The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Mike]

You can have 1 C of lowfat cheese for the Lean portion. Not 8 oz (weight), but 1 Cup. There is a difference.

[Nancy]

Thanks, Mike for answering this for me; I didn't see the question.

Cheese is a rough one - it is hard to stop at a small amount and most has quite a bit of fat.

Choose low fat whenever possible. Mozzarella is a great choice as it is lower in fat.

You are totally right to point out the portion size - 8 ounces of cheese volume-wise is less than 8 ounces of cheese weight.

[nickieluv]

I can have cheese for lean? And PB for a snack? You have just made my day, everybody - I've been missing these things! So I could put 1 cup of shredded mozzarella on my 2 cups of lettuce for a salad and that would be L&G? I am so having that tonight! Thanks bunches!

[Mike]

Yes, Nickie. At least according to recent info, PB is allowed as a snack.
As for the cheese, its been there in the Quick Start guide listed under vegetarian options.
It says: Vegetarians may substitute 3/4-1 cup lowfat cheese, 2 eggs (limit to 3 times a week), 1/2-1 Cup egg substitute, 6 egg whites, 5 oz. firm tofu, 7 oz. soft tofu, 1/2-1 cup low fat cottage cheese. 1 Boca Burger or Morning Star Burger.

Remember, the Medifast Scrambled eggs are not included in this substitution.

[Nancy]

I tend to go for the lower end of the cheese serving - like 3/4 cup.

My personal opinion is that cheese and peanut butter are foods that are way too easy to OD on; most people are not able to control themselves when it comes to PB...be vewy vewy cawefwull with peanut butter.

I do not think it is a good idea for people new to the program to use cheese and PB...

[bikipatra]

I can have cheese for lean? And PB for a snack? You have just made my day, everybody - I've been missing these things! So I could put 1 cup of shredded mozzarella on my 2 cups of lettuce for a salad and that would be L&G? I am so having that tonight! Thanks bunches!

Nickie, not to seem critical, but does that seem like a "normal" meal to you? The ratio? 1 cup of grated cheese is a lot of cheese to put on a salad and seems to be asking for trouble. Why don't you try some 1% cottage cheese first? I just wanted you to think about it. It's just you had been talking about pizza a few posts earlier and then you head to a salad with as much cheese as a slice of pizza or more!

[Serendipity]

Peanut butter is a huge trigger for me. If I had used PB in my program, I'm almost certain, I would have caved. It would have been like allowing "a small candy bar" for me.

We have to know ourselves and what we can and can't take from this program. Frankly, I'm surprised that Medifast would include it on the list of allowable snacks.....just too dangerous.

[Arghh!]

Well I'm happy to hear about the buffalo mozarella and tomato salad, that one I will use and 3/4 of a cup is probably more than I would normally eat anyways so no problems here.

1 cup of shredded mozarella does sound like a lot to me too. It's much denser and I'd bet packs a lot more calories and fat, Nickie.

Nickie, do you know the difference between buffalo mozarella and cow's milk mozarella?

[nickieluv]

Well, PB is not an issue for me - I can't eat much of it anyway so 1tsp for a snack every so often I know I can handle. If it were chocolate - forget about it, I could never handle just a little of that!

Cheese - well, I did not end up having it on a salad, but instead melted over my vegetables. And it did seem like an awful lot of cheese. And after I ate it I realized the package was not low-fat - but low-moisture part-skim - I just saw the 'low' and assumed. Ack!

I can't stomach cottage cheese so I'm not going there - at least not now. Maybe my tastes will change after longer on the program.

I am not counting this as a cheat because I really thought I was sticking to plan - but even though I was nicely under ticker today, I was up 1.1lb from yesterday's weight - so obviously this did not work out! I should have known that if I was so excited about it it couldn't be OK.

Oh well - no more cheese for me! But it was a nice dream while it lasted.

[Nancy]

I'm with you, Jo re: PB.

It is in the best interest of newbies to avoid PB and IMHO, to avoid cheese.

As a general rule, cheese of all types contains a considerable amount of sodium which can cause water retention.

Remember, Folks when I mentioned the Tomatoes with Buffalo Mozzarella, I am on Maintenance and so is Jo…once you get your goal weight, there are more choices but when we are on the weight loss phase, abide by the guidelines of the 5 & 1 Program as outlined in the Quick Start Booklet.

Once a person begins to add a little of this, a dab of that and fails to fully read the entire label on a food product, their weight loss can slow down and then they become cheesed at the program and abandon their plans for reaching a healthier weight.

If I had been able to eat a reasonable amount of peanut butter, a small serving of ice cream and just one slice of pizza, I wouldn’t have weighed 267 pounds. I need strict guidelines, I need portion control and a restraining jacket!

[DogMa]

I'm so with you guys on this. I didn't add cheese to my eating till the very end of the program, and then just a very small measured amount of reduced-fat feta (and now on maintenance I still tend to measure it out and eat only small amounts at a time). And zero peanut butter till maintenance - even now, I measure out a tablespoon and eat it on an apple or some soy crisps or high-fiber crackers (also measured out). It's WAY too easy to overdo it - I could sit with a jar of peanut butter and just eat it by the spoonful. Sigh.