The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[martha]

Want2Bthin--
Congratulations on getting to the point to where you don't stress on it anymore.. I can't wait till I get to that point.. love reading your replies..Martha

[fatBgone]

(re: getting in all 5 meal replacements) ~

Yup, it WILL affect your weight loss, your stamina, your health and your energy level if you don't get that last supplement in - we need all five of them.

Eating less than enough is not good.

Eating more than enough is not good.

Eating enough is enough!

I have been pondering this for a couple of days now and am wondering if this might be why my weight loss has slowed down so much. When I first started, I was really good about getting all 5 meal replacements and the lean/green meal.....but, I've noticed that for the last few weeks, I'm often not hungry (and busy) and more time is passing by between my meals (because I'm either not home or forget and when I realize it's time to eat, I'm like an hour or more late) and so by the end of the day, I'm behind either 1 or 2 meals.

I know it's ok to eat right before bed, so I've been doing that alot lately, but does it matter WHAT I have right before bed? Should it always be a shake or is an oatmeal or soup or bar ok (if I haven't already had my daily allowable bar) too?

When my kids were still in school and I was working at my little part time job, my day was much easier to have on some sort of a schedule....but now that they're home and I'm not working during the summer - it's just like I'm running here or there or entertaining them and their friends - and I just can't seem to get this down. Anybody else have this problem or does anyone have any suggestions?

Here's an average weekday for me (and then Saturdays are even worse, but Sundays are ok) to show all the running around I'm doing and meal forgettin' that's goin' on.


Wake up @ 6:15 - Take my daughter to swim practice @ 6:30 (I am NOT hungry this early at all)

Bring her home at 8:00 and I have an oatmeal or shake.

8:30 - Go back up to pool with my other daughter for practice & come home at 9:45. Then I'm getting my son ready for his practice (he's only 4) so I'm too busy to eat again (plus it's not even been 2 hours yet). We leave about 10:15 and get home about 11:30 or 12:00 - and sometimes even a little later if they want to stay at the pool to "play" instead of "work".

So, now I'm ready for my 2nd meal and it's late. So, usually by 1:00 I'm having a soup or sometimes an oatmeal - depends on if I had a shake or oatmeal for my 1st meal.

Then anywhere between 3-5, I'll either have a soup or shake or sometimes this is when I'll have the lean/green meal.

Then between 6-8 (depending on the above meal) I'll either have a shake or soup or the lean/green.

Now, it's late in the evening and around 9-11 (depending on what time I had the above one) I'll have a shake usually (or sometimes a bar). So - this last meal and it's my 4th replacement. Sometimes it will be my 5th replacement if I didn't do the lean/green, but then I'm still one short - according to the "rules".

I really had my goal last week to work harder on getting all 5 squeezed in, but it was another week like the priors, so now I'm asking for advice.

I'm doing excellent on my water intake - usually averaging 64-96 oz a day, so that's not a problem. I've got water with me ALL the time.

Ok, sorry for the super long post with probably way more details than you want/need to know, but every night when I lay down , I just think through the day and count up what I did, and it's never enough. I'm a night owl, so I could probably have 2 late at night before bed, but then I wonder if that's a bad habit or not and they would be squeezed together pretty close and I know we're not supposed to "double" up, which I really wouldn't be doing, but what's the closest amount of time to have 2 meals spaced apart. I'm usually trying to keep them about 3 hours apart - or at least - that's my intentions....

Well, thanks (in advance) guys...you're all awesome!!

[doglover]

Lisa - I too am a really busy mom and I would suggest making your shakes before you walk out the door for swimming and putting them in a little cooler bag. Or get RTD's. Then you have them and can drink them ON TIME!
Donna

[Nancy]

Lisa ~

It is important to get in all five of your Medifast meals and as you have experienced, hunger does seem to go away; many people have to work at making their schedule work so they are not short-changing the nutrient levels and calories needed to make this muscle-sparing.

I'd suggest that you mix your breakfast shake or oatmeal the night before and store in the refer so you can grab it and go once your day begins. Oatmeal can be on the runny side, have it ready to nuke and drink and drive at 6:30 when you take your first kidlet to the pool. Sip it along the way - hungry or not. Treat it as your daily dose of vitamins or jet fuel for your trans-town travels.

Donna our Dog-Lover and now Beach-bound thinny Beauty is right on with her suggestion for the Ready To Drinks - they are perfect for Folks with schedules like yours...I keep two in the cargo net on both doors of my VeeDub Bug and several in the trunkster with a case of bottled water. Now if we could only get a porta-potty in there, too...

At 9:45 drink a shake or eat a bar. Have your son remind you it is time to gas-up and then do it!

1 PM have that soup or oatmeal or shake.

4 or 5 PM have your Lean ‘n Green

8 or 9 PM have oatmeal or shake or soup

11:30 PM have oatmeal, puddin’or a shake

I wouldn't suggest that you eat a meal bar at the end of your day and I wouldn't suggest that you eat it for breakfast either as it is just too carby for the first meal of the day - it will spike your glucose level. It is best to have it in the afternoon or mid-morning if at all possible.

It seems to me as if we need to get your metabolic motor running sooner in the day so you can consume all the products. Sometimes it is necessary to have a shake or meal every two to two and a half hours in order to get all five of them in. Lisa, there really are no rules about the order of products or the times of the day to eat them. Some people can have a bar in the evening and lose weight; others don’t lose as well. Some people can have a bar daily, others only every couple of days. We recommend only one bar a day but I have some customers that can have two a day and lose weight at a rate satisfactory to their needs.

Long ago before TSFL’s programs began, we had a 4 and 1 program – but just know that this is considered to be a very low calorie diet and it needs to be medically monitored. A Health Advisor is not a substitute for a physician.

Gentle Readers, I do not want to open up a whole new discussion regarding the 4 and 1 Plan – it is not one we sanction. Rapid safe weight loss, designed with the full range of macronutrients and muscle-sparing ease is the 5 and 1 Program…thank you for allowing this to be the end of the discussion on the Forum regarding this issue. Discuss it with your personal Health Advisor if need be. Thank you very much.

[suzyq]

I was wondering that too - just how close is too close if you are trying to get them all in? I have had a couple of days when it was a struggle to get all 6 "meals" in - if I catch myself mid-afternoon, can I space my supplements every 2-2 1/2 hours to get them all in?

Thanks!
Susanne

[monkeymom]

I got into the problem of not being able to get all my meals in on school days also. I tried to have a shake or soup right before leaving work for school, and then have a bar during school, but so often I couldn't get that supplement in right before leaving the office and then would be having to eat 2 meals when I got home from school at 10:30 at night. But I found a great solution.
When I got to campus I bought a bottle of water, drank a bit over half of it during class, then between classes I mixed up a shake in the remainder of the water........the bottle makes a great shaker! The kids in my class started getting quite a kick out of me when I would say, "I'll be right back, have to go make my dinner" and then return with my shake. But it worked and kept me on schedule.
Maybe you could just buy bottled water, chill a bunch, and grab a bottle and a packet on your way out the door, drink some of the water while you're driving and shake up breakfast in the rest and slurp away while the kids are swimming.
I will tell you that I noticed a much more consistant weight loss when I started really making sure I got started eating within an hour of getting up in the morning.

Good luck!!

[doglover]

Excellent idea Vicki! Wow, aren't we a clever group!

To reply to SuzyQ - I eat every 2 hrs in the morning - that's just how my body needs it. Then in the afternoon I can go longer between meals. So like Nancy said, there is no magic or written in stone. Just get those medimeals in and lose weight!!!!

Donna

[Nancy]

It is best to not have a double shake at one time - eating one packet every two hours is better than eating a double shake every three or four or five hours.

When I was working at the college, my husband mixed up a double shake for me (16-18 ounces of cold water and two packets of Dutch Choc 55) and put it in a quart size Rubbermaid bottle to go. I drank half of it at 10 AM and the other half at 1 PM. It helped me to have it prepared in advance.

I've dumped a packet into a water bottle like MonkeyMom but my dexterity is lousy and most of the powder ended up in my lap so I made a paper funnel out of a rolled up piece of notebook paper and slid the powder into a water bottle that way and shook it up on my way to my classroom...it works - do all that you can do to follow the program exactly right = best weight loss rate and success.

[suzyq]

Thanks so much Donna and Nancy! It is helpful to know I can space the shakes a little closer together when needed!

Susanne

[martha]

Bellamia-- Just a note to say hi and let you know I was thinking about you today.. hope everything is going better today.. You can do this!!!--Martha

[fatBgone]

WOW - Nancy!!

Thanks so much for the detailed response. I've always known that we were supposed to get 5 supplements, but with your advice and the new little schedule you made up for me, it actually looks easy and doable. I would have never thought about making a shake the night before. I do have some RTD's that I'm sorta hanging onto for "emergency" situations, but I guess I can break them out and start using them for that early am meal or make a shake at night - like you suggested. So, now my goal is to DO 5 supplements plus the lean and green - not just TRY.

Oh and thanks for the clarification on whether or not to have a bar late if that's my last meal. Alot of days I don't even have a bar, so when I realize that I'm short a meal, that's the easiest to get in, so I'll quit doing that. (I've probably only done it 3-4 times, but that's the reason I was asking.) And if I'm getting close to the end of the day and realize that I'm not going to have time for the rest, then I'll just have them 2 hours apart instead of 3-4.

And - Donna & Monkeymom...thanks for your suggestions too. You know what's funny? I actually made a shake in a water bottle last weekend - by mistake though. I had packed 2 shakes and 1 water bottle so that I could fix 2 meals while I was out. When it was time for my 1st one, I realized that I had forgotten my shaker jar....so, I just drank about 1/2 the water bottle and then poured the shake into the water bottle and shake,shake, shake!! (or tried to pour...hehe...same dexterity problems as Nancy plus I had the wind blowing the powder everywhere - so I the funnel idea ) It turned out pretty good - but it would have been better if I would have remembered by shaker jar - or had 2 water bottles. Oh well, good intentions...hehe!

I tried to respond to this last night but my internet service dropped me like a hot potato and this is the first I've been online since yesterday morning... but I think everything is back up & running now.

Here's what I've done so far today though....I had a RTD at about 7:30 and then an oatmeal at 11:00. I'll have a shake in about 45 minutes or so, and then I can follow the schedule for the rest of the day. I'll be looking forward to Sunday to see if I notice a difference. Thanks again - all of you!

Ya'll are great!

[Nancy]

Misty ~

You are having "EATmares" and they will go away soon.

Have some bouillon, drink an extra shake or two, if needed.

Have your meals every 2.5 hours if that will help.

Drink plenty of water or herbal tea and avoid sugar-free gum, mints and pop - it activates the gastric juices and can intensify the feeling of hunger. Sometimes a Pepcid can help to calm down your stomach.

[martha]

FatBGone-- I also make my shakes up the night before I go to bed that way they are good and cold when I get home.. like nancy and the other Mf family I keep packets in my purse and in my glovebox.. that way I always have them with me no matter what.. I take them to the hospital with me and mix them in a bottle of water while everyone else is eating.. This has made it easier for me to get all of my shakes in .. I was missing some of my shakes when i first started and Nancy pointed out to me about getting them all in and i swear it has made all the difference in my weight loss as well as the hunger problems.. I also freeze one the night before or first thing in the morning so I have it with the grandkids when they have ice cream and want me to eat with them.. its really good and refreshing.. Good luck--Martha

[Nancy]

Sometimes I mix a Dutch Chocolate with an Orange Delight or a French Vanilla or a Bananner Blitz for a special taste treat. It's what I call a "Now and Later." Have half of it now; the other half later!