itsgonnaworkthistime wrote:I was wondering how the stomach issues were when eating the non-MF food?
Hi Maura! The ironic thing is that my husband, who is not MFing and if anything struggles to gain weight, had terrible stomach issues-- he got food poisoning from some oysters and was in complete misery for 8 hours!
I did okay until I had one very rich dinner, on my third night. I had 2 pieces of bread with butter, a bowl of creamy sweet potato soup, and a *very* generously-sized entree of seared scallops with a huge mound of black truffle & parmesan risotto. Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention the chocolate fondant for dessert, which I finished singlehandedly! Everything was delish, of course, but I ate *way* too much of it; I was feeling *really* full-- uncomfortably so-- as soon as we were done and walking out of the restaurant. We were so full we went straight back to bed and crashed. In about 4 hours, I woke up with an urgent need to use the loo. I did, and it was pretty unpleasant, but then I was fine. I really think I just way overdid it, though. If I'd eaten the same food but had half the quantity, I think I'd have been okay. Or if I'd ordered something with less dramatic amounts of butter and sugar, perhaps?!?!
Other than that one night, I was fine. I spent the five preceeding days having a few extra calories for my lunch (MF soup, MF crackers, plus a plain FF yogurt) and for dinner (I'd have an extra cup of cooked veggies, then later I also added a serving of some 70-calorie, low-carb pasta). I only added about 200 total calories to my total daily intake, but the extra food volume helped prepare me pretty well, I think.
I really think you'll be okay if you take a few days to add in some high-protein, high-fiber (but low-cal) foods to your MF regimen, and then ease into the "real" food slowly, without going straight for the high-fat stuff right away when you're off plan. E.g., I had an MF shake at 7, brunch of 2 poached eggs and 2 slices of whole wheat toast, late lunch of salad plus protein, dinner of mostly fish with some veggies and bread, and a bar later if I got hungry. This seemed to work fine. (100% compliant, no! But it didn't make me sick.) Honestly, I betcha I would have had the same stomach issues after cramming in all that food that one night, whether I had been on MF or not!
I think if you try and have some poached eggs, dressingless chicken caesar salads, and lots of steamed veggies with your dinners while on your biz trip (essentially, lean & greens, like Nancy said) when you can't do MF or want to try adding in some foods, you'll be okay if you make sure your portions are small so as not to shock the system! Being "off" MF for a few extra days may not be ideal and it may mean having a pound or two more to lose later, but you won't be alone! I'll be here! And at least it will help avoid a miserable day or night in the loo while on your cruise... My opinion, anyway!