Hello everyone.

I have been on the MRC program before and did quite well losing 53 lbs. lst year. The bad news is I became discouraged when I could not lose my last 10 lbs and went into stabilization. After stabilization it went all down hill from there. Today I have gained all but 13 lbs or so, depending on the day of the week, when the sky is blue, if there is snow on the ground etc.

I have decided I am doing this MRC Program again! So on March 31, here I come. This time around I am putting a plan together so I may succeed at this thing and maintain the weight loss. When I lost the weight last time I went from an 18/20 to a 10/12. I was disappointed that while I was a smaller size I still had the same shape I did when I was heavier.

This time around, the weight loss isn't as important to me but the inches are. I have spoken to the center and I will be on the Meta Balance plan. I hear more exercise can be done on this plan. I would like to incorporate both cardio and strength training. I am wondering to those on the Meta Balance plan and are exercising how has it worked for you? What is the best way to approach it. My workouts are geared for the whole body but I would like to see my belly (which looks like I am pregnant but only with Taco Bell, Burger King...) and my thighs decrease and firm up. I don't expect a P90X body, but this weird shape I have right now, isn't cutting it for me.

Any suggestion will be well received and thanks in advance.

I have only been on metabalance for 6 days and I failed to ask if I could up my exercise from walking 45 minutes 3 X a times a week, but wi is tomorrow and I will ask my center and see what they say. I intend to do the exercises on my wii fit, but don't know if they would be approved. However... MB is based on calories, so I don't see why not.

I was on meta-balance for the 2nd half of my weight loss. I did a ton of cross training - circuit/lifting/core, hiking, zumba, hip hop, karate. Overall fat loss is the only thing that will help you lose the belly, but the exercise will strengthen you and give you great abs under the fat. The cross training really gave me a great shape overall. The circuit training with core work has been the best and is a foundation for everything I do. It is very similar to P90x where it keeps your heart rate in the fat burning zone while lifting and developing muscle.

I probably lost a bit slower on metabalance because of the amount of exercise I did, but I made it to goal and I DO NOT regret it. I'm so happy with my body and my fitness level right now. AT 37, I'm in the best shape of my life.

I'm not on a plan yet, just coming off pre-conditioning, so I will find out today. But I went for WI yesterday and I was so happy with myself that I went to the gym the last 2 days and did an hour on the treadmill. Nothing fast or fancy but it was a little over 2 miles each day. And the consultant told me not to exercise that much... to only exercise 30min 3 times per week. I guess since I have a lot to go on my journey that exercising now may not be good for losing a lot of weight?

MRC is different in that it depends solely on calorie restriction for weight loss. In fact, the calories are so low that if you exercise, it can send your body into starvation mode and you won't lose weight. Either that, or you will burn a lot of lean muscle mass which is NOT GOOD. Some people call it a radical diet - it is, but it worked for me because I knew all along that I would have to make the transition to something more reasonable eventually.

The menu we're talking about is rare - they only put people on it who are diabetic or who consistently exercise over 200 min a week and have plateaued because of exercise. If you are still losing with your treadmill work, I'd keep it up unless you begin to not see weight loss.

Thanks for the response Goalbound. My center told me there really wasn't a restriction on exercise with this particular menu plan. For me this is really good because as of the middle of Jan I became more active and work out 6-7 days a week. I was told the maximum I could would be an hour a day. Please let me know what your center says. Plus when I sign up I am going to ask again if the response is the same.

hatethesweatpants - great name by the way. I am feeling a little thick in the head today so I will run this by you. My workout is going to consist of the following: 3 days of strength training with resistance bands (Power 90 dvd) and 3 days of cardio (a mix of Brazilian Butt Lift/Hip Hop Abs dvds) and the 7th day is either a free day or I am going to a Zumba class. Again my workouts will be about 60 min a day. Does this sound like something that may bring my belly fat down? Also what did your center say about the slow weight loss--did they hassle you?

Also how often and how long were you exercising? Am I expecting too much with the workout plan I am thinking of? Any tips you wish you had known and would have been wiser had you known?

Hi Rzrbackcandi. What did you find out about the exercising? Also which plan did they put you on?

Hey Harlow Grey...

I'm on the MetaSlim Plus level 3 menu. I'm not used to weighing stuff so I'm glad I start it in the morning and it's a weekend and I can take time to learn everything. I went to the grocery store today - still spending a lot of $$ but when I think about what I'm not spending (i.e. breakfast at Panera about every other morning, frequent stops at the local gas station for sodas, chips & candy).. I think it's working out to be good. Anyway - the Wii question is "Yes!". As long as you are maintaining a steady workout, then it counts. I'm happy for that but feel bad for my downstairs neighbors when I break out the Dance Dance Revolution! HA! should be fun :-)

Good Luck
~C

I would just say to listen to your body. I was working out at least as much as what you are planning and there were many, many days where I just felt run down. If I were to go back, I would be more aware of what my body was telling me. In my last couple of months on plan, my exercise schedule was M, W, F: 1hr circuit training and 1 hr of karate. T/Th was a hike or zumba. Sat hike usually and Sunday off. Towards the end of plan, my menstrual cycle was wacky, I was having weird pains in my gallbladder area, and I was really really tired. I slowed down and went to 1 workout/day 4-5 days/week. Felt much better, more energetic, and lost more weight.

No, my center didn't hassle me because I've always been a very strong advocate for myself there. If I didn't like what they were saying, I told them so. They were very supportive of my exercise, but I also chose to see counselors who were exercisers themselves. Now, to maintain, I circuit train 3 days/week, do hip hop 1-2x/week and throw a hike in when I can.

Belly fat loss comes with overall weight loss, but the exercises you've chosen will do great to make your core stronger and you'll have flat abs after you lose the fat. Good luck and please ask more questions if I'm not making sense! It's been a long day!

So I am doing my first Hike this weekend, its a 6.9 mile hike its considered a moderate hike about a 700 feet elevation gain thru out the hike, was wondering what anyone would recommend for eating on this as I don't want to go off plan to badly we are also staying overnight so planning on bringing a cooler for the evening meal.... not sure what I should do for our lunch that is high in protein but gives me enough carbs for energy......

When I did extra exercise in a day, my center recommended extra fruit, extra protein in cheese sticks...I would pack maybe a tuna salad or chicken salad for lunch...and take some extra cheese sticks and an orange or apple for a snack. Also you could throw in an extra meal bar and eat it if you feel tired/hungry. Better to eat that than some sugary trail mix from a friend.

I went back into today and had another consultant who totally said "Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!" I questioned the 3X30min/week and she said to exercise as much as I want as long as I feel comfortable. So now I'm really confused!

This is one topic where I think each consultant has their own ideas and have been given different advise by different consultants as well. They do all seem to agree that for high-impact exericse on the META -Slim program it should be limited to 30 min three times a week but for light or moderate exercise I have been told many different things.

Mariah

I did a brisk 15 minute walk yesterday - just walked outside, around my office complex. Couldn't definitely tell a difference between walking on pavement vs. the treadmill. But today it's kinda rainy so I'm going to go to the gym and will probably do 30 minutes on the treadmill. The consultant yesterday said to work in at least 5 speed bursts that last 30 seconds to 1 minute. So I'm going to give that a try.