The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[need2succeed]

Hi All,

I hope everyone is doing well on Medifast.

Lately I've been struggling with the "there might be a better way" feeling. Some people I know have said that they lose faster when they eat and I can't help but wonder if that might be the case for me too. I'm on the full fast. I'm struggling with the temptation to try something different, yet fearful that if the new approach doesn't work, then I'll fail all together and not be able to get back into Medifast.

Have any other long timers felt this way? I'm on my 10th week! The weight loss is slowing down tremendously (last week I only lost half a pound!).

[DutchChoc]

Hi N2S! I'm only nearing the end of half that time on the full fast, but what I really feel like doing is saying, "Yeah, YOU!!" for doing so well over the course of your fast. I doubt it gets better than losing 43 pounds in 10 weeks very often.

Have you considered that your working out/exercising could've been building muscle that's been replacing the weight of some of the fat that you've "really" been losing? That's a possibility that I'd consider if I were you. Else, maybe this is a short-lived plateau and you'll soon see what you're wanting to see.

I'm going through something of a slow losing period myself. This is what USUALLY happens -- a kind of deja vu that often derails me -- but this time I want to stick around to see the eventual breakthrough. Speaking for myself only, I know that quitting now would turn into another "told-you-so" for me, so I'm going to hang in here just as long as possible. This is working for me better than anything else I've ever tried, and I've tried a lot of things rather haphazardly, without the dedication to go the distance. I really want to be tougher than this dilemma. I actually think I deserve to find out that I could do it instead of finding out that I couldn't.

I hope you get some good replies to your question. I'm sure that you will.

[sudaoning]

I have only been MFing since 7/26, but the scale has stalled for about the last 2 weeks......hovering just over the big 200 barrier

FINALLY this morning there was a big (relatively) drop to 198. (Can you see me dancing???)

I set mini goals of 5 lbs at a time, so this put me over a big hump and well on the way to the next. One more pound for the 20 lb club Unca.

I have found in the past that it is typical for my body to hang in one place for a frustrating period of time then give up and let go of several pounds. It is so easy to keep going when the weight is melting off, but can be so hard in those stuck periods. Thanks to you all for being here. I continue to visit daily, sometimes multiple times a day. It keeps me connected.

[DutchChoc]

Great, Sudaoning! I, also, had a relative breakthrough since yesterday. Glad we're hanging in to get those rewards. We should be reaching the 20 pound club about the same time -- really soon. I'm just .4 away now. Have a good MF day.

[sudaoning]

Great Dutch!

It's so good to have MF sisters and brothers to share the journey!

[Sylvia]

N2S,

I have been doing the program for 16 weeks and have had several of the thoughts you are describing. People often hit a plateau when they reach the 40 or 50 pound stage. My weight loss has come in fits and starts all along, so I have hit more than my share of slow loss times. The difference is, with MF, if you stay true to the program, the slowdown will end and the weight loss will pick up again.

The danger of moving to a food-based plan after being on MF for a considerable amount of time is that it will be extremely hard, if not impossible to lose weight safely for 2-3 months. On MF, your metabolism drops since your calorie intake is so low. I understand it takes 2-3 months to get it back up to normal. So even for folks who are at goal and transitioning off the plan, the recommendation is for them to eat 1200-1500 calories a day and exercise regularly for those 2-3 months.

So, if you can only eat 1200-1500 calories with exercise to MAINTAIN your loss, you would have to eat in food something less than 1000 calories to lose weight which (1) would not result in faster weight loss, (2) is not sustainable, and (3) would not be likely to get you proper nutrition.

Anyway, while I understand exactly where you're coming from, these are the reasons I've resisted the urge to think I can finish this with food. And when I've stayed with it, the weight loss has picked up. So I'm still chugging along steadily toward my goal...

Good luck!

Sylvia

[Guest]

Sylvia,

I think you did a good job saying it, but I still have questions for you, or, at least one.

Do you really have no doubt that your body can survive the indeterminable number of weeks to lose another 28 pounds or so, that is, after already having 16 weeks under your belt?

[need2succeed]

Thank you so much, to everyone who responded!

DutchChoc--I can't WAIT to get to where you are weight wise. My goal is 120, but once I get under the 150s I'll be a lot more comfortable.

Sudaonig - I think you have the right idea with the mini goals. I guess my goals are kind of big and take a while to get to, so maybe I should set smaller ones for now.

Sylvia- Thanks for your post, it really put things in perspective. I am not willing to do all the exercising at this time, and keeping below 1000 calories a day when it comes to real food would be just plain frustrating! I'd rather do the shakes (well--hey, if I can't pig out then why even bother!! lol).

Guest - I don't know the exact answer but I've seen the success stories that prove that Medifast can take one down to his/her goal weight. Everyone is different and I think it also depends on how realistic the goal weight is.

Good luck all!

[sudaoning]

Guest,

Part of the reason that I am carrying all this extra weight is my lack of committment to any program. I would cut and run when the going got rough.....then try the next thing. Gaining and losing repeatedly.

Not eating will not kill me. Even completely not eating. I know. I have fasted numerous times in the past. Not only will it not kill me, but my body has been healthier from the experience.

But we are not NOT eating here. We are eating and eating often but in a very different way and in a much lower volume.

I know I am still kind of a newbie here, but I have no fear that my body will not survive. The challenge here is the battle that occurs in the mind. The battle over past habits. The battle not to CHOOSE to fail again.

If you choose to join us you will find all the loving support you could want.
Welcome.
Donna

[Lois]

Hello, friends!

I decided that getting on the scale too often was part of my problem. I needed to stick with the program and TRUST it. There are SOOoooo many things that effect the scale, and I was becoming a slave to the numbers.

Also (true confessions time here) I could rationalize little "cheats" if the scale didn't go UP as "punishment". This gave me the FALSE IMPRESSION that I could "play with" the program and still lose the weight!!! WRONG!!!

Hence, my 100 Day Challenge....which focuses on sticking to the program (what Nancy calls program compliance) and NOT LOOKING at the scale for at least 25 days at a time. This way, my commiittment to MF does not go up or down with the scale. I am comitted, PERIOD.

Wishing you all the BEST

[Sylvia]

Hi Guest,

In answer to your question

Do you really have no doubt that your body can survive the indeterminable number of weeks to lose another 28 pounds or so, that is, after already having 16 weeks under your belt?

It is not my body that is the problem, it is my mind. My body feels great - better than it has in years. This stuff is healthy and it is good for you.

In any event, I have been steadily losing about 10 pounds per month for the past three months and should be at the 10 pound mark for this month too. I have no reason to think if I stay true to the program that I won't be done with this by November 1 which, coincidentally, is the amount of time I committed to doing this program.

[DutchChoc]

Thanks for the answers to my big question, guys. I was the Guest, only because I'm at a training site and I hadn't signed in on that occassion. It still does make me a bit nervous to keep on doing this albeit I feel great, also. Not a single symptom outside of rarely noticing that my bp must be kind of low at times if I get up too quickly.

I know instinctively that this is my best chance. It gives me great encouragement to see the "survivors" way ahead of me in terms of time on the program.

Interesting that you had planned on a November date, Sylvia. For some reason, I thought about a month of doing this would be enough, and that's turning out not to be the case. I can't say that I'm disappointed, because this is going better than I really thought it would, but I was still expecting too much apparently. It will be interesting to see how the next days and weeks go.

[Sylvia]

Well, I can't say I was planning on a November date when I started. Based on the rapid weight loss some others experienced, I had actually hoped to be done about now. It became pretty clear early on that my original plan to lose 75 pounds in four months wasn't going to happen.

So instead of worrying about how long it was going to take and whether I was really willing to do it for so long, I decided I would commit for a total of six months and however much weight I could lose in that amount of time. It now appears that I picked the right date as I am on track to be done with my weight loss by then.

Also, another note on how my body is doing. In addition to feeling great, I got my cholesterol reading back the other day. I have never before now not had at least mildly high cholesterol. It was 205 when I was exercising and eating an almost exclusively vegetarian diet. It is now a normal 176.

I am actually going to figure out how to work these products into my normal diet even after I'm done!

[DutchChoc]

Well, Sylvia, I'm trying to lose about as much as you, so maybe -- let's hope -- we'll both be around at least a couple of more months then. And even MORE, possibly, to help make the changes stick. As I see it, even if it takes me until November, that's good because it'll mean that I won't be gaining (rebounding ) weight leading up to the holidays. I have to learn patience and absolute determination, and now's as good a time as even later in my life. Thanks.

N2S, we're all in this together, as you see.... Cheers!!

[Guest]

Hence, my 100 Day Challenge....which focuses on sticking to the program (what Nancy calls program compliance) and NOT LOOKING at the scale for at least 25 days at a time. This way, my commiittment to MF does not go up or down with the scale. I am comitted, PERIOD.

Wow, that sounds like a great challenge. I am trying so hard to resist the scale, as I believe that is what is causing my resolve to waver. It's going to take some serious willpower for me to resist the scale for that long--Maybe tomorrow I can start the process!