Week II in Hi-Energy (post "Detox"): Yesterday was my "first service" visit to the Gilbert, AZ office. (Btw, the contract states you have until 7 days or within 3 days of the first service date to cancel the program, whichever comes first.) Interviewed by a counselor regarding my first week of "Detox" whom when asked admitted to no credentials relating to nutrition, dieting or any medical field. After explaining the program guide booklet and selecting my food choices for purchase ($148.69--I bought extra boxes to accomadate food choices), she administered a 10-lead electrocardiogram. I learned this is a 5 and 1 program where I eat six (6)times a day. Five (5) times with their "Medifast" food and one (1) time, i.e. dinner from my home refrigerator. Dinner, or "Lean & Green", in one sentence is basically any lean meat, e.g., fish, chicken, pork, turkey, lamb and so on. You can go meatless with eggs. The "Green" is broken down chartwise into a low, moderate and highest carb count listing from their guide. Bottom line: After listening to the counselors about taking the upcoming urine test for Ketones, studying the guide and the Medifast food boxes, the Hi-Energy program offered here in Arizona--is the very same Medifast program offered online, or what is is offered at any Medifast facility (e.g. Texas). Online, you are offered an opportunity to start a franchise or join the program. See the link: http://www.medifast1.com/index.asp and you will know "Hi-Energy." Everything is there to include the program guides and food information. However, the this rabbit hole goes even deeper. These programs work by spilling ketones, or more simply put, changing the body metabolism to primarily burning fat stores in leiu of carbohydrates. At the deepest depth of this rabbit hole--you will find Robert C. Atkins, M.D. He wrote a #1 best seller called: "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" 2002 latest edition for $7.99. May he rest in peace. I own this book and lost 20 pounds on the Atkins diet serveral months ago. I've kept off the weight because my girl-friend who does the cooking always has presented my dinners with lean and green! Btw, a prevailing media misconception of Atkins is that there are no carbs on this diet. Actually, the first week "limits" carbs to 20 grams to induce ketosis, and thereafter to around 40 grams per day. If you look at carb gram counts in different foods-you will notice this is an abundance of food. It's dark in this hole . . . let me get my flashlight out . . . alias Hi-Energy at $924.00 plus food, or the Atkins book at $7.99 plus the frig and sensible grocery shopping? Here is a link that might be useful: Medifast is Hi-Energy

(Meg, she stated the cat has had dental work done-at 13 - this means cat was probably on kibble which causes dental issues because it is unnatural for feline jaws and teeth.) Go to www.Felinefuture.com to learn more. I think you should invest in better feeding now before more serous issues happen.- a 13 year old cat is really middle-to getting older age, like 56- 65 in human years, cats should live over 20- unless they are over bred or have birth defects- heart issues/ect.. 13 -14 is "old" for house cats because 70% to 90% of pet cats eat, like people do in 3 world countries ( human rarely live to 50 in Africa for example)

I lost 55# six years ago by doing two things. 1. Eat ONLY when I'm truly physically hungry. 2. Stop eating when I'm comfortably full. I did not "give up" any specific categories of food. I did not change my activity level. I continue to maintain my weight if I do these two things consistently. If not then my weight fluctuates. I lost weight with various other methods but could never keep it off and I felt deprived and "hangry" (hungry + angry) much of the time. With this strategy if I feel physical hunger then I am free to eat whatever food I want until I am comfortably full. Again if I eat due to stress or boredom or if I consistently overeat my weight will go up and this has happened on occasion. And right now I am up a few pounds though I also have gained freedom from the scales with this. I know because my jeans feel a little more snug. But if I get back to these two basics then the weight comes off and stabilizes. It really is a wonderful feeling of freedom. I hated counting fat gram/calories/etc, etc, etc. and constantly thinking about what I could/couldn't eat. It consumed so much of my time and energy. Now I don't have to think about it until my body says I'm hungry then I can eat whatever I like - birthday cake or a salad or both as long as I don't overeat. I agree with the poster who made the point that what works for one person may not work for another. This really worked for me and so I just wanted to share it. Also let me clarify that while I did not increase my activity level I am a physical therapist and therefore a big proponent of fitness in general. I just did not use exercise as a means of weight loss. The loss came from the changes I made in when/how much I ate. As others have mentioned portion sizes will be much different when you eat this way. The basic premises came from a couple of different sources. Two books - Thin Within and Weigh Down. Both are faith based but the principles work whatever your beliefs. There are statements in both of these books that are counter to my beliefs but following these two basic tenants have given me a freedom that I never experienced with any other diet attempts. While this is simple it certainly is challenging especially in the beginning. It takes a while to know when to start and when to stop eating. But each mistake helps you learn. Also I did have the support of a group for the first 12 weeks. As a further note - approximately two years ago I quit eating meat and cut most of the dairy out of my diet due to my concern about the treatment of animals by the food industry. This did not make my weight maintenance any easier or more difficult. I hope this info is helpful.

Very depressing middle of the week. First, I had to "purge" for a colonoscopy. So on Wed. I only was allowed to drink, and my calorie intake was under 300. Then the day of the procedure, I only ate 916 calories, so my two-day total was just over 1200. And yet when I stepped on the scale this morning, I had gained almost two pounds, erasing almost three weeks of dieting. I know it is just a temporary spike, but of all times, this would not seem to be the day I would spike like that. It is also depressing that weeks of dieting can be erased in two days. Imagine if I had eaten a lot those two days! It just drives home the point to me that it is going to be very difficult for me to lose a lot more weight and keep it off. I'm happy I stopped gaining and my clothes still fit, but I really wanted to lose about ten more lbs . . . and keep it off. It's clearly not my calorie consumption . . . I also got depressing news on the gut end. Well actually not just the end, the whole GI system. I have acid reflux, even though I had no symptoms, but it has affected my esophagus. I have gastric ulcers (probably payback from using so much NSAIDs for migraine) and diverticulosis. So my diet is going to have to be even more restricted. I am very hesitant to start taking acid reducing pills every single day. It seems so extreme. But I can't imagine limiting my diet much more. Well, for now, out totally with caffeine and alcohol, no spicy foods, but tomatoes onions and garlic? I don't eat huge amounts of them, but I love Italian and other Mediterranean food and they are pretty ubiquitous for that . . . The treatment for diverticulosis is to eat more fiber, which I can hardly imagine since I eat whole grains and beans and vegetables and fruit every single day . . . more greens, boo rah! I love greens thankfully. It's just one more frustrating thing in my life.