Hi ladies!

Wow...congratulations Jen That is truly awesome...your perserverence for so long is admired by me for sure!

Well, I recently took advice and bought the Syntrax Nextar variety pack thru Diet Direct...I had the Chocolate Truffle and LOVE it...where has this been all my life?!?! Now I have all these other flavors to try.. but I have a big container of the chocolate on the way!! Thanks to Bigdog for recommending this...limiting to one per day will be a challenge!! LOL

Maintenance life going well..I have been a good, in control girl this week, and I think it will reflect in my WI tomorrow. I am really starting to enjoy this part of my jouney..feeling more confident each day, unlike when I started it. There really are a variety of GOOD choices we can make, ladies...resorting back to old eating habits isn't an option and really isn't missed because of the new choices I have introduced to my diet. Replacing the old with the new...a challenge at first, but worth it!! A mind-set that one should get in long before this stage tho....

I love these sweet pickles I get from Walmart...they are sweetened with Spenda...anyways, pickles are now a "free" item on MRC menu for maintenance, so that has been a treat for anyone that likes pickles! Were never OP during weightloss, and don't know why a "free" item now due to salt content?! Even my counselor was confused by that...bot no calories, fat, etc...just the sodium issue. I also like those 0 calorie jello's...already made ones. Fun to snack on also...my favorite..the 40 calorie fudgesicles Every afternoon ladies

Yes, Maintenance is good...certainly a time to look forward to for all that are working hard to get there! Keep it up ladies!

Hi...
I weighed in and stayed the same, making me 5 pounds under goal. I am happy with that , as this week I experienced eating a large candy bar, gained 2 pounds 2 days later, but was able to get it off... I did not enjoy it, so will go on to other things..

I did speak at a maintenance class, and all I can say is... There are people that did not learn anything by being on MRC. They did not learn portion size, moderation, and they cheated throughout the challenge , but did make it to
maintenance, but now, they eat what they want,any portion they want, with no planning and are gaining weight back.. So, no matter what I said I did to maintain, they did not want to hear it. Others, were very interested . Someone told me it was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard going back on green menu if one did endulge to get weight back off, or doing a day or two of shakes.Said it was nonsense. Well, there were more that agreed with me, so she was lost on her own, and the ones that agreed won out . I did it, will not do it again, as it is too stressful, trying to talk to people that you know will not care what I did or how I did it to be on maintenance. But all in all went well, as I feel I did help some people and gave them the incentive to go on and get back to where they should be and what they tried so hard to get to. I find people that are having a difficult time, did try to do MRC. not like it was told to us to follow, but their own personal diet without following the diet as it should be, but they did make it to maintenance, but cannot stay there.

I want to congratulate all the losers, we sure have quite a few.. And welcome to any newbies.

Patzi

I'm so proud of you for giving the talk, Patzi! I know it must not have been easy given your uncertainty beforehand. As for those that didn't "get it", they are only hurting themselves and will end up gaining their weight back. What you said really rang true with me. MRC is about the food, but it's also about learning the disciplines needed to sustain the weight loss. If you don't learn that, it is going to be much harder to keep the weight off.

Chocolate Truffle...

May I ask how y'all use this? Do you make a chocolate drink from it, use in coffee, etc.. Just curious.

I tried the Caribbean something, can't recall the second word, from the variety pack and I like the coconut taste.. I made a lemonade from lemons, mint from garden, added a scoop of Caribean and some stevia.. It is so refreshing...

Patzi

Well am at 19 lbs and 30 inches. I am excited about the inches, but disappointed by the lbs. it's my own fault. I have cheated, grabbing a few chips here, a bite of cookie there, etc. I just cannot give myself permission to cheat anymore. I will not make my goal by d-day if I keep going like this. It has been a tough couple of weeks. 2 trips to the er for my 4 yr old, a stomach flu sweeping theology the house and ttotm.
It has been 6 weeks now, lost 10 lbs the first two weeks, then 5 the next, then 1 1/2 the next few. It is frustrating. But I just have to reconnect with that girl who powered through the first two weeks.
I admit I daydream about food - and you should see my pinterest.
Have to remember how great thin feels. Reading about all your success rally spurs me on!
Congrats Jen!! Goal - its amazing!!

Kate

Tami - glad you are enjoying maintenance. Sounds like you will be very successful.

Patzi - I'm glad you gave the talk. I have learned a lot from you in the short time I've been a part of this forum.

I went to WI today and my day off program was not kind. I was up 1.5 But I'm back on track and have been for the past 2 days. I have added some weight bearing exercises to my routine and am a little sore form that. I'm thinking that may also account for some of the gain. I'm hoping for a loss on Friday at my next WI. I'm 10 pounds from their goal for me and 15 from my personal goal. I am considering purchasing another 4 weeks to meet my personal goal. Also I don't think I can or want to go on to stabilization until I at least meet their goal.

Y

Ha ha hi love autocorrect. Not sweeping theology- sweeping through the house.

Hello all,
I'm brand new to the program...as of 3hrs and some minutes ago
Wondering if any one has meal ideas while on pre-conditioning?!
With being hispanic and all, I LOOOVE me some tortillas lol, yet I'm
thinking having them might pose a bit of a prob.
Thank you all in advance

Not a good Monday in any way shape or form. My new phone ran out of juice early in the day so I had to keep it off almost all day, but I turned it off when I went out to wait at the curb for my husband, he usually texts me when is about a mile away. This time he called to say he could not get the key to turn in the ignition. Not putting enough forethought into it, I figure what the ****, it is only 4 miles, I can walk. So I started hoofing it, in the bright and sunny 75 degree weather. I had actually dressed nicer than usual in a a light peasant blouse and jeans and sneakers. About a mile down the road the sidewalks ran out so I was forced to walk on the slightly slanted angle that led down into a ditch full of water...or on the road where there were no cars coming. Which apparently from 5 to 6:30 is not often.

Husband called me often, told me he was going to walk to the house (another 6 miles) and get the other car. I had to remind him that we had roadside assistance on our insurance and he would need to call them to get help because my phone was beeping at me that it was dying.

He and the tow truck picked me up right at the 3 mile mark, just past the interstate overpass(no sidewalks, thank goodness the shoulder was bigger there). And as nice as light cotton peasant blouses are, they are not good to keep out the sun. I am lobster-Gail now, and blistered on my toes, and have a migraine that feels like I was whopped in the head with a large bag of hot water.

By the time we got to the car dealership and shop to drop off tiny car, and got the taxi there to take us home, the center was closed, so no WI for me yesterday. I was tired and sore, Husband was tired and did not feel like cooking, so we ordered delivery and I stayed home today to bask in my lovely red glow and headachey badness. He went to work and then stopped on the way home for more veggies, we were out of broccoli.

The dealership will not have our car fixed until Friday or next Monday. I am just glad I grilled over the weekend, tonight, leftover steaks and broccoli or salad...or something that does not require much work. Now that I have come and complained I am back to the couch to slather on more aloe and flop about like a dead fish.

Well...I started the program on Friday, and I am pre-conditioning until this Friday. I start the actual program on Saturday. I went to weigh in this evening and lost 7 pounds! I am hoping this is indicative of how my entire journey on this program will be! I also went to the making the connection class. I want to learn how to eat accurate portion sizes, and then I want to maintain, so I am going to take advantage of everything the program offers. Also, can someone tell me how to get one of the weight loss tickers?

Hey PianoGirl, alot of what you lose during the first week will be water weight. Cutting out all sodium, and taking in more water will make you lose weight very fast. It is a little slower once you start really losing the weight.

As for tickers, you have to be a member of 3fatchicks for at least 20 days and do a minimum number of posts..but I can't remember how many exactly.

Either way, best of luck, and welcome aboard!

Hi Everyone!

I haven't been around the boards much lately, but decided to check in tonight and see how everyone is doing. Excited to see Jen made it to goal!

Maintenance has been easier than I ever imagined it could or would be. I'm not sure why or how, but it's like I've had a big "reset" on my brain, and I'm totally okay with not eating whatever, whenever. I don't feel deprived at all. Instead, I feel better about myself when I eat well throughout the day. More importantly, I am fueling my body to do activities that simply make me feel good.

Amazingly, even with the stress of having switched positions in my district in January (big change=major food trigger for me in the past), I have maintained and/or continued to gradually lose (I'm now 25lbs under my original goal, and skinnier/more physically fit than I've ever been in my life!).

I ran another 5K race on St. Patrick's day, and I'm signed up to run a 7K in May. I also started my yoga certification training last month--it's two weekends a month until the end of June. I'm excited to get my certification! I've already started teaching yoga to school bus drivers (who have a lot of physical complications, I'm learning), and I plan to start a teen program next fall at the high school I work in.

The best part is that, as I mention my fitness accomplishments or post pictures of myself on facebook, I've had more and more people come out of the woodwork and tell me that they've been inspired by me to either eat healthier, become more physically fit, or lose weight. I've NEVER been an inspiration to anyone for any of those reasons. And I have to say, I think my maintenance has been more successful partly because I feel accountable to these friends who "look up to" me for these reasons now.

I'll try to keep checking back here more regularly, but I also wanted to say "thank you" to all who have been here throughout my journey--these boards were a lifesaver for me many times, and you all motivated and inspired me along the way.

patzi-you hit on exactly some reasons why people fail to maintain...not wanting to make lifelong changes. People may say they do...and even if they aren't going to do exactly as you did, it's ignorant to say someone's way of maintaining is ridiculous, especially if it's working. I don't go back to the green plan like you do, but I've learned from you to decrease intake of certain things for a few days to get back on track. I experimented with pasta last night and I was up 2 lbs today. So pasta will be out for a while, which is fine for me. It wasn't that great. I've learned lots from you, so thanks!

teacherlady-I'm with you that being "inspirational" to others is going to keep me on track. I know of 5 or so specifically who have truly changed what they are doing because of my progress. If that doesn't motivate me to keep on track...awesome with doing all the fitness stuff. I love fitness. In the past I tried to lose using fitness, but always overate as a "reward"...so never lost. Now I'm using fitness to feel great and help maintain.

So I'm up 2 lbs after adding in pasta yesterday (restoring my glycogen...should be a good run tonight). I don't really like pasta that much, it's just something my family likes. But it will be out for a while. I also didn't quite get in all my water yesterday which is not normal for me, so getting back on track today.

Oh, but this was happiness yesterday. I don't frequently check my body fat %. At the beginning I was about 36%. I checked the beginning of January and was a 30.2%...not bad, but I was hoping for lower. Yesterday I was demonstrating in class how to use the machine and my number came up....27.5%!! I've always wanted to be at 25% but always, always been 33-36%. I'm so close. My goal is to see 25% when I recheck this fall (I only have the equipment at school and only teach through April.) I almost wanted to dance around the class...but I was sitting in a room of 21 year olds who are for the most part very, very fit, many of them college athletes, so 27.5% is high to them. But I was happy. The exercise is paying off now that I've lost the weight.

COchick - I just posted in the "Hit a plateau..." thread my tip sheet for breaking them. Check it out and hope it helps!

Tami - What I would give to eat a pickle, but I think I'll never be allowed to do that. Even though I hit my goal, I still have high blood pressure. It's a genetic thing, not a weight thing. I'll always have to take a pill for it, but at least it's only one now.

Kate - Hang in there, Kate! My biggest piece of advice is to just use this as a learning experience. You built up your habits over a lifetime and it's going to take time to build up good habits. Take it a meal at a time...a decision at a time. Re-commit yourself and it will be the best feeling in the world.

ynapier - Everything will be ok. You're back on track and that's what matters most!

zugeily - Welcome!!! Hope to see you here often!

Galadreal - Yikes! What a day! I hope things are going better.

PianoGirl78 - Great job! As Galadreal said, it takes 20 days (to the minute) and 20 posts. Tickers are a great motivational tool I learned. While you can't attach one to your signature at the moment, you can start one (I use Ticker Factory) and then when you hit that days/post mark, it's ready to go and all you have to do is copy the code into your signature.

teacherlady - Natalie! Great to see you again! 25 pounds under?! You and Patzi give me such hope for maintenance!

nwcgina - Congrats, Gina!!!! That's awesome!!!!

Congrats on the losses, Ladies!

Patzi - I admire you for giving the talk. It's so important for others to hear your story and your advice. What they do with it (or don't do) is their decision... but at least you offered it to them. You're right - it seems like people haven't connected it with a complete life-style change... they may be destined to do a diet-cycle for the rest of their life.

Gail - I appreciate your advice. Sorry about your crappy day, but I also think it's awesome that you were able to walk the 3 miles... How many of us could not do that before getting healthier?

Gina - Go You! Love the story about the body fat,... awesome!