Metabolic Research Center - Take VI!
 

Welcome Everyone to Take VI!!!!!

Let the weight loss and inspiration continue!!!

Everyone is pumped up!!!! We are going to sail through this holiday. Way to go everyone.

Had a big talk at my center about my willpower problems lately. They were very nice and helpful. I think I am back on track and shouldn't have to spend my days fighting the cravings. It is mental not food. I eat when I am stressed and I eat when I am angry oh and when I am tired. If I deal with those things instead of ignoring them then there is no stopping me. I am sure I am not the only one on here like that.

I was gone too long to say something personal to each and everyone, but you are all amazing and doing so great. You can each do this holiday the way that works for you and still be big losers. Find a way to smile and feel good and the good choices will follow. Stay strong and take care of you. Thanks again for all of your posts and sharing. Together we can do this.

Links to Metabolic Research Center Takes 1 thru 5
 

Hi everyone:)

I thought it would be helpful to the new "newbies" and a few of us "oldies" to have links to previous Metabolic Research Center Takes 1 thru 5 threads. They are chocked full of great information and answer lots of questions for the beginners.

Take 1: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91733

Take II: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112399

Take III: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117264

Take IV: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...32#post1872332

Take 5: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126183

WOW! This is just so exciting!

So - I have another question. If we were to go off plan a little bit tomorrow, how long does it actually take the body to get back into ketosis? Just curious - I'm of course going to do the best I can, but just wondering.

Also - WI last night and down 2 lbs. from Friday. WOOHOO!!! Total is 8 lbs. and counting!

I LOVE this plan!!!

Rae

Also - diced cucumbers and diced apples with some lite raspberry vinegrette...who would have thunk it that those would taste good together? Not me - but it's way yummy!

Geez it took me two days to catch up...on take 6 now WOW!!!
donuts Your picture is amazing-you look awsome and I'm sure your kids will remember this huge accomplishment. What a great role model u are for them.
Desi We have close to the same ##s and its always important to know that we may not have as big a losses every week, but we'll get there. Congrats on retiring your old jeans!! That's the best feeling ever. I have two closets in my house that were full of clothes from size 4-14, not kidding FULL to the point the bars had to be reinforced. I seperated them by size once I started program (instead of season like b4). Every time I find something too big I get to go shopping in my "skinny closet". I have a huge box on the floor of by "fat closet" that I'm filling up to sell to Plato's closet. It's really cool to see it get fuller and my "skinny" closet get emptier.

Confession time...I was in New Orleans for a few days, I had decided I was going to cheat once a day and took fat blockers. I cheated a LOT, skipped meals in favor of Hurricanes and Hand Grenades! I won't go into the meals I DID eat because you'll all kick me out, but I was bad. Here's the thing, I came home CRAVING green vegs and I've NEVER done that. I also came down with a terrible cold that kept me down for another 4 days. I did lose .5 lbs, but I will never do that to myself again. It just makes you feel AWFUL.

Yeeehaaaaw!!!!:carrot::carrot::carrot:

My center was mobbed this morning with off-work teachers and folks getting ready to travel but the weight was worth it. I was down 4.5 pounds since Saturday!!:D It gets easier and easier to do this and I'm so glad we're in it together. I told my MRC person how much I love this website and the positive energy I find here:hug:

Amy: No, you aren't the only one who eats when angry, tired, bored, lonely, sad, celebratory, etc. There's a wonderful book about this by Geneen Roth called [U]When Food is Love[I]. I'll bet if you took a poll, everybody here knows that habit of using food to meet every other kind of need. After my husband died last year, I spent about six months on the sofa eating Uh-Oh Oreos and Santitas tortilla chips. It numbs pain but ultimately makes it worse because here I am, trying to take off the 30 I gained in addition to the 50 I already needed to lose. But, oh well. I'm on my way, girls!

:turkey:HAPPY THANKSGIVING, YOU GUYS!!

If I may, I would like in on that exercise challenge. I don't have any cardio equipment, but I have a vast library of unopened exercise videos. :yoga::belly::trampo::exercise:

I went to my center today because they are doing a little motivational contest. If you weigh in today and again on Friday you get two extra weeks. If you have a 0.5 pound loss between those times, you get a breakfast bag.

So…I stepped up on the scale almost three hours after my weigh in time and I am down 0.5 from Monday. I am feeling much better. I was really beating myself up over not reaching the 24 pounds in two months. Yesterday was my two month MRC Anniversary and today I am officially down 24 pounds. The second month seemed to go so much faster than the first month. I am hoping for all the remaining months to go just as fast.


Congratulations everyone on your weight loss.

Oreo – :congrat: great job on signing the 50 pound board! You may shout from the rooftops anytime! :woohoo:

texdoc - WOW! 4.5 pounds! Congratulations!:cheer: I would love to be able to do that.

Does anyone know if we can donate blood while on this program?

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving! :turkey::thanks1:

Oh - I'll get in on the exercise challenge as well. What is the goal? How many times per week, or total minutes?

I do kickboxing twice per week already, and I need to step it up a notch and do that third day of something as well.

Great job!
Conventional wisdom is about 3 days to get back into fat-burning mode. But keep in mind that if you do hang off the wagon a bit (or fall off completely like I did last year & will again this year), you still aren't eating enough in one day to gain even one pound of fat. So much of Thanksgiving food is really sugary and/or starchy, so the extra carb load will cause a temporary increase in water weight. It'll help if you drink extra water tomorrow, and for the next few days after; try to get in some exercise tomorrow & up it a bit over the next couple of days. Just don't throw up your hands in despair & give up! The gain is only temporary, the change in overall long-term lifestyle is permanent!

Donuts: Thanks so much for starting the new thread-- I don't really know how to do that, not that I have tried.

ShineOn: Thanks for your words of encouragement! I would like to meet you, too! I have looked at your picture on the profile, if I see you at the center, I will introduce myself. I need to figure out how to put my picture on..... I am not too computer savvy.

Everyone else that I can't keep track of:
You are all doing great! I agree with whoever said tomorrow is a day of choices and whatever your choice is and however you deal with it, the important thing is that you jump back on the bandwagon on Friday. I am planning to WI on Friday morning, I am hoping that will be in my head tomorrow. I baked pies this afternoon and really I am fine with that, I am not really craving that. I also made the strawberry banana jello-- really liked that! A new treat. Much better than just slammin' a HNS.

People are really starting to notice my weight loss, I have a little trouble dealing with that. I just say, oh yeah, I am working on it. My mom even asked me today, point blank, what are you doing? So, I told her. I hadn't told her because when I mentioned MRC before I joined she was really negative and said those places, you lose and then you gain it all back and more. So, I had been avoiding the conversation with her. I had this big lecture I was going to give her when she did say something, but I didn't. I decided to let it go. Why is it when people get older they often say hurtful things without really knowing it?

Sorry for the rant, just enjoying my afternoon off, we got out of school at 11:30 today, I am so ready for a few days off! Happy Turkey Day!!:thanks1:

WOW, Take VI already! Thanks, Donuts, I didn't have the patience to find out how to start it!

Raemi and anyone who's interested, a few of us are increasing our exercise between now and New Year's. There's no admission price, no goal, no minimum number of minutes or times per week.... just increase your exercise for the next 41days.

I will join that challenge!! I have been telling myself I need to get going- maybe this will give me the boost I need!:carrot::carrot:

Ok, I'll take the challenge too! I have a gazelle in out storage building and have been planning on bringing it in the house the last few weeks, so....this is a good reason to get on with it. I don't get much exercise and now that it gets dark early, I don't walk. The gazelle seems like a good alternative. Certainly better than doing nothing!

Thanks donuts - I was gonna get this thread started and didn't...you know how it goes...things come up.

I WI'd today and lost 3.5lbs!! That takes me to 82.5lbs lost. I signed the 80lb board and had new pictures taken for my file. Pretty exciting. I WI'd with the district manager and she is really wonderful to WI with. She told me when i get to my goal that i should come work for MRC. I laughed and told her it's a deal! She said, "no, seriously...you would be inspirational to new clients". Pretty stinkin cool compliment if you ask me. She asked me about my Thanksgiving plans and i told her I wasn't really worried about food. She said, their general advice is that if there is something you just can't live without...have one or two bites and no more. I don't think I'll run into problems tomorrow but if I do, I'll remember her advice.

I should really join in on the exercise challenge just to see how it effects my loss rate. I've lost 5lbs a week consistantly while on vacation (I lose 2.9 average a week normally) and I think it's because I walk alot more on vacation...I'm thinking that is a good indication that I should probably add walking to my daily life, huh? :) I'll think about how I want to commit to this and get back to you all about that.

Happy Turkey Day Ladies and Donuts! I'll see ya on confession day ;)

Hvnly - Even if you increase your exercise 1 minute per time, you can join us! C'mon!:)

Hvnly - Congratulations on the 82.5 pound loss! :congrat:

You are such a great inspiration to all of us here, just think of how much of an inspiration you would be in person.

Mary - I've never been an exerciser....much more a sedentary person. Now that I'm getting smaller I feel more like moving so that is leading me to actually WANT to get up and move around. Hubby likes to walk and has probably given up on asking me to walk with him since I so frequently said no. I know I'll have to pick up the pace there if I want to continue to lose a solid ammount of weight...so its something I've been thinking about, which for me is a BIG step forward. Currently, I do 6 20min sets of aerobics on Wednesday at school with the kids since thats our all day focus (art, music and pe get together all day and do that) and thats all I do...I can now get through that day without dying...which is impressive for me. I'm going to really put thought into more because I don't want to make a committment and then not stick to it. I'd rather start slower and then add more as I feel up to it. I'll keep ya'll posted :)

I'm sorry, Sam - I didn't mean to put pressure on you. Your 120 minutes of exercise every Wednesday sounds like it's a great workout and congratulations for doing it! I'll bet the kids really look up to you for doing it with them.

The reason I made my commitment to "increase my exercise" intentionally vague is because I also don't want to set myself up for something I can't follow through with. So for me, just a little bit more is something I can commit to, and I figure every little bit helps.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

tmich56: Okay. I just have to tell you that, when you talked about having a gazelle in the garage that would help you with weight loss, I got this mental image of someone with a lovely bird, helping her to do long-distance running down a country road. Just the laugh I needed!:dizzy:

Have a great day, everyone. Focus on being with people you enjoy or surviving people you don't enjoy (knowing that it won't last forever) instead of on the food. I love you guys!

MRC and affording the products
 

Hi Sam and everyone, so glad this support group is here. MRC is working for me but I am going broke staying on the plan spending $200 - $300 per month! I know you can get some of the things at GNC i.e. flax, MSM but its the MRC6, Enhancer which I need to play my first order for to try, All Day Weight Loss and the High Nutrient drinks at 4 per day, Corti-trim... I don't want to have to give anything up and I wonder how I can stay on it, affording the supplements and which of them are most important.

Thank you! Julie

OK...I'm going in...

I am heading over to the IL now armed with my own plate of plan food. I contemplated picking through what she was serving, but because of the last dinner over there, I decided to be prepared.

I hope everyone is having a good time and doing well!

I'm astounded that we are on version VI of our thread!

Just finished dinner...wow! 4 oz is a LOT of turkey! I mean a LOT! The MRC dressing was very good, though, and I didn't feel deprived in the least...I managed to stick with the plan with only a little pressure from well meaning family members who wanted me to just have 'one little bite' of this or that.

*whew*

Now to make it through Christmas and New Years and we a home free! I hope everyone had a wonderful and successful Thanksgiving.
Nan

Thanksgiving Dinner
 

WHEW!! I made it.... I'm so happy, we had our traditional HUGE dinner with tons of food at my mom and dad's with the whole family. And I chose to stay totally on program with a traditional MRC meal -- I had turkey, I brought the strawberry and spinach salad, so I had 1/2 plate of that and my one serving of bread. I passed the other food without hesitation. I can't believe how easy it was .... no one said anything, nothing! :carrot:

I'm just really focused right now -- I want to be out of the 200's by the first of the year, so I just keep that thought in my mind. :newyear: That will be one happy new year for me! And then 2008, when I get to goal and go through stabilization and maintenance are very exciting to look forward to!! :dizzy:

One thing I do have a hard time with is getting all of my water in (the plain water). Any suggestions or tips that work for you.

And what do you do when it's been too long in between meals and you end up missing one? I know it's not good, but it's been unavoidable for me a couple of times and I realize it's only about 2 hours until my next meal, so I do nothing. Probably not the best thing!

Hvnlymzc --- WOW -- your 82.5 is awesome :D!!

Well, I'm off to get into sweats and hop on the gazelle!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy thanksgiving! I am new to the program and thought I'd introduce myself.

Let me tell you, I've had a rough start. Day 4 of 4 and day 5 of 10? yea, I got the stomach flu! I lost 4 pounds between friday and tuesday! Then day 6 of 10 is Thanksgiving. How's that for a rocky start! I did better than I expected today, though. Luckily lunch was a cheese and veggie tray - score! I had a few bites I could have avoided, but since I haven't been able to eat more then a slice of bread the last few days due to the flu, I had less will power than normal.

i'm going to WI in the AM. I get 3 weeks free if I lose. I am not sure how it's going to go - I was dehydrated and empty on tuesday night. I mentioned to the lady that it was a bummer that it was a false loss and she got all preachy on me about how this is "the only" diet and that this was the last time I was going to lose the weight. I think she misunderstood that I am pretty sure I'll gain some of that weight back when I was able to keep a solid down again! My ketones were 160 (!!!) but she wasn't worried. She was sure it was from being sick and not being able to eat or drink anything during the day (i tried to atleast get my water in), but I'm interested to test them again in the morning.

she also tried to push me into buying the fat and carb blocker, but that would just be a distaster for me. I would use it as an excuse to binge, and I do not need that. I am trying some of the suppliments to see how I feel about them, but I'm mostly going to do the HNS and the plan. I can't really afford all the extra stuff. I like the 5HTP a lot, but I'm still reserving my judgment on the others. I might get my flax from somewhere else, and I haven't tried the multi yet. I was topically allergic to PABA when I was a kid (which is in there) and multi's have been known to give me raging migraines... when i'm feeling well I'll take one in the morning and see how it goes.

Oh i'm getting long winded, I appologize. I did want to tell Deb my secret for drinking 4 liters a water a day for years now... Keep a bottle handy at all times. Get a fresh one for the car in the morning. Keep a fresh full one by your mouse pad all day. I find myself reaching for it every time I am thinking, and I get my bottles in a lot easier that way! :)

Welcome TeddieBare! My center never pushes anything on me. I take my own prenatal vitamin (has extra iron yet causes less stomach upset) and I get flax, B-12, and chromium picolinate wherever it's cheapest (usually Walmart or Walgreen's). I use 4 HNS daily, which is expensive, but it's what keeps you in fat-burning mode, so it's worth it to me. I do the same thing with water - I never thought I'd be able to drink so much, but I'm actually thirsty!

Welcome again and good luck!:)

:carrot:Way to go Nan and dkmd27 on facing the feeding frenzy with total success!:carrot:

And congrats to everyone else who makes it through Thanksgiving! :bravo:

My family will be celebrating tomorrow so I'll let you know it goes!

The one thing you can't eliminate is the HNS since it's a required part of the contract (and I never did 4 a day, I only did the minimum 2 a day, with the mental option to increase it to 3 if I hit a plateau, which I did a couple of times). I never did the All Day Weight Loss, think I did the Enhancer at first but switched to hoodia when they started offering it. I did do the MRC-6, I'd love to find an alternative to that one.

:dust:Teddie!::welcome: This is a fabulous website with motivated, positve folks. Just keep checking back and you'll find tons of :dust: Hope everybody survived today. I had MRC dinner with MRC friends, but we watched a movie and it's now 10:00pm and I haven't had a third meal so I opted for a HNS. Hope it works!

Well, I made it through that! I took my bag of green beans and ate turkey and drank water. They had a veggie tray so I ate some cauliflower and grape tomatoes. I didn't get my fruit in today or my bread. Oh well, we will see tomorrow when I WI. I did have one cracker with a little cream cheese and this cranberry salsa- couldn't resist trying it, just glad I didn't have any more. I resisted all other bites and licks. It was a long day at the in-laws- they were all drinking and carrying on. I was really tired and bored! I am going to get up early tomorrow and do a little shopping- may be crazy! Then I have to survive the football game at a sports bar with my dh and a bunch of friends. Will it ever end?? Ha!

Take care everyone and congrats on the T-Day successes!

Welcome, Teddie! Hope you're feeling better!
Just a FYI - you can pick up 5HTP at Target & CVS (& other places, I'm sure, but I know those two for sure) MUCH cheaper than MRC. I really like it too. Flax is much cheaper elsewhere as well. The only things I got from MRC were the ones I couldn't get anywhere else.
And I agree with you on the water. I'm a fan of getting a 32 oz styrofoam cup from Sonic or wherever, and I try to get in 4 of those full of water every day. It's harder for me in the winter, tho! One way to keep track - put 4 pennies (or however many cup/bottle fulls you're trying to drink) in a stack in the window in the kitchen - move a penny off the stack for every cup/bottle you drink. Hope I'm making sense - I'm not the best explainer!

Congratulations to everyone who made it through today without cheating - I'm guessing you feel a lot better than I do tonight! Makes it easy to get back to business tomorrow, tho!
Oink.

Supplements
 

Hi Everyone... Can ya'll tell me what your taking as far as supplements go? Thanks for the info Em previously. I am thinking of trying the Enhancer and let go of the All Day Weight Loss since they say you are suppose to switch off. Has anyone had better luck with either of them?

I would love to hear from everyone what they absolutely cannot do without and know it is aiding in their weight loss!

Thank you! Julie

5htp
 

I know they brought 5HTP back to the market, it had been removed from the shelves years ago... I will have to research the product but would really love to hear from all of you how you like it and the benefits of 5HTP.

Also Chromium and MSM ... is anyone taking this and seeing results added to the plan?

Because of the expense of the products from my center (not sure if they are all priced the same at each center, I am shelling out hundreds and hundreds each month) I am going to buy the flax, B12, chromium and multi's I'm thinking I can buy at GNC to help defray the costs.

It's the Cort-trim, All Day Weight Loss, MRC6, Enhancer and HNS you have to purchase from the center because of the "recipe" they are made of. I'm afraid to give anything up but I feel like I'm maxing out my credit card :(

Thank you everyone! Julie

Wow!!! Congrats to everyone who made it through. You are all awesome.

I won't drag you through the details, but if I were a high diver I can say that I started out gracefully and showed true promise, then went of the board and landed in the biggest ugliest bellyflop. Everyone look away it is too painful to watch. Anyway, today is a new day. Time to start again. I am going to pay for that awhile. I was in misery right after, and now just feel bloated and icky.

I hope to be as successful as the rest of you on Christmas. Again good job.

Julie, that does sound like a lot to take. I take all day, mrc6, flax and vit. So far I am very happy. Hope that helps.

I survived :) (of course I never doubted the iron will power that I've been living with recently...none of it looked tempting, thank GOD).

Mary - I didn't feel pressured at all :) My comment was more of a confession is good for the soul kinda thing. I am getting exercise signs from all over the place and of course it makes sense that I exercise more...so I likely will...I'm still thinking about how I'll do that though.

RamsWife - I buy all most of my stuff at the center...always have, don't know why :) I take MSM, Cortitrim and MRC-6. I buy those three from the center. I pray they don't run out all at the same time otherwise its mostly affordable. I buy a daily vitamin at Walmart. Thats all I take. Well...and the HNS. I really try to take 4 of those a day...3 clear and 1 creamy. I know there are some who take alot more supplements than I do, but I've been pleased with what I've been taking so I probably won't add more.

As far as water goes...I drink 100oz a day and there is no trick to it. In the beginning it was hard, but now I'm used to it. In fact I can tell when I don't drink it. I get tired and really thirsty. I hope someone has a more helpful tip for you :)

I made it through!!! Just getting ready to go wi at my center. I did cook all my sides the day before and just re-heated. I was able to host Thanksgiving dinner, so that made it a lot easier. I only cooked food that was on the MRC plan. My daughter is on ww and really trying hard, she only added a ww pumpkin pie (which so cooked herself!) and ww mashed potatoes. My MIL & FIL came over and brought their own stuffing, green bean cassorle and rolls. I was so hoping that my MIL would eat everything I made and really enjoy it - ultimately saying she could do MRC and join! My hopes were set way too high. She pretty much passed up everything I made. She's over 400lbs in congestive heart failure and on oxygen now 100% of the time. It's so sad. I feel like she is so close to death and just will not be compliant with her diabetes. She wouldn't even try our pumpkin pies - brought her own from Village Inn. Oh well, I only cried privately a little. It's ultimately her choice, just not ready for her to die yet. I just hope she doesn't pass on while we're on our cruise - it's that serious.

On a happier note, my husband and daughter loved everything I cooked. It all turned out so delicious. I followed the suggested menu for the day and was so full at "lunch"! I don't feel like I missed a thing!

A big shout out the SAM - 82 lbs is awesome!!!! :cp:
:welcome: to TeddieBare - it's great that you are joining us this time of the year. If you can hang in there during the silly season, you will find the rest of the year easssyyy!
RamsWife88 - It might be helpful to know that I don't take anything from the center except the HNS at 5x's per day. I justify the $53 a week in my reduced grocery bill. I have always taken my own multi-vitamins and MSM. The only thing I added was flax seed oil - I can get it on base for $5.99 per 100 caplets, so not much of a dent in my pocket book. I've been on since Labor Day weekend and I'm still averaging 3 - 3.5 lbs per week, which I'm completely happy with. I am a stickler with the plan, I don't deviate from the food. I just haven't felt the need to buy the add on pills. Hope that helps.

Time to face the scale. I know I didn't get my required water in, but I stayed OP! Have a great weekend everyone!

TeddieBare Welcome to the board!!! We're so glad you've started this journey with us. Don't worry so much about the time of year, when you get through this part the rest will be a breeze. I'm no help on the water, I was actually told to cut my water in half when I started the program-I was drinking 200-260 oz/day.

RamsWife On an earlier board, somebody (I think it was ShayH)said she substituted Corti-Trim for Relacore so that's what I've been doing and it seems to be working for me, I've lost 3" around the waist since I started it 3 weeks ago. I told one of the counselors that I was struggling to afford all of this and was out of the All Day, she said to take the chromium picolenate(sp), the B12 and the B6 from where ever. I still take the MRC6 from them and the HNS, I do 3 a day. Flax seed from Walmart and I'm still in good supply of the MRC Multivitamin, but I will swith to some other brand when I'm out.

Hvnly Congrats on the 82 lbs!!! That is so great! What a wonderful compliment from the District mgr, it's nice to know that they really do try to get real people to work there. I know they all have to do the program to work there, but sometimes I wonder if some tof them have ever really had to lose wieght.

Question for the group...I was told that the multivitamin we take should be disolvable instead of time-release. Has anybody else heard of that or found a brand that is? Everything I see says to take once a day instead of 3 times like the MRC brand. Does it really matter??? I really would like to buy something cheaper.

Supplements
 

Cargirl, Amy, Sam, EM, thanks for the info on the supplements...
I think I will check out the Relacore pricing at GNC and compare to MRC price because of the monthly expense on the supplements.

Have any of you tried the Enhancer and seen results? Also the 5HTP what is this suppose to help with?

I did so well with MRC for almost an entire year ... MRC has helped me to eat MUCH healthier, but I have really fallen off the wagon ... is it still beneficial to take the HNS 4 x/day? I am thinking I need to start over and get back into fat burning mode. I wish I had done as well as all of you did because I had a piece, but a very small piece of apple pie. I had to have it, it was my first time to make one, homemade crust and all! :?:

Julie