The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Claudia]

Nancy, I saw your picture on the web site and you look fantastic after six months on Medifast. Can you tell me, were you on the full fast the whole time, and did you ever 'cheat' or get bored with it? Did you incorporate exercise. I'd like to be where you are and would like to know how you did it? Thanks.

[Nancy]

Thank you, Little Darlin’ and a warm welcome to our Forum!

My Newsletters (which can be easily accessed from the Home Page by clicking on the button that says, Newsletter Archives http://www.makemethinner.com/newsletter/ really explain my Medifast adventure and while I do not have time right now to go into great detail let me just briefly say this...

Can you tell me, were you on the full fast the whole time,

I was on the full fast, shakes only approx. 13 weeks, used the modified plan (in the early days of my program it was 4/1; not 5/1) only on several times during our family vacation.

At that time I also introduced some other Medifast products in place of one or two shakes. I had Cream of Broccoli soup and on some days I enjoyed a heavenly Medifast meal bar. I did not eat a bar every day because I really preferred the soup into which I added a very small amount of chopped broccoli (about ¼ cup).

Again nearly ever day of my 7 month weight loss phase I was on the complete fast and on just a few occasions – during our vacation, Thanksgiving Day, and a couple of Christmas Days did I switch to the modified plan. Otherwise I was a full faster, 5 Medifast products per day, enough water to float the Naval fleet.

did you ever 'cheat'

Did I cheat?

I think that we could go into a whole discussion regarding the term 'cheat.' I believe there are probably multiple viewpoints, eh? I would have to say that I enjoyed minimal controlled cheats!

On my birthday in Kauai I had one bite each of a pineapple bran muffin and Hula ice cream pie. On several other times during that birthday-family vacation (the 4th month of my weight loss program) I had a small serving of shave ice, a couple of bites of a Caramac, a couple of bites of a piece of coconut cake, and a bite of Lappert’s ice cream.

Did I get bored with it?

I don’t think I can ever say that I was or am now truly bored with Medifast. The benefits far out weigh any sense of boredom. I suppose one can become bored with eating Oreos dipped in milk, tacos and enchiladas, chips n’ salsa, pizza and beer, and burger and fries, too but for some reason we just seem to keep on eating them, don’t we?

Did you incorporate exercise.

Two months into my weight loss program on the complete fast I started using the treadmill for 10 minutes – gradually building up to 20 minutes over the course of two - three weeks for 5-6 times per day.

My weight loss slowed down substantially, my hip hurt tremendously. I quit exercising. I truly didn’t do another lick of exercise until after I had lost my weight. Years of obesity and abusing my body has left me with joints that are ground away.

I'd like to be where you are and would like to know how you did it

Any one can do what I did and what I continue to do IF they follow the plan every day. When you keep your eye on the prize, follow the nutritionally designed plan every day – when things are going great and when things feel boring – day in and day out, until you reach your goal and then follow transition properly, you will make your dreams become your reality, too.

It is totally possible for you, too, Claudia.

You CAN do it if you WILL do it.

[Sasa]

Wow. I'm on the full fast, have been for 22 weeks. Every workday morning I get up at 4:30am, put on sweats and head for the gym where I work out like a maniac on an elliptical trainer for 30 minutes. My weight loss has averaged less than 3 pounds a week (2.3). Could my exercise actually be IMPEDING my progress

[Nancy]

Yep.

[mombarnes]

why, why, why, Nancy, would exercise impede weight loss?
I understand why someone shouldn't do big exercise at first... Sasa has been doing this for 22 weeks!!!!
What is the deal?
Do others find the same?

[explorthis]

Sasa’s info from a couple of posts:

http://www.makemethinner.com/forum/view ... ght=#13425

So I've been doing this for about 33 weeks and I've been losing about 2.3 average a week

My goal, now, is to lose 100 more pounds.

I'm on the full fast, have been for 22 weeks.

Well, I am going to ask a few questions, and calculate a Guido type answer here. I might be out in left field, and can easily be corrected…

After re-looking up the Medifast 50, I see it has 90 calories per serving. Let’s assume for a second that she is taking the extreme of 6 shakes x 90 calories 540 total (remember – she is on the full fast for somewhere between 22 and 33 weeks) AND – 30 full “maniac” minutes every day on the trainer. Lets also assume that the workout, is in moderate (jogging) form for 30 minutes. I calculated from a general internet site guessing her stats: 30 minute jog, she says she still has 100# to lose, so I guessed 200# at 30 minutes burns 450 calories.

If your taking in 540 calories, and burning 450 calories, your gonna die of starvation. A body can't survive on 90 calories a day for 22-33 weeks and live.

I am not an educated trainer, but you do the math.

Is it because of too much exercise? I bet there is something we are missing here.

Just my opinion.

-Mike

[Nancy]

MomBarnes and Sasa ~

Excessive exercise certainly CAN and usually DOES affect weight loss. If a person exercises beyond what their body can handle on a limited calorie meal plan, the body will hold on to weight to protect itself rather than releasing it. One must be careful to not burn an excessive amount of calories.

I don’t know if Sasa is taking 5, 6, or 7 MF products a day or which formulation of shakes? She could be consuming 450 calories – 700, Perhaps she is burning more than that during her exercise routine. Her body may release weight slowly because it wants and needs more food.

Yes, Sasa is well under way in her weight loss program and therefore beyond the initial first month period, seemingly she works out regularly and 30 minutes would not be considered to be excessive and yet I do not know how intense her work outs are - she just said it was "like a maniac."

Actually I mis-read her post when I replied - I saw that she worked out like a maniac with a weight loss of 2.3 but was thinking this was just this week's average, not her entire 22 weeks.

When I read Sasa's post I suspected fluid imbalance due to manic exercise that may have affected her weigh-in for the week - again not realizing she was wondering about her entire 22 week program average and I was thinking it was this week's average.

So with that in mind, I don't know for sure that her exercise has impeded her weight loss but it surely could be.

One way to find out would be to decrease the intensity for a week or two and see what transpires.

There are many factors that can affect weight loss and it is often difficult to determine why one person can have greater weight loss than another even though both eat essentially the same. There are some things that are totally beyond our control.

Thyroid can greatly affect a person's weight loss. People with thyroid disease or variations in their thyroid function lose weight more slowly than others but with Medifast, they lose faster than they would on other programs.

People with diabetes generally lose weight more slowly than non-diabetics.

I don't know what your individual health issues may be, any medications that you may take, your age (or your hormonal state), your height, your genetics, or your previous dieting experiences so I can't say with 100% confidence that your weight loss may increase if you decrease your current exercise routine.

Try it and see what happens.

I have several clients that average 2 pounds a week. The clinical studies with Johns Hopkins show 2-5 pounds per week, depending upon the individual and therefore, Sasa is within the norm.

I have a totally program-compliant client that has thyroid disease, auto immune disorder and it took 17 weeks to lose 30 pounds. Then there's Mike and Spidey - they lost 30+ pounds in one month!

My client had not been able to lose weight on other programs and felt horrible until using Medifast. Although this was below the Johns Hopkins norm, and slower than any of my other clients' weight loss rate, my client was and continues to be satisfied because of the success.

Sasa asked,

Could my exercise actually be IMPEDING my progress

and my answer remains the same.

Yep, it could be affecting your weight loss progress.

Decrease your exercise intensity for a week or two and see what happens.

[Sasa]

Reading over all of the responses, I think I definitely will cut my exercise routine down to 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer 3 times a week instead of the 5 I've been doing.

To answer some of the questions, according to the precor machine (based on my age and current weight) I'm buring a little over 350 calories a session. I'm eating 6 supplements a day, about 600 calories a day total. In addition, I do allow myself 2 coffees a day with h&h so that adds probably another 100. There may also be a few calories here and there for Crystal Light and Propel.

On top of all that, I do suffer from thyroid disease and am on a fairly high dose (/175 mcg) of levoxyl for that. And I'm diabetic, although that has improved immensely since I've been on the diet. I'm now on only 500 mg a day of Metformin - no insulin, no avandia and none of those insulin stimulants. But those two things are obviously working against me.

Altogether, since I'm still within the normal range, I should count my blessings. But I'll cut back on the exercise and report back on my results with that in a couple of months.

Again, thanks so much for your counsel. I really appreciate this forum.

Sasa

[Nancy]

Sasa ~

All people on the complete program need to do so under a physician's care. We do not recommend that diabetics go on the complete program as diabetics need a meal every day.

Your weight loss rate is within the normal ranges and your health issues, exercise and other componets play into the scenario. Thank you for telling us a little more about you.

Happy shaking and losing! You'll soon need suspenders on your gym shorts!

[Sasa]

Thanks Nancy. Just so you know, I am under the care of a physician. It was my endocrinologist who started me on the liquid diet (no meals) and then approved my going to medifast. She is helping me with both a thyroid problem and my diabetes (not insulin dependent, small dose of oral med only). In fact, I have my next regular (and frequent) checkup with her on Monday the 13th. Thanks for your concern.

[Marseilles]

Hi Sasa!

Good luck at your appt with your endo..I dont see mine again till January and cant wait to see what he has to say!!

I hope all is going well for you and look forward to chatting soon!

Have an awesome day!
-M.