I started walking on the treadmill tonight. Since its been a long time I only did a brisk walk for 30 minutes. I am holding myself to do that atleast 5 times a week. I read up on the C25K and I'm thinking I may start that when I get some more pounds off, dont want to hurt myself....yeah scary.

Is this your 1st time on MRC? I sure hope I lose fast and keep it off. I have my bridal shower on 2/7/09 and i am going to be seeing some people I have not seen in years and i would really like to look better so "I" don't feel uncomfortable and so I can look back at the pictures and not hate seeing myself in them! I have alot of problems losing weight so I am trying to keep postive and stay op. I told Judy at the MRcenter I would eat cardborad to lose the weight so actually having real food to eat is great. I was on metafast for awhile and it was just nasty....liquid all day long...everyday??? who could do that and stick with it for life? I tried Nutrisystem too and that was kinda like eating cardboard LOL!!

Laura, I think you're going to do really well on this plan. We have similar "numbers" and I've lost 30+ lbs in a little over 3 months. Do your best to really stick to the menu and avoid little cheats or shortcuts. You'll be amazed by how quickly the pounds start melting off, especially in the beginning.

Laura..Hey there and welcome. Are you in West/Central Florida? Good luck and I know you can do great! This plan is awesome! If you stick to it, you'll do amazing and if you're lax and go back and forth you can still do well! NOT THAT I RECOMMEND THAT...It's just what I've done!

Hey there ladies! Happy New Year to everyone! I've been off program and hope to get back on track on Friday. I've been maintaining @ 131 (up a few pounds from the 128.5 I had gotten down to), but I'm still down from the 135.5 I had been back up to! UGH!

I have a couple of questions. I want to get a new George Forman. The one @ Kohl's is $159! Is there one that isn't as pricey that you all would recommend or is that the best thing out there and the best price (I'll do more online research but thought I'd ask).

last night I made the merenque cookies (egg whites and cream of tartar with extracts)..There was a lot of liquid in the bowl when I was done mixing it and dropping the spoonfuls on the baking sheet. Any tips or suggestions on this recipe?

Thanks and have a great night!

My biggest suggestion on the Foreman-type grill is to get one with removable grids. WAY easier to clean! I actually got a Hamilton Beach grill (similar to the Foreman grill but usually a good bit cheaper) - got my first one before they came out with the removable grids, but once they came out, I passed that one on to one of my girls and got myself an upgrade. LOVE my grill!
Congrats on getting the scale moving in the right direction!
http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach...0771255&sr=8-1

Thanks Meemo. I've been reading reviews for the last 1/2 an hour! I need something for our family of 4 so I'd like a big grill, but definitely something with the removable plates for sure. I have a small GF grill (old style) and love it, but yes..the cleaning is yucky! Thanks again for the quick response!

I had (and still have but put it away) a larger foreman grill that I loved to cook on, but it was so bulky on my counter and did not have removable grids and I was only cooking my meat on it, so I went to wal-mart and bought the smallest one you can get..it cooks up to a 6oz chicken. I was thrilled when I bought it because it was so small and I got it for less than $20! I was thinking that even tho its grids were not removable it would be easy to clean because its so small...nope, its still a pain to clean. So I agree with previous posters---whichever one you decide on you must get removable grids!!!

yes this is my first time on MRC...and short of surgery (which I was concidering before MRC) I have tried just about everything. I always lose around 50 pounds or so on every plan I do because I am so motivated at first, and then after I hit the midway point I lose focus and then binge eat and gain everything back and more!

Ive tried diet pills (never lost more than 20--always gained it back)
Nutrisystem (lost 50 gained all and more back)
Curves diet plan (lost 60 gained it all back and more)
Atkins twice (both times lost 50, gained it all back and more)
South Beach (-30 gained it all)

I could go on and on.I have done so many programs that its really embarrassing. I own more workout tapes than a video store! I am...excuse me, I WAS the worst yo-yo dieter that I have ever known. I know what my problems are and I just got to work though and fix them.

Almost everytime I have gained weight back is because we went on vacation and I started eating what I called "regular"---which means "whatever I wanted". I got home and weighed myself and thought "well that wasn't too bad. I will get back on track tomorrow". Then tomorrow becomes the next day and soon a few months will pass and I have gained everything back. Once I start eating all of those bad carbs and sugar, I become and addict and binge eat on everything because "this could be the last day I have it if I start my diet tomorrow" I always thought of myself as an all or nothing person. Its pretty embarrassing that in front of several people I know I seem like I am always on some diet, but year after year I get bigger and bigger. This is why I have to break the cycle. I don't want to live my life like this anymore. I think MRC is the place for me because I DO have to check in twice a week, I DO have to follow their meal plan and I DO have something to prove to everyone and myself that I will not let binge eating and constantly thinking about my weight control my life. It also helps that am losing so quickly, because that really keeps me motivated. They say that I will continue to lose 3-5 pounds throughout this whole process, but I would think towards the end it should slow down. I want to be at goal by their goal day (August 4th)--actually they say will lose 100 pounds by then, I want to lose 116 so I will be at my initial goal of 150 and if i want to continue after that I will!

Bonnie - it's an all-to-familiar story! Does your center have any classes? Not all centers do, but a lot of them have classes on why we do this over & over and how to avoid it this time around. There's a couple of excellent books (some of the centers used them for classes) by Linda Spangle, one is called Life is Hard, Food is Easy; the other is 100 Days of Weight Loss, and is a workbook of sorts. I have both, of course I haven't finished reading them (which might be part of why I'm back with MRC after regaining about half of what I'd lost!). But they kind of cover the emotional/mental side of weight loss - which in my case is a big part of it, I'm definitely a stress eater.

Thanks Meemo, my center does have classes, altho during December they didnt have much. I will check out the calender when I weigh in tomorrow. During my food instruction class the MRC rep mentioned that 100 Days book. That sounds like something I would really like. When I overeat its mostly out of boredom.

I agree with Meemo. I have read both of those books. And also "feeding the hungry heart". I have also read several memoirs about weight loss. I am an emotional eater, stress eater, boredom eater, I like the taste eater... you get the picture. I almost got to the last week of stabilization and then ate for 2 months and gained back about half of what I lost. I am recommitted and getting back on track. But after all that rambling the point is, I find it easier to recognize the signs of out of control eating and stop it before I gain it all back. And even in those bad times I still kept some of the good habits from MRC. I have learned a lot about myself on this program. Probably the most important is to "Take Care of Myself". If I don't, who will?

Meemo, thanks for the names of these books. Bonnie's post sounded so much like my history. I realized at 40lbs that I hadn't started dealing with the emotional issues behind my eating and I need to because I do NOT want to end up here again.... with over 100lbs to lose. I wonder if my approach to this diet is not helping me. I try not to do anything off plan but it all looks so good. I know at some point I have to learn to incorporate these things back into my diet but within reason. I have to deal with my emotional reasons for eating or I will continue this pattern.

Amen to all of that. Before I would've gained back ALL the weight & then some, this time I gained about half back (after keeping all but 4-5 lbs off for over a year) and realized "I cannot - I WILL not - let this happen again!" I am a living, breathing cautionary tale - there's nothing magic about MRC in the long run - it's a fabulous program, gives you structure, accountability, support, and a good maintenance plan. But in the end - it's up to each of us to follow the plan to achieve our goal, and follow the maintenance to maintain our success.

That's the good thing about the maintenance portion of MRC - you will be able to incorporate some of those goodies into your eating, but in moderation. You're right though, the mental/emotional side of things can really get the better of us if we don't learn other ways to deal with things besides food.

Linda Spangle also has a website where you can sign up for her free e-newsletter. I think there's something in the books that you enter in the website to "prove" you have the books so that you can get the newsletter. Like I said, I haven't even really finished either book, but that should be a resolution for me, to pull the books out & finish them!