Packaged Meals and Clinics - Nutrisystem, Medifast, Jenny Craig, EtcFor support and questions about diet meal delivery programs, or weight loss clinics that offer prepackaged meals and products.
Hi, I am new to the forum. My husband and I are thinking of starting WS soon and I was wondering if you had to eat the breakfasts and meals or can you just do the shakes and bars? The meals just don't sound appealing to me.
Nimble - TOTALLY normal. A plateau is what irish is going through...something that last weeks, if not months. One week is just a normal variance. Remember, weight loss in not linear. There will be weeks. At this point, do not deviate at all. Take up the tape measure and start looking at your inches. The weeks you don't see the scale move, you WILL see the inches drop. Most people experience a brief stall between week 3 and week 5. And then it picks back up the next week. Just hold steady and you will see a loss again. Promise. Join my challenge if you want
Lulu -
You want to eat between 900-1200 calories a day for the female (don't know male stats on the top of my head.) If you plan to do the WS protocol, then yes, you need to eat all the meals. That being said, you don't have to eat all the meals. Confusing, eh?
I don't eat all the meals. I am under a doctor supervised meal plan that highly involves WS. I also exercise so I need more than what WS can give me. So I follow a plan that is kind of a mix between Ideal Protein and WS. Really, I have no home. Since I started WS originally, I've decided that this will be my home for the time being.
I still eat between 900-1200 calories (okay, I have days where I eat more than that, but those are heavy exercise days. ) But, I only eat two shakes a day and a snack bar or dessert. Sometimes, I will have a forth shake, but it isn't a WS product. The rest of my food is the real deal.
For what it is worth, the WS products are REALLY freaking good...it actually surprised me how much I actually like them. I am a super taster and food tends to be gross to me, so it was a rather pleasant surprise. I find I actually miss having my spicy mac and cheese or my sloppy joe. Things I would never eat prior
But, if you are dead set you have no interest in the foods, I can get behind that. Pre-packaged foods are kinda gross looking and smelling, even when they do taste decent I recommend however, if that is the route you are going to take, to check out the Ideal Protein threads, especially the ones about alternative products (WS happens to be one of the alternatives MANY MANY MANY IP-ers use as the taste is FAR superior to most other products.) Those ladies (and gents) can help get you started. Here is a link to get you started if you want to go this route.
Regardless of your choice, I welcome you to 3FC and look forward hearing about your successes!
nimble yep, as zoesmom says,perfectly normal. Remember, you've dropped 16lbs., in a few short weeks, now your body has to adjust. This is why we always recommend taking measurements at the start. Trust me, when you hit a plateau, you will know. This one I hit is a doozy, it's been going on since mid-April.
Lulu.
I use a lot of the WS food. For the most part, I do the breakfasts and lunches, I personally like the packets. I can get up in the morning grab a packet mix it with water and it's ready. I don't have to think about it or figure anything out. I use them for lunches for the same reason, I am usually so busy, they are quick,easy and require no thought. Like zoesmom, some of these things I would never have eaten, prior to WS.
Unlike zoesmom, I am not under a doctors supervivion. I am doing this on my own.
Whatever you decide, I look forward to reading your posts,and hearing about your progress.
I lost 2 lbs last week (my first week). I can live with that. So much better than the few ounces I lost my first week of WW. Onward, and downward....lol.
Welcome Lulu and hubby.
I agree with nimblegranny. I like the prepackaged meals. I take M-F worth with me to work and have them there so I know I won't deviate. They actually taste pretty good. About a year or so ago I was on another plan that had prepackaged meals the same as Wonderslim but either my taste buds were funky or the food just wasn't that great and I gave up after about a month. And I like the idea of not having to do that many dishes and cleaning up afterwards. There is one that I don't like that much but it is passable. That is the cream of chicken soup. Don't be afraid to doctor up the pancakes with some vanilla extract and cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice.
I stayed the same this week which is very good for me. Have a great day ladies.
I did WW a few times over the years. While I believe the program is good, I do not believe it works for everyone. A couple years ago, I was doing the program, when they had that big overhaul. I gained weight on their new program (I later found out, most of their leaders did also.) My WW leader was great, we tried everything to figure out what else I could do, nothing worked. I called the corporate office to ask some questions, the woman I talked to was so rude to me, I went back to my meeting and informed them of what had happened. They were as shocked as I .
At that point I decided that I would no longer deal with a company that was willing to take my money, but not take the time to help me figure out a solution to the problem.
Up until this point, I have been very successful with WS. Obviously, I am trying to break this plateau, and sooner or later it will happen. Preferably, soon, because this is rather tiresome.
punmama Staying the same is good, especially after your visit to your cousin's. Hope you enjoyed yourself.
I do not like the WW program anymore either. I don't like the idea that most fruit and veggies are considered a "free food". I have a problem with eating too much fruit especially watermelon when it is season. Needless to say I was doing so and gaining weight. I also have to watch my sugar intake and some fruit have a very high glycemic index, watermelon being one of them. If the old WW program were still around I would be back there. That is why I like WS. It is a no brainer and when you stay focused you feel good. That doesn't mean to say you will have a loss every week, but you will feel good that is for sure. And those sugar cravings will go away.
I had a minor gain. BOO! I am retaining water...I guess my runs in the evening are counter productive when the weather is a nice hot 90's range. I figured I was okay on my water consumption as I get a good 90 ounces a day. Might need to increase that a wee bit more to get rid of this water weight.
irish - you'll get out of your plateau eventually Remember mine a few months back? Gosh I got so peturbed over that! My doctor had recommend "confusing" my system by upping my calories to my BMR (which was roughly 1800 calories) for a five days and then go back on plan. I ended up with a 5 pound gain over that, but I also ended up jump starting my weight loss again and have been losing steadily ever since. Might be something to consider? Knowing of course that it likely will net a gain for a brief while?
I've never been one to hide the fact I am not happy with the taste of the vanilla shakes. Which is sad considering I usually prefer vanilla. I happen to keep some on me at all times as I like to put them in the occassional diet root beer and have a "root beer float." And today...I found use #2.
I had bought some blue-raspberry Mio substitute at Kroger a few weeks back. I had done two things this morning...one, put some squirts in my water and forgot I had done that. Two...was hungry and realized I forgot to pack a shake packet in my lunch. Luckily, I ALWAYS have the vanilla. Of course, I don't like the vanilla, but hey, beggers can't be choosers. Anyways, I opened the vanilla and dumped it in my water and...crap. I had the blue-raspberry junk in there. Dang it. Dang it. Dang it.
Oh well, what is done is done. I shook my bottle up and let it set for a bit as usual, then held my nose and...HOLY CRAP THAT IS GOOD!!!!! Like, seriously! Like, a new freaking favorite good! I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before, afterall, I put mint in my chocolate shakes. But wowza! Yeah, time to buy some more vanilla...dang it all!
Oh....and I know the consensus is most are really not all that fond of the cake. Being a baker, I haven't given up on it entirely yet. I *think* I found a work around to make a good cake that is diet approved...I'll let you know a tad later this week when I have a chance to test my theory.
zoesmom Yeah, I was thinking the other day about when you went through this plateau thingy, and your doc having you up calories. So bravely, yesterday, I did up my calories and of course, this morning the scale showed it (up .2). I am going to brave it, and see if it this will shake things up a bit.
Otherwise, I am going to have to adjust to the fact that my body likes the 140's ( I just crack myself up.)
Quote:
I shook my bottle up and let it set for a bit as usual, then held my nose and...HOLY CRAP THAT IS GOOD!!!!!
I love when one of us finds a new twist by accident!
BTW can't wait for the cake recipe.
punmama Your welcome! Glad you had a good time. Yep, I am going to hang in there. One way or another I am going to see the 130's... it may be a looooong time, so in the mean time you all will have to listen to my tales of woe.
Well, I've been annoyed by not losing last week and I don't want to let it get to me. So I'm counting my accomplishments that do stand, and the biggest one is that I have been on plan for 5 weeks. That's a long long time for me to stay true to a plan, having been a Monday morning dieter before and failed. It proves to me that I am really committed, and that the plan is working for me, because I haven't found it difficult at all, and who would have thought it. For me the packets are convenient and easy and I like them.
Also to eat out and automatically order the food I do for the L*G, I just never could do that before. I don't love salads, but they taste good to me now and my L*Gs at home taste good too. Something about knowing there is still dessert helps me not to feel deprived. Anyway, I DON'T feel deprived and that enables me to stay on track as well.
And my clothes aren't tight anymore. I am wearing what I call my Friday pants (casual day) and I used to dread Fridays and don't anymore. I have more options too, wearing a few things I couldn't before.
AND I'm drinking my water! That is beyond great for me, but I admit I've discovered grape and lemon Propel and it's like crack to me. I hesitated about starting on the chemicals in my water, but I was hating my water and not wanting to drink it, and now, I am loving my water and drinking more than I was before! And water is my friend!
I feel like I've got new friends here on this thread, and it really helps keep me going. It's great to have access to others like irish and zoesmom who have already forged the path!
Anyway, at 5 weeks I wish I was farther along but I have still accomplished a lot. I'm still motivated and I HAVEN'T QUIT! Counting my blessings today.
1 packet dark chocolate drink mix (not the pudding mix)
1-1/2 teaspoons Hershey Special Dark cocoa
2 packs Splenda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg white
2 Tablespoons applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all together and place in two cupcake wrapper (spray them with Pam...trust me) in cupcake tin in oven at 325 for 15-18 minutes (times may vary.) Do toothpick test to verify when done.
MINT CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1 packet chocomint drink
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream OR skim milk
3-1/2 to 4 ounces water
Mix all ingredients together and place in fridge to "set".
Once cupcakes are cooled, frost.
Makes TWO servings
Nutritional Values per cupcake
Calories: 128
Carbs: 11g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 18g
Fat: 3g
Sodium: 361mg
Worth pointing out that while these taste MUCH better than what WS sells us, but it isn't identical to real cake. These WILL deflate a good deal...not sure I can fix that as the protein is heavier than cake flour. All in the chemistry. Somethings I can't get around. The "frosting" makes a ton for jsut two cupcakes (perfect if you like a lot of frosting!) If I were to do this again, I would probably make a double batch of cupcakes and use the frosting for all four, cutting down on the nutritional values a wee bit. All in all, a decent substitute. Not anywhere near what I would deem as perfect, but a heck of a lot better than the alternative!!!!!
irish - YEP! That twist of fate has brought to me something of pure awesome! Hang in there...your plateau will ease up sooner or later
Nimble - What a GREAT way to look at things! I have decided that if weight loss takes me two years, I am okay with it. Afterall, the longer I live a healthy lifestyle to reach my goal, the more likely I am to keep at it AFTER I reach goal. Hang in there! You got this!
Lulu. 
jeanie - well done...keep it up!
That's a long long time for me to stay true to a plan, having been a Monday morning dieter before and failed. It proves to me that I am really committed, and that the plan is working for me, because I haven't found it difficult at all, and who would have thought it. For me the packets are convenient and easy and I like them. 
