MRC July Thread
 

Starting the second half of 2012 with a BANG. :bomb:

July will bring good things, I just know it! Gearing up for a beach weekend get-away with my husband and daughter. More planning and prepping than usual due to the diet, but so worth it!

Happy July, y'all!! :D

WI at lunch and am ready to get these few pounds back off. I swear, I LOVE my center. I feel like I get to go to a weight counselor and therapist all in one.

Happy July!!!!
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Thanks, BigDog. Feels good to know I'm not alone. I think she'll be MUCH better once we're on the road... she's just a control freak that HAS to plan. I've already had to tell her more than once not to bring the snack cakes or cookies because my kids don't need them. Hopefully she'll listen.

I've packed some lite canned fruit for when we cannot get to the roadside sellers/grocery stores, some low-fat granola bars for the kids, and some lite sausages for the kids... also some air-popped popcorn and some light chips. I know they're not ideal, but I'm trying to pick the lesser of the evils for any snack attacks.

We're also bringing turkey, salad fixin's, spray dressing, and spray butter... along with ground turkey, chicken breasts and some squash and zuccini for grillin'... Also, some Melba toast and 40 calorie bread... Added some HNS, bars, and my supplements...

Any other ideas for some program-friendly camping choices? Want to make sure I think of most things...

Thanks, guys!

Oh this vacation kicked my hiney, and it is still kicking it.

The 18 hour car trip there and back, I could not drink much water, and ate pretty much what everyone else was, becuase trying to negotiate a restaraunt with 7 other people is like pulling teeth. Still I made the best choices I could, and walked 8-10 blocks a day and did not gain, but did not lose.

Now I am back, I have still not lost any weight (it has been almost 2 weeks since we got home) and I am just having a hard time sticking with the program. I will do really really well and all of a sudden out of nowhere *Smack upside the head* "look someone over there has chocolate at their desk, I know I don't need it, but I really want it". We don't have anything at home other than some fat free frozen yogurt, but whenever I am out I just have no willpower what-so-ever. It is like my willpower has not come back from vacation yet. ARGH!!

Any ideas what I can do to get myself back in the saddle, I am getting so frustrated with myself (the hormones from the last week have not helped that at all, and I am retaining water and all bloaty). Plus work is stressing me out like crazy. I would so quit my job right now if I did not need money. Curse you money!!

Happy July everyone!! glad you went in, Jen and faced the music and had a great session :-) when you said you could still get in those tiny clothes i figured you didn't gain too much.

Galad.... i do the same thing...once i go off on the weekend, i'll find myself sneaking a little here and a little there. like i can just do whatever i want. well, hello, i can't and i never really can again. not if i want to fit into my smaller clothes and feel great! my DH and i work so much so do find ourselves eating out more or getting take out. the Berry Salad at Wendys may not be ideal but it's way better than other things i could choose. got one last night and used my ginger dressing and only ate half. actually just remembered the other half is in the frig.
the way i keep on track is start immediately chugging the ice cold water...it sets the mood to eat right...and have the cut up veggies in zip lock bags and all your other stuff on hand.
Rachels...your list of foods for camping sounds great! we use the reduced fat cheese string too and i always pack my Syntrax powder and my mini blender... even when i don't stay exactly on plan, if i drink the HNSs and lots of water, i don't gain. it's kindof like if it's a bad food, i autom. eat less. i'm trained - yay!

I am doing the body in balance plan & getting my hormones checked my cycle is seriously out of whack I'm talking 3 week long periods since at least Jan, last month was the first time I had a 5 day cycle since jan & since I got the saliva kit after the 19-21 day of my cycle I had to wait until after this cycle except that I'm already 6 days late (my tubes are tied, no prego symptoms so its def not that) so obviously Im irregular well it says for irregular people to do the test 5 days before you expect your period, well I expected it 6 days ago so now I don't know what to do, whether to just go ahead & do it or what. can anyone offer any insight?

I had the same thing happen.. she gave me the test and I was a week late (hormone issues, not pg!) and she said to just go ahead and do it if I have a history of irregular cycles.. sure enough mailed the test on Friday and I started today.. oh well.. close enough. She already knows that she will be putting me on the hormone supplements for estrogen dominance and low progesterone (it's why I've had infertility for so long but drs never treated it)

Not sure what I'm thinking, but it's 89 degrees at the moment, heat index of 99, and I'm about to go running. Gotta keep moving. I've already drunk a HNS and about 50 ounces of water. Needless to say, I'm not gonna push it. Definitely not going for speed today.

Sick of Veggies!
 

I never realized until doing MRC that I am not a big fan of veggies - I get sick of them really fast. So far I have burnt myself out on cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts and zuchini. Currently I am eating a lot of salad (romaine, tomato and cucumber - but am getting sick of cucumbers too!) Just wondering if there are any veggie haters out there and what you ate? Anyone have any suggestions for preparing veggies? Maybe I just need more variety (I have roasted & grilled just about everything!)

Thanks!

I love grilled squash and zuccini on the grill with some butter spray,... yummy-o. For my salads, I always do a base of broccoli and cauliflower and green peppers but then, depending on my mood, I add shredded cheese, turkey, even tuna. Now is the time for tomatoes and I LOVE home-grown tomatoes with FF cottage cheese.

You might take a gander at the cookbook - there are some roasted asparagus things in there and I believe some squash chips which are good...

For the hormone things, I too am irregular. I just did it before I expected my period, but my period didn't come that month. My test was just fine and they had enough data to read it... no worries!

BigDog - thanks for the RF string cheese idea! I'll be picking those up on the way home! Also, I may not have enough room for the ol' personal blender... may have to do the shaker bottle :(

I appreciate your ideas!

I'm frustrated.. I'll admit.. I'm following the diet to the letter and stalled for 5 days now.. I'm only 10 day into the diet..seems a little crazy to me to have this much of a stall so early in the program. I understand plateaus.. I've been around the block a bit with diets, etc.. but man.. this is tough.. I've always lost really well on other diets for at least a month before a stall and then it picked back up within a day or two. My center thinks it's hormones and will start me on progesterone cream the middle of the month.

Happy July! This month has started out well with me. 22 inches gone! Unbelievable. I have my ribbon on my water bottle. Gotta drink up!

anjy-I know it's frustrating but you will start losing again soon. Make sure you are getting plenty of water and protein!

JenB72-You are brave!


Ah the sweet smell of buttery bread is wafting its way to my nose from the break room. Must mean its lunch time....

As far as veggies go, Im getting a little burnt out as well (on broccoli of all things-and I love brocooli!)
Since its been nice out, I do like doing veggie and chicken skewers.

Have any of you tried the mash cauliflower? I was thinking of doing it but adding in 2 oz of mash potatoes to help out the texture.

faerychic - I am about fed up with vegetables too! I try to go back and forth between raw and cooked and that sometimes helps. I also try to vary the dressing that I use. It's usually Walden Farms, but they make about 8 different kinds. I think that our salvation is that garden season is upon us and it doesn't get any better than this time of year! I've also tried stir frys and mixing my ground turkey in with zucchini or something else to make a ready-made meal.

anjy99 - I have been on the program a little more than a month and have also hit stalls in my weight loss. I'm not a good water drinker, but supposedly more is better. I also got the suggestion to try eating oranges and grapefruits and mixing my meals up so that I wasn't always eating the same things. We would all just love the weight to drop off, but slow and sure wins the race. I'm sure that you've heard that the slower that you lose it, the better. Chances are that it won't come right back on. I tried starting on the Big 3 to see if that would kick start new weight loss and I'm not sure that it helped either. But keep trying lots of things. Something will work!

Has anyone ever not lost weight by doing Metaquick? I did it for 2 days, just about starved myself, and didn't lose a thing!! What's up with that?

More like crazy! ;)

I always lose weight by doing Meta-Quick, however, it didn't show up until day 4 or 5 of doing it. Days 1-3 or 4, nothing, nada, zilch, zip. After that, I would begin to lose and in all, it was 5-7 pounds each time.

half way there...almost
 

Well, I weighed in today and am happy to report that I am down another 2 lbs. 1 more lb and I will officially be half way to my goal! I'm excited, but a little scared too. I'm so afraid I'm gonna mess this up. So much time, energy, money, etc. invested....I didn't realize when I started how EMOTIONAL this journey is. Anyone else feel this way, or am I just goofy? :^:

Not goofy at all sots mom. It is a total transformation and you are making your life better and you are right- its a big investment. It's emotional! Congrats on your progress!

Thanks TJGB...

One different thing I was able to try is a tomato salad. They had chopped up tomotoes and marinated them in apple cider vinegar that was sweetened with splenda. They had also fixed cucumbers that way. It really seemed to hit the spot and was just different enough that I want to give it another try. I think I may try doing the same with some sliced squash. I bet a few chopped green onions added to the mix would be good.

JenB72 - Shoot! I wish I had heard that before I quit! I would have stuck it out for another couple days. But I was starving and really craving fruit. I wonder why it works that way and why MRC doesn't tell you that? Does anyone else want to chime in on Metaquick? Like I said, I tried it for 2 days and didn't lose an ounce. It was very disappointing. Maybe it put my body in starvation mode.

We have heard bigdog rave about her Syntrax Nectar and I shopped around for the best price, but then didn't know what flavor to try. Hesitant to buy a big old tub not knowing if I would like it, I found that you can call Syntrax directly and get a sample pack of 14 flavors for $14 with no shipping added on. It's a one time offer per person, but it shoud be an excellent way to try all of their flavors. The phone number is 1-866-333-7403, extension 803. (They answer the phone "si03," so don't be thrown off when you hear that.)

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Happy 4th, Everyone!!!!


JLP...the only way to keep my hunger in check was drinking my water and HNS when the hunger pangs started with Meta-Quick. The center probably didn't say anything about delayed weight loss because it may not happen to everyone. The first few times I tried it, I would lose right away. Over time, my body changed and now it's a delayed loss, but the result is the same. I was very discouraged the first time it happened, but somehow I pushed through it and it paid off.

Thanks for the Syntrax tip! I have a tub of the fuzzy navel and I really like it. It is very similar to having orange juice, which I love. I'd also like to try the cappuccino and the vanilla, but haven't gotten around to ordering it.

Down another pound yesterday, but had several drinks last night (vodka soda, no extra sugar, but still...) I'm feeling a bit hung over and that is usually bad news bears for my eating habits. I love grease when I'm nursing the booze flu! Think I'll have some eggs with a sprinkling of cheese to see if that satisfies.

Hope everyone is losing! :)

Jolly - I love mashed cauliflower. I use a stick blender to get it mashed up really well. I put green chili and pepper jack cheese with it. I prefer it over mashed potatoes even. WAY more flavor.

sonnyrae - We haven't heard anything about the new bikini. . . . . I bought 2 new swimsuits (not bikinis though) and am going out with one on right now. I'm becoming a firm believer in "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!" We're all headed in the right directon, gals!

Happy 4th, everyone. Going to a Barbeque and am taking a beautiful platter of miniature veggies that I will have quickly blanched to get brilliant colors and take the raw taste away. I went to a high-end market and bought tiny zucchini, sunburst squash, multi-colored baby cauliflowers, snow peas, and asparagus. I had never even seen some of these before! I might drizzle a light vinegarette over it, not sure yet. I will probably also toss in some tiny tomatoes and Greek olives. Other than that, the meal is probably going to be very challenging: the host emailed that it would be beer, brats, potatoe salad, strawberry shortcake. That means even the berries will be heavily sugared. Why do people eat like this?? Says the self-righteous Camaswa. Most people will be happy to tuck right in, but now it kind of disgusts me to think of all that fat and all those carbs. Oh, well, it's just one meal. I just have to make sure to load up on what I brought. I will probably have a brat with no bun and some of the sweetened berries with no shortcake.

I spent some time in my closet today and as amazed to realize that during this month of no real loss on the scale, I have continued to get smaller. ALL the old jeans fit and some were looser than they were five years ago. So I measured my waist and it is 32 inches. That blew me away. If you read my concerns about my body fat, this does suggest that NwcGina is right and my bodyfat is indeed lower than the center's Tantia says. I'm going to try to stop obsessing, just keep doing my job. plus try to drink more water!

nebraska, that's a great tip on the Syntrax - thanks! great way to taste the different flavors. just got the cappucino and love it! it's like a mocha shake. love the Choc. truffle too. my fave lately because it's hot as he(( is the Vanilla Bean Torte mixed w/ frozen strawberries or peaches. good w/ cinnamon and ice too!

Camaswa, yum! the veggies sound great! i'm working my way through a salad now w/ ginger dressing... i have a hard time getting my veggies in most days... i never understood w/ Strawberry shortcake why it needs sugar? strawberries are sweet enough on their own. like the salad dressing non fat that they add all the sugar to. yuck!
All my girlfriends are at the sandbar getting drunk. those biat****! :-) my Captain is working so i'm chilling w/ my pups and reading all the crazy texts from them. we have a date tonite to see the fireworks and will prob. hang out downtown at the BBQ restaurant. they have a fab grilled salad w/ apples :-)

Happy 4th everyone!!

I never received it! The post office show it as delivered but it didn't get delivered to my house :( Old Navy gave me a refund which is nice, but now I have to find something else I like.

Onward and upward! :carrot:

Hi...
For those that need an idea on something new to eat, I have been making some ground turkey , zucchini burgers. Our favorite are the fat Greek Turkey burgers with feta cheese and spinach, but this is a new kick to it.

Just take your usual ground turkey meatloaf recipe, or burger recipe and add the following.. I never measure, unless baking, so will give ingredients in mine . I am on maintenance, but PLEASE adapt this to whatever MRC
plan you are on, or bring in to your consultant and have her do it for you.

20 oz. lean ground turkey
bread crumbs
approx. 1 cup grated medium size zucchini
Worcestershire sauce
garlic minced or garlic powder
dried or fresh parsley
1 egg( I use eggbeaters)
salt , pepper ( I use no salt)
onion powder, I grate an onion
Ketchup if you are allowed, or use some marina sauce or tomato sauce with
same thickness of ketchup. Use whatever your plan allows.

I cook these 3/4 of way and then freeze and take for my lunches to work with a nice large salad or another veggie, etc..When I heat up in microwave at work, they are fully cooked.

NB I have made this into a meatloaf also, vs. making into burgers.

Patzi

Patzi, this sounds great! I may just try a variation of this tonight!! Thanks!

WI in today and I'm finally feeling like my old self again. Lost 4 pounds since kicking my butt back in gear on Monday. To top it off, my center was running the extra weeks special for 4th of July and I got 3 extra weeks for losing more than a pound.

Hope everyone is having a good day!!!

Jen...'Great weigh in.. Good for you.. I knew you would do it.

sots mom... If you do measure ingredients, or add anything different, please report back, as I am always open to new ideas.. Thanks

Patzi

That's great, Jen. This is how it's gonna be: always course-correcting before things get too out of control. A lesson for everyone!

July 5. Ugh. I did end up drinking a fair amount of wine at the Barbeque, which lowered my resolve to stay away from the desserts. There were big gooey brownies in addition to the shortcakes, and I did succumb. I'm up a pound today as a result. And I don't feel all that great, either.... Excess alcohol makes me crave sweets, i think. Sigh. Back on the bus.

Get tons of water in today since alcohol dehydrates and dehydration can be mistaken for hunger. Hang in there!

Camaswa..
When I hit maintenance, I was told when drinking , ( I drink wine), omit all fruit for the day. When I am at a restaurant, I always have wine, and I have it with protein and veggies only.

Patzi

Yep, I have heard to subtract the fruit and usually I will do that. We are in the time of year when all the fruit is getting so beautiful that I hate to pass it up. Berries, cherries...it makes our dreary winters worthwhile.

And yes definitely I needed the water today!

I was dreading WI today - last one was 3 weeks ago before vacation. I lost 3 lbs. :jig: I think I should go on vaca more often:D Looks like everyone is having a good week

beach bound!!
 

We are headed out for a beach weekend. I have planned as well as I can, and think it will be no problem to stay on plan. Y'all wish me luck?

Have a GREAT weekend everyone. Enjoy life a little if you can! :)