Laura ~ You must be so proud of yourself! I would definitely say you outdid your expectations!
sshobbit ~ Weekend went well food-wise! Still on track...I am in this with all my heart and soul! I am so glad you joined the Halloween Challenge, too. I left you a message there about the spreadsheet. Just put in your starting weight. Use the same weight as your first week's weight. That way your weight loss and percentage will automatically calculate. You'll see!
ARGH!! I hate the scale!!!!!!! Ever since my 5k my weight has been steadily increasing daily. So annoying!! In the past, I used to dismiss those who said, "muscle weighs more than fat", but thanks to my high tech body composition scale I see the empirical evidence. The graph shows my body fat lowering and a strong uptick in my muscle mass weight. I think once I've recovered (the rule of thumb is 1 day of rest for every mile raced, which means today is my last rest day), things will right themselves. It's just so frustrating to have been back on plan for over a week and not see more drastic results.
I'm offsetting yesterday's food choices (which were not the greatest but not by far the worst) by doing 5&1 today. Hoping that gives my system the push it needs.
Well, today at the request of a dear friend, I joined Weight Watchers with her. The scale showed a gain due to 1) different scale and 2) clothing worn.
I can assure you I have stayed true to Medifast and will continue to count the SmartPoints associated with this product. However, I need the accountability of a weekly weigh in. I like the Wednesday morning group because this same leader guided me through a 60+ weight loss to goal about 8 years ago. It was my own fault that I didn't transition properly in maintenance.
So it was with a heavy heart that I had to change my ticker, but I know that from this point forward I will continue my downward trend. I knew I was going to do this last Friday and I was dreading going today, but now I am glad I did.
So I am refreshed and ready to roll!
Last edited by MorningGlory1950; 09-13-2017 at 05:13 PM.
Laura ~ In your heart you know that you are improving muscle and fat percentages...so all is great. Nobody knows that goofy scale number but you. Your appearance on the other hand is there for all the world to see - and you are only looking better and better!
You are going to see that big whoosh on the scale in no time!
Thanks, Joyce you are the best cheerleader! That's great that you joined Weight Watchers to a) give support to your friend, b) get support from your friend and c) have an outlet for accountability. You have this!! Are you still going to eat the Medifast foods, or use WW guidelines to make your own foods? It sounds like you're doing Medifast and counting the Points. I'd be interested to see how the MF foods add up. I did the original version of Points back in the 90s and I know they are always fine-tuning how they are defined. Do you have some kind of calculator?
Nice little whoosh from yesterday as I did 5&1 and kept my carbs under 90. I'm fully recovered from my run and may resume exercising tomorrow. I went on a long, intense walk with a co-worker at lunch and exceeded my step goal for the day!
Looking forward to the weekend! Onward and downward!!
The Medifast foods come in at 3 or 4 SmartPoints. There is a WW app that automatically scans the barcode or you can manually put in calories, saturated fat, sugar and protein grams from the label and it automatically calculates points.
Based on your age, gender, activity level, WW gives you a daily and weekly point total. I get 30 points per day and 28 extra weekly. I am going to use MF foods but incorporate others this week, just to acclimate myself into the real world. The loss won't be as fast as using MF full time...but I am in no hurry. I am going to go with the flow...but expecting losses!
Last edited by MorningGlory1950; 09-14-2017 at 09:31 PM.
Boy, I really do love this program!! I have erased the gain from my 3 week break in 2 weeks so I'm pleased with that. I have another 'break' in a week and half so I'm working on a strategy to not only avoid gaining but continue to lose. More opportunities to be active this time around. Last spring when we were at the beach I could not climb stairs due to a knee injury and weighed probably 65lbs more than I do now. I have great plans beyond my kayak tour on my brother's birthday; a mile up the beach is a pier and I plan on walking there and back with my girl friend as our husbands do boy things. I've also mapped out a couple running routes to resume my training after my recovery break.
Hope everyone is doing fantastic! Onward and downward!
Laura ~ Congrats! Yes, it takes a bit of planning, but all doable! I am also doing well. I lost 3.8 this week at Weight Watchers. I decided to buy into their SmartPoints plan and occasionally use Medifast. We'll see how that goes long term. I am pumped, no binges in the past couple of weeks and am starting an exercise regimen at Planet Fitness.
I will check in here on everyone's progress. I love the Halloween Challenge, too.
Keep up the good work everyone!!
BTW, you and shortsarcastichobbit are certainly giving me a run for my money!
Last edited by MorningGlory1950; 09-21-2017 at 10:39 AM.
All points bulletin: Just a shout out to Sheila, Laura, TWINCA, shortsarcastichobbit and all of my other Medifast friends.
I hope you all are doing well...even though I am no longer doing Medifast (I am going to Weight Watchers now for the accountability), I still think about all of you as I continue to fight the good fight.
Perseverance is the name of the game - no matter the means - just forge ahead and don't forget how much better we feel as the weight comes off.
Chime in...let me know how you are doing!
Last edited by MorningGlory1950; 10-04-2017 at 09:16 PM.
Wow, It has been forever since I've logged in. I have gained about 8 lbs back from my 40lb loss and I have realized this backsliding is terrible for me. I don't want to move backwards. So, to that end, I am going back on the program. It may seem like an unlikely time to do so but I did just book a vacation to the beach in January so I have extra motivation! I hope everyone else is doing well. I will come back to post more regularly. I hope to see people join me!
Hey Sheila! Nice to see you! I'm no longer on Medifast as I needed a break. I am working on my habits by using the Noom Coach program and eating as balanced and healthy as I can. Of course the loss is not as drastic as on Medifast, but I've not lost any ground despite Thanksgiving and other opportunities for excess. I do pop in once in a while to see how people are doing. I do believe in the program and know it works!!
Hope you are back to where you want to be in time for your vacation!! Enjoy!!!
I would say that I have a foot in the medifast camp and a foot in real life eating. I like to think I've learned how to eat (more when I am dieting and less when I am not). But we have some leftover medifast so I am eating that as a 4 & 2 until its gone and then will transition over to lower calories, clean eating, low carbs completely. I just wanted to check back in here to see if anyone was still around.
I'm interested in the NOOM coach concept. I've never heard of it.
You seem to be doing well. Maybe not losing at the rate you were but still losing and more importantly, not gaining! Awesome!
Sheila what works for me with NOOM is that it is app-based and focuses more on psychology. They assign you a coach and a group coach. The group is at the same level (as in we all started around the same time) after 4 weeks the groups get merged with other groups (I think people just sign up for the first month). I signed up for 8 months with the goal of losing 70lbs.
The food database isn't the greatest (MFP is much better and I track in both places) but they categorize foods into three categories: Green (eat as much as you like), Yellow (eat in moderation) and Red (eat limited portions). They have a recommended calorie total (1200) that you can increase with exercise if you're not eating enough. For the yellow and red category they have a percentage of your daily calories as a gauge and when you review at the end of the day you can see where the balance was.
They give you tasks to do that you check off and get positive feedback/encouragement for completing. The basis of the application is a strategy called Gamification (think the Starbucks Star program where you get rewarded for shopping there and they have Star Dash opportunities for bonus stars once in a while; another example of gamification is the Dominoes Pizza tracker on their website).
Here's the definition: Gamification is the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts. Gamification commonly employs game design elements which are used in non-game contexts to improve user engagement, organizational productivity, flow, learning, crowdsourcing, employee recruitment and evaluation, ease of use, usefulness of systems, physical exercise and more. A collection of research on gamification shows that a majority of studies on gamification find it has positive effects on individuals.
Probably more than you wanted to know, but I really love gamification and am glad it's helping me create better habits.
That's really interesting Laura. I agree with you about gamification. I work in Learning and Development in the corporate world so that's a big thing for us. Most of my clients are in sales and they are all about, tell me what I need to know and GET ME OUT OF THIS TRAINING! That's a story for another time.
I do like the dashboard approach to eating. That simplifies things for a lot of people. It's been a long journey and I know you about halfway there but you have changed your life and habits for the better. I noticed your husband is watching what he eats as well. That made things a lot easier for me. I have my husband back on the "being more careful" track. I'll take what I can get!
