I know what you mean...I had lost 10.5 lbs in my first week, then the following Wednesdday I weighed in and gained 1.5! I was so frustrated, then I went back this Saturday and lost 7 since Wednesday night! down 16 lbs in 12 days! I am very motivated to keep it going. I began picking up the exercise this weekend...hopefully I will keep it going!

I caved over the weekend. I went in for my WI on Saturday and was down 3.5 lbs which was great. Then I went to the gym, came home and started cleaning the house. I took a break to cook lunch for the day and cook some stuff for this week's lunches. Well, I was REALLY hungry so I had more fruit at lunch that I was supposed to. A lot more. Then as I was cleaning the house I just felt so hungry. So I had a second...then a third serving of what I had for lunch (chicken broccoli cheese casserole thingy from the cookbook). Well then...I really caved. Here came the peanuts, the crasins, the peanut butter and apple, a couple bowls of cereal, a thin mint and half an ice cream bar. I binged. Then dinner time came and I didn't want another boring MRC meal, so when my husband went to taco bell, I went with and had two chicken soft tacos. I totally caved and I didn't feel guilty about it at all. But, when I weighed myself this morning, I was up 4 lbs! EEK! It's also my time of the month (which is probably why I caved) so I'm hoping that has something to do with it.

Anyway, I was right back OP yesterday and plan to have no more cheats until I'm at goal weight or until May 23rd (I'm going to a bachelorette party and plan to go off plan).

Something I realized during this binge though was before if I ate this amount of food, it would slightly fill me up. This time, I felt like I was going to burst. It was painful! I guess my stomach has "shrunk" which is great.

Back on track now but I had to share my awful Saturday. I know people talk about cheating on here...but I really went overboard for that one day.

Congrats on breaking 170!!! You're doing awesome!

Welcome!! It's a great program and you lose weight fast if you stick to plan! Just a bit of advice....Don't feel pressured into trying all of the supplements right away if you are trying to watch your money. I started by just taking a multi vitamin and the flax seed oil. I lost my first 50 lbs. that way and started trying a few other pills once my weight loss slowed down. My mom started out taking everything from the beginning that they recommended and then later didn't want to stop any of them because she wasn't sure which ones were helping her and which ones weren't. It doesn't hurt anything but your pocket book though

Don't worry about the cheating.....we all do it occasionally. The important thing is that you are right back on track now There's no way you gained 4 lbs. of fat in that short time so it's mostly water weight and will fall off in a few days. I just tell myself that is what life is going to be like after MRC. Sometimes you binge or go on vacation or whatever and gain but as long as you get right back to healthy eating, you will maintain your weight. It's the year long binge that gets you in trouble!

Thank you for the advice KeepinOnandOn....I am so concerned on what all they will say I need to buy when I first go in. I'm not sure what to purchase there and what to purchase locally much cheaper. The HNS have me concerned, because I think I read it is required, and I would imagine MRC is the only place I can purchase them. Does anyone know what the cost is and how long the supply lasts? I just want to be prepared with sort of knowing the cost, since my budget may not allow me to join. Thank you for any advice.

Hey, everyone. I'm down 5 lbs.!(Started Pre-Conditioning a week ago, and the "Beige" menu on Saturday). My goals for this summer is to stay OP as much as possible, do "Walking Off the Pounds" 2 or 3-mile walk 3x/week, then begin to add an exercise class when I'm in "onederland". For those of you "newbies", don't get freaked out when you see the diet itself! I did, but it really is manageable, especially when you start seeing all the recipes available on the recipe thread, and in MRC's recipe book. As far as supplements, I bought a lot, but I'm not sure how much good they're actually doing. They are very expensive. I would suggest asking your consultant to tell you which are required, and if you can purchase them elsewhere (besides MRC). The HNS's are $12.50/box (7 in a box). Most centers have a special where you can get 5 boxes for $50. You're required to take 3/day, and you can do up to 5/day. My plan is to see how I do on 3, and if I "stall", then try 5/day to see if that helps. I do believe you are required to purchase the HNS's from MRC (Hey, they've got to stay in business somehow!) They do help suppress your appetite, because each contains 12 g. of protein! If you feel like you are "starving", you might try taking a HNS, or 1 oz. of hard cheese, and that should keep you from "binging". Also, you might want to look at if it was "emotional hunger pains" instead of "physical". 'Hope everyone has a great week!

KeepinOnandOn, Can you tell me why I lost my "weight loss ticker"; is this part of the "signature" that isn't visible until I make 30 posts? Also, how do I include my "Pre-Conditioning" and "Beige Menu" start dates? Is that part of the signature, too? Thanks!

I had the exact same problem as you and you're right. You can't post a signature until you've been a member for 20 days. After that, you'll see the option to edit your signature on the left-hand side where you edit things. I also included my menu/pre-conditioning start dates on my signature as well.

Tthe HNS's are required and my center runs a special of 10/$90 and I've bought those 2 times. There's also the website dietdirect.com, I believe, where I've read on here that many people have ordered from. The HNS on there (again from what I've read) are the brand Protidiet. I've found I like the concentrates better than the powders. I don't know about you personal preference, but the powders just taste different to me.

Feeling very frustrated......had a gain of 0.5 this morning and right away I was told it was because I went back to the beige menu instaed of using the green!

This is very disheartening I have been on program since Jan 20 and I have lost a total of 24 pounds........I can't figure out what is going on. And honestly I don't think the people at my center now either!!

As I read about everyone's great weight losses I find myself getting upset but ..............

CONGRATULATIONS to all of you and may you continue doing great!!

That is interesting. If your ticker is correct you weigh about 6 pounds less than I do. I JUST moved to the beige from white at 250. I know that my center moves people to green when they go below 200.

Describe what you are eating each day...maybe one of us can see something you are doing that the center is missing or at least confirm that you are doing everything perfectly as we know it!

Hang in there....

purchase nothing from them at first. see how well your body does w/o all the extra chemicals. you need a once daily multivitamin and flax seed that you can buy anywhere. i get mine from work *warehouse* which makes the cost for them VERY affordable. i haven't taken anything from them except the internal cleanser *12 bucks* when i had an issue. the HNS is the only thing you're required to buy from them.

i don't make the guaranteed 3 to 5 per week but i never manage to stay perfectly on plan. i taste this or that and drink tea *caffeine* or coke zero *same* and still manage to lose avg *true average rather than their monkey math average* of 2.5 per week. i drink 2 HNS per day and tend to lose more when i inadvertently skip a meal like breakfast once a week. i'm not recommending that and i definitely don't do it on purpose but it's happened enough i've noticed it.

welcome to the site and good luck at your consultation!!

i've been operating this diet as low budget as humanly possible. i avoid the more expensive meats and buy my multivitamin and flax at other sources. those are the only ones they'll "allow" you to buy elsewhere. they might recommend all kinds of things, but if you go in there telling them that you have a money concern, at least the ladies at my center, don't tend to push you to buy stuff. there are alternate HNS suppliers that they don't approve of and they will tell you if you buy them elsewhere it voids the guarantee. my first menu was supposed to have 3 to 5 drinks per day and i only did 2 because of the money. i don't even know now what my menu is supposed to have because i'm sticking to the lowest possible cost. 2 drinks per day, 7 drinks per box = 2 boxes per week at full price that's $24 per week. if you buy them in qty you can get their price break at 10 for $90 which makes it $18 per week bare minimum. i also paid for the program in pieces. i initially signed up for 6 weeks at $99 and liked what i was seeing so i re-signed for 17 weeks at $129. that gets me into the 170's with the option to re-enroll for whatever they have available then. once i get somewhere I'M happy *or i rum out of money, whichever happens first*, i can go into stabilization/maintenance which is 6 wks + 12 months respectively for $129. i added up what i've spent so far today and was AMAZED but doing it in pieces makes it much easier.

I am now a repeat offender. Gained back the 30 lbs I had lost. Today is my first day back on the diet. I have a headache from the caffeine withdrawal, other than that things are going ok. Hubby is doing the diet with me & that will help. I WANT TO GET BACK TO THOSE SIZE 8 JEANS!!!!

Kudos to all of you who are losing weight. You should be proud of yourselves.

this is me at 235 *home scales* on halloween before i even thought of starting. forgive the crazy hair and weird shirt - we were supposed to be punk rockers.....



me today wearing a shirt that didn't fit me this good WHEN I BOUGHT IT. yeah i know, tricky me, i'm wearing black because it's slimming but it's SHINY BLACK and everyone know what shiny does. sorry it's fuzzy, new cell phone camera and still playing with it.

OMG you look great!

ARGH! I think I've hit the dreaded plataeu. I've been hovering around 203-203.5 on my home scales since last Friday. I've been reading about those who have gone through theirs. I hope I can get through it! It's just SO frustrating when you know you're following the plan as close as you can and you don't see the results on the scale.

Last night I 'tried' to fix tilapia by spraying it w/ICBNB and using a little bit of lemon juice and Mrs. Dash in the skillet using Pam to fry it. It was 'ok' but it was missing something. I've never fixed fish before and honestly that has deterred me from wanting it again. Any suggestions on how to cook it? It almost needs something crunchy on the outside. What about crushing up melba toast and putting in on the outside?

Also, has anyone tried the 'sluppy buffy's' out of the MRC cookbook? It sounds good, but it also uses the cream of tomato HNS and I'm leary to try it in fear that I won't like it. Or does anyone have an alternative to sloppy joe's?

Here's a great way to make your tilapia.... give it a try. It has a nice coating and a good taste!

Tilapia (White Fish)
1/2 cup ground Melba (I put them in the blender or food processor to get them really fine)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb to taste
1-2 TBLS Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (Dry Powder)

Soak the fish in a bowl of cold water.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large ziplock bag.
Coat 1 fish at a time in the coating mixture.
Take 2-3 fillets and fry them in a skillet using 1 TBLS of olive oil on slightly higher than medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.