I think that fireice brings up a great point that I would like others advice on too. What do you do when you find yourself in a situation where you feel you must eat what is served or you are being rude? I actually had that happen at work today, someone brought Ice Cream bars and gave me one like it was a really nice thing to do (which it was) but I was not about to eat it. I put it into the freezer and said thanks, I will eat it later, but I got the feeling I kindof insulted him...any ideas for what to do when you just can't be prepared ahead of time?

Well, if they are ordering pizza/eating in (I imagine that they are staying in because of the baby and ordering in 'cause it's 'easy'), why not just bring your dinner over in some tupperware/lunchbox? Just a few extra minutes and a quick comment about focusing on your health, and you'll be OP, eating something most likely far more healthy, and most important of all you'll be guiltless when it comes to eating. Sure, it might feel a little awkward to be eating something different than them, but who really cares about that when you are celebrating together and tiptoeing around the youngin'.

Celebrating doesn't have to equate to food. Have fun, enjoy yourself, and congrats on the move!

I have made it known to my co-workers/family/friends that I am on a 'diet' and that I am really watching what I'm eating and they're totally there for me and support me. I even went to a meeting at our corporate office and brought my lunch with me when they all were eating pizza/breadsticks. Trust me, boy was it tempting, but they totally understood!

Also, if you know you're going to a place where you're not sure what to eat, I have taken my fat/carb blocker with me and take it just before my meal (not that gives me license to eat what ever I want, but I know I have that comfort to offset something I might eat).

And I have yet to be with people that don't really know me. So, I can't say that yet.

Noahsmama- What do you use for a fat, carb blocker? Is it something from the center? How does it work? Sorry for all the questions again...Just trying to get all the info I will need!

Also Noahsmom-did you see my zebra and my ticker? I figured it out!-

Well, I have to admit that I do the same thing. I'll take the food item if it is obvious that they aren't going to take the usual "Oh thanks, but I'm cutting back on [insert food item]," and get rid of it silently. Or flat out refuse it if I can't squirrel it away to get rid of it later.

(I got very good at passing the small bags of chips that come with my lunch off to another coworker instead of munching on them myself. Heh, I probably would have asked a coworker if they wanted the ice cream once the guy walked off. No sense in me taking it if someone else would want it more.)

Usually if I keep saying that I am 'cutting back' on food items often enough the offers pass by my desk without a comment when it becomes apparent that I am serious about it. But you HAVE to be consistent for this to work. I mimicked this after watching another coworker pull it off. (I follow better than lead when it comes to these interactions, .)

But mostly I make it obvious that I am working on eating healthier (haven't brought up the term diet to anyone yet and don't plan on it with some because of 'teasing' issues), so I don't get the insistent 'here try this' very often, and I've gotten better at refusing. I used to be ridiculously bad at saying 'no', but you learn quick with some people.

Also, if I get plunked down at a table with someone's parents despite the 'oh, I already ate' line. I am very firm about how much of what goes onto my plate because I hate to leave food on it. It's your stomach/body, and if they won't work with you instead of piling on the bad stuff, that's their problem, not yours. Personally, I am not going to sabotage myself for their view of manners.

Wow, I came off very preachy. I hope this helps someone without annoying them at the same time...

Hugs to you both!

I, too, am very frustrated today. The last 2 times I've went for my WI, I've had the same lady. She questions numerous things in my food diary, and pretty much told me today that I can't eat out. I thought that was one of this program's "selling points"-- that you're eating "real food", and so you can eat out occasionally. I agree that it's better to always be able to plan your meals and eat/take meals from home, but that's not always possible with a busy schedule. I almost started crying, and she asked me what was wrong, and I told her I feel overwhelmed with all this. I feel that I've been doing great, and I'm losing weight at each WI, although I guess not fast enough for MRC! I'm telling myself that I asked for this (accountability), but I guess I didn't realize how "strict" this program really is. By the way, I met with another MRC lady the week before, and I liked her a lot better. Is it possible to request that you work with one person? I've seen 3 different people since I've started. I appreciate any words of encouragement/wisdom anyone can give me! I almost didn't post tonight because I didn't want to bring anyone else down, but I guess this is the point of this forum, to share the good and the bad times, right? Thanks for reading!

My center gave me a sheet about eating out and what to order in restaurants and to look at the menu ahead of time. They always said bring your own bread but you can order grilled chicken and steamed vegetables almost anywhere.

I would talk to your center manager about this person making you feel bad. My manager told us that we are paying for this and if anyone makes us feel bad we should let her know. She's fired people over that before because ultimately we're the customer and we deserve the best service. You do not deserve nor need to take stuff from anybody. If they're making you feel bad then talk to your center manager about it.

Good evening to all my friends....first I want to thank you all for another day of great posts and for those who answered my many questions that I always seem to bombard you with on a daily basis.

I called and made my appointment to join yesterday, which I had planned to start on Monday....today I got a call from my sister telling me there was a death in the family, so I had to cancel my appointment and left town. I won't be back till the day after Memorial Day, and then my daughters will be home the following week for a few days, so I don't think joining now until after they leave would be good for me since I will be pretty busy. So I set my goal to join the 2nd week of June. Which will be fine, as long as I can keep on doing what I am doing right now....but I'm pretty stressed out with the funeral coming up and just not feeling like I want to eat anything right now. I will try to stick with my large water intake and lettuce salads as much as possible. Kicking the caffene was easy, so I won't have a problem there. I do plan to keep on reading here, since you are my motivaters and I feel like you are all my friends. I hope this doesn't sound like a cop out since I have been so undecided for sometime about joining MRC, but I do really plan to do it, I want to do it...that's the main thing. Good night.

Yes it is a pill from the center called exactly that, "Fat/Carb Blocker." I don't know if it actually works, but hey, it's better than nothing!

And yes I saw your zebra/ticker!! They look wonderful! It's nice to add some color, isn't it? I like the ticker too so you can visually see where you've come from and where you're going.

My center acutally compiled a list of local restaurants with suggestions of foods that are 'program friendly' and I've used it tqice so far. MRC has also come out with an 'eating out guide' that is not so specific but gives you helpful tips/advice that I picked up on Monday. They always just advise to take the Fat/Carb Blocker ahead of time and just do the best you can and say that just because you take the pill doesn't mean that it won't reflect on the scale, but at least that might prevent some things from getting in your
body.

Also I don't know if you read my post about 3 weeks ago when I went for food instruction and they put me on the 'hypoglycemic program' which is 6 small meals a day. The lady that presented it to me was not empathetic to me and yes I actually broke down in tears because I just FREAKED out at the thought of having to eat 6 small meals a day. It was just so overwhelming. She was not really offering me any other suggestions. So, I haven't honestly seen her at the center since that day, which is fine by me! I like 'most' of the ladies at my center and one in particular who's the 'MRC Cookbook Queen.' She'll actually help you plan out a whole week's worth of meals if that's what you need. It's really awesome! She has given me so many useful tips/ideas.

I can't say that I blame you for wanting to wait. My mom is actually going to join on Monday and she said she wanted to 'wait' until after a big dinner on Sunday she's hosting and start then! I'm just glad she's doing it. And you're already making some changes in your life so you're definitely on the right track!

So I decided not to cheat tonight because my graduation is tomorrow and I wanted to be 165 for it (20 pounds lost) and according to my scale this morning I'm 166.4 so I don't want to do anything to stop the weight from coming off. It's just not worth it to me.

I am excited to go to WI tomorrow; I haven't been since last Tuesday because of finals so I'm hoping I can sign the 20 pound board tomorrow but if not I'll be pretty close to it.

Good for you!! Isn't that really empowering to say no? Of course I have cheated myself, but also have said no and it feels REALLY good!


I just tried a new item for lunch. I used a Ziploc Steamer bag, a gala apple (sliced), sprinkled it with cinnamon (to taste), and a package of Splenda, microwaved it for 1 1/2 minutes. OH BOY!! My 8 co-workers were really envious. They tasted/smell just like Cracker Barrell's cooked apples! Awesome pick-me up for lunch!

So I went to a class at my center last night after I posted all those negative posts. The lady that was doing the class was from another center in town and she's been with MRC for 12 years. I spoke with her a little bit during class and then quite a bit more after class and boy do I wish she was at my center. Unfortunately, the center she works at is a good 30 minutes away.

When I first came in to the class she actually asked if I was in maintainence. I told her no and that I actually had 12 lbs more to lose and had to drop my body fat another 6% and her reaction was exactly what I thought it SHOULD be..."WHAT?! You don't look like you have that much left on your body to lose!". Well I talked with her more and I think maybe I need to ask my center to enter me as an "athlete" body type on the body comp machine rather than a "regular" body type. This can drastically effect the body fat percentage reading. I actually am an athlete and prior to this diet I was working out 2 hours a day 6-7x a week. When I came in my for consult, the lady actually said numerous times "wow you're muscle mass is way up there. Almost double the normal person that comes in here". So...when I go in on Saturday I'm going to ask about possibly entering me in the body comp scale as an "athletic" body type and see what that does.

Another thing I spoke about with this lady last night was how I'm ALWAYS hungry. So many of you talk about how you're not hungry at all on this program. Well I'm STARVING! And it's not emotional. My stomach is growling and I'm shaking by 10am (I eat breakfast around 8am), I eat lunch at 12:30pm and then I'm back to shaking by 3pm. I don't eat dinner until 7 or 8pm so I shake all through the afternoon and early evening. This lady was very concerned by that and said I may want to try the meta-balance menu for a week and see if that helps with the hunger. I thought the meta-balance menu was for those 200 lbs and over. Or am I thinking of something else?

Anyway, I'm still discouraged and frustrated. I hope I can make it these last few weeks and drop the last 12 lbs and 6% body fat. I need to get off this program ASAP or I think I'm going to have a nervous breakdown!

From the sounds of things, you must look amazing if you got that reaction out of that lady! Congrats! I started at 216 and I was on the beige Meta-Slim Plus menu. Now I'm on the Green Meta-Slim menu. From your shaking, it sounds to me (and I'm no nurse of course), but that your blood sugar is plummetting. I use to have that problem around 10 each morning and since I've been on this program I've had no shaky feelings.

I just don't understand why you have 12 more pounds to lose?! That is just crazy! I only wish I had more words of wisdom to give, but I'm a great sounding board! Hang in there and we're all here for you

Thanks for "listening". I need to vent to keep me sane!