The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[MyComplete180]

I am laughing....you are like Tim the Tool man, how can I make this have more power...

Pudding, with CAFFIENE = pudding with more power!

We are glad to hear from you anytime we can...hmm my predictions are good huh? Well I say another 8.5 ....for next week...no seriously, I think you will see above 5 a week for a good while, BUT remember, there will come a time when you are on the program and you get zip, nada...just a scale perm. stuck in the wall where you tossed it.

Can I ask a personal question, well I can ask, you can also just say to much info, nonya business, I won't be offended. What made you decide to start your weight loss now? You seem to be determined and not naive.

I am glad you are seeing the results, easier times with mobility etc., we will see ya next week and I will be careful starting myself. I am so not the most patient person....

[scatter]

Well, I mean seriously - if Cosby had the caffeinated pudding idea first, he would have done it. Jell-o already shakes like it's in there.

And yeah - I know I'll stall. Water weight can go up and down with mineral imbalance. Lean tissue is denser than fat, and I'd bet that activity changes can lead to brief bursts of surprising muscle gain. I won't freak out unless I'm deathly tired and think I have a metabolic problem. More likely, any stall of a few weeks will be the cue to add a few calories back in, and to start adding some gym activity. I'll admit I'm dreading that a bit. I'm more than willing to sail down into the 300s before I start showing my flabby ass around a gym. That means I have to stick to the Medifast if I don't want to start stalling early.

Why now? Huh. Good question. It's a confluence of things.

Some reading put me in the right mind to shoulder responsibility for pretty much everything I count on, and to develop the integrity to never promise myself things I won't follow through on. That's been an ongoing change for several years. I reckon I'd been acting like a big kid in a lot of ways. Seems like most men today are.

Past that, I'm an engineer and stubborn. I like dissecting, measuring, and experimenting. I don't like giving up. I've magnified these traits over the years, as I've advanced in my career.

And then a few weeks back, I broke my damned bed. It wasn't even by doing anything fun. I just jumped out of bed too quickly and ripped the support beam right off the siderail. Down one side went - I'd sheared those screws right off there, leaving a bit of destruction like King Kong leaping off a building.

Now, I've always been fat. I hit 300lbs in 4th grade, no joke. I've never been below 300 since... it's just something I've always been used to. Crazy as it may sound, I never really notice the weight. It's all I've ever known, so I don't have a point of experiential reference. But still... the bed thing was a bit unexpected. Totally broke my routine.

So I picked up a proper high-capacity scale, and I found I was a good sixty or seventy pounds from where I would have guessed. That sucked pretty mightily, and it made it clear that I'd just keep trending in that direction if I didn't deal with it in a conscious, deliberate fashion.

And so... mature accountability me, experienced engineer me, and confused-by-furniture-breakage me combine to realize that I've got to make this project time. And I've got to make it work, or I've got to admit that I really, really suck at being a man.

[MyComplete180]

OMG, I laughed...you write well and I could just imagine the confusion at the utter demise of the bed.

( if laughing was/is insulting sorry, no harm meant?)

Yes gym...gym bad...okay I know it's not, but I won't touch one until I am half way to goal. I suspect seeing below 300 will be an emotional time. I look forward to offering the appropriate congrats when the time comes. Maenwhile we just need to have a good week. The rest will come.

[scatter]

About a week and a half ago, I switched from 2L bottles of Pepsi One to individual cans. The result was that I drank much, much less fluid. I think most days I had one or two cans with occasional tea, so that put me at about 40-50oz of fluid each day, versus 90-100oz previously. (That's counting the 3oz or so that goes in each Medifast meal.)

The reduced liquid intake lead to dry, itchy skin. I think it was also why I felt remarkably tired this week. It seems obvious in retrospect, but it's easy to lose sight of things and fail to make these connections in the day to day. That's what this weekly look backward is all about.

I also didn't lose as much weight this week as in the prior two weeks. I'm still skeptical that 8lbs a week is sustainable for any length of time, but 3lbs this week was a wild disconnect. I'll see how I do this week if I adjust my intake of liquids back upward. I've loaded the wine refrigerator up with bottled water (sacrilege!) and soda in preparation. I'm also going to add some kind of daily reminder.

I've a birthday tomorrow. I'm tempted to try a little arrowroot to thicken up the chocolate pudding, and perhaps dust it with the vanilla shake powder. Medifast Birthday Cupcake, anyone? I jest - I may do a normal dinner with friends.

2009-04-19: 522 -3
2009-04-12: 525 -8
2009-04-05: 533 -9
2009-03-29: 542 -16
2009-03-22: 558 Start

[scatter]

You could do Diet Rite, too. White Grape is good. Also the pre-made/mixed Crystal Lite bottles have liquid splenda.

I commented that these were too sweet. I just tried a can watered down quite a bit, and it works nicely. I've got these great one-liter beer steins. With summer coming, I suppose I could fill that completely with ice and the can, sip it as it melts over an hour or two. Hey hey.

[katieb920]

I've a birthday tomorrow. I'm tempted to try a little arrowroot to thicken up the chocolate pudding, and perhaps dust it with the vanilla shake powder. Medifast Birthday Cupcake, anyone? I jest - I may do a normal dinner with friends.

You know what I use to thicken my products is un flavored gelatin. Works like a charm And you use so very little.

I would take Hot water a teaspoon of un flavored gelatin. Then I take My medifast cranberry mango and mix with 8 oz cystal light pnk lemonade Freeze for a half hour UH DESSERT yummy

I like the gelatin a little bit better

[MyComplete180]

(That's counting the 3oz or so that goes in each Medifast meal.)

Curious, but is the 3 a typo? You are using 8 oz. right? I agree with your thoughts, you need more liquid. We use bottled H2o that we get from Lowes, took about 2 weeks of drinking it to get addicted, I HATE WATER, I do fight the hydration issue as it is.

Okay so maybe I was wrong this week However, your body will jump through alot of hoops and at the end of the day....you are losing weight, gone, not there, just leep it up!

See ya next week...

[scatter]

Yeah, since the first week I've been making the meals pretty pasty. I use about half the suggested amount of water and eat small spoonfuls. My way's a bit different than most, I'm sure.

[MyComplete180]

DUDE ???!?

I am smiling once more...I lean to the more water in soups, 8 in oatmeal and 6-8 in shakes. 3 oz scares me ...

Quite frankly it only matters that you shake, you are a motivated , and I think you will in fact increase your liquids this week,( cause you seem to be able to do what you say). I will be curious how that works scale wise.

See ya Sunday...

[Lauren]

I had to laugh when I read this exchange about the water, because, I too like mine "pasty!" While I like the idea of having more to consume by adding more water, I don't feel like the food feels filling that way. I like my oatmeal pretty darn thick - pudding too! Though what I do with my pudding is make them in 8oz cups, and then freeze them and eat them as dessert treats!

Anyway, you're doing great, just keep drinking the water. You can still do the diet sodas and stuff, but drink good ol' pure water to really hydrate, the other stuff should be considered "extra."

Keep on keepin' on!

Lauren

[oksoonergirl26]

I do the same thing with my puddings (the freezing thing-not the paste). Does it help the oatmeal taste better if you don't add so much water?

[rodeomom]

I haven't found any way to make the oatmeal taste better LOL The best I got was to make a pancake out of it, but even that wasn't worth the effort.

As for the pudding - if you add a small amount of non-fat cream cheese (it would be counted as your snack) to the pudding and blend it. It will freeze much smoother and not hard as an ice block

[scatter]

I haven't done it myself, but you could also try just a teaspoon of vodka in there. That's what's done to make a sorbet instead of a popsicle. Maybe it works for the pudding too. Obviously, this would be a deviation from proper Medifast!

Who knows. Maybe that plus a splash of lemon juice makes a nice sorbet with the fruit punches.

[MyComplete180]

Hot damn we are gonna be some crocked Medifasters...brings new meaning to Shaken not stirred

[Stihl]

Hey Scatter, just a couple of things about water:

You don't want to be counting the water that goes into your MF meals as part of your water intake for the day.

You also shouldn't be drinking 2L bottles of diet soda a day (It looks like you've switched down to 2 cans, which is great. I believe MF limits you to 3 cans of diet soda a day, but its not the end of the world if you drink too much of that)

Try to shoot for upwards of 64 oz of straight water - not counting diet soda and not counting the meals - every day. More if you can manage. It'll kill hunger, flush out the weight, and if you drink your water ice ice cold, you can actually burn a few more calories (admittedly just marginally).

Sounds like you're doing great so far. Keep it up!