The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Laramedifast]

Hi everybody!
I was reading all these posts and really identifying with the feeling deprived thing. I had such a bad day at work on Thursday that I called my husband "just to say I'm going to eat a Snickers now." Of course, he talked me down, but it made me really get to thinking--and fearing--the whole topic of cheating on MF.

I guess what I worry about is not IF I will cheat, but what will happen when I do? Like for instance, I'm going to my mom's for Easter. I know I will not be able to be 100% compliant then. But I have been so far. I'm down 12 pounds and feel great. I love the consistent, easy system of knowing that I just need to keep plugging and slamming those shakes! But I worry about how I will react when I do "fall off."

Do you actually get physically sick when you go from a 5&1 to eating part of a chocolate peanut butter easter egg? And generally how much weight does one gain? What if you have a BIG cheat like ham and potatoes and dessert? Do you gain back a majority of what you lost? Or do you just have to go through the 3 days of induction again and gain a few pounds?

Maybe I'm just looking for a way to mentally prepare myself. I guess maybe what I'm saying is I want to minimize the damage at Easter... Does that make any sense?? Thanks for any help or tips with this!

Lara

[dlr2424]

Lara- I would approach Easter with a positive mindset that you will stay 100% compliant...knowing that there is no food on this earth that won't be there when you hit goal.. .....not to mention there is no food worth the mental torture & guilt we consume ourselves with when we cheat... Is a PB easter egg worth going out of Ketosis....at least for me, one moment of pleasure brings many hours of torture.. .....I would then ask God for the strength to endure the day... ....I would make MF oatmeal cookies or other legal food/dessert so I would feel I am part of the gathering but still staying compliant...I would prepare now with positive self talk so you set yourself up for success ... ..instead of preparing for a crash...a cheating mindset may start to give you permission to fall off........Now this is only a suggestion...I don't want to come off as "Perfect Pollyanna" ....God knows I have my challenges...but reflecting on it all ...I had put so much emphasis on food....obsessing in advance....and where am I today because of it?....that cheesecake I couldn't live without...the easter candy I ate when no one was looking.... it may have tasted so good at the moment...but where is it now?.....IT"S ON MY BUTT...that's where........So I would mentally prepare yourself with success and don't give Easter damage a thought.....but if you do fall off the MF train just hop back on as soon as possible...as we all will be sad without you...my mediprayers are with you...

Donna...dlr2424

[TamiL]

Hey lara
Im right there with DONNA!! DIDO to everything she said..and take it from someone who has fallen off the wagon and struggled with this same "holiday" thing last year....those Mini Eggs and Chocholate Bunny's will be there next year, dont blow your sucess and slow down your weight loss for it, its not worth it...and once you cheat and slip off...the guilt and the dissapointment is just not worth it!! the trick is...you have to get right back on, and that is the hardest thing, because your body has to deal with the cravings all over again....starting back at day "1" is no fun....and BELIEVE me when I say..that those few seconds it takes to munch down a chocholate bunny...or whatever is your down fall for easter food...sure it tastes good...but its over in a few seconds..and a few minutes later you will be asking yourself WHY you did it....you wont remember how GOOD that just tasted..but your body will shift out of Ketosis...and you will have just gone off your program for a few seconds of tasting something that you KNOW wasnt worth it!! then your guilt consumed...and if your like me, you may have one of those "well I blew it anyways..so I may as well binge on everything I have been missing" and end up on the program ALOT longer than expected!! lol!! ITS NOT WORTH IT!! you can wake up the day after Easter feeling GREAT that you didnt cheat..and you DID IT!! or you can wake up feeling crappy and mad at yourself..which for most of us only leads to more eating....
the CHOICE IS YOURS!! make a thick Chocholate Medifast Shake and have an extra one if you like that day.....but stay on track, the results are soooo much more rewarding than sneaking any easter candy or food not on your plan!! I PROMISE!!!!!
You can DO IT!! read this post the morning of Easter...before your meal and after.....as a reminder!! thats what I used to do!! I used to keep a journal of printed out POSTS that REMINDED me of what I wanted..and where I would be if I went off track........its the hardest thing to bounce back from a cheat....take it from someone who knows all too well!!
HERES TO A "CLEAN" easter for all of us....stick to the program folks...
youll be so happy you did!!
Happy shakin....

Tami

[doglover]

The thing I worry about Lara, is that this is the same behavior that put me on MF to begin with! I rationalized that all the easter candy is just one day. I rationalized that all the food I consumed at dinner was just one day. But guess what? It was a lot of days, or else my hips and butt wouldn't look like it does! I am afraid that if you cheat and gain back a lot (I think this is very individual here so you may not get a straight answer) then you will be consumed w/ guilt. If you DON"T gain, maybe you will give yourself a break and excuses on your next cheat. And then it is all downhill!

Remember, MF is not just about food. It is also about healing emotional and psychological needs for food. It is taking the food game out of our life so we can think about our habits and what we are doing on a normal basis. Use Easter day to make a stand for yourself! Make good choices and you will be rewarded 1000 times more than a chocolate bunny!

Now, this being said, I am the WORST person for those Choc/PB easter eggs. I'm scared to death every time I see them in the store. But I have chosen to be strong and gain valuable experience from Easter day!

Sorry, we're not answering your specific questions! Have a great weekend!
Donna

[Laramedifast]

You guys are so good! This is exactly what I needed! So let's change the focus here from how to cheat to tips and MF treats to keep me compliant around my family that day. Acutally, my mom and husband are both very supportive so it won't probably be a big deal at all if I don't make it one. I have some popsicle molds to make MF pops to join my mother in her nightly icecream bar (she's a cancer survivor and NEEDS to eat calories, how ironic! . And I love the cookies and make them all the time. I also have sugar free jello on hand and will ask her to have some dill pickles for me at her house along with some celery. Am I missing anything else that will make it more "normal" in terms of food? :

Thanks so much, really! I guess instead of encouragement to cheat, I needed reinforcements to NOT do it!! You're all the best!

Laramed

[24KaratGold]

I put two boxes of Girl Scout cookies into the freezer with my name on them. That way I know I can have them anytime I want, even if it's not Girl Scout cookie season. I'm going to do the same thing with a chocolate peanut butter egg, and a Cadbury creme egg. I'm not depriving myself now; I'm just putting eating those things off for awhile, because it's really cool when I go into the office wearing new clothes and two people immediately say "Wow! You sure are losing weight! This is the thinnest I've ever seen you!"

Deep freeze those things that you want to have at Easter, and save them for another time. Just knowing that they are there, but that it is YOUR CHOICE what to do with them, seems to lessen the need to eat them RIGHT NOW.

[doglover]

Yeah Lara! We are so proud of you! Have soup or chili or oatmeal to be able to eat something with a spoon! I love everyone who says they drink their shakes out of special wine glasses! I plan to do that on Easter, just to make it a fun special day!
Donna

[joysea]

I loved all your posts! So true, Donna, that "medifast is not just about food. It is also healing emotional and psycholgical needs for food...take the food game out of our life."

Don't, don't and triple don't - set yourself up for going off Medifast! We will be so glad we did on Easter Monday!

Thanks, I needed that.

Joyce

167.9/156.3/125

[dlr2424]

Lara....maybe a few little tricks will help you Easter Sunday:

1) Make believe you've invited Nancy to shadow you Easter Sunday & she is sitting next to you at the dinner table ....

2) Take a Peanut butter Bar or Caramel..Medifast that is...& cut out little egg shapes or bunny shapes....

3) Find a picture of a very overweight flabby person & tape it to one of those favorite chocolate bunny packages...so when you look at that bunny it will no longer be inviting . You will focus on that God awful flab and realize that too many bunnies will get you there...

4) Make your oatmeal cookies with a bunny shape cookie cutter

5) Attach a picture of a Victoria Secret's Model with a picture of your head instead of her's and affix it to your MF packets

6) Ask the Medigods to be with you for strength...

It is only 1 day out of 365....But you can make that day a victory and conquer the challenging foodie behaviors that have placed us all here ......YOU CAN DO IT....

Happy St. Joseph's day

Donna...dlr2424

[cthrn007]

That was great Donna!!!
~C

[THINKTHIN]

i never thought of the bunny cookie cutter! i'm off to buy one today!
great advice!!!!!