I had maintenance weigh in today and lost 1 1/2 pounds making me 6 1/2 pounds under goal. I am happy about this, as next week I will be out of town, and this gives me room if I gain. I tried to lose this weight by going back on the green menu, as I had gained two pounds a few weeks ago, and took that off, so this just gives me a buffer.. I usually don't over indulge when I am away, but depends on how food is prepared, salt, and best choices one can make.. I is my granddaughter's graduation.

melissab617 Congrats on weigh loss. That is an exellent loss. I have never seen the drinks much under $10.00.. I buy them separately now, as I only take one HNS during day and a creamy at night sometimes.

I went thru all my weight loss without ever checking to see if I was in ketosis. I think that is optional, but not sure. As a matter of fact, knew nothing about it until I heard it here from y'all.

Cochick.. I am a nurse, and I would say if pain is still there, I would see a doctor.. Could be some sort of viral bug, or anything really.. Hope you are better soon. Giood sign being able to free up bowels.

BigDog.. if you find those ice cream pops, please let me know, as I love my frozen yogurt with whatever I decide to add to it.

Jen... Congrats on signing for maintenance.. I am so proud of you. You sure worked this program and look at you now..

For all those that lost weight congrats, and for those struggling, you will be fine, just stay focused and stay OP . It is all worth it.

Patzi

Does anyone own Emeril Lagasse's pie and cake maker.. I don't want it for the pies of cakes, but I am always making egg muffin quiches or turkey meatloaf muffins and wanted to buy it for this, as it is so bloody hot in the South , that I hate to turn oven on for this baking. My friend ordered it as she saw it on some home shopping network..

Patzi

Patzi, I am a nurse, too! :)

Weighed in today. Lost 1.5 lbs since Friday. Woohoo! That breaks my regular 1/2lb loss I usually have on Tuesdays. And makes 16 lbs total since I started MRC (31 since I had my baby in February). Puts me 7 lbs under my pre-preg weight.

I also learned something last week from one of the consultants that i didn't know before but makes total sense. i usually have an egg and chz on corn tortilla for breakfast. apparently not a lot of protein in that. :) shoulda known that. she suggested i make turkey sausage and have that for breakfast to up my protein for my breakfast meal to see if that would help my weight loss go a little faster. she showed me the back of the cookbook where it has protein, carbs, fats, etc for a bunch of different food items. she suggested i pick the items that have the most protein in them. again, makes sense. so....i made the turkey sausage and had it twice between friday and tuesday and lost 1.5 lbs today.

just thought i'd share in case anyone else needs to be knocked over the head like i do.

Kmcnair, when I have one egg I add extra whites for the protein and hardly any calories. I get the kind in a carton. Reminds me that I once saw a diet called the Big Breakfast Diet- in a dAy the total calories were low but you ate a huge amount of protein in the am. I didn't stick with it but I remember feeling GREAT in the morning. I never could stand just cereal or a bagel after that. Bring on the protein!

Patzi - Thanks!!!

kmcnair12 - Congrats on the great loss! I used to always have 2 oz. of cheese for breakfast (don't like eggs) and got the same talk a while back. Another option I was told by my counselor, in addition to the turkey sausage, is that Boar's Head Chicken & Turkey is OP. You have to be careful with deli meats though because of the sodium content. Boar's Head does have a Low Sodium Chicken Breast which I love and also a no salt Turkey Breast (rather dry). But I'll get a 40 cal corn tortilla shell and put 4 oz. of the LS Chicken on it and eat it like a chicken taco. Lots of protein and I love it! :)

JenB72 that chicken taco does sound yummy! Thanks for the suggestion! I've never heard of boar's head....can I get that at most grocery stores (like kroger or walmart)?

Camaswa, I agree, I don't think I'll go back to a bagel or cereal or even my beloved toaster strudels anymore. I love that I'm not dragging anymore. Adding extra egg whites for the protein is a good idea....except i'm not crazy about egg whites. I gotta eat the yolk with it or I can't stand it. Lol.

I'm not sure. Here's a link to their website so you know what the brand looks like and you can keep an eye out for it.

Boar's Head

Galadreal and Patzi, thanks for the advice. The pain is mostly gone now, and I'm not having any bathroom trouble, so I think I'm okay. If it comes back, though, I'm heading out to the doc.

glad you are feeling better COchick!

kmcnair12.. Congrats to the weight loss.. I always make those egg quiches muffinsand turkey sausage and freeze them.. I have the quiche recipes and other egg recipes in the recipe forum.. I will have two of the egg muffins and one of the turkey sausage, or vice verse.. That is what I did most of the challenge. When I had an egg beater omelet would add a turkey sausage. That worked for me. My weight coming off was very little at times, .2, .5, and if I lost one pound I thought I died and went to heaven.. Happy you had a great weight loss. By the way I am an Operating Room Nurse, getting ready to retire, I think, not sure..

Patzi

Melissa - Congratulations on the 5 lb loss! Go, you! About the salad, I can't eat a whole lot of just lettuce, but if I add in broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers (for added weight) it seems to help... just a thought.

Galadreal - I hope you feel better. Being sick stinks...

TOM right now, so I was up 2 lbs yesterday. No biggie. I know my body knows what to do and it will be gone by Saturday. Focusing the rest of this week on staying on plan and moving onward!

Today I WI again. Hope to see a good loss, as I have been on plan 99.9% of the time. I did have a few saltine crackers last night to satisfy my salt craving. Other than that I have been SOOO good. I'm hoping to get to sign the 20 lb board. (FINGERS CROSSED!!!!)

JenB72 - the chicken taco sounds great. I will be trying that soon. But...my Wal-Mart does not carry Boars Head so I am on the search for somewhere close by that does. :(

Boar's Head is the only deli meat they said that was acceptable, but to get the low sodium/no salt kinds of chicken & turkey. Regular deli meat has incredibly high sodium content, so you have to be careful with the kind you get.

Weighed in today, and I'm down another half a pound! That makes 5.5 total, I feel silly because it feels like it's a slow loss but I know that 2+ pounds a week is something to be proud of. I was down almost 6 inches though!

Do not feel silly.. That is a good weight loss. Be proud of yourself. I was a slow loser, and I am on maintenance now.. Wishing you the best on your challenge, and good inch loss, also.

Patzi

there are other deli meats -- you just have to check for the low sodium varities and all natural type products. Many other manufacturers make these products other than Boar's Head.

.5 loss this morning on the scale. My stomach pains are completely gone now. WHEW.

This week (starting yesterday) I'm doing Metaquick, and I'll let everyone know how it goes. I know there are a lot of different opinions on its effectiveness around here, so at least I'll get to contribute my 2 cents.

My husband dropped 3 lbs this morning...and he's not even doing MRC! :tantrum: That's about 10 lbs he's lost since I started this at the end of March. And he's really not heavy to begin with (wears size 34 pants). GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! How come it's so easy for men? I've been sitting at the same weight all week and he loses 3 lbs overnight. I don't go in for weigh in until tomorrow morning, so that gives me one more day to lose a little bit. I keep saying over and over (in my head) "I WILL LOSE WEIGHT, I WILL LOSE WEIGHT!" The positivity thing works, right? Do me a favor and just say yes.

WI at lunch and down to 137, my lowest yet (3 pounds under goal). Keep at it, ladies!!! Maintenance makes it ALL worth it!!!

Jen...
Congrats to the weight loss and being that far under goal. That is fantastic.
Patzi

WI - didn't gain, didn't lose. Ready to move to next phase. Heading up to Fayetteville tomorrow to watch Diamond Hogs play a couple games - love college baseball. BTW - Galadreal - any suggestions on places to eat other than Hugo's, Bordino's, Hermann's... Hope all have a great rest of the day

Ok, girl. First of all, this is about you and no one else, not even your husband. Don't compare your weight loss to another soul, especially a man. Men always lose faster than women, always.

Second, you are in this for the long haul and some times it's going to be slow going. Everyone here can testify to that. But it looks to me like you have lost a fantastic 15 pounds already. I think you are doing great. Celebrate that!!

CO, I will be interested to hear how you do. Are you doing it for an entire week? I cant do it more than 2 days. My digestive system doesn't seem to like that stuff. But I feel like it is a good mental exercise just to limit the options, even for a day. Good luck!

You guys,
i havent lost a Single. Pound. not one. In fact, have gaine .5 lbs.

BUT i AM down 5.5 % body fat on Tanita. SOooo.... im just waiting for my whoosh. I know something is going on... something good, thats not reflecting on the scale, but FRICK! its been 3-4 weeks since i joined, and NOT. A. SINGLE. POUND. from my initial weight.

Hi...
If you have been OP all during the time, then go in to your consultant and tell her you want a push of some sort to make you start losing the weight. If you have not been OP, then start again and stay focused and it will come off.. I would still talk to my consultant and find out what the problem is. Bring in to her your journal and I am sure that something can upstart your weight loss. That is what I did when I stalled. Good body fat loss, so that is a great thing. Hang in there, if you work the program it will work, and if you
need help that is what you pay the center for.. You will be suprised what they can pick up on the journal, and then change your diet menu around a but. Good luck.. Hang in there, it is well worth it.

Patzi

Well, I know Logan's Roadhouse makes a good veggie skewer and they have some very tasty steaks. I am not really sure where else to eat that is on program locally, becuase the most we have eaten out since we started was grabbing some grilled chicken salad at Mcdonalds. You could check out Urban Spoon, they might have some ideas. But my first choice would be logans. Just ignore the peanuts and fresh rolls.

Cochick.. I am most interested to see how you do. How long are you doing it for?

Patzi

I'm going to try and do the Metaquick for the full 7 days...but I'm not sure I'll last that long. It's a little tough to only have liquids during the day...it's like I MISS chewing, know what I mean? :)

Well....I gained 1.5 lbs. I know exactly why. WAY off program Asked them if they wanted the 20 lb bracelet back since now I was only 19lbs ......of course not, but its time to refocus....AGAIN.

On a positive note, I went to my internist for 6 m checkup today and was down 22 lbs from last visit in his office. He thinks I may have warded off type 2 diabetes with my loss and was very happy. Had blood work done and will report if I will not have to go on oral diabetes medication due to this loss.

My health depends on me sticking to this, it's not just for appearance but for arthritis, hypertension and the above mentioned Type 2 diabetes.

I told my awesome counselor I was just tired of being on this the past week. She came back with " You need to be tired of being overweight instead"

kmcnair12 - I agree with camaswa. Do NOT compare yourself to a man. You will drive yourself crazy if you do. I do understand where you are coming from though. My DH is a tall string bean. ;) When I started this journey, here I was, post-pregnancy over 200 pounds and he casually mentioned that with all the stress at work he was around 157. I wanted to die. When I started MRC, I was angry at the world because he could eat whatever he wanted and I got "rabbit food." But, as the pounds came off, it didn't really matter anymore, because I was feeling so good. Once I changed my attitutde about DH's weight and that it was what it was and decided to focus on mine instead, things became easier. Losing weight is hard (and stressful) enough without worrying about what someone else's weight was. With ALL that said (LOL), you may want to ask your DH that while you are going through this, not to mention his weight or how much he's lost. Tell him it stresses you because women don't lose weight like men and that while you are happy for him (right?), it's making it harder on you. :hug:

COchick - When I did Meta-Quick, I'd usually do it for the full week because my weight wouldn't come off until the last 2-3 days. That's just me though. Honestly, I loved doing it because I didn't have to stress about making sure I had what I needed for breakfast or lunch. Also, I'd always mix a clear HNS in a vanilla shake to give it some flavor. Couldn't stand them otherwise. Also, remember, if you miss chewing, you can sub one of those shakes for a bar each day. It's not as much protein, but it could satisfy that craving.

mkroyer - Yikes! I remember you said when you did MRC before it was difficult for you to lose the weight. How are the clothes fitting? Also, are you training for anything right now? That's great about the body fat, % going down. Did they check your inches? Please don't lose hope. :hug:

Rowdy - Your counselor sounds great! And I'm so happy for you about your doctor's appointment. Set mini-goals for yourself to make this journey more manageable. Otherwise, you'll have more moments of being sick of being OP than not.



I got this great quote in an employee wellness e-mail today that I thought I'd share. Just substitue "woman" for "man." ;)

"A man who wants something will find a way, a man who doesn’t will find an excuse.” – Stephan Dolley, Jr.
Determine your motivation and find a way to accomplish your goal. Have a Healthy Day!

Thanks for camaswa and jen for kicking me in the pants and knocking some sense into me. this journey is about me and only me, and i do know that. i am absolutely happy that he is losing weight, too, but it is frustrating to hear that he's lost so much without the kind of effort i have put into this. i am in this for the long haul and happy about the changes i've made in my eating habits and i do feel so much better. no more comparing my weight to his. having said that, i went for WI today and didn't lose anything from tuesday's WI....although she cheated a little bit so i could see it go down half a pound so the tiny difference would give me hope. but in reality i didn't lose anything. didn't gain anything either. will continue to stick to the plan like i have from the beginning. 16 lbs in 41 days. i know it works. yep, yep!

quick question.....i'm a BIG clutz and fell HARD playing tennis on tuesday and scraped my knee and elbow pretty bad. wondering if the very minor swelling in my knee and elbow could have effected my weight loss. anybody experience that?

Rowdy, I love that: "You need to be tired of being overweight instead." That's great, and I will definitely be keeping that one handy for days of frustration.

Today is day 3 of metaquick...and this morning the scale was down...1.8 pounds! I couldn't believe it when I saw it, because I honestly don't feel any thinner.

So either this is a complete fluke, or it really is working for me.

My aching legs!
 

Anyone experience aching legs? Not cramps. My legs ache at night so much so that I need to take Advil. I brought it up to one of the counselors and she suggested their minerals (or course!). she said runners take them for cramps, but since mine are not leg cramps I did not buy. I kind of think if may be due to not enough salt in my diet or potassium maybe? Any thoughts?

At my higher weights, I would lose about 5 pounds +/- 2 pounds in a week of Meta-Quick, so it's totally possible.

faerychic, a lack of calcium in your diet can be the cause of your achy legs. we don't get milk on this diet so if you are used to drinking a lot of it before program that could be why. you can try a calcium vitamin to see if that helps. but, you are right, deficiency in potassium could be causing it, too.

Had maintenance weigh in today and stayed the same.. 6 1/2 pounds under goal...

Patzi

Signed the 30 pound board! Certainly not setting any records, but I am getting there. Eight pounds since early April when I decided not to give up and refocused myself. Now I think it is time to set a new goal and will be discussing that with the counselor after seeing where my bodyfat is next week.

And about those leg pains, I am really having them, too. But I would definitely describe mine as cramps. I wake up and have to jump out of bed and stretch or
put weight on my foot. Its pretty bad and I am worried. I googled it and saw the suggestion of calcium BEFORE BED. I am going to start taking it and eating a small amoun tof yogurt at night.

Hello, all! Congratulations to the losers!

MKroyer - don't be discouraged. Your body fat loss is amazing... wish I could do that! I lost about 2 % in a month, but that's about it. One thing they told me was to transition my thinking from pounds lost to body fat lost and muscle gained. I was told that, the lower my body fat percentage, the better my body could adjust when I went off-program... just a thought.

KMC - I hear you on the men's weight loss. Once, (like Jen), my husband said that he couldn't believe his own personal weight was over 200 lbs... I was sitting at 242 at the time and it really hurt my feelings. I later told him (after I lost the weight) about how his comment had hurt and he said that he'd never considered it would hurt my feelings - that he was just hard on his own perception of his body... now I understand, but I felt so desperate and ugly when he had said that.

Well, road trip for me this weekend with my girls and my SIL to see a concert. Got my supplements, got my drinks, and fat/carb blocker. Feeling alright and going to allow myself a small off-plan something... we'll see how it goes! Looking forward to the time off and everything...

Camaswa - congrats on signing the 30 pound board. That is great. I remember how great signing each one of those board was.

MKroyer - that is a great body fat loss. I would like to have a drop like that. Amazing!

Rachels77 - have a great weekend with your family. Sounds like fun and you have it planned out which will make it easier for you.

I have stayed the same since I started stabilization which is the point. But I would REALLY like to drop that half pound and sign the 70 pound board. If I don't lose it before I get to maintenance I will go back to the green menu after maintenance to get it off. I don't want to mess with the stabilization process. Fingers crossed that my plan works. I know the green menu works so I should have success.