The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[sudaoning]

Not much time.
I am sittin in stall mode with ya Dutch.
Seems my body's new and somewhat frustrating pattern is to sit for 2 weeks, drop 2 lbs and sit some more.
SLOW

The transition phase is looming large and I can see how scary it is from here already, but Nancy and Mike will be holding your hand and the rest of us will be cheering you on.

GO DUTCH

[Nancy]

Dutch ~

Earth to Leopard Woman...duh! my brain just came alive here...I figured out what you meant about the thought of soups as you replied a few posts up to my suggestions about upping your potassium. Since you are on the shakes only plan, you may have been concerned about having SOUP. The Fast Soups are virtually fortified bouillon - just the teensiest sprinkling of carrot or some sort of a veggie flake...it will not harm your complete program...

[DutchChoc]

Stall mode, stall mode alert. Sudaoing, we will kick the tires and get them spinning again, huh? Fortunately, I'm taking it rather well. I am STILL, no matter what, much better off than I was 8 weeks ago -- if I never lose an inch or a pound. This is, if nothing else, a period of maintaining a fairly low weight for me that is for the large part unprecedented. Thanks for the reminder of the help here re transition from the experts. I'll rely on it and hope I don't crash to the point of dropping out.

I'm happy that I'm taking this lull well and that I'm not being called off the path by trolls under the bridge, etc. My level of temptation is pretty low again. I even went to "eat" lunch with someone and had decaf. It turned out pretty well because it was the same person I thought would be quite indignant of my plan in one of my other posts long ago.

Yes, that's it about the idea of soup, Nancy. My extremish view of things leads me to believe that that is not fasting like on the shakes only. I know the definition of fast on MF is not the same as my own idea of fast. I realize, also, that it's the extremish view of things that has undermined my efforts at times, too.

There have been no more of those leg pains in several days, so I've put that concern about whether it's a potassium problem on the back burner for now, knock on wood. Surely, not me!

I'm not exactly getting "worried", but I'm "thinking" that this is going to take longer than a month now. Maybe I should re-evaluate and try to keep going until I shrivel or am satisfied with having completed what I wanted to achieve. Today, I feel like I'm in no rush to stop doing what I'm doing. Thanks for the dialog about it. I'll keep posting on this thread just to be sure I'm not making an excuse to bow out of my countdown month obligation to myself. Take care, everybody.

[DutchChoc]

Well, I've gotten my little prize of the week - went not just "into" the 134's, but hit it at 134.0 this morning, meaning (am I suspicious?) there might be more coming VERY soon. I feel as if I needed that bit of encouragement.

Having a good day, with more to do -- son is going to the dentist still today in just a few minutes. Then, to the gym later for a good 30-minute crosstrainer workout and a few weights.

Must admit that I've had thoughts of food today - but, this is day 60 without food (as I see it), so who wouldn't be thinking of it, perhaps? I'm still strong, just hungry.

Take care everyone. One little 'chic is happy tonight.

[sudaoning]

Morning Dutch.............

Foody thoughts.........always in the air, but let's not latch on to them........let them pass through............like an aroma in the air.....watch them but do not claim them as our own..............that real solid slinky 134 is soooo much better than any vaporous temptation passing by whispering lies in your ear..................I'm right there with ya Sister! We all are!

Question for Nancy, Mike, MF Gurus:
I seem to be losing at about 1 pound a week. Excruciatingly slow, but better than the alternative. No danger of turning back here. BUT last nite some experienced MFers of my acquaintence recommended that I change my plan. I have been doing 5-6 MF/day including 1 bar most days and no food except some diced veggies (celery, pepper, onion) added to soup sometimes. I do have an occasional LG meal. Maybe 1/week. I have not yet added exercise except tai chi (which does break a sweat contrary to poular belief), which we have recently discussed here and Nancy agreed that I maybe should wait a few more pounds. Anyway, said experienced folks recommended that I eat a LG meal for the next week with at least 6-8 oz of protein, and maybe even 2 LGs/day. Then return to just MF. 1 pound is SLOW but it IS in the right direction and I certainly don't want to stop that. You guys here are my guides and lifeline. What say ye?

[DutchChoc]

Well, please reply to Sudaoing. I don't want to sidetrack advice on that as I know the feeling of the doldrums.

BUT, here's my news of the day, 133.2, so I've hit that sweet spot again and am in losing mode the past day or two. If the MF gods are with me, I could possibly post a 3 pound loss on Sunday morning.

I'm OFF today -- woohoo. Will do some fun and not-so-fun things around here starting in a few minutes. I will WORK some more Medifat off going through my closets and trying to get some of the better stuff that fits hanging more availably. Closet is in dire need of that project. Most of what I have looks unappetizing to me now - too many memories of wearing it for long stretches when all I could do was "throw something on" and kind of bless myself, knowing I didn't feel OR look well.

Will watch for the suggestion, Sudaoing. I was hoping that when I saw your name, it was going to be that you're rolling swiftly along.

[sudaoning]

Dutch,

Not swiftly but rolling. Only 1 pound from 190 now.

What FUN to go through the closet and purge all those old frumpy garments to make room for your stuff you actually feel GOOD in!

I have placed a box in my basement to to collect it all. It feels wonderful to see it filling up! And as a bonus, my closets and drawers, overflowing from holding an asortment of sizes, will hold soooo much more when I need only 1 MUCH smaller size!

I am taking most of today off work too. Will do some house work first , then I plan a little excursion to pick up that recumbent bike! Bummer, it's raining! But clearing expected for the weekend. My 30 lb reward is coming a few pounds early, but I Promise to stay the course to 30 (4 to go). I had to spend a little of my bike money for something else yesterday, and my kids, who had been acting like little monsters, suddenly stopped. When they realized what I was doing their wings and halos popped out from behind the horns and they offered me their own money for my bike. aaawwwwww!!!!!!!

133!!!!!! GO DUTCH! You are inspiring me!

[Sylvia]

DC,

Congrats on your loss! I'm back on a losing track this week too - down about 2 1/2 pounds in the last few days. Isn't amazing what a few extra pounds of loss does to your motivation and resolve?

I go back and forth thinking about what my goal weight is/should be. I honestly think 150-155 is probably the right weight for me but now that I'm getting closer, I wonder if I should really be aiming for the 140's. Anybody have any ideas on how to deal with this?

On the one hand, I can certainly just wait until I get to 155 or so and reassess. I am worried that if I get to "goal" and then still feel I need to lose more, it will be depressing and/or demotivating. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Sylvia

[Simmshe]

Yaaay Dutch ! I'm so happy for you--I know how frustrated being stalled has been for you, so this fantastic news! Eight more pounds till goal !

Sylvia, as for your goal weight, do you have point of reference that you are using to help you decide on a goal weight--is there a healthy weight that you have been as an adult that you are using for a gauge? It's weird though, because it seems that often our bodies are different at weights that we were previously at, so using a reference weight isn't necessarily the best weight to aim for. Also, consider your frame and muscularity--this, of course determines how low a person has to go. If you plan on picking up your exercise more in the future, adding in strength training/weight bearing/toning exercises, this greatly affects your weight--and for the better. You could be flabby and pretty much "muscleless" at one weight if you aren't doing weight bearing/toning exercises, and several inches smaller at the same weight if you are doing such exercise. Maybe you might want to get to your 150ish weight, give your body some time to adjust (as of course our bodies are at their flabbiest, skin is at its loosest, and cellulite is at its worse when we are fresh off of a big weight loss), get in some strength training, and then reevaluate after a few months whether or not you want to lose more weight . Or even if you don't strength train, still give your body some months to conform to its new, stable weight. I'm sure that inches will be loss during this process alone (I've already experienced this to a degree during my long weight holds). Just some thoughts . Remember that often, especially if we haven't been a healthy/ideal weight in while, we don't know exactly what our goal weight is until we get there. It will probably take a little trial and error. These goals have some flexibility to them--give yourself some flexibility .

Sheryl

P.S. I have never been a slim adult--I've been 250lb+ since I was 14 years old, so honestly, I have very little idea about what my goal weight is. I have an idea, but I'll reassess things the closer I get to goal. This is definitely unchartered territory for me.

[Sylvia]

Sheryl,

Thanks for all of your great thoughts. Of course you're right - this is a work in progress. Sometimes I'm so anzious to move from the loss phase to the maintenance phase that I lose track of the fact that I might not get there in a completely linear way.

The reality is that I've been quite overweight since college. That actually surprises me because I have always thought of myself as a thin person but have clearly been delusional for some time! I actually weigh about 5 pounds less now than I did when I got married at 21. I definitely had more muscle then and looked better (but 2 kids and a gazillion stretch marks might have something to do with that too).

So I'll stick with 150 for a goal now and maybe when I get there I'll maintain that for a while and then decide if I need to lose another 5 or 10. The thing is that I've really taken to heart what others have said about falling off the wagon so I'm hesitant to stop while I'm on a roll.

Oh well - a minor issue in the scheme of things.

Sylvia

[DutchChoc]

Sylvia, yeah, I can certainly relate to that thought of rolling off the wagon too soon. Not only that, I'm not sure it's going to feel "right" to roll off the wagon, at all, ever. I have a mind that it's going to take on all the characteristics of a big goof-up, or that I will react to it that way and make it so. "This" is so much easier for me right now. As long as I can keep metabolically going, I'm going to keep going on this path until I get to 125. I hope I'm content then, but as Simmshe said, so much is about body composition. The past four years or so, I've replaced lots of good muscle with adipose tissue. It feels like little left but some squishy and some bony now -- the firm muscle isn't taking up much space. Why? Because I did not maintain it properly while I so-called chose to be fatter. Glad you're in the dropping phase again. This is the weirdest thing. I'd say that I was never quite true enough to a "diet" before to notice this, i.e. I absolutely know it isn't because I'm sabotaging myself or changing anything, but the weight comes off in spurts. Oh, that's not a pretty vision!!

Sudaoing, I'm glad that those children of yours are sharing in your reward for the 30 pounds. We get a lot out of the kindness of others in the sense of validation, etc. It doesn't even take much, just a bit of positivity if you know what I mean. I hope you can go for a ride soon - well, weather or no weather, you will probably do it, lol. Four pounds is going to be gone soon. I'm glad things are moving again.

I coined a new phrase today -- we pay our "Medidues" by adhering to the program.

Simmshe, you just keep hanging in there and you're going to find out what it's like to have less to tote around, alright. It's a bit odd, but sometimes when one loses weight, all of a sudden one looks around and it seems like EVERYONE's thin, anyway, and it seems rather ordinary, believe it or not. That's probably just a bit of despair I've noticed before, perhaps something that got me on a bad day, and old fattitude or way of self-defeat. There's always something, it seems. But it's well worth finding out and working with as long as it takes to get it right.

[Nancy]

Dutch ~

Congratulations on your loss! I am really happy for your success! It is so worth the wait (weight), eh?

Sudaoning ~

Re: your slow loss and your plan

When people hit a stall, it is needful to asses their entire plan – adequate water, meals on time, exact amount of meat – weigh it after cooking and exact amount of veggies, etc.

What’s your stress level like? In my April 2004 Newsletter http://www.makemethinner.com/newsletter ... letter.htm
I addressed the issue of stress and how it affects weight loss. Research is showing more how our body reacts negatively to increased stress levels. Cortisol increases can cause our body to store flab instead of releasing it. We pack our lives so full with activities, we spend more time stuck in traffic, we live like caged rats in our workplace – little tiny cubicles where we fail to get natural lighting and rarely get a chance to leave the hamster wheel to take a break. More people are looking for ways to de-stress and they aren’t doing it in a gym – they are doing it by the glassful, by the bagful and by the plateful.

Are you getting enough sleep?

When people have not been resting very well and certainly not sleeping enough it will show on the scale. Our body must have adequate rest in order to repair and restore itself.

Physical injuries affect weight loss as does excessive exercise for the amount of calories taken in. That’s why I suggest that active women use Medifast 70 rather than Medifast 55. However, Suda, you haven’t been ODing in the exercise department.

If all these things are right in line with the Medifast weight loss program, then there are a few other things I look at. I have a person consider having shakes only – no bars at all - for a few days then resume the regular 5 and One Plan. Another suggestion is to have a double shake for breakfast – two packets of MF mixed with 12-16 ounces of water, then the other five shakes every three hours.

People that have their bar in the evening or for breakfast can sometimes create weight loss slowdowns. We do not want to introduce a bar for the first meal of the day because they have higher amounts of sugar than does oatmeal or a shake. After having gone all night with no food, it is not a good idea to break the fast with a sugar surge – it makes the blood sugar level raise too rapidly and then drop off. Likewise, the bars have higher carbs and it is best to not have them after supper in the evening since most people will not be exercising prior to bedtime. It is suggested that bars be eaten at lunch, early or later afternoon when one has had some steady input of food and will have some activity.

People with thyroid issues have slow weight loss – it is a bummer but that’s the nature of the disease. There may be some health issues that affect weight loss. Certainly a woman’s menstrual cycle wreaks havoc and yet because we know it comes about regularly, we must prepare for it by getting adequate exercise, rest and drink plenty of fluids and lay off succumbing to those manic calls of carbs and fatty foods by slurping a Dutch Choc shake or having soothing herbals teas!

I personally would not go with two Lean and Greens per day for a young person without diabetes but it’s your choice to do so if you will. Older people do have different nutritional needs than do younger people and also people with compromised health. Seniors eat two smaller Lean and Green meals and usually have 4 Medifast products, depending upon the caloric levels we plan along with their physician’s direction.

Regarding the 6-8 ounces of protein – I think that people often DO NOT measure their protein amount and over eat protein, which means that their meal is not balanced properly and it directly affects their weight loss. I have been MFing for quite a while now and only recently do I eyeball it – I have measured faithfully. It is too hard to guesstimate how much is 5-6 ounces. Americans are used to consuming rather large quantities of meat and fish and often eat larger portions that are needed for good health, let alone the amount permitted on a weight loss program.

I am not a physician nor pretend to be one but have extensive training and experience using Medifast. Each person is unique and our bodies just do not all behave the same way and for some reason, some of us have fat stores that just don’t seem to wanna leave! Drat! I hate it when that happens. It IS frustrating – for you and for me, too. When I allow a couple pounds to creep up, it takes a long time to shed them – it’s not like the first two-three weeks on Medifast when I began in 2002. How I wish that I could have you all dump a pound a day, we would all be feeling mighty fine.

Some of you do well to weigh once a month, some do fine weighing once a week and others, like moi, weigh every dang time we walk past the scale! I feel that there is definite value in recording one’s daily food intake and weight so that we can analyze the loss patterns.

Our daughter has had some very slow weight loss weeks. She went several weeks with the needle of the scale barely moving and then it picks up and she dumps a number of pounds per week. That’s her body’s pattern.

I am on maintenance and yet my “good” weight days are Thursday – Saturday. I can virtually not vary my eating habits one iota and somehow pick up a pound or two over a matter of one - two days and then it will take several days for it to fall away. I don’t get my knickers in a wad any more when that happens because of my food journaling and recording my weight daily. I understand my body better.

Suda, it is unusual for a person to experience a true plateau so early in the weight loss phase as you are at this point. They often do not occur until a person has lost 40-50 pounds. If you have faithfully been measuring your protein amounts, it certainly won’t hurt to increase your protein up to 8 ounces to try to ‘shock’ your body system. Protein imbalance can sometimes do the trick.

I know this is long a drawn out response to your simple question but I felt it necessary to address this complex issue as so many are reading this and are all at different points in your weight loss program. Some are beginners, some are mid-program and some are about ready to begin transition and some are maintaining.

May the Fat Fairy crash and burn and not visit any one’s house ever again!

May the Skinny Fairy visit us all every day! Shake on, Kids!

[shineface]

Hi All---

What a great thread....just the kind I need as I get back into the 5/1 mode! Looking at old posts from when I first started helps too... thank God all of these great thoughts are documented somewhere!!!!! Reading old posts from other MFers and all of the new information available is such a huge help.... no way of forgetting that I am not alone!!!!!!!!

I am so proud of each and everyone of you because I know how hard it is to make all of these decisions --- we have spent years obsessing about our weight and now we are obsessing in a good way but it is still part of the day to day. I am at the close of day 4 and SOOO happy to be here because I know it does get better --- doesn't feel that way right now but I know this fact is TRUE. This too shall pass but the feel good accomplishments of taking control of losing weight does not go away every day MF prepares us for the long haul. I know - I have been in a maint mode for the last three and a half months and I have made good decisions about never getting lost long-term again. I am the enemy and I know that -- I am also my own best friend and I know that too. For two weeks I just let myself go free and I gained about 8 pounds - the demons are still in me if I want to release them and give them free reign --- I don't want to --- this is the reason I am now starting my Phose 2. At then end of day 4 I am feeling better already.

Thank you all for being here and giving me just what I need.

[DutchChoc]

Pam, I'm glad that you're finally enjoying the peace of mind that we find getting in this comfortable and loving MF rut, without the demons, etc.

What you said strikes quite a cord with me - the part about letting yourself go free a couple of weeks, etc. Ah, yes! How annoying it is to me that I ALWAYS encounter huge problems by allowing myself to go free. What's with that?? I seem to absolutely REQUIRE a strict regimen just to maintain a comfortable degree of balance in my life, and sometimes I really resent it that I mess things ALL UP when I go free. I'm betting that you know exactly what I mean.

I suppose the answer is that I will have to come to the conclusion that going free is too devastating and too destructive to contemplate. At least, when I read Nancy's posts, I get the feeling that there's never that wanton abandonment that gets ME in trouble. I simply must want to be balanced more than I want to do whatever the heck comes into my noggin, I guess. Else, for the next "X" years of my life, I'm sure I can plan to be redoing, redoing, redoing this ad nauseum.

It would be so wonderful to cross my own behavior off my own "bad list". Getting closer makes all of this quite real, of course. Maybe it's like the night before a day off, and the night before the day off is so much more filled with promise and possibility than getting to the day off. We know how to get to Thinsville, to get on the train and go towards the station, but how to step off without stepping onto a cow pie is another story! However, I still feel optimistic and hopeful that we can do it, one careful step at a time.

[sudaoning]

Nancy

Thanks for taking so much time with your reply.

Just to give you a bit more info:
I never exceed 4 hours without food (MF)....most often 2.5-3.5 hours. Have 3 shakes a day. On days that I have a bar it is usually mid afternoon. Never first or last meal. Most days I have only MF. I had 1 non MF meal last week. Small half chicken breast, no skin, & small salad. I don't eat dressing. Water? I try to have a glass or two before each meal. Add extra water to my soups with bouilllion and blend ice in my shakes. Plus extra water and / or tea between. Should be more than plenty. Exercise? No way am I over doing it. Stress? Always. Not enough sleep? perhaps. I am not a "young" person, but do not consider myself a senior (52 / menstrual cycle is a non issue) and you have confirmed my suspicion that more non-MF food is probably not the answer. I will re-read your reply a couple of times. I am here to stay, slow or fast, but faster is always better. Like you, my scales are nicer to me on Thurs thru Sunday. They have also have another strange custom. I have an antique doctor's scale. The kind with the sliding weights. My daughter and I noticed some years ago that during the PMSing days the scale most kindly refused to weigh us. We would joke that the scale could indicate when it was time. It would simply rock back and forth over a range of maybe 3 or 4 pounds and refuse to balance anywhere. I have noticed that the same thing often happens just before a weight change either up or down. Warning! Warning! Sudaoning! Weight Change is Imminent.


I will try to stop whining about the stalled scale and be patient. After I get some sleep, that is!