The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[muffin]

Hi all ! Well, I got me some of those Metabostix and it turned a dark shade of purple/pink after testing. So does this mean I'm in ketosis now and I'm going to be losing quicker ? -Muffin

[explorthis]

Hi all ! Well, I got me some of those Metabostix.
So does this mean I'm in ketosis now and I'm going to be losing quicker

First: remember, everyone loses at a different rate of speed. You cannot grade your loss on weather someone loses faster than you, or let them feel envoius because you are losing faster than them. YOur weight loss will happen at "Muffin-Speed"

The program is designed to make you lose an average of 2-4 pounds a week (woman). Could be less, but doubtful. If you use these "stix" and they change flavors based on what your body is doing, will you lose faith?

Bottomline:

Drink the REQUIRED amount of Medifast.
Do not deviate from the full fast, or modified version. (your choice)
Drink the required PLUS amounts of water.
Excercize when you should.

YOU WILL LOSE THE WEIGHT, it is a proven fact.

I bet this, if you maintained the above 4 steps for the rest of your life, within a moderately short time, you would be dead - why? Because your caloric intake is SO reduced 400-500-600!?, you would continue to lose weight till you died.

YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT if you are true to the program. Get rid of those "stix" they will only discourage you. There is no point to them.

-Mike

[finalstraw]

Sorry Mike, I have to post against you just a little.

I use the sticks every now and then. They do give me a mental push when I see medium to dark purple, so I don't see them as a waste of money.

A little about Ketones. When I was on the Atkins diet I really researched ketones because I heard they would harm the kidneys, when your kidneys are processing ketones, you are considered to be in Ketosis. What I found was this. When fat is being used as energy from your body, it has to be metabolized just like our food does. Our body will use the energy and disgard the rest. This process takes place in your kidneys. It is a lot of work for your kidneys to break down the ketones before sending them to your bladder, so long periods of high ketones 'could' overwork your kidneys.

On the Atkins I stayed in dark purple (they suggest you use them everyday). The Anti-Atkins were reporting that the ketones were just dietary being processed because of the fattening foods. I did a test on myself to see if the ketones were actually my fat or the fat from the diet because it was an all fat diet. I took myself out of ketosis and then I ate only chicken for 3 days and then tested again. I kept my calories low and fat less than 10 grams a day. I was back in full ketosis. So, it really is body fat being deposited and not just dietary fat.

So, the darker the stick, the more fat you are processing. I have also found that it is easier and harder for some people to get into large Ketosis. There are also other things that will affect it, like too much caffiene, your body will use the 'high' off the caffiene before having to go to your fat stores.

Hope this helps.

*I am not a expert in this matter, just sharing what I have found. Do not follow my advice, do what you need to do.

[explorthis]

You go right ahead and post against me. Remember I am a man, and am rarely wrong! (ducking from flying objects)

I use the sticks every now and then.

They do give me a mental push when I see medium to dark purple, so I don't see them as a waste of money.

So, the darker the stick, the more fat you are processing. I have also found that it is easier and harder for some people to get into large Ketosis

Ok, what happens when you have that extra coffee, and your “stix” are not as flavorfully colored as you want? Do you lose faith, and think you are not losing, and to heck with this dieting thing?

Nancy said in some other post that you go into “moderate-small” Ketosis by following the plan. If you are following the plan (rhetorical question) and know you are in small-medium-large ketosis, then why do you need to wet-a-stix to prove it to yourself? Oh-oh my “stix” are not dark purple, I am not loosing, I better go off the program. I have lost my “mental push” and I am not going to lose weight because my “stix” not flavored like Atkins……

They are a crutch, though they might help you, they might disparage someone else?!?!

<IMG SRC="http://home.ripway.com/2004-1/56352/medifast/guy.bmp">

-Mike

[Jeanette]

There are some dangers to relying on one thing to prove to you that you are losing weight. While your ketostix may not turn colors or your scale may not budge, your clothes get looser and nearly fall off your body (that happened to me today!), or you notice that you can climb the stairs without being winded.

I know a woman who has been working out and losing weight for the past year. In that whole time, she has not stepped on the scale. Not once. For her, she knows that, if she steps on it and it doesn't say what she wants it to say, it could send her in a tailspin and go back into her old habits. How she judges her success is by being faithful to her eating and exercise program. If she has to go buy new clothes because her old ones don't fit....well...that's a bonus.

It is really important to look at the big picture and not focus on one certain way to measure your success.

[finalstraw]

Mike,

You do have a point, I am of the personality that if my stix aren't exactly the color I want them to be, I will find what is slowing me down, remove or fix it and get them back to that color.

I do not get discouraged if they go light on my, I just critique what I am doing.

I did not say they would be for everyone, but for those of us that do use them and don't feel like giving up when they don't show what we want, then that is OUR RIGHT!

Yes, if you do the diet and just the diet with no excerise then you are probably going to be trace or very light. But I prefer to excersise and take in the bare minimum the plan requires (no pickles, no snacks, minimal caffeine) on the full fast and I like seeing that I am metabolizing more fat by being strict. As I said in an earlier post somewhere, 'I just want it over with' the quicker the better.

It works for me .

[Jeanette]

Sure, you have a right to wee on a stick if it makes you feel better.

Mike's point of view comes from being a professional buyer and an all-around tightwad ( )--he doesn't like to see money "wasted."

Don't take offense!

[explorthis]

Mike's point of view comes from being a professional buyer and an all-around tightwad he doesn't like to see money "wasted."

Don't take offense!

None taken.

Sad but true, too much of an analytical mind sometimes. This mindset of nickel and diming everything is good to a point, but shadows my view on somethings... I am a penny pincher in life, as in my job...

There is always purple food coloring, and papertowels if you what to see the proverbial Keotosis. Accurate? Cheap!

-Mike

[Unca_Tim]

It's apples and oranges to compare Atkins to Medifast.

The combination of protein/calories/fats (good fats) is what determines how well our body metabolizes foods. Then there's the vitamins/nutrients/amino acids that nourish you, and keep you healthy from disease.

Unless you're a nutritionists/chemist, when you hap-hazardly, hit or miss, design your own program from regular foods, who know's what combinations of all these factors you end up with. Ketone levels do have to be monitored very closely with the Atkins diet, because you can get in trouble if you get things out of balance.

With Medifast, you just rip open a packet, or tap a ready to drink, and you know you're getting everything you need in the proper balance. Sticking closely to the program will keep you in the proper ketosis range. You may notice on active days when you get more exercise, or if you change your fluid intake that your sticks can vary a bit. Some people won't register at all on the stix.

If you're curious to see what "color" you are today, that's fine, but there's no need to be concerned about your weight loss if the stix aren't your favorite color today. If you follow the program, Medifast works, no matter what color you are.

Happy shakin',

Unca

[muffin]

Thanx for all the input guy n' gals. I will try to only use my "stix" just for "kicks".hahaha! -muffin