What's That Sweet Taste?

Have any of you experienced a very sweet-like taste in your mouth while on Medifast?  I sure have, so of course I hopped on Google to find what the heck it was!

My first find was through Medifast itself on their Symptoms & Side Effects PDF.  Let's see... Fatigue, Feeling Cold, Gas (Don't you know it!)... Oh, there it is!  Under Bad Breath.  It says "Some individuals may complain of bad breath or a funny taste in their mouth (usually referred to as a sweet or metallic taste). This is a result of being in the fat-burning state."  Fat-Burning State?!  Whoop whoop.

But, I still wasn't done, I wanted to investigate a little bit more.  So, I Googled "Sweet Taste in Mouth While Dieting".  The first link lead me to a Low Carb forum and someone asked about a sweet taste while in Ketosis.  Ketosis, huh?  Seems like I'll be doing some more Google-ing!

Ketosis - (noun) A condition characterized by raised levels of ketone bodies in the body, associated with abnormal fat metabolism and diabetes mellitus.  Hmmm, interesting.

So I just kept Google-ing and found this:  The answer I've been looking for!!  "If the body can switch from being a carb-burning machine to a fat-burning one, the person loses weight. We store our fat, sometimes in undesirable places, such as our hips, buttocks, tops of thighs and our tummy. Carbohydrates cannot be stored like fat can. If our body is in carb-burning mode, we eat when carb levels go down in order to get our energy. To achieve ketosis, the body must be on a high fat/protein and low carbohydrate diet. According to some organizations and experts, such as Dr. Atkins, with proper monitoring (urine dip stick, for example), levels of ketosis can be kept within safe limits and the dieter can reach his/her ideal bodyweight without suffering unbearable hunger."

It seems that while on Medifast our bodies go into a state of Ketosis.  That means that instead of our body using carbs for energy, it is using our fat!  How awesome is that?  My only concern:  Is it safe to be in a state of Ketosis for long periods?  I mean, humans didn't always have carbs for energy, right?  Eh...  Well, as long as the pounds keep coming off, I don't mind for now!  Haha.

Happy Medifasting!

Do Not Fart On Medifast!!

Let me just warn my fellow Medifasters... Do not fart on Medifast, there may be a little surprise waiting at the end of said fart!! ...When I say surprise, I mean POOP!  I've been on Medifast for almost a month now (down to 180.5!!) and if I learned anything... It's not to fart.

Medifast gives you terrible gas and terrible trips to the bathroom.  When I say terrible, I mean loud!!  Do not expect to get away with pooping, because you won't.  It's fart city once you hit that toilet.  Oh, and don't expect solid poop either, you may or may not be basically peeing out of your butt (TMI, but someone needs to say it!).

At least the pounds keep coming off.  So my advice to you:  make sure you hit the bathroom before heading out or having company, or else be ready to have your farts be heard!!

How To Easily Spruce Up A Medifast Brownie! (Now with pictures, haha!)

Okay, so all us Medifasters know that the brownie is SUPER delish.  And when I say super delish, I mean... I can't wait to eat it!  But, after having almost 14 brownies since my first day on Medifast, they are starting to get a little boring.  (NOOOOOOOO!!!!)  So, how can we spruce up the Medifast Brownie you ask?

Add 1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter!

Yes, you heard me right.  1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter.  As an optional snack, we are allowed to have Peanut Butter.  So instead of munching on a Sugar-Free Pop or Sugar-Free Jello, wait until dessert and add it to your batter!

Step 1:  Gather your ingredients!

Step 2:  Add just shy of 3 tablespoons of water.  (I find when I put
SLIGHTLY, only slightly less water, the brownies come out better.)

Step 3:  Add 1 tablespoon of your choice of peanut butter.

Step 4:  Add your Medifast Brownie Mix.

Step 5:  Pat down the peanut butter so it isn't one big clump.

Step 6:  Mix all the ingredients until all the powder is absorbed.

Step 7:  Spray a few spurts of cooking spray.

Step 8:  Add everything into your ramekin.

Step 9:  Microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds.

Step 10:  Take that delish smelling brownie out of the microwave.

Step 11:  Genuinely enjoy your diet food brownie. 

Peanut Butter Medifast Brownie
What you'll need:

1. 1 Packet of Medifast Brownie Mix
2. 3 Tablespoons of COLD Water
3. 1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter (After trying many different peanut butters, although the most unhealthy, I'm finding that Skippy Creamy makes the best brownies!)

In a bowl, add the 3 tablespoons of cold water and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.  Add the Medifast Brownie Mix.  Pat down the peanut butter until it isn't in one big clump.  Mix all ingredients until all the powder is absorbed.  Microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds!

Another Tip!  Spray a few spurts of cooking spray into your ramekin so the brownie can easily slip out of it!

Since I started adding the peanut butter to my brownie I've noticed that it gets much fluffier and more cake like.  I will definitely be doing this to all my brownies from now on!

Hope you enjoyed my little tip!  Happy Medifasting!

Day 14 - Back from Hiatus

Hello everyone!  I'm back from my temporary blog hiatus.  This always happens to me, I start a blog, love it for a few days, and forget about it.  But that's not going to happen again!  I have so many ideas I'd like to incorporate into this blog, so don't expect me to go anywhere.

So, I'm sure you're all wondering how my Medifast Venture is going.  Well, it's going pretty dang good!  I'm at that phase now where I absolutely love all my food.  Some times while eating I almost think I'm cheating on the diet, but I'm not!  It's just delish.  My body has completely adjusted to this food and I hardly, if ever, crave bad food.  (Except this morning when I made my fiance a very delish looking coffee cake.)

My favorite food by far is 100% the brownie.  I can't go a day without wanting one.  I don't have enough in my cupboard to have them everyday, so the days that I go without it, I'd die for one!  Haha.  If you're new to Medifast, definitely order the brownies!!!

Some exciting news since I've been gone:  My niece and sister both started the program!  And, they signed up through Ebates and both got over $16 in cash back!  YAY for them.  My sister is on her 4th day, and she's having a bit of a rough time, but the first few days always are!  My niece is still waiting on her package, but she is very, very excited to begin.  I'm so glad that I've already been able to motivate two people to begin this life style change.  I can't wait to share their results with you.

Speaking of results... don't you want to hear about mine?!  In 14 days I'm down... drum roll please... 9 pounds!!!  Nine pounds that are gone forever from me in only 14 days.  Now, I am going to come straight out and tell you this... I am not strict enough with this diet.  I definitely have an extra condiment or two a day, or an extra healthy fat here and there.  AND, I even had a drink Friday night for a friends birthday.  Yes, you heard me right.  Alcohol.  A Jack & Diet Coke to be exact.  But guess what?  I'm not beating myself up over it.  AT ALL.  Because if I look back at what I used to be like, I'm practically Virgin Mary in comparison.  And this may sound a little stereotypical, but you really do only live once, so I'm going to have a drink here and there and enjoy myself a little while losing weight at the same time!

Be ready for tomorrow.  And the day after that.  And the day after that.  Because I'm back and with a BANG.

Day 4

Hello everyone!  (Does anyone even read this blog? Haha)  So today is the end of Day 4 on Medifast!  I'm itching to get on the scale, but I know if I wait until Monday it'll be a bigger reward than seeing a .5lb change.

I made up a box to send back to Medifast.  Inside is - Mango Soft Serve (ICK!), Chocolate Mint Soft Serve (Because it's just too hard to prepare), Cappucino (I've read they are gross!), Banana Shake (Ew!), Strawberry Shake (EH) and the Eggs (Bleh).  I'm not sure what I'll order in return, but I will let you know!

My Food on Day 4:

• Pancakes - These were pretty good!
• Peanut Butter Bar
• Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
• Dutch Chocolate Shake
• Brownie - Much better microwaved!

The Pancakes were actually better than expected.  They cooked like real pancakes, except came out pretty flat.  When I ordered the pancakes I completely forgot that I typically drown mine in syrup.  I had no sugar-free syrup in the house and had to eat these plain.  Bummer.

Peanut Butter Bar - See Day 1

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup... Yum!  This was even better than the Chicken Noodle Soup.  It was much more filling and the taste was even better.  Mmmm.

The Dutch Chocolate Shake was yummy as well.  I was at work when I ate it so I simply put it in my blender cup, added the water, the packet of chocolate shake and a splash of coffee to wake me up.  It gave it an almost mocha flavor.  I'm pretty sure I'll be making all my shakes into iced coffees!

Brownie - See Day 1 - Today instead of baking the brownie, I decided to microwave it.  It came out much, much better!  Mmmm.

Lean & Green Meal:

I was at work tonight so I wasn't able to make a spectacular lean & green today.  I had a half of a stuffed pepper left over from last night, so I asked the boys in the kitchen to re-heat it for me.  (It was actually much better today!  I guess it developed flavors overnight.)  Along with my stuffed pepper I had a nice sized salad with 2 tablespoons of Wish Bone Light 1000 Island dressing.  Not Bad!

My Journal Entry:

Today was a little tough because it was my first day back at work since starting the diet.  I think if I work the night shifts I may eat my Lean & Green meal before I go in.  Other then that today was an awesome day.  No headache and I loved everything I ate today.  FIST PUMP!

See you for Day 5 tomorrow!

Day 3

Oh man, I am on a roll!  Day three is almost complete.  I didn't weigh myself today because I'm trying to avoid it.  I want to have a set weigh in day. I'm thinking every 7 days.  What do you think?

Today has been pretty good so far!  I haven't felt headachey today and I'm finally getting used to the sugar-free, low carb-ness of all the foods.  I'm even looking forward to eating all the items in my baggy tomorrow!  Yay for Medifast!

My Food on Day 3:

• Apple Oatmeal - Turned this into a muffin.  Mmmm.
• Fruit & Nut Bar - Yum.
• French Vanilla Shake - Made iced coffee!  So good.
• Peanut Butter Bar
• Mango Soft Serve Chocolate Pudding

So, if you read my day 1 post, you know how gross the oatmeals in Medifast are.  Instead of suffering, I thought I'd try to turn my Apple Oatmeal into a muffin.  Boy, did it work!  It was amazing and satisfied my craving for bread.  Here's the recipe I used:

1. 1 Packet of Medifast Oatmeal (any flavor)
2. 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3. 1/8 tsp. Baking Powder
4. 1/3 cup Water
5. 1 tsp. White Vinegar

Preheat your toaster oven or big oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the dry ingredients, mix and set aside.  Mix together the water and white vinegar in a separate bowl.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.  Spray a pan that's no bigger than 6" with cooking spray.  (I used a 6" circle pan and it was almost too big)  Bake for 16 minutes or until middle isn't soft.

The Fruit & Nut bar was another winner.  I think all the bars are going to be.

For the French Vanilla Shake I decided to turn it into an iced coffee.  It was so, so good.  Here's what I did: Using my Keuring I brewed the smallest cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee (Yum!).  When that was all said and done, in a blender I added:

1. 3/4 cup cold water
2. A handful of ice
3. 1 packet of French Vanilla Shake
4. Pumpkin Spice coffee
5. A dash of Pumpkin Pie Spice

I blended on 'Smoothie' for about 20 seconds.  It became very foamy so I let it sit about 3 minutes, added ice and a straw to a glass and filled it up!  I ended up with two nice size glasses.  It was actually super delish and can't wait to make this again.

Peanut Butter Bar - See Day 1

Mango Soft Serve... Don't even get me started.  This is absolutely going back.  First off, it was a pain in the arse to make.  Especially since I didn't fork up the $40 for a Medifast blender.  It took me almost ten minutes to prepare this and I still had ice chunks.  Second... it was absolutely horrid.  Horrid!  Once you get past the nasty mango taste, you are then hit with a nasty 'fake food' taste.  I took one spoonful and threw it out and subbed it for chocolate pudding... Now that stuff is delish!

Lean & Green Meal:
Today for my lean & green meal, the fiance and I made stuffed red peppers.  Yum.  We stuffed them with ground turkey (1 lean), grated cauliflower, diced tomatoes, and a little onion.  I added some cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, and Tabasco.  The turkey came out a little dry, but it was still pretty delish.

My Journal Entry:
Today was a good day.  I spoke to Mike, my Coach, and he gave me some good intel on the diet.  I'm having a much easier time than I thought I would.  The food isn't bad... well, some of it isn't.  And I don't even feel a headache today!  Mike said that now I'm going to get loads of energy because I'm reaching the 'fat burning stage'.  Oh yeah, can't wait.

See you guys tomorrow.
    

Day 2

I made it to day 2!  For those of you that don't know me... this is a huge step for me!  I always like to flake out on diets even after just one day.  By the end of day 2, I was giving myself a pat on the back!

Oh, and because I'm super impatient... I weighed myself.  191lbs!  Down 1.5 pounds in just a single day.  I can keep this up.

My Food on Day 2:

• Eggs - Bleh
• Lemon Meringue Bar
• Chicken Noodle Soup - YUM!
• Lean & Green Meal
• Strawberry Shake - Better than expected.
• Chocolate Pudding - Holy moly... so good.

My day began with the Eggs.  They were okay.  They definitely had the texture of eggs, but not the taste.  I will be using a condiment or two next time and add some ketchup and hot sauce to them.

Lemon Meringue Bar - See Day 1

Chicken Noodle Soup... YUM.  Besides the hard pieces of freeze dried chicken, this soup was amazing.  It was filling and completely satisfying.  I can't wait to have another.

I was absolutely dreading the Strawberry Shake.  When I was little, my younger brother was obsessed with Strawberry milk, and I hated it!  So you can imagine my upset when I found it in my box.  I manned up, placed the powder, water and some ice in a blender, and made myself a mock Strawberry smoothie.  It was actually much better than I expected.

Chocolate pudding.  This stuff was the BOMB!  I followed the directions, didn't add any variations, and this dessert was amazing.  It was thick, delish, and completely satisfied my chocolate craving.  Next time I'm going to try and turn it into a frosty!

Lean & Green Meal:

For my lean and green meal I had a chicken stir fry!  Mmmm.  I used 6oz. of cubed chicken breast, 1/2 cup chopped zucchini and a 1/2 cup of chopped red pepper.  I added the chicken to the pan with a little olive oil and a few pieces of chopped garlic... let that good than added the veggies.  Once they were slightly less crunchy I added 1 teaspoon of soy sauce.  MMMMMM.  So good.  And because I only used two servings of green, I was even able to have 1 cup of mixed greens with 1 tablespoon of Newman's Family Style Italian dressing.  Dinner. Was. Amazing.

My Journal Entry:

"Today was okay, again.  I'm feeling headachey and super tired.  But I'm probably tired from the gym.  My personal trainer kicked my butt today.  Bad idea.

Food was good today.  My low point was the eggs, but they were edible.  Not excited for oatmeal tomorrow.  Bleh."

Day 1

Day 1 on Medifast!  Ahhh.  So, to begin my day I weighed myself.  192.5lbs!  Oh baby, this is going down!

The night before Day 1, I took two hours and divided all my meals into days.  I took ziploc bags, labeled them by day number, and placed 5 meals in each.  I tried to give myself breakfast, lunch and snacks / shakes, but because I didn't select my food and got the pre-selected one I had few options towards the end.

My Food for Day 1:

• Blueberry Oatmeal - Ick!
• Lemon Meringue Bar - Better than I thought.
• Banana Shake - EWWW!
• Lean & Green Meal
• Peanut Butter Bar - Yum.
• Brownie - Meh.

So, being the dummy that I am, when I woke up instead of eating right away, I went on my computer and researched the oatmeal.  Bad idea.  Turns out everyone says the oatmeal is "gag worthy" and they weren't kidding!  I ate the blueberry oatmeal and was almost ready to stop Medifast right then and there!  Haha.  So, please... Don't order the oatmeal!  Unless you turn it into muffins.  The oatmeal muffins are actually quite good!  See my Day 3 for info!

The Lemon Meringue Bar was much better than I thought it was going to be, though it was smaller than I thought too.  Medifast suggests you cut up the bar and take 15 minutes to eat it.  I just took tiny bites and took as long as I could.  It ended up being about 5 minutes.

The Banana Shake was horrible.  Absolutely terrible.  I don't even want to talk about it.  It's making me nauseous just thinking about it!  I'm definitely sending it back.  (Oh, that's the great thing about Medifast... if you truly hate something you can send it back and order something else.)

The Peanut Butter Bar was great coming from the Banana Shake.  These bars are keepers!  Yum.

Now for the Brownie.  I was so excited about this brownie because I heard such great things.  When I baked it, it smelled heavenly.  I took a bite... and man was I disappointed.  I really hope these grow on me, because I've got two boxes of them!

Lean & Green Meal:
For my lean and green meal I ate 7oz. of Boiled Tilapia with some lemon juice and 2 cups of veggie salad topped with 2 tablespoons of Wish Bone Light 1000 Island dressing.  Yummo!

My Journal Entry:
"Today was okay.  The oatmeal was disgusting.  Everything else was mediocre... The Banana Shake even less so.  I hope I can last the 34 days I have bagged."

See you guys for Day 2!

My First Post!

Current Weight - 192lbs           Goal Weight - 130lbs

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!  Since it's my first post I'd like everyone to get to know me.  My name is Allie and I'm 23 and have been struggling with my weight since elementary school.

I have a short frame, 5'1"... and it doesn't help that I've ballooned to 192lbs!  Yes, you read that right, 192lbs!  What makes that worse is about 5 years ago I was down to my goal weight of 125lbs.  I had just broken up with a long time boyfriend and I wanted to stick it in his face that I could be good looking!  It was the motivation I needed to get down to my goal.  Well, after I got skinny I started a new job where I met my fiance, Scott.  Things went down hill from there!  Within a few months I was back to my high school weight of 156lbs.  30 extra pounds does not look good on this frame!

At the end of May last year, my family and I visited family in Italy.  Let me tell you, gaining 10 pounds in two weeks is not unheard of!  A short time after coming home I began taking medicine for my anxiety which has since made me gain more weight.  The result - 192lbs and two huge stretch marks on my belly!  AHHH!

So, I needed a change and desperately.  That's when my fiance suggested Medifast.  I mean sure, it scared me to think that I was big enough for a meal replacement program, but I literally have everything to lose!  As in, pounds that is!

About two weeks ago I ordered Medifast.  Of course the day I receive the package I get the flu!  102.7 fever for almost two days straight.  Not fun.  So, that set me back a few days, but I am now on my third day and let me tell you... I feel great.  I feel proud more than anything.  I've always said that I was going to diet and go to the gym, but I never stuck to it.  I'm practically done with day three and I see no quitting ahead!

Let me say this first - Medifast food isn't 5 star restaurant quality, but it is edible.  Here's the kicker - it's super convenient!  You can pack all your days worth of food in one ziploc baggy and be ready for the day!

Enough of my jib jab.  So, I am ready to share my Medifast Venture with you.  I hope you follow along with me... and maybe some of you will even join in!  I'm here to inspire, teach, and learn along with you.  Let the weight lose begin!