Ilovekotilab – Thanks for posting those recipes! I have to get to the grocery store so I can try them. And great job at the Mexican restaurant!! Learning to adapt what you eat & still live your life & have fun is crucial.
BonnieMcC – you are doing great!!! I can tell you are really committed – bringing your food to parties is an important step. I lot of people are afraid of doing this. I did it all the time, my friends always understood and were very supportive.
Bfatnomore – I’m glad you’re still posting. There was no way I could get caught up with the past threads, so I just jumped back in. Great job on your Thanksgiving loss. Your exercising probably played the biggest role since you were back to calories taken in vs calories burned. It’s just harder to lose when you’re not in the chemical fat burn zone. Way to adapt!
WooPigSooie – thanks for the Yoga/Pilates suggestions. I’ve been wanting to try this, but would like to check it out in the comfort of my home instead of a class. I’m going to get those videos. I’ve really been working on my stretching – I’m way too tight and I think it’s causing my back aches – that and being able to cross my darn legs again!! I always had lower back problems in my 20’s, then it went away when I was heavy. Now that I’m think again, they’re back. I didn’t make any sense to me – lack of weight should ease the stress on your back – until I made the connection.
Tkdtara84 – Congratulations on the 50 lb board!!! That is a huge milestone!
Denise – you continue to amaze me. Can hardly wait for you to sign the 160 board. You are really close to stabilization!!
Tvmitche – I think I posted in the recipe thread what order to mix the ingredients for the cheesecake – it makes a huge difference – it took me 3 tries to get it smooth & I was using a food processor. The trick is to mix up your gelatin with splenda first, then add cottage cheese and blend until smooth, then add the pudding and other items. If you mix it altogether, the pudding sets up before you can get the lumps out.
Judy – sorry to hear about your daughter. I hope everything turns out ok.
Carrie – I’ve hit the mental block twice. It does sound crazy, but I do believe your mind can keep you from losing weight. Both times, I had a good talk with myself, really looked at what was holding me back, then went through my closet and tried on every item and purged the things that were too big. Next wi I was down again – both times! I hit a 3 week plateau once too. One of my blocks related to a sense of losing my identity. My body was changing so much, that people weren’t recognizing me and it really freaked me out. Once I was ok with the butterfly that was emerging, I was able to release. My consultant brought up the mental block and having a talk with myself too, so it’s not just my “crazy” thoughts.

Last night was our holiday party and I had a blast! All the amazing compliments didn't hurt either, but where I had the most fun was the dancing! I think I danced for 2 hours straight without a break!! I out danced the 20 something crowd!! At one point we were all dancing to a jump song :dance: we were all jumping around the dance floor through the whole song - & I was not only able to do it, but having a blast (and on heels). I was thinking, this is so awesome - my body is able to move so easily now that I'm light and strong! One of the young thin guys said, you're in much better shape than I am, I need a break! What an absolute blast! I thought I would be sore this morning, but I woke up feeling fine!! Not bad for a 43 year old!!

Thanks! I made the cheesecake dip yesterday and it's so good. That's awesome that you out dance the 20 something crowd. You got a workout in at your holiday party!

BonnieMcC – Congrats on the great loss!! That’s a fantastic way to get started and will be great motivation through the holiday season!

tkdtara – Congrats on the 50lb board!!! That is awesome!

namaste – Denise, you just keep chugging along and continue to be an inspiration to me. The 160lb board is yours, girl!! Way to go!
Austins Mom – The turkey taco’s sound really good. I’ll have to check out the Chipotle blend of Mrs. Dash.

Ilovekotilab – Great job on the night out with your family. Mexican restaurants are one thing I’ve avoided so far since I love it so much. I’m glad for all the Mexican recipes on the recipe thread for my fix.

Gma to 4 – Glad to hear your daughter is doing ok. I’ll keep her next test results in my prayers.

ShineOn – Welcome back and congrats on dancing the night away! How exciting! I love to dance but have avoided it for so many years for fear I would embarrass myself with sweating and looking silly because of my size. I also appreciated what you shared about skin and how you are seeing yours recover. That’s something I’ve been worried about and I can already see sagging in some spots. It’s nice to know I might not need surgery!!


I had a little NSV last night. I did a little closet shopping and tried on a pair of new jeans I had never worn. They have been too small but when I put them on I found out that they are almost a little too big!! I’m quite happy but they won’t fit for long!

After over 3 months OP, I had my first food off plan last night. I went out to dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday and most of what I had was OP but did taste too salty. I had some rice with the dinner but found I enjoyed the stir fried meat and veggies better. I’m going to concentrate on lots of water today to help flush any fluids I may be retaining from all the sodium. Last night helped me to see that I have a lot more work to do to change my way of thinking about food and eating because afterwards I ran to Shopko to look for something I needed. I found myself concentrating on all of the Christmas goodies they have out on the shelves and even started at one point to try to decide what I wanted to buy. It’s like I thought I needed to have a treat after a night out. I have time to work on this since I’ve got a fair amount more to lose but it was a little awakening to catch myself thinking this way. I think from my last Tanita measurement my actual goal weight will be about 25 or more pounds lower than I originally thought. I don’t think I’ll know for sure until I get much closer.

Cari - that was an excellent catch last night. I only see the people I work with about once every 6 months. So last night was a lot of, wow you look great, how much have you lost, how long did it take you to lose, what did you do? I found myself repeating the same thing over and over, but the how long did it take you question even caught me by suprise. I explained that it took me a year and 3 months - the first 50 lbs were really easy because I stayed OP, but the next 50 was a struggle because of the mental battle. I really had to work on my thoughts about food, my body image, self-esteem and behavior modification. The plan is very easy but it's the psychological part that was tough for me the last half. But I have learned so much about myself. That's what I love about MRC, they focus on the whole person and the year of maintenance is the big difference that I feel will help me keep the weight off.

It's amazing the questions that some people will ask. I will struggle with too much attention. It's kind of odd that I will like that people notice that I'm losing but too much attention will make me nervous. I hope it will not make me sabotage myself. I guess I shouldn't start thinking that way and concentrate on the successes. It sounds like my path is starting out similarily to yours. I'm just over 40lbs and it's been pretty easy to stay OP so far. I keep thinking about the next 50 and how that is probably going to be more before I'm done. It's good that I'm realizing the psychological part needs a LOT more work now or I could get to the end without addressing it. I do appreciate the center and what they do. This is the first diet I've been on where I plan to stay on board all the way through stabilzation and maintenance so I can get that support!! Thanks for the feedback!

Denise - You GO, girl!!!! Congrats! What an inspiration!!

Judy--I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter! She will certainly be in my thoughts & prayers as she has these tests.

Good feeling, isn't it? Congrats for staying OP :D

Gina, I highlighted the one sentence because I feel that is such a key to the entire program. MRC has helped me learn how and why I became so overweight in the first place and I now really have the tools to ensure that I never turn back into that person again.

Thanks to everyone that keeps on encouraging me! Everyone has been so helpful and I have only been on here for a week.
Now for the good news....I have lost 9 lbs during my pre-conditioning week!
Now for the bad news...8oz of raw veggies is a lot of freakin salad (thank goodness for cucumbers!)

Wow!! 9lbs in pre-conditioning is awesome! :bravo:

I gave up eating 8 ozs. of salad during my first month OP. If I eat raw veggies I only do 4 ozs. and I have 2 ozs. of cooked with them (half & half) Makes it go down a little easier:)

great idea...I was wondering about that!

Tomatoes weigh a lot, too. I like to throw in some grape tomatoes on a salad...makes the quantity more manageable!!

I am right there with you. I have been at the same weight for about two weeks now. I can say with 100% honesty though that it is because I have created my own plan. There are tons of little things that I either do or don't do that are sabotaging me. I sometime wonder if I am doing the same things!

Hang in there!! We are both going to get there.

Oh my gosh, you sure did have a family emergency! That is sooo frightening. I will be thinking of you and your family and hoping the best on that EEG. I can't imagine what you must have been going through. I'm sending you a HUGE hug!

Working out?
 

So - I've been on the yellow menu for 8 days (self-imposed since I went off Plan Friday night for my BIL's Birthday) and lost a total of 17lbs. I'm sure most of it was water weight, but, really? 17lbs in a little more then a week? I can't help but think I am just dreaming and that my scale is lying to me. So I weighed myself at the gym, and on my WiiFit - and no - really, 17lbs down.

Which leads me to my actual question - Is this ok?

I work out with a Personal trainer 3 times a week, mon. wed. fri. and I walk at the local park most mornings, and I do Cardio at the gym on the days I dont train.

I am moving to the Blue menu tommorrow. I drink 2 HNS's a day - and after I workout I drink a whey protien smoothie (whey protien, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp nutella and alot of ice). So, it's not like I'm skimping on the calories- or starving, by any means. Heck, sometimes its all I can do to eat one more green thing!

I hardly ever eat a lettuce salad. I usually have about 1/2 a cucumber, a green pepper and a few grape tomatoes and it's really not that much.