The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[MyFriendTT]

I've been on MF for a month now and have never fully been in ketosis! I check the ketostix first thing in the am and they always say "small" (yeah, I know these don't work for everyone especially after you've been with the program for a while, but I have to know if I'm at least somewhere NEAR ketosis), but I have never gotten the benefits of being in ketosis. I have bad breath (sometimes), but I'm exhausted and hungry 24/7. I've never been in the METAZONE.

I've spoken to the MF nurse so many times that she knows my voice! Last week I just had it. I called her one last time after yet another week of meager losses, exhaustion and frustration. I can barely do any activity I'm so tired. She suggested I do a 3 & 2 plan, lowering my carbs even further (I've already gone down to less than 65 per day). But other than that, she had no answers for me, except to see a MF doctor. (I've already seen my own dr and all test resuts are normal).

And I've been 100% compliant... until Thursday the 6th. After I spoke to the nurse, I just couldn't take being exhausted for one more day and I ate off plan for the first time in a month. Carbs. I figured out that I had 3300 calories, which is not enough to gain a real pound, but the scale the next day said that I'd gained 4!

I got back on track on Friday 100% with the 3 & 2 (60 carbs) and also on Sat (45 carbs), but my scale won't budge!!

Have I completely screwed myself by going off plan for one day???

I'm definitely not in ketosis and I have energy again from all the carbs. But after 2 days of compliance, shouldn't I be in ketosis again? Could I possibly have stored enough carbs to last me a week or something?

Help! BTW, I'm going to see a MF dr in a few days. Maybe he will help.

What have other people's experiences been after a day off plan? How long does it take to get back into ketosis?

TT

[GucciGoo]

I don't understand. You lost 12 pounds in a month. Why are you so concerned about whether or not you are in ketosis???

Medifast is working for you!!! Be happy! You had a great loss so far!!!! Enjoy it!

[MyFriendTT]

I didn't lose 12 pounds. I lost 10. I started at 168. I did a low carb week before starting MF and lost 2. But now I'm back to 162, so I've only lost 6.
I just didn't change my ticker.

Any other time, I would be happy with the 10 pounds. However, I'm not happy that I've been struggling with no energy and feeling starving out of my head all month. I can barely walk I'm so tired! The nurse said that that only happens when you are not quite in ketosis. Everyone else here gets energy and no hunger. I feel like I'm starving myself! That's why I'm frustrated.

I don't know that I can keep up with this for another 5 months if I have no energy for anything and I'm constantly hungry. That's my fear. This month was a HUGE struggle.

TT

[Ginabobina1969]

I am sorry your feeling so frustrated and hungry.. I know that does have to suck.

How about instead of trying to count your carb intake...or cut them further.. You just do a 6 and 1? basically add in a shake or another soup ...What I did and still do at times is I make sure to eat just about every 2 hours..in the beginning I had to do that or I felt completely famished all the time.

Also, how is your water intake...because when I skimp on the water the scale skimps on me. Throw the ketosis sticks in the trash...all their gonna do is cause you to stress...the level of ketosis while on the medifast plan is so low that most times it won't even register so why put yourself through that grief?

I have found that when I try to cut back stuff even further..weightloss stalls. My body rejects my attempts to starve myself down quicker. So, I eat my meals and enjoy them and try to stay compliant.

As for a gain...it most likely is just water weight...and you should try very hard not to let those temporary gains get to you...just focus on staying compliant, drinking your water and perhaps adding in that extra supplement and I think you will see progress and you will start to feel better.

You can do this, hang in there!
Hugs,
Gina

[DogMa]

Even 10 pounds in a month is pretty good, TT. You didn't have all the extra water to lose in the beginning, so you were never going to get the initial big drop that many others get. But I know that losing weight doesn't matter so much when you feel like crap doing it.

I've very sensitive to carbs normally, TT, and having 6 and 1 helped me lose much more consistently. I have more than the recommended 85 grams a day, but it hasn't mattered. Although I have made one subsitution by having an off-plan bar instead of the Medifast bars. Our bars just don't work for me, and I don't even like them all that much.

Let us know what the doc says. I hate to say it, but we all know that not every plan works for everyone.

[Diana]

TT, seriously, there are lots of thread on here about ketosis and the main theme seems to be this: it doesn't always show on the sticks!!

The level of ketosis is so mild, coupled with the confusion of ketosis with ketoacidosis, that Dr. Anderson (cofounder, head physician of Take Shape for Life) has asked the Health Advisor NOT to refer to it as ketosis, but as the fat burning stage. My guess is you ARE in the fat burning stage!

And as difficult as it is, don't look at what other people are losing. YOU don't even really control the rate at which your body loses -- you can set the conditions for loss, but your body controls the rate. And what you've just lost in one month would have taken me almost half a year on almost any other program. Keep working the program and it will work for you -- honest!! Serious question: have you been on another program that works better for you and is this nutritionally sound? If the answer is no, then hang in there! And lean on us here at the forum, or other folks in your life. I'm not going to say don't be frustrated, but I am going to encourage you not to let the frustration stop your progress.

[DogMa]

She said she's exhausted and hungry all the time ...

[Diana]

I editted it, Robin

[Diana]

The two times I've slipped out of ketosis have been miserable (once over cold syrup, once over powdered creamer). I was tired, irritable, restless, hungry... my dh couldn't even make a salad to suit me, and I was not happy about eating it. Took about 3 days to get back into the swing of things.

[MyFriendTT]

Thanks Gina, Robin and Diana for your input and kind words.

Honestly, I don't care about the ketostix and what they say. I'm going on what my body says. And my body says "I'm exhausted and starving all the time"! That is why the nurse says she doesn't think I'm in ketosis, because it seems like I'm just doing a really low calorie diet and not getting the benefits that I should.

Who in their right mind wants to be tired and hungry all the time? And who wants to stay that way for 5 months or longer when everyone else has energy and low/no hunger doing the same program?

The exhaustion, especially, is really impeding my life. So, I'm going to see the doctor tomorrow. Let's hope he can offer some insight.

I was on the South Beach diet for over a year, more or less. I had good and bad days, but I lost 20 pounds and kept it off for a year. That is how I got to 170. But then for 6-8 months, I lost and gained the same 5 pounds and couldn't seem to get below 170. That's why I decided to do MF. And I just really want this to work for me, which is why I have been so militant about it (except for that one day)... and frustrated that I'm not getting the benefits.

I'm going to keep my hopes up for a little while longer.

TT

[Diana]

Are you on any meds that might be doing this? Have you tried the appetite suppressant shakes?

(I wish I could send you some of my extra ketones to jumpstart your system, Theresa!)

Hope all goes well with the doctor and he has some helpful insight and a practical solution. I look forward to your post afterward.

[Arklahoma]

Just wanted to jump in and say that you're doing the right thing by going to see the doc. I did a liquid diet like MF many years ago and NEVER stopped feeling hungry. I was ravenous all the time and my doc just couldn't understand why. I was unable to complete the plan. With that being said, MF is working for me. I'm doing the 6/0 plan and am very rarely hungry. My doc again cannot understand why this time it's working. There are many, many variables to consider and I would not (my personal opinion) continue on a plan that made me feel exhausted and tired all the time. Life is just too short to feel blah.

With all that being said, I just want to share something that my doc shared with me about the rate of loss. MF avg is 2-5 lbs per week so she said that we would not tweak anything except on a monthly basis and that was only if we weren't meeting goal of 8 - 20 lbs in a month. If you're losing 8-20 in 4 weeks then we're right on target.

Best of luck with your doctor visit. I'm curious to know what happens and hope that you'll share the results with us.

[DogMa]

I totally understand, TT. If I felt that horrible on a plan, I wouldn't continue, either, even if I were losing weight. Feeling good is much more important to me than being thin.

Good luck with the doc.

[MyFriendTT]

Thanks guys for all the support. I really appreciate everyone listening to me and chiming in. And, man, Diana, I so totally wish I could borrow a few ketones to catapult me into the metazone!!

Ok, so I saw the dr. yesterday and although my blood tests have been in the normal range, he suspects that my thyroid might be a little bit low. This was interesting because they did a cardiogram and though my heart is great, one little line indicated that my thyroid might be a tad underactive. Also, my pinkie is only half the size of my ring finger -- and supposedly, THAT can mean that you have thyroid issues! Who could have known???

Anyway, he gave me a low dose of Synthroid and I started that today. He also suggested doing 4 & 1, which given my current hunger level, seems like an impossibility, so I'll do 5 & 1 at least for this week. I have an appointment with him again in 3 weeks to evaluate my progress and take another blood test.

I am really hoping this helps. He said that depending on the outcome, he might have me take Meridia or A-something-pax (I don't remember the name -- I'd never heard of it before). I'm not too keen on taking a diet drug because I've heard bad things, so I'm hoping that its just the thyroid meds that will work. (I'm not taking any other meds right now, except Sam-e for depression but its an amino acid, not an ssri).

So, I'll post an update as the days go by. Hope this works.

Theresa

[BoPeep1]

I hope this works out for you Theresa. I'm going to keep watching to see how it goes!

I may be in the same boat. I get completely exhausted, for days at a time, and at other times my energy is fair at best. I just had a complete blood and thyroid workup done, I should find out more next week.