The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[dbedrosi]

Hi Folks,
I am now going on 8 days of no weight loss. My HA instructed me to omit the daily (1) bar we're allowed but I JUST CAN'T DO THAT! I look forward to the bars and it helps me to stick to the program - I see it as my daily reward or treat. Not sure if cutting them out would make a difference as I'm only taking in between 1100 to 1200 calories a day on the MF prgram. My lean and green is very simple and I strictly stick to the guidelines. I do not have anything that I'm not allowed, I weigh and measure everything. I do moderate exercise - approx three 40 minute walks a week. I'm wondering if it's because I do not include fish often enough? I typically have red meat and chicken. Could that be the issue?? I would greatly appreciate any feedback folks have. (i.e. Does anyone know why we plateau? How long do they last?). I'd really be interested in hearing other experiences MF'asters have had w/plateaus. It feels as though I'm stuck at a weigt my body does not want to budge from. UGH!!
On a positive note, my husband had an amazing meal for our friends during yesterday's playoff game and I did exceptionally well. Stuck to the MF program without a problem. I'm SUPER proud and happy w/myself!! Could I perhaps be changing the way I think and behave around food?:)
Best regards, Denise

[katieb920]

It would really help if you could tell us when you eat. How much water you drink and what you have for snacks and What you have for a lean green.

Well get this one solved for ya

[Serendipity]

I had lots of plateaus during my weight loss. The longest was 14 days! But I lost 146 pounds over 13 months anyway. Plateaus are just part of it. I don't know why they happen, but I know they happen and they are normal.

I didn't give up my bar during a plateau and I continued to lose. You will, too. The bars helped me stay on plan.

Just be patient and you will start losing again if you're sticking to the Quick Start Guide.

[lifelovinaries]

denise, katie is right, we might need a little more information but i will tell you about my experience. I am on the 5-1 plan too. I drink AT LEAST 100oz of water a day, MOST days i have a bar unless i see that it is affecting the scale. However, my caloric intake is anywhere between 800-950. On a high calorie day i may reach 1100 but that is pretty rare. I noticed when i started, by wk 3 i started to stall and had to go back and re-evaluate my meals. I realized that i needed to adjust the carbs in my l/g as well as the l/g meal itself. My slow losses lasted for 2 weeks then all of a sudden picked up again with a little tweaking of the program. Now, i still eat a bar everyday unless i see that it is causing a problem, then i will lay off of them for a few days. You have to see what works for you since everyone is different. If you absolutely can't give up your bars, take a long hard look at your l/g. I eat fish about 2 or 3x per week, chicken most other days then sometimes, my protein will come from egg on salad or cottage cheese. Cut back on the red meat, see if that helps. Try changing things up one thing at a time, that way you will be able to tell what it was that was affecting the weightloss, if anything. Sometimes, it's just our body not agreeing with what our mind wants. It could be the timing of your meals, water intake, ANYTHING. Give us a little more info and we will see what we can do to help.

[Out*With*The*Old]

Yup - post your meals and we might just be able to point out easily what might be an issue.

For me, I found that the carb content allowed was too high for me. NS will tell you to drop your carbs below 85 a day if you're sering an issue. The bars are high in carbs so that may be why that was suggested. Maybe you could try to get below 85 carbs without losing your bar?

Good luck! And let us know what you're eating so we can see if we can help more......eating AND drinking

[dbedrosi]

Thanks everyone for your prompt replies. To give you an idea of what I'm eating:

5/1 plan:
1 oatmeal
1 pudding
1 soup
1 shake
1 bar

5 ounces of chicken (dark meat) or 5 ounces of extra lean (97% fat free) hamburger
1 1/2 broccoli
or
2 cups of salad (butter lettuce, tomatoe, cucumber)

90 ounces of water (at least)

I pretty much follow the quick start guideline booklet strictly.

[Nancy]

Without the specific Medifast products, I cannot give you an exact report but it looks like this plan would be slightly above the suggested range of 85 grams of carbs/day.

I figured it with Apple Cinnie Oatmeal, a Chocolate shake, Beef Vegetable Stew, Caramel Nut Bar and a Chocolate Puddin' with red meat and 1.5 cups of brocc for the Lean and Green - about 88 grams of carbs.

There are many factors that contribute to scale crazies...lack of sleep, extra stress, hormonal issues, increased activity, lack of poopage, and sometimes there's no known reason at all; it's like the ol' bod says,
"Because I say so, that's why!"

It is natural to have a plateau.
It is natural to be cheesed about it, especially since you are following the plan.

Give yourself a pat on the back for the SUPER choices you made during the football game. This is a process; it takes time.

In my book a true plateau is when the scale does not move for over two weeks. Have I been there, done that? Yup!

I hated it, too. but here I am, 135 pounds thinner tellin' ya that it is worth waiting it out - better things are around the corner waitin' for those who do not give up.

[Serendipity]

I just want to add one thing. I didn't count carbs while on program. I'm sure I was higher some days than the recommended 85, but I stuck to the rules and continued to lose. I really think that the most important thing is to just stick to the program and sticking to the program was easier for me when I didn't worry about counting and tweeking. I succeeded in part because this program is so easy to follow. And know what? My plateaus all ended and my losses continued without skipping bars and without worrying about carb count. Who knows? I may have reached my goal a few weeks earlier, but I was happy and content for the whole trip.

[dbedrosi]

Thank you. The reason why I started medifast was because there was no calorie or carb counting. I knew I'd stick to the program so there was no problem there. Perfect program for me! However, I was beginning to think that I would have to modifying the program (as it's stated in the quick start guide book) in order to make this work for me. I was REALLY nervous that additional responses from you all would be my next direction. FEWH!!!!! You've no idea how relieved I am. And it's worked for others (even w/the natural plateaus) then it'll work for me. So I'll joyfully and patiently wait out this plateau and report back when the scale or my body start's losing again. Tks, Denise

[Nancy]

Hey Denise ~

I so appreciate Jo's comments because she is exactly correct-a-mun-do. I did not count cals or carbs either and I still don't in maintenance, I am just mindful of what I eat to this day.
.Medifast has worked out the details of the program for us - that is one of the things that attracted me to it as well - no extra work, simple to prepare - my job is just to rip off the top of a packet and dump it into a cup of water every few hours.

Nearly everyone experiences a time or two when their weight loss slows down for a few days to a few weeks but if they hang in there, keep on following the program, the weight begins to slide off again. It's as if the body needs some time to readjust.

Keep on keepin' on. You are making the fundamental choices that lead to a healthier life. It works!

Over the years I have discovered that there are some people that seem to lose more consistently when they eat the Medifast foods that have the lowest sugar and carb content.

[bikipatra]

It's Santa Claus who does it, Denise. He has to have something to do the rest of the year.