The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Amelie]

How does a Medifast dieter cheat? Eat more of the Medifast replacement?
I am serious because I cannot really see anyone eating the same stuff when they feel like cheating. They must eat something else, right? I'm new with Medifast and this forum and would like to hear about people who cheat on the Medifast diet. I used to cheat in all my diets and I want to quit doing that. This time I am doing it properly. It costs too much not to do it properlly! So, has anyone really cheated on the Medifast diet?

[Sablebaby]

Amelie,

I love that you said, [It costs too much not to do it properlly!]. That is one of the major things that has kept me going. It really is too costly to go off track. I do not want to spend even more money on other food and go off plan.

I think when others cheat, they eat other food that isn't allowed on MF. Sometimes they call cheating eating a few extra MF products or a heavy lean and green.

Hope this helps!

[Dean0408]

Cheating can be defined as not following the Medifast plan. This means eating more than the allowable amount of Medifast products or foods listed in the plan that are okay to have, or more commonly foods or drinks that are not listed as allowable to have at all.

You are absolutely correct when you say that it wastes money to go off plan. It also wastes time in that you have slowed the process down. Most importantly, it hinders the path to your well being.

Dean

[Unca_Tim]

One more point.
Cheating can lead to hunger, as you get knocked off of the fat burning stage.

[Nancy]

Amelie ~

There are all kinds of cheaters - some who just have a small bag of potato chips or a pint carton of Ben and Jerry's. Some cheaters merely scarf a loaf of toast with peanut butter. Cheaters come in all ages, all sizes and yet there is one thing the same - they all cheat themselves of health and rob themselves of the sense of well-being. Cheaters never prosper.


If a person is hungry, it is best to have an extra Medifast shake or a serving of Medifast oatmeal or a Medifast soup - our products are all nutritionally balanced and low fat/low cal - IMHO, it is not cheating to have an extra shake or two. However, it is NOT good to have more than one bar per day. I have one client who ate an entire box of Medifast crunchy Lemon Bars in one day – now THAT is cheating, my Friends....

[Amelie]

I cheated tonight with an extra snack bar and I feel so bad. But my husband has been buying all kinds of goodies ever since I went on this diet. He has been buying all my favorites and tonight when he came home with my former favorite fried chicken, I had a mouthful of it chewed it down to just get rid of the drooling in my mouth and in my head! I was that close (!) to throwing it all away tonight, but instead, I had an extra snack bar and a cup of hot tea and the attack subsided. I know that he is doing this to sabotage me but he had been doing this for three years and I must really take control. Bless him, he doesn't even know he's doing it!

So now, I am so guilt ridden because I had that chicken, and the extra snack bar, and I also had an extra packet of soup this morning when my husband loaded the table with regular goodies. (OMG< what suffering!). BUT after having said all this, I had lost 15 lbs, something I hadn't done in decades! I am already noticing the difference in my 5 foot frame.

I must take control. This is the usuall timeline when I say, "hang it" and I drop whatever diet I am on - usually when I begin to look attractive again.

Thank you for your replies. I did not plan on cheating but I wanted to be armed in front of the enemy which not only includes my husband but also my best friend who hosts a lot of dinner parties for us.

I am also feeling hungry more frequently. Why is that? Should I be eating more food? I am on my 3rd week of 5+1.

[Nancy]

Amelie ~

Owie! So sorry that chicken leapt into your mouth but good for you! You ejected the rest of it and ran for the EXIT sign and right into the MakeMeThinner refuge.

2 bars?

true confession: i ate two bars at midnight Saturday night...i did a very very bad thing...i ate out of stress...when I am stressed i do the healthy thing for me - I go for a walk, I work out or I talk it over with a very good Friend.

The night of my unnecessary eatage, I was working on my part of our sermon.

My husband Terry and I are pastors - currently on staff and we were scheduled to preach Sunday.

I have been at my daughter's every day helping her with daily tasks and life in general with a newborn.

I have a TON of email in my in-box to read and to reply to.

I have a TON of Forum posts to read and reply to.

Have you noticed I have been absent?

My brother is in the hospital with a horrible sore throat from an unknown cause.

It was midnight.

I was wearing my Leopard Woman Nightwear and going for a walk at that hour dressed as I was in my ‘hood is not practical...

Terry and Unca were and it would not be good for me to be to a video tape in our teensy MMT Cottage, if I expected to live...

Do you get what I am doing here?

I am working you Kids over for sympathy.

I am making excuses.

I am trying to blame my scarfage on other stuff.

Sunday afternoon I HAD to have ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery – after all, Sundays are for sundaes, right??

I did it.

I choose to do it.

I am not happy about it because it was on top of other inappropriate eating events over the last few days...two bars back-to-back at midnight are not on my daily eating program...they were really the best things that I ate because they are nutritious…

Did any of this help me finish the sermon or to help me do a better job on my delivery? (no)

Did it help the docs come up with a diagnosis for my brother? (no)

Did it help me answer the email or write replies to Forum posts? (n-o-o-o-o.)

Did eating two bars help me cross off any of the things on my “To Do” list? (no. In fact, it added another item to THIS week’s task list: lose three pounds)

Eureka!

Food is NOT our friend!

The solution?

Duct tape?
Confess it – we did.

Get our rear in gear and follow the program – be accountable: we are – now we are off to thinnier healthy things, right Amelie?

Tomorrow is a brand new day. I have my meals planned. I set my alarm reminder for the times I will eat, slurp and swaller them…

Here’s to our success – with every shake we drink or oatmeal serving we spoon up, the scales go down and we are healthier for it.

[martha]

Amelie and Nancy-- thanks for the confessions.. It happens sometimes.. Amelie-At least it was an extra bar and not the whole box of chicken I also have a hubby out of the kindness of his heart use to bring me 2 or 3 candy bars when I asked for 1.. Such Love he didn't even know he was doing it till one day I just started crying and told him.. he was shocked-- maybe you should talk to him about it.. He started this program with me and has met his goal and then a few extra pounds too. it has really helped us through all of the vacations to stay focused--He did it out of love he says and has gotten his old body back to boot. now we talk about the program and any problems with it when he calls-- for the hunger try an extra bouillon or some crackers or a piece of diet candy or pickles --they help me--
Nancy-- the ice cream thing blew me away.. and it made my mouth water too thanks for being soo honest about it all.that's one of the things I love about this forum--Honesty feel the love..Martha

[Alisha]

Aww Amelie, don't worry. You've done so well this far so you know the strength is there to keep going. We're all human and like they say, to err is human, to forgive is devine - that means forgiving yourself too. These things happen to everyone - if they didn't, no one would be overweight! It's just how you choose to handle the slip that matters. Get back on that horse and ride into the sunset.

I do think that a little "heart to heart" with hubby wouldn't hurt. I often find that people who sabotage or attempt to sabotage people on diets do it because either they just don't think or they are envious of the person because they are achieving their goals. Whichever the reason, it seems silly for you to have to have this battle in your own house. I live alone and I have no children, but I remember being on a diet (yet another diet!) a ways back and my boyfriend would always buy M&Ms or Reeses peanut butter cups and drag them into the house. Of course he didn't tie me down and shove them into my mouth, but we can only resist temptation for so long and I think sometimes people have unrealistic ideas of just how long that is. So, I told him that I didn't appreciate that he was doing that to me when I was working so hard. If he wanted a sweet or a fast food meal, I didn't see any reason why he couldn't do it at work or during ANY time that I didn't see him, but regardless of him being thin, those things aren't good for any of us. Of course he didn't like the idea, but I figured it was too bad. I wasn't saying "don't eat them!" I was saying eat them all day long if you want, but don't bring them around me because its cruel.

Either way, I'm sure you'll get to where you want to be because you're worth it. Way to go for your success so far!

All the best.

Alisha

[Nancy]

Alisha ~

re:

I wasn't saying "don't eat them!" I was saying eat them all day long if you want, but don't bring them around me because its cruel.

That's right on!

I really appreciated that very thing about my husband - he reached his goal weight long before I did and he prepared his own meals. If he ate things that smelled especially good - he ate them at a restaurant at lunch time with a business associate - NOT within my viewing or sniffing arena!

I was on the complete meal replacement program and baked weekly for our church and prepared a lot of meals - I had to come to the conclusion that food would always be around; I could never live in a totally food-free environment and I am learning to deal with it. Sort of.

[MomsTherapy]

Its funny (in that not funny sort of way) I ate what I wanted one night for dinner and afterwards I physically felt yuck!

Even worse, the food didn't have the same "love myself with food" feel that it did before MF. I watched my husband scarf it down and as he is overweight (this is so bad to say) but I thought to myself... I don't want to do that to myself anymore. I put down the food and said, that's enough. I'm full.

I like to look in the mirror and see the results - already!! I don't have too much to lose and maybe that is a part of my cheating crave to begin with, but cheating doesn't make anything better. All the food that was in front of me is now BEHIND me....as in ON my BEHIND - and that is exactly what all of this money and time and effort is all about - stopping that nasty cycle.

So, I get many of those - "hand me the appetizer menu attitudes" - but it seems the best thing to do is grab a shake and sip away. That is probably the best crave-curver that I have found. Gee...I didn't mean to go on and on. Sorry guys!

[Walks262]

Did any of this help me finish the sermon or to help me do a better job on my delivery? (no)

Did it help the docs come up with a diagnosis for my brother? (no)

Did it help me answer the email or write replies to Forum posts? (n-o-o-o-o.)

Did eating two bars help me cross off any of the things on my “To Do” list? (no. In fact, it added another item to THIS week’s task list: lose three pounds)

Eureka!

Well said, Nancy, well said. Thank you.
One of the things that has happened with Medifast is that I have changed my relationship with food. I have learned that I have used food in all kinds of ways that have nothing to do with fuel and health. No surprise, of course. I guess it is all apart of emotional eating. You have given me some good self-talk ideas. When I reach for something I shouldn't, it is good to ask the question -- what do I really want? will this (name the tempting food) help? NO!!!!!!!!

Thanks

[martha]

EVERYONE--

GREAT ATTITUDES!!!!!!!!!! I love seeing that.. we are all getting soo good at realizing what is good for us and what isn't and how to handle the goods as well as the bads.. isn't it great that no one has to tell us we cheated to make us feel BAD!! we now beat our own selves up, come here and confess and then climb out of the gutter of self-pity and begin again..I love it - WAY TO GO EVERYONE!!!- I am sooo proud...Martha

[Amelie]

Oh my! I know that kind of stress. I ate two extra pieces of chicken today too! I was starving and I had a long drive to do to get home. I thought I made sure my snack bar was inside my purse or jacket and when I looked I did not have any. The chicken I bought for my husband was inside the car and I could smell it. I was ravenous by the time I got home, 27 miles later!!! It is my fault to not have eaten something first before going home. It was an awkward day at work. Lots of stress. I had a quick Medifast soup and went back to work without feeling satisfied. Now, I'm home and feeling guilty, and feelint 'stuffed' just from those two pieces of chicken.

This is the moment when I usually tell myself to forget the diet. But i am hanging on and if I make it today, than I would have fought one of my most difficutl battle - the battle with that conniving and sabotaging side of me. She appears whenever I am starting to lose more than 10 lbs. She and my husband are so good at it together.

Okay, I will report tomorrow and tell you all what had transpired through the evening. I am armed with my Medifast goodies, and my strong determination to get past this.

Thank you Nancy. Thank you all for your support.
Love,
Amelie


[quote="Nancy"]Amelie ~

Owie! So sorry that chicken leapt into your mouth but good for you! You ejected the rest of it and ran for the EXIT sign and right into the MakeMeThinner refuge.

2 bars?

true confession: i ate two bars at midnight Saturday night...i did a very very bad thing...i ate out of stress...when I am stressed i do the healthy thing for me - I go for a walk, I work out or I talk it over with a very good Friend.

[martha]

AMELIE--

Sorry you had such a stressful day today.. tomorrow will be better.. Be prepared and keep a few extra packs in your purse or glove box.. it helps.. Smelling food you can't eat is a terrible thing.. I know as I have to cook it all adn then watch everyone else eat it.. while I have a piece of chicken ,soup or a shake.. I have some SF hard candies in my glove box for emergiences just like that.. it helps with something in my mouth but not the smells keep your chin up and let us know how tomorrow is for you.. isn't it funny how we are own own worse critics and enemies?? just a thought...will be thinking of you tonight..Martha