So I've been thinking that with newbies every week, it might be good to have a thread dedicated to advice for them (might serve as a good reminder for us more seasoned veterans as well!).

1. It won't always be easy. No use trying to pretend it will - there will always be temptations, there'll always be stressful situations. Expect them & when possible, come up with a strategy ahead of time to deal with them. On the tough days remind yourself that you're doing a GOOD thing for yourself - keep a positive outlook on this big change you've made in your eating habits!

2. It won't always be difficult either! Some days are a piece of cake. And really, in one way it's crazy easy. They give you a list of foods. They tell you how much of each you're allowed to have, and when. All you have to do is choose wisely.

3. Check your menu every time you eat. It's too easy to forget you aren't supposed to have beef or pork for lunch. Or how much is in a serving of blueberries. So in the beginning, especially, check that menu every meal. I taped a copy of the menu inside one of my kitchen cabinets so it was always handy. (It's still there, in fact!) And that leads to...

4. ALWAYS WEIGH/MEASURE YOUR FOOD!!! It's so easy to cheat yourself out of your full amounts (or to eat too much) - always weigh & measure. Somewhere down the road you'll be able to eyeball it, but weigh & measure!!!

5. Give it time to work for you. It's always easy to get discouraged in the beginning, especially since we almost all experience a plateau early on (in the first 2-3 weeks). It's easy to say "Oh well, this didn't work either." But stick with it. It DOES work - if you give it a chance.

6. Know yourself. Some of us can get away with small cheats from time to time (raising my hand as a chronic cheater here...). Others realize that we can't cheat - one small one leads to more & more & then we're derailed & can't get back on the track. So know yourself. I daresay 99% of us who walk in the door at MRC have been on plenty of other weight loss plans, and we've learned a lot about what we can & can't do. Use that knowledge & experience!

7. Drink your water!!! Besides helping with weight loss, it's great for your skin - and who doesn't want great skin??? Drink up!

8. Exercise! You're spending a lot of money to do this - why wouldn't you maximize your chances for success by adding some type of exercise to your routine? Do a little, do a lot, do what you enjoy - but do some exercise.

9. Don't start with a bunch of supplements at first. Start with the basics - a good multivitamin & flax oil capsules (which you can find anywhere). You'll be making a big change in your eating habits, so you probably won't need to take a bunch of stuff in the beginning. If your loss slows & you're following the plan properly, then you can add some of the extras to see if they'll help (but add them one at time so you can gauge what works & what doesn't - we're all different). In the end, the more you can stick with the basics the better - and the cheaper!

10. Look for less expensive alternatives to the supplements they sell. Vitamin & mineral supplements can be found anywhere. There are online resources for finding reasonable substitutes for most any supplement you can get at MRC. You're required to buy your minimum MRC protein drinks (what we refer to as HNS - high nutrient supplements) from MRC to keep your guarantee intact, anything else you can get elsewhere.

11. GO THROUGH STABILIZATION! ALL THE WAY THROUGH! Your program includes stabilization and a year of maintenance. I can't stress enough the importance of this. I know right now it probably seems like that's a long way off, but remember this. They'll help you add foods back into your daily menus. And at the end, they'll give you a good basic menu that you can use for life. And use that year of maintenance you get as well - if you find yourself creeping up a bit, get in there & let them help you get back on track. You paid for it - USE IT!!!

Okay - that's 11 from me - I'll probably think of more but I'll give y'all a shot at it - what's your best advice for newbies?

I am not only new to MRC but also to posting online and trying to understand the various threads so that my posting doesn't end up under something that won't seem to make sense. Do you have posting tips. This probably seems like a stupid question in the computer age we are in.

The tips are great! - thank you. Can you give me any suggestions on what vitamins & etc you use - is something better that another? I'd like to buy their stuff, but the cost is too high I think. What exactly does a flax oil pill do?

JodiAnn - I'm just as new as you to these threads and stuff....I think we'll just have to jump in with both feet and practice! Good Luck!

Becky

Great tips...thanks for wonderful words of advice!
Alisha

I was used to aol message boards so this one was confusing for me at first - in fact I still don't understand everything.

When you answer a message, if you want to quote it, click on the "quote" icon in the bottom right corner of that message. You can delete parts of the message & just leave what you're addressing if you like. That way people know which message you're responding to. That's probably the easiest way, too, to make sure you're still posting in the same thread of messages.

The "take" threads (we started with one thread, then moved on to Take Two, Three, etc & now we're on Take 20) are kind of general conversational threads. The others are more specific, like this one for advice for newbies.

There's a rule now within the forum, you have to have posted for 30 days, I think, or a certain number of posts, I forget which, before you can have a weight loss ticker, etc. I think it's to discourage spammers. Hang with us - we're a good group & there's lots of good support here!

Meemo, Thanks for getting the Newbies thread going, I'm new to this place but have found what I have read that it is very good place to be, YEA!!! I hope that more people who have advice and experience will post as well, it helps us new people. I have never posted on a thread before so it is a bit overwhelming knowing where to to click and what the heck.

I am down 9lbs since starting the program, sitting on my 2 week pause at this time so thought I better get engaged in this board to learn all I can from those who have gone before me.

I already feel better.

Okay one more - especially good for those first 10 days when you're eating a LOT of salad.

Cucumbers are your friend! They'll probably tell you this in food class - and they aren't kidding! They're heavy - it takes a LOT of greens to make 8 oz of salad - but throw in about half a seedless cucumber and your salad gets up to 8 oz real quick. Same with broccoli and cauliflower, but cukes are the best for adding weight so you aren't drowning in salad!

Also, those first 4 days when you have cottage cheese for lunch - mix it right into your salad - it's kinda like adding dressing. Add some Mrs Dash or whatever seasoning you like.

I bought the "intro pack" at my food instruction meeting (bought 2 of them actually since they were a pretty good savings). Once those vitamins were gone, I bought them elsewhere. Anything I can buy outside of MRC I did - because they ARE pricey. I did use the MRC-6 most of the time - can't say whether it did or didn't help, but that's the one thing I did buy from them. I bought their hoodia at first too, but then I started buying it cheaper elsewhere.

Flax is very good for you - they'll give you a sheet of all the supplements & what each one can do for you. Honestly I'd start with the minimum, tho, and then if you hit a plateau & need a boost you can try something extra. I did that with the protein drinks - just drank the minimum 2 most of the time, if I needed to get over a plateau I'd add another 1 or (rarely) 2.

Meemo, When I started the program I started with all the supplements they suggested including the 4 drinks per day. I lost 9lbs in 8 days then stopped losing. I have been sitting on the same number since last Wednesday. Can you tell me how long the plateau lasts and is there anything I can do to get over the hump? I did start excercising but here I sit on the same 171 I was at last Wednesday. Any suggestiongs?

Just stick with it. You'll probably have a drop any day now, and for lots of people it's a big one. I don't think there's any set time limit for how long plateaus last, it's very much an individual thing. I just checked back on my online calendar where I tracked my weight & exercise - my first plateau lasted about 9 days. (I bumped up & down half a pound in there.) Make sure you aren't eating the same things every day. (Well, I have to admit my breakfasts didn't vary much!)

Okay one more thing just occurred to me regarding this forum - I think almost all of us read the "Take" threads regularly - so if you have a burning question, post it there. You might end up getting referred to another thread (like recipes or exercise) but you'll get more answers faster if you post to the latest Take thread - right now we're on Take 20. (3FC likes to keep the threads to 30-40 pages, so once a Take thread gets too long we start another one.)

Hey Becky! Here is a link for one of the other threads that has a lot of info. on the different supplements! I placed a post with info. on the Flax Oil, Primrose, and Fish Oil.

What a great thread--and great advice. Thanks for starting this, Meemo!

Thanks! I found your info very helpful. This site is so great...I'm so happy to be in a place I feel comfortable and encouraged all the time!

Ok this may seem like a stupid question but why can't you eat the same things every day??? I know I pretty much eat the same thing for breakfast every day. I typically don't eat the same lunch or supper every day though.

Also, how are you measuring the fruit???? For example if it is 1/2 cup strawberries are you actually using a normal measuring cup to measure them or are you weighing them on the food scale (ie 1/2 up equals ?oz)??? I have a feeling I am weighing my fruit wrong! UGH!

Thanks in advance!

Sharisse