Just got my menus today and am super excited. I personally like that they tell you pretty much exactly what to eat for the first 10 days; it takes the guess work out of it. I am afraid I'm going to get really sick of salad It's only a few days though and I'll be happy when I reach the regular menu.

I dropped 5 lbs in pre-conditioning so I'm well on my well....only 45 more pounds to go!

Bigdog..
Thanks for the site on icecream sandwich cookies.

Patzi

It's been a while since I posted, so it's catch up time...

My sister had the upper lobe of her right lung removed. It was lung cancer this time, and not breast cancer like we feared. However, she has been upgraded to Stage 4. Not good....Prayers are needed, for healing, peace, and grace to get through what's to come. Thanks all.

As for me, I went to the doctor last week, and was taken off the blood pressure medicine. One of my first goals down!! Very happy about this! The doctor was very pleased about my weight loss. Having my mammogram done next Friday, and new blood work done at the end of the month. I sure hope my cholesterol levels are down too.

Down 24 total lbs since I began. I go to weigh in tomorrow and hope to sign the 25 lb board. I am so close to "onederland"...Fingers crossed, but know it will most likely be next week before I get there.

Welcome to the newbies, congrats to the loosers, and stay positive y'all!!

Ok, big BBQ fest in town and the preview was last night. it's one price at the gate and you sample from all the BBQ masters :-) does pickles count as a veggie? this lady had homemade pickles that were killer good! :-) i did well and just sampled a bite from a few of the vendors. afterwards met up w/ some friends at a BBQ restaurant (crazy, huh?) but those guys showed up late at the fest and the food had ran out so they were craving bbq. everyone ordered ribs, wings, bbq and me and another friend ordered the special...Wedge of lettuce with grilled shrimp, cubes of watermelon, thin onions w/ citrus dressing. at first i felt deprived and really wanted the bbq and mac n cheese but my meal was excellent! and i felt great afterwards. i find that when i overindulge i feel awful and sluggish (like many of you have posted here) the fest continues today and i'll probably go and walk around, prob. eat before i go and not get the all you can eat wrist band :-) bands playing all day and it's on this beautiful island on the water. Tom Berenger was there and i was taking pics of him and texting to my family in VA. hahah! he lives here and is alway at most of the events . was hoping to see Pat Conroy who is one of my favorite writers :-) i need some new tighter clothes. the photographer was there from the local nsp and he always takes our pics.(because my friends are silly girls and he has a crush on my DH) haha .he showed it to me and my outfit was baggy and unflattering. i need more fitted clothes!!!! just mixed some vanilla bean torte powder in my coffee...yum! have a great weekend everyone and think protein, water, veggies, protein, water, veggies !!we deserve to be healthy and thinner!

Weekend with family! What do most families do when they haven't seen each other in a while and want to catch up? We eat and visit!! Have stayed away from the chips, dips, crunch, salty, sweet stuff. My mom cooks the best ham so not to offend I had 2 bites plus ate my veggies. Don't think I had enough water since we were out shopping most of the day. By the end of the day I felt like I needed my old "expand-o-waist" pants. WI is on Wednesday so water, water, water, HNS, HNS. Have a great rest of the weekend.

It's a new day, and I'm hoping to feel better, but still wondering if anyone else had problems with feeling so tired and fatigued. I did a little research and it seems like this could be a normal problem starting a high protein diet. But I'm wondering how long it will last. And has anyone else had leg and arm cramps? I'm guessing that it could be another symptom? Whew. This is not easy!

Hi...
I would suggest you bring these symptoms up with your consultant and they may need to change your menu around a bit.. I am on maintenance and did not have the fatigue, but did have leg cramps, and then they went away. Did not have them for long. Let us know what they say.. It is a great diet, so hang in there.
Patzi

sotsmom.
I will keep your sister in my prayers.. My sister has esophageal cancer and have been down this route, so know where you are at right now.

Isn't it wonderful to be off High Blood Pressure Meds.. I was able to get off them, also. Wishing rest of your tests are all great..

Patzi

Patzi

Thanks so much for the kind words. I have gone through this cancer thing with my best friend (lost her last year at the age of 43), and two days later we got the diagnosis on my sister. At the time she was a Stage 3, so we were optimistic after her mastectomies and chemo/radiation that we could see a full recovery. I guess the Stage 4 progression shouldn't have been a surprise, but it really deflated my family. It helps to know that others understand the emotional roller coaster we are on.

On a positive note, WI today had me down another 2.5 lbs. I signed the 25 lb board, and next week I should definitely hit "onderland:!!! WOO HOO! I haven't been there since before my beautiful baby girl was born almost 19 years ago!! My husband and I are planning a celebration that will not include our favorite restaurant this time!!

Hi all. I got off only a teeny .5 of my 1.5 gain last week. I switched to MetaBalance and had quite a few deviations plus more meals out than usual. While changing it up was good, I found myself making excuses to have a little of this and that. I don't quite have the hang of it yet- i was like a robot on the green menu. but I struggled to get that plan right at first too. The goal with this change is not to get so hungry between meals, especially between lunch and dinner. I have been losing steam too often.

I just had a nice lunch salad at home with arugula and other greens, 2oz. chicken and 1oz reduced fat feta cheese. Tossed with olive oil and sprinkled on some fancy "finishing" salt I got as a gift. Thats probably not smart...Then some blueberries and a cup of decaf with just a smidge of Vanilla Bean Nectar. I can handle this today. I'm staying around the house and working on some pillow covers I have been wanting to make since oh... Christmas.

Reading the health issues of the loved ones is hard. I am so sorry, and I too have been there with my dad who died of brain cancer. This is the hard part of loving someone, isn't it? Try to take care of yourself through it.

Lost 1.5 pounds this week on the metabalance menu (started on Monday). I decided I would strictly stick to the menu this past week to see if I could lose on this plan since I wasn't having much luck with the meta slim. I only have 2 more weight loss weeks left and will start stabilization on 6/23. I know I won't make goal by then but maybe I can lose a few more pounds during stabilization. If I don't I am okay with that - my clothes fit nicely, I am off the high blood pressure med's and I feel much better about the way I look. My fat percentage is still higher that it should be but I am not going to stress over it. It has been a long hard journey but well worth it.

CAMASWA: the only suggestions my counselor had for me today regarding the metabalance plan was to make sure to get in all 3 HNS's (and even a 4th one) and to eat the snacks in the order they appear on the menu. She said not to switch them around. They also sent me a new metabalance menu that has a few additional choices (although I think they sent me the wrong one since it says it is for women in the weight range of 170-200)

Yay Faery! That's a decent loss!!! I'm motivated knowing you did that well.

I used to always say in the summer I swell and it must be the heat!!! If I dont drink my water I retain even more water and show a gain every time. If I'm not running to the bathroom every hour and if my urine is not clear (tmi!) then I'm not getting enough water... It can be as much as a 3 lb gain in a day!

I can drink two Mich ultras , be on plan with food all day, get my HNSs in and show a gain the next am. My weight fluctuates like crazy in the summer! I've refilled all my water bottles and have one on the deck, in the living room, kitchen and office. And in my car as always! Reminders everywhere to drink up! Btw. I am ordering water when I order beer and limiting myself to one or two. We have been eating out more because my DH and I work so much and he's too beat to cook. Had the Boom Boom lean burger yesterday which is a lean burger w feta cheese, hot sauce served on a half head of Bibb lettuce. I did have a few sweet potato fries and even took half of my dinner home Lots of lettuce that filled me up

Regarding the HNSs, the more I drink ( I try for four a day) the more I lose and it seemed to lower my body fat.. That's what my counselor told me anyway. She said more protein builds muscle and depletes fat... And every time I drink water she said to think about it washing away the fat!!!
Chug a lug!!!
I'm going to need from all of you motivation and please share on plan meals, salads, desserts, HNS shake ideas!!! I'm going to be checking the menu forum too!!!

Bigdog are you on maintenance?