Anyone have a suggestion on getting rid of a headache? I'm assuming it's from caffeine withdrawal. I have had it for 3 days, tried Tylenol & Advil, no help. I broke down & had one 12 oz diet Dr.Pepper both yesterday & today. Not OP, but head was hurting so bad, I had to try. Day 3 on diet, doing ok except for the headache & fatigue. Will have first wi on Fri.

I have a free photobucket account that I upload them too. Then you just copy the Image code under the picture you want to use and paste it into your post. viola! You need to make sure they're sized correctly as some forums limit your picture size to help people who have slower connections still be able to browse the site. Photobucket has the ability to edit so you can crop them or change the display size to something forum friendly.

I prefer to go by my home scales because I can consistently weigh in the morning before I've had ANYTHING in my system. I figure that's closer to my real weight anyway.

Thanks so much! I feel a lot better and now doing the side by side pics I can actually see the difference and face what I ACTUALLY looked like instead of what my mind convinced me I looked like. I can't believe I let myself get that way. I was in DENIAL!!

I broke my cost down by only paying for pieces at a time. The drinks are VERY expensive and they're the part that's basically taking my choice in the re-enrolling away. I have too many other things that I have to do to continue to spend the money on the drinks, BUT, that being said, I wldn't trade what I've accomplished for that money back. Total, program, I've spent 228 (99 for 6 wks then 129 for 17 wks* and if I do S&M I'll have spent 357 just on the program, not to mention the drinks. 357 basically to lose, by their scales, almost 50 lbs.

I was the same way about having to decide to and just do it. I had a friend who did this plan, she gave me her paperwork and I thought it wld work for me but w/o the drinks it wasn't working well so I decided to sign up and see what piece of the puzzle I was missing. It worked because here I am. If you're really unsure and you don't want to drop the whole load, see if they'll let you do like I've done and buy it out piece at a time so that you can afford it better and if it doesn't work for you then you're under no obligation or further loss. I walked in there with the attitude of I can ONLY afford so much, and that's all I'm going to spend, and I haven't been hassled.

I'm up on June 19th. I didn't think they'd let me extend a whole month to get to 160 but honestly I'm so fed up with the limitations that I'm considering saying to heck with S&M just so I don't have to spend those next 6 weeks eating an adjusted plan. BUT I want the paperwork so it's a battle to see which I think is more impt. It might just come down to how much money I have in June to pay for S&M or not. *sigh* I hate it being this way.

So did you pay for stabilization separately from maintenance? THAT'S an idea because isn't maintenance supposed to be normal eating? I'm on 2 drinks per day as it is so I don't think they'll have me cutting drinks out till later when everyone else is on 2 drinks too.

I don't always get all my water in either. Sometimes I just CAN'T choke it down and sometimes I just don't have time. I find the next day I'm pretty thirsty though. *shrug* That's why they say to keep your water with you all the time, so you can just take a drink and after a minute you find your bottle needs refilling. I don't have any good ideas. When I first started I cldn't get it all down. I'd get three bottles a day and that was my limit. Sometimes I'm still like that. All I do is just keep drinking, and usually if I find I don't think I'm going to make my 4 bottles, I'll chug one and fill it up and take a few good swallows of it just to get me started on it.

I've heard caffeine withdrawal and starch withdrawal both can cause this. I don't think they'd tell you this on day 3 but one weigh in I had I had been so tired that day I drank a coke zero and the mgr that did mine that day told me that for a boost, occasionally, as long as that one boost doesn't make me go full back on caffeine, and I'm drinking the low sodium *zero* cola, that it wldn't hurt my loss that bad. I think I read somewhere on here that the only reason they want you to ditch the caffeine is because if your body is processing caffeine, that's resources it's not using to process fat. Apparently it's not great at multitasking. *shrug* I went overboard with it one week and it affected my loss but didn't stop my loss. I quit it again completely and my losses were back up to nearly 3 per week. If you're just so incredibly lethargic that you find it hard to focus and hard to function and getting additional sleep is not an option then I wld say have a little caffeine to take the edge off and ween off it slower than just a few days.

I'm confused by what people are saying about paying for stabilization and maintenance. I was told, and if I remember correctly it's on my contract, that stabilization and maintenace were included in my program cost. I understand having to still buy some HNS and stuff but I was under the impression that those were included and I didn't have to pay extra for them.

if you paid for your goal weight up front then yes they are included. i cldn't do it all in one lump sum so i've been deciding and paying as i go. i originally ONLY paid for 6 weeks of program time. at the end of that 6 weeks i enrolled for another 17 weeks. at the end of that time i will decide whether to pay for S&M or to just quit because at this point i'm at a good place for me, and i'm fed up enough with salad that i need a break. i don't want to pay them to take a break either by paying for the plan and just cheating and wasting money. does that help any? i know sometimes i'm not great at explaining things, especially online.

No that clears that up thanks! Next week is going to be hard for me. I have a standing Thursday night thing with friends and we get together and watch a show and next week's the finale and so I want to get something off program because it's special but then on Saturday my parents are taking me out for a graduation dinner and I kind of want to celebrate then too. I'm trying to decide whether or not it's worth it to cheat twice in one week and then just get back on and be really strict until the end which at that point should only be 20 pounds and won't necessarily take that long. I'm moving in mid-July so my goal has been to be in stabilization by then which I think can definitely happen - it's 2 months away. I always feel like a cheat here and there is ok as long as it's not overboard and not every day. I guess it depends on how long I want it to take to lose the weight.

pretty much. i'll tell you this, i was on plan for just a couple weeks before my birthday and alcohol cost me a WHOLE week. it was ONE shot of scotch. *sigh* i've had bites of this that and the other along the way and nothing else has really cost me as much as that alcohol did. well the pasta and bread did the only other time i've said to heck with it. good luck!!

Connie..thanks for the feed back, no pun intended. I just wish they didn't watch what you purchase for the drinks....I guess that's what gets me, because I read where there are cheaper on line places to order it. I wonder why they didn't give me an option to try a 6 week plan as you did....they put me on a 24 week plan costing $398. I figured I would spend $680 in drinks for that time period also....which makes it way more than I really want to spend. If the drinks are that important, then what happens when you stop them entirely....that's what concerns me the most. It's like having to depend on Jenny C's food and when you quit...ouch!!! I'm just so leary about this. But I do thank you for your info you shared. I have to really do some soul (and pocketbook) searching these next few days.

Hi TexRose! Have you tried vitamin B12 for your headache/withdrawals? That is what I purchased at my center and it helped me. I took 3 a day at first and now am down to 1 a day, I only bought 1 bottle and have about 3 left now. I don't get headaches now and I think I was over the withdrawal feelings in less than a week. I am completely caffeine free since January!

Hi Connie! It will probably depend on how close you are to your goal on June 19th, I was 6.5 away from my goal when my contract expired. They told me they would give me 2 more weeks, after 2 weeks I was still 4 lbs away so they gave me another 2 weeks, I finally made my center goal weight 5 days before my stabilization appointment. So it basically took me a month to lose 6.5 lbs. There is no extra charge for stabilization, it is included in your original plan. You don't have to pay anything additional until maintenance so in June when you go on stabilization you will have 6 additional weeks to save up some money and get a new menu each week. I never did drink 4 HNS a day, I usually drink 3 so this week I am staying the same then next week will cut down to 2 a day. I hope that helps!

Hi fireice! I think Connie answered your question but if you paid for everything up front then there is no additional costs when you get to maintenance. When I signed up for the 2nd time, I paid $129 for 6 weeks and I was told I would have to pay for maintenance after the 6 week stabilization. I can't remember the cost, I think it is $129 for 12 months of maintenance. At my stabilization party we were told that during maintenance they want us to come in to the center twice a month or anytime in between if we feel like we need to. We can continue to go to the classes and buy product, if we want. We are suppose to be completely off the HNS once stabilization is over but she said some people still buy them, like the creamies. We don't have to buy any supplements, all they want you to continue to take is the flax and a multi vitamin. Good luck, seems you are doing really well!

Hi Fifties Lady! I think it all depends on how much you want to lose as to what plans are offered. Maybe you can call the center back and ask about the 6 week program. Also ask if you can just pay for the program and then once you have completed the 6 weeks plus stabilization then pay for maintenance. The $398 that you were quoted may have been for the 24 week plan plus maintenance. About the HNS....I don't think it is like the Jenny Craig food where if you go off of it you gain weight back, I think it is more of a weight loss booster. When you go on stabilization you cut down the drinks by one a day until you are completely off of them after a few weeks. It is a costly program, but it works. If you do the whole program, including stabilization and maintenance then you will have all the tools necessary to keep your weight under control.....isn't that worth any amount of money? Good luck with your journey and just remember one thing......you are worth every penny you spend on getting healthy!

Take care all and have a great OP day!!

Mel

I went in for WI yesterday and I just felt so discouraged when I got home. I weighed in at 159 (3 lbs up from Saturday). Saturdays I WI first thing in the morning before breakfast or any water. Wednesdays I weigh in after work, after I've already eaten breakfast/lunch and had 64-96 oz of water. But the thing that bothers me is I was 159 LAST Wednesday so I feel like I haven't lost anything over this week. Have you ladies found that weighing in during your time of the month usually shows little to no progress in weight loss? I have a feeling my water weight is up since bloating usually comes with the usual TOM symptoms.

My goal (not the center's goal) is to be at goal weight and start stabilization by May 20th but I think that's impossible now.

Hey Denise,
I am taking your advice and posting my menu from yesterday

Breakfast I had a meal replacement shake and HNS

Lunch MRC Turkey lasagna and 6 oz of strawberries

Dinner 40z of chicken, 4 oz of cabbage slaw, I make with apple cider vinegar and some splenda, and 2 oz of asparagus with HNS

Last night I had jello and a creamy (pudding)

This is basically what my day is like I HAVE NOT eaten off program since I started! This is a miracle for me!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!



Connie......I love the pics of you what a change ....you look GREAT!!!

I have been on the plan for 19 days and i have lost 12 1/2 lbs and 16 1/2 inches. ( i lost a whole inch in my neck) i am soo happy right now. my confidence have shot up. And i still have such a long way to go. But this weekend me and my mom and all our friend and family are going danceing. I told my center that i might have acouple of drinks (no calories in drinks just shots lol) vodka only. i told her and she told me that life happens and if we dont go and live our life we will end up hating this lifestyle. So they told me to get the carb and fat blocker and it will end up being less of an impact on my body.

I just want to say thanks to all of you for the compliments. Too many to quote them all but they were all read and appreciated!! Like I said, my self image was drastically skewed and now I see that, only after I've lost some of it!!

I'm going to ask them if stabilization is included. They always talked like S&M were separate from the plan and you cld only get them together. If I can just do stabilization then I'd be set because I can't see myself going in twice a month for 12 more months... nope.. can't see it happening. I'd quite and then the money wld be wasted. *sigh*

I just came from WI..and they took measurements. All I can say is wow. I've lost 19 inches in 4 weeks, my % of body fat went down 2 %, and my BMI went down 2 points! I just can't believe it. They still show me at 206.5, but I'm not too worried about that (of course I am but I know it's going to come down).

What do some of you do with you ribbons? I'm looking for some ideas. I don't want to just put it in a drawer. I want to keep it visible as a reminder.

noahsmama - Congrats! I taped my ribbon to my pantry door, only place left in the house with off plan items for my fiance. It also has my HNS's in it. Just a little reminder to me when I go in there what I have to lose and gain if I go off plan or stay on plan.