Did any of you do the hormone testing (where you spit in the tubes)? What did you find out? I overnighted my tubes back in last week, but haven't heard anything yet.

Have any of you experienced any dizziness? What about hunger in the evening after supper? I'm having both lately. I'll probably mention it when I go in Saturday.

I've also decided to try going for weigh ins only once a week (on Saturdays) because I've been going late Tuesday evenings and early Saturdays, mid-morning. My whole life, I've always weighed a few pounds more in the evening than I do in the morning, so this weighing at different times is messing with my head. It's very discouraging to see bad or no results on Tuesday evenings, even though I usually see a loss on Saturdays. (I'm really sleepy, so I hope I'm making sense.) I know the clinic will frown on me doing it once a week, but I think for my psychological well-being, I need to do it this way. At least try it.

Congratulations to everyone for sticking with it and seeing results!!

OMG, I was eating deli turkey last week too! I forgot it had more sodium then cooked turkey. Between that and TOM no matter my weigh in Monday didn't go well. I've already lost a pound or two since then according to my home scale. Thanks everyone for your kind words of support!

I've decided I won't freak out about one week's lack of progress. If it happens again, I'll wait and see if it corrects it self the next week, and if not, I'll do the Medi-Quick for a few days to try and get out of a stall. It's kind of odd how so many of us had a tough week, but hang in there everyone and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone see some progress this next week!

On another note, my puppy is doing very well. She is using her leg almost like normal and I'm thrilled. Now I just need to keep her from running and jumping until her muscle is fully recovered. (Thanks luvs2read. )

I also made what I'm calling "Cheesy Beans" tonight and they were great so I want to share. Black beans (1/4 c.) with onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, chili powder, grated fresh ginger, and oregano. I cut small chunks of cheddar cheese (2 oz) and melted them over the top in the micro for 1 minute. It was really good! I had a grilled portobello mushroom with it. It was a super fast dinner to make to boot.

ginpea ~ I decided against doing the hormone testing after a couple of the women here on the blog suggested that I do it thru my doctor instead.

Has anyone used the Internal Cleanser? One of the consultants suggest that I use it to get thru my plateau, but she couldn't tell me much about it. She just kept saying that it will cleanse me out. Do I need cleansing? Anyone know what's in it?

I also did not do the hormone testing. I didn't want to spend the extra money at the time.

I went to a MRC cooking class last night and met some nice people. I had zuchini and it was really good. We also had honey mustard chicken and the new lemon HNS drink. The best part of it all was talking to people who have been on program a while and they had great recipe ideas. One man hasn't missed a cooking class yet. He's lost over 150 pounds. What an inspiration.

They didn't give me a choice to do or not do the hormone testing, so I did it since it came with my program. I paid $279 for 17 weeks. It's a lot considering you have to buy HNS, but honestly if you just take the program fee, it doesn't end up being much more than WW, for example, goes so much slower. Either way, if I lose the weihgt, it's worht it. I'm curious to see what comes of hte hormone testing, too. I don't plan to buy any supplements, so it doesn't much matter, but I'm curious anyhow.

I'm also curious about the internal cleanser. I have a whole bottle of that as well as something called "metabolic appetite control" that my mom had leftover from her plan last time. I never took either one, but since they were free, and I have them, I might try them, I suppose. I plan to ask about them when I go in next time. I also have partial bottles of MRC-6 and cortitrim that I suppose I'll take until they're gone. I need to ask about the dosage on those last two when I WI tomorrow.

I think I've begun to stall. My home scale hasn't budged for three days. Hopefully it won't last long. I've been cheating a bit wtih the bars-- having more per week than I should. I love the convenience of not having to cook lunch, though. I'm stopping that today, so hopefully it will help get teh scale moving again.

Hi Ladies--So, I was down on my home scale today--so am now at over 30 lbs! I'll WI tomorrow for my "official" weight, but I sure am feeling better about it than I did a few days ago. I've done meta-quick the last 3 days--well, my version of it. I've just done what has fit into the crazy schedule and it seems to have worked. Next week will be similar, as it is our county fair and my kids are very involved.

I'm really looking forward to getting back to a schedule when the kids go back to school. I can get back to the gym and really make a better effort. Have a great night!

Candi - when you purchase the turkey breast and bake or crockpot it - how do you season it? I keep thinking that it'd be kind of bland.

RaRaF - so happy to hear that you've pottied out lots of water and am down according to your scale. I hope that your official weigh-in tomorrow goes well also.

coarkkayaker - sorry to hear that you were up a pound. However, you know what you have to do to reverse that. Good luck with turning things back around.

JenB72 - congrats on your .5 loss! Hey, there's less of you and hopefully your stall is over.

lostcause - we just have to hang in there and keep trying. Good luck at weigh-in and let us know how it goes. I also weigh-in on Friday and hope those 3.5 lbs are gone, along with some of their friends!

ginpea - you have to do what is best for you. When I have a "bad" weigh-in, it messes with my head, so I understand where you're coming from. And you can go back to 2 x per week if it makes you become lax. Do you think having another hns after supper will help with your hunger?

victorialynn2 - the beans sound great! I'm a cheese lover and so tired of 40 calorie bread as my starch that I'll have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing.

ConnieInColorado - I have the Internal Cleanser, but have not been very consistent with using it, as I haven't had any problems going. I do know that the consultant said it works on your liver. The label includes chebulic myrobalan, amla
terminalia bellerica, micro crystalline cellulose, stearic acid, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, and silicon dioxide. I have NO IDEA what any of that is...lol...but maybe you can find more about it online.

brandy8188 - the cooking class sounds like a great idea. I'm going to look at my center's schedule for next month and see if they have one planned.

tkdtara84 - Good luck with getting your scale to move in the right direction. I haven't had any of the bars yet - what is your favorite?



I've begun to get tired of the food that I've been eating as it seems I have the same things over and over again. Today was day 1 of my trying to spice things up a bit. If you have the cookbook, what are some of your favorites? Over the next week or so, I plan to try chicken fajitas, island chicken, taco salad, turkey meatballs, pizza, and tuna. I saw some of the recipes in the sticky and some in the cookbook. I haven't made it through the entire sticky yet, but did I read something about making an MRC "brownie?" If so, does anyone have the recipe? TIA.

I also have tried to increase my exercise from 15 minutes per day. For the past two days, I've walked for 30 minutes. Do you think it matters when you exercise?

Hi..
Had my maintenance weigh in today and gained 1/2 pound, but that is ok, as I added back turkey bacon, and took more liberty with some things, eating more and it worked out ok.. Still 4 1/2 pounds under goal.

Someone asked about seasoning turkey breast in Crockpot.. I use Herbs de Provence herbs, or Savory herbs by Frontier, or regular poultry seasoning from supermarket, with no salt and pepper. Have also made it with stewed or diced tomato on top seasoned with oregano and basil, garlic and whatever cheese you are allowed, melt that last hour it is in the crockpot.

Congrats to all that lost weight and those that are struggling, hang in there, it does all work out.

Walden's Carmel , is this any good? I bought their peanut butter and it is terrible... Nothing like peanut butter.

Now, will see what I will add this week...

Patzi

luvs2read - If I bake the turkey, I rub it with a little oil and then use a few of the Mrs. Dash Salt free seasonings. I've only baked 1, since on program. I usually get a smaller turkey and cook it in the crockpot. I use a box of chicken broth - it's Pacific Natural Foods - Organic, free range, low sodium chicken broth. For 1 cup, it only has 70mg sodium. Compared to all other chicken broths - this is amazing! I found it at Walmart with all the other broths. Ususally next to Rachel Ray's or Wolfgang Puck's broths. Then I add poultry seasoning and Mrs Dash spices. I still rub the turkey with a little oil and rub in the spices. I cook the turkey upside down so the breast soaks in the broth and it stays really moist. If it still needs spicing up, then I add "No Salt" & Pepper. And make the mock mashed potatoes.. YUM! I think I'll go buy a turkey and make it this weekend Just wish there was a gravy recipe. Being from the south - everything tastes better with gravy.

For everyone that's had a rough weight loss week - just hang in there and stay positive. I know the drowning feeling when you aren't showing a loss or even if you have gained. Just remember if you are doing everything right, the weight will come off eventually. And that comfort food that you want to eat will probably make you feel even worse after it's all said and done.

I went for WI this morning. I had to start taking an antibiotic on Wednesday due to a boil in a very compromising spot My Gyno was booked through next week so she just called me in the script. Well, last night I couldn't take the pain anymore so I went to a walk-in clinic and they lanced it Anyway - I'm doing MUCH better but still very sore down there! I wasn't sure what the scale was going to show this morning. Between the antibiotic and the pain I was going to be happy with just maintaining.

Well.. down 1lb! Which means 2lbs away from 70 and 10lbs away from 250 which is what I weighed when I graduated from high school.

I hope everyone has a great OP weekend! Keep up the great work and stay cool!

Still a bit frustrated, but not going off plan. Still stuck at 164.

Went to weigh in today and gained .4 again. I had a nice chat with my consultant though. She tried to motivate me into losing these last (now 7) pounds. She also put me back on the yellow and then blue menu for ten days starting Monday. That's just my update. I hope everything is going well with you all. Have a good weekend and no cheats!

Patzi, I am glad you are working your way through Maintenance with such luck! I hope to have your same luck. I have tried the caramel. It's pretty good.

JenB72, Sorry you are feeling frustrated. You are so close now, don't give up!

RzerbackCandi, Great job on the weight loss this week! Hope you are feeling better!

luvs2read, I don't have my cookbook in front of me, but I will try to remember to look when I get home. There are some recipes that I loved!

luvs2read-- I've tried all the bars at MRC and most of them from dietdirect. My favorite is the caramel peanut-- not "just like" a snickers bar, but reminiscent, at least. They're definitely not unpleasant, and I just like the change of pace from the protein, veggie drill. One of my favorite/most used recipes from the book is the mock snickerdoodle. I had it for breakfast this morning, but I often will use a different flavor of pudding-- lemon or chocolate instead of vanilla-- and omit the cinnamon. It's a change of pace. I was getting tired of my normal turkey sandwich for breakfast. When I did this the first time, my standard breakfast was cheese on toast and an egg, but then I'd also have 1/2 cheese, 1/2 meat for lunch, and as I thought that might be cheating a bit, i decided to do turkey instead of the egg this time. I think I"m going back to the egg and cheese. It worked plenty fast last time, and I enjoyed my breakfasts a lot more than I do these days.

I tried making my own turkey breast for the morning sandwich, but it just kept sticking in my throat-- probably mental, but I hated it, so I went back to deli meat, but that's getting pretty old now, too.

JenB-- way to go for not going off plan. I'm frustrated for you just reading about it, so I can't imagine how you're feeling. You're so close. It has to come off sometime soon. How are you doing on the weeks you have left of your program? I can't remember-- have you tried metaquick? That always kicked me out of a plateau.

I have my WI today, so I'll be back to report later.

RaRaF- that's great that you hit that 30lb. milestone. I remember hitting the 30 lb. mark and that's when there was an undeniable visual difference in my body shape.

Connie- I've never tried the Internal Cleanser. I still get a little help from the first HNS I take in the morning. But if you don't feel constipated, I don't see the point in buying it. Just my two cents.

victorialynn and tkdtarea--hang in here. I guess most of us had a not so good week.

luvstoread - I think it's important that you get the exercise in. Supposedly working out in the morning keeps your metabolism up all day but sometimes evening is a good time to get it done and maybe let the day's stress out of your system.

Junie--I'm glad your counselor was encouraging. Sound like you've got a plan to change things up and make that scale move in the right direction.

Jen--good for you for not going off plan! I ate an extra chicken breast yesterday and thought I'd reversed all my work but I was DOWN a pound this morning.

Patzi- everytime I read your posts I feel a little better about my own weight loss journey. You're sort of canary in the mine for me, lol. I'm very encouraged by your staying power.

Maybe the trend will turn and we'll all start losing again.

WI today and I was down 1.5 today. That's 8.5 total! That was the shot in the arm I needed. I've been doing .5 down each time. I know it is still going down, but it wasn't the 2-5 lbs. per week.

Going to my class reunion tonight. I plan to have 1 glass of wine so I guess I'll have to work out more tomorrow.

Jen: Maybe you just need a big steak. I've read somewhere that that's what you need to get off a plateau. If nothing else, it would taste good.

Good luck to everyone over the weekend. Congrats on the successes and I know those who didn't have weight loss this week probably lost some inches.

Take care

Well, I lost a pound at WI today. I was hoping for more, but when I read about so many of you who are stalled, I feel guilty for wanting it to go faster. It seems like I'll have a 1 lb. loss at weigh in, and then next time it's 2 or 2.5, and then 1 again, so maybe next week will be a really good one. After next weeks, I'm going on a weekend trip, where I will go off at least partially. I'm so nervous about what I'll gain back.