The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Jeanette]

Hello all:

I have been reading and reading and reading all I can about Medifast this weekend. I know at age 38, 5'6 and 330 (ish) pounds, I must do SOMETHING about my weight. I am pretty healthy for my size--no diabetes, heart condition, pulmonary condition, etc. I do have some back pain, though

I guess I am writing you BEFORE I decide to buy because I have been down this road before. I have tried every new diet that has come along in the last several years. I have spent LOTS of money trying to shed this weight. Nothing has worked. I always make bad choices when I have had to deal with food. And I have definitely felt very alone during this whole thing.

I have so much I want to do in my life that my size prevents: traveling comfortably in an airplane, riding on amusement park rides, fitting into various types of seats, crossing my legs, sitting in my husband's lap without breaking his legs, etc. (I think Mike has listed some other things on a post of his I read.) I'm also active with community theatre, and while I haven't let my size stop me from auditioning, I know I get typecast as a matronly type because of my size. Just once, I would like to be an ingenue!

I have a husband who loves me regardless, but I know he worries that one day my health with fail. I want to be thin enough to be able to ride with him on his motorcycle without worrying that all of my weight is too much for the bike.

I need information--truthful information, including side effects and drawbacks. I need for anyone reading this who is currently on the program or has graduated from it to give it to me plain and simple. Some questions going through my head:

--How do you handle social situations? Knowing the holidays are coming up keeps me from ordering.

--What are bathroom habits like now?

--How has this affected your hormones and monthly cycles?

--Do you take any vitamin supplements?

--If you are married, does your spouse know you are on the plan? If not, how do you keep it from them?

I apologize for being so full of questions, but I really want to have all the facts before I decide to go ahead with this. Thanks for listening, and I hope you don't throw me out on the first visit!

[Nancy]

Jeanette,
No worries about being thrown out of the Forum!
You have asked a lot of great questions.

I’ll try to answer some of them here and others have been addressed through the forum in past postings so I won‘t take the time to write an answer.

--How do you handle social situations? Knowing the holidays are coming up keeps me from ordering.

I am addressing this very in my next Newsletter. Watch for it soon.

--What are bathroom habits like now?

What do ya mean precisely? If it is what I think you mean - Now, Jeanette, I am totally honest and hold back NOTHING, so here GOES!!

Before Medifast, I rarely drank water therefore; I made very few trips to the sandbox. During the weight loss program and now that I am on maintenance, there is a worn path in the carpeting in the hallway on the way to the B.R. Water in: water out!

Regarding bowel movements – when ya eat a lot of non nutritious food – food that is not efficiently utilized by the bod, then ya poop a lot. Crap in, crap out.

With Medifast, the food is medically engineered and gives you all the vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids that your bod needs. HOWEVER, it does not have added filler so you will poop a LOT LESS and infrequently. If you are currently a daily dumper using Medifast will change your BR habits and it can be troublesome the first few days or week. Therefore, drink LOTS of water, I repeat, LOTS of water and be sure to go for a short walk each day. If needed, you may have a teaspoon or two of Metamucil (We recommend the smooth textured, Orange-flavored sugar free Metamucil.) There are some OTC stool softeners that work, too. Trust me, it works its way out eventually and once your body is used to the program, constipation becomes a memory.

--How has this affected your hormones and monthly cycles?

I had a hysterectomy eleven years ago so I may not be the best person to reply to this issue. However, estrogen is stored in fat cells so when one is losing weight, estrogen is released into the bloodstream and menstrual cycles can be affected. Some of our clients have missed periods and some have had more frequent periods initially when beginning the weight loss program. Fertility can be increased when estrogen levels are increased therefore, it can be possible to become pregnant more easily…Some women have experienced an increase in their PMS symptoms – look out husbands! Be extra nice to her! After several cycles it usually evens out. I can tell ya right now, I’d rather by thin and cranky than fat and cranky!

--Do you take any vitamin supplements?

Actually, the Medifast packets contain all the essential vitamins and minerals that one needs but I do take a few other supplements. Terry and I take 500 mg of Omega 3 Fatty acids, and extra calcium. I am on Prednisone for chronic hives so I need the added calcium and Terry’s family has a history of osteoporosis.

--If you are married, does your spouse know you are on the plan? If not, how do you keep it from them?

Yep, my husband KNOWS all about Medifast – he lost 60 pounds! Many of our clients don’t want their spouse to know. They will be better at telling you how to keep it a secret from them.

Many people have their product delivered to their office, not to their home. Many people are grabbing a quick meal replacement these days for breakfast or they skip breakfast entirely. You can slurp a Ready to Drink shake in the car on your commute to the office. Since we are all so busy and away from one another for most of the day, most likely you are together for a limited number of hours on a daily basis. Therefore your time together will most likely comprise of the evening meal and TV snacks and weekends.

You can easily prepare dinner and then select just the items that are appropriate for the modified pan – eat only the lean meat and the veggies. When the rest of the family is raiding the refer ‘plaquing out’ their arteries and adding lard to their hips in the evening while watching TV, eat only three stalks of celery or a dill pickle. Have your bar in the evening if the rest of the family s having a candy bar. Think on this: Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

During the weekend, one can manage to have their meals separately – while your husband is in the shower, prepare a nice shake for yourself and slurp your breakfast drink and then mix and serve him a smoothie. When he is watching a football game or putzing in the garage, slurp your shake.

Once you begin to lose weight, he’ll notice and be so happy then you can tell him what you’re doing! He’ll want to start using Medifast, too.

I apologize for being so full of questions, but I really want to have all the facts before I decide to go ahead with this. Thanks for listening, and I hope you don't throw me out on the first visit!

Jeanette, one can never ask too many questions and it is important to be well informed when putting anything in your body! Hope that I have been of some help to you.

[explorthis]

Howdy, Jeanette..... I will give you your answers down and dirty, cause I am known as the "forward guy". No frills, no hassles, the program works. Day 56 for me today, about 50-55# gone. I am not one to stand on the scale, for fear of the scale lying. I want it off NOW, not later. When I step on the scale frequently it lies "I know I am loosing faster" (lying to myself)
100#+++ overweight all my life. At 42 years old, it has taken me a very long (as it has you) time to get this way. My prediction for ME is 3 months to get it off, so far so good... (and it is actually easy)

I need information--truthful information, including side effects and drawbacks. I need for anyone reading this who is currently on the program or has graduated from it to give it to me plain and simple. Some questions going through my head:

--How do you handle social situations? Knowing the holidays are coming up keeps me from ordering.

When is a good time, or a bad time? There are none. Its up to you, the longer you put it off, the farther you will be away from finishing. My Company is ALWAYS having parties and goodies, I decided one day to begin, with 100% commitment and did - One of the BEST choices I ever made!!! Start NOW, don't let holidays stop you, or prevent you from making more excuses (like I did many times) to start later. There will be hundreds more holiday parties, and goodies for you when you reach the NEW YOU!

--What are bathroom habits like now?

You really want to know? Like Nancy said, I am peeing 15 times a day, there is no getting around it. As for the "do"? Me personally, once or twice every 3 days (hey - you asked)

--How has this affected your hormones and monthly cycles?

Uh, I will skip this one!!

--Do you take any vitamin supplements?

Never have. Did not start any on this one. The only thing I take, after asking a friend is Potassium. Ocassionally when I stand up too fast, I get light headed. He told me this was a lack of Potassium, cause I was peeing out the nutrients too fast. I take 4 90 milligram tablets daily, and these symptoms are almost gone - this is the only fault I have found with the program (not the program's fault). As for vitamins? Never have, did not start now.

--If you are married, does your spouse know you are on the plan? If not, how do you keep it from them?

I am married 13 years, 2 kids. They all know exactly what I am doing and are 100% supportive. Espically since I am taking these drinks, they are super supportive when it comes to making food in front of me. I have a pretty strong will (espically now - with all the results) and am able to fend off the cravings. Since it has been 50+ days, I have forgotten what food is, and since I have NOT CHEATED once, not a shread of lettuce, I have come to far now to ever allow myself to cheat!! BElieve it or not, food does not even sound remotely good. (believe it or not)

Bottom like, start NOW, it works I promise. If I can do it, anyone can...

-Mike

[Ellen]

Jeanette,
Hi and welcome. After four weeks on Medifast, I love it more and more all the time. I've dropped 25 pounds in four weeks and I am really happy.

Nancy and Mike gave you great answers, but I know I liked reading all I could in the beginning, so I'll give you my spin too.

Social Situations:
My husband and kids know about the plan. I haven't told my co-workers, friends or extended family. I am amazed at how easy it has been. I stressed out a bit in the beginning, but really, people pay A LOT less attention to what we eat than you would think.

I work in a very small office, we have five girls and a guy. We are all very close and constantly talk about everything. For the first few weeks, I left for lunch. I either had a ready to drink shake in the car, or went home and made a shake. Since then I've discovered that the chicken noodle soup is the perfect "camouflage" meal. You appear to be eating "normal food" but you are staying on plan.

We had a luncheon at work were I HAD to stay and a sales rep was bringing in lunch. I really stressed out about this ahead of time, but I finally just fixed a plate, carried it to my desk and put it down while I was flitting around doing stuff. Finally I wrapped up my "leftovers" to bring home to hubby (as I've always done) all without ever taking a bite. I've discovered that this strategy works great! Fix a plate and ditch it later.

As for Thanksgiving, I'm ordering a ton of ready to drinks to bring with me on our trip. For the meal itself, I'm debating between the fix a plate and then pass it off to hubby strategy, OR eat a salad and turkey and call it a modified meal. I've had NO FOOD at all yet and I am very hesitant about this one.... I'll let you know what I decide later. I'm not worried about missing Thanksgiving dinner.. the food is just food. There will be other dinners. Next year I'll enjoy my Thanksgiving dinner MUCH MUCH more wearing my size 6 clothes! I'm just worried about making it through the meal without a million questions.

For other social situations, just tell people that you've already eaten and just order a diet soda or coffee. If you're meeting friends at a restaurant, just say you had lunch already and you'll just have a diet coke. Works great and no one really questions it.

I've told my closest friends that I'm dieting. When they ask what kind of diet, I just tell them that I'm eating a low fat, low calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner with a protein bar for a mid afternoon snack and that I can't have any snacks between meals. This is all true and it works great. I had to go to a pot-luck event two weeks ago and I brought food. When everyone else went to eat, I had a diet soda and told them that since I already had my lunch, I was going to fix a plate to bring home for dinner. I then brought it home to my hubby for dinner.

Many others have it much easier. They just tell it like it is and tell everyone that they are on Medifast. The choice is yours.

Bathroom Habits
#1 all day every day (which is not usual for me!)
#2 was actually a little loose for me in the first few days, but after a few days it became less frequent and much less to it. Some friends from other sites report constipation, but they all were prone to constipation before hand. I'm almost never constipated so I've had no problems.

Monthly cycles
A little heavier and longer for me, but not terrible.

Vitamins
I take Fish Oil a few times a week, a children's chewable multi vitamin a few times a week (I get to chew!!! ), potassium (I'm on asthma meds and always take this), and Balanced B complex (helps with energy and crankiness) Vitamin E for cardiac benefits. None of these are new to me, this is what I've always taken.

Medifast works, plain and simple! I've done other diets too, never have I been this pleased one month into any other program!

[Nancy]

Ellen, you gave some perfect examples of how to dodge real food.

Sometimes we stress out so much about how we THINK that others will watch us NOT eat and frankly, most people are so caught up in themselves that they really don't notice if we do not eat. My motto is, say nothing about not eating unless asked. When asked, say you've already eaten and jsut have a pot of tea. It gives you something to do with your hands, provides a warm filling beverage and allows you to sip at your leisure.

When I am faced with potlucks, weddings, etc. I offer to serve - that way I am busy the entire time, am seen by others with food in my hand which takes off the pressure of others asking why I am not eating it. I really do just fine being with the food because I am totally not hungry - besides nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

[Jeanette]

I just spent 25 minutes on the phone with Terry...probably one of the nicest guys on the planet! He helped me with my first order and answered my questions. I should be getting my shipment in a few days.

I am so excited! I keep visioning myself smaller and more active. By springtime I'll be thin for the first time ever. WOW!!

You're going to be seeing alot of me around here...

Jeanette

[explorthis]

You're going to be seeing alot of me around here...

Jeanette

Well you promised, you had better not let us down. This board has gotten pretty active, and its quite a bit of fun (if you ask me)

I have gotten pretty used to (and look forward to) looking/posting seeing others like yourself go thru the same thing I am (LOOSING)

Keep us posted, and remember it works.

-Mike

[Unca_Tim]

Hi Skinny and welcome to the land of losers,

Yep, Terry's a pretty nice guy. I got lucky to have him for a big bro.

You mentioning how helpful he is working on your order with you brought something to mind.

If anyone's thinking about getting on the program, you're more than welcome to surf the net and gather all the info you can find. This is a big step and anything you can learn about the program is important.

I highly recommend calling Terry when you're ready to place your order, or if you just need more info about which products and plan to follow. He enjoys going over the program and discussing your individual circumstance that can influence which plan and products may best suit you. It's really frustrating when people don't understand the program and order products that don't suit them. This is NEVER a high pressure sales call, and Terry's always ready to answer all your questions.

Nancy and Terry have both been through the program and there's very few aspects of it they haven't dealt with, so who better to talk things over with.

Also as to this Forum. This is a public forum. There's no memebership or anything needed to join in the discussion. We just truely enjoy helping people and watching them regain their health.

Here's a toast to Jeanette...


We'll be seeing a little less of you every day from now on, if you know what i mean......

Unca

[Lois]

Welcome, Jeanette!

Hey Unca....what's in that toast???????? Looks like a Medifast vanilla shake with lemon syrup

hugs to all,

Lois

[Jeanette]

Here I am!

I'm awaiting my shipment--hopefully it will arrive either Friday or Monday. In the meanwhile, I've already started scaling back on the food and increasing the water in preparation of Day 1. I'm even trying to prepare my mind, but not sure how to go about it. Any suggestions?

BTW, I was reading profiles and it looks like I have things in common with just about everyone! Like Lois, I enjoy music and theatre, and like Mike, I enjoy poker! (I am currently hooked on Texas Hold'Em!)

Take care all! Have a great day!!

Jeanette

[explorthis]

BTW, I was reading profiles and it looks like I have things in common with just about everyone! ....like Mike, I enjoy poker! (I am currently hooked on Texas Hold'Em!)

Did someone say POKER? Don't get me started, this would be a different thread. I could post all day. Holdem is my only game. I play semi-professionally. This is what I will do when I retire.... Currently play 2 days a week. The hard part is I am a local at the Casino close to my home, and I get COMP food every time I play, however it really SUCKS having to turn down FREE food vouchers due to Medifast, though its worth the "WEIGHT" I play in some semi-regular tournaments, but normally play in $20-40 Limit holdem games. If you know Holdem, you will know the limit.

Email me if you want to talk seperate about Poker. Poker talk here, would probably infuriate TIM!!!

-Pocket Aces (Mike)