Hope that you are feeling better!

Did you discuss Metaquick with your counselor? I sort of accidently did one when I first purchased the shakes. And I hadn't really had prepared proteins so I did some meal replacements bars. I thought I could have 3 bars and 3 shakes, not 3 total! Boy did I get hollered at, well not really, but I was advised NOT to do it.

Then last Friday when I didn't lose and I usually lose pretty consistently my counselor said to stay away from bars/shakes/hard cheese/beef--pretty much everything that breaks up the plan and helps me stay on plan!

I didn't mention specifically mention Metaquick, but I sort of implied that I really wanted to get the scale moving. Just wondering if they suggested it, or if you did!

No problem Kristalin, I am pretty much bored at home. Darn jobs, what do they expect you to do with your time? ;) Good loss and I applaude you on your ability to handle the liquid diet. Me, I drink the liquid and then want food to go with it! excellent loss as well.
I have nondiet related good news. I might be starting on July 13 at a hospital in Denver. It will be at a telemetry unit with good pay and benefits. And a hospital here in the Springs called for an interview Monday. That will be in an ICU (my fave). Not as long of a drive as the other and where I ultimately want to work but pay will probably not be as good. My guy friend said to have them fight over me!

Walden Farms products
 

I posted this on the Newbie thread but figured some veterans might not know about these products, either.

I ordered some single serving salad dressing packets from Walden Farms' web site as I'm going out of town for 10 days and figured this was the only way I wouldn't be sabatoged by restaurant dressings. I also ordered their barbecue sauce and mayo. I just tried the barbecue sauce, and it's really good! I managed to cook some really flavorless chicken, and the sauce saved it. Our stores locally don't carry all the the Walden Farms products, so FYI in case you haven't run across their barbecue sauce and miss that particular condiment. I haven't tried the mayo yet.

Also, if you haven't tried their syrup or dressings, they're really good, too. I don't like the Ranch quite as much as Thousand Island or Creamy Bacon, but I don't think I've ever liked a Ranch dressing that isn't the 'real thing'. All the Walden Farms products are fat, sugar, carb, and calorie free, by the way. Unfortunately the stores around me don't carry many of their products. One carries the dressings, and another has the syrups (maple and blueberry). Give them a try if you're struggling without condiments. I wish they were cheaper, but...oh well. Nothing about this is cheap!
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Great news on the job front! I agree with your friend. See if they will match or come closer to pay for the one in Denver. Never hurts to ask, so they say. Good luck with whichever works out for you. You have a hard job, but one that is very much appreciated by many!

Lori...that is great news....I hope it all goes well for you....I will raise my glass (of water) to you and toast you. good luck...:carrot:

I made it to day 10 and am now kissing the blue menu goodbye!! On to the green menu. I can sure tell the difference in my body in only 10 days.

Another 1lb gone today, too. I know I'll be hitting the plateau soon so can't expect to see the scale keep dropping at this pace, but it sure has been nice.

I love this program!!

I was told we could only use the salad dressing, not the other products. :(
However, I know sometimes you just do what you have to do to get through. And I am not sure how these products could stall you.

Yeah! Good job!

Thank you, will let you know how it goes.

Kristalin,
I was on metaquick last week and I had the same stomach pains. I looked for other posts at that time and didn't see any. I talked to the manager at our center and she said it was probably from the higher amount of protein. She suggested more water and to let her know if it continued after I was done. I Stopped last Friday (I couldn't take it anymore) but the pains are gone, I think they stopped after I had "real" breakfast again. Hope that helped!

Raven - Good job. I noticed that you and I are the same height, started at almost the same weight and have the same goal. How long did it take you to lose 19 pounds? I hope (for my sake) it is more than 10 days :) I am on day 13 and have lost 6.5 pounds. I just got home from visiting my mother for 4 days and lost 1.5. Usually I gain when I visit her because I eat in restaurants or in her assisted living dining room, where there aren't many choices. Keep up the good work.
Ali

Hi Ali,

Short answer: I first did MRC a year ago, started Jan.23, 2008 and I got down to 128lbs by mid-April. So it took me about 31/2 months.

Long explanation if you care to read: I followed the plan to the letter through the middle of April. From the beginning I thought I would be done by the beginning of April and that was what I had mentally prepared for. When I learned that the stabilization phase took another 6 weeks, it did me in. I went off plan alot during stabilization so didn't learn which foods I was sensitive to and what were my trigger foods. I also didn't learn what a good maintenance calorie count would be. So while I certainly lost weight, I didn't feel like I ever achieved my goal. My weight stayed around 130-132 til the fall. Then I half-heartedly started on plan again to get to goal weight, but was always partially on plan. I hit a high of 136 after Christmas, renewed my commitment and in January struggled to stay on plan....still more off than on but got back down to 132. I took a big break in March, April and May and really started falling back in to old patterns of stress eating carbs and alcohol and hit my redline weight of 140...so that's when I decided to fully commit. I started over from scratch and knew if I could just get through the first 10 days without going off plan I could make it. By reading the threads, it sounds like a lot of us have to go through this a couple of times to really process the information and figure things out.

I can't stress enough how important the stabilization and maintenance phases are. At this point I am doing plan on my own, but when I get to stabilization I am going to re-sign at the center so I finish off correctly, figure out a good maintenance eating plan and be done with the scale wars.

One of the most important lessons I've learned from the 3 fat chicks MRC threads is how important stabilization and maintenance is. How tempting it would be to say, "I've hit goal--I'm done with dieting!" only to set myself up for a repeat performance months later.

Question
 

Well it is the weekend, which seems the hardest for me. I guess when I am at work I am busy do I don't have time to think about food. My question is I have been having alot of loose bowels for the past couple of days. Is that pretty normal. I wonder if I need to take some fiber supplements. Well I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!:dizzy:

I have been researching MRC and have decided to go in for my first consultation on Monday. Does anyone go to the Lakewood site in CO? I would love to hear about your experiences.