Good advice from Tami. (as usual!!!). I have blood-sugar issues that make it very hard to go from lunch to dinner without a snack. Even the clear HNS doesn't really help. So if I need an extra creamy, or a couple ounces of protein, I go ahead. The alternative would likely be junk food the moment I walked in the door.

See the thread titled Why No Coffee? It turns out that caffeine messes with insulin and the adrenals, and I forget what else when I read that, it did justify the rule. That said, I still have it in the AM. Cutting it out in the day and focusing on water had made me feel so much better, must say! Good luck!

Caffiene dehydrates you (messing with the adrenals)...and when you are on a high protein diet, you are more prone to constipation...made worse if you are dehydrated. So even if you are drinking 64 oz, drinking caffiene with the high protein can make you more likely to be constipated.

Does anyone have preferences for creamies? I know everyone's tastes are different...I already have the pudding and hot chocolate...are any of the other ones good? I figured out how many more HNS's I need to make it through the end of the year...since I only ordered 1 creamy my first round...I want more of those

Hi everybody! I'm new here, but have been reading comments for a couple of months. I really enjoy the forum! I started MRC in late September and have lost 16 lbs. so far. I am on the green menu now and everything has been going pretty well up until the last 2 weeks. I have only lost 1 1/2 lbs. in these past 2 weeks. I will admit that I have had to mishaps, where the food was seasoned with butter at one meal (sirloin and veggies), the 2nd mishap beef (sirloin steak) stew was served that had potatoes and carrots included. But, I did limit myself to the amount of one serving. Could these two off program meals have slowed my progress down that much? So far this week haven't lost any more lbs. I would appreciate any input you might have. Thanks!

Great post Tamikl - real good points! Just wanted I needed to read today - have been pretty hard on myself for not putting up huge numbers and still feeling the need to snack at times. I always grab veggies or string cheese and as you said better that then letting myself get to hungry and going for something worse. Thank You

I have been on MRC since the end of September. So far I have lost 26.5 lbs. I have not gone down a size in my clothes yet. I have a couple of pair of pants that I simple can't keep on any longer but the couple of pair that I have in the next smaller size are too tight. I was wondering how much I have to lose to get to the next smaller size. I really thougth I would be there by now.

I started about a week after you and lost about 15 lbs, then slowed down these last couple of weeks as well, without cheating. So did a friend of mine who started at the same time. I think it's a natural plateau and will correct itself soon. Just call me Pollyanna. :-) But they did put me on Medi-Quick and a Plateau Buster for four days to kick start it again. I weigh in tomorrow and will see how it worked.

I don't think there's a set amount. It varies depending on your height and starting weight, and maybe your body type. I'm a lot shorter than you, and a 15 pound loss seems to have taken me down a size in some pants, but not others. I'm apple-shaped and carry most of weight in my middle.

i'm at a stand still - haven't gained, but hadn't lost. wonder if the colder weather is making me store fat? like a bear hibernating? :-) i'm still walking every am but thinking i need to exercise in the pm too. i'm also working on stepping up my water intake to see if that will move things along. i have been working late every night and hadn't been drinking water like i should so need to make myself do that. may have to switch also from the cooked veggies back to salads...i'm thinking my French trained Chef of a husband has been putting too much olive oil, etc in the veggies...because they are "too" good. lol! plus i've been eating flank steak more than three times a week. will be having fish tonight....

You are so funny!! Yes, I think the cold weather could have something to do with it! Couldn't be anything we are doing!! LOL

If anything is "too good" to be true or healthy...it likely is I always eat fish the night before a WI...don't know if that helps or not?!

Hang in there...you have an awesome sense of humor for all of this, and we all need that!

That is 26lbs in a month and a half!!! OMGosh!!!!!!!!!!!! Who cares what size pants you wear right now? Could be you are losing in other areas at the moment. Losing weight at this rate, you will be going down in size very soon!! I am a "scale" person, so the # on the scale is my motivator...Yours might be the inches lost.

Relish what is happening! Many people would give a great deal to have the success you have had in such a short time!

I am glad that my insights have helped you My counselor did tell me that it would be better to grab a hard-boiled egg over a cheese stick...but either one is better than other things! Just so long as we have something to grab, right? LOL

The "creamy" options are endless....and they are yummy, and a staple in my personal journey! I look forward to my "one" each day!!

I didn't care much for the chocolate pudding or the cappacino, but I like the vanilla pudding, and there are many things you can do with that. I also like the cocoa..simply to make the brownies with. Lastly, the chocolate crisps are good. They are a quick option. You can mix them, too. I have heard of some making the vanilla pudding and sprinkling the crisps on it. (In this case you only use 1/2 of each packet.) I like the chocolate milkshake...you add ice, vanilla pudding, hot cocoa packet and blend! I save half for another day and freeze it. If you go to the recipe board, there are many ideas! But those are the 3 I keep in my pantry all the time. Oh! The Tomato Basil is considered a "creamy" also...so if you cook with it, that is your creamy for the day. I think it is good.

Have fun with it!

Tami, I just noticed you are in the 160's! Congratulations on reaching that milestone.

Y-Weight loss and clothes size loss aren't linear...meaning some months you will lose more pounds and not as many inches, the next month maybe the opposite. So there isn't a 20 lbs=1 size....especially considering everyone is a different height and body build. I would rather lose the inches/size, but that isn't as fast, so the scale is motivating me for now.

Made it through my rough "I want to eat everything" day and I only made two concessions: 1 is I had my HNS pudding a day before I was supposed to. The second is I had a really spicy homemade venison chili last night for supper rather than my "regular supper". It was a small bowl with no crackers or anything. The spicy helped fill me with a small serving and I am ready to be back at it strong today and not having the same cravings...and the kids' Halloween candy lived to see another day I keep sending some with my hubby to work...it just isn't leaving fast enough.