And here when she said a visit Irene I thought she was referring to the storm coming towards Florida.
And I'm with Candi I called that visit Aunt Flow. Haven't dealt with that in years since I had to have a hysterectomy.

Tara - Thank you so much for your kind words on my day care situation. I thought today would be a bit better considering my sweetie was so happy in the backseat this morning. As soon as she saw the place, it was meltdown time. We're gonna give it a couple of weeks and re-evaluate.

Candi - Knowing you, you'll bust through your stall before you know it. It's like our bodies know we're about to hit major milestones and like to play jokes on us with the scale. Hang in there and keep us up to date!

Stone - Half the battle is knowing where you veered off course. Fix it now and you'll be back where you were in no time. At least you have a couple of days to right the ship, so to speak, before your weigh in. Good luck!

Little Edie - Thank you so much for that laugh! I needed that! Let's just say as a northern transplant (Philly to Florida), I am paranoid about hurricanes. I feel like there is a stalker out in the Atlantic right now. Lucky for me, it's going to miss us by 250 - 300 miles. I just find it bizzare that it's going to hit northern spots like Boston, dead on, as a Cat 1 hurricane. They really have no idea what they're in for (kinda like the earthquake yesterday). Besides, that, how did you re-enroll go?

Patzi - Congrats on getting back to 5!!!! You are amazing. I hope I do as well as you are when I get to maintenance!

Tami - Congrats on your loss!!! I haven't tried Meta-Balance, but I hope it's what you've been looking for.


When I weighed in on Monday, I told my consultant that I hoped just to lose a half pound by today's weigh in, just to say I was in the 150's. I woke up this morning, and the scales said 159.2, so I was hopeful. Well, I didn't get that at the center.

I got 158.5!!!!!!!

That's 2.5 pounds this week...while on vacation!!!! Unlike previous tries, I just proved to myself that I can lose weight and have a good time on vacation. They also did my measurements and I was only down 2.75 inches, bringing me to 50.75 inches lost. We think some of my measurements may have been wrong last month because there were a couple of things where I was actually up a half inch. Weird! Not letting that get me down, because in the end, that's 50.75 inches that are gone, gone, gone!!!

I've also decided to bite the bullet and move the goal post on myself. MRC and I had originally set a goal of 150 pounds. Being that I was post-pregnancy, I didn't know how my body would react. I've decided I'm not stopping until I get to 140. So, while I was almost at my original goal, I know me and I won't be satisfied until I am at least 140 before I start stabilization. I've read many of you lose a few pounds during that time, so that will be icing on the MRC-approved cake.

Jen..
You will do fine when you hit maintenance, and reason being as you are so dedicated to the program and yourself, and really working the program and by doing that, you have success.. Good luck to you.. You are doing fantastic.

Patzi

WI today and I'm down a pound. Not as fast as I'd like, but it is still losing. Slow and steady wins the race. Back to work tomorrow. My plan is to stay strong and stay OP. I know I can do it.

Well, I'm back from my re-enroll. Let me list the ways it was a disappointment.

First of all, it only took 15 minutes. I'm experiencing a sort of "the money's on the dresser you were fantastic be sure to lock the door on your way out kind of feeling."

Second, the "special" for re-enrollees was the same price I paid when I origninally enrolled a few years ago and more than when I had to add on 10 weeks once. I had to buy 20 weeks when I thought 10 was sufficient.

Third, the saliva test is mandatory. I may complete it, but I will not take advice on hormone treatment from a nonmedical person. As I mentioned to them, I'm already taking Provera for heavy periods and am monitored my by gyne for that.

Fourth, they were giving away free gifts and I wanted a pink tote bag and they gave me my millionth aluminum water bottle instead (sob). AND they WOULDN'T LET ME SWITCH!
Okay, a little melodrama with that but geezopete, really?

Fifth, they put me on preconditioning which I understand since I pigged out on Chinese and chocolate cake last night but I wanted to go right for the new menu.

Sixth, they told me to skip the food instruction class and just show up in a week to get my menu and supplements. I may show up anyway.

Seventh, I weighted MUCH more on their scale after lunch and not first thing in the morning before breakfast and all naked like on mine.

Okay, thanks for reading all this.

On the plus side, they thought 145 pounds was totally "doable" for me in my twenty weeks.

Another plus-I am going to be held accountable once or twice a week by someone besides myself.

Third, I will get measured regularly and I love to lose inches.

Fourth, I will get more emotional support than I get at home when I lose.

Sixth, I will have more choice in my supplements by going to the center. Now I order from Diet Direct and watch the poor Fed Ex man cower in his truck as my outdoor dogs bark and snarl at him. I'm getting tired of rescuing him from my four pound dogs and want to suggest to him that he needs therapy if he wants to continue delivering packages and is frightened by toy dogs.

So really, I'm excited and can't wait for pre-conditioning to be over. And I have defined my weight goal instead "just seeing what happens".

So here I go again.

I'm so excited! I just weighed myself this morning and I'm finally in the 70s. This is the thinnest I've been since living in Hawaii! Hopefully when I go home to Texas for a visit in Novemeber I'll be able to say I'm in the 150s and my family won't recognize me.

Thanks so much for y'alls advice and encouragement! It really helps a girl doing this all on her own out in the middle of the Pacific!


That is one of the funniest things I've read in awhile!

Little Edie-- I know what you mean about it being over so fast! It was the same for me when I re-enrolled. I think they feel like at that point they don't have to sell you on the program or really explain much about it. I didn't get a gift when I signed up, if that makes you feel better, lol.

They made me get the saliva test when I signed back up, too-- I did it just because, but I didn't buy anything because of it, don't plan to, and like you, refuse to take hormone advice from non-medical people. I do think I'll show it to my doctor out of curiosity, but I don't think there are any issues at all.

If you want to go to food instruction, then just go. I had a re-enroll class that was a watered down version of it, but it's nice to get a refresher because sometimes you forget little details. There were a couple things that I had been doing wrong the whole time last time, and I was on program for 9 months.

Pre-conditioning might not be a bad thing. Let us know if you lose weight on it. I have thought about going back on it after I cheated, but I never have. Sometimes I wonder if it would help by just giving me a break or bringing some variety in or something. If you lose, I might just try that next time I really start struggling to stay OP because of boredom or whatever.

20 lbs. in 20 weeks is definitely doable! You'll be there in no time. Plus, the re-enroll thing and having more accountability and support might just be the kick in the pants you need to finish up the home stretch. I know it got a lot more difficult for me mentally when I was 10-20 lbs. away.

Good luck, and let us know how preconditioning goes!

You crack me up!

My "toy" dogs will bite people! I live in an upstairs apartment and have a gate that blocks the boys from going down the stairs. When someone knocks, I try to jump over the gate and my one psycho dog nips at me! Even broke skin a couple weeks ago. And they go absolutely nuts! But it's just not the UPS people.. it's family, too.

Anyway - I still have 2 weeks left on my 24 week program and they are running the re-enroll special so I bought 17 more weeks. They didn't push the saliva test on me but they also know that I don't have a lot of money and I'm barely making it buying all the other stuff. And I didn't get a prize either! Oh well.

I hope everything goes great for you and definitely keep us posted!

Jen-I did the same thing with my goal! I even actually went to the preparing for stabilization class earlier this month, thinking I was going to stabilize this week. But, after that class, I decided I wouldn't be happy with my original goal, plus the 6 pounds they allow before having to resign. So, I talked with them and decided to stabilize next month (thank goodness I don't have to do the class again)! I lowered my goal (only by 4 pounds, but keeping that "6" in mind, I'd be okay with my new goal plus 6). Now, my hope is to get to my new goal before stabilizing and then lose a few more during stabilization, so I'll have that cushion that Patzi talks about!

This is a discouragement!! I don't want the test. They didn't have it when I first enrolled so it's not needed in my opinion. Is the saliva test mandatory everywhere? If so what's the cost for it? I figured the "special" wasn't going to be much of a special anyway. I got a card through the mail saying that they were running a special for re-enrollment so I broke down and called my center. Oh well guess we'll see.

I was going to see if I could skip the preconditioning phase but it may be a good idea to go through it after all. I'm just in a hurry to jump in and start losing big. lol

Thank you for posting your experience. I'll post mine. My appointment is Friday morning. I look forward to hearing how your progress goes and gaining encouragement from you as well as the rest of the MRCers.

learning2Bhealthy-- Yes, for me the saliva test was mandatory, but I was happy enough with the price and the number of weeks I got, that it didn't much matter to me. I didn't notice that it significantly raised the price. I think I paid $279 for 17 weeks, got four free from my last time, so 21 weeks. I also got stabilization/maintenance (not sure if that was just carried over from my previous program), and at my center if you attend 6 classes, you get 2 free weeks.

All in all, just make sure you're satisfied enough with the price overall if your center makes you get the saliva test. I think it's silly, but I didnt have to actually take it (I did, out of curiosity, but I don't see how they can "make" you take it) or do anything with the results, so I didn't really care.

Also, console yourself with the fact that you won't be buying much in the way of HNS (saw your post in another thread) or supplements from them. Overall, it should be relatively inexpensive for you, even with the saliva test.

True, I didn't think of it in that way. Last time I paid $298.00 for 24 weeks, a year of maintenance included so it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was worth every penny. I felt great. I'd pay that amount again just to feel that good again.

This reminded me of my sister and I last time. We signed up and went straight to a Chinese buffet. We actually told the counselor that we were starting in the morning cause we were going to have 1 last BIG eat out before we started. hehe.

I would never have the center tell me I would have to take any test. That is your option. I have bucked center from beginning. I do nto take anything unless I want to.. I would refuse it if you do not want to take it. Never heard anyone at center say it was mandatory,or as a nurse, would have had a fit. I can't believe they can do this. One time they insisted on hormone test and I told them I would call the main governing body of MRC and complain about these tacticsif they did not stop trying to sell me this, and they let off for awhile, but I guess that is how they make their money.It seems every two weeks or so, they are trying to sell me something, and I tell them I am not interested . Tuesday they were tying to have me do the iodine test, and I refused. week before that was the COQ10 drops they have, and I refused both, but had to listen to a selling on it.

It is infuriating, but I just stay calm now, as before I would become so uptight when they did this.

Hope this helps someone, as I have gone thru this and it leaves me with a bad taste, but overlook it, as the program does work.

Remember, the choice is yours, you have that freedom. My friend says it is not in her budget, and that is her excuse.

Patzi

When I signed up the way the saliva test was explained to me was it was included in the price. Like here we are giving you this test because you are signing up, not that I was paying for it seperately. After reading a few posts here that it was/wasn't mandatory at places I questioned it with my center. OH NO I paid 100.00 for it but that was a discount from the 199.00 if I did it at another time. I told them it would have be nice to know that because I was borderline if I had the money to start this now or would have to wait. I almost didn't do it. She kept going on that it was a discount blah blah blah. I finally said, I understand it was a discount but it should have been explained to me that I was putting out an extra 100.00 for a saliva test when I'm monitored by an immunologist and my doctor. I was a little more stern then I expected to be and she just stopped trying to explain. When I got my results I think the lady doing that was going to try to sell me stuff and I just took the results and said I would get up with my doctor.
I'm still a little upset that I paid the extra money and it was not explained that way to me but nothing I can do about it now. I had to ask several times for the lady to own up to the fact that it wasn't manadatory.

Patzi- it was odd. I told the counselor I was taking hormones prescribed by my gyne and she said, "Good. Now we can see if they work or not." I said, "I know they're helping-I don't have one continuous 20 day period anymore." And she said, "This test will help monitor your pills." I said nothing but thought there is no way I'm going to alter what my MD and I have agreed on.

Also, I told her I exercised everyday because I have partial paralysis in my left leg (foot drop) from a back injury and my left lower leg muscles will atrophy if I don't. She said, "We might have to cut that back to 4 hours a week because it will slow down your weight loss." I replied that I couldn't cut that back because is what improves my mobility and strength and I need to get back to my nursing job. She said, "I'll let you try it but if it slows you down we'll have to cut it back."

I am a little dumbfounded that someone would consider a quicker weight loss more important than rebuilding my ability to walk and strengthen a weak leg. But I know most people don't understand nervous system injuries or neuropathy.

I WILL exercise daily because it is important to my recovery and mental well-being. I spent three months using a walker last year and will not backslide and lose the muscle I've gained.