joyce ~

You are so right. This gal is inspiring. I really am liking what she is saying about rebounding and how when we have a bad day, when the scale doesn't budge, when we eat off plan, we have to rebound, get back on plan, and not give up. Something she said that really stuck: "They don't leave the game because they missed a shot". I am a perfectionist in so many areas of my life and what she had to say really helped me take a good look at why I couldn't stay on plan. I had one of those A-Ha moments ---- I can't do every moment of every day perfect forever. I am going to have a tough day but in the end it is what I do after the non-perfect day that counts. THAT is what I am going to focus on rather than getting stuck on what I did or didn't do. I think that is a big reason why I couldn't get back on plan after Thanksgiving dinner.

Sorry for rambling here....I just finally got this!

Thank you for recommending her. She is fantastic!

Karen

Ahhhh... this makes total sense. Thank you! I thought maybe they were afraid of overdoing it, but I can see how it would lead to appetite/cravings.

Day 4 - woohoo! We even went out last night and i had no desire to eat the appetizer. Just grilled chicken and steamed broccoli.

I'm guessing the sweet taste in my mouth is a sign of ketosis? Does it eventually go away? Not complaining, just feels/tastes odd.

naturamom~ I just have a rather dry mouth...this is Day 43 for me. I use the Listerine melting strips when I'm out and mouthwash for dry mouth before I leave the house. Not complaining, as I know ketosis is in play...

BTW, you are doing great...how wonderful your dinner was a success! It does get easier once ketosis arrives!

I went to my Medifast center this morning...only lost .5 pound this week.

But you know how some days you just don't feel like you lost anything or possibly gained for no reason? That's how I felt this morning before weigh in. Plus had some gastric distress yesterday....so I really am so glad I lost a little even though I remained true to the program!

I accept it and know that some weeks aren't going to be exactly winners!
That is a part of the journey!