It must feel fantastic to be so close to goal...congratulations!!

Isn't it an amazing feeling? Congratulations on the losses!!

Yes, after Day 5 and then only one per day.

Welcome back!

What a fantastic NSV!!

Denise...I am sitting here with tears rolling down my face over your inspiration story...just like the first story.

Thanks for writing it and for sharing it.

You truly are an inspiration!

i'm so glad they talked with you about it.

yeah on the beige menu you can't have creamies till day 5. i have tried just one of the recipes out of the book i borrowed and i've heard *and agree* that anything that asks for the tomato supplement doesn't have enough tomato flavor. it wasn't enough tomato for the spaghetti squash spaghetti.

a recipe i like that requires no supplements is a turkey chili i made. i just boiled some fresh tomatoes to go with the turkey and spices. i showed them what i used *carroll shelby texas chili kit w/o the salt or flour packets, you can find it on amazon* and she said to count that as just the protein serving and still have the vegetables to go with it when i used it. doing it with turkey makes it ok for lunch and dinner *though i prefer it with dinner so i can i have the melba snacks as my crackers* rather than the first batch i made using ground sirloin which you can only have twice a week. sea salt has been my SALVATION as far as this chili is concerned!

i don't buy creamies anymore because i only do 2 supplements and i need them to be at lunch and dinner. having the creamies doesn't work with my work schedule unless i do a lot of cooking in advance and that just doesn't happen for me i wish i cld afford to do more because i really think that it makes a difference in how much i lose. i bought a big tub of whey protein once a while back and was using it in the evenings to equal a third supplement and i was losing more before i ran out. i have used the cream chicken soup to make an actual chicken vegetable soup type thing. i wish they had a beef soup supplement cuz I'd jump all over that.

Thank you....

Hello everyone, This is my 2nd post. I signed up at MRC last Wednesday, but after looking at the pre-conditioning menu, I started getting a little "freaked out", wondering if I could really do this for 6 months (even though I know I'll be changing menus in 4 days). I went to my center and talked to my counselor, and she reassured me, and I'm feeling a little better now. She gave me a copy of the "beige menu" I'll be starting on, so I feel like I'm getting used the idea of it all more. I have to say, I don't know if I would've had the courage to continue if I hadn't been reading all of your posts on this website! You have really encouraged me to say "I CAN do this". Thank you! I've decided to start pre-conditioning on Monday, so I'll keep you posted as to my stats. For all the "newbies", like me, stay plugged into these threads, and start posting, if you haven't, it'll be a lifesaver to you!

Hey, Can anyone tell me if there's a thread where everyone shares their recipes/ meal ideas? I'm looking for different ways to fix veggies, so I don't end up eating the same thing over and over again. Thanks!

There is a recipe thread posted at the top of this forum and recently someone put them all in a blog listed by category...I'm not sure who it was.

The blog address is listed toward the end of the recipe forum.

WI today and lost 2.5 lbs. I was so worried because I hadn't lost anything when I went in Wednesday. I am so glad they switched me from the meta balance to the green menu it seems to be working better.

Thanks to everyone who is open and willing to share their experiences about their journey on this program. It really helps those of us who are new to understand it all a bit better.

I bought the MRC cookbook and many of the recipes use the HNS Chicken Boullion Supplement. Does anyone have an alternative that they use instead, such as the reduced sodium Wyler's Chicken Boullion cubes? Just curious because I want to try a lot of different recipes but they call for these supplements.

I was also wondering about my calcium levels since milk isn't on the diet for some time. Do they recommend taking a calcium supplement? I think I may but was wondering what the rest of you do.

Today is my first day on the 'biege' menu and realized I already screwed up! ARGH. For lunch I ate 4 oz. of fresh pineapple instead of 1/2 cup!! I just got confused already. I know I wont' make that same mistake again. I hope that doesn't mess me up. I thought I was doing so well (I know I still am) but geez, my first day and already a goof!

I have a somewhat random MRC question...I have been on again/off again MRC'ing since November (more off again than on again...I have lost then gained the same 15 pounds, like, 4 or 5 times) and I simply can't afford to resign at MRC. Between the program costs and the supplements it is totally out of our budget (hubby is unemployed). The past week I have been doing the preconditioning part of the diet and I have lost 4.5 pounds. I am wondering if anyone on here has ever tried staying on preconditioning long term? I'm thinking about doing it for a month and seeing how it goes. Any feedback?

4oz = 1/2 cup so I use that sometimes instead of measuring depending on what it is

For your previous post about the calcium - there should be some in the multivitamin and green leafy vegetables have calcium as do oranges. Cheese does as well. Depending on your age you may or may not want to take a supplement. I'm 25 so I'm not worried about it because I can add milk back in once I hit maintenance. Not to mention that I drank a lot of milk growing up - I would have at least 3 if not more glasses a day and before I started this diet I was drinking a gallon a week by myself so I know I have plenty stored up

I use the Pacific organic chicken broth - low sodium, when I cook. You find it in the organic section (sometimes the soup section) of the grocery store. The only thing you don't get in it is the 16g of protien that the MRC chicken bouillon has in it. But what is interesting is that the sodium level in the organic broth is a lot less than the MRC stuff (70mg vs. 480mg(MRC)). I have used this in my cooking since I started MRC six months ago because I didn't want to waste my HNS on the family when I cooked for us all. I am in maintenance now and I still use the organic broth in my cooking.

Welcome jj, glad you found us! Stick with it and you'll do great