The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[BSmith]

I have a question???

Since milk can be substitued when you run out of MF... Can you occasionally substitute a glass here and there for a MF meal? I love milk and occasionally want something that is not sweet.

[raederle]

Welllll.... ideally you should not, mostly because milk, though it contains a decent amount of protein and calcium, does not contain the other vitamins and minerals that a packet of MF contains. The MF packets are formulated to give you the right amount of nutrients spaced out over the course of the day, so you would in effect be shorting yourself of certain needed vitamins and minerals on those days you subbed a milk. My advice would be to use milk only in a pinch (and no fair causing a "pinch" by "accidentally" leaving your MF packet at home once a day! ).

[BSmith]

Thanks for the input... I promise to only do it "once in a while" Sometimes I need a drink that is not sweet... Imagine that coming from a sugar addict! This stuff is super!

[nylady]

NO! remember that is only for emergencies and i wouldnt do it but 1 time. before you do it i would wait to hear from Nancy or call and ask a specialist. remember its skim milk not whole milk or reduced fat milk. milk "once in a while" isnt worth slowing your weight loss. the booklet also states if you run out of meals to do that 1 time and then until you get your supplements eat low carb meals.

[raederle]

Sometimes I need a drink that is not sweet... Imagine that coming from a sugar addict! This stuff is super!

Heh heh-- I know whatcha mean. This might be stating the obvious, but have you tried having the soups or the chili when you have an urge for something unsweet? Perhaps diving into some dill pickles or celery stalks? Those are all "kosher" on MF and might give you a break from the sweet stuff.

[BSmith]

OK!

I had a glass today. I LOVE MILK...

Thanks for the accountability. I will try harder to avoid it and stick with my MF options.

Blessings! Bess

[THINKTHIN]

I'm so glad you asked that question. Tonight at work, I was walking pass the patrons eating/drinking and I saw this nice tall glass of milk with ice in it! It looked fantabulous! So, the devil came out and I took about 1/4th of a cup swig. It sure tasted great! It was 1% milk.

Could I substitute once in a blue moon and add a multi-vitamin???

[raederle]

If I pretended to be Nancy for a moment, here's what I think she'd say... (dare I presume???? )

If you have a glass of milk, which has about 90 - 120 calories per cup and some good protein and calcium, with relatively few carbs, will it kill ya? No. Will it set you back on weight loss? Maybe not. But there are 2 good reasons to resist: One, the MF plan was formulated by experts on weight loss and nutrition, and they came up with MF for a reason. Presumably, they excluded milk for a reason, too. If experts came up with MF, and if it is proven to work as formulated, why mess with a proven formula? Two, many people find that the regimen of MF is necessary to help them reevaluate the foodie habits that made them fat in the first place. MF makes it easy to lose by taking the guesswork out of weight loss and calorie/protein/carb control and giving you a no-fail way to lose weight. If you allow yourself early on in the program to substitute foods for the MF packets, you are already making an end-run around the regimen and, for some, that might prove to be the first step down a long and slippery slope. Eight ounces of milk might turn into 12 ounces; a glass of milk might turn into a piece of cheese here and there, or a bit of this and a lick of that and a nibble of this.... Even if the foods you crave are "healthy," they can just add up to an unhelpful protein/carb/calorie ratio that knocks you out of ketosis and makes you miserable and hungry, even if you do continue to lose weight.

I don't mean to tell ya that I think you guys are weak, or doomed to failure, or incapable of making smart healthful eating choices.
There's no food police here, and no one's gonna be leaning over your shoulder ready to rap you on the knuckles if you drink milk instead of a shake. Certainly, a glass of skim milk, in the grand scheme of things, is a good food choice (especially compared to the pepperoni pizza *I* would prefer! ). But on MF, milk is just not meant to be regularly included until you get close to goal and need to start incorporating more calories and more "real" food choices as you approach maintentance. Put more simply, why mess with a good thing? For me, anyway, it would just be too easy to let that one substitution become a pattern of me thinking I know better than MF. I found out the hard way that I don't!

Hope this helps.... Please know we're all dealing with wishing we could eat just a few more things or could sub just a little of this or that... We hear ya and sympathize! The choice is yours, of course, but my two cents is that you'll probably benefit more from giving up the milk for the short term, in trade for long-term success. The milk will be there for you when you reach goal! And you can drink it til you're blue in the face! (Or white, I suppose....)

Whoa-- sorry for the milk diatribe. My fingers just wouldn't stop typin'!

[cthrn007]

You go Raederle!

I agree with you here... I have come to realize that teeney-tiny changes to the MF Plan stall ALL weight loss for me: 5 shakes instead of 6 -nada, adding approved veggies to my soup for more than 2 days a week -zip,
yummy MF Bars more than 3 days a week - zilch, bullion or pickles for me make me retain so much water I won't show a loss for at least 5 days...

I would be afraid that if they substitute milk here and there they may not be getting the MAGIC vitamins/protein/etc. that MF has perfected for us to be effective fat burning machines OR that is could possible add up to other substitutions that could stall things. No one likes a stall!!

I say don't do it unless it is an emergency... the milk will be there when we are all skinny and at our goals... and we will be thin much faster if we stick to the plan!

No mater what you decide you need to do, keep on shakin' it & I am pulling for ya!
~C

[raederle]

Hey Catherine-- just wanted to say WOO-HOO for you! Only 5 pounds to goal!!! YAY!!!! And I sympathize with you on the no-loss thing: sometimes I swear that sneezing makes me stall for a week! Maybe there *is* some magic faerie dust in MF... Hmmm... Magic Faerie; MediFast; MF! EUREKA!!!

[doglover]

Excellent post Rae! And a good reminder for us all to stick to the plan!! Thanks - and I thought you said it so eloquently! I seem to remember a while back Unca saying something about putting you on retainer??? Sounds like he should!

Keep shakin' gals and guys!
Donna

[raederle]

I seem to remember a while back Unca saying something about putting you on retainer??? Sounds like he should!

I accept major credit cards, travelers checks, personal checks, cash, and stock certificates. But I prefer to be paid in buffalo nickels.

[THINKTHIN]

Wow! Well, I feel like I've been caught with my hand in the cookie jar !

Thank you for your wonderful post. I do want to get to goal. God knows I would love to get their quick! Who wouldn't, right? I have always preferred water over any beverage, even before medifast. My occasional treat is a diet pepsi. I like that cold tingle that lingers down my throat. I guess I'll have to stash a couple cans at work for those "just in case" situations!

Thanks a bunch, Rae!

~Thinkthin!

[BSmith]

I love this Forum! Again thanks for all the honesty and accountability. To me that is true support at it's best.

"Magic Faerie; MediFast; MF! EUREKA!!! " Yes I agree! I love the way I feel on this stuff... And can admit that already I am a bit afraid of the day I do go back on food.

Happy Monday all! Bess

[doglover]

Hey BSmith - I agree - I am a bit nervous about going back to realy food. The only thing I can say is I plan to use MF a lot in my daily eating adventures. But I am staying focused on goadl right now. Beginning of May I need to work back into realy food as I am going to Jamaica end of May and don't want to be sick! And I will want to eat the food available at our resort, so need to get back to realy food a few weeks before hand. Anyway, I am with you on the nervousness!
Donna