bighog-it does sound like we are very much the same. I hit 171 this morning! I'm still in a little shock about how good this is working

I was sick yesterday so didn't eat much. But feel better today. This whole month is hard with walking into stores and being assaulted by all kinds of goodies, my work schedule is CRAZY with late night games and all day basketball tournaments (I'm always hungry when I get home, too), and of course...the celebrations. I have two Christmas parties this weekend. The first is tonight...my husband's work party. He works for his family's business, so I even helped pick out the menu...but that was back before MRC. But even though there are twice baked potatoes and desserts I can't have, there are several veggie options and some fruit (what is anyone's experience with moving your fruit to the evening for just such occasions?) Tomorrow is the husband's family Christmas...luckily I miss brunch which will be just full of cinnamon rolls (I'm making some easy ones called cowboy rolls to get the ingredients out of the house). For both I plan on having my HNS ready either for a salad dressing or to mix with my diet soda. I will make it through this. I will not take a step back or stall for a week or two just for a cookie I will see the 160's by the end of next week!!

Hi ladies!

It is FRIDAY! I am so happy to see this week come to a close Fortunately, I don't foresee any real challenges this weekend like some of you have. Those Christmas parties are rough...simply being around all of the goodies is too much for me at times. I do my best to avoid those, and having a husband that is a bit of an "introvert" anyway helps! Try to keep your eyes on the ultimate prize!!

Seems that for me at least, the less hard I try at this diet, the better I seem to do. Seems weird, but I am finding it to be true. I have more success when I randomly get on the scale than when I purposefully get on it every day...don't know if that makes sense or not...lol.

I guess what I am trying to say here is just do your best. Be realistic, but don't aim to be perfect. The weight comes off simply by making good choices. My hubby always tells me that the harder on work on my hair, the worse it looks! At first I got pissed (lol) and then realized that was true, along with many things in my life that I put way too much focus on doing "just right." Sometimes taking it a little easier on ourselves reeps much better results....

Have a great weekend all! Focus on shopping for Christmas presents while chewing gum, and that might get our minds off all those darn goodies out there!! Our mouths will be full and our minds busy!!

Hi...
I had maintenance weigh in and gained 1/2 pound putting me back to 5 pounds under goal.. It was the peanuts.. I tried them again, and every time I do I gain, so that is a trigger point, so am going to eliminate them 100% from my diet.
I will be careful this week, due to two parties coming up, a week from this Saturday.

If anyone has any OP recipes for the holidays, please share. I try to stay pretty much OP this time of year, so as not to gain.

Wishing everyone a great weigh in and a nice day.

Patzi

Happy Friday!!! i found some jeans and some cute Liz Claiborne jackets i haven't been able to get into for two years and they fit!! there was a black skirt in there too, pencil style that i got on but couldn't button so i'm keeping that hanging on the door to try it on again next week...:-)
I agree with all of you that my body loves this way of eating too! i've been trying to lose this weight off and on w/ weight watchers, then tried protein shakes only, etc., tried Atkins for a week!, etc. for a couple years and would lose maybe 3-5 lbs and then gain it back. i look forward to my cinnamon toast or cheese toast in the am w/eggs.. i was down another pound this am!
i did find out when i went back to eating the 8 oz. cut up veggies or salad for lunch and dinner, that helps my weight loss.
in defense of the protein bars, protein snacks, puddings, Syntrax Chocolate Truffle protein mix (all ordered from Diet Direct or Nashua Nutrition website) , snickerdoodle cookies (recipe in Nov. thread), they have prevented me from having a weight gain each week and have helped me lose 22 lbs. i never feel deprived and i am a true chocoholic so for me, has kept me on plan. i've lost every single week at weigh in for 17 weeks, approx. 1/2 to 3 lbs each week. i don't take any supplements at all, but do drink the HNSs (pink lemonade or Choc. truffle , 3/4 scoop 70 cal., 23 g. protein) at least 3 a day. my doctor told me if i took all the supplements MRC recommends, i would lose a little more but would gain once i was off of them. (i have a low tolerance to medicine so can't take all that stuff)
i do limit the bars but thinking back on the days when i ate a bar instead of going thru a drive thru while on the road, feel like it was a better choice!
This diet builds muscle and gets rid of the fat...gotta love that!

also, like someone told me if you have problems w/ getting the water in, just remember you are flushing away fat! how's that for motivation? :-)
hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Yes, please, i need some new recipes too!! Patzi regarding the peanuts - i love peanut butter and when i asked when i could have it again, they told me when i met goal! my DH eats dry roasted peanuts all the time and i put them in the pantry out of sight when he's finished. i told him to put them in a bowl so i don't have to look at the jar. he also pops popcorn all the time and it drives me wild but i just fix a chocolate truffle shake and try not to strangle him LOL! i do get popcorn only at the movies about once a month but skip dinner and the carb inthe am (not on plan but that's what i do!)
anyway, a couple of time, i've put 3 peanuts (12 calories) in the blender w/ my chocolate shake and it really adds flavor. funny how a little bit of flavor is enough

Another pound bites the dust! Even with a sick munchkin, somehow, I lost another pound since Monday. Only 8.5 pounds to go! Oh, and they did my inches on Monday. I'm down 58 inches overall.

Hi everyone-
I must say I enjoy reading everyone's post - they give me encouragement and motivation. I have been a yo-yo dieter for most of my adult life and this go 'round is a bit slower than my previous attemps at weight loss. Could be due to my age or the fact that I am working at home now and don't have to get off my butt except to go to the bathroom or kitchen! I wasn't having much of a loss on the meta-slim plan (plus I was always starving and getting a headache every afternoon) so they switched me to meta-balance last weekend. I am feeling much better, but they tell me to only expect a 1-2 pound loss per week. Heck at my weigh in on Wednesday I was down 1.5 which I am happy with.

Hope you all have a fabulous day!

Jen...
You are doing so well.. I know how excited you are. You are almost there, and the inches are so impressive.. Good for you.. Pat yourself on the back, as you well deserve it..

fairychic...
1-2 pounds is a good weight loss weekly. I am glad they found a program for you that worked..

Well, today I wore my leggings and a blouse just to hit my butt area and a pair of boots.. I had bought the leggings, but for some reason I was too timid to wear them, but I did, and when I walked in center today, consultant said, you see, I told you, get some tight fitting clothes, as so many of my clothes fit but still were a bit baggy..I NEVER thought I would see the day I could wear leggings.. I wear the same pants for weigh in each time,with a light weight tee, so these leggings are thinner than the light pants I was wearing, and this will work out nicely.. As I have said over and over, the best thing in way of clothes is not wearing a tunic to disguise the fat..I don't have to do that anymore, and anything I went thru on the challenge was sure worth it.
I promise you will feel like a new person when you reach your goal.. It is heavenly.

I hear some of you talking about snacks.. I was on Meta Slim and no snacks allowed . Only snackI could have was an HNS if so desired. Does Meta Balance allow snacks? Just curious.

Patzi

Patzi: yes meta balance does allow snacks. I think that is what is keeping me from being hungry and getting hunger headaches. 3 snacks are allowed, one of which can be a bar and the other 2 are an HNS's (one with a dairy and the other with a fruit or fruit juice).

BTW -Congrat's on leggings! I am sure that is a great feeling to be able to wear fitted clothes. I am looking forward to that (hopefully in time for Spring!)

Faerychic- I remember you mentioning Metibalance before. Even though I have been in MRC since Sept. and do like the basic concept very much, I get soooo wiped out almost every day by 11 am and again by 4 pm. I really need food more frequently. Sometimes I am shaky and lightheaded, always feeling exhausted. It becomes difficult to stay on plan when I feel so starved. I often end up having something-anything. I tried just an extra clear HNS or 2 but that didn't cut it. I also tried bigger protein servings. But when I really think I need is more frequent meals. Can you tell me more about that plan?

faerychic..
Thanks for information on snacks and the plan

camaswa...
I was told when I was hungry during Meta Slim, to take a piece of protein with HNS or have 1/2 bar with HNS. Protein used to do it for me.. But, if the program you are on, is not filling for you, I am sure if you tell the center, they will change it so that you are not hungry.. They told my friend who had the same problem, you never should be hungry, and they added and changed things for her on Meta Slim, and my other friend, they switched her over to Meta Balance. Hope this helps you.. By the way, glad to see you posting again. By the way, HNS never filled my hunger.Only when I added a piece of chicken or some protein with it.. Meat protein, not a cheese product.

Last night was a challenge.. Went over a friend's house and she had homemade cheesecake with berry topping and after dinner drinks.. Mercy me.. I did not have any cheese cake, but I did have a brandy and took fat and carb blocker with it. Days past, I could have eaten the whole cheesecake.. Amazing what discipline can do. I don't feel sorry for myself any more if I don't have it , as before I would say poor me, but that does not work, I found it.

Everyone have a wonderful day and try to stay focused.

Patzi

my friend who started me on this program does Metabalance and loves it. she wanted dairy and more fruit in her diet so this works better for her. she successfully lost all her weight 25 lbs. and is now on maintenance. i really miss Greek yogurt and crave more fruit than just the one we are allowed per day. i'll have to check it out too! :-)

camaswa: what differs on metabalance from metaslim is that the HNS's are not eaten with your meals - they are your snacks (mid=morning, mid=afternoon, and evening). Snacks are a bar (you can have 1 everyday) or an HNS combined with a dairy, a fruit or fruit juice, or a starch. It really helps being able to eat a bar every afternoon since that was the time I would be so fatigued and hungry. Also, you only get 3 oz. of protein with meals instead of 4 and dairy is included with breakfast (love the addition of dairy - now I can have milk in my coffee)

Not sure yet how the weight loss is going to be on this plan for me but I certainly feel better - less cranky!

thanks, faerychic for the info on metabalance. from what i read on the metabolic website, metaslim info says you can lose 3-5 lbs/week and the metabalance is 1 to 2 lbs/week. i'm happy with 1 to 2 lbs a week and keeping it off :-) i was "cheating" and having a protein bar after dinner every evening anyway (instead of chocolate ice cream or brownies!! or both!) and alot of times would add fruit to my HNS so guess i was kind of doing the metabalance anyway (but much happier and more likely to stick w/ that plan!) i was also drinking V-8 sometimes on the road if i couldn't get all my veggies in. Ok, cool, i'm in the honeymoon stage again and can't wait to get started on this plan. thanks!

Does red wine count as a fruit? and how many sprays of spray butter before it's actually a calorie? LOL! kidding. one of my silly dogs sees me spraying butter on my lite wheat bread in the am before i sprinkle cinnamon on so now she has to have spray butter on her dog food in the am. spoiled rotten! my pups have really helped me on this diet though.. DH got me a grilled chicken sandwich from Wendy's yesterday, no mayo! and i gave 3/4 of the bun to them...they are much more active then i am :-) and can afford the carbs...

This is my second time joining MRC, and I'm excited to be making a change in my life...again. I started preconditioning last Sunday and will start meta-slim tomorrow. I know it's a crazy time of year to start, but I figured, why wait?

Glad to have found you guys. You are so encouraging.