The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[MyFriendTT]

Hi Everyone! My name is TT. I’m new to the Medifast program. I started on June 3rd. I’m really grateful for this forum – it’s wonderful to have a place to go to ask questions and get support.

A little bit about me: Female, 38, 5’2”, 167, hoping to get down to 110-120 (that may seem a little tough, but I’m in the entertainment business and you are better off being really heavy or really skinny and there’s no in-between). No medications or health issues, not married, no kids.

I got the OK from my doctor to do the full fast because I’m very healthy with just some borderline high cholesterol. I’ve been an avid exerciser for years and recently I’ve been brisk walking for 30 minutes a day and doing a serious weight training regimen twice a week that increased my metabolism to be burning 2000 cals/day (it’s called Power of 10 if anyone is interested). Since I’ve started Medifast, I’ve only been “strolling” for 30 minutes every other day and I tried one lighter weight work out the first week and that was a disaster, so I’ll stop the weights for a few weeks and then build up again. I don’t want to lose all my muscle strength in the next few months.

I’ve always been an emotional eater so I’ve been working on a program designed to change my brain and eliminate my drive to overeat for the last couple of years. (www dot thepathway dot org, if anyone is interested – its literally the only thing that has ever worked on my emotional eating issues and I’ve tried everything in the book) I’ve finally gotten to the point where the food just doesn’t matter anymore, so I knew I was ready for really big changes.

Anyway, I ordered my MF products right before Memorial Day and since I wouldn’t get them for a week and I was eager to start, I did a week of the Atkins induction phase to get myself into ketosis so that hopefully the first 3 days on Medifast would be a breeze. I started Atkins at 170 and by the end of the week I was 168. I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t lose more since I’ve been on the South Beach diet moderate carb plan for nearly a year and lost 30 pounds so I didn’t have a lot of water to let go of.

I got my MF on Sat the 3rd and was psyched to start. The first four days, since I was already in ketosis, was, indeed a breeze. But then days 5 through 10 were a hellish nightmare of being really tired and starving out of my friggin’ head! Even though I was doing the full fast and I definitely had some wicked bad breath (which, BTW, is NOT good when you need to be acting very close to people on camera! LOL! People were literally THROWING me mints!), I was out of ketosis and couldn’t understand why. I had not cheated at all! I called my HA and she just told me to stick to it and it would work. After a week, I’d only lost one pound and I was still starving and tired. And I’m a water drinker by nature, so I’m used to drinking about 100 oz per day and have been sticking to that, so that wasn’t the problem.

After a few more days of “just sticking with it” I called the Medifast nurse on Monday the 12th and she asked me what I was eating. I told her that I was doing the full fast and following the Quick Start Guide 100%. So she quickly calculated my carbs:

Shake 13
Shake 13
Bar 22
Oatmeal 16
Chili 16
Crackers 12
Shake 13

Total 105!!!

And if you subtract the fiber, that should be 85 NET carbs, but she said I needed to count ACTUAL carbs!!!

I was well over her recommendation of 80-85 carbs, which, by the way, is nowhere mentioned in the Quick Start Guide, though after searching this board I have seen it mentioned (It REALLY needs to go into a sticky in the newbie or FAQ’s section!). She also said that since my mother was a Type II diabetic, I might be “carb-sensitive” and probably need to give up eating the bars or snacks on this plan, especially since I don’t need to lose 100 pounds or more and to switch to one L&G since that would be one meal of only 10 carbs or less. I have to switch to the 5 & 1 to eat LESS carbs!

So, I’ve had to RE-START the program, and monitor my carbs LIKE A HAWK, starting on Monday the 12th.

Well, the last few RESTART days have been the worst nightmare of EXHAUSTION and STARVATION. And even though the ketostix say “trace”, I’m still REALLY tired and pretty hungry. My new plan is this:

Shake 13
Shake 13
Shake 13
L&G 10 (or less)
Chili/oatmeal 16
Shake 13

Total 78

Substituting a bar or having something other than 4 shakes puts me over the 80 carb limit and I certainly can’t have any snacks other than a lone pickle! And if I have to add a tsp of splenda or bouillion or a few extra altoids, I can just barely skate by. Forget MF cookies, muffins, coffee with cream or anything that adds an extra carb or two. I may even need to go lower on the carbs and just go to 4 shakes alone plus L&G, depending on whether or not the new plan makes a difference in the next several days. I will speak to the nurse again next week if I don’t see more results.

I plan on sticking to this for the long haul, despite the frustration of the last 13 days. And I’ve accepted that my body is what it is and that I can’t eat what everybody else has and still see the results I want. I’ve been dealing with the evil bad breath that causes even plastic plants to wither, but I can’t wait for the day when I also get the supposed increased energy and decreased hunger! ALREADY ALREADY! Hopefully, by my next weigh-in on Monday, I’ll be down at least 2 pounds!! I could use a few words of encouragement!

Take care everyone,

TT

[DogMa]

Welcome! Have you also checked some of the diabetic products? They have fewer carbs. The shakes, for instance, have 10 grams carb, 3g fiber.

[DogMa]

I'm surprised the nurse didn't suggest 'em!!

[MyFriendTT]

Thanks for the info about the diabetic MF and teas. I think I'll add that to my next order. And I had read on this board that they did away with the 3 shake rule. Actually, what got me out of ketosis to begin with was a day where I only had two shakes and the other supplements were oatmeal, 1 bar, minestrone and pudding, plus a snack which added up to a grand total of 112 carbs.

Anyway, glad to be here and thanks for the support.

[Sarya]

Hi and welcome! One thing I noticed from reading both this board and others is that the less we have to lose the more we have to watch carb intake.

Ok let's see
cream of chicken soup is really low in carbs and high in protein as are the tropical punch and cranberry mango drinks.
The iced teas are about 1 carb less than shakes

The pudding has 2 carbs more, but it also has more protein.

Also.. the bars and the minestrone have the highest carb count of all the supplements from what I can determine.

Try different things and see if something works better for you. I haven't tried any of the other diabetic foods so I don't have opinions on them. I've started to like the cold drinks now after disliking them at the beginning. Plus you can make them with crystal light or diet soda if you need.

--S

[TooManyBooks]

Thanks for posting, TT! There's some great information for us low/slow losers.

Vicky and DogMa -- Thank you for the suggestions you posted. I'm going to try subbing a couple diabetic shakes and the tropical punch, see if that helps the cause...

Tara =^..^=

[Joelie]

[Arklahoma]

[MyFriendTT]

Thanks for all the great 'welcomes' and advice. I ordered my second batch of MF today and am trying out some of the lower carb products.

And today I started getting some energy back! Yeah!

Its just so great to connect with people who are going through the same things that I am so I know I'm not alone!!!

Theresa

[jump4joy]

I'm a bit late but, WELCOME Theresa! You are very proactive and determined...I'm sure you'll be a stunning success. I found your posts interesting and informative......some good things to keep in mind for those who may be carb-sensitive.

Glad you're getting your energy back!

Joy

[sidrah]

Maybe bar/cracker combo is the thing to review? I am not sure, but I like the drinks cause I know they are a little lower. Good luck

[nosugartalking]

I use Atkins shakes -only 1-2 carbs per can. They have a little more cal.( 170); So I only use 2-3 shakes a day.
Nutritionally they have more vit. & min plus 18 grams of protein.
If I have a bar it is also Atkins because of the reduced carbs.
I do Medifast soups and fruit drinks and puddings. Then a Lean & green.
This works well for me since I am VERY insulin resistant (carb sensitive). I keep my carbs between 40-50g per day.Calories between 900-1300.

[DogMa]

I checked my carb count, just to see. Since I lose much better with an extra supplement a day, I'm way over 85 grams (and the only way I could be under that would be to have basically shakes and broccoli soup all day, which isn't an option as far as I'm concerned).

Oddly enough - and maybe because of all the years I've spent low-carbing - I lose faster and more consistently this way. So I suppose the lesson is YMMV.

[jump4joy]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, Robin, but what is YMMV? I wanna learn your lesson too. (hmmmm, You Make Me....?....Yellow M & M's Vamoose?)

Joy

[MyFriendTT]

Speaking of YMMV...I have no idea what that means either....

Is there someplace that says what all the acronyms mean? I know what LOL and BTW mean, but since I'm not familiar with posting, is there a cheat sheet somewhere?

Similarly, I have no idea what the difference is between 'muffin tops' or 'cupcakes' and all the other flabtastic words on this board.

Some help anyone?

TT