You are not evil....you are human. We have all struggled in this weightless journey. It is a Marathon....not a foot race. This process is different for everyone...not right or wrong. The state of one's emotionally health and overall attitude while losing weight is so critical to the success of it. If your weightless efforts are slower as you work through various struggles, then so be it. Not addressing feelings could prevent you from keepi g your weight off.
When I read your post, I relate to those feelings...noone will tell u that this journey is easy...because it is anything but that! But it is worth the effort...you are worth the effort...and when u truly believe that, it will get easier. Hang in there. Evaluate your motivation for doing this program. The choice is yours. This isn't a prison sentence...it is an opportunity. Sometimes just seeing it from a different perspective makes a huge difference.

It is old fashioned oatmeal. Just made some Sunday, with apples, and frozen cranberries.. Came out great. I used pumpkin pie spice for seasoning.

Patzi

Jen...
Those last few pounds did a job on me.. I guess you forgot all the whining I did..LOL.. I did not gain, but it was sooooo slow coming off, but it will, I promise.. I know the feeling. For me it was the last 5 pounds.

Patzi

I agree with Tami that you are human. For me I had days I had to literally ask myself...can you eat right for just ONE MORE meal. Just one more. And I would. And then another. And then another. I kept switching up my veggies and meats and being creative which helped. I learned which veggies I liked and refused to choke down any I didn't. I made a list of protein dishes I liked from each protein group and tried to keep rotating them so it wasn't always bland chicken and broccoli (I actually ate that very seldom after the first few weeks). And now I am in a sort of routine for noon...3 days (MWF) is a chicken spinach strawberry salad, T & Th is "pumpkin pie" MRC style (made with spagetti squash and ricotta, I leave out the melba "crust"). Having "pie" two times a week as my lunch is awesome I have my lists for evening meals. Did I ever want to eat my own hand off? Yes. Go completely nuts and eat from liek 5 different drive thrus? Yes. Did I? No. And the end was worth it. My inspiration was a friend that lost 100+ lbs in a year on MRC and only went off for her brother's wedding...other than that, packed her own meals, etc. Don't feel guilty for how you feel. It's a term called "hangry"...you are upset about feeling like you are trapped into eating healthy. Just was listening to it on one of the fitness podcasts I listen to.

Galadreal -

"I don't want to eat much of anything, but I would rip someone's arm off and beat them with it for a slice of cake."

I laughed out loud and woke my DH up!!!!! :-) i know how you feel, i'm so tired of salads...my DH made dinner last night and it was flank steak and salad again! i had a huge salad for lunch and then dinner and lunch today and dinner! i almost feel asleep chewing on that dang salad tonight...felt like a rabbit! guess i'm firming up my jaws w/ all that chewing... you have to get the Syntrax Chocolate Truffle protein powder if you are craving dessert! seriously it's the only reason i have stuck to this plan! and get a GE Single blender ! i feel like i have dessert each and every day when i mix the powder w/ water and ice and blend it up! add frozen strawberries and it's exactly like a chocolate strawberry shake. add a little left over coffee...mocha shake. i ordered the variety pack of Syntrax Saturday and looking forward to trying new flavors. i needed to add some variety so got some turkey bacon to "fry" up in PAM to put on my salad and eat with my scrambled egg in the am. if you like the Greek yogurt, that's a great dessert mixed with berries...i add a dollop of lite cool whip (20 cal.)

it is in the 80s here so threw on my shorts this weekend - couldn't get into hardly anything last summer and this year, they are practically falling off! can't wait to try on last year's summer clothes and see what i can wear now. that's what motivates me the most on keeping this weight off is fitting into my clothes. my summer jackets from last year button up now and are loose - i am so glad i didn't give alot of that stuff away - i was at a point last year where i never thought i'd lose weight again after trying Weight Watchers and other plans. my DH is rebeling though and not as much support as he used to be...there is junk food all over the house but i will be strong.....no one is making me eat that stuff - it's my own decision and ladies, repeat after me. Carbs are the dang devil! (i'm still looking for those stickers i can put on his oreos, pretzels, chips, popcorn....

I won't lie, I broke...I started crying on my husband when he talked about making a salad for dinner. We ordered a pizza. Which, going off program for 1 meal once a month does not make me feel bad. It did at the time, I felt like a huge failure. But this morning I don't, I feel like I got a break from salad, I actually do not feel trapped by only eating from this small list, and I am ready to go back to it, Besides, maybe this will shock my system enough to break this stupid plateau.

Bigdog, thank you for the advice, I will definatly get a variety pack and try out the chocolate truffle. I miss my chocolate milk after workouts. I mean I like going to the gym well enough, but that was definatly a perk.

So yeah, I fell off the horse with a really loud crash. But I am back this morning, made a "not an omlet" for breakfast (just eggs fried that way, but no veggies or meat or cheese. Thank you Grosse Point Blank) and some cinnamon toast. Hubby packed the salad and cottage cheese for lunch. I will have to try the pumpkin pie idea, it sounds good.

Now, I am off...like a herd of turtles to the morning meeting in my department. Whoosh!

I had maintenance weigh in and lost the 1/2 pounds I gained, bringing me 5 pounds under goal..

They measured me and I am ashamed to say, being a nurse, I should know what this all means but don't. Body fat went from 31 to 29.1 , gained 1 1/2 pound of muscle and gained 1/12 pound of water meaning I am hydrated.

I was at meetings two days this week and took a shake for breakfast and lunch both days and then had a regular supper on green menu. Welllll, I gained 2 pounds on that, and went to the old green menu to get it off before weigh in. I was told there is 10 grams of sugar in the shakes and I should never take more than 2/3 of a package. I did the whole pack with a HNS. Was tikd too much sugar and too much protein.. I know one person said they gained when on meta quick or did not lose, can't recall who, and I thought it was Jen, but then I could be mistaken, next time, take 2/3 or better yet they said 1/2 of package of shake if you have that problem.

Wishing everyone a wonderful day..
Patzi

Patzi,

from all the research I have been doing for women 25-30% or so is in the healthy/not althletic range. There is a chart and information here

builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

with the www in front of course. Of course you also need to take into account age and whatnot. So take a look, see the sites, ride the rides, etc.

I have been trying to figure it all out and was told that my ideal range is from 154-182. After measuring myself at home (I got a tiny 20$ thing at amazon that runs the current through me and tells me my fat percentage) I am 45.9%...which makes me sad. But if I had no body fat I would be about 128 (I think that is right, it has been a few days and my brain is kind of fuzzy sometimes about specific numbers) But women, more than men, are supposed to have more body fat. My husband and I were talking about this becuase he is eating on program to be supportive, but not taking the HNS, and he is losing weight like crazy. I make him check his body composition at least every few weeks to make sure he is retaining muscles. So far, no loss.

Wow, that was a long drawn out thing. Either way. There are several sites out there where you can enter weight and waist measurement and whatnot and it will help determine your body fat percent even without the fancy dancy little doodad. But i am a tech junkie, so I wanted it.

And now time to try to sleep with my eyes open sitting at my desk...oh wait. That's work. nevermind.

"from all the research I have been doing for women 25-30% or so is in the healthy/not althletic range. There is a chart and information here"

Yikes! I just had my body comp done on Saturday and am at 38% body fat. My counselor mentioned that my body fat may not get down to within range since I have large breasts (and they are essentially just fat!).

Good news is I finally broke my 3 week platueau and had a 1.5 pound loss on Saturday. Bad news is I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow so I am on clear liquids today and fear with all the sugar & salt in juices, gatorade and broth that I will have a gain.

Faerychic: I figure as long as I feel good and think that i look good (having awesome abs back would be nice) then I will consider it a win. I have worn a DD or DDD since high school, even during my weight lifting. and part of why I want to lose some of my squishyness is so that my back will quit giving me so many problems. I will still have to lug around alot up there, but not so much everywhere else.

Besides, like everything else having to do with losing weight, nothing is written in stone and everyone is shaped and sized differently. I cannot say how many times I have been told by women that they lose weight from their boobs first, but I have never had that problem (fingers crossed that I won't) so I understand where you are comming from.

Oh, and congrats on breaking your plateau! And even if you have a little gain from the sodium in the broth and whatnot, it will probably just be water weight and should not be a problem once you are able to get away from it again.

Hey Camaswa. Read faerychicks. Blog. Typing on new iPad so ignore my typos. Didn't you say you are top heavy. (lucky!). So there is your fat ratio! Tell your consultant that! . My good friend who is well endowed always says each b@@b is ten pounds!

Went to WI today and was surprised by the number. Down 1.5. I was feeling like I would not be down any. So that was a good surprise. They also did measurements and I have lost a total of 79 inches. That is pretty amazing if you ask me. I am going to have to purchase more program time and am really bummed about that. I am thinking another 4 weeks should be long enough to reach my goal. I haven't brought this up to the center yet and won't until they make a remark about my time. I was hoping to reach goal in the time that I purchased but that's not going to happen. For some reason this is making me feel like I failed. I know that's nuts because I am so much healthier and eat so much better so there is no way that can be a fail. But I still feel like I have failed. Just having a pity party for myself. I'm going to gazelle now so maybe that will boost the mood.

patzi-those numbers mean that even though your weight is staying relatively the same, you are getting more muscle and losing fat (so looking even better).

For everyone...any reduction is body fat % reduces your risk of disease. so yes, there is are ranges that are healthier than others, but if you are at 45% and get down to 35% that is a HUGE...I mean HUGE improvement in disease risk (not to mention you look and feel better). But some people may be discouraged because 35% is considered an unhealthy body fat%, but it is waaaaay healthier than 45%. So all you are looking for is progress. I've always wanted to be in the 25-27% range. I will be taking mine again in a week when we do body comps in my ex. phys. lab. Here's an interesting thing you all may want to note. When you use a hand held or one you stand on, it only calculates that part of your body (i.e., if you are standing on a scale that reads body fat %, it only reads you basically waist down). So if you are standing on a scale and you know you retain most of your fat in your bottom areas, your actual percentage may be slightly low. But as long as you continue to monitor with the same piece of equipment you will be able to track progress. also, hydration levels can throw off the #'s one way or another.

Hello anyone, I was reading that some of you have really lost weight(Congrat), just wanted to know are you apart of the metabolic research program and if so, what do your menu consist of to help with the weight loss? Thanks

Happy Hump Day!!! Felt like crap yesterday. Not sure what was going on. I even bailed on running at lunch time when I was looking forward to it. Ever have one of those days where every bone and muscle in your body just aches? Not PMSing, so that's out. Just an off day I guess.

Congrats baby doll, patzi, faerychic, & ynapier on your losses! Great job!