Welcome Newbies! Helpful info for week 1 - #2

[LTinNC]

peaches- i may be in ketosis, it just doesnt show up on the strips. i exercise quite a bit and the pa said something about that being a factor and that some people just dont throw ketones as easily as others. as long as i am losing weight and eating the right foods, she said its fine.

kristin- welcome!

[Kristin]

Thank you!

I have a question regarding water intake. I drank a gallon today (including 2 16oz Powerade Zeroes), and I was wondering if this could be a problem? I see people saying on here that they do this or more, but the internet has varying opinions. Of course, a lot of people speak without knowing, but I don't want to drink "too much."

I normally only drink HALF of what is even a daily requirement so...let's just say going to the bathroom so frequently is quite a chore. o.O

[LTinNC]

here is what i have found for me. i fill a 100 ounce empty water jug (bought it with water in it and drank it, now i just refill it) and i pour my drinks from there. if i drink a water like at a restaraunt or bought at the store when i cant pour from the jug, i measure and pour out that much water (or give it to the plants). for my electrolytes, i WAS drinking powerade zero. for MY body, it has too much sodium in it to drink every day (i was retaining water). now i drink smart water most of the time and i will have a powerade zero 16 ounces maybe once a week.

according to the program literature i have, it says 96 ounces minimum water and 16 ounces of electrolyte supplement.

i dont think you can drink too much water as long as you are eating enough (and dont have diabetes insipidus!). but be sure and ask at your clinic, as there is some varying infomation on topics.

but yes, i have to "plan" when to drink my water! i prefer to just sip all day. but sometimes a bathroom just isnt going to be close enough, so i have to jug and go to the restroom before i go to run length errands or sit at kids sports events etc. never thought i would have to plan my life around bathrooms once the kids were potty trained!! ha ha.

[CamiSWFL]

Went in for my 3rd week weight in ( starting week 4 ) and they said I lost 3.5 lbs of fat but gained it back in water so I lost 0 on the scale.... I'm drinking 140 oz of water and eating right. Any ideas? anyone else have this happen, its just so discouraging to work so hard and see nothing... I'm not sure if I can keep doing this. So 3 weeks in and only 10 lbs down ...

[Schona]

I've read on here about so many people not having any caffine the first week. Well when I started the program that was the first thing I asked about because I suffer from such bad headaches when I don't have at least 1 or 2 things with caffine in them. They told me I didn't have to cut out caffine. So I continued to drink my coffee and iced tea.
(I don't use any creamers or surgar in my tea or coffee) The nice thing then I didn't suffer any headaches.

[eptexy]

Originally Posted by Kristin

Hi everyone!
I just started Medi yesterday, and I am really excited to see some results and change my lifestyle! All of my stats are in the "normal" range, but I haven't felt normal ever since I gained weight on birth control two years ago. (I went from ~110lbs to ~150lbs all in under 6 months!). My goal is to find where I am happy and confident, and maybe that will be before my goal weight.

It was hard to swallow the cost of the program, but I figure self-confidence and better eating habits will eventually be worth it. Plus, I can always make more money.

I am 20 years old and a university student so I can really benefit from learning different ways to cook/eat. I eat so pitiful sometimes, but I haven't gained weight since two years ago...which makes me hopeful that I can splurge a little (like I did prior to yesterday) and overall be okay after I get through this program.

Long post, but I am looking forward to embarking on this journey with you all.

You are so thin already! It shouldn't take much time for you at all to get to your ideal weight. You have about the same BMI as I have and I'm trying to get to 125. Curious if Medi subscribed you the appetite suppressant. I've thought about going back and paying just to get that but thought they wouldn't let me since my BMI is in the normal range right now.

[Kristin]

Originally Posted by LTinNC

here is what i have found for me. i fill a 100 ounce empty water jug (bought it with water in it and drank it, now i just refill it) and i pour my drinks from there. if i drink a water like at a restaraunt or bought at the store when i cant pour from the jug, i measure and pour out that much water (or give it to the plants). for my electrolytes, i WAS drinking powerade zero. for MY body, it has too much sodium in it to drink every day (i was retaining water). now i drink smart water most of the time and i will have a powerade zero 16 ounces maybe once a week.

according to the program literature i have, it says 96 ounces minimum water and 16 ounces of electrolyte supplement.

i dont think you can drink too much water as long as you are eating enough (and dont have diabetes insipidus!). but be sure and ask at your clinic, as there is some varying infomation on topics.

but yes, i have to "plan" when to drink my water! i prefer to just sip all day. but sometimes a bathroom just isnt going to be close enough, so i have to jug and go to the restroom before i go to run length errands or sit at kids sports events etc. never thought i would have to plan my life around bathrooms once the kids were potty trained!! ha ha.

Thanks for the response! I usually retain a lot of water/bloat so I'm hoping drinking all of this water can help solve the problem. =) I will ask the clinic definitely.

Today was my first day truly out and about since starting. Finding a bathroom every 20-30 minutes was not fun at all. Does your body ever get used to all of it? And haha! I haven't had the joys of being a parent yet, but I dread the potty training.

[Kristin]

Originally Posted by eptexy

You are so thin already! It shouldn't take much time for you at all to get to your ideal weight. You have about the same BMI as I have and I'm trying to get to 125. Curious if Medi subscribed you the appetite suppressant. I've thought about going back and paying just to get that but thought they wouldn't let me since my BMI is in the normal range right now.

They did not. I only have the herbal one, which I didn't really want a prescribed appetite suppressant in the first place. I was told my waist had to be 35 inches and be of an overweight (I believe) BMI to qualify.

I do hope I can reach my goal relatively soon; I'm ready to be back to "normal."

[Wease]

Actually, you CAN drink TOO MUCH water, BUT it's pretty hard to do.
I asked a nurse friend about this. She told me about a guy on a psyche
ward that had to be watched because he would drink excessive water
which causes some serious problems that essentially cause you to drown.
That said, it's pretty tough to do unless you're drinking an excessive amount
at one time.

Here's a link (one of several that came up when I googled "too much water")
that says the same thing my nurse friend did: Water Intoxication & Hyponatremia

Hope this helps!

[MJD]

Had my Week 1 weigh in today. I was down 9 lbs, which I was happy with but hoped for more. The good news was I lost 10.5lbs of fat and actually gained 1.5 lbs of water weight. I don't understand everything about it, but assume that losing fat is better than water. I was also encouraged that my BF% was down 3% and my BMI down more than a point.

Now on to week two. Happy to have a few new foods to eat, but it almost seems harder with having to worry about counting all of the other carbs and calories.

Good luck everyone!

[Graybird76]

I had my first weigh in on Monday and I lost 11.3 pounds! Was shocked! this week has been easier I just wish I could find some recipes so I can add variety to my meals. Any suggestions?

[kbhayward]

Originally Posted by Graybird76

I had my first weigh in on Monday and I lost 11.3 pounds! Was shocked! this week has been easier I just wish I could find some recipes so I can add variety to my meals. Any suggestions?

Graybird, check out the recipes threads on this site for some ideas. I also google "low carb recipes" and found several sites that have awesome recipes.

[Kristin]

Originally Posted by Wease

Actually, you CAN drink TOO MUCH water, BUT it's pretty hard to do.
I asked a nurse friend about this. She told me about a guy on a psyche
ward that had to be watched because he would drink excessive water
which causes some serious problems that essentially cause you to drown.
That said, it's pretty tough to do unless you're drinking an excessive amount
at one time.

Here's a link (one of several that came up when I googled "too much water")
that says the same thing my nurse friend did: Water Intoxication & Hyponatremia

Hope this helps!

I've heard of people being in water drinking contests to win a prize and dying! Luckily, I don't think I can drink too much all at once. =) Thanks for the interesting link.

[Kristin]

Congrats, MJD and Graybird! Great numbers. I can't wait for my first weigh in...and being able to eat vegetables. I can't remember the last time I was thankful I was going to be able to munch on some veggies..

[Kristin]

Hate to triple post, but no one has posted in a few days. I see these boards used to be so active a few years ago, what happened?!
I weighed in for week 1 yesterday, and I am down 6.5 lbs! Only 1.4lbs of fat though. I'm under the impression the fat loss increases after the first week? (Not drastically, of course)

I did find out some possibly bad news though. My blood tests revealed I have elevated liver enzyme levels. I'm not really sure what this means for me, but I followed the onsite OBGYN's advice and scheduled an appointment with my general practitioner for Friday. *crosses fingers*

I also scheduled an appointment for laparoscopic surgery mid-July. I hope I can be on maintenance by then to make sure I don't somehow blow the diet. =)

P.S. Anyone know why my avatar is being shown sideways even though the actual image is not?

[LTinNC]

great job kristin! 6.5lbs is great!

my fat loss has stayed about the same after week 1. i have lost between .9 and 3.6 lbs in a week and the majority of the loss was fat. you are much smaller than me, so maybe that has something to do with the amount of fat loss?

i dont know how to fix your avatar. as you can see i dont have one, so not much experience there!

yes, the board does seem to to go thru phases of busy then not busy.

hope your blood tests come back ok! i know there can be some variation by lab or how long your blood sat before it was tested. the medi lab showed my cholesterol at 200. a week later i was at my primary and her lab tested 140. i have used this lab and primary care for 8 years and have had consistent readings 13-150. then the 200 out of the blue at the medi lab (different lab). my thryroid labs were way off at the medi lab too. so i hope your liver enzymes were just a fluke also! good luck!

lisa

[MJD]

Liver enzymes can be high based on what you put in your body the day before as well (alcohol, tylenol, etc...). You will certainly want to get them checked again by your primary doctor, and remember to not take any of that stuff for a day or two before.

As for loss, I am not sure about fat vs water. I lost 10.5lbs of fat the first week and gained some water. I go in tomorrow for my week two weigh in and I have been sticking to the program. I am also running about three miles most days, so hopeful that I will see another good week of fat loss. The home scale has only moved about 5 lbs, so I am interested to see what their scale says.

[Kristin]

Originally Posted by LTinNC

great job kristin! 6.5lbs is great!

my fat loss has stayed about the same after week 1. i have lost between .9 and 3.6 lbs in a week and the majority of the loss was fat. you are much smaller than me, so maybe that has something to do with the amount of fat loss?

i dont know how to fix your avatar. as you can see i dont have one, so not much experience there!

yes, the board does seem to to go thru phases of busy then not busy.

hope your blood tests come back ok! i know there can be some variation by lab or how long your blood sat before it was tested. the medi lab showed my cholesterol at 200. a week later i was at my primary and her lab tested 140. i have used this lab and primary care for 8 years and have had consistent readings 13-150. then the 200 out of the blue at the medi lab (different lab). my thryroid labs were way off at the medi lab too. so i hope your liver enzymes were just a fluke also! good luck!

lisa

I figure any loss is a good loss, but I don't think I will go every week. $70 a week for a pound or two isn't really affordable to me. I'm a cheap person as it is; it took some serious battling with myself to shell out the money for the first visit. lol.

Oh, that makes me feel a good bit better! I'm going to guess my numbers were just wonky since I've never had problems before, but it is worth going to the doctor just in case. Cholesterol of 200 vs. 140 is a big difference. Have you seen much improvement in those numbers since starting the program?

[Kristin]

Originally Posted by MJD

Liver enzymes can be high based on what you put in your body the day before as well (alcohol, tylenol, etc...). You will certainly want to get them checked again by your primary doctor, and remember to not take any of that stuff for a day or two before.

As for loss, I am not sure about fat vs water. I lost 10.5lbs of fat the first week and gained some water. I go in tomorrow for my week two weigh in and I have been sticking to the program. I am also running about three miles most days, so hopeful that I will see another good week of fat loss. The home scale has only moved about 5 lbs, so I am interested to see what their scale says.

I don't think I consumed anything the day before or other days to affect my levels, but I do think it could be a one time thing. When I was asked if I took hepatitis medicine, it sure shocked me! lol.

10.5lbs of fat is great! "Only" 5lbs is still a sizable loss. =) I know I'm going to lose at a much slower rate, but my dad is starting week 6 tomorrow, and he told me that he only lost around 1-2lbs of fat the first week (around 10lbs total though) and lost more fat the other weeks. He weighed 220lbs and is now down to ~190. I'm interested to see how differently everyone's bodies react to the program.

[MJD]

Had my third weigh in (first weigh in was first day) and was down 6.5lbs for the week! I was even happier that I lost 7lbs of fat and gained a half a pound of water. For the two week period, I am down 15lbs total in two weeks, and 17.5 lbs of fat!!!

I was happy with that, but still want to see big results this week. My body fat% is down 5% in two weeks and my BMI is down 2 points. Need to just keep sticking to the plan, watching what I eat, and working out. Next week I am travelling, so it will be tougher to watch what I eat!

[tm501]

Hi everyone. I just found this forum and wish I had found it sooner!

So far I've lost 12 lbs as of my week 3 weigh in. I can't afford the 70 per week though. My own personal doctor has prescribed the AS for me and I'm going low carb. I just have to find out about my calories and carbs. As of the week 3 weigh in, the counselor told me I wasn't eating enough protein and I have to have a minimum of 600 calories from protein. She also said under 15g of carbs per day. I know as you go on, the carbs must go up, right? I am also not in ketosis- not from day 1 and not as of today. They weren't worried about it. She said some people never go into it.

Do any of you know if there is a scale that we can buy for home that would measure the water loss, fat mass,etc sort of like they have at the clinic?

[Rvarner10]

Hi tm501. Goto this site. They sell the Tanita Scales which is the brand that MWL uses. I bought the BC- 533 for $89 and shipping was free.

Body Composition Monitoring from the competitive edge...advantage You!
Hope this helps. The scale fave me mostly everything that i wanted. The only difference and i actually liked it better was that it told me the dalily calories i needed to maintain that weight. But look at the other scales on the site.
Rvarner10

[angelbaby]

Hey peaches: I live in Cape Coral! When are you moving?

[CamiSWFL]

Angelbaby, I live in the cape too.

[angelbaby]

Originally Posted by CamiSWFL

Angelbaby, I live in the cape too.

Hey! That is awesome! Do you belong to a gym here? My husband belongs to LA Fitness on Del Prado (By the JcPenny). I have not joined one yet.
I am the Drama Director at Island Coast High School, so I have the summer off, which is nice. Anytime you want to go get coffee or something, I am game!
Angel

[CamiSWFL]

I just joined around the clock fitness on Pine Island would love to have a workout partner. Call me 239-324-1868.

[Simplynathalia]

Hi today is my first day. Can I eat lettuce?

[Jessica1129]

Hi Simplynathalia! Not on your first week you can't. Week 1 you can only have protein. You'll get lettuce and other veggies back in week 2.

[peaches0416]

Hey Angel Baby and camiSWFL:
We were planning to move sooner but now put it on hold for awhile like a a year and 1/2 but I visit often, maybe we can meet then. If you don't mind? I haven't been on for a while just haven't had a chance. My progress has slowed up also still haven't gotten completely back into the swing of things since vacation. Problem is I like beer and wine on the weekend oh still gotta have fun. I'll lose 2.5 in fat and gain 1.0 in water but as we all realize fat loss is better than water anyday.

[peaches0416]

Hey LTinNC how have you been doing you and I started about the same day and about the same weight. I feel like it's moving so slowly now compared to the first month of losing.