The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[blest81]

Hi, my name is Jennifer. I have been considering surgery for about 1 year.My husband, friends and loved ones are opposed to me doing this. I just happened upon medifast a few days ago. I do not know if I have the will power or whatever to stick with this kind of diet.

I'm also concerned about the weaning process. How are 'real' foods reintroduced? I'm afraid that it would all just pile on again.

I weigh 290 at 5'5" . I was just diagnosed with High blood pressure and diabetes. I've been told that I should be able to control this with diet but I MUST lose weight.............words of wisdom?????? encouragement????

Thanks! Jen

[MusicalMomma]

hey there Jen! My hubby and I also considered surgery, but didn't have peace about it. After some time and prayer, we were introduced to Medifast. We've been doing this for 5 weeks. I am down 22.5 pounds hubby is down 39 pounds!

When you have the surgery, you are forced to discipline yourself, but medifast lets you make wise choices while still being able to eat one lean and green regular meal each day. You would have 5 medifast meals and one lean and green meal each day (7oz chicken, turkey or fish. 5oz beef, lamb or pork - after cooking PLUS 1.5 cups veggies or 2 cups salad). There is a wide variety of medifast meals and the weight comes off quickly and safely.

I'm sure others will be along to toot the medifast horn.

[ktrout]

I looked into a local hospital's weight loss clinic but they really pushed the surgery rather than behavior/lifestyle modification. I didn't feel comfortable with the pushy attitude of the person I talked to and looked into alternatives. MF has been very easy to follow and stay on track. The food is pretty good overall with enough variety to keep me from gettting bored with it. I'm down 51# since January 1st and loving it. I'm on 5+1 lean and green so re-introducing foods should not be a huge challenge.

I wish you the best in whatever choice you make.

take care

[falisamarie]

Jen

I too at one time considered surgery but after speaking to some who had negative experiences with it opted not to go that route. I personally feel that surgery should be our very very last resort. I do so hope you decide to give this a try. I am 5 weeks in and I can honestly say it has changed my life. I am learning through the 5-1 program to eat much smaller portions spaced throughout the day and the lean and green meal is teaching me to eat proper amounts of the right kinds of food. It is not always easy but so worth it. Let us know what you decide.

Lisa

[ljm498]

Hi Jen. I would definitely give this route a go first. This definitely works and is easier to stick with than you might think. I'm not saying it's easy. But I know the structure, the consistent weight loss and the fact that you have more energy and are not hungry has made this completely do-able for me. And hey, if it's not for you then look into other options. But as Vicky said, this is way is much cheaper and a lot less risky.

As far as the weight coming back on. That's really up to you. No weight loss program out there makes the weight come back after you stop it. The only thing that causes that is going back to bad food habits and choices. Once you reach your goal you have to eat right for the rest of your life, learn how to live peacefully with food and exercise. MF does have a transition portion for once you have reached your goal that re-introduces food back into your life.

Good luck to you. I know you're making a difficult decision right now. Hopefully we hear from you again soon!

[big ron]

Hi Jen,
I too was looking into WLS and convinced myself that was my only option. Well I looked into it and I found some interesting facts.:

Up to 1 out of 100 patients die from the surgery which they consider acceptable risk.(talk to thier families and see)

Most have complications ranging from infections, malnutrician and death

Without changing habbits you can and will gain some or all the weight back.

When I started talking to friends and family about this I was shocked how many people knew someone who died or almost died from WLS.

Any plan you do will only be successful with permenant habit changes. MF works and is safe and non invasive. If you do it honest you will lose. Good luck in your choices Ron

[angela]

Jen,

I too VERY briefly considered surgery but thank goodness I am a chicken! I began Medifast March 13, 2005 and in less than a year have lost 123 lbs. with 77 more to go.
Surgery is sooooooooooo permanent and irreversible
Give this a try.

Question: What do you have to lose??
Answer: WEIGHT!


Angela

[Unca_Tim]

Great post Angela and I'm happy for you success.

Also, as I understand it, you're on a semi liquid diet, vitamins and supplements for the REST of your life after gastric bypass. Correct me if I'm wrong?

With Medifast I believe you get nearly the same weight loss over a given time and you can transition back into a healthy, normal lifestyle.

Medical intervention just doesn't make sense to me, in most cases....

[Nancy]

Dear Jen ~

You've already gotten great replies. You may want to read my newsletters from the Home Page there is a clicky with Newsletter Archives. BTW, I have not written any since last January...

I was considering WLS after my doctor referred me to a bariatric surgeon. I spoke with many 'survivors' before I made my decision. I call them survivors because not all do. A friend of ours was in a coma for 6 weeks following her WLS and she weighs more now than she did prior to surgery. My brother's nurse friend died. My brother lost 95 pounds on Medifast...

I am not going to tell you all the cons, you will need to research and decide for yourself but please know that we have several clients that use Medifast now because they blew out their lapbands or because they never lost all of their weight with the surgery they had several years ago. Medifast is getting them there now.

There are no guarantees that people will not regain their weight with Medifast. Unless a person views this as a tool to assist them to make lifestyle changes and then make the changes in their eating habits, add the exercise component, they most likely will regain their weight.

Trust me, there is no magic bullet when it comes to weight loss. It is a matter of calories in and calories out. When we take in more calories than what our body needs for bodily functioning, we gain weight. When we expend just about the same amount as our body needs to function; we maintain our weight.

It's like a teeter totter. According to the amount of food I used to take in on a daily basis, I would have to spend close to a week on a treadmill to prevent gaining weight and I am not exaggerating here. I lost 135 pounds the hard way – pushing myself away from the table. I used Medifast and followed the Take Shape For Life weight loss program guide book precisely. I used it to lose every pound of the weight that had plagued me for nearly all of my life.

Once I reached my goal, I followed the program again by transitioning back to regular foods. I did not suddenly return to my former foody ways the moment I reached my goal - many of my friends and family members were asking me what I was going to eat once I reached my goal – I worked too hard to go back to that old way of life, I felt too good to ever want to return to being morbidly obese again and so I knew that the things I learned during the thinnin’ process were the things I wanted to keep on doing for the rest of my life.

I follow the BeSlim™ Philosophy
Breakfast every day
Exercise most every day (not a lot here, Folks 30-45 minutes)
Support system – the MakeMeThinner Forum Rocks! I also check in with my doctor a couple of times a year for a BP & weight check
Lean and low cal foods most every time – eat 5-6 small meals per day
Individual Plan – I plan what I will eat in advance and then stick to my plan. I have a routine that works.
Monitor weight regularly with a pair of great-fitting jeans or the scale…

I love it that this is nutritional intervention, not pharmaceutical and not surgical intervention. There are no questionable herbs or harmful ingredients in Medifast – my 8-month-old grandson loves the Peach Oatmeal, my little kid friends eat the bars and drink the shakes, and my elderly parents do, too. It is manufactured using only the highest-grade ingredients in an FDA inspected facility – every single ingredient is listed on the label.

I love my new Medibody and my Medilife!

It was not easy to stay committed to my plan day after day but then being morbidly obese was never an easy way to live either.

I work at maintaining my weight every dang day – Our daughter came by this afternoon with two boxes of Girl Scout cookies (they are safely sequestered in the back of the freezer) and I was also served a nice hunk of chocolate cake today and let me tell ya, there is nothing I’d rather have had but I know that it is more important to me to remain at a good weight than eating those cookies or scarfing down that cake. I am sick right now and there is no way that I could walk off the calories right now so I passed them by. I DO eat cookies and I DO eat cake but I also balance it with exercise, eat low fat/low cal most all of the time and have selected goodies – but they must be really good if I ‘spend’ my allotment on them!

I’m sure some others will write, too. Our wish is that you carefully consider your way, we want for you to find improved health, Jenn.