Love to Fish - that is a GREAT inch loss. I seemed to be more amazed with the inches than the pounds for some reason. Don't get me wrong I loved seeing the pounds drop too. Maybe it was because the meaurement were taken less often. Your trip sounds fun. The planning will pay off. Prayers coming your way for safe travels.

Sonny - It does get better after about 2 weeks. Just keep with the program and you will be feeling GREAT in no time at all.

So many new people. Welcome. I seem to have forgotten that in the last post. Good luck with the program and visit often. This place is great for advice and support.

Sonny - I think the first few weeks are rough, for me. I agree about carb and sugar withdrawals... personally, I think the body is trying to rid itself of that so you get cravings, headaches and such. Drinking a lot of water really helped me to flush everything out...

Love to Fish - congratulations on the inches! Nice! Prayers for your journey... you sound like you have everything under control with planning your meals and groceries. That's awesome... it always makes me enjoy the camping/weekend trips when I plan what I'm going to eat - I don't have to worry about anything but cooking and putting everything together... and, maybe it's me, but I think grilled chicken, veggies (loves me some squash), and salads all taste better at camp :)

bigdog - It sounds like you have tried a variety of products. How does the Proti Diet lemonade compare to the Syntrax Nectar lemonade? Taste wise and if you can tell a difference in the protein levels. Is the protein oatmeal from Proti Diet plain or flavored? It's that good? I appreciate the advice before I going buying in bulk.

sonny - I am on day 8 now and am finally starting to feel better. My friend, who is also on MRC, said that days 7-10 were the roughest for her. That's when she indulged in 2 Milky Ways! After she told me that, I'm being very careful not to cave in on these last days on the blue sheet.

Bigdog- Can you tell me how many servings you get out of a 2lb tub of Syntrax Nectar? It doesn't say on Amazon. I'm just trying to figure out costs. I'm thinking it's about $1/serving, which is better than $1.50 for HNS's.

Thanks in advance!

I'm camping this weekend too and had been kind of worrying about the food. When I read this it dawned on me: if you don't take it, you won't eat it. We seem to have a lot of food rituals around camping for some reason, but I am going to change it up. For instance: he loves campfire cobbler with canned blueberries in the Dutch oven. So I will bring fresh blueberries for me. When he has a brownie, I will have a bar. I keep the house so clean of off-plan foods, I think he is looking forward to camping to "carb out" as he puts it. It is at a high elevation so will be cold at night (30s), which makes me want hot chocolate - need to remember an HNS cocoa. Once again, planning is so critical....

I have not been on the scales all week. It has been a relief to get off that rollercoaster of anticipation every day, but I also don't feel like I have lost anything. MetaBalance really feels like a lot more food. I have hardly eated off plan at all and have felt good physically. We will see how I do tomorrow. In a way I am not sure I care. I'm still waffling about where my goal should be and had wanted to get the bodyfat at 30 (I'm at 37), but I am growing tired of being so hyper focused on this.... I have so many events coming up that make losing difficult, sigh. This is one of those vulnerable moments when I could give it up. But I think it is better to have a goal (even if it is highter than i originally envisioned ) and feel proud of having met it that just peter out, don't you?

The 2 lb. (32 oz.) Syntrax has on the label...1/4 scoop, 130 servings. 25 cal. if you're using as a HNS, 3/4 scoop would be 75 cal. so the container would be about 43 servings per container. (is my math right? 130 /3 =43.3)
i actually use a full scoop so it's 100 cal. and 1 oz so for me 32 servings.
23 G. protein, 0 fat, 0 sugar, 0 carbs for 1 oz. if it's 3/4 scoop 18 G. protein.
The Protidiet Pink Lemonade is better than the Syntrax Roadside Lemonade in my opinion and sometimes i'll mix the 2 together... the roadside lemonade is more frothy when blended... it is good w/ fresca or diet Sierra mist...
the oatmeal w/ the dried apples and cinnamon is really really good! (indiv. packets) and the reg. oatmeal is good - just like oatmeal- i add splenda and cinnamon. i don't eat oatmeal that much - just a few times in the winter. and i used to make some MRC cookies. bleah, not good at all and when i made them ate all of them in the pan. hello? hot baked stuff even it's not good - yep, ate them all!
Diet Direct has all the nutritional info for all this stuff if you want to research (even if you order elsewhere) even has reviews which are great if you want to see what flavors people prefer.. you can also order the variety pack which gives you 13 different flavors for approx. $19 - great way to check them out before spending $30+ for the big tub. i keep those in my car and camper so i'm never out of protein if i need it :-)

Protein rocks :love:, carbs are the devil :devil: LOL!

Camaswa, if you lived closer, i'd drop by and make you take a long walk with me! then we'd stop at a downtown bar and you could have a glass of wine and i'd have a mich ultra. we would talk about how far we have come and that you wear a size 10! and prob. smaller! i'd say, wow, you look great in those jeans and have you been working out? you are so muscular and so motivated working out w/ your trainer. what? you threw away another box of godiva chocolate. Wow, you are way stronger than me, girl! and how many inches have you lost? that many? OMG, that is incredible. your high body fat if they measured it correctly in the first place which i seriously doubt is because you are well endowed. remember this discussion we had on the board? LOL! i hope im not making you mad and that you are laughing!! i'm menapausing too and just ask my DH, i am irritable, bloated and hate my hair, feel like im fat, blah, blah. he has to remind me how far i've come and hey look at me now!! :-) Celebrate your successes, girl, because i am your biggest fan!!!! and menapause is a b***h. makes you retain even more water. sounds like also when you weigh in, it's after work or even after a work out. i can weigh in the am, do a 4 mile walk, and weigh when i get back in and i'm 2 lbs heavier.
are you taking anything for menapause? my doc recommended EstroNatural (the generic from Walgreens that is similiar to Estroven Extra Strength) has B-6, calcium, black cohost extracts and is supposed to reduce hot flashes and night sweats. not sure if it will keep me from wanting to slap some of my coworkers but we will see......(and i'm a normally cheery person!)

Bigdog, Oh my god, you made my day! Gotta run to a meeting but I'm so glad I took a second to check back in. Hahaha. Thanks! More later.

Thanks Bigdog! With 43 servings a container, that brings it down to about 75 cents a serving (through Amazon)! I'm pretty stoked now. I kept sucking protein drinks down and visualizing money going down the drain. Using the Syntrax Nectar will help.

The money for all the HNS was a lot for me to get over at first but then I finally said it's not money being thrown away...It's money I'm using to better my health and there is no better way to spend it than making me healthy!

Fluffy - That's how I feel too. It is money well spent if I get results! And so far the results have been remarkable. There is not a day goes by that someone notices the change, and the brand new size 16 pants my DH made me buy are baggy now. Gonna have to shop for some 14's, and that puts a HUGE grin on my face :D.

Big Dog - you are a HOOT! I wish I could put a face to all the personality you put on here. :joker:

The inches are GREAT! Congratulations!!

Y'all be careful, and have fun. I can't wait to hear about your trip when you return. And as for staying OP...you GOT THIS!! :)

Just spilled vanilla pudding mix all over myself and kitchen *sad face*

Hi ladies--

FYI, here's the email I got from MRC about my complaint on the yucky cocoa:
Thank you for your comments concerning our cocoa product. We are very sorry your experience was not the best. As you noted we did change the formula, and while the product is perfectly safe to use the flavor key is not right. We are correcting this, and will have a shipment to our centers very soon. When the new shipment arrives please contact your center for a full exchange.

I went ahead and exchanged my 4.5 boxes of cocoa at my center today for two boxes of high protein shake mix--my site manager agreed to do it since I've been a client for 2 years.

I also mentioned to her that I'm 1 weekend away from completing my yoga certification, and that I'd be willing to teach an intro to yoga class at the center if she'd like. She got all excited, and the 2 women standing behind me in line immediately said "I would definitely be interested in that!" So, it's looking like I'll start the first Saturday in July. We didn't discuss details (frequency, etc.), but it sounds like she'd like to have me do it weekly. I don't know that I'm willing to do it that frequently without getting some kind of compensation (it's a bit of a hike to the other side of town for me, so gas and wear and tear on my car), but I certainly don't mind doing it a few times.

I started my certification program because I want to bring yoga to people like I was--overweight and/or injured or physically limited. These are the people who are usually too intimidated to take a yoga class in a gym or studio, but they are the ones who would likely benefit the most! My first two teachers believed in me and provided me lots of support and modifications until I was strong enough to do it on my own, and I want to do that for others. So I'm excited to be able to do just that! :D

If you'd like an inspiring video about what yoga can do, check this out (be sure to have the kleenex nearby):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448