Anyone here currently on MediFast?

[youngestof9]

Is there another counselor you can meet with? I hate to see you put all your faith in someone and they're not right. (I'm not saying they're wrong, but it's worth a shot)

[crabcreeker]

Is there another counselor you can meet with? I hate to see you put all your faith in someone and they're not right. (I'm not saying they're wrong, but it's worth a shot)

 

Thanks, but without the assistance of a dietician, I am not finding that any of these counselors have the answer to my problems. I have seen all of them at one time - they rotate them.

 

I am so disappointed....I am going to wave the white flag. I have pretty much decided to say I'm done! I have lost 28 lbs and can fit in to all my old clothes. Yes, it would be nice to lose the other 9 lbs, but I am ready to be done with this battle because I am clearly losing it and have exhausted all my available resources.

 

Maybe at my age I am not going to get there. The last time I saw that weight with the healthy BMI was in my early 40's after almost 2 years on WW - I lost 47 bls at that time. There is something pretty unusual with me becuase all of you are losing easily. It's not happening that way for me. I have been at this since Mid-April - it has taken me a LONG time to even get to this point. And I have been following this program exactly as written.

 

At this point, I can stop and do the 6 weeks of maintenance and then be eating regular healthy food in time for my cruise. That's looking like the best option to me at this point.

[hapster222]

@CrabCreeker (and all y'all): This is gonna be a long post, but please bear with me.

 

So I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I'm an "online" customer of Take Shape For Life/Medifast and not signed up through a brick-and-mortar Medifast "center." The cynic in me says that the centers are designed to possibly keep you in a plateau type of situation longer than you might otherwise should be, but I'm just talking that way out of pure cynicism and for all I know, they could be very supportive so if that sounds offensive, let me apologize ahead of time if I'm completely wrong about that opinion.

 

Ok.. got that off my chest. I had my annual physical last week -- the first one since I've lost this weight from Medifast. I never consulted my doctor before I went online and researched and finally bought the Medifast products so it was a complete surprise to my doctor when I walked in there last week with these glowing lab numbers and the 30 pounds difference from last year in lost weight, etc., etc. He was very pleased with how I was doing and really didn't know much about the Medifast program other than to say in his mind, it was just like Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, yada, yada, and the important part was "yet to come" -- i.e., KEEPING THE WEIGHT OFF after the "tools" were no longer at hand (the Medifast food being the tools to get the weight OFF; the hard part being KEEPING it off). Doy. So he was, like, "yeah, yeah" when I was explaining to him that I was COMMITTED to doing so and his response being, "we'll see where you are next year" type of thing. He wasn't discouraging at all, but he wasn't that overly excited, either -- I'm sure he gets a lot of people that cross his office that just put that weight right back on and then some in some cases. In fact, I think the number he quoted me was something like 95% / 5%, the 5% percent being the percentage of people that actually KEEP that weight off for the duration. I am COMPLETELY planning on being in that 5% -- believe me!!!

 

Another comment he had for me was regarding the final weight goal I had set for myself, and here's really the point of this post to you. I had scoured the Internet -- possibly like you probably have -- and came up with a number of different BMI websites and calculators, and ALL of them pointed me to the same numbers when it came to "NORMAL" BMI numbers for my height of 70 inches. I want so much to be in the "NORMAL" range for that height of my body, but it just IS NOT to be. That number in weight terms is 165-170 tops to put me in the NORMAL range. However, as my doctor pointed out, my body type is larger than most, plus my legs are VERY muscular and have hardly any fat on them. He laid me back on the exam table and pinched about 2 inches in my belly of adipose (fat) tissue and said "Here's where you need to lose about an inch and that's only about 10 pounds from where you are right now." My weight right now -- and last week -- is ~195 pounds. He told me he wants me at around 185 pounds and NO LESS THAN 180 POUNDS, PERIOD!! Well, that weight still leaves me technically in the "OVERWEIGHT" range vis-a-vis all the BMI charts out there and is a weight/BMI that I'm just going to have to live with. And I've been at this weight for going on two weeks now and I, too, have been following the plan pretty much to a T.

 

This is my message I'm trying to get across to you. Just because some BMI chart out there says that your weight should be X, it doesn't mean that for YOU PERSONALLY, X is where you should be. Get it? We all have to live with NSVs (Non Scale Victories) -- i.e., I know you women have a completely different sizing situation than us guys, but I'm now wearing pants that are TWO sizes less than I was(down from 38 waist to a 34 in most cases), as I mentioned in a previous post, and just about EVERYONE I bump into who hasn't seen me in the last two months says I look GREAT!!! These are examples of those "NSVs" and we need to learn to be happy with those regardless of what some chart out there on the Internet says otherwise.

 

Ok.... that's what I wanted to point out.

 

Oh, and another thing: Had dinner -- oh, God, in some family friends of ours' Thai restaurant on Saturday night. Oh, man... I LOVE Thai food and haven't had it in MONTHS. Didn't go crazy with the Pad Thai and other noodle dishes -- actually didn't have ANY noodles -- but DID have some Larb Gai (think Thai chicken salad) and some Panang Curry (NOT over rice as usual, darn it), and a couple other choice vegetable and protein dishes. Had a very small plate, but boy-oh-boy, was it SATISFYING. Anyhow, among our tablemates was a cousin of mine who happens to be a dietician by trade. This is going to go against a lot of you ladies' habits in here, but as we broke up at the end of the evening, she told me to keep up the good work and to WEIGH MYSELF EVERY DAY AND RECORD IT!!! And I can't tell you how much she stressed the EVERY DAY part. "It's a lot easier to deal with knocking down that 2-3 pounds you might gain in a day or two than having to knock down 10+ pounds if you only weigh yourself once a week and you've slipped off the rails."

 

Just wanted to point that out, also, to you folks. If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading my lengthy post here!!

 

Cheers... Hap

 

P.S. I, too, have a 16-DAY cruise R/T San Diego to Hawaii planned in mid-November over the Thanksgiving holiday and I plan on bringing NO Medifast food, and also am going to eat and drink whatever I want to -- even if I gain weight. I know that when I get back, any weight I've gained will come off easily, because now I KNOW how to get that weight off rather quickly, and SO DO YOU ALL!!! So I urge you that have cruises planned to ENJOY them.... take stairs instead of the ships' elevators, spend some daily time in the cruise exercise rooms, and eat wisely. After any length of time on this Medifast plan, we all know all what it means to "EAT WISELY."

 

Ok. Now I'm done.

 

H

[crabcreeker]

Thank you, Hap, for posting and no, it doesn't offend me.

The center has not been all that helpful to me when I hit these plateaus. They don't seem to have answers except to "do a cleanse" and those can only be done every 3 months. When I do a cleanse is when I seem to lose for that ONE week. The cleanse or detox, however, is a week without protein and no wonder, when they do a body scan, my lean muscle mass has dropped - then they tell me to eat more protein and exercise more to increase the lean muscle......all this does is cause my body to think it's being starved! :rolleyes:

 

I hear you about the BMI number and I agree. I am tired of chasing numbers. I feel good at the weight I am at and am happy that I can fit back in to my closet full of clothes.

 

I also hear you about the centers and increasing their profit margins. I did find them helpful when dealing with all the digestive issues I had tolerating the food. But, they have not been helpful dealing with the plateaus. All the counselors seem to be "programmed".

 

I didn't know before I joined the center that you could get the food on your own. In the furure, that's what I will probably do. I go in today for my weigh in and I will report back on what happens. I hope to start maintenance or transition or whatever they call it.

 

Oh - and I do weigh myself everyday and always will now! The only times I haven't done that is when I have gotten myself in to trouble and the weight started piling on and I put my head in the sand and ignored it.

 

I have had a couple of people tell me that they didn't think I should try to lose any more.....they say I look good as I am and that if I lose more, I will look "too gaunt". Maybe they are right.

[crabcreeker]

Well, I had my appt. My weight was down .2 lbs....and so it goes.:rolleyes:

 

I really had to put my foot down and say I was stopping the weight loss effort because of poor results and wanted to go to maintenance. THEN, they suggested a 4 and 2 program to me (you get a total of 8 OZ of protein a day). They say it's what they use when some one comes in who has less than 10 lbs to lose. Why this hasn't been offered before now (?) - I don't know.

 

I said I would try it for 2 weeks and if little to no results, I want to go to maintenance and quite chasing a number!

[youngestof9]

Hey - how are you guys? Hap - you still losing? Crabcreeker - any luck with your center?

 

I'm currently 50 POUNDS DOWN! I have weigh in tomorrow morning and hoping to make that 52 :) I adjusted my goal weight down, so I currently have 15 to goal. I think I'll be really happy at that goal weight.

 

Things are still going well - bought some Torani sugar-free hazelnut syrup for my shake. YUMMMM. I can't believe (and neither can my hubby) that I eat vegetables EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I never ever ate them - I would eat "salad" (aka lettuce with cheese and croutons!) but now I have spinach, broccoli, peppers, salads. and I'm enjoying them (gasp!)

 

Heading to WDW next week so hopefully I can stay on plan as much as possible. I'll avoid the junk - I'm just a little more worried about actual meals. We have some character meals scheduled (breakfast/lunch, etc.) and I don't like eating L&G early so I may do 4&2. But I'll see how it goes.

 

Hope you're still plugging along Hap! I had bloodwork yesterday and next Thursday is my appt - cannot WAIT to see my doc's face when a) I'm down over 30 pounds since seeing her and b) my A1C should be awesome. Yippee!!

[hapster222]

Hey, that's GREAT news... Yep, still pluggin away at the weight.... we went out of town last weekend to Reno to visit our newly minted veterinarian niece. So I went pretty much completely OFF PLAN for about 4 days. However, the difference THIS time is that I'm making really good food choices and I think -- no, I KNOW -- this new lifestyle has sunk in. Had TWO meals at Harrah's BUFFET (!!) -- can't even believe I'm still liking that word... but you know, it's pretty easy to eat well at a buffet; you just have to have willpower to stay away from certain foods. I ate NO fried foods or breads of any type. That was pretty easy. However, I did have a couple small spoonfuls of CREAMY MASHED POTATOES.... LOL... oh, gawd, were they GOOD!!! Also was a Vietnamese Pho joint across from the hotel in which we had TWO lunches on two different days. Love me some Pho...!!! Hadn't had any noodles in two months and they were GOOD!! Also drank some cognac while playing poker (hadn't had any alcohol in a couple months, either) and had some wine and a few Michelob Ultra Beers (only 2.6 grams of carbs per) over at the niece's house.

 

Sorry for all the gory details, but I'm stoked and we had a great time. Left on Thursday and came back Monday night... woke up Tuesday to +2 pounds from the entire trip and today (Thursday), woke up 1 pound LIGHTER than I left on Thursday. So no damage done -- even with all the GRAPES and some other stuff that's verboten on Medifast that I ate up there, too...LOL. So obviously blew the Ketosis state, but am back in the saddle now.

 

This was a great test for our cruise coming up in November. I'm obviously now in FULL-ON ON-PLAN Medifast mode again as of Tuesday morning and logging everything into the MyFitnessPal app on my iPad. If you guys don't have that app, you're really missing out. It keeps track of everything you eat great and it also scans bar codes of just about every food on planet.

 

Hope your numbers are where you want them to be. And ENJOY YOURSELF on your trip!!! Nice thing about coming back to Medifast is that there's NO DOUBT you can go right back to 5/1 and pick up where you left off after any detours.

 

Cheers.... Hap

Edited September 14, 2012 by hapster222

[hapster222]

New low: Down 33.50 pounds total from start of weight-loss..... 8.50 more pounds and it's Transition City....!!! Woo-hoo......

 

H

[crabcreeker]

I am hanging in there...thanks for asking, Youngest.

 

I am on the 4 and 2 plan. Gained .4 lbs the first week.

On week 2 now. Maybe have dropped 1/2 lb so far this week.....we'll see when I weigh in on Tues. You are allowed one healthy snack and I am not even eating that. Can you say "metabolism of a slug"?! :(

 

I am exercising 4 times a week. I will stay on this plan another week or so and then transition to maintenance - whatever I weigh then - so I can make healthy choices for awhile before going on our cruise in late Oct.

 

As I said, I am down about 30 lbs since mid-April and happy with what I have lost. Seems my body is pretty much done losing.

 

Congrats to all of you....keep on keeping on.

[hapster222]

Here's a timely article that might be of interest.....

 

http://www.burnthefat.com/metabolic_damage.html

[youngestof9]

well I'm .5 pounds away from the weight I wanted to be before I left for vacation tomorrow. Very excited! More exciting is that I go to my doctor today - dying to see my bloodwork AND her face when she sees the weight I've lost.

 

I am bringing my MF foods with me to disney but not sure what I'll be able to do/eat. I plan on eating them as best I can - I can avoid the junk, but not sure about the meals. But I'm not worried about it - I am still focused on my goal and WILL get there! At this point, only 10.5 pounds to go!

[hapster222]

Good going!!!

 

I'm in about my third day of Transition... finally eating some "peas and carrots"!! Yum!! LOL....

 

Cheers... Hap

[youngestof9]

Great job on Hitting goal Hap! You really look great!

 

I survived Disney - I did great. I had one dessert that was totally worth it and otherwise, I ate some MF meals and the best choices I could make considering I was surrounded by food. But best of all, I fit in the rides, I walked miles and miled and didn't lose my breath. Awesome vacation and I did it! As of this morning, I have 6.5 pounds to goal. I had adjusted my goal from the first goal, so ultimately I want to lose 65 total and I've lost 58.5 thus far. WOW. I feel great, I have had the best bloodwork I've had in over 11 years since I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes - my insulin requirements have gone down. It's all good. My doctor was so happy with me - my A1C was 5.8 (that's a blood test that determine a 3-month average of your blood sugar).

 

I still struggle with some things - mostly mental hunger. Wanting things that are just not good for me. I'm working through that. But I'm ensuring drinking enough water and getting the most out of my lean and greens. I will be starting transition soon - that and maintenance will be harder than the 5&1. More choices and more to think about - so I have decided that if there's ever more than a 5 pound gain from my ultimate goal then I will go back to 5&1 to get focused.

 

This plan works. It's not a gimmick. It taught me so much about how food works and is processed within my body. And what I really need to eat to survive. And it isn't milk duds!!

[hapster222]

Fantastic, fantastic, FANTASTIC!!!!!

 

Hey, have you ever tried that cauliflower soup? It's also fantastic!!! Made a seafood chowder that rivaled $20-a-bowl chowder in a dinner house!!!

 

Cheers -- and thanks!!! It FEELS GOOD!!!

 

Hap

[youngestof9]

I love the cauliflower soup! Perfect on a cold night. Feels like I'm cheating because its so good!

[crabcreeker]

Greetings all,

Just reporting in. Sounds like you are all doing great! I have been on maintenance about a month now. Started it because I had hit a plateau for a month or more. I went to 4 and 2 for a week or two and then to 1200 cal. Once I hit 1200 cal I started losing again! I have been on 1200 cal for 3-4 weeks, even had a glass of wine once or twice a week and have lost 4 more lbs. Only 6 lbs to the original goal I set.

 

I have a cruise in a couple of weeks. My plan is to continue to eat as I have been doing - no desserts.....just don't want to start down that path. I will have a glass of wine once in awhile. No fruity foo-foo drinks for me. Hope to not gain any weight on the cruise! Will work out in the gym and get a baseline weight the first day on their scales so I can track it.

 

Just wanted to report some happy news since I had been struggling for so long. Feeling great and ready to cruise! Best wishes to everyone! :)

[freebirdco]

I have an update also..Leave Saturday for my 7 days on the Carnival Magic. I am -66 and hoping to stay there. I will not be taking any packets with me. I know that I am going to be conscious of what I put in my mouth as well as how much I move. My job is one that I sit the entire time so just by being active and moving lots it will help. I am on the 2nd deck and plan on using those stairs and I will get back on the program when I return. I hope to lose another 20 then the hard work begins. Figuring out how to keep it off. (been there done this a couple times before) I am confident that it is going to stick this time!

[youngestof9]

Great news crabcreeker! Enjoy your cruise. How are you finding maintenance? Did you do the typical Medifast transition or did you go right into maintenance? I'm about 5 pounds from goal so I think I'll be starting transition by November 1st - My order places on the 2nd, so I'm thinking that will be my last regular size order.

 

Freebird congrats! Down 66 is amazing! Good luck on the cruise - my cruise isn't until February so hopefully I'll be well into maintenance and understanding how many calories works for me by then :) You're sailing right now so I hope you're having a great time. Good luck when you get back - no matter WHAT happens on board.....on your first full day back, go right back to 5&1! Don't wait one more day and it'll be fine.

 

I'm so close to goal I can taste it! It's getting cooler out so it's harder to drink cold water. I'll have to start drinking them room temp. Also I'm in the mood for more comforting things, like the hot cocoa and the cauliflower soup. I'm making it tomorrow for dinner. Yum!

 

I just bought a pair of size 8 jeans. I don't ever recall being an 8. Feels so GOOD!!! What feels better is knowing that I can survive like this - it's not a fad, I learned how to eat properly and can attend parties and functions and not gavone everything in sight. What a great feeling.

[freebirdco]

The Carnival Magic was awesome! Had a great time, was on the 2nd deck so I did lots of stairs, got up early to walk up on the track and see the sunrise. It was so worth it, definitely a take me away moment. Also purchased a week pass to the thermal spa. I am still missing doing that every day. Best of all I only gained 2lbs. I was cautious of what I ate but had wine every day. I am happy with this. Back on my program and hope to lose another 40.

[hapster222]

Yeah, baby.. THAT'S what it's ALL about... enjoying yourself knowing that you can lose "x" pounds (whatever you gained) in a heartbeat doing the MF "Blitz"... good going....!!! Ours is fast approaching and I can't wait!!!

 

Cheers!!!!

 

Hap

[youngestof9]

GOAL!!!

 

24 weeks

31 inches

65 pounds

 

Transition week 1 (and the halloween candy is torturing me!)

 

I enjoyed carrots. They were good! lol

[hapster222]

Congrats!!!

 

Wait till you taste the fresh cantaloupe!!!! YUMMMMM!!!!

 

LOG EVERYTHING .... Bite it? LOG IT!!!! It helps!!!

 

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

 

Hap

[hapster222]

Well, the day has finally arrived -- well, tomorrow, anyhow LOL...we leave on our 16-day Hawaiian adventure on the Century tomorrow. I've been in Maintenance for about a month and a half and am at the low point of my entire weight-loss journey at 179.5 pounds (starting weight of 230 pounds in July).

 

Haven't had any Medifast food since being in Maintenance, except for an occasional bar or snack bag or a shake that I mix with other off-the-shelf-type shake products, but I've got my Medifast kitchen cupboard ready to go with about two weeks' worth of MF food for my return in a couple weeks, if need be that I need to do the Medifast Blitz. There will be NO Medifast food on this trip for me and we are going to enjoy ourselves. Even splurging on the Celebrity "beverage package" so as to turn this trip into a genuine "all-inclusive" experience.

 

I'm not too concerned what weight I might come back to. I know that I'll be eating differently than I ever have on a cruise before; that said, I'll probably eat more than I'm normally used to, and for sure will be drinking more than I'm used to. But that's the beauty of this whole Medifast experience over the past several months: I know exactly how to get rid of the weight should the need arise.

 

Hope everyone has a great holiday and are where they want to be in their lives!!!

 

Hap

[youngestof9]

Hap - I think I missed you, but have an amazing trip. You must feel so fabulous! Your plan is a good one - blitz if you need to when you get back, but it sounds like you have the mental part of this plan down as good as you have the physical part.

 

Can't wait to hear about your trip - Happy sails!!

[whiteway906]

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've checked in. I'm still on plan. Took a detour to 4 and 2 but got stuck. Went back on 5/1. I'm a slow but steady loser. I've lost 67 lbs since Dec 2011.

 

For my MF (also my "quit smoking") anniversary, I've decided to treat myself to 5 nights on the Liberty. I just did the same Western itinerary in April but it's okay with me. I'm there for the cruise. I may not even get off the ship in Labadee or Falmouth.

 

Freebirdco and I are of like mind. It's all about the stairs. I rock a Fitbit all the time to track my steps and flights climbed. Amazingly useful on a cruise, especially because I book cabins deck 8 or 9 forward. Lots of walking.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!