Has anyone ever ran out of HNS and still followed the food plan and had results? The reason that I'm asking is that i'm losing my job at the end of the month and am going to have to make some tough financial adjustments. I've done low carb diets twice and lost a bunch of weight without HNS. Also, it really confuses me that if I fall off the wagon even for a day or two on this plan I gain 3 or 4 pounds immediately. When I say fall off the wagon I mean too much fruit, yogurt, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, things that are supposed to be healthy. Usually it takes consuming 3500 calories to gain a pound. I still like the program but am not sure if my weight loss is from following the plan with the HNS, or if it's just because i'm eating less than a 1,000 calories a day.

ding ding.... its because you are eating so low calorie-- however, becase you ARE eating so low calories is precisely why you NEED the HNS. They are just protein ( so you can obviously switch them out for any other whey protein powder you an get at GNC or whatnot, for much cheaper), but they are essential to keeping your body from eating itself alive-- to preserve muscle mass. Without the protein, your body WILL revert to burning muscle for fuel, instead of fat. The HNS, if i remember correctly, are just 17 grams of protein, so you could just as easily swap that out for 17 grams of pure whey protein from a nutrition store, even places like whole foods will carry it, but you MUST read the label and make sure it doesnt also have carbs and fat in it (MOST do).
Regarding the weight gain--- because this diet is so low carb, anytime you eat extra carbs you are gonig to put on weight, immediately... its water weight-- they are called carboHYDRATES for a reason. Keeping it very simple, for every gram of glycogen (carbs) your body stores, 3 grams of water is stored along with it. This is significant The MRC diet depletes your body of glycogen (carbs) and when you go off plan and have carbs, your body, muscles and tissues "fill" back up. Its not fat

That's a very good explanation. Thank you.

Wow, mkroyer, that's the best explanation I"ve heard about why we should avoid the carbs during the diet, and what effect they have from them. So far, most of my consultants have just been really vague, saying that "the way the diet is formulated" it takes "several days" to get your body back on track if/when you do eat off-plan.

I've been wondering how the re-introduction of some carbohydrates affects our bodies, then, when we go into stabilization/maintenance. Do we have to drink more water to keep from adding lbs to the scale?

Yip, mkroyer always hits it home. THANKS!

mk, just thinking you must be a trained medical person or dietitian, or something, as you always speak with such confidence! thanks.

Joy-- thank you , i appreciate the compliment! And no, definitely not in the "industry"... just well educated and well-read, and a professional dieter
And i dont sugar coat crap either

Walmart carries a brand of Whey Protein, called Body Fortress, 2lbs, for 15.99, if you use a 1/2 a scoop, with 3 to 4 oz of water, it is close to the nutritional values of HNS. It comes in 4 flavors, chocolate is my favorite. I've been using this since I started, and I'm now 5 months later and 70lbs down, I don't think that it has hurt me any. Good Luck, I do believe that the Protein is what makes this plan work. 2lbs usually last me a month.