TL,
I actually took the whole program to my dr before I started and she gave me the OK. I wouldn't want to do anything that would make any medical issues worse. After yesterday's visit to MRC and the high blood pressure reading, I went by my dr's office and had them re-take it, and it was 122/74, which is usually about right. My dr said it may have been the machine they used to take it which usually doesn't have a large cuff, and that can make a difference. I am so glad to know that you lost weight without the supplements. I don't want to feel like I can't do it without them, but I also don't want to miss out on any tools that might help me. When you did take the phentatrim, did you notice a difference in yourself at all? Did you notice you didn't get hungry, or anything? I do know I have more energy, but it's not a nervous energy, I just don't get sleepy in the afternoon like I usually do. Of course that could be from not eating the carbs either. LOL

Welcome to Kuntreegirl and any other newbies I missed.

Thanks to everyone for your congrats on my 9 lbs loss over the holidays. I know, it really IS great. I just know if I stick to the plan that I can lose twice that much between now and program end. I just have to stick to it!

Patzi..what is a salad wisk? What does it look like? I used to sell Pampered Chef and have about every kitchen took you can imagine. I might have one! And I'm sure you'll be back @ 5 under by Friday.

TeacherLady..I've done the C25K training a few times and I love it (when I can get my butt there to do it). I was up to running the 5k in about 33 minutes and and when it came time for my actual race (in May) I just couldn't run the whole time. I don't even think I made it a quarter mile without having to walk. Problem is I train inside and I have allergies and asthma, so running outside has always been an issue for me. I *try* to get outside but it's difficult. I run much better on the treadmill. LOL

Bigdog..I'll try the tbs in my coffee, but unless I find that salad wisk Patzi is talking about, I won't be mixing that much of the chocolate in anything hot..yucky! Sorry about your mother and father-in-law. That's got to be tough. I know what you mean about the flip flops, sand and now 23 degrees! Brr..I think it was just under 30 here in West Central FL this morning.I've got leggings, jeans, silky thermal, sweater, and boots on today!

Jen! Congrats on winning that contest! That is SO awesome! You should be so proud of yourself for all that you've accomplished. Do you win anything other than the 4 extra weeks? Any other prizes or money? My center only gives 1 free week for losing over holidays (it used to be 2, not sure why they changed it). I really would love more free weeks. LOL

Anyway..You're amazing! Congrats again!

Just like some people have a "gym bag", I have a "MRC bag." It has my 3 ring binder that I keep all my food sheets and information sheets in and it also has my weigh in clothes. Easy peasy. I do take a few of their supplements and the rest I buy on my own OTC. The ones of theirs I take are MRC-6, Corti-Trim, and Phentratrim. I totally credit Corti-Trim with helping getting rid of my baby belly. The counselors were amazed yesterday when I got ready to weigh in that I'm PMSing and my belly was almost, dare I say it, flat. LOL My OTC sups are the Multi-Vitamin, Flax Seed Oil, B6, and MSM. While this works for me, it may not work for everyone. I have tried supplements which I will NEVER take again. However, it may be great for someone else. I do things by trial and error. I hope this helps you some.

Apparently, I won $100 for the contest. They're cutting the check for that. My counselor's happy because he gets $100 too!



I finally got the commerical e-mailed to me by the center, but realized I don't want to upload it anywhere due to copyright issues. Murphy's Law, I would be the one nailed for it if I did. So, I am willing to e-mail it if you'd like to see it, however, I have to impose some conditions. You have to PM me with an e-mail address I can forward it to (like I said before, you can create a temporary gmail or yahoo account it you don't want to send out your real one) and you must be a consistent poster. After the whole menu fiasco, I'm not willing to e-mail it to anyone I haven't seen on a regular basis on this MRC board. Sorry lurkers, I really don't mean to be harsh, but the menu thing caused me problems and I'm not going to run into the same issue twice.

Thanks Jen, you answered a couple of questions I've been meaning to ask. Do most of you have a weigh in outfit? I was contemplating what to wear today and it has all been geared around my weigh in. I really could just change - duh Chickadee!

I've also been wondering about the Corti-Trim. I hate taking pills, but if they really work, I could force one more in. My belly is my worst area. My pants tend to be baggy in the butt and thighs and tighter on the belly. My body has changed so much as I've gotten older. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in someone elses body!

Have a great day everyone!

Chickadee

Chickadee...I had a belly that wouldn't go away. When I first started going in and they took my initial measurements, I was stunned. Unlike most pregnant women who's bodies will lose 10-15 pounds off the bat after having a baby, I didn't. I lost the weight of the baby and that was it. I was dealing with severe pre-eclampsia (the munchkin was an emergency c-section 2 months early because I almost landed in a coma) so my body was retaining fluids like you wouldn't believe. To the point of 11 blood pressure pills a day after giving birth. When I got back to work and would sit at my desk, I had to sit up very straight because I could feel the rolls in my belly, something that I had never felt before. The Corti-Trim really targeted my mid-section for a while, inches were just going away at a rapid clip. Then nothing. Very frustrating. I quit taking it for a couple of months and when I started back, it started working again. Sometimes, you just need to take a break from things to get them working again...within reason.

Hey Ladies...sorry I've fallen off the boards for a couple of days. I had to nurse my "baby" (DH) back to health. It never ceases to amaze me how much of a big baby men become when their sick. And to top it all off...I think I am coming down with it now too.

Had a horrible day at the center yesterday. My first ever! I've been taking the Syntrax Nectar flavors (and loving most of them) and my counselor was like why are you taking those? I told her and she flipped out! I still buy HNS from the center and she went all snotty on me and told me she was looking the otherway when I started taking vitamins that weren't MRC but I was required to buy their HNS. Which I still do...so know I'm like, do I fib in MFP because that's my food sheet she looks at, and put their HNS info in there or do I just endure her freak out everytime I go in. And then when I weighed she tried to blame my gain on the syntrax. "See I told you...we can't guarantee you a loss if your not using our product." I just wanted to scream at her....it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact I wasn't wearing my weigh in clothes...or the fact that I was weighing in in the afternoon after breakfast and lunch and six glasses of water...when my normal time is in the morning before all that? Absolutely nothing to do with that!!! I guess she could tell I was mad because we normally go back into a room to talk whenever I maintain or gain and yesterday I just made my next appointment and left. Then today I get a call from the centers Manager asking me how I was and if I needed anything from her.

Ugh!!! So of course last night not feeling good...couldn't really move cause I was hurting all over...(two mile walk on monday and Zumba) I turned to a chicken, mushroom, and pineapple thin crust pizza. Half a thin crust pizza...so I am looking at trying my hand at meta-quick for a couple of days if I don't get too much more sick. I am not allowing any carbs for the next couple of days and we'll see what my weight does.

Any suggestions on what to do about my MFP? I don't want to fib because that's cheating me...but I don't want to go through her freak outs anymore!

What to do??? What to do???

Cassie,
so sorry you had to go through that. I am brand new and haven't even started using the HNS's, but I plan on it and I also plan on finding a more cost efficient way of getting the supplements and I would hate for someone to get upset with me for that. It was nice of the manager to call you. I don't know what I would do about it though. I hope your next visit is better.

Jen,
I really need to get organized like you. You have such great ideas on how to do this. I have been trying to carry my food journal and supplement box in the purse I carry everyday and I am so uncomfortable. I moved to a larger purse of course, but I think getting a bag just for that is the best idea. Any other ideas and tips would be so great.

Rocki,
thank you for the welcome. I have enjoyed reading your posts. All of you are such an inspiration for me.

Cassie,
I'm new as well and still in pre-conditioning. It's good that you didn't say anything initally, but on your next vist, DEFINITELY let her know that her attitude was NOT appreciated. Most of the time, it's not what you say, but how you say it. She definitely could've communicated with you differently. I think she owes you an apology.

Also, I imagine her attitude was "stank" because technically, you're not sticking to THEIR plan 100% - even if you are still purchasing their HNSs.

It's challenging enough to do a weight-loss program without underlying issues, so to me, the most important thing is to get your relationship back on track so both of you have are in a positive frame of mind when you visit.

Hope this helps!

Hi Kuntree!
How's it going today? As for myself, on Day 2 of pre-conditioning and feeling pretty good! I am going to use the suggestion of a "weigh-in outfit" - I think that's a pretty good idea. I also carry my food journal back/forth to work, as well as a gallon of water. Seeing the water level go down throughout the day gives me a sense of accomplishment.

As far as organization tips, I offer the following:
1) ALWAYS grocery shop with a list & don't let yourself run out of anything before going to the grocery store.
2) Write down what you're going to eat BEFORE you eat it.
3) Prepare your lunch for the next day the night before & pack all your supplements, snacks, etc. for the day.
4) When preparing meals for your family, prepare your meal right alongside theirs.

A lot of being organized depends on your mental capacity to anticipate your own needs. Start "thinking ahead of yourself" if that makes sense.

I just made a yummy "discovery"...Mock Strawberry Fro Yo. 6 oz diet cherry 7up, 1/2 c cottage cheese (I used ricotta), a vanilla pudding HNS, 3/4 c strawberries...blended. It hit the spot (I miss ice cream). I'm going to try chocolate pudding with diet cream soda and ricotta next time. I've also been playing around their the "pumpkin pie" recipe and last night made it with 8 oz squash, 1 c. ricotta (or cottage cheese), 1 egg, 4 oz water, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 Tbsp splenda, 1 tsp vanilla (I wanted to figure out how to do it without the protein powder)...it would be 2 servings of veggies, 2 servings of protien, so cut it in half and had 2 "meals". So you can have it for lunch with some fruit and I just think to myself "I'm eating pie for lunch".

Cassie-I have no advice. I track mine on paper (I found I would allow myself to cheat more when using MFP, not sure why) so I just write "clear" or "creamy" for my HNS, so even if I am not using one of their HNS's it doesn't come up. 95% of the time I am using MRC HNS, but I do have some other protein powder of similar nutrient content that I use on occasion. What I signed (I don't know if everyone's is the same) that you will take a multi vitamin (doesn't have to be theirs) and their HNS's. I only buy the HNS, anything else I take (I'm just taking a multi-, a b6/12 complex, and fish oil) I get at walmart or CVS. I've steadily lost 2-2.5 a week. My mom takes many of their supplments but hasn't lost at the same rate (I can't guarantee that she doesn't cheat). My counselor is great...we talk about wrong choices I may have made, but she also doesn't beret me if I make a choice that isn't on plan (like I had a protein bar for a snack). She may remind me "hey, did you remember you aren't supposed to do a replacement and a creamy in the same day?", but no anger issues

I am new here as well. Started pre-conditioning on 12/5, I have found this forum very helpful...amazing what a google search brings up.

I was wondering if anyone works rotating shiftwork? I alternate day/night 12 hours shifts and was hoping for some feedback on how that affects weight loss on the MRC diet. No one at my center mentioned timing of meals.

Cassie, My opinion is if you think the Sytrax is the exact same nutritional content as the HNSs from MRC, and you really want to use them, then just write HNS in your journal and move on. If the nutritional content including sodium is the same, it cant affect your loss. Lots of people have good results while using Syntrax. On the other hand, it might enourage you to make more substitutions and before you know it you might find yourself making ones that arent really equal and you could end up not seeing the results you want. It sure seems that those pepple who stick closely to the plan see the best results. Like Patzi who NEVER went off plan EVER. Can you imagine? I dont know how much she has lost, but I would put money on her not gaining it back. I have heard other people come to the realization that bars put their carbs over the top and they then stall. SO they have to stop or cut back on the bars.

You also mentioned a bunch of other variables such as time of day, water consumed and what you were wearing. I ALWAYS go in at the same time, wearing the same thing. Its too disappointing otherwise. Im barely losing as it is. (I am speaking from experience as one of those people who seems to rationalize too many substitutions.)

Just my thought....

Today I am now back down to where I was Dec. 23. So today I am telling myself IT IS FINALLY BEHIND ME. All remaining sweets are going in the trash tonight. I dont care what relative made them or who much they cost. We still have truffles and peppermint bark, cranbreey bread and two kinds of cookies.

All along I have been saying that the holidays could have been much worse, which is true. I'm very happy that I'm not going into January having gained wieght like most people. But I'm only 10 pounds from goal and I want to get there.

Starting the food journal today. On one side of the page writing PLANNED and on the other side ACTUAL.

camaswa-that's a great idea on how to do the food journal. I made my own journal similar to the MRC one but slightly different. When I hit maintenance I'm going to use a fitbook (maybe MFP with it). YOu are totally going to rock this last 10 lbs!

What I do is I have a 4 column weekly calendar on my fridge. In 3 of the columns I write out what we will eat during the week (some meals we all eat the same, some I make them something else). Then in the 4th column I write our family events (which dictate our schedule). Sometimes nights get switched , but that way I almost always have the food I need in the house, taken out of the freezer if needed, and it helps so much with my food planning, staying on track, and budgeting/grocery shopping. I did it before I started this, I've just gotten more refined. On my food journal I turn in I often write in pencil what I think I'm going to eat (especially if we have an event to go to or are going to eat out or something where I have less control or need extra planning), that way I can erase and write what I actually ate if different. Planning (and having lots of lean protein and veggies always stocked up) has been key for me. My favorite store to get chicken breasts is going out of business...so I've been stocking up on their chicken breasts....I probably have a few months worth in the freezer