Kathy, thank you SO MUCH for answering my questions! I really appreciate it!

I really can't wait to get started! I am so happy to have found something so easy... I just hope I have the willpower to stick with it! I think with the money it costs, I BETTER TRY really hard!!

Looking forward to posting more when I get my food, and getting to know you all a little better!

Jen

Hi Amanda,
They may be willing to do this (you can ask) but sounds like you'd be better off going with a no snack plan and buying your own so you could pick and chose what you want. I did this because I didn't hate some of the snacks, but I just preferred some varieties over the others. A I said before, you can buy the same types/brands on the internet. You don't save money, but you get to chose your favorites.
-Kathy

Welcome, Jen! Yay! Glad to have you along for the ride!!

If I recall correctly (this was back in early February after all), my first order was placed on a Monday night and the food didn't arrive until the FOLLOWING Friday. If I had made my order by Sunday night, I would've received the order on THAT Friday, but Monday was the cut-off, so I missed it by a week.

But now that everything's up and running, I receive my orders on every Friday (pretty much) and they are processed each Monday. So, that's how it works for me anyway.

Well, for some folks, the expense is a really good motivation. I thought it would be for me, but it turned out that I was really finding it tough to be 100% on-plan all the time, even with the whole "beating myself up over the expense" thing. So, hopefully you'll find the proper motivation to make it work and not get consumed by the money part of things. Because if anything slows down weightloss (at least for me), it's doubting the process.

I find, when I just go on the ride, the weight comes off. When I over-scrutinize, I stall out or gain. But maybe that's just me.

Looks like Kathy suggested some really great money-saving tips! She's awesome. Listen to her!

Hopefully even if you only do stay with us a month you'll lose a good chunk of weight and feel better, learn great portion control and balance of protein and glycemic index issues, and be on your way to losing more with whatever program you try next. Good luck!!!!! And thanks for joining us here!

Totally agree. I did Jenny Craig (several times) in the '90s and always felt like I was being punished or deprived and would go off on wild binges to treat myself after having been "good" for so long, etc. I never really learned portion control because the dang portions were always so small with Jenny Craig and there was just no way to put that into the same frame as what I'd be attempting to make on my own, buying out somewhere, etc. Because they didn't even have nutrition info on the packaging back then (not sure whether they do now), I didn't even learn how much food = how many calories or something useful like counting carbs or protein grams or fat grams.

But on BistroMD, I've got it DOWN. I get how all of this works and I make really good choices when I'm "on my own" and I work all of my "on my own" days INTO my plan so that I really am changing my overall eating habits for the long haul. It's awesome. FOR ME. Like Kathy said, we're all different so it's hard to say how well any plan will work for any one person.

This is so awesome Kathy! I love it!!!!! I was having a conversation with my husband tonight in which I said something about having the option of choosing a favorite BistroMD meal and a piece of pizza, actually. (Obviously, it'd have to be gluten-free pizza for me, but you get the premise.) I said, "No way. If I'm going to have something off-plan, it's going to have to be REALLY wonderful. Like the best something I miss like crazy EVER or something. No way I'd trade a favorite BistroMD meal for a generic piece of pizza. No way."

It's interesting how my tastes have changed in 29 weeks.

Attagirl!! Next time! You show 'em how awesome that is!! Heeeeee!

You can see from my posts that I've had nothing but bliss when it comes to customer service with BistroMD. Certainly, not everyone has had the same level of excellent service, but they've never given me any hassle about substituting anything for any reason (tastes, preferences, food sensitivities, etc.), so definitely ask.

And, again, Kathy has great tips too! Always. So awesome.

Woo!

Wow, you guys are awesome! Thanks so much for all of the support and advice! I can't wait to get my food and get started!

How's everybody doing?

I've had the most off-plan run of days here lately that I stepped on the scale for my "pre-show" weigh-in (official weigh-in is tomorrow) and hopped off quickly, saying, "Don't want to see THAT!"

LOL

Oh well, it's been a fun few days, but definitely time to get back on track! So, I came back by this morning to try and get renewed and excited again. Seeing y'all (online, anyway) always makes me motivated, so thank you!

Hope everyone is having a great week and looking forward to a great weigh-in. I'll have to live vicariously this week. No closer to ONEderland, for sure, this time. But considering how much "damage" could've been done, I'm pretty happy to have been 202 today. For having had LOTS of treats lately, I'd say that's pretty dang good.

Now for getting back on the wagon!!! Here I go! HOP!

Grace, I've had a weird week too. I have no idea what's happened, but I have been HUNGRY all week. Since I've been on Bistro, the only time I've to deal with hunger is when I EXPECT to be hungry (i.e. mealtime or 10:00 at nite). I have no idea what the deal is. At least today, I had an excuse (kinda). I 'prime' my fridge at work every Monday with 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches, and then bring one breakfast/lunch in Tuesday-Thursday (I got into this habit after I forgot my food a couple times). Well, yesterday I forgot to take something in, so today I took in 2 lunches, and forgot to grab breakfasts. So I ate a bar and drank my hot chocolate for breakfast...and was still hungry. After about another hour, I ate another bar. To compound matters, I had the chicken and rice soup, which was delicious, but is the least filling lunch I've had, and since I was hungry, I ate it early. So I ate a bag of crunch-o's...followed by 3 fireballs. By 3:00, starving, ate another bar. I've also been craving raw veggies (could eat a whole head of cauliflower right now). I think I may need to do a couple days off plan to reset my thermostat.

Well I finally made my first major goal 51 lbs GONE for good !!

Tuff week for me as well.. birthday and 2 days of major home renovations where eating my meals were just not an option....... but the bar's, hot chocolate and snacks held me off a MAJOR meltdown. And just to add more stress to the situation. I had an attack of GOUT of all things........ whoa the PAIN.......... MD told me to tone down my protein consumption for a few days and increase liquids.. so I have been eating cereal and milk for at least 2 meals per day to get the old system back in line. So I was really surprised to see a 2 lb lose when I went to the MD's office yesterday.. I jumped on my scale to see if we were in the ball park and surprise my scale was the same.... exactly as his. I reviewed the plan with MD and his nurse and both agreed it was exactly what he would have ordered. In fact his nurse, who is a diabetic, is on a similar plan and has lost 35 lbs.

Oh.. and no food arrived yesterday.. called them and it won't arrive till Saturday....... this system or lack of system is a little disturbing for me. The last 4 weeks it has been Thur then Friday then wed and now Sat..... Hard to plan when it is all over the place.

Now to speak to both Grace and Kathy about hunger.. I have a friend who is convinced that her hunger increases significantly when there is a full moon..... Now at first I laughed but have been checking it over the last several months and I have to say when we are in a full moon those do seem to be the days I am really struggling to stay on plan. I worked for many year in an Emergency room and we all dreaded the full moon days and nights.. the increase in injuries, and strange behavior of our patients seem to be very strong. We would all check our schedules and groan when we saw we were working nights the week of the Full Moon.....

So I am HAPPY TODAY. One Goal Met and MORE TO GO but I take this little reward and be HAPPY .......

Now, my next goal is to hit 75 by year end.. May be a bit of a stretch but I am going for it........

Jen Welcome to the Group......
Love to have new people discover the joy of meal delivery.....

I saw this on the Hungry Girl website and was a little ..hmmm powdered peanut butter ????? Well after talking with some others on Spark People.. they are raving about it.. apparently they remove the fat and when you rehydrate it is only 53 cal per 2 tlbs..... they are using it in drinks, making pb sandwiches and on celery...
I have been HUNGRY for Peanut Butter but have fought off the urge.. This may be the answer..They are even sprinkling it in their oatmeal and cereal.. and mixing it into the sugar free pudding...

Just thought I would check and see if anyone was familiar with it..

Well, no food yet for me. They said they were affected by Hurricane Ike, and that I won't get my food until tomorrow or maybe Saturday. So I guess I'll be starting next week. I'm getting excited!

Do you guys eat anything during the day besides BistroMD food? Like, when I tried NS, I had to add stuff to it. Do you have to add fruits or veggies or anything to this food? I hope not, because I can't afford anything besides my orders! Also, are you guys exercising with this? I'm hoping to lose about 10 lbs to start with and then start walking on my treadmill again... slow but sure...

Looking forward to getting started!

Hi Jen,
No I don't add anything with exception of Milk... I have sometimes swapped out a piece of fruit for a protein snack but on the days that I am on plan.. it is Bistro only.. ( oh I forgot I sometime add a small lettuce salad with vinegar only dressing ). I am getting the 5 day plan so I do have days when I am off of the plan for a few of the meals. but really not a big deal. What I am doing is subbing a few lunches during the 5 days for a bowl of soup for lunch and then use the lunch meal from Bistro for one of my off days for dinner.. so only adding breakfast 2 days.. either oatmeal or egg's and lunch= soup or soup and salad.. then evening meal is Bistro. I know what I can eat for snacks to stay on plan..i.e. string cheese or piece of fruit or sugar free pudding cup. But other than that nothing unless I want to
The other day was a birthday meal so I made a whole wheat pasta with meatballs.. and salad... I opted NOT to have a birthday cake but had a small cookie and pudding dessert in its place. I knew if we got a cake I would want to eat more of it than just one meal. Oh and we had wine with dinner.. But that was the one meal off plan as expected.
Only thing I am buying at the store is cereal, milk and eggs, one loaf of 7 grain low calorie pepperidge farm bread that I keep in the freezer and take out 2 slices to go with the eggs and canned low sodium soup or I have made a beef veggie home made soup and keep in freezer. I get enough to last for a month so it really isn't much.

Hope that helps........

The powdered peanut butter (called PB2) is AWESOME to mix into things. I do not like it mixed up and used like normal peanut butter though. I love it in a smoothie, in pudding, on apples, ect. They just came out with a chocolate flavored one. I have not tried that yet but when I order a new box I might get some.

Oh and yes the PB2 is good in oatmeal! It makes it taste like a peanut butter oatmeal cookie.

I am ORDERING it now... Oh my Chocolate Peanut Butter.......... and I never thought about Oatmeal.. won't that be fun!!!

Thanks for the review and the suggestion ..Now can't wait to get them.
I have no control with real peanut butter .. had to throw the last jar out before I ate the whole thing.... This will be the best option for me..
Thanks again

Seriously! It's just been WEIRD! Today I'm back on BistroMD 100% (and I DO mean 100%) and I am STARVING! I am sooooooooo hungry right now. It's like my body is saying, "More carbs! More fat! More sugar! Pleeeeeeease!" And I'm saying, "Nope! You work on this good food. Enjoy the protein. Work on it. And then the fat in your butt. Plenty to enjoy there."

It's frustrating, because my tummy is growling pretty loudly now. FRUSTRATING!!!

Yeah. I actually just had a talk with my husband about some ideas for going off BistroMD without going "off plan" for a few days. Like maybe making a list of some dishes he could cook (since I don't cook) and doing some glycemic-index-appropriate calorie counting/planning (vs. being off plan and choosing to stay within the right calorie range but blowing it all on booze or starving all day to have something rich and fattening for the calories, etc.).

Not sure.

Also kind of mad at BistroMD right now.

Got my email with the charges for this week and the overall amount charged to my credit card was UP from the past six weeks (which is when we came up with a new amount for my highly-customized plan). No one called. No one emailed. Just BOOM, a new, nigher charge through on my card and no explanation why.

Now, it's only a few dollars but I am REALLY mad.

It's the lack of consideration for communicating with me about an increase--any increase for any reason (especially so soon after the price increase in August), even if temporary--is what gets me steamed. I emailed back a reply to the charge receipt (with CC to the whole team of people who have helped me at various times on this journey) and didn't hear back--even though I usually hear back within MINUTES if I email during the business hours they keep (which I did; it was around noon, my time). So, if they don't get back to me by the time I wake up tomorrow, I'll be calling and we'll be having words, for sure.

I just find that kind of customer service inexcusable (and I know I sound like a loon ranting over something so silly and little), and with my looking for a reason to make a change, this is not helping them. We'll see!

Staying the course, meanwhile.

Congrats, Renita! Good for you!!!!!! Happy birthday, indeed!!! Yay!!!!!

Renita, that is SO interesting!!!!! Wow! Thank you for sharing that! I'm not at all surprised that there's a tie-in to that! Wow! Fascinating!

I love it! Renita, your positivity is just awesome! Yay!!!!!!!! Thanks! And keep kickin' butt!!!!!! Yay!

I had my weigh-in today and was up to 202.2. I know, I know. I was so close to ONEderland (still am, technically, I know, so I'm trying to maintain my "big picture" outlook, which I'm usually good at keeping), but have just been on a ridiculous "cheat" spree. Having a VERY hard time staying on plan and really not worrying about it. I've had champagne FIVE TIMES in the past two weeks!!!!! There has been SO MUCH celebrating going on (and I don't mind!! These are some very well-earned benchmarks we're reaching in other areas of our lives, so my husband and I have REALLY been celebrating) and I'm actually very pleased that all of that sugar and all of those empty calories and all of that "good luck staying on-plan after having had booze" STILL has me weighing in anywhere close to 200.

So, that's what I have to report for now. Still exercising every day. Got a Dance Dance Revolution (can't recall if I've already mentioned that. Sorry if that's old news) and it's been kicking my butt but I'm getting better at it. It's fun! Really gives me a good sweat!

That makes sense. Good for you being excited! I know it's hard to be patient, but it'll be worth it!!

If you get the seven day plan with snacks, then NO. You don't have to add anything.

I exercise every day, but didn't when I first started BistroMD. I started in February and didn't really start adding exercise until mid-July. I know, I know... not really taking advantage of it, huh? But that's what worked for me and I'm pretty pleased now that I'm truly enjoying my daily exercise.

I do the Wii Fit, now the Dance Dance Revolution, and my husband and I go for loooooooong fast walks most nights now that the weather is cooling off.

Hope everyone is having a good run of it. I love coming back to this thread and checking in. Always feels like a good shot in the arm!

Renita - YAY - you go girl

Grace - YAY - you go girl too!

You two have shown what we can do. When you're on it solid, you lose. But even if you fall of the wagon, you have a good enough feel for what's right for your body that you don't do something stoooopid. so you don't throw away weeks of work. I'm SO proud of both of you!

Now I've got to share my big news (no, I'm 55, had all my plumbing taken out, so I'm not pregnant...that's not it). I decided to break down and buy a pair of jeans today, since I had none that would work, even with a belt. I started out 6 months ago at a 'could barely breath in them, so can't wear them if I have to sit down for more than 2 minutes' 22 (i.e. shouldabeen 24). Today, in the same brand, I bought a very comfortable 18 (not tight at all). I can't remember the last time I bought an 18 anything. I really don't care if I lost an ounce this week. This is the best metric I could have!
-Kathy