The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[LouLou]

I've been medifasting for about 8 weeks now and I've lost 26 pounds. I was doing so awesome -- following the diet strictly, fasting 4 days a week and 5&1 the other three. Then....I went on vacation. I had the best of intentions. I took the ready-to-drinks with me and planned to only eat at dinner. That lasted 2 days. Then the taste of the RTDs started to get to me. It was really hot, and I wasn't able to get ice to drink them. Next thing you know, I'm eating food.

I have to say, I didn't make horrible food choices. I ate protein and salad (with a few bites of carbs thrown in), so it could have been much worse. The thing that I think really hurt me is that I only ate two meals a day -- a late breakfast and then dinner around 6. I did manage to keep up with my water intake.

So, what's the point of this post? I'm not sure. I fell off the wagon and I'm having a really hard time getting back on. I keep saying today's the day I go back to fasting, but then I waffle. Last night I was actually sneaking spoonfuls of peanut butter and handfuls of pretzels while my husband was downstairs. How sad is that?

The whole time I'm making these bad choices, I'm saying to myself "you shouldn't eat that, get a shake". So I get a shake to wash down the peanut butter.

What the heck am I doing to myself? How can I make myself stop???? I put on a pair of pants this morning that are 2 sizes smaller and they were baggy...it feels so great to be losing the weight ! Why can't I stop sabotaging myself????

[Tonya]

To be really honest - I have no idea why you do that but I do know that I am guilty of it as well. I'm sure that there are lots of underlying reasons - insecurities, doubts about self-worth, blah, blah, blah.

However, the bottom line is what you choose on a moment to moment basis. And, once you pass a certain point in your life, you have noone to blame for your current position than yourself - but also noone else to congratulate! You have to make a commitment to yourself because that's the only way you'll ever make it....it's too easy to "sneak" food by other people. But you can't sneak it by yourself!

Go and put on those baggy pants and sit around for a little while. Relish the feeling....then remember it the next time you want to cheat! Positive reinforcement is an extremely powerful tool!!!!

[explorthis]

I've been medifasting for about 8 weeks now and I've lost 26 pounds - Vacation - best of intentions - I took the ready-to-drinks - lasted 2 days - taste of the RTDs started to get to me - It was really hot, and I wasn't able to get ice to drink them - Next thing you know, I'm eating food - I didn't make horrible food choices – Protein – Salad - bites of carbs- I only ate two meals a day - I fell off the wagon - hard time getting back on - sneaking peanut butter / pretzels - shouldn't eat that, get a shake - What the heck am I doing to myself?

Excuse, justification, excuse, justification, excuse, justification, excuse, justification, excuse, justification, excuse, justification, excuse, justification, excuse, justification,

Sound all too familiar?

OK. My guess is that you have had (like the rest of us have) bad eating habits. Excuse after excuse. Failed diet after failed diet. Justifications over and over. Don’t know for how long, but I am betting it’s along time. I am reading into your post, knowing nothing about you. You are overweight, and have been overweight for sometime. You have resolved that this is the way you are, and thus you will not be skinny, or be able to lose weight. Though you have lost 26 pounds In 8 weeks, you still don’t see a miraculous change. Sabotaging ourselves is part of the normal routine, weather it’s intentionally, or because we are so used to it, we just do it.

You have to begin NOW, again. Prove to yourself that these 26 pounds are a wonderful milestone. Tell me; tell all of us the last time you lost 26 pounds, legitimate pounds on a program that was this cut and dry. A program that requires so little effort, not willpower, but effort to lose the amount of weight in the amount of time you have.

Decide NOW that this is the last time you will sabotage yourself. Decide now you want to end this circle of bad eating that has gotten ALL of us here in the first place.

Only you can do this. There will ALWAYS be places you can cheat, but who are you cheating? Why even continue wasting your time, and effort? Medifast works, if you work with it. Make this the decision of your lifetime, and lose the bad habits once and for all – FOREVER!

-Mike

[Landylue]

"Why" is something only you can answer, Loulou. It's different for each of us, at different times. Were you really seeking comfort? Security? Were you eating out of fear? Anger? Frustration? Rebellion? Procrastination? Sweetie, the list is endless.

You've done marvelously up to now, though. Tomorrow, May 1st, is a new day, a new month--a new beginning.

The people on this forum welcome you with open arms, Loulou. Come on back to the program, and make us proud!

Landylue

[Leigh]

Oh, how I love peanut butter. It's been one of the harder things to give up since starting MF. (I have a particular love for the crunchy...) That darn peanut butter is never going to go away. It's in the store, it's in my cabinet for my 9 year old, because she happens to love it as much as me. I can't throw it away or make it go away.

I can only speak for myself and what helps me. When I want to eat the PB, or when I want to sneak a little, I write in my journal. Even if I don't understand why, I still write about it. Even if I write over and over, "I want to eat that D*** peanut butter," and that's all that I write, then fine. I drink a large diet soda while I'm writing it, and I look at a picture of myself at 220 pounds on my mom's front porch. I was smiling in the pic, but it was a very pained and sad smile. I did not want my picture taken because I felt embarrassed. I don't want to feel that way ever again. If I eat the food and sneak, I will be going back down that road again, and that's a trip I DO NOT want to take.

Pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and you will get to the place you want to be! No one can stop you but yourself. No more sneakies, LuLu. You can do this, and I'll back you 100%!
(Boy I really went off on the peanut butter didn't I? I really could relate to that though.)
Leigh

[LouLou]

Thank you all for your support! I'm happy to say that I am back on track! It's so reassuring to know that I'm not the only one feeling all of these emotions and going through these ups and downs. Without this forum, I probably would have chalked this up as another diet that failed me -- when in fact, I've been failing myself all these years.

So, no more excuses! No more sneaks! I will do this!!

It feels good to be back!!!!

[susan]

Lou LOu,
you are on the right tract .I love pb also but I leave it along cause as Nancy says { NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS} I repeat this to myself alot to keep me going cause i want to get to my goal and I have 40# to go. so I haft to keep going this is the first time I have ever lost 60# and the first time I have ever stayed with any thing and this is the last time I will ever haft to worry about my weight and be ashamed of how I look when I go out with my husband. Today we went to Mcdonalds I had a salad and a piece of chicken my sister-in- law and her husband came in and set by us she wanted to know how much I had lost I said 60# and she said to my husband make her quit before she gets to thin. It makes me feel good but I will feel much better when I lose the other 40#.
Susan

[LouLou]

Susan,

Congrats to you! You must be so proud and feel so good after losing 60#! My goal is to be at the 60# mark by my birthday (which is in July). I use the "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" alot too. And I love McDonald's salads. They are yummy! I have that as a treat once in a while when my son begs to go there.

Keep up the great work!

Loulou

[explorthis]

I am not at all disproving the “modified” version of Medifast. I do know that a little of this, and a little of that (Mc Donald’s salad’s, P/butter, and what have you) turn into more and more, thus we are here. I choose the full fast, for this reason exactly. I did not know how to have just a spoon of PB, or if I ordered a salad, it was washed down by 2 Big Mac’s. You might have the will power, your son might beg to go there, but we all know temptation, and our loss of will power, or our unknown reasoning for saying YES.

Bottom line we are here, because we have a problem. No matter the amount of weight you or anyone else has to lose, we are here because we have a problem.

And I love McDonald's salads. They are yummy! I have that as a treat once in a while when my son begs to go there.

LouLou, you say you have them once and awhile. Does ordering this salad and consuming it actually help you? Yes they are good, but you said it yourself, nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Do you really believe this? Why subject yourself to even the slightest temptation? A salad is nothing, but tell me you have remained faithful only to the salad. I live not in the glass house, but I do know that I was for the first time in my life able to take control by NOT going to “eat-out places”, while realizing and allowing Medifast to work. Have you read my sayings about Medifast being a short time, compared to the 1000 other diets you have been on?

My point is, why add insult to injury? If you chose to do the modified, fine. Do it at home, in a CONTROLLED environment, where you make your choice, where you decide to the 100th of an ounce what goes on to your plate, and into your mouth.

My 5 (more) cents!

-Mike

[LouLou]

Mike,

I agree with you. I do the full fast 5 or 6 days a week and then the 5 and 1 on the others. When I can avoid eating out, I do. However on Wednesdays my son has two activities practically back to back. We have less than 45 minutes to get from one to the other including grabbing dinner. So, we usually end up at McDonalds. Most times, I just plan to have a shake or a bar while he's eating. But some days that is just too tempting. It's too easy to reach out and snitch a few fries (he only eats about half of them). I find that, for me, on those days when my resolve is less strong, it's better to order a salad and have that for my 1 meal of the day. Having the crunchy lettuce satisfies my need to crunch and to taste. So far I have been successful at NOT washing down my salad with fries or a Big Mac! If they start serving Peanut Butter though, I may have problems!

I do find that it is much better for me to do the full fast. I think that's why I had such problems getting back on track after vacation. Once I got a taste of food again, all the old habits started flooding back. I had to really work to re-gain my control over food. Now that I'm back in control, nothing's gonna stop me.

[Marseilles]

I WANT PEANUT BUTTER TOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

hahaha..funny how two words can cause such physical pain, isnt it???

Oh man, what I would do for peanut butter...but you know what??

Of this I am certain:

Quality of life is -NOT- found in a spoonful of peanut butter..and avoiding the pain and misery that is sure to follow it is worthy of the angst I feel currently wishing I could TASTE it.

One day I'll be able to have peanut butter..in moderation, and it will happen when I have reached my goal weight and I have control over what I decide to eat..BECAUSE I CAN...

Really..these few months are just -not- that long. Lets contemplate the theory of relativity..its real. This is a portion of our lives that will enable us to live a better quality of life, for the looooong run.

-My two cents...
-M.

[elle4nelly]

TO MIKE!

Mike you did it again!
I sooooooooo totally agree with you on the 5+1 and or any version of it!!!!!!!!!!
For some of us, it's a complete mess!! I am having the hardest time being motivated to keep in line with Medifast. And reading your post I saw the reason why right in front of my eyes. YOU"RE RIGHT!!!!!!!!! Eating food creates more craving which for me when ignored just make me feel more miserable and ponder on how I got here and why do I stay on this.
And then you said" If you're going to do the 5+1, do it at home where you'll have a controlled environment"
WOAW????
I was making myself miserable taging along to lunch and dinners get together..... picking chicken of my plate and pouting cause I could have this or that instead....
I've been really thinking about keeping food away until I reach goal but I don't know if I could get by on 4 medifast per day. That's the maximum I'm allowed to have.
But anyway, you made some sense to me as always. Thanks Mike!