I've been trying SlimQuick, and it seemed to help during my TOM last week--I still lost a pound, and usually I stay the same or gain during TOM.

HOWEVER, I think knowing that it helps actually made it more difficult for me to stay OP these last few days. After my -1lb weigh-in on Saturday, it's as though I subconsciously thought I could eat whatever I want and still not gain due to the SlimQuick. NOT. I wasn't going to weigh in today, but I'm glad I did--it was a reality check when the scale went up to 208.

I'm going to be strict with myself the rest of this week and continue taking the SlimQuick (and adding my cortitrim back in) and see how things go. I'll definitely update everyone after my weigh in on Saturday.

PATZI -- yay for the loss! Glad your weight really seems to be starting to actually stabilize.

RAZORBACKBRITT -- I will be really really interested to see if the metaprotein will help. Like I mentioned before, it seems to be similar to other plateau-busting plans I've seen in my research. My center told me that sometimes our bodies just start becoming very efficient and used to what we eat most commonly--maybe you just need to shake things up. Hopefully it isn't too difficult to stay OP during your trip/wedding event.

Wow! I step away from the boards for one day full of meetings at work and I miss everything!

I am wishing you a loss on Saturday.

Patzi

Weighed in today .. down 1 lb after no loss for 2 weeks. I was glad to see the scale move. So many of you are struggling these days. I definitely don't feel alone with these hurdles. Although I often wonder if I will ever reach my goal weight at this rate.

@ Patzi - Thank you for sharing your journey on stabilization. OMG - I can not wait to taste peanut butter again!

I have been filling out my food sheets - actually created an excel spreadsheet so I can keep my little journal along with everything for that day (got rave reviews from all the consultants at the center). But today was the first day... after about 6 WI's... one of the consultants told me I was doing something wrong. Not sure why no one else caught this, even her because she's the one that sold me on the program and has done 2 WI's.

So after food class, I wanted to make sure I understood how to break things up.. I'm single and don't want to cook more than what I need and if I don't cook enough then how do I substitute the protein. I'm on the MetaSlim Plus Level 3 menu. The consultant told me if I had 3oz of chicken, then I have to have 3oz from the other protein group as long as it was a total of 6oz of protein. Which is not correct. Today for lunch I had 4oz of chicken and 2oz hard cheese.. I should have had 3oz of chicken and 1.5oz hard cheese. I'm not a huge "Math" fan but even I can figure out it's only 4.5oz of protein. But I guess since I'm mixing proteins, then it's right If you 1/2 the one protein option, you have to 1/2 the other option.

Am I the only one out here that has done this?

And just to make sure I did this right - for lunch tomorrow, I have packed 3oz. Turkey (that's 1/2 of one group) and 3oz. Cottage cheese (which is 1/2 the of the other group). I guess the cottage cheese option with 3oz of the other would be the only one that really equals 6?? Or am I still wrong?

Feeling a little dazed and confused.
~C

Does anyone know if when you hit maintenance, you are allowed to eat like a normal person? Or do we have to stay on a strict menu for the rest of our lives?

You've got it. My meal plan calls for 6 oz of protein OR 2 oz hard cheese. When I mix them, I do half of each. For example, 1 egg and 1 oz of cheese (1/2 of each), or 3 oz chicken and 1 oz cheese (again, 1/2 serving of each). OR, I could do 3 oz chicken and 3 oz bison.

Does that make sense?

I'm not on maintenance, but here's what I've learned from the maintainers:

You can eat like a normal person, depending on your definition of eating "normally."

We will never be able to go back to the way we used to eat. I have come to learn that the way I used to eat was not NORMAL. When I get to maintenance, my new normal is going to involve continuing to pay attention to and/or restricting my portion sizes and serving sizes of food. I will not be able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I can have indulgences, but I will need to have some give-and-take in my food intake and exercise when I do indulge (i.e., I can have a cupcake, but I will have to cut something else out and/or increase my exercise, etc.).

What I've told people about this diet--when they ask--is that MRC is teaching me to eat like a responsible, healthy grown-up, rather than like the 19-yr-old college student (or even, at times, like a 5-yr-old let loose in walmart) as I have been for the last 15+ years.

Gosh I missed a lot - glad to hear some of you are doing great - and sad others are still struggling with plateaus! I'm not sure what the science is anymore - but one thing is for sure - MY SCALE IS BROKEN! By about 7 lbs lol. I refuse to get on it until WI day. Plus I caved and started Corti-Trim due to my stress levels.

I WI on Monday and lost 3 lbs. That was after a crap weekend, and I'm not even sure I got in all my veggies. Been busy with school, sorry I've missed out - hopefully will be able to get back into things after next week.

Good luck everyone staying OP! I praying for big numbers this week for you all!

Thanks! Makes sense. I guess I've just been eating too much protein by an ounce or two. The consultant said it was fine but to do it right, going forward.

Now I just need to eat something different at breakfast.. 2 eggs and toast or tortilla has taken over my breakfast column on my food sheet.
~C

I forget - are you on metaslim? 4-5 weeks is an awfully long time. The meta protein sounds...ok...I'm never a big fan of completely leaving out a food group. But, if it was a temporary thing, it may jumpstart your metabolism. Also, try not to think of fats as "bad." They're actually really, really good for you. I love your new quote! Just keep advocating for yourself!

Teacherlady is exactly right. There's a "new normal" that is not quite as strict as the plan, but is definitely not "going back to before." If you check out the maintainers thread on 3FC, you'll see that 100% of people who are successful at maintenance do the same thing that they did while losing, just at a higher calorie level. The still weigh, measure all of their food, they still count calories, etc. I was put on the 1500 cal maintenance which is 11-12oz protein/day, 4 starches (one is about 80 cals), 2-3 veggies, 2 fruits, 2 dairy, 2-3 fat. I've found that with working out, I need at least 1700-1800 cals to maintain, so that extra 200-300 is my wiggle room to have a glass of wine or a cookie. You can kinda do whatever you want in that 1500 cals, but I've found that I feel the best and have the least cravings when I stick to the maintenance plan. 1500 cals of crap may taste good and keep you at goal weight, but you'll feel....crappy. The MRC plan is good, healthy, and you will feel terrific. Hope this answers your questions!

I take VitD from my chiropractor (much higher dosage), Vit B, CLA (tonalin). I still use the center's multi (doesn't give me a stomachache) and fish oil (doesn't taste like fish).

That sounds easy enough. Where my issue comes in, is I have always been a one or two meal a day person. I usually never ate breakfast, but I now know how important that is and lunch was only when I was at work (3 days a week) and then almost always fast food. Then I would eat dinner sometimes w/a dessert - maybe 3 or 4 out of 7 days. I know the fast food is out, except for the occasional and the same thing for dinner. We used to never eat out and then about 6 years ago we met our best friends who always ate out, so we joined them and wala.... add in health and menopause and here comes the FAT! I am thinking the fast food is my most deadly vice as my own cooking is much healthier.

Also I have been cooking enough on this plan for my husband, who decided he liked what I was eating, so now the sucker is losing weight from eating one healthy meal a day and whatever else he wants, while I struggle to lose a single pound while doing the plan 24/7!! LOL

I guess what I am asking is this... Will I be able to go back to 2 meals a day and a dessert if I keep under the number of calories? (I am a medium bone structure, but only 5'2")

ETA - I also rarely eat fruit, would love to cut that out again.

Yeah I've been on MetaSlim green menu this whole time. The metaprotein is only for 2 weeks. The center told me that even if I have great results, I'm only allowed to do it for 2 weeks.

So far so good...my scale is showing down almost a pound this morning! Let's hope that trend continues. I was freaking out because its been over a month at this weight....which was not good.