ok i have a question. i have this pasta sauce that's organic *got it discounted at work because one jar broke and messed up the labels on the rest in that box* and the ingredients list goes like this, organic tomato puree, organic tomatoes, organic onions, organic carrot juice concentrate *the only thing not on the menu* organic roasted garlic puree, organice extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, organic basil, organic black pepper, organic oregano, organic sage.

serving size 1/2 cup, 50 cals, 10 from fat, 1 g total fat, 330 mg sodium *sea salt though* 380 mg potassium, 9g total carbs, 2g fiber, 4g sugar, and 2g protein.

so how bad off plan do you think that wld be? like i said, the carrot juice concentrate is the only thing not on plan so i'm wondering how far off that wld throw me if i used it with the spaghetti squash and some ground turkey? i don't know how you'd measure it either since you'd have 4 oz of spaghetti squash then 4 oz of meat then this sauce on top, sparingly maybe? any ideas?

IMO, I don't think it would throw you off. I have little cheats here and there and it does not mess me up at all. Last night I ate two McDonald's chicken nuggets and about 6 fries because I was starving and had not gotten home to make dinner yet. This morning I had a half pound loss from yesterday morning. This past saturday I WI in the morning and ate OP all day until the evening I added some pasta salad to my meal and (I know this is bad), but I ate two twinkies and on Monday I had a 2.5 lb loss. I am not advocating eating twinkies because I am sure it can mess you up if make something like that a habit, I am just saying that I don't think little deviations will affect you. They always talk about being in chemical balance, but I dont buy into that BS. Don't get me wrong the plan is great and works, but I still think it comes down to calories in , calories out. It takes 3500 cals over your maintenance cals to gain a pound. Ok, my opinion, hope this helps.

Hello everyone, My name is Thomas and i have been doing MRC for about a month. I just joined this site today and thought i would say hello.

Hi MRC gang!
Sorry its been awhile since I have checked in. I just wanted to give you an update on the past week. On Wed last week I had a big binge day. The rest of the week I didn't nessesarily binge, but I went out to eat A LOT because we had some family members in town for my sons 1st communion. I tried to eat healthy at all the places we went out to, but made a few bad decisions (I drank a lot of unsweeted tea with caffiene) I had a handful of popcorn at home, a small piece of cake. I was thinking about how the old me compared to the new me. The old me would have been like "oh, I have people over, diet is off" then I would use that as an excuse to eat anything and everything. The new me was aware of every decision I made (good and bad). I went to the Golden Coral and only had salad and salmon...and then one small cookie, when the old me would have went CRAZY. I went out to a bar and only had water to drink and although I am not much of drinker, the old me would have had a couple of drinks. We went out to eat 5 times in 4 days. On Fri I weighed in and had gained 2.5, then had that big weekend and only gained .5 My mrc gal was very stern with me (which I really needed) instead of being like "oh bonnie, its okay, everybody cheats" or "don't worry, you will get back on track" She wanted to know why I made all of these decisions, what I will do to get back on track, ect. She said she is worried about me because she knows i haven't been below 199 in 12 years, although i have been to 199 several times. I just can't seem to break that number. I am at 203.5 and I feel like I am back on track today! When I think I only have 4.5 pounds to get to 198 it doesn't sound like much but it when I think about this is where I always fail, it scares me!
btw, I refuse to change my ticker...not until it goes down anyway!

Welcome; I don't have insight to the vegetarian plan but I think there is a thread on it.... let me look. Here's one: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169445 and also http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146932 ; why don't you try posting there and see what you get? I know there have been several people I've seen come through here with success on the Vegetarian plan.

Also, did you tell them you were a vegetarian and discuss your concerns when you were at the center? Maybe they can alleviate some of your concerns?

Hi Thomas! Welcome aboard! Make sure you check out the recipe thread!

The issue I see with that, is with the tomatoes, the onions, and the carrots. The tomatoes when cooked release sugar. The onions and carrots already have a high sugar content. Personally, I wouldn't use it. If you feel like you wanted to have sauce, you could put chopped tomatoes (with seasoning of course) on top of your squash, or even puree it and add it, and just barely heat it up (if you felt like you needed to). I do that often and to me, I like it much better that way. It's fresh and I know what's in it. I'll also sometimes add butter buds to the squash too.

Thanks Denise for the welcome....I found this site through the recipe thread, i have tried many of the recipies already and i love some of them, i just have one question about the speghetti squash, it says how to cook it, but it doesnt say anything about storing the leftovers, the squash i bought is the size of my head and i KNOW i cant eat it all, so i was wondering if anyone had tried freezing it after it was cooked...

so I feel like a total idiot! for the first time in 3 weeks I forgot to bring my pills with me. Is this going to royally screw me up? I'm eating correctly so maybe I'll be okay?! Anyone else forgot their pills at a meal?

I was told at my MRC center that freezing it is just fine. Though I have no idea how long it will keep frozen. My best guess is you'd want to eat it in 1 or 2 weeks from freezing.

My understanding is the pills are very important to the program. Here's what I do...

I bought one of those huge bead boxes from Hobby Lobby (or Michaels) that has at least 15 areas inside it. I marked one column as "Breakfast", one column as "10AM", one column as "Lunch", one column as "2 PM" and one column as "Dinner". And I also have one of those smaller, 7 area pill boxes from the drug store. Every 4 days I get all my pills out and fill up the big box and my little drug store pill box with the right pills. I keep the little pill box in my purse all day and set my phone with alarms to remind me to take them. Then at night, I refill the little pill box with a row from the big bead/pill box.

I'm crazy about organization. You should see my MRC Binder I put together.

I've never had to freeze it but I looked it up and found this...

Yes you can. I had so many that I had grown on the allotment that I had too. Wash, slit in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place squash, cut side up, in shallow baking pans and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.Remove from the oven and cool until the squash can be easily handled. Pull a fork lengthwise through the flesh to separate it into long stands. Pack into freezer bags, seal, label and freeze. To reheat frozen squash, partially thaw, then steam, stirring occasionally until tender but still firm, eight to fifteen minutes.

Yes, I have forgotten my pills during program and it's just fine. They are just an addition to the program (an enhancement) but without them, you'll still lose. Just continue on your eating plan, and move forward. You'll be fine.

Hello welcome! How are you doing on the program? If you have any questions just ask!

that's kinda where i'm thinking but i'm also considering taking it into the center and just asking them. that's what i did with the chili mix i used. i'm just afraid of being told no because i REALLY wanna try it! *sigh* i've had carrots in salads off and on the whole program, some you just don't see to pick out and other times i was so hungry i said forget it and ate everything they put in the bowl. that hasn't caused any gain but it probably caused a slow down overall. *shrug*

welcome and enjoy cuz there are some really smart ladies here!

Glad you're back and back on track. My weekend wasn't great on program and I came home and my scales were up 3 from where they were before :-( So I chugged water like it was going out of style *was really thirsty too* and when I checked this morning the 3 were gone and another along with it so I think it was water weight. You'll get there soon enough and what I keep telling myself when I'm thinking how I just messed up is "what wld you have chosen had you not been on the diet at all?" that REALLY helps put things in perspective for me.

wldn't the sugar already have to be in the tomatoes for it to be released when cooked anyway? same for the onions? those are both on the list and *i might be wrong, don't have my paper to check* but i thought you cld cook everything on your veggie list *who wld want to cook lettuce though? lol* thanks for the information. you've done so well on this program!!

i've never freezed it because making the sauce from the book with turkey makes it ok to have everyday. i ran out of sauce though and put ICBINB on it and sea salt and pepper and it was edible that way too. i miss my noodles that way!