The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[LeeannNH]

hi guys

i hope you all are doing well!!

i have a dilemma. last week i had a 1/2 pound gain (my first gain on mf since i started in early may). i think my first dreaded plateau is in effect! i only weigh once a week on fridays with my doctor and i am terrified to weigh in tomorrow. i have been compliant, drank my water, eaten all of my meals on time, exercised a bit...in other words, ive worked the program for sure! i was getting ready for TTOM last week and was not sleeping well due to WORK, WORK and MORE WORK, so i am assuming this could effect my weight? has anyone else had that effect their loss?

i guess i am looking for advice on dealing with plateaus. i am trying to prepare myself for what may be coming. i have read alot about people's experiences with plateaus on the site but it would be great to hear how you guys pushed yourself through emotionally. i dont want to let myself get into a funk and feel like a failure. how do you push yourself to get through the next week after a disappointing weigh-in? do you change up your plan, like change times of meals, or change up your lean and green?

these are some things that i think i may need to change:
1. limit my coffee (i have an X-large dunkin donuts black coffee every morning)

2. limit my diet coke intake (i have like 3-4 a day)

3. i usually eat red meat 2-3 times a week

any input on this guys?

arrrrgggghhhhhh----why do i get so freakin nervous?



thanks to you all for your help (in advance!)
leeann

[want2Bthin]

Leeann-

I am dealing with the dreaded plateau as we speak & have been for a few weeks now. I am down 50 pounds so far & my body is readjusting to the new weight. I have tried several things to kick things in gear. I did the complete one day. I did away with diet soda. I only drink one cup of coffee per day. This week I bought a new exercise bike & I am doing it 20 minutes in the AM & PM. I did not weigh last Sunday just in case I was in the same boat as the weeks before. I am weighing this Sunday.

If you do have a plateau just remember that it is only temporary. Unfortunately nothing I say will prepare you entirely. I have read about plateaus all along & to be quite frank, I never thought is would happen to me. When it did it took me a week or so to come to peace with it.

Angelia

[LeeannNH]

hey angelia

plateaus SUCK

thank you for your input....im definitely not a patient person when it comes to weight loss. if the scales don't go down i start to feel like a failure. you are awesome for sharing your coming to peace thought. maybe if i plateau tomorrow i will ask my doc not to tell me what i weigh next week---i like the idea of taking a break from the dreaded scale!

oh boy, dropping the diet cokes.....

thanks again and congrats on 50# gone girl! that is wonderful!!!!!

[Mommy2girls]

Hey Leeann~

I think you will survive this too! I like your list of things (habits) that you do that might affect your weight. I think I would start on one of those at a time. For instance if you need that coffee (black adds no calories, just caffeine) try cutting back the size to a small instead of a XL. Then when you are comfortable with that, scale back on the diet coke. I love it too, but I usually limit myself to 1 a day. And when I find myself reaching for another, I will do a little reality check and realize that I've already had one and then I will reach for my water instead. The red meat is something we eat at least 2x sometimes more a week too, but I will buy yummy salmon and grill that too. The red meat is more of a habit, the salmon is starting to get some more space in our freezer too.

I've been bouncing around myself for the last month, going off plan 2x for 2 vacations then using MF to get back to PRE-vacation weight and sadly after a month of on again/off again, I'm right back where I left off on July 15th. So after seeing the scale go up and down (again due to me going completely off plan for almost 2 weeks) I'm ready to see it go down.

Get weighed and don't get down on yourself. LOOK HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME! I posted pictures of myself over in the studio and I think that helped me mentally to SEE how far I've come! I know it's hard to do (believe me) but I'm glad I did and I hope my pictures can help someone else who thinks that 40lbs doesn't make a difference!!!

YOU WILL DO AWESOME TOMORROW!!!! Gain or loss, you are still Leeann, Medifaster Extrodinare, you will conquer this too!!!

[LeeannNH]

THANK YOU SHEILA


ill try the scale down to a large coffee and 2 diet cokes tomorrow....then maybe ill get down to a small coffee.

its funny how 40# doesnt seem like alot to me...but it sounds like alot when someone says they have lost that much. maybe i will post after pics (well, "so-far" pictures) thats a really good idea for a reality check.

it is so weird how food rules my life even while im losing. anything weight related...losing, gaining, eating, not eating.......im hopiing that through this mf program i can learn to be more realistic and positive about my body image.

thanks again for your input---you too are a medifast extraoridinaire!!!!!

go us!!!!

again--plateaus suck

[martha]

LEEANN--

Yeah those plateaus are a pain in the drain.. I jump around with this program..so far so good..I never liked coffee(yeah you saw it first here--a cajun who doesn't drink coffee ) I don't so the diet drinks either.. I do the complete some days and the 5 & 1 some days..BUT I am looking for the dreaded plateau every week I know it will happen sooner or later but look forward to losing inches while I am riding it out..
Don't stress over it..If you are compliant you will be fine.. Just take it a day at a time for now.. weigh in so you will know where you are at--that way you can adjust your list to fit.. most likely you have lost some weight already..Have a great week..Martha

[LuzInIt]

LeeAnn - Being aware of and prepared for a plateau is half the success of beating the dang things . I've had two slowdowns and was totally miserable while in the midst! The funny thing is, if you keep a journal of your loss, looking back those times don't seem so bad and it all evens out in the end. Although I had weeks of losing zero, .2, .4 etc., I've also had a weekly loss of 5, 6 and 8 pounds. My average right now is 3.4/week - it's been higher and it's been lower. All that said - Medifast works and will continue to work. Who knows why are bodies do what they do? I can weigh, go walk up a huge sweat on my treadmill for over an hour, and then weigh again (before drinking). Buckets of sweat left behind and my weight goes up 2 pounds . What's up with that? Just don't let the numbers rule and discourage you - boy have I needed that advice! It's Friday and you've probably already gone to the doctor, but I think I would have told him not to tell me my weight this week regardless, knowing if he didn't tell it would be a gain. That way, discouragement wouldn't set in until you're in a better mindset. Of course, that's coming from someone who weighed with every pee pee during her plateaus . Hang in there - you've already done great and will continue to do so!!

[LuzInIt]

Meant to mention that I, too, have a daily XLarge Dunkin' Donut Coffee (with cream ). That's all I drink besides water, but I decided at the beginning of the progarm, it was a concession I wasn't willing to make. I used to be addicted to Diet Coke (years ago), but it really began to affect me - felt like I had a hiatal hernia, probably from excessive carbonation from drinking 2 - 4 litres a day. I stopped cold turkey, and after feeling better, thought I'd pick up the habit again. WRONG! You don't need a lot of time away to lose the taste for it. My first sip nearly gagged me, tasted like thick, nastily sweet syrup. Now I actually cringe if I pick up someone's soda (or pop as some call it) by mistake. Stuff makes me sick. Funny, the same thing did not happen with coffee. I went off it for one of my diets for about a year. But the first one I had after that period tasted like heaven to me; I've been drinking it ever since, thanking God I don't need four donuts to go with it anymore!!!

[Marcelle]

So how did it go Leeann? We are waiting to your report!

[martha]

Leeann--

Well I am waiting too.. How are you doing??


LINDA--

I use to be addicted to cokes when I managed the station..I would come to work and a vendor would try to talk to me and I would have a coke first Yeap it's true..If getting off booze or drugs is anything like getting off COKES then I feel for them..That was the worse headaches I ever had they lasted 14 days and the Dr and I both thought I was to far gone to stop BUT then I woke up and like magic it was gone Have never wanted another coke of any kind since. .NEVER AGAIN>> Don't know if I could pass up the dunkin donuts though So I can't even begin to stop at that place..Maybe 1 day have a great week..Martha

[Jan]

Hi Leeann,
I understand the fear of the nasty old scale. I too am very leary of it and do not weight myself regularly. Most true plateaus occure after about 40 pounds or so of weight loss. Your body readjusts after about this amount of time. Don't worry if you stay compliant to program you will begin to lose again. Everyone's system is a little different. Some take longer than others to start losing again. I wish we were all the same so that we would have definite time spans -but that's not true. All kinds of things, emotions, sleep issues and hormones affect our weight loss. We have very complex systems and were just designed that way. Just keep going, be compliant, and drink your water and you should start losing again. If the plateau lasts a while you can always add one additional shake a day for a few days. This sometimes (as crazy as it sounds) gets you going again.
jan

[LeeannNH]

hi guys

you all are amazing! i was so excited to see that yall responded to me. it makes me feel like i am in this with a great crew!

i weighed in today and amazingly i had lost 5.5# after my .5# gain. i couldnt believe the scale!

martha, you were right about seeing where i stand, that is exactly what my doctor said. i know now to just take things as they come. if the scale goes up stick with it and if the scale goes down, stick with it!

jan, the scale is pretty awful and scary. ill definitely keep the extra shake thing in mind if i run into this again. im now at 49.5# off, so i assume that the longer plateau is right around the corner. im glad to hear that it is normal

luz: i hear ya on the dd coffee! it is horribly addictive. i tried getting off all caffeine about 2 years ago and and i experienced the same thing martha did with the worst headache ever in the history of mankind. i just love my coffee and if that is my one "bad" food then that is ok with me. as for the weigh in i did go pee right before and told my doc that if it was a gain to prepare me....before i started this program, i would weigh myself like 10 times in a row, with clothes, without, after i breathed out, holding my breath....ugh!!! the things we put ourselves through.

the main thing is that i love all of you guys! it means so much to me to see that yall are behind me. i want you guys to know that i have never had people to talk to about my weight. everyone around me is thin and fit. i am humiliated to discuss my weight with them. its weird how they are starting to notice, which is another stress for me all together.

anyway...thanks again for your kinds words and your encouragement. it is so nice to have a safe place to fall when i need support during this journey

leeann

[Jan]

Hi Leeann

Good for you. That's a great loss. Leeann, this forum is a wonderful tool .We help and motivate each other and everyone of us understands the struggle of parting with the pounds. I'll look forward to hearing from you again. Keep your hand out of the "cookie jar - ice cream" and you'll do great. We all know each one of us can and will be successful!!
Jan

[mytime]

Leann - GREAT JOB - It is soooo hard to stick with it. Everyone wants big weightloss weeks. You held fast and got there. You are an inspiration !!! Good for you and thank you for your post. I know I will revisit it often for the courage to continue when I just want to shoot my scale and eat Chinese Food instead of my oatmeal!!!! Mytime

[want2Bthin]

Leeann-

5.5 pounds!!! TERRIFIC!!

Angelia