The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[DogMa]

129.8, with a continuing sandbox issue (geez, I'm like a broken record on that; with all this fiber, I don't get it). Anyway, coming right back down since free day, which is good. Except tomorrow's free day again because my friend will be in town. I'm not planning to go hog-wild or anything, though.

[Serendipity]

Robin, I've been watching your journal with interest, because soon enough, I'll be there. Your free days scare me. I know that's the BFL philosophy, but I fear that I would just add extra free days too often.....knowing me. How's it working for you so far. Is it hard to skip the goodies on the off days?

I'm wondering about the hungries you described. Did you manage to get trough and stay on your basic plan or did you have to eat more to satisfy?

Thanks for being my guinea pig.

[DogMa]

Ha. Any time, Jo. So far, I think the limit on free days has helped me a lot. I think that if I didn't have a set limit like that, I'd be tempted to have a little treat here, a little treat there, and eventually be right back where I started. Knowing that even though I can't have that brownie today, but I CAN have it in a few days if I still want it, seems to work well for me.

Plus, of course, I've had a lot of practice at this while I was on the program. I think my occasional cheat days have prepared me pretty well, so I know I can eat what I want and then go right back to watching my diet the next day. I also plan my day's eating the night before, allowing for some variations - not for free days, but for regular days. So no matter what I had the day before, I know when I get up that I should just pull out the Egg Beaters and veggies and get breakfast started. Assuming it's not a cardio day.

The other day, I REALLY felt like having some chocolate. But instead of having any, I grabbed a couple of pieces from the jar on my desk and brought them home so they'd be available on Wednesday, if I still want them. But giving in and having them wasn't even a consideration, just like it wouldn't have been a possibility on Medifast. I've changed from "I can't have that" to "I don't eat that most days."

As for the hunger, it just seemed to be yesterday. The other days, I've been fine and today I'm fine. So I figure it's just one of those things. I had hungry days on Medifast, too. (I just wish I'd brought some veggies or something to snack on last night, though. But I actually was OK about an hour after I ate the bar. Got home from work about three hours later, had an RTD and was done for the night.)

I just know I can't commit to a life without any treats ever. And if I don't have the structure of the free day, I think I'd just slip back into old habits. This way I can have what I want under controlled circumstances, plus have one day a week where I don't have to plan or count or anything, which is nice. And they're already becoming less important. Tomorrow's my free day only because I have a friend coming from out of town, and I don't want to have to worry about where I can have dinner or what I can have. I think the rest of the day is going to be pretty much my usual food, except maybe a little more emphasis on grab-and-go stuff because I'll be running a lot.

But my plan will be similar to other days. I'm thinking my regular breakfast, then a bar between the gym and the airport, and some soy crisps as a snack that afternoon. Then dinner will be whatever she feels like having (I'm guessing either Mexican or barbecue, since this is Texas), and probably some more soy crisps or another bar later that night, and an RTD or pudding for my last meal. But it's nice to know I can have barbecue or have chips at a Mexican place without worrying about it or feeling guilty.

I can definitely see myself eating this way forever (with the exception of maybe not running everything through FitDay every single day when I'm more set in the routine, but I want to wait till I've maintained for at least six months or a year before I think about that).

Jo,you've been SO disciplined with Medifast that I think you could do it. I think unrestrained, undefined "occasional" treats would be more of a problem. I know they would be for me. Because for me, "occasional" would become "every day" very quickly.

[Jen]

I love reading your progress, thanks for all the frequent updates!

[kmr]

Dogma,
It sound like you really have a good system going for you that works. I think the planned "free day" is very smart of you. Being that I am an extremely methodical person, I feel that when I start maintenace, that would be a good plan for me too. I like the idea of having what you want under controlled circumstances and it does give you something to look forward to every week. I also agree and like what you said about "occasional" becoming "everyday" treats. Thanks for the great tips. Like they say...the hard part is maintaining the weight loss and you sound like you're doing great and are well organized.

[DogMa]

Thanks. I'm the QUEEN of letting occasional treats get out of hand, so I'm being really careful about it. I've had to talk to myself several times about it already, so it helps to have the BFL plan to back me up when I tell myself I can't have even a small piece of chocolate on a regular day. Yesterday I basically told myself that yes, I could have that treat if I wanted it, but then that would be it for the week, so I'd better be prepared to have a normal meal when my friend is here. No chips, no barbecue, no bread, etc. Or I could wait and have whatever I wanted for dinner that night AND have a piece of chocolate.

I'm learning moderation and discipline. And that not only does the all-or-nothing mindset not work for me, but neither does the need for instant gratification. But they're hard lessons to learn, and I'm not going to stop planning every bite and holding myself accountable for every morsel for a long time, till I'm pretty sure I can handle it. Right now I weigh and measure more than I did on Medifast!

[DogMa]

130.2, after my first small slip. I had changed my menu plan a bit last night by having a lower-cal and -fat bar, so my calories were short. So I lost my head a little and had a spoonful of low-carb peanut butter, which of course drove my calories up a little high (not bad, but over 1,000).

Anyway, I figure some small slips are inevitable. Today's free day, but I'm going to stick to my plan and basically just have a free dinner. It's also weightlifting day, so I don't even want to think about what the scale will say tomorrow. Maybe I'll actually be brave enough to stay off it (naaaaaah).

[GucciGoo]

You seem to be doing great! I love reading how you and Drama Queen are progressing.

[DogMa]

131.0, which is expected after my free evening last night. What wasn't expected is that today I'm doubled over with stomach pain. Don't know if they're related, but I'll be pretty much sticking to Medifast chicken soup today, I think. If that.

[DogMa]

130.4, which is great considering my misery last night. I had major stomach trouble all day and couldn't eat anything till last night. Then I was so worried about upsetting my stomach, I wound up having my old standby of plain pasta with Parmesan cheese (except I don't have any regular pasta in the house anymore, so I had Dreamfield's low-carb pasta). Had a little bit; then, after it didn't upset my stomach, I had a bunch more because I was starving by then.

Then later progressed to soy crisps and finally an RTD. Thanks to the pasta, I actually wound up with more calories than I normally have, so I almost didn't even bother weighing.

Aaaaanyway, TMI, I'm sure. Today I get to meet with the trainer and get my workout plan, and then I'll need to race home to have dinner, hose off and change for services.

Oh, and the delivery company of course called me yesterday in the one hour when I actually was out of the house to take my friend to her hotel. And when I got back, even though they said they were there till 5, there was just voicemail at 4:45. Sigh. So they called this morning and will be delivering the treadmill Monday.

[DogMa]

So the gym was ... interesting. I'm still less than impressed with this whole personal training thing. All she did was hand me the printout of my workout plan, so I'm not sure why I had to be there at a certain time and she couldn't just leave it there for me to pick up.

And then she had a four-day split with each day including cardio and weights, even though I had said I'd be doing cardio at home four days a week and would only be at the gym twice a week to do weights. So that's one modification I have to make. Then she has me doing really long sets of 15-20 reps, when I prefer (and am used to, because it's pretty standard) sets of eight reps each. So another modification. THEN she has some exercises with not nearly enough weight (she has me doing three sets of leg presses with NO weight, and then later three sets with 90 pounds; the zero-weight sets seem like a waste of time to me) and some with so much weight I can't lift it once, let alone for three sets of 15 (lateral raises with 40 pounds??? I can't even do that many with 10!!). AND she has me using some machines she didn't show me and I'm not familiar with, and some exercises weren't clear about WHICH machine she wants me to use.

So all in all, this doesn't seem very helpful so far. I could have designed the workout easily on my own, with help from exrx.

The good news (I guess) is the workout was REALLY hard, even with modifications. I went home barely able to walk because my legs were so rubbery. The bad news is it was so hard that I felt completely nauseated through a lot of it (OK, this could also have been remnants of yesterday's food issues) and I got home feeling so sick that I bailed on Rosh Hashana evening services. I'm still planning to go tomorrow morning, though; I just hope I'm not so sore that I can't move. I downed some Alleve tonight, so maybe that will help.

Anyway, gotta get up early tomorrow for services (crack of dawn, considering my normal schedule), so I'd better go get whatever rest I can.

[DogMa]

Yikes. The High Holy Days aren't very good for a healthy diet. After waking up hours earlier than normal, I realized services start an hour earlier than I thought. So I raced through breakfast, took a shower and ran (well, got dressed and THEN ran). Anyway, I ate breakfast around 8, services started at 9 (I got there a little late) and I didn't finish up till around 2. Just shoved down a BFL bar a few minutes ago.

At least I'm not very sore. I'd actually prefer to be a little MORE sore.

[DogMa]

Ok, the soreness is building. Is it too late to take that back???

And I forgot to say, I wore one of my new outfits to services (brown blouse, brown and blue print skirt) and even I thought I looked pretty good. And this from someone who HATES skirts and pantyhose. But I actually felt pretty in the skirt (size 6) and top (medium but a tad loose). Even the pantyhose (B, but I should have gotten A!!!) weren't bad. I'm pretty sure this is going to be my Glamour Shots outfit. If I ever get around to going.

Food's a little weird today because I had tentative dinner plans that fell through (BUT even though I was starving after services, I just had a BFL bar; this time fast food DID cross my mind, but since I already had a free day this week, I knew it was out of the question).

So:
Egg Beaters with peppers/onions and feta, plus 2 low-carb tortillas
BFL bar
Stacey's soy crisps
More Egg Beaters with peppers/onions, feta and Boca sausage, plus some potatoes O'Brien
RTD
Pudding

Total: About 915 (which leaves me some room to have a bit of Cool Whip on my pudding), perfect BFL ratios (40-40-20)

Only bad thing is no workout today. No time in the rush this morning, and now I'm too exhausted and too sore. I'm doing Tae Bo Abs tomorrow morning, though. And Monday, if they come early enough, I can break in the new treadmill.

[DogMa]

129.6 and still somewhat sore. Did Tae Bo Abs this morning.

Food today:
Egg Beaters, peppers/onions, Boca sausage patty, 2 low-carb tortillas
Oatmeal
Glenny's soy crisps
Salad with chicken, low-fat feta
Luna bar
Pudding

Total: 937 calories, 43% protein, 36% carb, 21% fat

I think I may start boosting my calories a bit again, now that I'm working so hard on the weights and will be pushing the cardio more, too, with the new treadmill.

[DogMa]

129.0. Treadmill is coming in the late afternoon (and will probably be making me late for work; grrr). So I won't be using it till tomorrow morning.

Food almost the same:
Egg Beaters, peppers/onions, Boca sausage, tortillas
Oatmeal (or possibly broccoli soup)
Stacey's soy crisps
Salad with chicken, low-fat feta
BFL bar
Pudding