Looking to you girls for inspiration today. I went to visit family last weekend and ate totally wrong foods. Oooh, my taste buds were so happy! But I came back to a whopping 6lb. gain. I am back on program now, but wondering if I am ever going to be successful at losing weight. It is just easier to be fat.

Oh, fattgirl, I know you know that's not true!! You're just feeling discouraged from the gain but look at the loss you've had! It is definitely harder to be fat and here are my top 10 reasons why:

1. shopping for cute clothes that don't look like moo moo's
2. bending over to pick something up that you dropped
3. getting up off the ground
4. trying to keep your make-up on while you're sweating!
5. crossing your legs
6. worrying if you can fit into a chair
7. buckling a seatbelt
8. going to the doctor from all the health related problems
9. walking with others
10. tying your shoes

I've only lost 20lbs so far but I can see that some of the things on my list are getting much easier already! Stick with it! If I can do it so can you You know in the end when you reach your goal you will feel better, look better and be proud of the accomplishment. My son told me yesterday that I was skinny. Having around 60 more pounds to lose, I knew it wasn't true but it sure made me feel good and since he is only 12 it is the smallest he can remember me being. Hang in there...we're all cheering for you!

Oh okay! They gave me a menu with meats in one column, carbs next column, vegs column, and fruit column. I was to eat something from each.

Also, can you substitute beans for meat?

Thanks!

I wouldn't sub during preconditioning, because you won't be able to once you get to your "real" menu. Beans will be considered a starch, and you won't get a very large portion (I didn't bother with them much because it's such a small portion.)

Is it really easier? If it were, you probably wouldn't have walked into MRC's door.
Here's the good news - you didn't gain 6 lbs of fat, unless you ate a HUGE quantity of food. It's water. Get back on plan & it will come back off almost as quickly as it came on.
Or you can give up. But no one ever succeeded by giving up.
You can do this - we all slip & slide at some point or another. But we only succeed by getting back on the horse.

I got my first menu today! It is WAY diffrent from my pre-conditioning menu! But I can do it!

Meemo and KeepinOnandOn,
Thank you girls for your kind words. You are right. The water weight came off and I am totally back on program.
I had my one month tanita reading and measurements.

I have lost 10 pounds and 17 inches!

Okay, here's another bit of advice - expect the plateaus. You'll have one early on - somewhere in the first month. It's normal. It happens to almost everyone. DO NOT GIVE UP!!! You will not lose any more weight if you give up! Stick with it and the weight will start to fall off again. And there will be more plateaus down the road. Your body has to occasionally adjust to all the weight you're dropping. What's surprising is that even as you're seeing a stall on the scale, you're often dropping inches - doesn't seem to make sense but it does happen. So be prepared for the plateaus, stick with your program through them, and the scale will start to move again - sometimes dramatically.

I lost 5lbs on pre-conditioning and 3lbs on day three of the actual program! I am now on day 6! I love this program but am getting tired of salad and chicken. haha!

Hey I am new to the whole posting thing... so bear with me. I just started MRC . I am on day 32. I have lost 11.5 lbs. It came off easy at first, but lately it is going so slow. I feel like I am losing and gaining the same few pounds for the past 2 weeks. I am staying on plan. Any tips on how to bust thru this??? It is so frustrating! Help

Are you exercising?
Keep in mind that the big initial weight loss is water weight - now you're down to the business of losing fat, which is slower. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water, and watch your sodium intake. Most of all, keep at it. Sometimes we have plateaus where we don't lose lbs but we lose inches. The lbs will follow as long as you stick with the program.

Thanks Meemo for the advice- I will up the exercising. I am not as consistant with that as I am my food. I wi'ed yesterday and had a 3lb gain! but lost 11 inches, so I am just going to keep trying!

Thanks for all the tips just reading through all of them is heaps of inspiration

Are you taking any medications? I know ibuprofen is one that makes me retain water, others can as well. Stressed out? That can make you retain water too - so will restaurant food, even if it's on-plan food, it'll be higher in sodium & cause water retention.

I am new to MRC just joined yesterday. i do not see a lot of men posting on these boards.
I am very happy for all the noobie posts on here , it really helps a lot.