Thanks Camaswa! I've been feeling like an alcoholic, so I'm glad I'm not the only one that has an alcoholic beverage once in a while :)

I've actually been doing really well on the eating part, even while having drinks (and the day after). And I drink a ton of water as well, so that's good. Having a friend abstain with me is a great idea; now to find someone like that....

Went for my WI today and lost another 3 pounds since last Thursday! Down from 220 to 167! Only 27 more to go! WHOOT!
Sonnyrae....don't beat yourself up. This is an entire lifestyle change and no one can expect to change totally in 6 months or less! Maybe try getting non~alcoholic drinks when you are out with friends. Like a frozen drink without alcohol. When I freeze my ready made drinks I say I am "fooling myself to think I am eating ice cream". Maybe you can fool yourself too!

10 Day Festival here!
 

Hello everyone :). The ten day Water Festival started here this past Saturday and it's been crazy! Different bands every night, ski shows, air shows, shrimp boat tours, crazy weekends at the sandbar :swim: Beer trucks, tiki huts, hot dogs, BBQ....did I mention it's TEN days?? And I love live music so have been every night! Good networking...... Good thing is we have to park quite a distance away so getting lots of walking in and we really haven't been sitting down much ---dancing a lot ::). Been eating my eggs , fruit, Greek yogurt, salads, etc and just having a couple beers or vodka sodas...mixing that up with lots of water, and diet. Coke. The sandbar every weekend. More cocktails....but have been in the river swimming and walking the sandbar. And drinking tons of water. I'll probably see a gain of a few pounds but I know I'll get it off quickly. Then family will be visiting for the next two weeks, then a mini camping vacation at the beach. Lots of challenges but with my core foods on plan, lots of water and more hNSs. Should be okay.
Fluffy. Thinking about you and prayers sent your way... I'd check with your counselor and see if they can your plan on hold
Happy birthday Camaswa!!!! You are very motivating staying on plan like you do
Sonnyrae...Cheers! I'm a slow loser because I chose to go out and have cocktails but I limit what I drink and chug a lug the water when I get home and the next day. Girls just want to have fun!!! Lol
Ok it's late and I have an early sales meeting in the am. Thank goodness for coffee! Forgot to mention I wore a new bathing suit on the sandbar and everyone was commenting how I've lost weight! Been wearing more form fitting clothes and two local photographers in town posted my pic on their website! Even the pic of me in my bathing suit a friend took didn't suck. I really need to tone up my arms but was like wow ...that's really me? So very cool

BigDog -

Go, you in the swimsuit! I love reading that and hearing your stories - you are such an inspiration. I'm with you on toning up the arms... just looked at some photos from our Yellowstone trip and I love the picture - just my batwings don't look that great, ... but I'm going to try something my Zumba instructor suggested... 20 minutes every day for 30 days doing some toning with light hand weights... tricep kickbacks, curls, overhead chest presses... just make sure I'm doing proper form to "feel the burn"... She did it and you can definitely tell the difference...

Kittyconni - congratulations on the weight loss!

After my confession last night, I jumped on the scales and I'm actually down a pound!!! Definitely helps to get all the water and HNSs in. :). Yay

Rachel. I'll definitely start doing those. My bat wings bother me the most. I never wear sleeveless stuff

Thanks for info

Started MRC July 11th. Down today 4 lbs. Lost 3 1/2 on pre-conditioning. Really wanted 5 this first week, but very thankful for 4. Saturday I can have my little tomatoes!! I have 2 big plants, and they have been calling to me every day. Thanks everyone for all the info, it's great to see everyone's ideas. My goal that is for 40 lbs by Nov. I'm not telling people I'm doing this, just waiting till they can see it and then I will tell. Planning to fly to CA to see my daughter in Nov., and can't wait to see you face!

Put my bikini picture up as promised :-O

Lookin' good, sonnyrae! Rock that bikini!

Sonnyrae is a hottie!

Go, Sonnyrae!

Beachgirl - welcome! I love that you're surpising everyone. It is alot of fun to watch people's expressions who haven't seen you for a while!

I am so frustrated right now. I have to go have an upper GI for my GERD, and they tell me I am eating too much. I say I am on MRC to lose weight. He said losing weight is good, but you need to stop eating as much. I have to talk to my counselor but it is very frustrating. And I have been stuck at this stupid plateau for way too long. grrrr.

That makes no sense. Did you show him the MRC diet? How could that possibly be too much? It's about as low as one should safely go.

WI yesterday and no change. I know part of it is I'm PMSing but part of me is wondering if I am drinking too much water. I'm literally drinking a gallon a day. 128 oz. I used to drink about 100 oz. So, I'm going back to my 100 oz. and see what happens. I'm also going on Meta-Quick for a week. I will bust out of this plateau one way or another. ;)

Galadreal - It does seem odd that your doctor thinks you're eating too much. They usually tout healthly eathing and drinking water and such. Does he not like the acidity of certain foods? Are there specific foods you could cut out or substitute that would make it easier on your GERDs? My mom has it and she was told to eat more frequently to help with the acid...

Jen - you can do it! I'm trying to kick myself back into gear after my vacation. It stinks this week because the day after returning from Yellowstone our church started VBS... and all.the.cookies. Yikes! I have allowed myself a few and I think that, combined with no sleep, combined with less water, combined with crappy choices on vacation has equaled some weight gain for me.

But, no more! Back to journaling every morsel, drinking at least 100 oz a day and getting my Zumba in! Oh, how this lady has missed Zumba!

Sorry, I should have clarified. I am eating too much at one sitting. Before I was on the program I was not eating big meals, but there was fruits and snacks between meals. He says the 6 oz of protien and 4-8 oz of veggies with fruit or bread is too much food per meal and it is messing up my GERD. I am still drinking about 100oz of water a day, but I have been drinking alot of milk (it is the only thing that helps with the acid when I ran out of meds) so weight loss had stopped anyway. I am so glad it is Friday, I am having a really really bad self confidence day and I feel like screaming and crying and hiding under the covers.

Gal, I don't know if you will read this or not since you have decided to quit. When you have PCOS, you need to be eating smaller amounts more frequently in order to keep your blood sugar levels more stable. I wonder if you could just take this some amount of food and split it up differently on your own, not with MRC. And you didn't mention it but does your dr have any thoughts about the HNSs?

Hi...
I had maintenance weigh in on Friday and stayed the same , 5 pounds under goal and I am happy about that. Wishing everyone a great weekend.

Patzi

My sweet 95 year old MIL passed on today. She and DIL were married 72 years. Would appreciate thoughts and prayers.

I am sorry for your loss. 72 years………….beautiful!

MRC Cookbook
 

Hi all! I am new to MRC and this board. I started the blue menu this morning and really need new ideas regarding food prep. I am thinking about purchasing the cookbook. Is this a good cookbook or is there another one you can recommend? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Have a super Monday!!

:sunny:

LovetoFish - so sorry to hear about your MIL. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family... 95 years of wisdom and 72 years of marriage is amazing...

Minic - I have the cookbook and it does help when I'm feeling "blah" and want something different... when the chicken and salads are a bit overwhelming I turn to it...

I have found a few good things in the cookbook, but I don't like the fact that most recipes require HNSs. I do think its a good investment, however, especially in the beginning. I haven't really found another that I would recommend. Occasionally I wil Google "low carb recipes"

Down another 3 lbs last week! Only 5 lbs from my goal. I even got into a bikini yesterday to take my daughter swimming. I certainly didn't look as good as I did 5 years ago in it, but I felt very accomplished! :) Looking forward to getting the last 5 lbs off -- these last lbs just seem to be hanging on :)

Since I have been on MRC (about a month) I have only lost 5-8lbs. I have no idea what is going on. I do have PCOS also, and have been following the plan throughly. I've only cheated a few times, when I seen that I wasnt losing any weight. I really don't want to give up, because I was so excited to start, but idk what else to do :( someone help!

Thanks for your reply Camaswa!

Go Sonnyrae, looking good girl! that's a great idea, to post headless :-) to remain anoynmous (sp?) i survived the 10 day Water Festival! oh, my. Monday thru friday, concerts downtown every night - different theme each night and on the weekends, anchoring on the sandbar with a thousand other boaters, drinking beer all day and eating lots of fried chicken, subs, boiled peanuts or whatever! since i drink mich ultra, did ok and truly limited myself and did alot of swimming and walking the sandbar. i drank alot of water and low cal. gatorade (45 cal) on the boat too. during the week, we had to park so far away so lots of walking...once in the park watching the concerts, we never sat down! and actually a few nights, i'd drink diet soda or water. took the skin of the chicken, the buns off the dogs, the crust off the pizzas, etc. during the day, my usual diet of eggs, greek yogurt, fruit, HNSs and salad w/ lean protein. becuz of the beer, i will wait to weigh in Wed. but will have to say everything still fits and the photos my friends emailed me of us looked pretty dang good. i really cannot believe it! my DH took a photo of me in a raft yesterday from the boat and i was OMG, i do not want to see it, and surprise, looking good.! of course a little stomach bloat - hey, it's a dang bathing suit, i'm menopausal and 53 years old!
i will have to say, my new pants are a little snug so i will be working on losing that couple pounds but so far, nothing has split and i can get in them! :)

Ladies, keep working the plan and try new items that are mostly protein and no or less carbs. this plan works!!!!! i just love it and feel great!

I don't know that the headless shot was intentional, but I certainly don't want a picture of me in a bikini with my face attached circling the interwebs. Maybe when I reach my goal, I'll change my mind :)

Saturday was spent at the water park. It could have been a day of complete indulgence, but I was in charge of bringing the food, so here was the menu:

Roasted Eggplant/red pepper dip with celery sticks (and pita chips)
Tomato/Cucumber salad
Waldorf Chicken Salad (made with fat free greek dressing) lettuce wraps
Almonds and cheese to snack on

Everyone LOVED it and appreciated the healthier food. I did have a couple of vodka sodas. Afterwards, we went to Red Robin and I was STARVING so I couldn't resist the basket of french fries. I only had about 8 fries, which wasn't terrible, and I ordered the grilled chicken salad.

I'm at 179.5 on my home scale; I hope that I'm there tomorrow at WI too!!!

Most people hit their first plateau somewhere around week 2-3 when they first start the program. It sounds like this is what happened to you. The trick is, not to give up, no matter what the scale says. Trust the program and keep eating on plan. By cheating because the scale didn't say what you wanted, you put yourself back at square one. When you eat off plan, you take your body out of fat burning mode. It takes at least 3 days of eating on plan to get back there again.

Must suggestion is to get back on program and fight your way through it. Also, ditch the scale. It sounds like it's doing more harm than good.

Hit a plateau
 

Hello all. I have so enjoyed reading all the posts. I started preconditioning on 7/13 and lost 6.2 pounds by last Thursday. I was super excited, plus my clothes are slacker these days. Well I spoke to my counselor this morning because the scale has not moved since last Thursday. I have being OP for the most part, drinking my water and HNSs. She told me that I had hit a plateau. So I will give it a few more days and not get discouraged. Super excited about the weight I've lost so far...

@SonnyRae- That menu sounds awesome! Would you mind posting the recipes?

I had my 6 week weigh in today. Down 11.4 pounds and 17.5 inches. I am so pleased with this program. Thanks everyone for all the daily support.

I would like to know if anyone else has experienced hair loss while on MRC. I've noticed an increased amount, but it could be the hot weather too. I would think that a high protein diet would support hair growth, not the other way around. I'm still having problems with fatigue too. The consultants always ask if I feel like I have more energy, and the answer is always no. I'm waiting for that energy!! I have fibromyalgia and should do a little checking into how high protein affects it. I guess that I could have a lot of factors at work here.

I did have some hair loss, but my center had no explanation saying if I was taking their vitamins, etc that I should not have a vitamin or mineral deficiency. This isn't the first time I have had hair loss from dieting - seems like when I lose about 20 pounds I notice more hair loss in my shower. It's back to normal now though.

Very disappointed right now. I ordered the spicy chicken salad from Pei Wei's. Little did I know that the chicken was COVERED in sweet and sour sauce until I got home. The description online said nothing about this, only that it was wok seared. I was starving, so I ate the chicken, wiping off as much of the sauce as I could. I haven't had actual sugar for SO LONG, only to be sabbatoged by a crappy salad :(

I'm very proud of myself. You ever had one of those days? I haven't been this angry at work in a long time. So much so, I contemplated quitting on the spot. That's happened only once before in almost 17 years here. Instead, I took my frustrations out on the pavement and ran during lunch time. Afterwards, I sooooo wanted to go get a Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich.

I didn't. Yay me!

Yay, Jen!

Wow, 17 years is a long time, especially in this day and age. What kind of work do you do?

Had maintenance weigh in and stayed the same, still 5 pounds under goal.

Congrats to all those that lost weight. Some impressive amts.posted.

I have not had any hair loss while losing weight.

Patzi

On day two of pre-conditioning. Last night I had a horrible headache that I suspect is from the lowered calories or maybe the lack of sugar...I'm not sure. I'm hoping my body gets used to it soon so the headaches will go away. I can feel one coming on as we speak. :-(

Jen34- my first week on MRC was rough.. but they warned me that would happen. Something about caffeine withdrawal..detox.. etc.

Patzi- congrats on maintaining!

JenB- way to go!

Jen..'
Yay you is right.. Good for you. You are an inspiration. Are you on full maintenance now?

Patzi