Planning to start - tips and suggestions?
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PippaJo_
Posts: 233 Member
Hello. :-)
I apologize in advance for the length of this post.
I'm pretty inspired by you guys in this group, I have to say.
A few days ago, I came back to MFP - I'd gotten discouraged back in February after doing everything right (or so I thought), and only losing 7 pounds in over three months, and then getting injured so I couldn't exercise (and on top of that, having my stove catch on fire, so I couldn't cook properly for a while).
I know that 7 pounds in three months or so might sound good, but when I had friends losing 10-12 pounds a month (granted, they're taller and were heavier), it's still kind of discouraging. And I *fought* for those seven pounds...and I never felt like I could even truly claim them, because to me, that's within the 'range of fluctuation' - I'm sure you ladies know what I'm talking about....when you go to sleep, and wake up four pounds heavier, and you've done *nothing* to account for that....but those pounds don't seem to fall off as easily as they turned up! You've got to fight to get them down again.
So, I'm back, and I was wondering if a more regimented program would work better for me, and I ran across the Medifast information.
I've got to say, it looks very interesting. But I have some questions, and I hope that some of you can help answer them, or can comment on how you think the program might work for me, given my situation.
First, I only have about 30 pounds to lose, and I was hoping to find experiences from people similar to myself in that way. I'm short - 5'1", and currently my body seems to think that its 'set point' is at about 140 pounds. I'm also fairly small-boned, so I think that my ideal weight is probably about 110. (I was a pretty steady 115-117 in college, and didn't work out, ate what I wanted, and felt I was a tiny bit pudgy - untoned was probably more like it. What was I thinking, right?)
It seems to me that most people who have 'trouble' with this program are the ones who either can't seem to keep themselves from cheating (just a nibble here, just a bite there), or people who hate the taste of the food, so give up. Otherwise, it seems that if people stick to the plan, they can't help but have success, and fairly steady success at that. Is that right?
A couple of years ago, I'd gotten fed up with being fat, and figured that if I just 'stopped eating' (not really, but simply ate a lot less), then I'd *have* to lose weight, right? So I found an intermittent-fasting program, and I must say, it worked pretty well for me at the time. I lost almost 15 pounds, and once I got used to only eating during a five-hour window of time, I learned to not feel particularly hungry the rest of the time. (I wasn't tracking my food intake at that time though, so I have no idea what my calorie intake was, but my guess is that it was in the 1200-1500 range - it's hard to eat more than that in a five-hour window, unless you're eating seriously calorie-dense foods, or just cramming it in non-stop.)
Also, I really don't like food prep. It makes me a little crazy - it always feels like a science experiment that I'm going to get wrong. It's why I hated tracking before MFP - it was too hard to figure out calories and nutrients on my own. I've gotten used to tracking though, and feel I can do it pretty well and accurately....except that I'm still not losing weight - or, I'll lose two pounds, and gain three. It never seems to actually *work* for me, even with regular exercise. I feel like I'm simply eating too many carbs (and not enough protein)....but the thought of tracking those carbs, and trying to figure out how to reduce them - for EVERY meal - just feels overwhelming.
So, with that in mind, the idea of Medifast seems ideal for me - what do you think? With pre-packaged meals, only one meal-prep a day (which I might prep the whole week's worth on Sunday and freeze it), and the ability to tell temporary hunger to take a hike for a few hours...I think this could work well for me.
As long as I can see the scale trending down, I think I can stay encouraged. I don't mind working hard, as long as I can see some result for my effort. It's when I can't seem to nail down results that I start to chuck the whole thing.
So then - my original thought was to just start making myself a lean & green meal once a day, to see if I can manage that much, and then once I got into that groove, I'd order the MF foods. But now I'm impatient, LOL! I want to get started. But I don't want to flame out for not managing to get the hang of the lean & green. Can anyone direct me to a handful (maybe five) L&G 'meals' that are SIMPLE - simple to the point of being boring, so easy that a complete IDIOT can do it? I'm not a cook of any kind, to speak of. Spaghetti is about the limit of my skills, and I've never really cooked meat at home, so I'm not sure what I'm doing there.
Also, what are some non-meat protein substitutions? I like meat, but I've got to say that I'm not used to eating it more than maybe a couple of times a week. I think I might get overwhelmed having to eat it 7 days a week. (For instance, right now one of my favorite meals is microwave rice topped by canned chili beans, with some shredded cheese sprinkled on top - that's good protein, right? If perhaps too many carbs as well. I wonder if something like that could be modified for a L&G, or maybe just adding beans or lentils to a salad might do it?)
Also, to get a good start with MF, *where* do I start? Are there any books I should read? Do I just order the food, and do any program materials come with that? If I do this, I want to do it *right*....I don't want to trip up because I didn't think of something.
Oh, one more thing. When you guys 'fall off the wagon', how detrimental is it really to your progress? I think I could take the occasional slight 'setback' if I knew that it was coming, and planned for it, and made plans to get *right* back on. What I mean is - I have two, maybe three 'events' this summer - my 15th anniversary, and a get-together with far-flung friends, and a short family vacation. I think I can stay mostly on-plan, but would it be ridiculous to plan to have, for instance, a few *small bites* of some nicer food on those occasions, looking after the calories etc closely and not going hog-wild, and then planning on going right back strictly on-plan the next day?
Wow. Now that I've exhausted you all, I'll let you be. Thanks for any responses!
I apologize in advance for the length of this post.
I'm pretty inspired by you guys in this group, I have to say.
A few days ago, I came back to MFP - I'd gotten discouraged back in February after doing everything right (or so I thought), and only losing 7 pounds in over three months, and then getting injured so I couldn't exercise (and on top of that, having my stove catch on fire, so I couldn't cook properly for a while).
I know that 7 pounds in three months or so might sound good, but when I had friends losing 10-12 pounds a month (granted, they're taller and were heavier), it's still kind of discouraging. And I *fought* for those seven pounds...and I never felt like I could even truly claim them, because to me, that's within the 'range of fluctuation' - I'm sure you ladies know what I'm talking about....when you go to sleep, and wake up four pounds heavier, and you've done *nothing* to account for that....but those pounds don't seem to fall off as easily as they turned up! You've got to fight to get them down again.
So, I'm back, and I was wondering if a more regimented program would work better for me, and I ran across the Medifast information.
I've got to say, it looks very interesting. But I have some questions, and I hope that some of you can help answer them, or can comment on how you think the program might work for me, given my situation.
First, I only have about 30 pounds to lose, and I was hoping to find experiences from people similar to myself in that way. I'm short - 5'1", and currently my body seems to think that its 'set point' is at about 140 pounds. I'm also fairly small-boned, so I think that my ideal weight is probably about 110. (I was a pretty steady 115-117 in college, and didn't work out, ate what I wanted, and felt I was a tiny bit pudgy - untoned was probably more like it. What was I thinking, right?)
It seems to me that most people who have 'trouble' with this program are the ones who either can't seem to keep themselves from cheating (just a nibble here, just a bite there), or people who hate the taste of the food, so give up. Otherwise, it seems that if people stick to the plan, they can't help but have success, and fairly steady success at that. Is that right?
A couple of years ago, I'd gotten fed up with being fat, and figured that if I just 'stopped eating' (not really, but simply ate a lot less), then I'd *have* to lose weight, right? So I found an intermittent-fasting program, and I must say, it worked pretty well for me at the time. I lost almost 15 pounds, and once I got used to only eating during a five-hour window of time, I learned to not feel particularly hungry the rest of the time. (I wasn't tracking my food intake at that time though, so I have no idea what my calorie intake was, but my guess is that it was in the 1200-1500 range - it's hard to eat more than that in a five-hour window, unless you're eating seriously calorie-dense foods, or just cramming it in non-stop.)
Also, I really don't like food prep. It makes me a little crazy - it always feels like a science experiment that I'm going to get wrong. It's why I hated tracking before MFP - it was too hard to figure out calories and nutrients on my own. I've gotten used to tracking though, and feel I can do it pretty well and accurately....except that I'm still not losing weight - or, I'll lose two pounds, and gain three. It never seems to actually *work* for me, even with regular exercise. I feel like I'm simply eating too many carbs (and not enough protein)....but the thought of tracking those carbs, and trying to figure out how to reduce them - for EVERY meal - just feels overwhelming.
So, with that in mind, the idea of Medifast seems ideal for me - what do you think? With pre-packaged meals, only one meal-prep a day (which I might prep the whole week's worth on Sunday and freeze it), and the ability to tell temporary hunger to take a hike for a few hours...I think this could work well for me.
As long as I can see the scale trending down, I think I can stay encouraged. I don't mind working hard, as long as I can see some result for my effort. It's when I can't seem to nail down results that I start to chuck the whole thing.
So then - my original thought was to just start making myself a lean & green meal once a day, to see if I can manage that much, and then once I got into that groove, I'd order the MF foods. But now I'm impatient, LOL! I want to get started. But I don't want to flame out for not managing to get the hang of the lean & green. Can anyone direct me to a handful (maybe five) L&G 'meals' that are SIMPLE - simple to the point of being boring, so easy that a complete IDIOT can do it? I'm not a cook of any kind, to speak of. Spaghetti is about the limit of my skills, and I've never really cooked meat at home, so I'm not sure what I'm doing there.
Also, what are some non-meat protein substitutions? I like meat, but I've got to say that I'm not used to eating it more than maybe a couple of times a week. I think I might get overwhelmed having to eat it 7 days a week. (For instance, right now one of my favorite meals is microwave rice topped by canned chili beans, with some shredded cheese sprinkled on top - that's good protein, right? If perhaps too many carbs as well. I wonder if something like that could be modified for a L&G, or maybe just adding beans or lentils to a salad might do it?)
Also, to get a good start with MF, *where* do I start? Are there any books I should read? Do I just order the food, and do any program materials come with that? If I do this, I want to do it *right*....I don't want to trip up because I didn't think of something.
Oh, one more thing. When you guys 'fall off the wagon', how detrimental is it really to your progress? I think I could take the occasional slight 'setback' if I knew that it was coming, and planned for it, and made plans to get *right* back on. What I mean is - I have two, maybe three 'events' this summer - my 15th anniversary, and a get-together with far-flung friends, and a short family vacation. I think I can stay mostly on-plan, but would it be ridiculous to plan to have, for instance, a few *small bites* of some nicer food on those occasions, looking after the calories etc closely and not going hog-wild, and then planning on going right back strictly on-plan the next day?
Wow. Now that I've exhausted you all, I'll let you be. Thanks for any responses!
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Replies
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Medifast recommends getting a health coach and picking up their recommended readings to get a better understanding. There are two types of signing up on their site- one with health coach and all the bells and whistles (which is totally free), and one without. They have a great community on their site which you could also use since it's specific to dealing with the ups and downs of the program. I'm nowhere near your weight and haven't had any issues staying on track or continuing to make progress. But that's just me, everybody is different. They definitely provide lots of resources... and you can use the folks here as a resource too.
Medifast is really expensive. Your monthly bill will be like $250-300, not including the lean & green that you have to prepare on your own. That's also kept me motivated since I don't want to make myself broke losing this weight. A lot of the "meals" they sell are hit or miss so if you can find a local place and try a few first before you commit to it. It's almost all powdered weirdness. Daily calories are around 800-1200 on Medifast, depending on what your condiment and beverage choices are like.
If you want the #1 easiest options for lean & green without cooking, buy yourself a premixed salad from the grocery store, your dressing of choice, and frozen veggie burgers. You can't mess up veggie burgers (Morning Star, Boca). They cook up in about 10 minutes in a skillet and you don't have to worry about the calories or nutritional content, just make 2 patties for your meal. You might like that option since it's also meatless while still providing good protein.
Stir fry is very basic. Cut up about 2 chicken breasts, add a variety of veggies you like, done in about 10 minutes. You can also add cooked chicken to a salad, and you're done. Or a can of tuna. Or some shrimp (I like the precooked little mini shrimps). If you want to be accurate and get a feel for how much food you need, buy a little food scale. I was shocked at how much chicken you can get for 6 oz (be sure to measure after it's cooked).0 -
Thank you so much.
You can have TWO veggie burger patties? Plus your measured veggies? Holy cow....I *love* the Morningstar burgers...though doing that all the time would get expensive too. But yeah, that would be super-easy, and what I'm used to already. (And splitting it among two meals like I've seen suggested would be no problem.)
I'm going to dig out my digital scale, I know it's somewhere around here, ha ha! I had some chicken that my hubby made yesterday, and I'm not sure how many ounces it was, but it was a small-medium breast (with a 1/2 cup of rice), and I had to leave some, I was so full. My guess is that I forced down about 6 oz. You're right, that's a *ton* of food.0 -
Well...I am the same way about food prep. I am also not a huge fan of chicken, unless its the roasted kind with all of the fat and veggies and mashed potatoes. So....I pretty much eat fish every night. I'm going to go get some veggie burgers and try those too, just to mix things up.
The plan does work, but getting on it is very hard. I find the first 3 days are the hardest, but then it becomes easy. I've fallen off the wagon about 6 times this year - my son keeps getting sick and giving it to me...and then i've got to worry about my health, not my diet, and then blah blah blah...pie.
I think I fall off the wagon much harder than I used to with other diet plans because it's so restrictive. Also, when you start, you really shouldnt do hard core exercise, becuase it might make you too hungry to stick to it.
I make different kinds of fish (tilapia, swordfish) with different Penzey's spice mixes, and I also make sea bass with some habanero salsa. (just bake it and stick some salsa on it). Also, I have a really good cajun catfish my my local store. I like it with tofu shirataki noodles. When I have some extra $ i buy lobster meat and eat that....with a little cocktail sauce.
I eat lots of bags of broccoli.
I live for when they have roasted eggplant at work, that is really great on a salad. I also have some egg whites during the day wiht my salad and find it makes me less hungry.
Anyway, I'm super motivated becuase I bought a bunch of clothes for my april vacation, got sick and now i have to lose 12 lbs to fit back into them.
So if you start and want support, we're all here.0
