I have a question for everyone--when you "up" your water due to increase sodium or exercise, how much do you add?

I usually add 1.5L to my normal 3L if I've eaten out or taken a long walk in the heat in addition to my normal exercise routine. I know the rule of thumb is an extra 8oz per 15 minutes exercise but I don't walk quickly. I just stroll with the yorkies in the back pasture for a half hour. I also wish there was a rule of thumb for how much we should increase our water with sodium intake or TOM.

Any suggestions?

little edie, I have no idea. I drink between 100 and 120 oz a day. I don't even know how many liters that is. :-)

Jen, I love your optimism.

I had an AWESOME WI today. They did my body comp and measurements. Down by 3 pounds (and only since Tuesday!) for a total of 16.5. I've lost 3.3% body fat and 16 of my 16.5lbs was fat. And I've lost 17.25 inches. I'm stoked! This came after a pretty crappy and stressful few days, so I'm thrilled!

Congrats, LetHerOut! It's nice when you can really see the progress, it makes all the sacrifices and hard work soooo worth it! Great job!

Little Edie: I don't know what the magic number is, but I usually drink 80-90 oz a day. If I eat out or think I am retaining water, I try to drink 100-110 oz.

I went to WI this morning and only down 1.5lbs - which is 2lbs. for the week. I thought losing 4 last week was an indication I was back on track of my 3-5 per week.. but I guess not. I know.. I know.. 2lbs is still a loss but was really hoping for more.

I leave tonight for Florida! I have all my HNS bagged up with shakes & bars. Also packing my scale. I'm a little nervous about this trip.. I just want to make sure I lose and not gain. There isn't a center in Orlando so my next WI won't be until next Friday.

I hope everyone has a great weekend & Congrats to all the losers!

**Making an edit - After I wrote this, I realized I'm only 4lbs away from dropping from Level 2 Meta Slim to Level 1. So I called the center and asked if I could go ahead and make the move. Which I believe the only difference is just losing the afternoon snack. They said it would be fine but be very careful, since I'm vacation and away from my routine to pay attention to my body because if I'm out doing things that I wouldn't normally do, I may need that afternoon snack for the nutrients. Then she said - or just drink an extra HNS. I think I will give it a try because if I am running around, the last thing I'm going to think about is eating a cheese stick in the afternoon :-)

Hi..
I had maintenance weigh in today and lost 1/2 pound putting me exactly 5 pounds under goal. Tuesday I told everyone, I was going to add a couple of days of vegetarian meals, to see how I did, and it went well..
I ate vegetarian morning, lunch and a regular meal at night. So, I am happy with that.

I was talking to some ladies and a man today while waiting to weigh in and the common weight loss number for everyone seems to be 1-2 pounds a week. One woman said one week she lost 5, but only one. I know this has been brought up before, and this is second group of people that have told me that. One to Two pounds a week were not a norm for me. Half a pound to a pound was normal for me .

LetHerOut.. Great weigh and and a great weight loss. Happy for you. You should be thrilled, you did a great job.

Jen.. I am sure you will get that off by next weigh in.. I know it is frustrating, but hang in there, it will all work out.

ConnieinColorado, I do agree with you. If you recall, I bucked MRC the total time I was losing as I refused to take all the new "stuff " they were selling. I took only what I wanted . I am on maintenance and they still try to sell to me, and I just say no thanks, and I start talking about something else.

If I have missed anyone that has lost, I will say congratulations to you, and for those struggling, hang in there, it will all turn around.

Patzi

I WI last night and had gained a pound. It's only my first week (4 days to be exact) of being on an actual menu and not pre-conditioning. I'm not the best at remembering my water pill in the morning and I realized I had only taken 1 this week so I was a little more at easy with that. My scale at home has been exactly the same down to the half pound even with the centers scale so I decided to weigh myself this morning and was happy to see that it was down 3 pounds. I'm hoping me forgetting that one pill in the morning was the reason for the "gain", well that and my body just getting used to eating all this food. lol

Little Edie - I normally drink about 90 oz of water a day. If I up it, I usually drink another 20 oz.

LetHerOut - Congrats on your body comp numbers!!! It'll just keep getting better and better!

Candi - Good luck on your vacation. I was looking and if you REALLY wanted/needed a center, the closest (if you're on the east side of Orlando) appears to be Deland. You'll do great though! You always do. ;)

Patzi - You are doing so wonderful on maintenance! 1-2 pounds is about my normal too.

Fluffy in Florida - Is there any way you can set your phone to alarm when it's time to take your pill? That's what I've had to do with my blood pressure pills and it works like a charm.


I weighed myself this morning and I'm down almost 3 pounds in 2 days. This morning was 163.2. Just gonna keep at it. I even got an unintentional workout in this morning. I had to go out into the plant to review a process with someone. Mind you, I was wearing a hard hat, long sleeved lab coat, jeans, and HEAVY steel toe shoes. It's well over 90 degrees out there, the plant is 55 acres and we were out there for 2 hours! Lots of walking...lots of sweating. I'm drinking my water and hoping it wasn't for nothing come tomorrow morning when I weigh myself. We'll see!

I lost 4.5 since Monday (after my weekend cheat). That puts me 2.5 away from where I was before I left.

I don't know what is wrong with me-- I went on MQ this week, so I've been hungrier than normal. Last night I had to bake cookies for my husband to take to work. I ate one at lunch and two at dinner. Today I made a pasta thing ("healthy" with the overflow of cherry tomatoes from my garden) for my husband, and since it was a new recipe, one I found before MRC and had wanted to make when the tomatoes started coming on-- I tried some. I didn't eat a whole plate full, but I did eat a few bites.

I just don't know how to get off this cheating cycle. I did this perfectly for five weeks prior to vacation. Today was only a few bites, but I know that just a few bites keeps triggering the cravings. I promised myself that today I was going to be 100% OP. Anyhow, should I skip my carb at dinner or just get right back on track as if it never happened? I'm going off MQ for the rest of the day (this is day 5) because I think the hunger is a contributing factor in my weaker moments.

Oh, and I drink 72 oz. of water. I thought that was a lot, but apparently not. I wonder if I should drink more. They never say anything at my center, and I'm not working out (yet-- starting on Monday).

Tara, I go through the same thing when I go on vacation. It's like you have a bit of freedom and it's so hard to get back on the wagon. Just take it an hour at a time. My thought (and this is just me) is to get back on track as if it never happened. That's what I had to do when I got home from my trip and so far, so good. I did two days of MQ and now back to a normal OP day. Water may be a factor in all of this too. My counselors told me to take my weight, divide by two, and that is the minimum number of ounces of water to drink in a day. I have an iPhone app that also goes by this rule. Now, if you're working out, increase that. Based on your ticker, you should probably be drinking around 90 ounces of water. If you're not getting enough, then it will also trigger hunger pangs. I've heard in the past that people mistake hunger for needing food, when in actuality, they're dehydrated.

Good luck! Check in here more often if you feel the need to cheat. We can help talk you off the ledge. :hug:

Thanks, Jen. I think I will start drinking more. For now, I drink 3 sport bottles full, and each bottle holds 24 oz. If I drink one more, that ups it to 96. It can't hurt to try it for a while anyhow.

I do think the vacation messed me up more than I had initially thought. Last time I did this, I did great until the last 15 pounds, started cheating, and never really got back on. I think part of me is scared that it will happen again. Intellectually I know I have control over that, but sometimes it's hard to make myself really believe it.

Vacation has always been my downfall. We're going away next weekend, and I am bringing my scales with me. ;) I intend to weigh myself in the morning, just like being home, to help keep me accountable.

WI today and lost 2 lbs! Forgot to say I lost a pound on Tuesday, which got me to the 30 lb board! Anyway, I talked with my consultant today, and I think I've decided to delay stabilization for another month. I am now 2 lbs from the original goal they set for me at 124. But, I am not satisfied yet! I'd like to get under 120 and have 120 be my goal. I am only 5 feet tall, so I have to really watch--a few pounds makes a huge difference! If my goal stays at 124, the "six pound" allowance means I COULD get up to 130 before I'd have to resign. I don't want to be able to get that high. I've kind of gone back and forth with this in my head since I attended the stabilization class Tuesday night and think I've finally made up my mind. I still have 6 weeks left on my program, so hopefully I can lose 6 more pounds by then! And, I hope I can then lose another few pounds while on stabilization so I can be slightly below goal, to give myself some breathing room! We'll see how this works out!

WI today and I was down a pound. I've lost 12 lbs and 11 inches. I thought I'd be down a bit more since I've been totally OP. My ketosis stick was bright pink. Of course they told me if I want to increase my weight loss I could always add more supplements. I'm not sure if that will work. I know this has been a discussion before, but who takes supplements and what are you taking? I've been taking Corti Trim, MR6 and Phenatrim. I didn't take any this week. I wonder if it really made a difference. I'm going on vacation next week and want to be as successful as possible. Thanks.

Hi ladies...

I am so relieved to hear from Patzi that most clients average 1-2lbs per week. There are likely some that lose more, but likely not the majority! I will just keep plucking along :)

Gosh, reading that I am not the only one with certain challenges is so comforting!! lol I find myself wanting to cheat at times, too. It is hard with kids at home, and especially weekend nights when they want to stay up late, watch movies, and of course...snack, which I really shouldn't be doing. So, I try to save up my creamy HNS for nighttime, so I can have a special treat:) Works most of the time.

I am also on Cort-trim, MRC6, and Enhancer. I really don't know if any of them are doing anything or not?!

I like having the MRC cookbook, though. I am not real creative where recipes are concerned, so if you don't have one, buy one!

Lets stay strong!

Tami:carrot:

I started out taking: All Day Weight Loss, cortitrim, MRC-6, MSM and fish oil. I quit the Cortitrim after 2 bottles b/c I didn't feel it was making enough difference to justify 75.00 a month! I still take all the others, although I've cut myself down to 4 of the ADWL, to start weening myself off of them and won't be taking them when this supply is gone. I also buy my fish oil from Walgreens now, instead of MRC. I take my own Multivitamin, that I have taken for years. I feel like the MSM has made a HUGE difference in cellulite in my thighs and it helps with my joints, so I will continue to take it for life (even if I switch to the Walgreens variety). I also really like the MRC-6 so will probably cut back on it when I get to goal, but continue to take it for life. As we know, everyone is different and different supplements affect people in different ways. You have to just find the combination you feel is best for you. I have been offered several of their other supplements, but always just say no!

I will say that early on in my program, I had a week where I didn't lose much. One of the consultants (one of my favorites) suggested I try 4 HNS a day, instead of 3 to speed up my weightloss. That was on a Thurs and she said to just try it until Monday, my next WI and see if it made a difference. Well, I was down 3.5 pounds on Monday! I've tried to get 4 in every day since then.