Archive for the ‘Quick Tips’ Category
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Here’s a question I get a lot….
How do I measure a cup of lettuce?
While on the Medifast 5&1 Program you will have 5 Medifast meals per day and one Lean and Green meal you prepare yourself consisting of a lean protein and three (3) servings of veggies. The veggie chart is given in 1 cup or 1/2 cup serving sizes and sometimes it’s pretty hard to get a 1/2 cup of broccoli or 1 cup of lettuce so there is another chart that can come in very handy and it’s the Veggies By Weight attachment.php It offers serving weights of all the veggies so you can use your food scale the same way you measure your lean protein.
So the answer to How do you measure a cup of lettuce is by weighing it out to 72 grams if it’s iceberg.
I’m NatalieJo Your Take Shape For Life Health Coach
I offer FREE Coaching and Discounts on Food and FREE shipping
~~Ask how you can get TWO FREE weeks of Medifast Meals delivered to your home~~
iHelpWeightLoss@gmail.com
~~~
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Monday, March 8th, 2010
Week 5
Just a quick update on how week 5 of Transition went. Since each week is now just a repeat of Stage 4 it’s very easy to follow. I guess I’m a creature of habit only now they are Healthy Habits.
I bought another glass 1 cup measuring cup with a handle and I use it as a bowl to eat my fruit and yogurt out of. It’s easy to get just the right amount, easy to hold on to and less dishes to wash.
I added Ezekiel bread as a whole grain choice this week. I eat it toasted or for dinner last night I pan fried it with olive oil and garlic salt. Ezekiel is a sprouted 100% whole grain bread found in out health food refrig. section in the orange wrapper.
Mashed cauliflower tastes 100% better using fresh cauliflower and not frozen. Steam it till it’s soft and the best way to mash it smooth for me has been one of those hand held wand stick mixers. I can do it right in the pot or serving bowl. I tried the magic bullet, hand masher, ricer and fork.
Weigh in today +1 lb. So I’m now -4 under goal. I think it’s starting to level out.
Till next time… Stick with it because it will work and you will be so happy you did!
“Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action, and purpose.”
— Lance Armstrong:
I offer FREE Coaching and Discounts on Food and FREE shipping
~~Ask how you can get TWO FREE weeks of Medifast Meals delivered to your home~~
iHelpWeightLoss@gmail.com
~~~
Tags: Better Health, diet, fast weight loss, Meal Replacements, Medifast, recipe, Weght Loss
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Friday, February 26th, 2010
Medifast Transition Meal Chicken and Brown Rice w/ lite soy sauce
Day 26
Breakfast Medifast 1 Cappuccino
Mid Morning Fruit Serving 1 Mandarin Oranges, 1/2 Dairy Serving yogurt
Lunch Medifast 2 Chocolate crunch bar and water
Afternoon Extra Veggies baby carrots
Dinner Whole Grain Serving 1/2 cup brown rice Lean & Green Chicken & mashed cauliflower
Evening Fruit Serving 2 peaches 1/2 Dairy Serving yogurt Extra Protein 4 oz chicken
Bedtime Medifast 3 Chocolate pudding
What I learned today…
If you don’t space out all this food you end up eating a lot at one time. I forgot about my extra protein and had to have that after dinner with a dairy and fruit serving. Have food made and ready to grab so you don’t always need to cook something. I freeze ground turkey meat browned with taco seasonings added in serving size. I have cooked chicken breasts and in the summer I’ll have grilled ones ready to eat. Hard boiled eggs are a great ready to eat protein. I like fresh cauliflower mashed better than frozen. Baby carrots travel well and are not messy to eat. You can now buy ready to eat brown with wild rice in one cup servings so just eat half for a whole grain serving. On the 5&1 I never felt stuffed and I liked that.
It comes down to a simple question:
What do you want out of life,
and what are you willing to do to get it?
Tags: Better Health, diet, Dieting, fast weight loss, Meal Replacements, Medifast, Take Shape For Life, Transition, Weght Loss
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Thursday, February 18th, 2010
~Medifast Transition Meal~
Medifast Blueberry Oatmeal with Applesauce and Cinnamon
Day 18
Breakfast… Medifast 1 Blueberry Oatmeal with my applesauce as a Fruit Serving
Mid Morning… Dairy Serving Yogurt no sugar or fat raspberry flavor
Lunch… Cup of coffee and Medifast 2 Parmesan Cheese Puffs
Afternoon… baby carrots and water for my Extra Veggie Serving
Dinner… Lean & Green cold shrimp on Romaine with balsamic dressing
Evening… Medifast 3 strawberry crunch bar and water
Bedtime… Medifast 4 Chocolate pudding
We can reverse years of damage to our bodies by deciding to raise our standards for ourselves, then living differently. Old wounds heal, injuries repair, and the whole system improves with just a few changes in what we put into our bodies and how we move them.
Tags: Better Health, coffee, Dieting, fast weight loss, Health Coach, Meal Replacements, Medifast, Take Shape For Life, Transition, Water, Weght Loss
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Day 17
This morning I found I still had a Medifast peach oatmeal left so I made that and topped it with my serving of fruit which was canned peaches. Then I had a strawberry crunch bar and bottle of water at work. Before I left I also had my extra 1 cup serving of baby carrots.
When I got home I had a cup of coffee and a Medifast Mint Chocolate bar. For my Lean & Green dinner I went with a meatless option of egg beaters with low fat cheese my serving of dairy and a big salad.
Before bed I had my favorite Medifast chocolate pudding.
FYI
In order to succeed you need to know what you “want”. Where you “want” to go, who you “want” to be, when you “want” to get there. Write it all down and read it everyday so you won’t forget. That becomes your WHY and then you need to take steps everyday that will get you there and that’s your plan.
By Not planning you Are planning to fail.
I have said this over and over many times since I started Medifast way back in June 2009 “It’s the easiest weight loss plan I have ever done? I still agree with that today but it does take some thought and planning.
To make my days less stressful I would sort all my food the day I got it into qt size zip lock bags with 5 Medifast meals in each. Each day I would just grab a bag, no choices to make. I would go to my computer and log in all the foods in the bag. Then all I would need to think about is what I would have for my lean and green meal.
I only shop once a week for my lean and green. I always have easy to fix meals on hand like taco seasoned turkey meat measured out in single serving sizes and frozen. I have frozen slices of chicken meat, orange roughy, shrimp, low fat cottage cheese, romaine, sliced mushrooms, green peppers, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, eggs, egg beaters. I can always come up with something to have for my lean and green without much thought.
In the evening I would go back to the website and check off all my foods for the day. I had a set routine for my water drinking too and just did the same thing everyday.
So that was my plan, I did it everyday. I’m still doing it now in Medifast Transition only thing is that now I have to adjust my plan for the new food group I’m adding each week.
I knew what I wanted and I took little steps everyday to get there. Figure out your WHY make your plan and stick with it.
To lengthen your life, shorten your meals. ~Proverb
~~~
Tags: Better Health, diet, Dieting, fast weight loss, Meal Replacements, Medifast, taco salad, Transition, turkey, Water, Weght Loss
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Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Day 14
Happy Valentines Day’s
I started my day off with a Medifast Cappuccino and added a tsp of instant coffee then went to church. There are 4 of us at church on the program so it’s always great to see how everyone did over the past week. When I came home I had my Medifast Blueberry Oatmeal with 1/2 cup of fresh blue berries mixed in. That’s it for the blue berries onto some new fruit selections for next week.
I got a Kohls 30% off coupon and it was the last day of Kohls cash so I went shopping. Since I lost 80 lbs nothing from last year will fit me now. I have moved through each size with very few pieces. I shopped the resale shops too. Now that I have made goal and this is the size I plan to wear for life I need some more clothes. I picked up 2 pairs of capris and a pair of shorts and a new pair of black dress pants. I also got a few tee shirt basics a dressy top and a black hoodie jacket. So if and when this snow melts and it warms up I’ll be all ready to go.
I thought being a smaller size would make shopping easier but it’s still hard work. I usually need to bring in 2 sizes of everything. Some shirts are med and some still large. All the pants worked in size 8 but some were too short. I have degrees in Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Design and Fashion Illustration but I still don’t like shopping for clothes. I’m happy that I can find things that fit now and they look much better and feel better but I would rather be doing something else.
All that work got me hungry so when I got home I had a Medifast Chocolate crunch bar and a cup of coffee. For my Valentines lean and green my husband and I went out to eat to Texas Road House. I had my usual garden salad, green beans and a small sirloin steak. The steak was larger then the meatball size one I had last weekend at Houlihans.
For my dessert I had a Medifast chocolate pudding because I don’t have any brownies yet. My March order will have Brownies. I just read on the forum today someone asked if you could make the brownie, let cool and take it with to eat later and the reply was yes. Great idea for on the go.
Tomorrow I have weigh in and start Stage Three of Transition aka Dairy Week. I’ll be adding 1/2 cup low fat or fat-free dairy to my 4 Medifast meals, 1 cup of extra veggies, 1 med piece of fruit or 1/2 cup of berries and a lean and green. It should total up to 1000-1150 calories. Wow that sounds like a lot of food. I do think that Transition takes more thought than the 5&1.
I stopped and picked up some low fat no sugar added yogurt and fat free cheese today so I’m already for my dairy week.
FYI… One of the most important things you should all do before you start on the Medifast program is to take a before picture in fact I suggest you take 4. Full body shot in front of a solid colored wall, a front, side and back view. That’s three and the forth a close up head shot. You might want to post that on your frig or your bathroom mirror so you see it everyday. You should also take before measurements. Take your upper arm, chest, waist, hips and upper thigh. You can track those numbers on the forum. I update mine each week on weigh in day. There may be weeks when you don’t lose a pound but you do lose inches. Watching all these numbers going down each week has been a lot of fun for me. Before pictures and measurements are not things you can go back and do later. Seeing yourself in a photo is a real eye opener.
“Failure is not fatal; failing to change will be.”
~John Wooden
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Friday, February 5th, 2010
Day 5
Another busy day running around. My new box of food showed up today it was waiting at my door when I got home. This evening I will do as I always do, I’ll sort 5 packs of Medifast food, a days worth and put them into a qt size zip lock bags. Then everyday I just grab and bag and that’s what I eat for the day. No need to stop and figure out what I have a taste for just grab and go. It also gets that bunch of boxes out to the garage for recycling.
The only difference this time is that I’ll be starting week two of transition on Monday so I’ll only need 4 Medifast foods in each bag because along with my extra 1 cup serving of a vegetable of my choice I’ll also be adding in a fruit selection. One serving will be 1 medium size piece of fruit or 1/2 cup of cubed fruit or berries. This will take some thinking on my part because I’m not really fond of most fruit. I did just buy a Sam’s size container of grapes but I don’t know if they will last over the weekend with both boys home.
Back to day 5 on transition. I was able to get in all my Medifast meals in at home and for my lean and green tonight I cooked up fresh sliced white mushrooms, assortment of peppers and chicken. I buy the frozen sliced up chicken and a bag of frozen peppers and throw my servings in a pan with some water, and add some taco seasoning. Cover and let it all cook for about 10 minutes. My extra serving of veggies was that left over cauliflower (mock mashed potatoes). It was a lot to eat and I did give a few bites to my husband to finish. That extra serving of veggies goes down much better in the middle of the day then when I add it to my lean and green.
I’ll be out of town over the weekend at two different celebrations down state. Eating all my meals out will take some planning. I’ll be bringing baby carrots for my extra serving of vegies and I’m looking up the menu at Houlihans to see what I’ll be ordering tomorrow for my lean and green. Since I got my new food I’ll be taking Cheese puffs and bars that will be easy to eat on the road. My shaker cup and chocolate pudding will also get packed that’s my treat before bed. I make the pudding in the Medifast shaker cup with cold water a minute or two of shaking and the pudding is thick and ready to eat in minutes.
Week one of transition is almost done and I’m ready for my next stage, fruit.
If food is your best friend, it’s also your worst enemy. ~Edward “Grandpa” Jones, 1978
To learn More about the Medifast Program Click Here
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Tags: Better Health, diet, Dieting, fast weight loss, Health Coach, Meal Replacements, Medifast, Weght Loss
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Friday, November 27th, 2009
Over the past 24 weeks I have come to count on several helpful items for my weight loss journey. I have made a list of them on Amazon.com HERE.
First there are the Medifast books that everyone doing the program should read and understand. I included the kitchen gadgets I use everyday like my Magic Bullet. I also have exercise dvd’s because I would rather exercise at home then at the gym. I know several people using the Wii Fit so I also have that listed too.
If you want to see the products I like you check them out. HERE
They make great Christmas gifts too!
Visit My Amazon Weight Loss Store.
Tags: diet, fast weight loss, Weght Loss
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Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Welcome to the weekly Medifast Plan question.
I chose this question because today was my weekly weigh in and for the first time in 22 weeks on the Medifast program I didn’t lose a single pound. To say the least I was shocked! Shocked it hadn’t happened sooner to tell you the truth. It was so unbelievable to step on that scale each week and keep losing. Don’t get me wrong I was thrilled but wondered how long it would last. So I’m still stuck at -59 lbs for another week
I started thinking if I had done anything different the past week and the one thing that stuck out was I had been shopping and I picked up my two favorite flavors of gum. I have them pictured above the new Trident Layers and Orbit Mist in Watermelon Spring. While I’m working on the computer I will mindlessly chew away after all they are both “sugar Free” so no problem right? Well, maybe? I can’t tell you how many pieces I chew a day, I never counted. I do remember reading that you could only have up to 3 pieces of sugar free gum or mints a day. I know I was over three. It’s sugar free so why would it matter?
So, today I started to do some research. Trident Layers has less than 5 calories per piece and is sugar-free (though it does contain 2 carbs per serving). Orbit Mist also has less than 5 calories per piece and is sugar-free but contains 1 carb. OK so sugar-free can still contain carbs and Medifast is a low carb meal plan. Five pieces of the Trident could add 10 carbs for gum.
Then I thought all that chewing should be burning some extra calories right?
Believe it or not, you can actually burn some extra calories by chewing gum. “Besides being good for your breath–especially if you eat a lot of protein–researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found that chewing gum will burn an additional 11 calories per hour,” says Dan Benardot, Ph.D., R.D., author of Nutrition for Serious Athletes.
So that made me feel better. You can believe that I’ll be watching everything more closely again and adding more exercise so I’ll make that over -60 pound loss total next week!
To answer the question,
Q. Can I chew Gum On The Plan?
A. Yes, three sugar free pieces of gum a day is OK on the Medifast 5&1 Plan.
~~~
Tags: Better Health, diet, Dieting, fast weight loss, Meal Replacements, Medifast, Weght Loss
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Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Maybe I’m the only one that didn’t know this but I came across a Medifast Meatless Options sheet
And we can have CHEESE. I’m from Wisconsin and I LOVE MY CHEESE 
I was so happy to read we could choose cottage cheese, shreeded cheese, even ricotta.
Make sure you read the sheet to see the % of fat for the cheese you can eat and the correct serving size.
Also on the sheet is a long list of Morningstar Farms, Bocca, and Garden Burger choices. I never shopped that section while on MF because I tried a BK veggie burger years ago and it was gross.
Please tell me if you have tried and like any of the no meat “meats” from the above brands maybe I’ll give them a try.
Hope this info excites someone else too!
Wishing you all an OP week.
~~~
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