You just made my day Thank you so much for the tips! I can certainly pay closer attn. while I am away. Gosh, I guess we just have some bad days...but I will get my attitude adjusted...and will be fine!

Truly do appreciate your taking the time to respond, though! My MRC counselor and I are in communication...so plans are under way! I am on the "green" Meta Slim menu now...Meta Balance wasn't working for me.

Tami

I'm so glad I was able to help a little. I had a break down this weekend with a few tears so I get it. Thankfully my husband pulled me back up before I got too low. I'm glad you didn't wait until wednesday to contact the center. My thinking it this, we paid them upfront for the service so I am getting my monies worth .
Eating out is definitely all about paying attention to how your food is prepared. Ask questions and if the wait staff doesn't know the answer then have them go ask.
You so have this away time eating under control! Have a great day and keep smiling. And don't forget to take your supplements with you. I get a few liquid HNS so if I'm not able to mix up the powder I can just drink the liquid straight. Can be a little sweet but to me that's better than missing one.

Hey gang! I have a lot of catching up to do.. but here are a few things..

LetHerOut - CONGRATS! Even though you aren't OP anymore, doesn't mean you can't come here and keep us updated! Good Luck to you and your new little one!

victorialynn - That's one BIG Zucchini! Does it taste good? I thought I read somewhere that when veggies get huge, they don't taste good. Can't remember where I read that or heard it?! I like doing a Zucchini & Roma Tomato stir fry - I use a little oil and Salt Free Mrs. Dash, kinda fry the zucchini and then add in the tomatoes. Good luck!

Learning2Bhealthy - I have the cookbook but rarely use it. It does have some great recipes in there but I usually get recipes from the center or use the thread on here. You can borrow mine, if you want.

Ok - so this weekend was FANTASTIC! I went to the Heart/Def Leppard concert with my brother & SIL Saturday night. We made it to Kansas City around noon, checked in at the hotel and went down to the Plaza. Grabbed some lunch - which for me, was a house salad with a grilled chicken breast - no dressing and knowing the chicken breasts are usually small, I ordered a side of cottage cheese. Didn't think about asking for orange slices from the bar.. but now I know. So I walked to Panera and bought an apple. Then we walked up & down the plaza and went back to the hotel to rest for a bit and get ready for the concert. Headed down to the Power & Light District and all the restaurants were packed! I knew it was going to be busy but didn't even think about making reservations! Oh well - my bro & SIL had a few beers and then we walked over to the Sprint Center. I did the best I could for dinner... Jose Peppers had a little booth. So my bro orders Chips w/ Espinaca - which living just a mile or so away from Jose Peppers, when I lived in Overland Park - I know how amazing their Espinaca is! But I ordered a Chicken Burrito - which had rice, beans and Espinaca in it, with Salsa on the side. I asked for only chicken in the tortilla! I did use the salsa to pour inside the burrito. And I took the HNS in with me, had it stuffed in my back pocket. Of course, I took Fat & Carb blockers for both lunch & dinner.

Then the conert began! I yelled, screamed and sang so much - I didn't have a voice Sunday morning I saw Def Leppard several years ago in Orlando but I would keep paying to see them. They are amazing. And Heart was great too! We had floor seats, and I was drinking water like a fish - lost track of how much I had after about 150oz - so I went to the bathroom a few times - which meant going from the floor up the stairs of the 1st level and to the main concourse. I was able to jog up the stairs and wasn't out of breath - then coming back down was a breeze... definitely got my exercise at the concert! Plus all the walking at the Plaza earlier in the day.

Anyway - I'm attaching a picture of me & my bro that was taken before the concert.

I hope everyone has a great OP week. I will WI tomorrow. Hoping my fun time at the concert doesn't hurt me too much.

Wow, Candice-- you are looking so good! I like what you've done with your hair, too. You're really an inspiration as far as staying OP on special occasions.

I lost another pound since Friday. I'm quite happy with that because after losing 5 last WI, I wasn't expecting much. I adjusted my August goal to something I think I can meet. After my vacation disaster, I knew I wasn't going t make it, but if I succeed at the new one, I will have lost half what my goal was, which is not as good as I had hoped but still progress!

Stone3973 - Awww....empty nest. I hate that for you. Makes me want to keep my munchkin small for as long as I can. Congrats on your weight loss! That's an amazing number!!!

coarkkayaker - Wow! A small?! Good for you!!!! To me, clothese are definitely more telling than scale numbers some days. Keep it up!

Fluffy in Florida - I have a heavy watch too. A real clunker. It comes off everytime I weigh in. It actually has made the difference before.

AmandaR - Woohoo! You're doing great! Have you tried the MRC Texas Chili? One of my favs.

Tami - I really hope I didn't upset you the other day. That wasn't my intention. I'm definitely on your side. My response was more of surprise from the counselor's advice that anything else. Believe me, I'm not perfect and had a pretty rough weekend myself (see below). As Mariah (Momooffour) said, the elimination of certain foods is not forever. I think this is where some centers are missing it. I think if they tell you this upfront, it may make this plan a bit more tolerable knowing there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I think that has made a difference for me. Once I started reading some of the posts of the ladies in stabilization and maintenance about what they were allowed to eat again, it helped me mentally. With regards to the being on vacation and eating out, truth be told, I eat out quite a bit and it hasn't seemed to affect me. Some of my tricks, I order a grilled chicken salad, but have them keep off anything not OP. However, and this is just me, there are certain things I won't give up on a salad...crutons and honey mustard dressing. I just keep it to a minimum and take my Fat & Carb blockers. I'll also order a plain chicken breats or steak with OP veggies. I'm not a fish fan, but I know most restaurant have OP choices. As my husband pointed out to me a while back, "Plain doesn't sell, that's why you don't see it on the menu." So, I started asking waitresses and waiters and you would be surprised at how accomadating they are. In over 6 months OP, I've only encountered one instance where the waitress was a...ahem...butt.

Tara - I know exactly what you mean about the cheating. I tried doing MRC last year while going through post-partum depression and a baby that wouldn't sleep through the night (until 14 months!). I did great in the beginning, but then started cheating a little, and then a lot. What can I say, I'm Italian. Spaghetti is my downfall. I finally had to face facts and quit wasting my money and going to the center until I was in the right frame of mind to do so. Dieting is such a mental game, and as you said, we all have to find the approach that works best for us.

Peggy aka BigDog - I'm so happy that you got things straightened out with your center. Hopefully this will make things less stressful for you. I also love the cinnamon toast. Another good one my center's manager told me that I love is take a tortilla and divide it into sections, sprinkle some sweetner and cinnamon on it, and back at 350 deg for about 10 minuters. Sooooo good!

ginpea - I love seeing all the big loses this week. That's incredible! As I mentioned to Tami, the MRC diet is temporary like momoffour said. I don't think any of us could do it if it was permanent. LOL Hang in there, if you can get to the end, you'll look and feel great and you get "normal" foods again. As for the consultants, when I did this the first time around (pre-baby), there were definitely those counselors at my center too. It's like, where did they find these people?! Lucky for me, I actually like the entire crew I have now.

victorialynn2 - That is the most insane zucchini I have ever seen!!! Glad to see you around again!

Mariah - Thanks for taking the time to post great advice!!! You rock!

Brandy - Good job on the 15 pounds! I have another idea for getting in your HNS. I will sometimes do a 2-for-1. I'll mix a HNS drink with a HNS Vanilla pudding. It makes the vanilla more tolerable to me and then I'm down to 3 HNS drinks for the day: breakfast, lunch, & dinner.

LetHerOut - Woohoo! I'm so happy for you! However, I hope you don't wait till next summer to come "visit" us. Please keep checking in and let us know how you're doing.

learning2Bhealthy - I have a MRC cookbook and loved it, but it's still packed away from the move...2 years ago. :P I've been using the thread above.

carriemise - So happy to have you with us. You'll be signing that 20 pound board before you know it.

twinchick -Great job on the 5K. Have you considered signing up for a 5K race just for fun? I've been thinking about doing one around Christmas time. They have a jingle bell run where the route is lined with luminaries and everyone puts jingle bells on the sneakers. So much fun!!! Just something to think about. You could totally do it!

Candi - Sounds like you had a great time! I'm thinking a trip to see Def Leppard in concert somewhere you've always wanted to go would be a good ultimate reward. Just saying.


Well, there are some days when I just can't seem to take my own advice. I'm not sure what happened. Friday, was lack of planning on my part. I had breakfast in my fridge at work, but no lunch. I was in a situation where I couldn't go off site to grab something. Next thing you know, I was munching on bread and cheese more than I should have. I did do a couple of HNS and my breakfast and lunch supplements, but got so out of whack, didn't do anything after that. Saturday, my munchkin woke up at 6:30 AM!!! On a Saturday!!! Still don't believe she did that. I was going to let her cry herself back to sleep, but that all changed when I was watching her try to climb out of her crib on the video monitor. I shot up and to her room before she could figure it out. If she was up to play, fine. But she ended up just laying on the couch with me, just as tired as I was. I was exhausted all day because I got to bed late the night before. I felt like I didn't have the energy for anything, much less making sure I had all my water, HNS, and supplements in, so I didn't do any of it. To make matters worse, Saturday night, I ate ice cream and peanuts! What was I thinking it?! My meals were OP though, go figure. Yesterday, my meals were OP, but once again, didn't get in all my water, and forget about HNS and supplements. I'm doing a one day Meta-Quick just to get me back on track today. So far, so good.

Now that I've written a novel, I'll LOL Hope you all are having a great day!!!

Jen for the texas chili do you use mrc tomato basil soup or something else? I just can't stomach that soup. One of my go to recipes in the book is the sausage. We make it with turkey and it's good for any meal.mmmmmm

I also mix two drinks together for a different flavor. I was increased to 5 HNS a day because I've actually lost some ffm, so my counselor told me to mix 2 at a time if I needed to but I had already been doing that at night.

I didn't feel confident enough to join in on the August mini goals, so I'm already looking forward to September. (and the beginning of college football this weekend.) My next WI won't be until Friday so it will be a good place to start for the month. I'm hoping to get down 10 lbs or more by the end of September. I was so close in August but just shy.

I hope those who of you who did the August mini goals made them, exceeded them or came close. Are you ready for some errr... mini goals?

The weekend was CRAZY! Had popcorn (yes, I said popcorn!) for dinner on Friday and then skipped several other meals both Saturday & Sunday! It was all because of poor planning. I had to WI today (I usually go on Tuesdays!) and fortuntely, I maintained.

Back on track today. Mini-Mini Goal is to lose 2 lbs. by Friday's WI. That would bring me to 25lb loss; including the weight I lost pre-MRC!!! I hope I can do it. 2 lbs used to be easy for me, but my losses have gotten pretty small lately.

Hope everyone has a FANTASTIC week!!

Connie

HI Everyone! It's been awhile since I've posted, but I"m still here! It's been a rough month. I've been bouncing right around 205 for about 4 weeks now, and I'm SICK of it!I went to my doctor and was able to get rid of some of my BP meds, but all other blood work had NOT changed. Cholesterol, thyroid--everything! Not changed a BIT! Sort of makes me wonder what I'm doing all of this for. The numbers weren't bad in the first place, but I really expected a little improvement. Anyway--I did get permission to start the all day weight loss. (I was doing phentratrim before) So--I'm hoping that helps.

Congrats to all the losers! I check in everyday to see how everyone is doing!

I use the MRC tomato. To that I add 4 oz ground turkey, green peppers & onions, 1/4 cup kidney beans, and chili seasoning to taste. I don't like tomato soup either, but the chili seasoning is the trick for me.

Dang! You are wonderful...feels so good having someone that relates!!! We aren't perfect...but we can just keep on plucking along! With support like this, it makes it tons easier!!!!! Thank you

Absoultely no offense taken, Jen!!!! You were right, all we can do is take all of this "one day at a time." I always appreciate the insights and support from these posts! We can all relate to the challenges!~!~

Tami

I really look foward to reading this board each day . . . thank you for your honesty and inspiration! - All of you!

Candi - sounds like an amazing weekend, I'm glad you had the chance to go and were able to stay OP.

twinchick - the 5K sounds like fun. I had planned on walking/jogging a 1/2 marathon this October and had even started training, but due to flooding here it has been canceled . . . I will have to come up with another "fitness goal" and do plan on either running the 1/2 marathon next year or perhaps even walking/running the full marathon - who knows???


We had an amazing dinner tonight and just thought I would share - we had cod (microwaved with chives and fresh lemon slices) - roasted broccoli and roasted asparagus (I had melba) Family had sweet potatoe fries. . . The roasted veggies were awesome!

Heat oven to 425 - cut up broccoli into small pieces and cut the asparagus in 2-3 inch pieces. . . Place on cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray, squeeze on a litlte fresh lemon juice (for the family I also sprinkled on a little parmesean but mine was really good even without the cheese ) - back for 15-20 minutes - enjoy! - you could add other spices depending on what you like. I think garlic powder would be good or maybe paprika and chili powder but I have not tried it with the spices yet.

Mariah

Rzrbackcandi - I love the picture of you and your brother. You look so happy and it sounds like you had a blast. Great job on your dinner choice too. Actually, the zucchini tastes awesome. I baked some dipped in egg, then coated with half melba toast crumbs and half Parmesan cheese. (The cheese for dinner is not technically allowed I don't think.) It was so good that I actually overate my portion. I had skipped lunch though, so it didn't do too much damage. The rest I cut up for lasagna "noodles" for my vegetarian daughter, and some I shredded and froze for baking, stir fry, etc. I put some shredded in a dish with egg over it then covered with the leftover melba crumbs and Parmesan and it was good too. That would be allowed for breakfast.



JenB - Yes, the largest one I've ever seen. lol Good to see you too. I missed you guys!

ConnieInColorado - I had popcorn on vacation also, (and eek! chips). I accepted my choice, didn't beat myself up about it and got back OP. Just look forward as today is another chance to start fresh and you are doing great!

RaRaF - Have you tried Metaquick? I used that for a few days to bust out of a plateau and it worked great.

Fluffy in Florida - I don't like the tomato basil soup alone, but it is really good in the chili recipe. If I have it for lunch, I skip the beans.

Tamikl - I hear you about the planning. I need to go shopping so I can have the proper foods to eat. I tend to go without eating and that actually causes me to gain weight just like eating the wrong foods. I recommend keeping a couple bars or shakes at work or car to grab when the day gets away from you. I also keep a cooler with a baggie of oatmeal, melba toasts, fruit, extra HSN's, vitamins, cheese sticks, etc in it. It often has been a lifesaver for me as I travel a lot and sometimes I need to eat on the run.

Well, tonight didn't go exactly as planned. A friend from grad school wanted to hang out, and in the past, we have often gone to dinner. I told her I'd prefer not to because of dieting, etc., so we planned to go shopping. Apparently she didn't eat before she came, so later she asked what she could do to talk me into eating out. I really don't think she meant to "sabotage" me, but nonetheless, it was a difficult spot.

I thought about just getting a glass of water, but I didn't want to make an issue out of it, and I really was hungry and hadn't had dinner myself yet (I ate a very late lunch). We went to Outback, and I got a caesar salad with shrimp. I did eat the dressing because I love it, but I didn't order extra like I used to, and I didn't eat the bread (go me!). Honestly, no, it wasn't perfectly OP, but I still feel really good about it. I enjoyed my meal very much, even though there were some restrictions, and I've never struggled less with a bread basket than I did tonight-- I really was able to just ignore it. It gives me hope for the future and for maintenance.