The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Disney Mike]

I was just wondering if any others out there have had problems with people, ie friends, coworkers and such that will try everything in the world to steer you off track?

I got a buddy on the program, did great, we both in turn got one of his coworkers on the program and he is just being bombarded by others about the risks of MF, the detriment to his health that may occur and all other nonsense.

I frequent a site that I post a great deal on and I waited until the 40# mark before I mentioned MF and what it was doing for my life. Man, did I open a can of worms, everything from "more than 1# loss per week is not healthy" to "do you understand how much muscle mass you are losing?" I posted that one of my very best friends is a Doctor here in East Texas, we are together a couple of times a week and he thinks it is great, providing I make a lifestyle change with my eating habits, all is well and he is very happy with the success I am enjoying. There are a couple of clowns that have insinuated that he may not be that great of a Doctor if he is endorsing such a program.

I let it in one ear and out the other but the folks I have turned onto MF and speak to about it's benefits are more influenced by other's opinions. Deep down, I sometimes feel that these naysayers do not want to acknowledge an easy to follow, easy to stick to program because it simply gives them no excuse to be overweight.

The best one I have had so far is a friend's mom, that wants her son(my friend) to lose weight, he is about 260# right now. I have not seen her in a couple of months and I ran into her, down 47#, from a 46" to a 38" waist and from an XXL to a LARGE shirt. You can imagine her excitement, just ecstatic over my appearance and "What did you do?? What did you do?? and " You need to tell my son, sooner than later". All this and when I mention MF, it was if you popped her balloon, game over and her reply was "Are you sure that is a safe way to lose weight?"

I tell everyone this, "Yes, it is very simple and safe and it really revolves around not putting as much food into your mouth as you have in the past." I add that it does take willpower and determination to reach your goals and you will have to give up a lot of the things that you love to eat, mainly due to the fact they are empty calories or just plain bad for you. The MF program works if you can follow instructions and want to lose weight and you need to order it sooner than later because you will be upset with yourself that you did not do it sooner, it is that easy.

Sorry for the rant, it has been bugging me here lately.

[alpha femme]

yeah, i've gotten a lot of crap from people, too. i guess one of my friends was too busy lighting a cigarette after her quarter pounder meal to really see the big picture. the thing is, i think a lot of people (intentionally or not) are afraid of change. this is a huge committment-- and it isn't one everyone can stick to. we have basically begun a gastric bypass diet (when on the complete fast)-- without the bypass. and that takes will power, determination, and courage.

i think it is easy to say something could be dangerous rather than "I couldn't do that." i have a friend who is very much into fat acceptance. she is incredibly unsupportive of my changes and says she cannot respect my choice to damage my body. yeah, cause my knees LOVED me at 400lbs. i figure, if i can respect people who are okay with being fat, then others should respect my decision to NOT be fat.

being fat takes a toll on us mentally, emotionally, socially, economically, and physically. so, i'm gonna drink my shake-- and i'm gonna like it. and whenever people tell me that they think this is too extreme, i tell them to have a 130lb person hop on their back and go about their day-- then let me know how slowly and "safely" they will go about removing that extra burden. johns hopkins felt it was a viable alternative; apparently the thought of heart attack, diabetes, and joint replacement was the greater threat.

i think this post comes across as a little aggressive. i just feel like some people out there have decided that people have a certain "place." and the thought of the balances shifting is very scary.

[Diana]

Yep, Mike, we do run into folks like that. Here's the problem: There are LOTS of "shake" type programs out there, and they are not at all created equal. There's information on the Medifast site (www dot medifastdiet dot com); there's also information on Co-Founder Dr. Wayne Andersen's site (www dot drwayneandersen dot com). And you can talk to your Health Advisor -- he or she will have information to send you, too. There are also the Nurse's and Doctor's calls -- Unca has posted the numbers somewhere. (Sorry, too tired to go looking for them at the moment.)

Medifast is a protein SPARING program -- the high amount of protien in each meal replacement ensures that your body does not resort to breaking down it's own muscle tissue. In fact, the meal replacements contain a balance of protein and carbohydrates; this is not one of those crazy carb-free or even a low-carb program. It's a low calorie program.

Medifast has been around for 25 years, prescribed or recommended by 15,000 physicians, and used by over 1,000,000 people. There are TONS of stories and testimonials (no pun intended) of people who have used Medifast to get healthy (for many of us that means losing weight) and have maintained health for years. The Pettits, et al, are perfect examples of this.

You're exactly right, Mike, to not let the misinformation or other peoples judgements/opinions deter your progress. Any time we make a change of this magnitude, though, people seem unable to keep themselves from issuing a concerned warning. It's a great time to gently educate them. And keep shakin'!

[Sarya]

I stop people short with a lot of their naysaying by saying my doctor is behind me 100%. BUT I had a coworker say some weeks back that I shouldn't throw out my old clothes because I'll need them when I gain all the weight back.. which pissed me right off, and I have basically ignored her ever since. (speaking of which all of my old clothes are now slated for the donation pile. If I don't have them to get back into then I guess all I can do is make myself lose any weight I may gain, right??)

The other thing; for better or for worse; is that I hide what I am doing from most people. Very few people know what I am doing, when I started, or how much I've lost. They may notice when they see me, but I don't tell them how. When I go to a social function I am very careful to be unobtrusive about what MF I do eat there, and I also go off plan at social functions so no one asks questions. This diet is for me, and I don't need anyone's crap trying to mess it up. Also, I won't be on the diet forever so I don't see it as a horrible thing that I eat off plan in social situations. I am not insane about it. I don't binge and eat every bad thing in sight. But I eat enough that I am satisfied and (for the most part) no one notices.

I had one girl give me crap at a party for not eating any of her pie. It was like, I'm sorry I don't want your pie, I'm not supposed to have your pie, and no matter how _you_ feel about it it's about how _I_ feel about it. No darn pie

[Sarya]

Diana in reponse to part of your post: My doctor calls Medifast a protein sparing modified fast. It is very similar to what I was originally supposed to do via the nutrition department at cleveland clinic (but my insurance wouldn't cover the visits or tests). Protein sparing modified fasts are typically considered to be in the VLCD (very low calorie diet) category of weight loss and are usually physician monitored.

Apparently the big things about this type of diet are that they are carefully formulated with high quality proteins and carbohydrates in a specific ratio to promote weight loss without excess muscle loss, and in addition they are low calorie low fat (but as you said NOT low carb) plans. I know they seem low carb, but that's because the calories are low. Considering our protein:carb intake is roughly 1:1... definitely not low carb.

Before I went on MF I was seeing the doctor about doing the program via the clinic. I was very leery at first so I did a lot of research into what a protein sparing modified fast really was. That's how I came upon the names of Medifast, Optifast, etc. I had heard them before and knew they were diets, but now I knew they're the same diets the doctor wanted me to go on. I was still a little worried about it but eventually took the plunge and haven't looked back.

I know it's only 35 pounds, but I have a lot of muscle on my body. I do not feel any weaker than I was before. I haven't seen any sort of decrease in my muscular areas. In fact the areas I have decreased in are actually my weakest areas: the ones with higher fat and lower muscle like my torso. I have a very weak back with a funny spine. I'm supposed to do exercises to strenthen it, but I always eventually stop so it's not the strongest part of my body. It has gotten slightly stronger and I haven't lost any strength in my arms or legs.

[Serendipity]

I've noticed that the smaller I get, the more flack I get. Not necessarily about how I'm losing, but that I'd better be careful not to go overboard and lose too much! Sheeeez. I am also noticing that the people who I thought were just right weightwise while I was fat now seem overweight and uncomfortable to me. Maybe that's why they are holding up the caution flags......maybe they don't want me to be more successful than they have been.......hmmmmmm. Understanding motives helps.

[Rachel]

Mike,

Some people are really inconsiderate. I have had some instances where family or friends shake their head. All of a sudden they're some kind of medical expert, even though they are SIGNIFICANTLY overweight and can't even keep up with me, like if we go somewhere where we have to walk a lot, they have to sit down a lot. So the old cliche applies - consider the source.

Do NOT let anyone discourage you Mike! This is VERY healthy and very SAFE. What was really hurting all of us was the way we were eating and living before MF. Now we are doing a great thing for our bodies and overall wellbeing.

Don't worry! Ignore anyone that tries to knock you down!

[ascicles]

I haven't really experienced this problem. I don't really advertise the fact that I'm on a diet, and when people notice the weight loss and ask me about it, I just say I'm eating differently.

The people who do know seem to be supportive enough. I have instructed them to stop trying to encourage me though, because I really dislike that.

[Disney Mike]

Thanks for the input,,Don't misunderstand me, there is nothing that will get me off this path until I reach the weight I feel comfortable with.

I am a very outgoing individual, I am an outside sales rep for a large construction products company so I see a lot of people every couple of weeks that inquire as to my success, naturally, I want to help them. I don't really care what people think, it's my life and I am changing my weight and eating patterns, plain and simple.

What gets my goat is the people that are really trying to make a difference in their own lives and may not be as determined and disciplined as some and let these naysayers stray them from their path to being fit. Invaribly, it is an overweight person or some other "immediate" expert in the medical field that has a differing opinion.

I had another example today while getting my hair cut. My stylist parades me around, admiring my determination and there are some folks in there that start asking questions. One lady starts in on the South Beach program and how healthy it is andmy program is too extreme, losing 48# in 8 weeks is simply not safe. In one ear and out the other,,,,

[Rachel]

I haven't really experienced this problem. I don't really advertise the fact that I'm on a diet, and when people notice the weight loss and ask me about it, I just say I'm eating differently.

The people who do know seem to be supportive enough. I have instructed them to stop trying to encourage me though, because I really dislike that.

You have instructed them to NOT encourage you????? Really? Why??? This worries me a little bit.....
can you elaborate?

[Lauren]

Ha! Rachel, meet Ascicles, our resident tell it like it is, no sweetening up, no b.s., manly man. Ascicles does not like to be buttered up. He does not like sensitive talk. He doesn't enjoy inconsistencies in the diet, or being told that he can only eat MF products. He admits to being a jerk (especially on dates, right?), and enjoys it.

He is one of our most amusing members. Just don't tell him that. Because he REALLY hates having people blow smoke up his butt.

Ascicles, if I have in any way misrepresented you, by all means scold me.

Lauren

[FluffyNoMore]

I don't tell anyone how I'm losing weight because frankly it's none of their business. My husband and mom and dad know...that's it. I've been accused of becoming anorexic, that I'm too skinny, etc... I'm not too skinny, I have 30 lbs to get to a normal BMI.

I know that this is muscle sparing....I've lost weight before, but was flabby...I'm not flabby. I was having a talk with my dad the other day and he asked me how much I weigh...(why do they ask?) anyway I told him and his mouth almost hit the floor. He said there was no way I weighed that much... but I do. I also know that I fit comfortably in a size 12. I went dress shopping this weekend....everything size 12 fit me perfectly...and I actually had to go down to a 10 on one.

I have no idea what it is about people that always have to make comments about my body and my weightloss. I now notice that the ones who are having a problem with my weightloss are the one's that have a weight problem. This hasn't been easy but I'm not hungry, I'm not tired, I'm in the best shape I've been in for over 7 years. This is not a gimmick or a joke, this is real. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Yes MF has helped me lose weight, but I did it. I said no to junkfood. I said no to all the temptations, to going out for drinks, to the icecreams, to all the birthday cakes (8) in the last 6 months. Something in me is different since MF..... I'm doing this for me and only me and nothing and no one is going to stop me.

[Unca_Tim]

Yes MF has helped me lose weight, but I did it. I said no to junkfood. I said no to all the temptations, to going out for drinks, to the icecreams, to all the birthday cakes (8) in the last 6 months. Something in me is different since MF..... I'm doing this for me and only me and nothing and no one is going to stop me.

Love that Fluffy....

[Serendipity]

Love that Fluffy....

LOL, Unca. I saw the "love that Fluffy" and at first thought you were talking about the stuff mentioned in another thread. Made me giggle

[VTGirlie]

I have had a similiar experience with the program. My doctor had never heard of it, but when I brought her all of the info and nutrition info on the foods she was very excited for me. We are working together, mostly because she wants to see me make some big lifestyle changes in addition to doing any kind of "plan".

Here's the rub. My family has hinted, insulted, wheedled, and manipulated me for years about my weight. Actually, as far back as I can remember I've never been thin enough for them. When I went to my cousin's wedding in late June 15 pounds lighter and I was eating soup or drinking shakes while they ate pizza and donuts I got TONS of crap for doing a program like this. My sister, who used to work with people with eating disorders, said "most people who lose weight using a program where they have to buy specific foods can't keep it off. You need to work on eating foods in the real world."

Now, my feelings were a little hurt. And I felt MORE than a little challenged. I know she meant well, but this IS my real world! And if it continues to be that way for the rest of my life, I'm okay with it. Here is the difference that Medifast and this community has made in my life.

For the first time I said no that weekend to all of the yummy treats offered at almost every turn, and didn't feel "jipped". For the first time in my life I didn't head out somewhere where I could have a "quiet lunch alone" (ie- eat at a restaurant alone so I didn't have to worry about what people were thinking of me putting food in my mouth). For the first time in my life, I didn't turn to food as a way to calm my hurt feelings. I went for a walk.

Now, a month later, I find that I have reserves of self-control that I didn't know I had. I'm not always perfect. I make mistakes. But the absolute emotional component of my eating has changed. I make good choices more than I make bad ones. And I'm 20 pounds lighter than I was 2 months ago- not 20 pounds heavier.

So, in essence, if people don't like the program I guess I figure I don't really give a darn. This is working for my body and my life, and that is good enough for me. I truly hope those of you who have the same experiences with outside forces and negativity can continue lean on folks here to help where others might not, because if it's working for you, then it's worth sticking with!

So there! (As she climbs off of her soap box!)