I think we were making a new thread when we got to 30 pages! I hope I'm not stepping on toes here! Come on over to the new thread!

Thanks Rocki!!!!

Great to see we are on a new thread. I have been reading, but not time to post.
I had knee surgery back 2 weeks ago. I was on Loritab; it really messed up my digestive system. I am now on Ultram and have started on supplements again.
The neatest thing is that my meniscus was not the problem! They scraped out arthritis and I had a bruised upper bone in my knee with a small piece of bone hanging down. So, no physical therapy! I go back April 10 to schedule the next surgery. They say this one has a torn meniscus and a pinpoint fracture in the upper bone. I should have surgery by end of April/beginning of May.
I talked to MRC yesterday and we decided that I would wait until May to go back. I have 2 months left on my last program and need to sign up for another 17 weeks. The bad part is I have gained more weight since being laid up. I cannot do Wii Fit yet. I had lost 57 lbs. I was told that if I lost weight I could have knee replacements; then the doc said I had to wait until I was 50. Well, I am glad that he did not do it. I switched to new doc and they discovered it was not near that bad and I will be all fixed by May! BUT, I have gained back 40 lb since January 2008!!!!
I am so mad at myself! I do have problems staying OP because I have no colon. I seem to get a digestive funk every couple of weeks or so. Nausea and then I have to eat crackers, etc.
I am determined to make this work. I need to lose the weight and keep it off. Lord willing I will not have to stop for $$ issues or anything else. I plan to buy some of their supplements, but I am making my own at home right now with whey powder and Crystal Light.
Anyhow, thanks for listening to my rambling. I should post more often instead of dumping a big load at once.
You all encourage me with your struggles and triumphs! Keep up the good work!
Oreparent

Glad to hear about the surgery results; that's really good news. At least it wasn't as bad as it first appeared. Stinks that you have to have another surgery though!
Don't be mad about the gain, just see what you've learned from it and move on. You totally can make this work and keep it off. It's a process. If it was easy, no one would ever learn anything!
I'm glad to know that you are around, I've wondered how you've been! Keep posting and stay positive. You're going to be just fine.

i'm trying to avoid knee surgery as long as possible by doing MRC. That's my entire motivation at this point. My knee keeps going out of place at will, the MRI I had done in 03 showed both lateral and medial meniscus was shredded but since the pieces weren't blocking my range of motion he said to leave it in as long as possible and hopefully i won't have to have a knee replacement by the time i'm 35. that doesn't sit too well with me, the do nothing until you have to attitude so i'm looking for another dr now that i'm more independent and the pain is getting worse.

i think the two that i realllllly like might have said something to the one i don't like because when i went in monday and signed the list she walked right past me w/o even speaking to me and the food lady *i'm assuming the manager?* came out of another room to get my file herself. neither of them are there on Mondays but they're both there on Thursdays so i'm thinking about changing the days i go in just to avoid that situation. my luck i'd pick more days they weren't there. *sigh*

i agree, the ones with bad attitudes need to GO!

Drank way too much yesterday and have eaten horribly today. I am a glutton. I do not feel like working out at all. I just had to get that off my chest. I am back on the horse for dinner and the rest of the week/weekend. I only have 17 days until Vegas. I can do this!!!! My goal is still to lose one pound this week. I guess we will see on Friday when I weigh in!

Hi discoveryjoy! I am a runner - it still feels so good to say that. I started last fall and really pushed myself, like you are doing. I was running so slow, but happy that I was at least running. Then my knees and hip started hurting and eventually I quit altogether & just thought running wasn't for me. Then Rocki did a couch to 5k program challenge starting in January, so I thought I would give it a shot. It's a wonderful program that guides you through 9 weeks of training. You start really slow (run for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds), which helps build your muscles and your bones. Now I can easily do the 5k and I started training for a 10k on Monday - with NO PAIN in my knees or hips. I would highly recommend you get on a good training program so you can build without injury. I started out of sheer vanity - I wanted the cute runners legs and wanted to burn the calories. Now I love it for so many more reasons - I'm totally hooked!!

I'm so excited to see you back!! There has been a lot of people coming back to the boards - SeminoleGirl, Shenanigan, WorkingARMom & PamperedMomofTwins!!! I love seeing you posting again!

I did 4 cruises on my MRC journey. Depending on which line you go on, they have some great healthy choices. I ate off of the spa menu and still had a few bites of dessert. The breakfast & lunch buffet is really easy to make plan choices. And then I made sure to work out in the wonderful gym - nothing like running on the top deck with nothing but the ocean in your horizon!! And do a lot of physical activities on shore excursions. You don't have to go crazy overboard - still have fun and enjoy your vacation, but you can come out of it with a loss of weight too! I had much more fun when the emphasis was on enjoying the activities and less about how much food I was going to eat. Food is one tiny part of the cruise experience. Enjoy!!

I remember shopping in a "regular" store like it was yesterday. I was so comfortable at my speciality shops and Lane Bryant. Then I got realeased in the normal stores. I tried for 3 hours to find something and left overwhelmed. A disclaimer - I hate to shop!! I was so overwhelmed by the choices. Now that I have the hang of it, I love all the sale you get with the smaller sizes. You never get good deals like that in the large sizes!! I can hardly wait to hear about your experience!!

Wow, it took me a while to catch up on all the posts. I've been checking in once in a while on the maintainers thread and just didn't have time to read the main one It's nice to see the activity picking up.

I got to RUN with KeepinOnandOn this morning!!!! It was so fun. She is absolutely stunning in person and so nice. We ran 3 or 3.36 miles today - our monitors were reading differently for distance. I had never run with anyone before - not only did it go super quick, but running with her improved my speed and distance. It's so fun to meet a real live person from our wonderful on-line community!

I posted this on the maintainers thread but thought it might help with those of you who are struggling - thank you Judy for the reminder. It's long, but so was my journey!

I walked through these doors, on the arm of a friend, weighing in at 262 lbs and feeling like there was little to no hope of losing weight. I had been diligently trying to lose weight all year by consistently working out 5-6 days per week & meeting with a nutritionist every 2 weeks. This wasn’t my first attempt at losing weight, I had tried Atkins, weight watchers & once, in the early 90’s, a Dr monitored, extremely low calorie protein fast (I lost 60 lbs in 3 months and put it back just as fast with a measured & weighed 1200 calorie diet and 60 min of exercise daily). I was convinced that dieting did not work for me and I would just try to eat healthy and accept myself for who I was.

I had come to terms with being overweight and found my self-esteem in other areas of my life. In reviewing the letter I wrote to myself at the start of my MRC journey, I stated “I’ve never felt like I’m defined by my weight. It doesn’t interfere with my relationships or my professional successes. But if I were to be brutally honest, I do think that people look at me differently. I am aware that I am the fat friend.”

So what brought me through the doors? It was a health scare! I have been type II diabetic for about 7 years, controlled through diet & exercise. But my LDL cholesterol had been rising at a rapid rate. I was very proud that I was in my 40’s and not on any medication, but the Dr’s were becoming increasingly insistent that this was approaching a dangerous level & I needed to take the meds!! Then it was suggested that I would be an excellent candidate for weight loss surgery. That sent me over the edge. My mother was the 6th person in the US to have weight loss surgery in the 70’s and the first to survive it – after they lost her on the table for over 3 minutes hooking her intestines back up. I know we have come a long way medically, but there are still extreme health risks with these surgeries and I was terrified!

Another quote from my letter to myself “I really want to give this 100% effort. I hope it works, but as I’ve aged, it is harder for me to lose. It’s hard to think of being 180 lbs. It seems so unrealistic! But, I feel like I’m running out of time – being healthy is so important to me.” At my initial consultation, they told me how much I could lose and in what time frame. I told her that I didn’t believe her, but I would do exactly what they told me to do. I would eat dirt if they could guarantee I could be that weight!! Lucky for me, I didn’t have to do that!!

This journey of personal discovery has been amazing. I signed up to lose weight and came out the other side completely transformed. Through the classes and one-on-one consultations, I have learned how to eat – yes EAT! A major problem was I would typically go up to 7 hours in between meals. I learned how to cook. I really don’t know what I ate before. We ate out for most of our meals and cooked convenience foods at home. I bought fruit & vegetables, but threw out more than we ate. Now I can throw together a gourmet looking meal in under 15 minutes and my family is thrilled! I learned about my “relationship” with food. I never thought I had food issues, but they reared their ugly head about 50 lbs into the program. I started to fight it and had to deal with issue of self-sabotage. I ended up re-signing twice. Then I made it to the end of stabilization and had to have a heart to heart with myself. I had slipped and started fighting the program and myself again. Thru not following the plan during the holidays, I had put on some weight and just didn’t feel comfortable starting maintenance yet. Do I consider these failures, yes and no. But I tend to learn more through my mistakes than through my successes. I’m very happy that I was allowed to stumble and fall because I got up and kept going – all in a supportive & guidance filled environment.

Was it expensive? I guess it’s all how you look at it. My initial fee was an investment in myself and my health. The amount of money I spent on supplements was an extra expense, but we saved so much in our monthly food budget that it ended up being a wash. And I was facing a life of medications for weight related issues. So the more important question is how much have I saved – I guess I’ll never know for sure, but my quality of life is priceless!!

How about the results? 180 lbs seemed so unrealistic to me – I could barely imagine it. I now weigh 162 lbs at the start of stabilization knowing I will lose about 6 more pounds during this 6 week process. I just had my annual exam with my stunned doctor. I have dropped 55 pts off of my LDL cholesterol - without medication!!! I am now in normal ranges for everything. Overall cholesterol of 148, blood pressure averages 96/60, A1C level dropped from 6.8 to 4.8 – not even technically considered diabetic anymore – all without any medications AT ALL. I’ve lost 101.5 inches and went from a 24W to a loose size 8. And, I have achieved a lifelong dream – I ran a 5k. That one seemed impossible, I couldn’t even run a half a block before. In fact, I was pulled out of running at age 14 for back problems, but I hate being told I can’t do something. I am now training for a 10k and looking forward to running marathons.

Am I done? Have I “crossed the finish line”, “spiked the ball in the end zone”? No, are we truly ever done? I have learned that my relationship with food is as serious as any other addiction. The difference is now I recognize it. I have the skills in place and the support structure to deal with it. I have come out the other side fully aware, fully equipped and determined to embrace my new life and the new me. MRC doesn’t just show you how to lose weight, it treats the whole person and then holds your hand for a full year to make sure you make permanent changes.

Has the journey been easily? Absolutely not, but true change never is! Has it been worth it? I can’t even begin to express to you how big the YES is! Are you worth it? If you’re reading this, you’ve already made the first step on this important journey - I would say YES!

wanttobeskinny- which enhancer are you on? I take blood pressure medicine (a very small amount) and my center has me on Phentratrim. They told me that because I was taking the BP medicine that I could not be on the enhancer or All Day - that it would raise my BP. The Phentratrim has not affected my BP (but it is the weakest of the enhancers that MRC sells).

I loved reading your post Gina. We started at the basically the same wt (I was 266 and size 24) so your story truly inspires me! I can't wait to get to where you are now...and I know that I can! I never went to see a doctor to find out all of my stats but before I started MRC I my heart would race occasionally just from getting up off the couch, I would start shaking if I didn't have carbs or sugar every few hours, I was sleep eating. I was a complete mess. Now that I have lost the first 50 pounds I don't have any of those issues anymore! Congrats on your success and it was a good reminder that once you reach "goal" you aren't truly finished. It is a life long battle but I feel like the more I lose the easier it gets to refuse some of the temptations in my life!

Awwww, you're so sweet! I was amazed at how fast our run went! It really did help talking with someone. I was worried I would be too out of breath to speak but it was great! I'm really thinking hard about that 5 mile on Friday. I felt like I could keep going for quite awhile today so I'm leaning toward trying it. One mistake I made though, don't sit in your car to drive home without stretching afterward!! I got out of the car and hobbled to the house Hopefully I'll be able to walk tomorrow!

Any advice about plateaus??? I have been at this weight for going on two weeks now and it is getting pretty discouraging. I knew I would plateau after losing 9 pounds in a week, but I didn't think it would take this long for it to start going down again. I know I probably need to just wait it out, but MAN it sucks!

Any plateau busting advice to lend this newbie???

I drank way too much yesterday and I have done nothing but eat crap all day long. I vow to get back on the horse tonight and have an OP dinner. I am supposed to WI Friday, but now I don't want to! Maybe I can put it off until Saturday. I knew I would partake in a little revelry yesterday, so my goal was to lose one pound this week. I just hopped on the scale (because I love to torture myself, I guess) and I gained 3 pounds of beer/fast food in one day. I know, I know, it is water weight. But I am so tired, I don't even want to work out! I will drink a ton of water the next two days and take my B6 to get rid of some of it. I just needed to vent and get that off my chest

I hope everyone has a good ending to their week!

They talked me into the Liquid minerals. It actually worked!

Hi everyone!!
Ok so this is prolly going to sound really strange, but i had to share my strange snack i just made.. I was having an awful craving for something salty and crunchy... so even tho its an extra ounce of protien, i figured it would be better than eating a bag of chips or a cracker or something..
I cut up a string cheese in a bunch of thin pieces put them on a plate and sprinkled garlic herb spice over them and put them in the microwave until they were brown, basically burnt cheese, but they are so yummy and really helped me with my salty crunchy craving!! I know its a half of a serving of protien since we are allowed 2 oz and a string cheese stick is 1 oz, but i figured it would be better to snack on something thats actually on progam verses eating a couple pretzels or chips!! They get cruncy and dry enough they would be good to stick in a baggie and take to the movies or something where i really crave the salty snacks!!