July Thread
 

Hope everyone has a great month!!!!!

Also, since it's a new month, and we have some many newbies :welcome2:, I thought I'd repost what one of our moderators posted last month. It really has helped out it seems.

Yes, Happy July to all!
 

Jen, I see you hit the 50 pound milestone. Congratulations! :hug:

I hit it this morning too.

I've been considering for a while to change my goal to 150 lbs. but I stalled at this exact weight the last time when my goal weight WAS 150. I'm afraid if I change my ticker I might jinx myself.

I also am considering officially signing up for MRC so I can do stabilization, but between my son's medical bills all coming home to roost last week and the tornado damage, I'm really short of cash.

I can't believe how good I feel. It hasn't always been easy but good grief!--50pounds!

Hi all!! July! WOW. I wont be able to weigh in tomorrow, this is the first week I cant make the trip. Me and my husband are both on call and cant leave the county......and I NEEDED to go. I hopped on the scale and same as last week this morning (official weigh day is tomorrow) So that scares me, but it is TOM, and I messed up one day and had 2 creamy HNS instead of one, I didnt realize it until I was all done licking the pudding cup......If I dont lose this week, what is next? Do I try metaquick (which I dont know much about) or keep trucking? My goal is 10 lbs a month, and I have 15 days to lose 4 lbs to make the 2nd month and reach 20 lbs. :dizzy:

Don't let TOM throw you off. Keep on plan and I actually increase my water although officially we're supposed to stay consistent with our water volume.

Hopefully, when TOM is over you'll have a bigger than usual loss.

It never hurts to try Metaquick although sometimes it just starts my carb cravings.

Jen & Little Edie... Both of you reaching the 50 pouns mark. That is due an applause.

Little Edie.. Will let you know if I hear of any specials for joining..Hope you can do that,but if not, we will help you along until you can. Look in menus, maybe someone posted the stabilization menus 1-6.

Wishing everyone wonderful evening.

Patzi

MIA Update
 

Well I hope you all are doing wonderful! My daughter came back into town for the summer and nothing has been on track since! I am down to my last week, and unfortunately I cannot re-enroll, but for an exciting reason! We are buying an house and will hopefully have a firm closing date by next week.

So since Jun 10th, I've only been to the center once. I've eaten off plan nearly every day since and I can honestly say that I have been scared to get on the scale!! I still used rational thought to eat, but I did have some bad foods. I can completely tell that I'm off - my heartburn is back and I'm completely exhausted. I also haven't had more than 40 oz of water in about two weeks.

Right now I'm taking three summer classes until next Friday and then the load lightens by one class. Did I say I was exhausted? I have not given up though. I stepped on the scale this morning and I had only gained 1 lb. I really wanted to cry for several reasons.

I hope by September I'll be able to re-enroll and lose the other 70 lbs left on my journey... but I will be on another MRC plan that I can't even share on forums. Good news is my doctor said I'm doing great and she approves my future plans .. there is hope!!

Hang in there ladies!!

GINPEA - You had asked a question on the June thread that I think I can help you with. If you are taking krill oil you take 2 pills a day for the first month (I was told you can take them together or separate, but should be taken in the morning). The dose they gave you is for one of the other fish oil products they sell. I would suggest you call and verify this, but I would not take 6 of the krill - it will not harm you but it will far exceed your fat allotment for the day and may cause you to have some lose stools.

As for a better source - Mega Red krill is the same dosage and does not have the fishy smell. Sam's Club sells it for around $13 for 90 pills and Walmart sells 90 pills for around $22.

I think everyone feels nervous, excited and then wonders "what in the world have I done?" It is perfectly normal. Eat from the list you were given, have breakfast within 1 hour of waking up, try not to go more than 4-5 hours without eating and drink lots of water! Precondition is primarily about getting the sugar/starch out of your system so that you start burning fat.

It sounds like you are off to a good start. I really hated waiting to find out what comes next because I wanted a list of everything I was supposed to know or do, but it does not really work that way, I am constantly learning new things about myself, food in general, exercise, etc.

Mariah

Mariah -

Thank you so much for your post. I am taking the Krill. I'd called the center yesterday to ask them how many I should take, but I said "the fish oil supplements" and didn't say the Krill. I'll call them tomorrow to verify, but I feel very sure that you're right. That also answers another question I posted on another thread. Someone had posted that the Krill would last you two months per bottle after the first month and I couldn't figure that out. It will also explain my upset tummy all afternoon. :o (I took five today.)

Thank you for the information on the Mega Red Krill, too. I'll be looking for that. Any savings helps!

I've been reading through these threads off and on all day and I'm feeling very optimistic. I plan to go in Tuesday and again on Friday to weigh in. On Friday, I will attend my food class.

I see your forum name is momoffour.. I'm a mom of five. :) Do you all eat the same meals, or do you prepare yours separately?

JenB and little edie - congrats on hitting the 50 pound mark! That's awesome! I know my center is doing re-enrollment specials for the 4th of July, but that doesn't help you, little edie. I hope you can make it work out!

chasing skinny - I don't even know what metaquick is, but often when I get off track, the best thing for me is to go back to the most restrictive plan possible. I'm really bad about letting bad choices snowball. Good luck!

born2btxgrl - you sound super busy! But lots of good things going for you. Good luck maintaining your loss until you can join again! The consultant at my center said the-program-that-must-not-be-named does amazing things. But they don't even offer it anymore!

I went in for my food instruction today and was pleased to find out that the beige menu is pretty much exactly like the preconditioning menu. My enrolling consultant gave me portion sizes on the preconditioning menu to maximize my loss, so I've basically been following the plan already. And I've been shocked at how effortless it has been! I get hungry in the late afernoon but for the most part my energy level has been so consistent and I feel great! I haven't even gotten a sugar withdrawl headache. They also weighed me again before food class and I'd lost another half pound since yesterday. There are 4 pounds less of me in 5 days.:carrot:

Hello all,

I went in to the MRC on yesterday and officially began my first day today. I'm feeling a lot of different things and just hopeful that I can stick with this plan and see results. I have A LOT of weight to lose, but am going to take it one day at a time.

The good thing is that I have not had a headache today because of no sugar. I was/am seriously a dessert girl, but it is so not good for me.

I purchased and am taking the Phentatrim, Cortitrim, and the "Lipo in a bottle."

I have to do this - I'm tired of crying about my weight.

Congrats on your amazing success thus far...it's an inspiration.

Ugh. Went to a bbq at my in-laws' last night and over ate. I had an upset stomach for HOURS and had trouble getting to sleep last night because of it.

I had eaten lightly most of the day yesterday (knowing I was going to be eating some higher-cal items that evening), and I think that's part of where I went wrong--I ended up showing up to the party REALLY hungry. I ended up with an ok plate of food, but then kept grabbing stuff off the table every time I walked past it. :( At least I avoided all the soda and alcohol (I almost had some sangria, but glad I didn't--MIL made it with tons of sugar, juice concentrates, and really cheap wine--would have been a TON of carbs/sugar) and drank some extra water instead.

I also think it actually didn't help that everyone had tons of compliments for how I look (many of my in-laws' friends haven't seen me for a year--before I started MRC). It kind of made me feel invincible or something--which I obviously am not, when it comes to food.

Oh, well--live and learn. Next time I will eat ahead of time and just sample a couple things when I get there, and then just call it quits and stay away from the food table.

Today I started with a protein-rich breakfast and plan to drink lots of water and fit in an extra workout. I'll see what the scale holds for me on Tuesday.

Patzi- I didn't see a stabilization menu.

I think I may wait until I lose more before I initiate stabilization.

Oops, I started the yellow menu today and realized at lunch I didn't have any cider vinegar. I used ranch made out of cottage cheese instead. I hope it doesn't mess me up. I'm going to the store before dinner to pick some up and more salad veggies. I'm thinking the cider vinegar helps you start into ketosis.

Oh NO! I'm ending the first week of my new menu and just realized that I should have been eating fruit all week & I have been. Luckily, I have been losing weight. SO glad to finally see the scale moving. I did an excel spreadsheet with a chart to show the trend and it's so fun to look at!

Congrads to you two that hit the 50 mark. Hope you can buy yourself something pretty as a reward.

victorialynn2 - I just realized we are the same height and have the same ending goal. I wondered if I was being realistic in setting that as my goal. Did the center help you set your goal? I haven't weighed 125 since I was 25.

Yes, it does. WHen I read up on the glycemic index (I particularly liked Idiot's Guide to the Glycemic Index), I learned there are certain foods that "neutralize" the blood sugar spikes that carbs cause. Vinegar, cinnamon, and tomatoes are some of those foods.

Thanks Teacherlady. Does white vinegar works just as well as cider?

I believe so. I think it's the wine vinegars that are less acidic, but I think white vinegar is just as (if not more) acidic as the cider vinegar. :)

Great. Thanks! I didn't really feel like going to the store tonight, so I did use the white. I will be glad to get to the green menu.

Today is the first day I've really had to deal with cravings since starting the program. Most of them are more habitual than actual cravings, though! I'm going to a BBQ tomorrow and worrying about all the temptations I'll face there. I'm hoping to get away with walking around with a cup of ice water and eating the kabobs we plan to take with us. And nothing else! Teacherlady, reading your experience with a similar situation will help keep me focused!

So, what do you do with the vinegar? Do you add it to, say, cottage cheese? Can you cook veggies in it? I know it can be mixed with oil to make salad dressing but I've never used vinegar for oral consumption. I've cleaned and done laundry with it, though!

On the first 4 days of my diet I have to eat a lot of salads and the only dressing they allow is oil and cider vinegar. I've read some people take a small amount of cider vinegar daily to lose weight, but I didn't read that from MRC and I'm not doing that.

Occasionally I will get them a pizza or some other off plan food (1-2 times a month) and I will get a "treat" for myself - I love Halibut and Walleye but they are too expensive to buy for the whole family so on pizza night I usually have one of those or a steak.

Otherwise we eat the same meals, but I will add another starch for them (corn, rice, pasta, etc) and occasionally I will add cheese to their meals . . . for example I browned gound turkey with italian seasonings, made a big salad, and black beans - measured out my portion and then added pasta sauce, elbow macaroni and cheese to theirs (basically goulash) and they had salad as well. Often we eat the same thing but I add fruit for them. So far this has worked well - and hubbie even had 3 servings of Quinoa snow peas and asparagus risotto last night!


I had a rough week - I was sick 2 days and basically managed to keep down my HNS, a few saltines and diet Sprite - I did not get in all my water. I was nervious weighing in today as I know my ankles are swollen and I am somewhat bloated but I maintained . . . I really expected a gain and was thrilled. The scale should be cooperative next week once I start getting my water again and get rid of this bloating. . .

Hi- to all the new members . . . and congrats to the losers!! If you are struggling, hang in there and "talk" to us - we might be able to help! The plan works and it is worth the effort. . . you can do this!


Mariah

I'm going off preconditioning on Wednesday, and my center gave me the choice to either go straight to the green menu or to do the yellow-blue-green. The first time I did the program, I was over 200 lbs., so it wasn't an issue, but this time I'm under. They gave me the choice since I'm a re-enroll.

Part of me wants to try the yellow-blue since it might help me lose more weight faster. However, it looks pretty painful. What would you guys do if you were me?

How do you prepare veggies?
 

Hello all,

I'm not a big vegetable lover and the ones that I do eat are not prepared in a healthy manner. I'm from the deep south and vegetables are typically prepared using oil or some type of pork meat for seasoning. I've eaten like this for 30+years, so old habits are hard to break, but I know that I must for the sake of my health. So, how do you prepare your vegetables.

For instance,

green beans
collard greens
squash

Thanks.

I'm not really sure what I would do. I suppose I would just tell myself that it's 10 days of sucky food and go with it in order to maximize my time on program. But I would probably whine and moan the whole time. ;)


I like green beans, zucchini, or summer squash lightly sprayed with olive oil or Pam and then grilled. Or, I also like them steamed and eaten with the spray butter on them. I also really like sauteed zucchini & summer squash--I just spray the pan with Pam, and lightly salt them (sea salt or kosher salt) just before they're done. Spaghetti squash is good baked with a little butter spray and parmesan on top.

I've also chopped and grated veggies (green onion, green pepper, zucchini & mushrooms) into meatloaf (made with bison or turkey) to "hide" them. ;)

Victorialynn2

Did MRC suggest you stay in ketosis? I have never had them bring up ketosis to me before as part of the diet. Also, just curious what plan you are on?
I am on maintenance now, but was on Meta -Slim , and Days 1-4 did say
apple cinder vinegar( optional). I used olive oil and white vinegar as that is all I had at home at the time.

For questions on veggies... I steam them, saute them with Pam , or do the waterless cooking, which is a small amount of water, herbs and just let veggies simmer in that. My favorite, but I only do in winter when it is colder weather is roasted veggies.Tonight I had collard greens, dash seasoning, diced carrots, and onions, and let simmer in water till soft. For some of you, carrots and onions are probably not on your menu. I believe I could have them when I hit stabilization.

I have been at the race track for the Nascar race for the past few days. Took my own food in cooler, but did eat early dinner out, and stayed on program, but when I got on scale this morning was 2 pounds over, so it must be the salt in the food, as I ordered grilled fish, no seasoning, no butter, steamed veggies, no butter and a salad and I had my own dressing and HNS.One night there was nothing I felt comfortable eating so ordered a shrimp coctail and a side salad, and put shrimp on salad, had my HNS with me and some melba toast.
Sometimes it does become frustrating. Let us see what scale says Tuesday morning.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend.

Patzi

Patzi, yes, they said I will be getting tested with a ketosis strip. I'm on meta slim. I will re-read the menu, I didn't catch the "optional". Thanks for the heads up.
tkdtara84 It wouldn't hurt to try the yellow/blue. I'm on yellow now and basically it is just a lot of salad. Like teacherlady said, it's just for a few days.

I think I will try the yellow/blue. It's only two weeks, so I can take it. :) Also, it might force me to try some new things. I do like that you can have oil & vinegar on the salad. Are we allowed to do that regularly? Also, some of the recipes I've been reading allow for a tsp. of oil in cooking something. Is that okay? I was wondering what the difference between taking a couple of fish oil capsules an using a tsp. of olive oil in cooking. I assume the DHA thing is different.

I am going to a re-enroll class but not the food instruction. It's not until July 13th, though, so I have a while before I can get a refresher on some of this stuff. If I can have oil and vinegar dressing, that will make my life a whole lot easier. You could add herbs/spices to it, and it could end up tasting pretty good. The hardest thing for me is the no salad dressing thing. I love salads, but not plain. I've tried the wishbone spritzers, and they're tolerable for me but not somthething I look forward to.

The yellow is days 1-4, and then the blue is days 5-10. I agree with teacherlady it is only for a few days.. When I was on it, I tried to make salad interesting so I would not bore with it. I used as many of the items allowed to make a salad and then put the protein on top of it, and that is what I took to work each day.. On dressing, I would add oregano or basil to it, for a nice flavor.

This ketosis strip must be something new, or my center has not introduced it. I thought that was an Adkins thing. I am going to ask my center just out of curiosity.

Wishing you well on your challenge.

Patzi

This first time I was on the program back in 2005, the Ketone strips were a standard part of the weigh in process at my center. This time around, they've discontinued it. Not sure what the reasoning is.

Hope everyone has a great and on-plan 4th of July!!! :)

Our center has ketonsis strips in the bathroom with a chart and a little information on the back of the door. Only one consultant has ever mentioned them and that was just in passing. I do use them from time to time and have found that if I test before drinking my water I usually show "trace" or "moderate" but once I start drinking my water it usually tests as "negative".

While these can be a neat tool if you show a positive result, it can be very heartbreaking if you constantly read "negative". I was told that you do not have to test positive in order to be in ketosis because there are several things that affect the test. A negative is not always really negative (drinking lots of water can give a false negative and the strips only test for 1 type of ketone but there are several that different types your body can release that the strip cannot detect) and if you have recently consumed fats or are dehydrated you can even get a false positive (however if you are eating on plan and drinking your water this is fairly unlikely).

It can be a neat tool to use, but it is important to keep in mind its limitations so that you do not become obcessed with "urinating on a stick".

Mariah

Does anyone take the Fiber Fufill drinks? Just found a box in my pantry and was wondering how many you are supposed to drink per day.

I think on the menus it states that you can have up to 3 per day in addition to your HNS. I never had more than one per day, and usually sporadically (unless I was constipated or trying to change things up to break a stall)

Can you have sugar free jello on any of the menu's as there is not any sugar or carbs?

They never told me that I could or could not have it, so I did eat it sometimes (usually when I'd get an afternoon/just before dinner snack attack. Not very often, though--maybe just a few times a week. It never affected my weight loss.

Does anyone know how long it takes to flush out the salt from your system? I ate out last night and while I made a good choice - it was full of sodium. I weigh in tomorrow and don't want to have water retention so I'm trying to flush my system out today by drinking tons of water.

My center does the ketosis testing too. That's good information about the positives/negatives.

I was also told 3 of the fiber drinks in addition to HNS.

I am also not a veggie eater. I like tomatoes and a few other veggies that are not on plan! Grilling and roasting can bring out some of the less-unpleasant flavors in some things (like asparagus).

I'm still on pre-conditioning and I'm finding that while my energy level is more consistent, I feel weaker. Does anyone know if that's normal and if it will go away when I'm on the regular plan? I'm hoping the additional protein from the HNSes will help. It's especially annoying with a 2 year old running around! I felt so drained yesterday that we just sat around the house all morning.

tkdtara, you asked about the oil and vinegar. All the menus I've seen allow it. You can also make dressings out of cottage cheese and ranch or dill once you get past the first 11 days. They are actually delicious! It will really help me eat more salads. Of courses I like to use lemon juice and spices also.

I have this same issue - no endurance. My workouts suffer because of that, but I've been on a regular plan now for a week and it hasn't changed. I'm going in tomorrow and I'm going to ask about this...

I was pretty miserable during preconditioning, but felt a lot better after a week or so on my actual menu.