The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[cmyk]

Hi all!

My name is Karla - in 2003 I lost 90% of my weight through Medifast through a local Dr. where I live.

I have no doubt that I want to go back onto the program my question is this: I know I can purchase the shakes and everyone online so why should I make the long drive everyweek to the Dr. that does Medifast in my area?

I know the obvious reasons for going with the Dr. - check on health, etc.. while I am on the program - but is this program just as safe without seeing a Dr. everyweek? My work is very demanding so it's hard for me to schedule the time away to the Dr. but I will do it if necessary.

So, I guess my question is for those that do the diet on your own do you get checked by a Dr. every now and then or not?

Thanks so much,
Karla

PS. I put a lot back (gained all back and then a few) on since 2003 and am so anxious to get started again

[Dean0408]

Hi Karla,

Welcome to the forum.

I think it would be best for Nancy to answer your question about the doctor visits. You are right, lots of people doing the 5 and 1 program don't necessarily go to the doctor. Full fast, according to the Medifast info requires regular doctor visits. If you have other issues to contend with, such as diabetes, then the doctor of course is a must.......These are my OPINIONS only.........you need to talk with Nancy or a health advisor for the official recommendations.

Maybe you can help those of us who are on the plan for the first time since you have experience with losing the weight and gaining it back.

What would you say was the major cause of your gaining the weight back? How much weight did you lose in the first place?

I am about to go on maintenance, and maybe your insight will help me (and others), avoid some pitfalls in the future.

Thanks in advance,
Dean

[cmyk]

Hi Dean!

Thanks for replying to my message! I appreciate the advice. I just checked the medifast site and saw what they recommend as far as blood tests and EKG and such. I just recently had all those done in my latest physical and all was good. I do not have any kind of health condition besides the weight So, I am lucky in that way.

As for insight. Wow, well I have been a yo-yo dieter my entire life it seems. I was a pudgy kid, pudgy teenager, etc... My weight finally topped off at 200 (for reference I am a medium boned 5'5" woman of 34 years of age). I was getting married in December of 2003 so I wanted to look my best and feel my best. So, I started the medifast through a local dr. here in town. I did so so well - the first week was awful as we all know but after that I was on top of the world. I lost almost all of it. I fell off the wagon when I took a job overseas (and then an extended vacation with mom) in Europe. My Dr. warned me this would happen and it did. I could never seem to get myself back on the wagon. I maintained what I lost until the wedding but I did not lose the entire amount I had wanted to.

This past year I have gone past my all time high weight - I am now 260 and miserable. I have lost hope along the way and with that I started a bad habit of binging on sweets. So, the weight skyrocket up. I am now in a spot where I am so fed up and am ready to step up and get back on the wagon.

So, what led to my downfall. In my opinion it was a number of things:
1. Never learning how to properly feed myself with food.
2. Learning to replace my "need" to eat for emotional reasons. I needed to relearn a different behavior. I think I fall into the emotional eaters category. For some reason I only binge on sweets but I do when I am bored, sad, happy or angy. I need to learn to rechannel that energy toward a good behavior. If I do not then I know I will fail again.

My ideas to remedy the situation:
1. Lose the unhealthy weight with medifast.
2. Start attending or use Weight Watcghers online or meetings to relearn how to eat again. What are the appropriate portions and foods to FUEL myself. Or meet with a Dietician or Nutrioninst to do this (I have been unable to find one in my area which I think is just insane...)
3. I MUST replace the act of putting food in my mouth for emotional comfort with something positive. I do LOVE to work out - so my goal is to replace this with a very active workout regimine. As a side note I have not accomplished this yet as I work from home, work MANY hours a day, and own my own business so it has been hard for me to say to myself "It's okay to do something for yourself" This is my biggest challenge I think.

So, there it is in a nutshell. I know most of you can identify with what I have said - so I would love to hear what most of you have done to SUCCEED!

Karla

[DonicaB]

Karla~ I am so glad you decided to join us. This forum is a God send. I think you will find this forum to be very supportive and inspirational. The people here really care about you, they are concerned about you, and will do anything (and say anything) to help you stay on track and to learn how to maintain.

You already know you can do because you have done it before. Only this time, you will keep it off.

WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!



DonicaB

[Dean0408]

Karla.........Your response was EXCELLENT!!

It seems you have all the reasons you regained your weight NAILED. You also have great ideas on how to stop it from happening again once you reach your goal weight.

Nancy and all the health advisors have some firm advice on maintaining your weight once you are all nice and skinny.

I think you are right in that you have to learn to substitute something in place of food to get through stressful or emotional times. As for me, if I get stressed, I tend to LOSE my appetite and food is the last thing on my mind. Maybe my problem is that I don't let things stress me out ENOUGH.......haha.

As we all are aware, KNOWING the right things to do and actually DOING the right things are two completely different animals.

I hope to see you on the forum often. I highly recommend you get in touch with Nancy and get started on Medifast as soon as possible. You already know it works..........it worked before for you, it will work just as well this time.

Thanks for sharing your story........it helped me a lot.

Dean

[dlr2424]

Karla......I am so excited to meet you and so happy you are joining OUR team of many LOSERS............ .......You already know MF works........ .....however this forum will be a Godsend....... .......it will be a support you can't imagine and I believe it will be my key to taking it off as well as keeping it off....... .......the people are amazing and priceless..... .......after navigating around here.......you may find there would be no need for WW support group....... ....... just my opinion............ ........I hope you enjoy the journey.........and welcome aboard!!!!!!!!!!
Donna...dlr2424

[doglover]

Hey karla I too wanted to add my welcome! Thanks for sharing your story and hopefully while you were typing it you were imprinting all those thoughts and feelings and plans on your brain permanently! You know this will work and now you need to tools/power to keep it off once you are done!

You are in control! You are strong! You are brave!
Welcome!
Donna

[Mommy2girls]

Hi Karla! Welcome to the "Medifast Again" club! (See my post titled that for more info on me). I am again on Medifast too. The first time I did it, I did all liquid for a while, then switched to regular food after that. I started out weighing 262 and got down to 175-180. I also did this through a doctor's office (but they went out of business in mid-2000) so I obviously never went back to them.

I'm not exactly sure what the answer to your question is. I'm sure Nancy can give you some excellent advice. I think it is a personal decision and also based on the type of Medifast plan you are doing. When I did this 7 years ago, I was monitored weekly as far as weigh-ins and counseling (and I paid a LOT $$ for it too!). They drew blood about once a month and of course started off with a bunch of tests for my health, etc. I'm going to say this not to scare anyone but this is what happened to me.

After I lost all the weight I wanted to, about 2 months after being done dieting (I dieted for a year) I found out I had gallstones. I had to have my gallbladder removed. I was warned that this could be a "side-effect" to doing the all liquid diet, but there are also other reasons for developing gallstones. I could never medically determine that the gallstones came from using Medifast. They could have come from any number of "risk-factors" many of which I fell into the categories for having.

Again, this is just what happened to me and this is my story. I would not change being medically monitored by a dr. when I did this 7 years ago (and you can't do the all liquid without it) but if you are doing the 5&1 plan I would listen to what Nancy has to say and decide for yourself what is best for you.

Good luck with this. I'm definitely here to support you and I know the agony of regaining the weight you worked so hard to lose. Let's work together and rename the club "Mediast ... 2nd Time's-A-Charm" club!!!

Sheila

[dlr2424]

You are in control! You are strong! You are brave!

............D...........all I can think of is that song....."I Am Woman Hear Me Roar"........something like that

Dlr2424

[Mommy2girls]

Hey Karla, I just found these over at the FAQ board here...thought it might help with your question....

Do I need to see a doctor?

Medifast strongly recommends that you see your doctor for a general exam and blood test panel before you begin the program.


What lab tests should I have done?

If your physician feels that lab work is necessary, then lab tests should include a CBC, chemistry panel, lipid profile, thyroid panel, and urinalysis. If you are over age 40 or have a history of heart disease, please consult your physician regarding an EKG.



What is the doctor looking for with the lab tests and EKG?

The tests are designed to verify that you don't have any unknown illnesses or medical conditions that could put you at risk for coping with the Medifast plan. The reason for the EKG is to make sure you don't have any previously diagnosed heart problems or heart disease that would be a problem if you do the Medifast plan.



How often should I see my doctor?

Follow-up visits with your physician should be done from once a month to once every three months. At each visit, you should have a CBC and a chemistry profile that tests electrolytes, blood sugar, etc. Monthly visits are recommended if you have diabetes, heart disease or other significant history.

[Nancy]

Hello, Karla and welcome to MakeMeThinner ~

That’s our goal – with our help and support coupled with your determination and commitment, you will get thinner!

Ahh, yes, the old doctor question. To be blunt, I wish Forum readers would not ask that question of me. It is really up to your own personal physician to determine the frequency of follow up.

Come on, Folks – I must remind you that as a Health Advisor, I am policy-bound to advise you that Take Shape For Life, the US Government, the JAMA-rama peeps and every other weight loss plan, product and company recommends that people who make any changes in their diet or physical activity see a physician before starting anything that affects our health.

It is rare that a doctor would suggest that an overweight person continue to eat and do what they have been doing to remain in the same state of poor health. Not all docs are nutritionally trained like the TSFL and Medifast Medical Director, Dr. Andersen.

Uh, I am making a generalization here, most doctors tell their patients to exercise more and eat less. (Foodies just don’t know how to do that!)

It is reasonable to assume that most physicians would support a patient who desires to reach a healthier weight. Not all docs are familiar with Medifast and not all are familiar with Take Shape For Life’s new programs.

We are trying our best to inform them – and everyone else who watches national television and reads national publications that TSFL Programs featuring Medifast Products are the proven answer for quick and safe weight loss.

As a consumer, there are times that we must inform the knowledgeable and help them to become wise by sharing the 5 and 1 Program and some info with our doc.

We have a downloadable file that a person can take to their doc. It is up to the doc then to read it.
Here it is for your printing pleasure:

www.makemethinner.com/files/visitingthedoctor.pdf

When I handed her some information (the back of the Medifast 55 shake box, my Quick Start Booklet and the Info Sheet), my own doctor’s reaction was this, “What? You expect ME to read all this?”

I said, “Yes, I do.”

Deep sigh.

Me: “This IS what I am doing.

I ask you to monitor me every 8-12 weeks as necessary.”

She complied and was amazed.

Still is.


There are some medical conditions that may require more frequent monitoring than others – some are obvious – diabetes, hypertension, coronary health, etc.

Some physicians have the PA or NP do the monitoring – they weigh, do a BP check and blood work, if needful.

Have I sufficiently birdwalked around your question to leave you more confused than ever?

Not my intention, Gentle Readers, just doing my policy thing here.

My own personal experience recounted:

I was 53 years old, taking few Rx (Allegra, Premarin, Vit E, Omega 3 Fish Oil, Indocin) borderline Hi BP 142/90 Cholesterol 270

• Started the complete program

• 6 weeks later told my doc this IS what I am doing.
Take my blood and BP.
Read this info.
I’ll see you in 6-8 weeks

• Showed up next about the fourth month point.
She was amazed. Took a blood test.
Awesome cholesterol report and everything was a go.

• I checked in at the 6 month point, she was in disbelief.
Thought she had entered the wrong exam room, as she didn’t recognize me.

• I asked her if I could come back every couple of months for monitoring to keep me honest.

• I showed up about 6 months later and the 18 months point.
Time to go again now.

Since you recently went for a check up, call your health clinic (or better still, stop by with the physician info sheet) and ask for the Advice Nurse. She ought to be able to tell you how often to see your physician or go to the nurse treatment room for BP and a CBC.

You’ve nailed down a great plan, Karla – now the difficult part – stickin’ to it – it can be done!

The Forum Family will help you along the weigh!