The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[vegasmedifast]

I'm Shari, married 4 years to Phil (also a Medifaster) and we are parents to two daughters, ages 2 and 3 months. We live in Henderson, NV, just outside of Vegas. I work full time from home (promotional products operations and sales) and keep my little ones home with me - it's hard but I love it! I am 34, Phil is 38. He isn't on here much.

I started to struggle with weight issues during college. My heaviest was 190 pounds...I am 5-foot 6. I got married at the age of 29 and continued to balloon from that point. After my daughter was born, I did Medifast and quickly dropped from 263 down to 199. Then I got pregnant again and ate everything in sight!

I weighed 298 when I had my second baby (3 months ago). I am now down to 236 and looking forward to hitting my goal of 160 in the next 6 months or so. I've lost close to 20 pounds in just over the 2 weeks I've been back on. I started exercising after the first week and the weight has been flying off. I know that you are supposed to wait 3 weeks, but I have always been athletic so I can handle the fitness portion.

I have been doing much better this time around due to the Momentum products - the Strawberry Lemonade water enhancer has saved me through many cravings. I noticed this weekend that I didn't use any and I've wanted to eat lots of things...but I didn't

A little background on my personal issues and goals...

I am comfort eater. I eat when I am bored. I eat when I am stressed. I love love love to sit in front of the television with a bowl of popcorn, a pizza, a plate of mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, take-out.

I LOVE take-out. I love delicious restaraunt food that I can eat in the comfort of my own home. I don't have to apologize for eating the whole portion(s) or look around nervously, seeing who is "judging me". I can eat in sweatpants, vs. trying to find something to wear to go out to dinner.

I am embarrassed about my size. I am apologetic for it. I feel guilty for being fat. I HATE getting dressed for anything. I am a homebody but I don't like being a homebody. I have no social life. We have friends, but we never go out with them.

My husband carries his weight well. He is 239 pounds right now and very muscular - so he doesn't share my self-pity . He is doing Medifast to reach a goal of 180, for his health and well-being.

Why I Want to Get Healthy.

1) I want to live a long, healthy life, free of the health problems that have started to arise due to being overweight (elevated blood pressure, blood sugar, joint pain, back pain)

2) I want to play with my children and not get exhausted from teaching my daughter how to pedal a trike.

3) I want to be a HOT MOM! Sorry. I do!

4) I want to NOT be sweating and hot all the time...I am perpetually overheated and sweating in any situation.

5) I want to wear sleek, fashionable clothing that I admire in the store windows and magazines.

6) I want to be proud of myself in all situations.

7) I want to set an example of health for my children and other family members and maintain a healthy home as my children grow.

I want to feel sexy for my husband and stop pushing him away when he tries to be intimate (sorry if TMI)

9) I want to be SOCIAL again and go out with friends and go to outings and events and feel comfortable and happy.

10)I want drop my self-hating, people criticizing defense mechanism that keeps me unhappy, and just BE and LIVE and LOVE in my healthy new body!

That's it for now...looking forward to tomorrow and drinking my water enhancers, eating my bars (I LOVE that we can eat the NEW bars 5 times a day if we want.)

OH! My fave Medi-foods...

The new crunch bars (peanut butter and choco mint ones)
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Chocolate Shakes
Banana and Chocolate Pudding
Maryland Crab Soup

My LEAST faves:
RTD's, I can't take 'em
Hot Chocolate - I don't get it. Can't blend it and it doesn't satisfy me at all.

Anyhow - thanks for reading, I am SO excited to be here and I hope to learn from everyone here. Thank you!!!

[DogMa]

Hi, Shari!! I really have nothing great to say, but I wanted to welcome you!!

[Tawanda]

Shari, welcome back and congratulations on the birth of your little one....also a huge congratulations on your determination and success so far!

[vegasmedifast]

Hi Everyone! I've been a bad poster but a compliant lady
I wanted to thank you all for your welcomes and I really do look forward to getting to know all and share our journey.

I just completed week 3 this past Sunday. We actually don't have a good scale - it's really crappy and cheap. My husband convinced me that we don't need to buy a new one since we can just weigh in at the gym.
WELL - I have been dealing with a fractured ankle (so I can relate to the injury, Leigh). I developed a stress fracture about 2 months ago and I'm in an air cast/boot to see if it can heal on it's own.

So I am unable to exercise much (I use our Wii to play tennis in my boot which is a calamity to watch). I am in the cast for another few weeks, then I get more xrays to see if we need to pursue a more agressive approach. That sucks since a more agressive approach means surgery or a hard cast, which means 8 MORE weeks off exercise.

Anyhow - I have been bad about wearing the cast and I'm trying to wear it all the time because I am anxious to heal now that I'm doing Medifast and I want to get to the gym.

Which brings me to my original point about not being able to weigh since I'm not going to the gym! I think hubby is going to have to suck it up and we are getting a new scale!

OK - a HUGE concern. This evening, we went out to dinner (for the first time in a month!!) Hubby and I ordered diet cokes with our dinner. We both took a few sips and I thought mine tasted a little like regular coke. Just then, Phil said, "does yours taste like regular coke?"

We immediately summoned our server who explained that sometimes in the back, the syrup lines get switched and may indeed have been drinking regular! I almost broke down then and there. I have no cheating one time and now I had just ingested regular coke!!! UGH!!!! Maybe 4-5 sips with a straw.

Did I throw myself out of ketosis? How bad are we messed up now? I am so upset that I've been up since 2 AM worrying about it. It's now 5 AM and I'm still stressed out.

Also - does anyone know about cough syrup? I suffer from sinus infections and I take Robittussin to help - but I know it has sugar in so I haven't taken it. Does liquid medicine affect the plan? I will check to see if they have caplets or something.

So - I am looking for your feedback, my friends??
Has anyone had the "diet coke" issue? How bad is it?
What about cough medicine, etc?

Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing from you all and posting more often!

I based my initial 20 pound weight loss on the ONE time that I went to the gym and tried to walk the track in my air cast. That was a joke. But I've been swimming in my clothes so I'm getting more excited.

And Leigh -yes!!! I said the same thing to my husband tonight - I have NO desire to eat anything off plan...none. So that's good. I am just sooo upset about the coke thing. I know I'm being dramatic but this plan is so structured and I feel so fragile.

Help?

Sorry for being a negative nelly - I hope to be cheered up soon!

[DogMa]

OK, first of all: Yes, cough syrup has sugar. But the good news is they make cough syrup for diabetics that doesn't, so just ask at the pharmacy if you don't see it.

Second, re: the Coke, don't worry about it. A few sips may or may not be enough to throw you out of ketosis, but probably not, and either way you'll be fine. It's certainly not worth losing sleep over. That kind of thing happens all the time.

[vegasmedifast]

So I woke up and just started fresh - thanks for the reply. Whether I've been thrown out of ketosis or not, at least my appetite is diminished so even if it's "starting over", it won't be hard.

[DogMa]

Yeah, you won't have the whole "three days of misery" or whatever that people sometimes get going into ketosis. A few sips won't do much damage.

And restaurants mess that up a lot. I can taste a real Coke in one sip. Sometimes I can tell just looking at it!!

[vegasmedifast]

Since the coke debacle, I have just felt blah. I have been back to plan (I did have one extra meal today to quash a craving). I think I know what's causing the blah and if I sound ridiculous, please laugh.

Tomorrow marks the end of week 4 on the plan. Since we don't have a scale, I don't know what the numbers are. I plan to go buy one tomorrow.

My clothes are a bit bigger, not drastic, but it's nice. Nothing is too tight anymore.

I think I'm just still seeking that "instant gratification" feeling. My friend came over tonight and I haven't seen her since I was about 20 pounds heavier. She is a wonderful friend and I adore her. She lives in Newport Beach so she comes to Vegas for holidays and such since her family lives here. We've been friends since we were college roomies at ASU. ANYHOW...

I just hoped she'd say something about how I looked. Nothing. I think I just felt let down and deflated. When I don't get constant reinforcement, I feel like the same fat girl who wasn't even on the plan. I know - I am seeking praise - I will totally admit it! And when people don't say anything (no one has said a word to me), I get pissed. I've seen a few people who don't see me for months at a time, and not one comment!

I am being a big baby, since I need to lose weight for ME, my health and MY happiness. But again, when no one notices, I just feel so annoyed, and I want to go eat a pizza.

Am I the only one who gets these feelings?

(My husband tells good stuff, but that's his job )

Yes, my clothes are bigger, yes I feel better. So I guess that's all that matters. But I wanted to gripe so I did.

Hope everyone had nice holidays! We are Jewish so we did Hanukah. I missed the potato pancakes and eating the gingerbread house that I made with my daughter. But I did well and stuck to it! It's been a long uphill battle, but I didn't gain the weight in a month, so I can't lose it in a month!

I've been battling a sinus infection and I go to the ENT on Monday AM so that will be nice. Hopefully he can give me something to treat this. The lethargy is also getting me down.

On a lighter note, I was a able to shop at NY and Co for clothes instead of Lane Bryant! I even bought a few things that fit! I've been very excited to do my hair and makeup when we go out, instead of dreading the whole "getting ready" thing like I used to.

More soon!

[vegasmedifast]

I have a family blog if you want to get to know me better! There are lots of pics of our family and me

hendersonhoffmans.blogspot.com

Feel free to leave comments if you read it - I LOVE comments
You don't have to have an account to leave comments - just scroll down and put your name in the "name" field.

[DogMa]

I lost 30 pounds before anyone noticed ANYthing. And I'm short, so even 5 pounds is usually pretty darn noticeable for me. I hated that (and then I moved from California to Texas, so the people here never even KNEW how much I'd lost by then). It definitely stinks to not get the comments, but you'll be getting plenty soon enough. Hang in there.

And it also stinks to not get latkes. They'll be there next year, though. Tongiht I'm planning to make pseudo-latkes out of my program's mashed potatoes (I'm not on Medifast anymore) and a little egg white.

[Tawanda]

I lost just over 30# before anyone noticed that I had lost anything. It was disheartening but I wasn't losing the weight for them, I was losing it for me, so I turned it into a game--trying to hide my weight loss from everyone but my husband--attemping to see how much I could lose before anyone noticed. Perhaps something like that will give you a smile and allow you to feel a bit more positive about the weight coming off.

[vegasmedifast]

Leigh, Robin and Tawanda - thank you all! I was so uplifted by your posts. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has "un-noticed weight loss"

YES - I am totally on board to hide the weight loss and then just blow people out of the water when I hit goal! Let's do it!

I have been so tired and haven't gone out to get a scale - I really need to do it so that I can stay motivated and join in the Sunday Roll Call!
I will try and get one this week.

Leigh - thank you for the comments on the blog! Yes, Cheesecake Factory is off limits until we hit goal, for sure. I am only ordering water or unflavored iced tea if we hit up any more restaurants. And yes, poor Hannah still has a bruise from it

Anyhow - thank you for the posts - I am on plan 4 weeks today and cannot wait to see what the future brings!

[vegasmedifast]

So sorry to hear that Leigh! UGH - as I said before - I am only ordering water and tea - I don't trust people to get it right anymore!! Well - I was fine the day after I had the regular coke and you will be too!

Bought a scale this AM. This one measures body fat and BMI. I am almost ashamed to put my stats but it will be a good jumping off point.

Weight: 242.8
Body Fat percentage: 51% (!!!!)
BMI: 39

I started at 263 pounds. I am now 242.8. I am looking to lose at least 80 more!

Now I can update my weight on Sundays. YAY!

[DogMa]

Good job! And don't worry about those numbers; they'll be dropping soon enough.

[vegasmedifast]

Thanks for the encouragement Robin!

We just went for a one-hour walk (I pushed both girls in their double stroller up and down hills, LOL). I feel good. I wore my air cast so I hope my ankle can handle the long walks. I am going back to the podiatrist this week so we shall see what the xrays say.

Is anyone addicted to Cobb Salads and are they ok to eat on the plan? I've eaten like 5 so far (not in one day, LOL).

We get one from this place around the corner and it is so good but it's so good that I'm scared I'm cheating.

It's your basic Cobb salad but I get it without avocado and shredded cheese. So it has:

chicken
bacon
hard boiled egg
I do get the bleu cheese chunks
tomatos
about 3 cups of lettuce.

I know it's more volume in lettuce but the protein weighs about 7 oz. I actually pulled it all off and weighed it. I get it with ranch dressing.

Anyhow - I wonder if these are a sort of sabotage since they are so good. All other LG's bore me.

I notice when I use the Momentum packets in my water that my energy level SOARS! I love that! I hope it really does enhance weight loss.

I wish everyone a happy day!