The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[KimKim]

Hi Folks,

So, I introduced myself a bit earlier (look for fit and fat health nut with bad habits seeks weight loss) and now I have a bit of a story.

<<sigh>>

Despite not believing that Medifast could work for me (and being proven wrong), I have lost even though I have cheated on several occasions. Yet, I consider myself dedicated to the program (how's that for a contradiction?). The thing is, I did several things wrong but in many ways don't regret my choices for what I learned about myself along the way:

1. I went out to dinner at Applebee's during the first week of Medifast and actually ordered a great L & G but allowed my company to usher in my downfall by agreeing to split the boneless buffalo wings. Why? Why?

2. During the second week, I traveled to a conference and was *extremely* proud of myself for reading the boards and packing very well for my trip. I did an "okay" job but over leaned and greened at one point and put myself out of ketosis with blue cheese dressing. I have to laugh at this, you know, because I admit that the one piece of german chocolate cake I had was extremely tasty during the period I was knocked out of ketosis. I got right back on the program and in ketosis.

3. I was proud of myself the third week for going to a reception and staying lean and green. I think I may have over-leaned it, as one product had more egg and another had more cheese than necessary but that was more fat and I remained in ketosis.

4. The next week, I did exceptionally well and just followed the program.

5. But this past weekend, a family tragedy occurred and I found myself in the company of a large pan of basmati rice and tandoori chicken. As I wrote, I am trying to control the emotional eating part and this time I failed.

Still, let me tell you what I did and how Medifast has helped me relative to portion, understanding my body and *practicing* what I know:

a. as good as the food was, I ate it off of saucers, not plates. I should not have had the rice and I felt myself moving right out of ketosis (it's a little headache I get and as a cheater, I now recognize it) but in the past, I would have loaded up on this rice. I felt bad for cheating but remained in control of the portions.

b. As I wrote in my intro, being an odd sort of health nut, I used to be addicted to sugar and most commonly in the form of fruit juice (and lots of it). Well, the fridge was filled with orange, guava, mango, etc. I could have rationalized that I was already out of ketosis and had the juice (just like I had the cake a few weeks ago) but I didn't. I knew that it would only make getting back on-plan harder, would be way too much sugar and contrary to what you might be thinking now, I did pack my packets and even some Fresca, so I just grabbed the Fresca and ignored the juice. Please understand, this is a MAJOR non-scale victory for me. I used to have fruit juice dripping through an IV tube into my arm! LOL

c. I still stuck to mostly leans and greens and did not engage in "mindless" eating about portion and protein/fat/carb ratio.

d. I continued to use some Medifast products everyday but found that I could only eat and drink so much, anyway. I learned that I am not willing to gorge myself anymore, no matter what the food or product. I think I had 2 or 3 Medifast products each day over the course of the last 4 days.

So, while I am kicking myself about the Basmati downfall off the Medifast plan, as I said, I am committed to the program and I believe this taught me something about what to do when I'm in transition and maintenance. I think I am both ashamed and proud of myself because it's important not to have an "All or Nothing" mentality when we are confronting weight issues and what led us here. We all learn in different ways and I obviously do not recommend cheating but I suppose for all of you who have and/or who have chosen to go off and restart the program . . .

What have YOU learned during that period?

It's important not to bash ourselves any further when we know we've gone off-plan and, yet, going off-plan does not mean going crazy and going right back to all of your bad habits.

Does this make sense to anyone?

Okay, it's time for me to work my way back into Ketosis. I have to remind myself that Medifast is supposed to be fast and painless. Sometimes I let out a long sigh about how long this process will take and why I can't just "eat healthy" and move on with my life. But no, this part of the sacrifice is necessary, so I will work on *full* commitment to the program.

Kim

[Guest]

You sound so much like me! I am a total "All or Nothing" Person....I am slowly trying to change that attitude!

Thanks for the post. It really made me think!

[Arklahoma]

Great post. I'm an all-or-nothing person, as well. That's why my doctor and myself chose the full fast for me and I think it's a good choice for me. I will have to transition back to food and portion control but I need to get the weigt off first.

[Elke]

How long have you been doing the full fast? Do you leat ANY L&G??? I am courious about the fasting thing.

[Arklahoma]

I have been doing the full fast for the entire time, about four months. I don't do a L/G but I do have a fetish for latte's so I do have two cups of low-carb milk per day along with my five MF items and multi-vitamins. Feel free to ask me any questions that you like.

[MISSANNE]

Can we do a full fast but have a glass of skim milk instead?

I think that may be my problem of not sticking to plan. The minute I eat a L/G I become obsesses with eating more more more until I've ate off plan. Then it takes a solid week to get going again. I have been repeating this cycle for 2-3 months

Seems like I'm better when I skip a L/G but don't want to go to the doctor and do full fast, to time consuming

I would love to have a glass of milk instead of a L/G or even soem milk and cottage cheese. Would that work?

[Arklahoma]

I don't think that would work out best b/c the skim milk is supposed to substitute a MF meal in a pinch, not the L/G. The cottage cheese would work for the lean but not for the green.

[MISSANNE]

The green is my problem......I'm not a good cook. Any suggestions for a quick, easy green? I could live on cottage cheese instead of meat

[dede4wd]

Missanne,
I'm really boring (especially when I fill the fridge at the hotel), I do cottage cheese & celery & green peppers ALL THE TIME!

I find that with the exception of my "out" lean and greens at restaurants, if I keep it simple, I don't want to eat more! I get the portion sizes right and do fine! I do the complete plan 1 or so day per week because of my hectic travel schedule and my doc says it's okay. I make tuna or chicken salad with canned tuna or chicken, chopped up celery and walden farms ranch dressing. I'm so boring, but it works for me!

I wish you luck and let me know if there's anything I can do to help you! I'll be home July 3-10 or 11 and would LOVE to see you!

DeDe

[DogMa]

Back to the original post ... Kim, I've had some off-plan adventures, too. I see them less as cheating and more as learning experiences. My goal in all this is not so much to lose the weight, but to successfully maintain it for the rest of my life. I've lost the weight before, and frankly, that's the easy part (not lately, for me, but it's still easier than maintaining long term).

So I see the occasional off-plan eating as training for the rest of my life. So far I have learned to control my portions, I've learned to be far less all-or-nothing (just because I have an off-plan meal doesn't mean I have to go hog-wild, nor does it mean I have to continue to eat off-plan beyond that one meal), and I've learned that as long as it's an occasional treat and I get right back on plan, I can do it.

I usually plan for these "cheats," and I think it's helped me stay with this as long as I have without feeling deprived. I think if I said, for instance, I won't eat pizza till I'm at goal, then either a) I would feel deprived, get obsessed by pizza, and eventually binge on it, or b) I would last all the way till goal and THEN binge on pizza (and whatever else I've been denying myself) and wind up back where I started.

I think the all-or-nothing mentality is at least PARTLY what got me here in the first place. And part of learning to live my life as a thin person is getting rid of that. I don't want to wait till I'm at goal to learn these lessons; I've done it before, and it simply didn't work for me. I am GREAT at dieting; I can go forever following the rules exactly and never cheating. I know, because I've done it before, many times. What I'm not so great at is moderation and learning to have occasional treats and not making those occasional treats turn into everyday events.

[KimKim]

Hi Folks,

I was on vacation and loved to see all of your replies, even the cottage cheese discussions!

Well, I'm back and guess what? I followed the plan while I was gone, rarely ate out, actually, and am down SEVEN pounds in ten days! Yeahh, me!! Based on my diary and what I know I did, there were two days when I over-leaned and greened and another day where I had more fat than I have had in the past (I made a crustless quiche). But I also made some great new recipes (Mahi Mahi with red, yellow and green peppers) as well as taco salad with Boca ground meatless and another one with 95% lean ground sirloin. In the future, I'll use ground turkey and also cutlets of chicken breast. Yum . . .

This was also my foray into chai and hot cocoa. Yum. I have it every single night. What a treat! Anybody have any they don't want and/or want to trade or sell? ;-)

Robin, this is the first time I've followed a diet and I do understand why Medifast asks us not to refer to it as a diet because it really is just a lifestyle change. I am really thankful for the 5 & 1 plan because I've learned so much about myself, what works for me, why and when I eat and how frequently I should eat and attend to my nutritional needs. I suggest that folks get creative and challenge themselves with the lean and green, even if they don't ever go "off plan" (I know I have and will) because it does train you and teach you for maintenance.

I'm going to provide and am trying to gather lists of good foods for maintenance. I like watching my sugar intake and having great snacks like soy crisps (including those made by Quaker, GeniSoy, Trader Joe's, etc.) and I've learned how much a good chai and hot cocoa can do for me minus all the sugary offerings.

I'm hoping that I can meet my goals in October/November so I can move to maintenance and enjoy every minute of it. Medifast isn't painful but I do crave some of the healthy foods I've had in the past but that are not on plan.

I agree with you about the pizza, etc.

My next challenge is bringing exercise back in a steady manner and with more weight resistance. I want to see how great it will be when I'm on plan, knowing that I will continue when I'm off.

Kim
p.s. I need to change my ticker, since I've lost 17 lbs now.

[dede4wd]

Hi Kim,
You did so good! I'm so happy for you losing the 7lbs in 10 days!

DeDe

[KimKim]

Thanks, DeDe!

I suppose I should mention that my repeated dips into the basmati rice, the coconut cake and the much higher caloric intake minus any exercise for about 5 days meant a 4 - 5 pound gain. I lost 1.2 pounds before I went on vacation and then lost 7 when I was gone, so when it's all said and done, it's a total of 17lbs weight loss. Doh! But I am proud . . . ;-)

Kim