The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Finally_Losing]

My name is Finally and I have a confession, I ate pizza for lunch yesterday, and loved every bit of it. However, I did have a diet pepsi, so that counts for something right?

I have been under TREMENDOUS amounts of stress for the past week and pizza called to me. I can't say I'm sorry and I did enjoy it. I got right back on schedule after lunch and have been fine since. Between my son's daycare drama, deciding to sell our house, and that TOM (sorry, TMI) I had all I could take. I did it, it's over, now back on plan and I'll face the carb consequences......

Thanks for reading.
Amy

[Serendipity]

Yes, it's good that you got right back on.

Part of this plan is for us to learn not to use food to relieve stress. Things happen and food doesn't make it better. There is no such thing as comfort food. Dealing with daily stress without food can be very liberating and becomes easier and easier with each incident.

The problem I see with off plan eating is that if you give yourself permission to eat off plan once, it becomes easy to allow it again and again. You most likely kick yourself out of ketosis each time and then you have a 3 day struggle to get back on track. This is not the way I want to lose weight. I've struggled enough in the past. I've seen too many forum members play with compliance for awhile and then just disappear. I assume it's because they lost the game and food won.

Another problem with cheating is slowed weight loss. I'm sure you've read all about plateaus and slow weight losses. Many of these posts are from people who are completely compliant. When you add off plan food, you are surely setting yourself up for slower weight loss. Ask yourself if it's worth it and if you have the strength to extend your weight loss period indefinately.

I hope you succeed in this program. It's a great program if you follow it.

Note: The above is just MHO.

[Finally_Losing]

I agree 100% and appreciate your opinion. I have no plans for giving permission for eating off plan again. I'm still learning to deal with stress and boredom without food and have done well so far, but I'm not an expert at it by any means. I'm not beating myself up over it because that won't help at all. That's one thing that I'll have to work at for a long time and that's ok. Thanks for responding and not beating me up, things happen and we move on. I understand I have slowed my progress and affected my ketosis temporarily...no problem, I'm back on as of yesterday after lunch and am riding the horse again

[Sarya]

Jo, you are completely right. I know how much my problem with going off plan lately has messed with my weight loss. It is best for anyone that if they do cheat they get right back on top, but also to try to understand why they cheated in the first place so hopefully they will overcome it next time.

[Prancer]

I too cheated Sunday evening. The difference for me compared to 5 weeks ago is that I didnt feel the need to finish everything on the table. If I hadnt gone more then 4hrs w/o my MF I would never had done it. It is my own fault for poor planing.

[SharonR]

Ya know, I read all of that. I find it so interesting how some people NEVER cheat and others really struggle. We are all made up differently and deal with things differently.

I have fallen off the wagon many times in the past 3 months. What I am learning is to get back on. In the past I would have just given up and quit all together or binged for a week. I told my sister last week that if I could learn one thing it would be that if I do go off plan ( I don't even like to call it cheating, it's life, it happens) I want to learn to get right back on and so far that is what I am doing.

It has affected my weight lose, but I have come to terms with it...I am STILL LOSING as Jenn pointed out! (thanks Jenn)

Is it smart to go off plan and eat what you WANT? NO! You will feel guilt and regreat but it's time to stop beating ourselves up and move on. Leave it in the past and don't think about it again.

Finally, did I read somewhere else that you are not going to be able to afford this program after your kids start Day Care? I thought that was you...

Well those are my two cents...

Your doing great, keep it up!

(pizza called my name last week for 3 days and I didn't give in, I did however eat other stuff that I should not have because I couldn't get to the pizza...not smart BUT I'm over it! )

[Sarya]

Sharon, it's true. At least we're not giving up! On other plans I definitely would have, but I don't on this one!

[Serendipity]

I wish we had statistics on this sort of thing. I would like to hear from people who have regularly gone off plan and succeeded in taking off and keeping off their weight.

I'm not saying you won't succeed. Only you know yourself. I'm just saying it's harder to follow through when you don't stick to it. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it until I see the stats.

And remember......I'm taking the easy way out. It's easier (for me) to stick to the plan than to allow myself to rationalize off plan eating. That's me speaking for myself.

[DntCryLilEmoGrl]

i have cheated a little bit...weekends seem the worst for me....work gives me more structure i guess lol. but ive gotten better..though now im definitely on a plateau... or just going through a period of really slow loss. im determined to tough it out and hopefully my body will reward me by having a nice drop soon... though lately ive been checking out my measurements more since my scale is being very non compliant lol

[alohacate]

Chin up & keep shakin

[Finally_Losing]

Ya know, I read all of that. I find it so interesting how some people NEVER cheat and others really struggle. We are all made up differently and deal with things differently.

I have fallen off the wagon many times in the past 3 months. What I am learning is to get back on. In the past I would have just given up and quit all together or binged for a week. I told my sister last week that if I could learn one thing it would be that if I do go off plan ( I don't even like to call it cheating, it's life, it happens) I want to learn to get right back on and so far that is what I am doing.

It has affected my weight lose, but I have come to terms with it...I am STILL LOSING as Jenn pointed out! (thanks Jenn)

Is it smart to go off plan and eat what you WANT? NO! You will feel guilt and regreat but it's time to stop beating ourselves up and move on. Leave it in the past and don't think about it again.

Finally, did I read somewhere else that you are not going to be able to afford this program after your kids start Day Care? I thought that was you...

Well those are my two cents...

Your doing great, keep it up!

(pizza called my name last week for 3 days and I didn't give in, I did however eat other stuff that I should not have because I couldn't get to the pizza...not smart BUT I'm over it! )

Thank you...that's pretty much how I feel. I've been very compliant and yes it was hard but on the same hand the plan itself is easy. It's breaking 32 years of bad habits that is the hard part.

Yes, you read about my day care saga....I just ordered a month's worth, so I'll be around at least that long, then we'll see what happens.

I will be fine, I will get back on plan and keep going. I expect there to be curves in my journey.

Amy

[SharonR]

I wish we had statistics on this sort of thing. I would like to hear from people who have regularly gone off plan and succeeded in taking off and keeping off their weight.

I'm not saying you won't succeed. Only you know yourself. I'm just saying it's harder to follow through when you don't stick to it. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it until I see the stats.

And remember......I'm taking the easy way out. It's easier (for me) to stick to the plan than to allow myself to rationalize off plan eating. That's me speaking for myself.

Where are all the stats on the people who have lost weight with Medifast while being compliant and then gained all the weight back anyway?

It's all relative...

[Serendipity]

I don't know Sharon, I would like to see them, too.

[DogMa]

I've been completely compliant and lost nothing for weeks at a time (I think three weeks was my longest) and very slowly the rest of the time. I've also been NOT compliant and actually lost more quickly that way.

So to offer a somewhat dissenting opinion, I think occasional off-plan eating can be useful if done right. It can jump-start things for those of us who go three weeks following the plan to the letter without losing a thing. It can also be good training for maintenance. Speaking just for myself, I'm not planning to swear off pizza and other off-plan foods for the rest of my life. I also realize I can't eat those things whenever I feel like it, or I'll gain everything back plus more. What I CAN do is learn to allow myself occasional treats and then go right back to my normal vigilance.

Personally, I don't expect to suddenly learn how to do that 8 pounds from now, when I hit goal (assuming I do; my goal is no longer a number on a scale). For me, that is yet another lesson I'm learning on this journey. I am no longer an all-or-nothing person, which I feel is one of the reasons I got this way in the first place. In the past, either I was on a diet or I wasn't. Either I restricted what I ate or I didn't. Now, I can have something that's not on the plan and recognize that it doesn't mean I've failed or I need to give up or anything else. All it means is I had something not on the plan. Three hours later, I have another Medifast meal and everything's back to normal.

[jump4joy]

I'd be very interested to see those stats too!

LOVED what you said, Jo:

Ask yourself if it's worth it and if you have the strength to extend your weight loss period indefinately.

Joy