The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Karli]

Thanks very much for your support, Janae !!

Okay. I have already planned out exactly what I am going to be eating tomorrow. I am kinda nervous about the whole thing... hoping I take to it all well and everything.... hoping that my prep work will have been helpful in transitioning.

So here is a thing... I have been working the poopey doopey out of emotional issues for the past 9 years, and as I have said before, it is as though I have been hiding behind my extra weight. Well, feeling that I am ready to lose this weight for good, I feel is a sign of some progress with everything else... but I will admit, I am a little scared.. LOL.

I have realized that I need to forgive myself for some things that I have held to me with guilt for a number of years now. And, I need to forgive other people in my life, too. Things that I have felt are very wrong, and I have just carried them around, not really knowing how to deal with them. Well, either I am ready to actually deal with them, or I have dealt with them somewhere along the lines and I am ready to release them. Either way, I guess it's time to move forward with all of this. Along the lines of Thankful Thursdays that lilgorg came up with, I was thinking that I could secretly dubb Fridays as Forgiveness Fridays.

How does a person know when they have truly and fully forgiven ?

Maybe I will find out.


"Love the questions, and if we are lucky, we get to live the answers." ~Rumi



Karli

[dede4wd]

Yay, you're starting! Don't be nervous...just follow the quick start guide like an instruction manual and post ANY questions you have! You'll do GREAT!

Your attitude in your posts PROVES that you're ready to make this journey, you're ready to deal with the issues that kept you here and we'll all be right here walking with you all the way through this journey!

I'm so excited for you to start!

DeDe

[Karli]

Okay DeDe . It's very helpful just knowing that, thanks.


I have shaken up my first packet, it's a chai latte that I am going to try drinking cold (as I have been very into iced coffees and so on lately). I put it in the fridge and I am planning to slowly drink that as my hubby eats his pancakes . He is in the process of making them right now, and I will admit, it seems a little difficult for me to not join in, but not all that hard. We will still eat breakfast together and we have already shared meals together where he is eating something that I am not. While it's a tempting thing to watch him eat it (and I definitely do watch ), I know I need to do what I am doing.

I am reminded of what people are saying in being willing to postpone some of the favorite foods for a while. When my hubby first said that he was making pancakes (actually, he was so nice and didn't even say it, I asked him... LOL) I felt sad, but then I remembered that I am not giving them up forever. Just for a while... and probably (I am hoping) by the time I get to the other side of this, my "need" to have them will be dfiferent.

The rest is mental. Because of that, I am going to be working on logging my reasons for losing the weight, goals, and any rewards I might be giving myself when goals are reached.

Yippee !!


Funnily, I don't even feel too hungry yet. But, I will have my first shake within an hour of my waking (hurry up with those pancakes hubby !! hee hee).


Day 1

7:30 am -- chai latte (yummy, might be tastier warm)

10:30 am -- orange shake delight situation (would be better frozen)

1 pm -- chili and two celery stalks (not so great)

3:30 pm -- carmel nut bar (don't like them nearly as much as I thougt I would)

7 pm -- L/G -- pork and asparagus (I feel really full now)

10 pm -- vanilla shake (didn't really feel like having anything more at this point, but I know we ARE NOT supposed to miss, so I shook it up, baby) (okay)


over 100 ounces of water for the day

[dede4wd]

Karli,
It's not giving up that stuff forever, it's just giving it up for now until you are at your goal and you can then have the things you like in moderation. I'm just glad those foods don't rule my day now! They have no power over me! I'm glad you can still sit and eat with your hubby, I'm learning that it's not about the food at these gatherings, it's about the company!

DeDe

[Janae]

Karli writes:

How does a person know when they have truly and fully forgiven ?

I am not sure...but I once heard "forgiveness is setting the prisoner free...and realizing the prisoner was you"

I think forgiveness actually sets you free...from bitterness, resentment, etc. So, maybe you know you have fully forgiven when you feel a release from bitterness....or when the pain of the injury is no longer something that defines your life....or when you feel free...no longer "held back" or held captive by the injury or wrong done to you.

It's not always easy.

I have found that...
The more I have received forgiveness...the easier it is to forgive.
The more I have needed forgiveness...the easier it is when I need to forgive someone else.
Forgiveness only takes me, but reconciliation takes two.

So...Forgiveness Friday.....probably a very good idea for most of us!

[dede4wd]

That was beautiful Janae, and makes a lot of sense!

DeDe

[sidrah]

Karli,
You definitely set about all of this the right way. You prepared the food, but mentally you prepared, too. You have so many people to look to for help that in no time you will be the one giving all the help.

[Karli]

DeDe :

Karli,
I'm just glad those foods don't rule my day now! They have no power over me! I'm glad you can still sit and eat with your hubby, I'm learning that it's not about the food at these gatherings, it's about the company!

DeDe

Oh man ! Everything you said here is so important to me. I love how you just say, "They have no power over me!" -- you have such conviction and I want that, too. And you know, I am sure you will be saying this about cigarettes in no time. The great thing is, all your experience in dealing with food will only help you in kicking the smoking habit, too.

And you are right about gatherings, it's not about the food but about the company. You know, I have to remind myself of that for a lot of things and thinking about that today after you posted it made me realize a new mantra for myself (I will get to that later).


Janae :

I think forgiveness actually sets you free...from bitterness, resentment, etc. So, maybe you know you have fully forgiven when you feel a release from bitterness....or when the pain of the injury is no longer something that defines your life....or when you feel free...no longer "held back" or held captive by the injury or wrong done to you.

I appreciate everything you have brought up and I very much agree. That stuff up there is what I have to lose, and my freedom is what I want to gain a sense of ... and actually that is just all part of this weight thing for me. It's actually about gaining something, not losing. I am gaining my sense of freedom through doing this... and forgiveness is important.

Sidrah :

Thank you very much for chiming in. Your support is very appreciated and your words are very encouraging for me.



Major (for me) realizations of the day :

1 (new mantra)-- There are more important things happening in my life than food, at any one moment, and overall.

2-- Even on this plan with smaller amounts of calorie intake, and there being certain acceptable snack foods, I recognize that the mentality to eat as much as I can get away with just because it's allowed, is not going to serve my mission in the long run.

Rather, the mentality of eating as little as I can get away with (without going off program or causing harm to myself -- and in those cases I am not really getting away with it then) will serve my mission well.

3-- I will take the feeling of spending my day and going to bed being a little less full/slightly hungry over the feeling of being stuffed, overfull, porked out, etc... any day or moment of the week (and ironically enough, it is much more satisfying to me, too).



Well, there is more, but I am exhausted . For the first time in YEARS, I cried my eyes out in a movie and couldn't stop even after the movie ended. Good thing I have been drinking so much water. And no, I didn't even wiff the popcorn.


Thanks to all,
Karli

[dede4wd]

Thank you for what you said Karli. The thing that keeps me motivated on this program is knowing that I may be able to help at least one person!

DeDe

[sidrah]

Oh, no problem. I love reading your thoughts. Many of them are shared by me, too. I'm glad you found something that is working for you

[Dayna]

Karli,

I can't tell you how special it is to me that you're doing this program. My hope and prayer for you is that you gain the sense of control over food that you're looking for. The first time I realized that I'd gone 30+ minutes after waking up without thinking about what I was going to eat that day was a landmark moment. I don't know if the food demons ever go away completely (I think we probably will always need to maintain constant vigilance), but as our sense of control over food grows, so does our sense of control over life.

Thank you for posting your thoughts so freely. You're saying what I know many of us have secretly thought, but haven't known how to put into words. You've succinctly defined so many of the challenges and benefits of our journies towards our "fittest selves" (I LOVE that term!). You are such an amazing person, with talent, and beauty, and grace, and intelligence, and integrity, and strength.

One of the original Medifast/TSFL success stories (Mary Jane Medlock, she's been on the catalogs, and she's the one on the DVD who lost over 170 lbs and has kept it off for over four years) has made the greatest analogy (I guess this is one she's used lots of times before). She says that for years, she felt like the real her was hiding inside all the fat, and she wanted nothing more than to unzip her skin so the real her could step out of it. I believe she even had dreams about being able to unzip the fat, like a suit. And now she has.

A speaker here at conference also made a great analogy. He described an overweight person as being like an eclipse. You see brightness and light shining out around the edges, but the weight (like the moon) gets in the way of our ability to shine to our fullest potentials. Gaining control of food and our weight is like after the eclipse; then we can shine with all our might, and there's nothing to get in the way.

I can't wait to reach the end of your journey with you, when you've unzipped and are shining as brightly as you can. I think the sun will pale in comparison.

- Dayna

PS I'll call you when I get home!
PPS Excellent start on the program today, and especially good for you for getting that last supplement in, even though you weren't hungry for it. I know that's a bit of a shift for you, and it's just more evidence of your dedication to becoming healthy and strong.

[Karli]

Hi Dayna , Thanks so much for writing in !! Now, I must say that of course your live example has been an eye-opener for me !

During the day of the evening that hubby and I came over, I had tried on my "fat" shorts thinking that maybe I could break out of wearing the same old dress for a change (which I will probably want to burn as soon as I can -- and yes, it would be even way cooler if I could actually get lightning to strike and burn it (and then a strong gust of wind to blow any (non-smoldering) ashes away)) only to find that I could hardly pull them up over me bum and could come nowhere close to zipping and buttoning them ! What a frustration that was for me. But, I knew we were going to be seeing you that evening and as I have seen the transformation taking place in you, I couldn't wait to talk to you about TSFL (as you might have noticed.. hee hee).

Anyway, I don't know that I have ever seen you as happy as I have seen you these days. And you look just wonderful to me ! Thanks for being such a great example to me and to others. It means a lot to me to be able to be sharing in your success as well as sharing my success with you. Maybe we can start our hiking again soon.

Cheers,
Karli

ps- I got your message but didn't want to bother you... LOL... thanks very much for checking in .

[Karli]

Day 1

7:30 am -- chai latte (yummy, might be tastier warm)

10:30 am -- orange shake delight situation (would be better frozen)

1 pm -- chili and two celery stalks (not so great)

3:30 pm -- carmel nut bar (don't like them nearly as much as I thougt I would)

7 pm -- L/G -- pork and asparagus (I feel really full now)

10 pm -- vanilla shake (didn't really feel like having anything more at this point, but I know we ARE NOT supposed to miss, so I shook it up, baby) (okay)



Day 2 :

7 am -- Strawberry shake (mmmmmmm-- I like better than van. or orange)

10 am -- oatmeal, vanilla berry (not great-- pretty pastey)

1 pm -- chicken and wild rice soup (pretty good)

3:30 pm -- s'more granola bar (pretty good -- I like quite a bit more than carmel nut)

7:30 pm -- L/G -- lean beef and spinach salad w/ tomatoes (really grateful for the meal)

10 pm -- banana cream shake (again, not hungry at this point)



Day 3

6:30 am -- peach oaties (thicker texture; less water -- I like this better than the vanilla)

9:30 am -- fruit and nut granola bar pretty yummy

1pm -- minestrone soupy tastes okay... I am feeling pretty full after eating it, and I am surprised that I will be having another supplement before dinner

3 pm -- vanilla cream shake, partially frozen


6:30 pm -- L/G, lean beef, mushrooms and zuccinni

9:15 pm -- choc shake I wasn't hungry but my body really needed this one


Day 4

7:15 am -- hot cocoa pretty great. My favorite thing so far

10 am -- oatmeal raisin bar really yummy, maybe my fav bar

12:30 pm -- orange shake; partially slushi

3:30 pm -- chicken noodle soup

7:00 pm -- L/G; salmon with spinach salad and tomoatoes

9:30 pm -- Banana pudding I decided to think about how many people in the world would absolutely love this food. I was grateful as I ate it.


Day 5

8 am -- Vanilla shake -- trying to find the right schedule for me and only wait up to 3 hours between meals instead of up to 4.

11 am -- caramel nut bar it tastes better to me this time

2 pm -- cream of broccili soup it tastes delicious and was super easy

4 pm -- banana shake

6 pm -- spinach salad with tomatoes, cucumber, Salmon, hard boiled egg, and some cottage cheese I had to work to make enough protein for myself this evening. I didn't mind what feels like a lighter meal.

9 pm -- orange shake (totally did not feel like eating this)

[Karli]

Okay, I am having a bit of a tough time at the moment. This is day 2, and day 1 went relatively well. But good ol' "Aunt Flow" has come for a visit, and I am feeling extremely low on energy and sometimes I think...

"What am I doing? I need to go eat something, and a lot of it, so I have energy and can get out and exercise !"

At this point, even if I wanted to be active, I don't have it in me to be so... I just want to lay down it seems. I feel a bit as though I got body slammed.

I am not going to go off program, but I sure hope I am doing the right thing... if anybody happens to have any words of encouragement, or can keep me in your prayers, I am completely open and grateful.

Thanks,
Karli

[Janae]

Karli-

Just keep up your good work! You are really doing fine!

Your lack of energy is pretty normal for the beginning of MF. Many even speak of having to take naps in the afternoon. I know I felt rather "wiped out...especially in the afternoons" at first.

Be sure you have your meals on time...don't skip any. And some people even have an additional shake (or other packet) per day...making it 6/1 on the days they just really need it. It usually does not hurt your losing and for some people, seems to even help it.

Another thing that might help is to use your bar at a time you find your are especially tired...just because it has more calories than other meal choices. Also, make use of your snack as a possibility to fill in, if your body needs it.

The low energy seems to diminish...and most people will find that somewhere along the way, the opposite reaction will happen. As you get into ketosis and your body adjusts, and you begin to lose more, you will actually have MORE energy!!!

Finally, if your schedule is such that you can do so...just give in to it and let yourself rest more than you might normally. Perhaps this being a holiday weekend will allow you some free time and more time to relax during these first few MF days.

If your lack of energy manifests in lightheadedness and dizziness, it is usually helpful to drink bouillon or the Fast soup....for extra sodium/potassium.

Keep up the good effort...you will find this soon will pass. You are in my thoughts and prayers!