WI today, down another 4 lbs. Thats 5 lbs a week twice in a row, hopefully i can keep this up and get to 40 lbs by 12/31. That would be such a boost

Way to go!!! Great job keep up the good work!

My center gives out rocks with numbers on them for every 10 pounds. Kinda weird but it felt great to get my 10 lb rock!! They are the decorative rocks you use in vases and such. I think several centers do them.

Way to go Nabeel!!! You will be great -- just think, what a way to start 2010!! And just think of all you will accomplish then ... WOO HOO.

FL, what time is the cooking class on wednesday? i'd love to check it out but wednesdays are full nights for me :S also, congrats on your losses jog my memory, which one is jeannie? it seems like they never wear nametags anymore and i'm so bad with names

i went in to the center for the first time in a few weeks today. i'd gotten discouraged with the program and was allowing myself lots of slips and cheats and finally decided to go in and be honest about what i was feeling and the gal i spoke with couldn't have been more helpful! i'm so grateful that it worked out that she was who i got to speak with. anyway, i'm officially on the metabalance menu and am really looking forward to getting back on track. today has been successful so far--i managed to pass up pizza during the game today in favor of a salad with grilled chicken, and believe me, it was NOT easy!! but i'm feeling so encouraged now, which is a wonderful feeling. i hope it works out for me the way i want it to.

anyway, hi everyone! sorry for my absence from the board, i will try to be more active this week. hope everyone is doing well!

Hello all,
I've been off line for awhile. Catching up on all of the posts this AM. Sounds like everyone's doing well. Just wanted to say hello and good luck with next weeks WI.
THe program's going well for me. Next week will be my halfway point, and I should have lost half of the wieght that I wanted. It seems slow day to day, but looking back it has gone pretty fast. My plan is to stay OP for the holidays.
Next year I can learn how to be a moderate eater...this year I dare not chance it.

Nabeel,

You're slowly melting away. I've no doubt you'll meet your December goal. I'm glad you're having such great WIs.

Wow! You look great! Congratulations! I've not yet read your secrets, but I intend to do so. Like others here, I'm also worried about what happens when I begin stabilization/maintenance.

In fact, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I really can't afford, financially, to continue much longer with the program. It's gotten to the place where I find myself taking from savings at least once a month to cover expenses and I can't continue to do that. I know that dietdirect.com has the same supplements, but really, when you do the math, you're not saving that much ordering from them as opposed to getting the multi-box discount from MRC. I've already quit buying Corti-Trim & MRC-6. I've had to start buying a completely new wardrobe and to do that, I'm either buying the bare necessities, utilizing every discount and coupon available, or visiting the Goodwill.

MRC's goal for me is to lose 50 pounds and I tacked on an extra ten to that. However, at this time, I think I'm going to stop at 50 and try to do my best on my own from there. I know I should be feeling great about my improved health and appearance as a result of my weight loss and to a point, I do feel good about it. Bottom line is, it's a constant financial struggle which adds stress and it's really keeping me from rejoicing.

Sorry to be a 'Debbie Downer' about this, but I felt the need to vent a little.
Thanks for indulging me!

-- JJ

Thanks so much for all the encouragements ladies. I really appreciate them.

After my binge weekend two weeks ago, i seem to have found a rythm and am not letting my emotions get to me. It feels really good. I achieved something this week which i have not done in the last 10 years and that is that i ran for 7:30 minutes straight. Yes RAN. I had been building it up for two weeks, by starting at 2 minutes, then 3:30, then 5 and on Thursday i managed 7:30 ! I was so proud on my self

Right now i am hurting as ****, cause yesterday i took a class at gym called Bodypump. I'd be lying if i said i could do all the excersies, but i did about 95% of them. Got some wierd looks from the ladies next to me, since i was the only guy in there and sweating like a pig, but hey, i was out there pushing myself and it felt great. Right now, not very much

But i am gonna head out to the gym today again to see if i can get a 3 minute run and a 30 minute walk in.

Wishing you all the very best.

Nabeel

Way to go Nabeel! The sweat feels good. I just bought a treadmill and have been walking/running too. So i understand you on that. Great job on your losing streak. Keep up the good work!
magnoliagirl

Hello LeahRuthie...the class starts at 5:30. I'm hoping to get some pointers from Linda!!! I am so glad you had a great talk with one of the counselors, there are a few that really seem to know what they are talking about. Jeannie is a the dark, long hair gal who is probabably in her late 30's. She is only there about 3 times a week, since she has her own place in David City I believe. She is the one who got me to join and is really good at what she does, and really knows her stuff. She was on MRC herself a while back, so she has lots of experience. I know she is there on Wednesday's, so I am switching to Wed. for my WI's. I asked for her last time, so I hope I didn't offend anyone by it.

Hi JJ....You have done so good on MRC. I applaud you. But I too can relate on the costs of the program. I have not bought any of the suppliments except for the HNS's, and I only by in bulk to get them for $9 per box. They wanted me to do 4 to 5 HNS's a day, and I finally had to stop, because it was costing way too much. So I do my 3 and that's it. I am thinking my slow weight loss is because of no suppliments and only 3 HNS's a day, but I guess that's ok. It is coming off slow but sure. That's the main thing. My time is up on Dec. 12th, and I just don't know yet what I will do. Jeannie said they will work with me, and I'm sure they will, because they make their money of the HNS's, so they don't want to lost a customer. But paying another $100 is something I really have to think about. That's why I was curious in what would happen if you just followed the menu and no HNS's, what would happen? I know there are powdered protein drinks that you can buy in a huge container and it's only about $30-35, which I would think would last much longer than the MRC's 7 to a box. The diet isn't that hard to follow, so I wonder if anyone here has tried other protein drinks that could replace the MRC's?

I don't believe there's enough nutritional value in the food alone, FL. I read somewhere that if you study the ingredients and find a suitable whey protein powder to mix with Crystal Light, that would be the equivalent of the HNS. I found a big jug of the powder at HyVee (in the Healthy Market section) on sale for around $13. I may have to begin investigating!

We've both done well with MRC and for reasons I mentioned here a long time ago, I have no intentions of slacking once I'm done with MRC. I will continue on -- it's my own little challenge now! I just have to find a less expensive way to do it.

My sister said the funniest thing yesterday. She said no one else in our family has ever lost this much weight without being on chemotherapy! And it's true! We really had to giggle about that! (No offense to anyone who is or has someone close currently undergoing treatment. We lost both parents and a brother in 4 years to cancer, so we sometimes have to resort to gallows humor in order to deal with the loss.)

-- JJ

Hello all my MRC buddies,
I weighed on yesterday and I was down another pound for a total of 41 lbs lost. I had a small chear day on thursday which was 1 slice of pizza and on yesterday i took the kids to the drive-in and we watched two movies and we had two bucket of popcorn. So now I think i'm getting a little out of control since I am so close to stabilization. Please help me not to cast all this hard work out the window.

JJ and FL,
ProteinFactory.com has great whey isolate powder (click on Protein on left end of grey bar) We never use it in anything hot as my husband feels that hurts the protein. He buys the full bag as it comes to them (33 kilos I think) and it costs us around $400 but we go through it in 3 months or so, 2 to 3 shakes a day. The 1 lb bag says it has 15 serving of 27g protein - costs from $8 to $13 depending on which one. They have a $10 bag for $40 but it only has 24g protein per serving - come in chocolate and vanilla.

Also dietdirect.com has liquid protein in 30 oz bottles in a few flavors - 15 to 18 g protein per ounce. I'm going to try this next time I get something from them. I only bought their HNSs when they were on sale for $7.99, I got enough to get 10% off and free shipping. Otherwise, you are right, JJ, might as well get from MRC. I purchased pretty much everything from MRC for the first 3 months - then I added up all I had spent () That's when I ordered from dietdirect! and I've bought very little from MRC since.

I think once you have the plan under control, you could continue losing weight on your own. As FL said, she is not buying anything other than HNSs. The biggest problem I can see is the psychological problems that cause poor eating choices. If you have a better way of getting counselling than MRC, or feel you have worked through these issues and just need occasional support, 3FCs has so many support threads - I just found a maintainers thread not connected with MRC but people who have lost weight and kept it off using many different methods.

Oh yeah, I learned something the other day at MRC - their meals are designed to give us 60% protein, 20% carb, 20% fat at each meal - I had not realized that. I have been trying to relate that to what I am eating on maintenance now and realized I never got anywhere near that much protein when I was trying to lose weight on my own. So, yes, If you can get enough protein and keep the fats and carbs low enough and still get enough of the right kinds of fats, you can certainly continue to lose weight on your own.

Keep us informed as to what you decide - Get as much from and out of MRC as you can - you have paid for it up front - They'll cut you off eventually when you can't give them anymore money - until then, take advantage of their services. Happy Holidays, jeanette

I had a terrible weekend. I have no will power and not sure what to do....gained a pound back and need to get back on track...when you fail you figure...why not fail some more. So discouraged...I do this often on the weekend and not sure how to handle it. Discouraged.