I think a lot and talk a lot about wanting to look better, and MF is helping me get to that goal, but I really have some medical reasons for following this plan. (Writing in my journal has been a big help to me, and we have such a supportive group of folks here that I feel like I can post about my personal medical issues here).
I finally went out and bought the Omega3 Fish Oil my doc said I should take 3 x a day to help lower my cholesterol. This was a year and half ago he advised this! when he also recommended Medifast to me - but he said I should have 3 shakes a day - I did try it that way at first but it was not enough - I think he might have been a little confused!! I am glad he pointed me toward MF but think he might be a little fuzzy on the details. He's now on medical leave so I haven't been able to ask him about it anymore.
Just took my first one (Omega 3). I never wanted to take them before because they are so big, but I never had any trouble chowing down on a big taco, slice of pizza, order of fries or whatever! I think I can handle a pill : )
Speaking of pills: I would like to stop taking (someday soon) the medication I am taking, and I really think that sticking to MF and getting to my optimal health will help me get to where I can get off my medications.
The day my doctor suggested I start MF (a year and a half ago, October 2005) I was in his office for a check up for a sinus infection or something and he said "so how's work?" and I burst into tears and remained a blubbering mess for the next 10 minutes,
complaining about how I hate my job, I am so stressed out, I'm eating everything in sight, I can't stick to any diet/exercise plan, my self esteem was in the toilet, etc.
I was pretty darn low at the moment (I did work at the law firm from hell but that is another post - now I'm happily self employed).
Well, the doc said I would feel better if I dropped some weight and I needed to anyway due to my high cholesterol. Doc suggested MF as it would be easy for me to follow and I would lose weight fast, which would make me feel better. He also prescribed an antidepressant (Wellbutrin, 300 mg). He also prescribed Xanax for me to take on a daily basis for several weeks. I really had to take it just to get out of the house to go to the job from hell.
My cholesterol was 215 at the time and my triglycerides were high, too. He said if my weight and cholesterol did not come down, I would have to go on something like Lipitor. I was 38 at the time. This made me cry more.
After a few weeks, the meds helped, I had some initial success on MF (when I lost the 16 pounds in 3 weeks and had my pants falling off), then duh, Thanksgiving 2005 came and I thought I'd stop for the weekend. Dumb move!
Anyway, when I called doc later crying about the stressful job and can or should my medication me increased, I was told that I need to quit my job and he would refer me to a psychiatrist. Well, that got my attention.
My sweet husband insisted I quit, (he had been suggesting it for awhile), we got a small loan to help us be sure to cover bills in case it took me awhile to make some money, and then I quit. This was in Feb. of 2006. I felt tons better, and have been off the Xanax ever since.
Since then, I stopped and started MF a bunch of times since then, trying to jump start my weight loss again but had trouble sticking with it. We opened our own business and put a lot of work into it. I had so many things going on with the business, hubby, the kids, etc. it was a little overwhelming for me.
I'm now in a place where I feel better. I really want to get fit and healthy and down to a healthy weight. I am feeling like food doesn't control me anymore. This is a great and unusual feeling for me.
I feel like, "well, I feel better, maybe I will be able to get off the medication soon". But I also know that I probably feel better because of the medication! so we shall see. I think I need to continue working on my business (as money stress really stresses me out and the business is doing a lot better now) and working on my MF plan, so I will be stronger mentally and physically to handle going off the medication if the doctor eventually says I can. I know I can't just stop, that you have to be weaned off it under a doctor's supervision.
So, besides looking good and feeling good, I also have some serious and exciting health goals that I will reach by using my MF lifestyle.
I want to drop a few more pounds before I get my blood work done again. Since my doctor is on medical leave, I'm going to make an appt with one of the other docs in the same group. And then: I am hoping to see my cholestorol numbers inch their way down to normal (my mom has really high cholestorol like in the 300s so this is a serious issue for me).
And then: I am hopeful that sometime in the near future I will no longer have to take the antidepressants. They really did help me in a very difficult period of my life, and I am grateful I went on them. They really "took the edge off" and helped me cope with normal life. I just hope that it won't be necessary forever. If it is, it is, but I'd like to take as few medications as possible.
I also take an antibiotic Minocin (minocycline, 100 mg a day) for acne - at almost 40 I still break out! But when I eat right, exercise and drink a lot of water, my skin looks better so I hope that I will be able to ease off the antibiotic sometime soon.
So, those are some of my medical reasons for following MF and some of my personal goals. I really feel like I can do it.
by FrankieJ » July 15th, 2007, 11:44 am 
I find the photos of everyone's start, during and goal weights to be very motivational so I'll jump in soon!
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