The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[70]

I was wondering what happends after we are on the M.F. program for a while and our bodies finally get used to the decrease in calories. Do our metabolisms slow down during the decrease in calories? Do we experience a plateau and have to increase our activity more once our bodies get used to the decrease in calories in order to keep losing weight if we still are not at our goal weight by the time a plateau accurs? I know on most diets that is what happends, but I was just wondering if it also happends with the M.F. program.


Thanks,
70

[Nancy]

Hello there Seventy!!!

What a good question. Actually people on the Complete Program have more of a metabolic slow down than those on the 5 and 1 but yes, our metabolism does lower. It is important for people to begin to gradually increase their activity level after our body has adapted to the fat-burning state – exercise within reason. 45 minutes of exercise is plenty for this program; anything more and you are overdoing it for the caloric input provided by the 5 and 1 Program. If you are a marathoner, this is not the plan for you. Exercise is especially necessary at transition and for weight maintenance. Once a person begins to transition, we need to keep our calories at fairly low ranges initially and gradually increase them as our activity level increases and our metabolism is raised.

Generally plateaus occur when we have released about 40 pounds. Some people never experience them; others can have them more often. Due to hormonal fluctuations, women seem to be more likely to have a plateau than a man. If we are patient and ride them out, we begin releasing weight regularly again.

Usually it is not necessary to try to trick our metabolism into getting revved up when we experience a plateau They are usually short-lived. Now there have been a very few people that had a hinky 10 day weight hovering spell but that is not common.

Usually when weight loss takes a ‘break’ our body is rearranging itself and fluids may be reluctant to leave but if we take our measurements, we’ll find our body is smaller. Guess it’s trying to decide whether to drop inches or dump pounds!

[slimr]

nancy
i was going to start a new thread......but my thoughts seem to fit here.
i started mf last fall. lost 45 lbs in about 3 months. then my weight loss just stopped. did everything anyone suggested. called the nurses line and nutritionist, other mf'ers etc. in aout april the nurses line suggested that i simply STOP the products for a while then get back on.......i stopped and you know what happened then!
now i have back about 35 of my 45 lb loss!
but ever worse, i did not feel good. i felt old, lethargic, old aches and pains came back.....it was BAD!
the nutritionist (at MF) was very discouraging and said that folks who stop and then restart do not usually have a good experience. WHATT!!?? that was the MF nurses suggestion! i know she probably didn't mean for me to stop that long, but, it was hard and discouraging to start again.
anyway.....
i have started again. today is day 4. i am beginning to feel a little better already, after a tough first couple of days.
on MF complete. 6/day. no meal. no bars. some fast soup. occasional crackers. (2 packs in 4 days). (i am still hungry.) do you have suggestions how i can keep my metabolism from jamming on the brakes????
i want to make it all the way this time. i was still 30 lbs from goal.....how can i avoid stopping and sticking for months! (and yes i had started working out, bought a gym membership and i was using it....and a bike)
help me nancy!!

[70]

Thanks Nancy for getting back to me with all that great info! I will definitely use it during my weight loss journey! I finally got serious and stopped cheating. I have made it through 2 days without cheating. That's a big deal for me! I want to go all the way this time! Please stick with me. I'll need all the help I can get. I hope to lose a major portion of my weight by September.

70

[Nancy]

Dear Slimr ~

My, my, my-lanta! What an interesting saga you have here.

Yikes! I realize that it is not possible to go back in time and try to evaluate everything that transpired previously but this is my perspective.: I cannot undo what happened to you.

I don’t know who you are or if I am your Health Advisor or not and I do not have the time to gather all the particulars regarding your situation but let me make a few comments...

There are some people who have a resistant metabolism as a result of frequent diets, yo-yo weight fluctuations, health issues, yadda yadda.

I know how it feels to be on a weight loss program and to be stuck at a particular weight for a very long time: it stinks BIG TIME!

It happened to me before, too (when I was on other weight loss programs) and it has happened to some of my personal TSFL clients using Medifast products.

I do know that eventually, the body will begin to release weight again.

Terry and I have been Health Advisors for nearly three years and our clients that have remained program-compliant on the weight loss program continued to lose weight – some people do experience occasional weight plateaus but not every person has had a total weight loss lock-down. I can think of only one who experienced a really slow month when her weight barely dropped anything in spite of being true to the program.

I am not a nurse and I am not a nutritionist by training but I would not suggest to any of my weight loss clients to stop the products or to go off of the weight loss program – I would wait it out. (Even our clients that are preggers continue to use MF for good nutrition - not to restrict their calories mind you, but for occasional meal replacement, healthy snacks and in addition to healthy regular food).

You didn’t mention if you were on the complete program last fall or not but if you were and then resumed a regular pre-Medifast meal plan; no wonder you gained 35 pounds.

When a person goes from a low calorie meal plan to higher calories, rebounding (weight gain) will occur unless calories are gradually increased and exercise is part of the equation to increase one’s metabolism.

If you were on the weight loss plan for three months, it would take a while for your body to adjust to the higher caloric intake and it would be really needful to cautiously increase your calories to prevent rebound.

i had started working out, bought a gym membership and i was using it....and a bike

If you were on the complete meal replacement program previously and working out (Particularly if you had a personal trainer who was pushing you and stepping up your program), you may have been over-exercising and your body could not tolerate the stress of a VLCD & the exercise regime.

There is plenty of time for exercise once the weight is lost and a person is at the appropriate weight. People on the 5 and 1 may exercise along their weight loss journey but folks on the VLCD must be sensible with their caloric expenditure...

Yes, aches and pains come with an increase in weight – the fluid weight alone presses on the tissues, muscles, tendons, etc. Pressure = pain.

If you are on the complete meal replacement program, I hope that you are under the direct supervision of a physician.

Please have a complete physical to be sure that you are in excellent health, that there are no hidden health issues such as diabetes, thyroid, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, heart disease, etc.

You need a health advisor and a doctor to monitor your health. A Health Advisor alone is not enough for people on the complete meal replacement program; we are not qualified to monitor your health and evaluate your labs.

Since you are in your first week and trying to get through the day with minimal hunger and foody longings I’d suggest that you have your Medifast meals spaced every two hours – do not go longer than 2.5 hours.

Eliminate bars totally (stay away from them for several weeks – have oatmeal for breakfast and consume as many shakes as possible for the rest of your daily intake to allow the natural appetite suppression of the soy to provide the feeling of contentment to occur.

Avoid diet pop, caffeine and sugar-free gum or mints and have a Pepcid or a Tagamet to calm down your stomach acid until you’ve gotten through the first few weeks. Some people have no problems with the former items and for some of us, the fizz and caffeine stimulates our appetite and makes it more difficult to cope with hunger sensations.

When a person uses more calories than they consume, they will lose weight. We can do it two ways: eat fewer calories than what we need or burn off more calories than what we consume.

My personal metabolism rate can be different from yours – our metabolism depends upon many factors – our age, height, weight, genetics, fitness level, lifestyle, and the composition of our body (fat & muscle tissue).

So to lose flab we can eat less than what we are curently eating or exercise more to burn off more than what we eat. Many times the latter is not easy or feasible, especially when one is 70 pounds overweight or 135 pounds overweight as I was.

With our TSFL Programs, we reduce the weight and over time, we gradually increase the activity level when it can be safely done.

For a lifetime of weight management we must make positive lifestyle changes and incorporate exercise – both aerobic and weight resistance.

I’ve discussed plateaus in many posts in my Forum – in a sense, it is inevitable that dieters experience a plateau; it seems to be a natural occurrence, a dieter's occupational hazard of sorts.

When it happens, we must learn to accept it for what it is, the body’s temporary need to readjust.

I look at it this way, it is not in a left-handed child’s best interest to try to force him/her to be a righty so why should we attempt to force our body into moving on to a new place if it isn’t yet ready.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Medifast is simply excellent nutritional food, designed to provide the exact amount of food and in the correct proportion needed. When the bod feels safe, it will move on to its next level.

I hope I haven’t skirted the issue or botched things up – just my two cents worth.

It (Medifast products and the Take Shape For Life Programs) works…don’t mess with it.

Get all the way to your goal, transition properly – over a 6 week period of time (FOr Folks on the Complete Meal Replacement Plan) ; vigilantly work through maintenance - keep your calories initially low and then s-l-o-w-l-y increase the calories, add exercise and gradually increase it.

We are not having a race here – our aim is to get you to a healthy BMI and then keep you there for life by following the Take Shape For Life BE SLIM success points:

Breakfast daily
Exercise most days
Support from others
Low fat/low cal
Individual Plan - determine exactly what, how much and when to eat which particular healthy foods
Monitor your weight frequently

[fedup]

Nancy just nailed my mistake on the head!.... when I first did medifast for 2 months I lost 30 pounds, then did not transition properly, but went right back to eating the same as before (or maybe even worse since I always knew I'd be "starting" MF again soon so I tried to "get all the food in..." I didn't gradually increase my calories, and I didn't up my exercise to increase my metabolism.... Oh if only I hadn't had to learn this lesson the hard way....

SO here I am, back again with excess weight.... this time is going to be very very different when I transition. Slow and steady....

[Nancy]

Christy ~

I really mean this sincerely and not to be stinky...when people decide they want to lose weight and get healthy and if they invest their time and $ in the products, then they need to do all the things necessary to succeed or just keep their money in their wallet and not waste their time, their self-esteem or my time and effort.

I invested a lot of time and $ on numerous weight loss programs and I finally came to my senses after years of diet failure: I could no longer live the way I was and eat the same way I was eating or I would die flabby, unhappy, unfulfilled and need to be placed in a queen-size casket that needed 8 or 9 body bearers to haul my disease-ridden carcass down the aisle at my memorial service.

To be successful at weight loss and weight management I needed to stop doing what I was doing and begin doing the things successful losers do.

If you are serious about this weight loss business then do the serious things that lead to success:

1. Get a Health Advisor.

2. Read the Quick Start Handbook or the Diabetic Guide and the follow the directions exactly as they are written. Just DO it.

3. Read my website, my newsletters, participate in the Forum.

4. Buy, read and follow the information in Success in a Shaker Jar and Food is Easy, Life is Hard both by Linda Spangle.

5. Visit Barnes and Noble or Borders and read books pertaining to health and fitness.

6. Follow the program to the letter, it works.

For many people who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or other health risks, many over-the-counter weight-loss products and programs are out of the question for them.

Medifast products are just plain ol’ healthy good food, made to pharmaceutical standards, and medically proven.

Coupled with the Take Shape For Life program and its customer support systems, Medifast is useful, safe and appropriate for losers of all ages and sizes.

It works when we follow the whole plan: weight loss, transition and maintenance.

It is a three-legged stool.

You leave one or two legs off the stool; you end up on your bum.

[martha]

70----- Great to see you back on program and 2 days without cheating!! GREAT!!!!!! like everyone says " the only person we are cheating is ourselves" how true.. good luck this week.. we're here if you need us..

Nancy-- Thanks for all the advice.. I needed to hear it all as I just jumped into this program..read your forum a week or two and loved the support and just JUMPED!!! still need to see the dr but plan on it soon.. for some reason I figured if I wasn't doing just the complete program it wasn't necessary..ordered the lifestyle book as well as the sucess in a shaker jar book from my HA.. love them(especially the lifestyles) almost ordered the food is easy, life is hard one but wasn't sure.. however now after reading what you had to say I am fixing to go online and order it.. thanks for all of your help...Martha

[Nancy]

Food is Easy, Life is Hard is great - I think it is helpful for people who have been on the plan for a while and who are considering life post-Medifast weight loss (Transition and maintenane) or who constantly think about cheats.