The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[CathyV]

Hello, all;

My story is maybe a little bit different than most of the people here. I've never been a big eater, but I am a recovering alcoholic. I drank so much and never exercised, and that's how I gained weight. I made the decision to confront my problem about eight months ago, and have been sober ever since. However, I'm still carrying around sixty extra pounds, and I just felt so tired and sickly. My doctor suggested I look into Medifast, and after researching it carefully, I took the plunge.

I've been on the Five and One program now for five days, and I'm just amazed at how wonderful this is. I tried several other diets in the past few months, but what alway threw me off of them was that I felt hungry and tired and weak all the time, and one of the things we learn in AA is HALT - never let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, because those are triggers for relapse. Regular dieting made me feel like I was constantly risking a relapse. Medifast is just the opposite; I don't feel hungry or deprived, and from day three, I have felt my energy level gaining each day. Maybe it's all the water I'm drinking, but it really does feel like I'm "detoxifying" and washing out all of the accumulated leftover poisons in my body from my previous bad lifestyle.

I'm really enjoying reading the posts on this board, with everyone's stories and pictures and tips. I feel like Medifast is another positive decision I've made in improving my life!

-Cathy

190 now, aiming for pre-drinking weight of 130!

[dlr2424]

Cathy...... ....God Bless You for all the positive changes you are making in your life..................you will find much comfort in this forum as we all have experienced challenges in our life but with baby steps have or are conquereing them.........it seems one always finds someone here to relate to who has walked the same path....... .....many blessings to you for strength in this journey........ ...looking forward to sharing in your success

Donna...dlr2424

[Nancy]

Hi there, Cathy ~

We welcome you to the Forum - it's great to read about your 5th Day of Success report. By the way, congratulations to you on your sobriety - 8 months is wonderful!

As time goes by, you will be amazed at the way your energy level and your health continue to improve.

I like your HALT plan that you shared with us, Cathy. The acronym is beneficial to losers, too!

Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired

These are the very things that get us all into trouble.

It is vitally important to eat all meals on time, every time. Going longer than 3.5 hours puts us in a dangerous position. Skipping packets can mean that we are not getting enough fuel for the day.

When we are angry, lonely or tired, our defenses are lowered, we are more vulnerable and the likelihood of having an eating episode increases.

To prevent failure always eat on time, eat correct portions, drink all 64 ounces of water, get plenty of rest and use exercise, reading, talking, painting, etc. to diffuse anger and loneliness.

Hope to see even less of you as you keep shaking those shakes!

[mytime]

Cathy - WELCOME !!!!!!! What great and healthy choices you have made for your life. MF will be such an amazing addition to all of the wonderful things you are doing. Food like anything else is an addiction. So many of the 12 step principles apply here. It is like you already have the MF manual for success and have layed the ground work. I too look forward to sharing your success !!!!!!!!! Mytime

[mama2benandrachel]

Welcome Cathy!
I love the HALT philosophy!!!!!! That is SOoooo true in my experience! As the weight piled on and all of the excuses I had for being this fat . . . I have a few other emotions that would make me eat too! I eat when I'm happy, sad, anxious, nervous, guilty. . . you get my point. Truly, all of those emotions I just mentioned go back to the core of Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired. You inspire me Cathy!!!! Congrats on your sobriety too! Having an additive personality myself, in my younger days, I was as close to an alcholic as you can get! I smoked and drank EVERYDAY, and by God, I couldn't get caught at home on a Friday night! I was addicted to the bar environment too! I praise God that I was delivered from that scene!!!!! Even though I was able to quit drinking and smoking, my main addiction, EATING has never been quelled for long!!!! God Bless you Cathy!

[shellwipp]

I was as close to an alcholic as you can get! I smoked and drank EVERYDAY, and by God, I couldn't get caught at home on a Friday night! I was addicted to the bar environment too!

Judy,

Boy, did your post hit home with me. I felt like I was reading about myself. It was this time a year ago that I decided to quit smoking and SLOW WAAAAY DOWN on my drinking. Last fall I started to feel "different" and was having dizzy spells. I went to see my doctor and found out I had high blood pressure and borderline high cholesterol. At that visit I also found out that I was at my highest weight EVER of 227 pounds. That was my wake-up call right there to stop my ridiculous lifestyle and try and regain my health back. I have a very close friend the same age as me (36) who had a heart attack at the age of 33. He is also a heavy drinker and partier and I didn't want that to be me. I managed to lose 22 pounds since then eating low carb, but over the summer I have basically "fallen off the wagon." I have done so much reading and researching over the years in my search for the "miracle fat cure" and I know what it takes to lose weight and stay healthy. That's one of the reasons Medifast made so much sense to me. I will be 37 in November and I want to live a very long, healthy, SKINNY life. I have been cigarette-free for one year since 9/12/04 and now I only have an occasional drink. I'm hoping and praying that since I could quit my very addictive smoking habit of 17 years and bar life, that anything is possible, including reclaiming my health and losing weight.

[mama2benandrachel]

Hi Shelley,

One of my life-long best friends is named Shelly! I hear you BIGTIME!!!!! I haven't drank or done the bar scene since 1991 when I was 31 and trying to get pregnant. I quit smoking in 1991 too, and did so for five years with a backslide when my Dad had a massive stroke in 1996. I started sneaking my husband's cigarettes, and then buying them again. I smoked for about a year and a half, never smoking in front of DH because I knew how disappointed he would be in me. One day, I thought, why am I doing this again? I never felt addicted to cigarettes like when I quit the first time, I just enjoyed smoking them. So, I just stopped. That was about 7 years ago now. Eating is my last addiction. I am 5'9" and I was always around 200-220 until I went on fertility drugs. Whoa! Was that an emotional, hormonal rollercoaster!!!!! I was 269 when I got pregnant with my son in 1994. That's the smallest I've been in 12 years. My highest weight was my delivery weight for my daughter in 2001, 325! I HATE being this big!!!! I will get this weight off for good!!!!

You can beat the bar scene, smoking and eating Shelley!!!!!! My husband said it perfectly when we quit the bar life: First, he said that we could go into a bar in Anytown, USA and find all of the same characters that hang out at our favorite local bar. He also said that we could visit the bar, now 14 years later, and see the same people sitting on the same stools right where we left them! What kind of life is that?

We will prevail!

[betz]

Hi Shelley Welcome!

Here's what I think you'll love about Medifast (in addition to losing the weight!)...

It makes you feel very "even" if you follow it correctly. You don't have all those highs and lows that are caused by your blood sugar going wildly up and then plummeting down again.

With that rollercoaster ride of blood sugar gone, I think you'll find that you feel amazingly good and strong and THAT will make you feel even more positive about the changes you've made (and that you continue to make).

Medifast is amazing nutritionally--you get everything you need from those little packets. Everything except water, that is.

Not only will you feel "detoxified" but you're about to learn what being healthy feels like. It really is amazing. While you're on the medifast...do a little research. Educate yourself about good eating habits and nutrition by following the Medifast example.

For example, eating every 2-3 hours will always be a part of my life, now. Refined sugar and carbs are a thing in my past--along with my largest size of jeans. A glass/bottle of water is never far from my reach.

Best of luck to you and congratulations. Eight months is just a wonderful accomplishment!!

[Nancy]

Betz ~

Perfect reply!

[CathyV]

Thanks very much for the nice welcome and all of the encouragement, everyone! I really appreciate it.

It's now about two weeks in, and I've lost fourteen or so pounds. But what's really amazing is the change I'm feeling in general health and wellness, and also in the way I think of food. I see portion size really differently now; before, I just sort of ate everything on my plate without thinking about it. Now that I've trained myself to more or less eyeball what makes seven ounces of meat, a couple of cups of vegetables, etc, it really shocks me to see what the average serving size is like in a restaurant or a takeout place. Also, I follow Nancy's advice to pay attention when I eat; I make a little occasion out of every meal (all six of them, even if it's just a shake.) I don't read or watch TV or work on the computer, but instead I concentrate on what I'm eating and how it tastes, going slowly and enjoying every bit or sip. It's amazing how meals on this "restricted" diet feel so satisfying compared to eating before, when I just wolfed down what was in front of me with my mind elsewhere.

The funny thing is, last week I was on vacation, so even though I took along all my Medifast food, I gave myself permission to eat a regular dinner out at a restaurant in the evenings, instead of a lean and green meal. The first night I went completely off the plan and ordered shrimp scampi, one of my favorites. When it came I boggled first at the amount of food they were putting in front of me, then at the amount of grease! Yikes, you really get used to "clean" food on Medifast. I ate a little bit of the scampi, but I kept thinking about how good my last lean and green meal at home had been (baked chicken breast marinated in low-sodium soy sauce and fresh ginger, and steamed broccoli with a dash of balsamic vinegar.) The scampi just didn't seem good at all in comparison. And I could really feel the weird blood-sugar rush after eating the pasta... zoooom, up, and then WHAM, down.

After that night, I stuck with getting just simple lean meats and steamed veggies with no butter, no carbs, no sauces, etc for dinner. It tasted better and I felt better! It's amazing how much Medifast teaches you about food and how it impacts your health and your state of mind. Even if it wasn't so good for weight loss, I'd still be glad I went on it just for that alone. My lifestyle and eating habits are going to be very different from now on, even when I've reached my goal and gone on maintenance.

[Nancy]

Great observations!

Isn't it amazing how nasty your mouth tastes after havig something greasy? Your taste buds are coming back to life, CathyV! It is amazing how good a floret of broccoli or a gob of green beans tastes, eh?

Enjoy these thinnin' days - you are learning how to eat healthily for the rest of your longer life!

Woo Hoo! 14 Pounds of Flabber...outta here!