The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[ror]

I know it is 5-1
6-7 oz of lean protine
2 cups of salad
and some cooked green veggies


What kind of flavorings are ok?
salsa?
salad dressing?


Help I don't wanna mess this up. I am feeling much better doing the modified. My meds needed the food to work with despretly. It was scarry how my normaly LOW blood pressure went up so high!!!

[finalstraw]

Others may correct me if I am wrong, but my daughter is on modified and she puts 2 spoons of (no added sugar) salsa on her lettuce, she loves it.

I cook her meat for her (fish & chicken) and we use all kinds of dry seasonings, there wonderful. Some of them are:

For fish: Chef Paul Prudhomme's seasonings are great. You just sprinkle them on the fist before you cook. Our favorites are Seafood Magic & Blackened Redfish Magic.

For Chicken: Chef Paul Prudhommes's also makes chicken seasoning, but I have used the Blackened Redfish Magic on the chicken, talk about spicey chicken - my daughter loves it.
Old Bay Blackened Seasoning is also very good on chicken.
Durkee Grill Creations St. Louis Style Chicken & Rib Rub, I just sprinkled it on the chicken, sprayed with a little butter flavor PAM and cooked.

Also, for anyone that does not have a George Foreman grill, you are really missing out - I couldn't live without mine. It makes cooking the lean proteins so easy, they don't stick and you don't have to add oils.

If you cook green beans, put a chicken bullion cube in them while they are cooking, it really gives them flavor (since we can't have butter ).

Hope this helps.

[Jeanette]

Rory: Glad to hear you are doing better--we were worried!!

Steph answered alot of it in her post, but I wanted to add about the dressing. Look for low-fat or fat free with 25 cals or less per tablespoon. You might even want to consider using flavored vinegars--tasty and vitually calorie free!

Let us know how you do!

[Unca_Tim]

Hi Rory,
Stephanie gave some excellent ideas. Salsa is a favorite around here on everything. I'll add the link here for some suggestions on salad dressings:
http://www.makemethinner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18

Your med situation is VERY important. First of all, low BP is NOT normal. Are you taking your meds for low BP?

If so, what could be happening is that now that you're getting healthier with Medifast, your body is starting to work as it should and your BP is trying to return to normal levels. The meds you're taking to raise your BP is raising it beyond normal levels.

This is a very serious issue for anyone taking meds when you first start the program. We find that nearly all people with BP and cholesterol conditions have to reduce and many times eliminate their meds in short order.

We'd like you to get with your doctor and explain this to him and have him schedule frequent visits (at least weekly) until you get this condition stabilized. You may find your BP returning to normal with no meds very soon. DO NOT try to figure this out without the close supervision of your doctor.

All the best,
Unca

[ror]

actually what the issue is ...
normaly me bp is 140/55-60
my anti-depressants that i take "can" raise your bp
I went to the doc and my BP was 145/105 (high)
what we came to the conclusion of is that since I was doing the full fast my meds didn't have anything to work with and the "side effect" of raised bp was becoming a big issue. so what we are doing is switching to the mod plan so there is some food in my system to accompany the meds and lowering my fluid intake slightly as that will also raise your bp.
thanks for the advice all!!!!

[Ellen]

Ror,
The only thing I wanted to add is to watch your sodium until your BP evens out. Sodium can have a big impact on BP and if you have having a high sodium day one day (several cups of bouillon and high sodium spice blends on your protein) and then a couple of low sodium days you may be getting misleading readings.

I'd use low sodium bouillon if you use bouillon at all and watch the sodium in your spices if you use any. Things like garlic powder and onion powder are great, but I'd avoid the garlic salt and spice blends unless they are labeled low sodium

Stay in close touch with your doc until things even out. If you don't have a BP cuff at home, stop in to your doctor's office once or twice a week(even without an appointment) and just have the nurses check it for you. Usually they'll be glad to do that for you. Don't rely on BP machines at Walmart or places like that because they are very inaccurate for anyone above or below the "average" weight.

Keep up all that great work!!
Ellen
248/216/125

[Sheri]

Ellen I was very interested in your comments on the blood pressure machines at Albertsons, Walmart etc. I use them all the time. I take an RX for my BP and it has actually started going up since losing the weight.
Have had it taken in the doctor's office and in the stores. Also I read someone else saying too much fluid will raise it? Any other comments. I have been on the same BP RX for years (it also has a water pill in it).
Am wondering if the medication needs food to digest? hmm..
Thanks everyone!

[ror]

sheri>
My bp has gone so high my primary care physcian has yanked me off medifast until I can get into the specialist on the 11th............

Hopefully the weight specialist will allow me to get back on medifast...until then my friends ttfn

"old punks don't die, they just cash in" ~Ror

[Unca_Tim]

Hopefully the weight specialist will allow me to get back on medifast...

I'd be looking around for another "weight specialist" if he doesn't...

Unca

[Ellen]

Sheri,
Too small of a BP cuff will give someone a high reading. The machines at pharmacies are designed for "average" sized people (150-180 pounds). If someone with a bigger arm gets their BP taken on these machines they WILL have a higher reading than if they used a large BP cuff. If a kid or a really thin person uses these machines, they will get an "off" reading as well. If I take a BP on a person with a large arm using a standard BP cuff and then re-take it with a large cuff, I will generally get a pretty noticable difference in BP. Quite often the difference is enough to bring a "high" reading into the "normal" range.

As for the fluids, strictly speaking, excess fluid in the bloodstream will raise BP. However, in a normal healthy person with normally functioning kidneys and circulatory system, drinking more fluid will not increase BP, it will in many cases decrease the BP. Your body has a delicate balance of salt, potassium and water and will generally hold on to water to compensate for salt. Taking in more water will generally allow some of the salt (and thus more of the water) to pass through.

However, anyone taking BP meds and water pills should be working really closely with their doctors while changing their diet. Water pills can change the sodium/potassium balance and I'm sure your doctor will want to do extra bloodwork to check your electrolyte balance. I would say that if you are losing weight and your BP is going up and you are taking water pills, you need to see your doc and get those levels checked. As the weight continues to come off, you'll probably be able to take less meds and get healthier and healthier.

Ror, I hope you can get all your issues worked out with your doctors and get back on the plan soon!

Ellen

[Nancy]

Hi, Ellen and welcome back, Little Darlin' I missed you BIG time!

Yeah, I say "Amen!" to the BP advice, Ellen. Before Medifast, the nurses always had to get a larger BP cuff to check mine. Now they can use a normal cuff - I AM NORMAL! The BP machines in the pharmacies are not reliable.

We have learned to take daily BPs for my parents - we must do a laying down, a stitting up and a standing up BP for my Daddy every day. His doc wants a daily report for a while. His BP meds are continually being revamped.