In reference to Jen and bad day at work:
Not funny but another newspaper I was at, our boss would go nuts and since we were outside sales we would get the heck away from her out of the building and meet at either TCBY for ice cream or Applebee's for dessert! At another job I'd power walk on the pier on the river till I cooled down (much healthier). But the ice cream breaks saved us from doing something stupid and getting fired. I do remember getting sugar free or light yogurt ;). Our boss was so crazy we would walk in the office and ask our coworkers, Cap on or cap off? LOL!

I switched up my weigh-in time from AM to PM and I'm now at 222.5 (down from 236.5) and lost 19.5 inches in two weeks. I'm thrilled!!! I thought with moving my weigh-in times to the evening, I would weigh heavier that first time, but maybe all those lunchtime walkings and my BodyPump class are paying off. :)

Happy Wednesday!!!

I work for a chemical company. I am the Quality Coordinator and am responsible for policies, procedures, and making sure everyone follows them. I'm also the "Chemical Hygiene Officier" (OSHA term) for the laboratory which means it's my responsibility to ensure the lab is run in a safe manner (I have a bachelor's degree in Chemistry).


Patzi - Just a couple more pounds to go before I switch back to maintenance. My plateau finally broke so it's super motivating. :)

Thanks JenB,

I appreciate your post on plateaus, it gives me encouragment. You've been successful, so it has to work. I had such high hopes for quick weight loss, but slow it goes!! I will re-read your words often.

Hi..
This is a great program. I am on maintenance now, but it was not quick. It was slow and steady mostly, but there were plateaus, but I made it. It is the best thing I ever did for myself.. You will get there, just stay focused, on program, and the weight will come off.. This is a great forum. Would not have made it without the support of all these fantastic people.

Patzi

Meta-Quick question
 

Hi all. My counselor has put me on Meta-Quick for the next three days to try to get me out of a plateau. My question may be TMI, but....

Is there some kind of laxative element to the ready meal shakes? About 7 hours after drinking the two shakes required, I had a sudden and urgent need to go potty. Maybe this was a coincidence, but I thought i would ask to see if any of you have had the same effect. If that is the case, i am not sure that I want to continue with it. Just not something I am comfortable with while working.

Thanks for any info any of you can give me.

Oh wow! I could tell you were super smart! That is awesome. I was an English major...couldn't even make it through chem. haha. Off-topic, sorry everyone!

YES! I had this happen the last time I tried MetaQuick. Let's just say it was more than an urge. Since then I only have one shake in a day. there is something nasty in those things. The find of fiber, maybe? I do like how filling they are, but whooooeee, never again.

Hey, Sots Mom -

Same here... I usually have that affect if I have more than one per day... but sometimes it's nice to use it if I have a need to do that...

Congratulations to all that losers/maintainers and what-not!

@sots_mom--Thanks for the warning of the ready-meal shakes! I've never had one (or the meal-replacement bars), but was thinking of getting some next month.

If it's available, would you be willing to post the ingredient list? Maybe someone can spot what could be causing the laxative effect?

Hope you break your plateau soon!!

To those that asked for the recipes for my water park picnic, the chicken salad was from Skinny Taste (great website!) http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/05/s...orf-salad.html I used less mayo and more Greek yogurt. I don't think you need any mayo, actually. I also subbed the red grapes for green and left out the pecans. It's not entirely on-plan, but it wasn't horrifying either (and it tasted wonderful!)

The roasted red pepper and eggplant dip was from Barefoot Contessa's recipe book. This one is similar: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/i...pe2/index.html I substitute a little tomato paste for the tahini. Again, not completely on-plan but great with celery in place of pita chips.

For the tomato/cucumber salad, I just cut up some home grown tomatoes and an English cucumber and tossed it with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Simple, yet devine :)

On the meal replacement shakes................I haven't experienced the sudden and urgent use of the potty, but they make me want to eat things I shouldn't. For example, I had errands to run today at lunch so I had a chocolate shake and I am sitting here now talking myself out of getting into the peanut butter jar!

SOTS MOM - are you talking about the ready made shakes or the ones you have to mix with water?

Faerychic - they are the ready made shakes...they taste great, I was happy, UNTIL...

rachels77 and camaswa - Thanks for your insight...I think I will lay off the shakes...I might be able to do it on a weekend, but not on a work day...just not the thing for me to do :)

simi - the ingredients are as follows: filtered water, protein blend (milk protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, whey protein concentrate), cocoa (processed with alkali), sunflower oil, inulin, natural and artificial flavors, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carbosymethylcellulose, sodium phosphate, DATEM (diacetyl tartarc acid esters o mono- and diglycerides), potassium phosphate, salt, carrageenan, sucralose and acesulfame-potassium (non-nutritive sweeteners), sunflower lecithin...

WOW...I can't pronounce a lot of those words, let alone tell you what they are!

@ sots mom -- thanks for posting the ingredient list. Maybe the carrageenan is the culprit for the bathroom, err, issues, since it can cause inflammation in the GI tract for some individuals. Dunno though. I thought maybe the list would have sugar alcohols, but it doesn't. Those tend to have me suffering.

Scary, not only can I pronounce the words, but I can draw the structures. Yup, I'm a geek.

Sodium phosphate may be your culprite. It's sometimes used as a laxative.

Jen- too funny!

Stressful stressful last couple of weeks. I feel the stress is definitely having a bad affect on my loss. Up one pound. Got so discouraged that I had a couple slices of pizza last night :cry: Hoping things will get better.

Back on the wagon today..

It happens ..............the important thing is that you're back on the wagon today:goodvibes

Oh, how I HATE green salads!
 

I started MRC 12 days ago. All is going well - I have lost 8 lbs. so far - yay! My problem is that I really don't like green salads, and that is all that I can come up with for a quick lunch that includes 8 oz. of raw veggies. Can anyone help with a better suggestion?

Thanks so much!

That is a great weight loss. How long are you on this diet on your plan where you can only have 8oz. of raw veggies for lunch. I was on Meta Slim, and that diet was not for long. Are you only allowed the raw veggies, or can you have the cooked of 4 oz. instead of and are you not allowed any protein with the raw veggies?
Patzi

Well my week of pre-conditioning is nearly over (as of tomorrow). I had some tough times and still morning are rough for me. I feel very weak and "unstable" in the mornings but usually by about 11am or so I'm feeling better and remain that way for the rest of the day.

I've lost nearly 6lbs as of this morning!

I am nervous for tomorrow's menu (the green one) because it's even less food and I worry that my mornings will be even rougher. I am looking forward to the protein drinks, so maybe that will help my shakes in the morning.

I will also say I'm not crazy for how MRC does business. They're very elusive and do not like to be forthright with answering questions. My counselor is all smiles and sunshine until I start asking specific questions...then her facial expression changes and she gets that "put upon" look. Oh well, I can deal with that...I'M LOSING WEIGHT!

I feel as though I wasted my money with the hormone test. Another area where my counselor was rather deceptive. It's called a saliva swab, but it's anything but! What you have to do is far more than just swabbing your saliva! And since I'm losing weight, what's the point of the hormone test now? I wish I would have forgone that and saved my money, it's not like my menu changes based on the results of my hormone test. But done is done.

Looking forward to next week even if I am a bit nervous about the menu. My counselor said I'll stay on the green menu the entire time, but from reading here and other places, it seems people move THROUGH menus. Is my counselor being evasive yet again?

I am on the green menu of the Meta-Slim, so I just looked and I can have 4 oz cooked along with a protein. The problem is that I need to be more prepared if I am going to have cooked veggies. When lunchtime comes, I guess I need to have some meals prepared that I can just heat up. It kinda seems a little different to me to eat a "hot" lunch, especially in the summer! Any simple suggestions that I would be OK eating pretty much every day would be much appreciated!

I took a six month vacation from MRC and I'm back! I just made Ranch dressing using the packet of HVR and yogurt, it was great I liked it so much better than the cottage cheese.

Jen34 - I was on the yellow menu for days 1-4 and then blue for 5-10, and after that I started green. My starting weight wasn't that far from yours and my goal isn't also, so I'm not sure why you would be on green only. I have found that depending on the counsler, I learn different things almost every WI. It's pretty strange, but I am losing weight.

NewYearsBaby - I have a microwave vegetable steamer that only take 2-3 minutes and works great for me.

New years baby, you could cook some veggies and marinate them in your salad dressing for a cold salad on the go. Then you could work just a bit of regular green salad in. Truthfully, I think you are going to find this tough if you don't like salad. And how will you ever keep it off? Maybr try experimenting with salad dressings that might make it all more palatable to you?

Well, I see you're 4 1/2 inches shorter than me, so maybe that's why. Maybe the BMI was different due to the height difference and that accounts for the menu. It would be nice if they'd explain the different menus and why a particular one is chosen for one person and a different for another. I'm just a curious soul like that...I like to have all the information I can get when I can get it.

Thanks ! I like that idea. I am the type of person who just needs a routine and stick with it. Same breakfast, same lunch, mix it up at dinner. I have my breakfast down pat: microwave egg on a piece of 35 cal toast, a cheese stick and a cup of decaf coffee. I'm going to just have to find the right meal that appeals to me for lunch and I'll be set!

Yesterday I went to the cookbook and make a cucumber and tomato salad - I'll try it today after melding flavors all night - hopefully it is a hit!:crossed:

newyearsbaby- I don't know if this is true or not, but my counselor said that if you eat the same thing all the time, your body gets used to it and becomes more efficient at metabolizing it. You actually burn more calories when there is lots of variety in your diet. I was losing very slow.. and was eating eggs/toast and salad everyday and they told me to switch it up, so I started adding yogurt and fish, more steak, etc and the scale has moved a little faster now.. but who knows.. could just be coincidence.

Just came back from a three day weekend in Minneapolis with a friend. While I wasn't completely on-plan, I stayed away from carbs/sugar for meals. I did eat a lot of nuts and feel like I had too much salt/fat. I'm back to regular menu and drinking a lot of water. I didn't even get on the scale yet for fear of weight gain. I feel like I just stayed the same, which isn't great either.

Next week will be a real challenge, as we are heading to the lake for a week. We are renting a lake house and will be cooking most of our meals, so I just need to plan accordingly.

I know there are a few of you guys that went on camping/river/lake trips, what did you all eat?

Hey, Sonnyrae!

I camp quite a bit and just got back from Yellowstone. For me, eggs and toast (40 cal bread) on the campstove or fruit and yogurt for breakfast... For lunch, salads with turkey or grilled chicken breast or turkey burgers. Dinner, we'd do salad or steamed veggies and turkey burgers or grilled chicken kabobs (chicken, green peppers, squash, etc... on the kabobs). String cheese also does well in the cooler along with some fruits in Tupperware containers (i.e. blueberries and strawberries)... I LOVED campfire cooking... everything just seems to taste better!

I also did turkey hot dogs, which weren't on plan but didn't cause me to gain, so I kept them.

Just make sure you plan your meals, drink lots of water, take your HNSs and have a great time!

Day one of the HNS drinks and so far, I am not enjoying them at all. Any tips on the best ones (I've had the Pomegranate, Green Tea/Cran, and Chicken Broth)? I have to have all clear until Friday.

I'm beginning to understand why this diet works, because you don't WANT to eat anything on this plan! LOL. Just jokes.

But really, if there are good tasting HNSs, I'd love to know which ones they are.

Also, I felt bad for a couple of the ladies who were in the food plan class. Both of them stated they detest flavored drinks of any kind. This will be a tough program for them...hope to see them again so I can find out how they're coping with these HNSs.

I think it's just personal preference as to what HNS's taste better. They all have a funky taste to me.

Here are the ones I like: grape, mixed berry, blue raspberry, wild berry, pink lemonade and cran/grape. Hot chocolate is good too.

HATE the green tea. Also don't like the choc or vanilla puddings. The cream of chicken soup is okay.

With the concentrates I mix with minimal water and just drink them like a shot.

Just my 2 cents :smug:

I appreciate the .02! I hate the green tea too...ICK! But hey, I hate being fat more right? :)

Thanks!

I hate the green Tea also. I have grapefruit almost every morning, take it to the gym with me. I like Wildberry Passion, pomegranate and lemon. My evening snack is iced capachinno.

I'm looking forward to Friday when I can have some of the cappuccino! I will MAKE it taste good, some how some way! (I hear some people don't like it much so I'm just preparing in case I'm one of them.)

I'm a fan of the Wildberry, but I use more water than it says to water down the taste some. Same amount of protein in the drink, just more visits to the bathroom. ;)

Also, I'm a big fan of the Strawberry-Banana Gelatin. Actually, I can't taste banana in it whatsoever. To me, it's a jello treat every day.

Yeah, I picked up some of the jello-o, need to get it made tonite for tomorrow's lunch. I'm having Wildberry for lunch today, hopefully I'll like it.

Hmmm maybe I'm the only one who likes the green tea! I like to mix mine with a diet Hansens pomegranite soda for a nice treat. But I do agree with mixing it with a little water and shooting it. It's too sweet to savor for me.

Love the gelatin also. I like to mix berries in it have have it for dessert in the evening.