**Merrily Making our Way into a MWL March**

[Kristine29]

POwer crunch and Oh Yeah bars

I was just looking at the ingredients list on both of these and they contain sucralose....that isn't such a good ingredient. I wonder if there is something out there a bit more "natural".

[Swirveegrl]

I am in my 5th week. If I have a protein bar, I do not have a fruit that day. Yes, I count the calories from the bars into my protein cals. Chesse is counted as a protein, only 2-3 servings per day.

[cristalfab]

Just started last Friday. Yesterday and today have been a significant improvement over Friday through Sunday! Headaches and nausea were awful.

Question: I have had severe diarrhea this afternoon. Is this normal? I did not take the Colon Cleanse this evening, as I don't want to exacerbate the problem. I've made sure that I've gotten electrolytes. I'll probably drink more before bedtime.

[grfxgrl]

I've found the power crunch bars to be the cheapest at amazon, if you can believe that! I bought two boxes of 12 for $14/box. Which is way cheaper and far tastier than the medi bars! Love these things!!

I bought two boxes of the medi bars when I started week 2 and am still trying to choke those things down before I open up my power crunch boxes. I'm so stubborn, don't want to waste the money I guess!

Congrats on all the great numbers everyone is pulling this week! Yay!!!

I forget who said it, but I stopped taking the colon cleanser last night and switched to the magnesium+zinc. Didn't itch ONCE all night or during the day today. Thank you so much!!!!!

[grfxgrl]

Originally Posted by cristalfab

Just started last Friday. Yesterday and today have been a significant improvement over Friday through Sunday! Headaches and nausea were awful.

Question: I have had severe diarrhea this afternoon. Is this normal? I did not take the Colon Cleanse this evening, as I don't want to exacerbate the problem. I've made sure that I've gotten electrolytes. I'll probably drink more before bedtime.

Welcome!!!

I had the diarrhea issue big time my first week. I was told it was pretty normal. I was drinking 2-3 protein shakes a day so since my food intake was mostly liquid between the shakes and all that water, just went right through me.

It doesn't last past week 1, so don't worry. I'm now having the opposite problem. I can't decide which one is worse

Just keep up your water and electrolyte replacement. You should be ok

[cristalfab]

Tricia

Thanks for the advice. I figured it was normal.

Thanks for this great board. It's very encouraging and helpful.

[mommy2princesses]

Originally Posted by grfxgrl

I've found the power crunch bars to be the cheapest at amazon, if you can believe that! I bought two boxes of 12 for $14/box. Which is way cheaper and far tastier than the medi bars! Love these things!!

I bought two boxes of the medi bars when I started week 2 and am still trying to choke those things down before I open up my power crunch boxes. I'm so stubborn, don't want to waste the money I guess!

Congrats on all the great numbers everyone is pulling this week! Yay!!!

I forget who said it, but I stopped taking the colon cleanser last night and switched to the magnesium+zinc. Didn't itch ONCE all night or during the day today. Thank you so much!!!!!

You are better than me - finally months later i just threw away the last 3 Medi bars I had, there was no way I could eat them. I have wasted so much money on trying to find protein bars that I can actually say taste good, it's a shame. I pay $13/box at vitamin shoppe for the power crunch.


Watching Americas next great restaurant on tv.....why can't there be a healthy, "fast food" chain? For those times when we don't have our snacks/bars with us?

[Ronism]

Has anyone found a protein pancake recipe that works? The two recipes I've tried (one with cottage cheese, one with cream cheese) would both taste okay . . .IF I could actually flip one and get it not to scramble into a blob that doesn't cook evenly. SO frustrating!

Just wondering. . .
~Roni

[grfxgrl]

Originally Posted by mommy2princesses

You are better than me - finally months later i just threw away the last 3 Medi bars I had, there was no way I could eat them. I have wasted so much money on trying to find protein bars that I can actually say taste good, it's a shame. I pay $13/box at vitamin shoppe for the power crunch.


Watching Americas next great restaurant on tv.....why can't there be a healthy, "fast food" chain? For those times when we don't have our snacks/bars with us?

A HA! I was wrong!!! I will be going to vitamin shoppe next time for sure! Thanks!

I'm tempted to throw them out, the blueberry/pomegranate are so sour and yucky. I've got mostly those left, Bleh!

[irabeslim]

Originally Posted by Ronism

Has anyone found a protein pancake recipe that works? The two recipes I've tried (one with cottage cheese, one with cream cheese) would both taste okay . . .IF I could actually flip one and get it not to scramble into a blob that doesn't cook evenly. SO frustrating!

Just wondering. . .
~Roni

I make pancakes all the time with the following recipe:

1 scoop protein powder (I use Medi vanilla), 1 T DaVinci Syrup or Walden Farms Caramel Syrup, 1/4 cup egg whites, artificial sweetner, cinnamon, add some unsweetened vanilla almond milk , let it stand to thicken. They are great!
__________________

[VElite]

Hi everyone, thanks for the encouragement, really appreciate it!! I had my weigh-in today and lost 1.5 lbs, and I am back in Ketosis today. I even ran outside a little after my Zumba class. I felt good regardless of the weightloss number. I am re-energized for the upcoming week.. (as long as there is no more spur of the moment traveling) just kidding!! I am ready! Lol.
My appt at the clinic was short, my questions answed quickly.. One of which 25 cal Carbs a day..but she didn't know about fat... I saw it on here before, but thought it was interesting she didn't have a number. Just said "your protein should be lean" lol.
Have a great day tomorrow!

[carolinagirl21]

hey everyone,

i'm a college senior in my 5th week of medi and reading these boards has been such a help! however, i need some advice: occasionally i have major waves of nausea, and last night in at 3 am i woke up feeling so awful it really scared me. i tried to stand up and basically felt all the blood rush to my head and had completely clouded vision/dizziness. the nausea was very intense. i was so freaked out that i almost called my mom on the phone (so much for the being an "adult" thing) haha! my question is, has anyone experienced this kind of thing? I'm drinking tons of water and getting more electrolytes than required and always get the necessary calories, so I can't figure out what this could be.

Thanks so much!

[grfxgrl]

Originally Posted by VElite

Hi everyone, thanks for the encouragement, really appreciate it!! I had my weigh-in today and lost 1.5 lbs, and I am back in Ketosis today. I even ran outside a little after my Zumba class. I felt good regardless of the weightloss number. I am re-energized for the upcoming week.. (as long as there is no more spur of the moment traveling) just kidding!! I am ready! Lol.
My appt at the clinic was short, my questions answed quickly.. One of which 25 cal Carbs a day..but she didn't know about fat... I saw it on here before, but thought it was interesting she didn't have a number. Just said "your protein should be lean" lol.
Have a great day tomorrow!

I can't get over how different each clinic is!! Mine told me 40-45 carbs/day, but that if I was eating in plan to not worry about it! They told me to keep track of my protein and they didn't care about the rest. I was even told this last week that they'd rather I eat over the 500-700 cals instead of under.

I was told I might get to have oatmeal or an English muffin with peanut butter if I'm still having issues when working out!

I'm not complaining, by any means, it just blows my mind!!

[kbhayward]

Originally Posted by grfxgrl

I'm tempted to throw them out, the blueberry/pomegranate are so sour and yucky. I've got mostly those left, Bleh!

Try to crumble up the blueberry ones and add it to one of the dannon carb control strawberry yogurt. That helped me use them up!

[kbhayward]

Originally Posted by carolinagirl21

hey everyone,

i'm a college senior in my 5th week of medi and reading these boards has been such a help! however, i need some advice: occasionally i have major waves of nausea, and last night in at 3 am i woke up feeling so awful it really scared me. i tried to stand up and basically felt all the blood rush to my head and had completely clouded vision/dizziness. the nausea was very intense. i was so freaked out that i almost called my mom on the phone (so much for the being an "adult" thing) haha! my question is, has anyone experienced this kind of thing? I'm drinking tons of water and getting more electrolytes than required and always get the necessary calories, so I can't figure out what this could be.

Thanks so much!

Carolina girl -

Are you taking supplements? I found that if I do not take my vitamins or fat burner with food, I get a very powerful nauseated feeling that hits me at different times during the day. When was the last time you were at the clinic and had your blood pressure checked?

[sleepygal7]

Good morning all!

Thank you for the support I received after my first post, and I'm hoping for some help this week. I finished my first week with no exercise, but this week I'm back on my usual routine with pilates. I usually workout 3 - 5 times a week for about 25 - 45 minutes at a time. But, this week, I am suddenly very sore after workouts, and my weight has actually gone up. I'm still eating mostly the same, only added salad for my veggie each day, and I'm stunned the scale isn't dropping. Any words of wisdom?

[dodgern]

sleepy

One suggestion...stay off your scale!!!! It will drive you crazy (speaking from personal experience)!!!
I weigh every day now because I'm on maintenance...it's a reality check for me and keeps me accountable!!!
When you're in Acute, it's not good to torture yourself with the scale!! Every ounce more that I weighed, the more anal I became (also,a little paranoid ).
The soreness is due to needing more electrolytes in your water. Lack of potassium can cause soreness and the need to flush the lactic acid out can cause this as well!!

PS:The scale-thing....well I found that I may not have lost any weight up until the day before my weigh-ins, then WHAM, I dropped on the day of weigh-in!?!? Really not sure why!!!! Also with exercise, you could be building muscle which can look like you're not losing!! Muscle is a good thing because it requires calories to maintain...the soreness burns calories because it takes energy to "repair" our muscles!!!!


cindy

(The pic of me is my "before" )

[sleepygal7]

Thank you Cindy! I will increase my powerade zero (I love the strawberry one!) and I will try to stay off the scale. I'm still in ketosis, which I think is good, but it's a weaker shade of purple. I am hoping to get into the 180s at my weigh-in on Friday...*fingers crossed*

[lbeetle]

Congrats to everyone on their weight losses! I weigh in tomorrow, and am nervous. But, I've been following the program carefully---except sometimes forget to drink enough water. The first week I felt like I was losing. This week I don't. My DH said that sometimes when people get more body aware (as I wrote I've been "in my head" for ten years, and out of touch with body), they might notice fat more, etc., as they begin to pay attention. This made some sense. (But he said I look like I'm losing, and so have a few acquaintances at work).

Oh, yeah: The acidophilus/lacto-bacillus has really helped with the "regularity" issue.

Words of encouragement or tips welcomed! Have a great day, everyone.

[losing in Ftm]

Watching Americas next great restaurant on tv.....why can't there be a healthy, "fast food" chain? For those times when we don't have our snacks/bars with us?
__________________

I don't know if there are any Hardee's in your area (Carl Jrs. on west side of the country) but starting March 21st a turkey burger is going to be available. I have it Low Carb (without the bun and 'wrapped in lettuce leaves') with only mustard, pickle and onion. It is char grilled and very good as are the angus burgers. I am trying to track down the nutrional info on just the patty as the info posted includes the bun, mayo ketchup, tomato and cheese. Right now I figuring it at about 200 cal. and 2 carbs. but this is only a educated guess. When I hear back from corporate I will post the info.

[lbeetle]

Questions re sweeteners:

I've been using stevia from Whole Foods, no cals/no carbs, and from a plant.

Yet I understand that part of the Medi logic is to get off sugar/carbs and addictions to them.

I find myself having a couple of cups of herbal tea with stevia and maybe a greek yogurt once a week or so with stevia added. And I discovered sugar-free bread and butter pickles (with splenda) and LOVE THEM! Calorie and carb free snack...

Am I setting myself up to continue to feed the "sweetness" monster? To want carbs again? (Although my monsters were definitely of the salty/fat variety, chips, crackers and cheese, late night noshing, etc. to sooth anxiety, settle down for sleep...)

I do, however, find myself really noticing the taste of things----like celery, wow it's good. Brussels sprouts w/ nothing on 'em, wow, fully of taste. But not craving bread or potatoes, and not missing sweets at all.

What's the story on sweeteners and medi? Thanks!

[mommy2princesses]

Originally Posted by losing in Ftm

Watching Americas next great restaurant on tv.....why can't there be a healthy, "fast food" chain? For those times when we don't have our snacks/bars with us?
__________________

I don't know if there are any Hardee's in your area (Carl Jrs. on west side of the country) but starting March 21st a turkey burger is going to be available. I have it Low Carb (without the bun and 'wrapped in lettuce leaves') with only mustard, pickle and onion. It is char grilled and very good as are the angus burgers. I am trying to track down the nutrional info on just the patty as the info posted includes the bun, mayo ketchup, tomato and cheese. Right now I figuring it at about 200 cal. and 2 carbs. but this is only a educated guess. When I hear back from corporate I will post the info.

Nothing like that around here! And I just can't bring myself to order any type of grilled chicken at the McD/Burger King's either (I am super anal about chicken.....DH says I throw half of the breast away when I clean them trying to cut all tendons, etc out of them!).

I know some MWL'ers would just say fast food is not a way of the Medi life....but, sometimes needing to grab a meal on the go is a part of MY life, especially during day trips or whatnot with the kids. The best I have found is to do Dunkin Donuts egg white wraps, under 200 calories, less than 15 carbs....and luckily on maintenance I can do that when needed.

It's just a shame that there are not more readily available healthy choices when we're out....it's no wonder why we as a country have such an obesity epidemic, especially with our children.

Random Quick story - my 5 yr old came home from kindergarten yesterday showing us her "book of opposites" they made in school. They were opposite words with pictures showing the examples. Up vs down showed planes at the airport or in the sky, new vs old was our old house and the new house, then there was fat vs skinny. The fat person had this BIG sad face while the skinny person had a happy face. I, of course, start thinking she is associating fat with being unhappy, thinking she picked up on me being unhappy with myself before, etc....I didn't want her to to think like that so this morning driving to school I asked her why the fat person was so unhappy. Her reason "because if you have a big belly you ate too many cakes, cookies, and ice cream and you get a belly ache so you can't be happy when your belly hurts so much". Oops, looks like I read way too much into her picture!

[VElite]

So I was wondering about Atkins protein shakes. A co-worker who is doing atkins bought a couple boxes of protein shakes (chocolate) that she does not like and was going to give them away. I am not sure as they are medi-compliant. the specs are: 15g Protein, 160 calories, 2g net carbs, 10g FAT.... thats what I am concerned with is the fat..... Thanks for any advice/suggestions

[chocolatefan]

Originally Posted by mommy2princesses

Nothing like that around here! And I just can't bring myself to order any type of grilled chicken at the McD/Burger King's either (I am super anal about chicken.....DH says I throw half of the breast away when I clean them trying to cut all tendons, etc out of them!).

I know some MWL'ers would just say fast food is not a way of the Medi life....but, sometimes needing to grab a meal on the go is a part of MY life, especially during day trips or whatnot with the kids. The best I have found is to do Dunkin Donuts egg white wraps, under 200 calories, less than 15 carbs....and luckily on maintenance I can do that when needed.

It's just a shame that there are not more readily available healthy choices when we're out....it's no wonder why we as a country have such an obesity epidemic, especially with our children.

Random Quick story - my 5 yr old came home from kindergarten yesterday showing us her "book of opposites" they made in school. They were opposite words with pictures showing the examples. Up vs down showed planes at the airport or in the sky, new vs old was our old house and the new house, then there was fat vs skinny. The fat person had this BIG sad face while the skinny person had a happy face. I, of course, start thinking she is associating fat with being unhappy, thinking she picked up on me being unhappy with myself before, etc....I didn't want her to to think like that so this morning driving to school I asked her why the fat person was so unhappy. Her reason "because if you have a big belly you ate too many cakes, cookies, and ice cream and you get a belly ache so you can't be happy when your belly hurts so much". Oops, looks like I read way too much into her picture!

Cute story!!! I love that you are thinking about your girls and body image/awareness issues. I have two daughters (also princesses!), and while they are lucky enough to be blessed with great metabolisms and are very slim, it's always on my mind how I talk about my own body and how I hide in pictures, etc. They pick up on so much from us and sometime, it ain't good! Your daughter has the right attitude!!!!

[kbhayward]

Originally Posted by VElite

So I was wondering about Atkins protein shakes. A co-worker who is doing atkins bought a couple boxes of protein shakes (chocolate) that she does not like and was going to give them away. I am not sure as they are medi-compliant. the specs are: 15g Protein, 160 calories, 2g net carbs, 10g FAT.... thats what I am concerned with is the fat..... Thanks for any advice/suggestions

I am not a fan of the atkins shakes. I did not care for them at all. The hint is that if she did not like them, you may not either. Not sure if you have a Costco around, but they have Premier Protein shakes that I shared with my clinic and they said they were fine. They have the highest protein count I have found and very little carbs. The chocolate shake (prepackaged like atkins) is 30 grams of Protein, 3 grams of fat, 160 calories, 2 net carbs (5 carbs - 3 fiber), and 1 gram of sugar. These are by far the best I have tried. My entire family loves them. They are about 20.00 for a case of 18 shakes.

[losing in Ftm]

It's just a shame that there are not more readily available healthy choices when we're out....it's no wonder why we as a country have such an obesity epidemic, especially with our children.

I agree and I'm in the business. But I will tell you everytime we have brought out healthy alternatives in the past they have been major failures. In this business, fat sells.
But we are starting to see a change of attitude in the general public and slowly the industry is starting to respond. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues.

[VElite]

Thanks KBhayward, we have a BJs and Sams, so maybe I will check them out instead. The fat content was concerning with the atkins shakes

[Mary T8M]

Originally Posted by jbiggars63

Before you knock it, try it! These are simply yummy!


Low-Carb Pancakes (Pork Rinds) Recipe -- Mr Breakfast

I use pork rinds crumbs for a LOT of things, but never thought of using them for pancakes! I'll give them a try this weekend!

THANKS

[Mary T8M]

Originally Posted by lbeetle

Questions re sweeteners:

I've been using stevia from Whole Foods, no cals/no carbs, and from a plant.

Yet I understand that part of the Medi logic is to get off sugar/carbs and addictions to them.

I find myself having a couple of cups of herbal tea with stevia and maybe a greek yogurt once a week or so with stevia added. And I discovered sugar-free bread and butter pickles (with splenda) and LOVE THEM! Calorie and carb free snack...

Am I setting myself up to continue to feed the "sweetness" monster? To want carbs again? (Although my monsters were definitely of the salty/fat variety, chips, crackers and cheese, late night noshing, etc. to sooth anxiety, settle down for sleep...)

I do, however, find myself really noticing the taste of things----like celery, wow it's good. Brussels sprouts w/ nothing on 'em, wow, fully of taste. But not craving bread or potatoes, and not missing sweets at all.

What's the story on sweeteners and medi? Thanks!

MY center's printed material said (and as we all know each center is different) using non calorie sweetner was OK. I think I use a LOT, I use Stevia, Truvia, Splenda, and now have ordered liquid Splenda (EZ-SWEETZ) from Netrition because it is supposed to be good and like Stevia, has no carbs. I drink probably 1 diet Pepsi a day, and through this winter have had hot tea, or hot chai tea, so of course HAVE to sweeten it. plus 1 of the flavored carbonated waters from Walmart. (on top of that I have lots of plain water).

For me I don't think all the sweetner makes me crave more, but it MAY for some. I'd talk to your clinic and see what they suggest for you.

My favorite snack now is the Small FUJI apples I buy in a bag at Walmart or WinnDixie. They are the perfect size for a snack. I've never liked raw apples before (of course I loved them in pie, strudel, crisp, etc etc) these are great! Nice crisp, and sweet! YUM

[Mary T8M]

Originally Posted by losing in Ftm

It's just a shame that there are not more readily available healthy choices when we're out....it's no wonder why we as a country have such an obesity epidemic, especially with our children.

I agree and I'm in the business. But I will tell you everytime we have brought out healthy alternatives in the past they have been major failures. In this business, fat sells.
But we are starting to see a change of attitude in the general public and slowly the industry is starting to respond. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues.

I think one of the reasons SubWay is growing so fast is that they try to accommodate EVERYONE. You can get a HUGE sandwich, a salad, egg white breakfast, vegetarian, or any combination.

I do think we have a skewed idea of a serving size......THAT has been my biggest problem! It scares me when I see kids with 2 or 3 quarter pound cheese burgers! I eat too fast, and just because I CAN eat more it doesn't mean I SHOULD! I can eat what a REAL serving is and feel satisfied. THANK YOU MWL