Hmm... I need to find out myself. I don't know what is the answer. I'll do some Googling and get back to you if I discover an useful answer. You should email the people at Medifast as they probably know..

Mia, Thanks for the advice. I suppose my concern is, I have recently moved back home with my parents and I have absolutely NO control over what food comes into this house. It is surely JUNK FOOD heaven without a doubt!.

Smooches..

Ya thats tough,sorry...... Keep with it one meal one day at a time and if you fall off "whatever" jump back on again!!!! Just ask yourself if it's worht the bite........

I don't have the problem at home (living on my own), but I certainly have it at work. People bring all sorts of food for the whole team and go out to lunch at trendy restaurants with very tempting off plan options. Thank God I don't have those worries at home too!.

I'm just starting week 2, and I hear it gets easier. For now, it's three hours at a time. When it's more difficult, plan to eat your more exciting Medifast meal at that time (for me, it's the pudding). I also have planned out a reward system for every 5 pounds I lose (hot bath, new PJ's, etc.). At least this way, I know I have comfort coming, even if I have to say no to the yummy foods right now..

Keep it up; stay OP. You'll be an inspiration to me and others very soon.

As you do find the answers of what works and doesn't work, let us know too! Some meaning well, loving people are destructive to us when they don't mean to be. "Oh, one of these wouldn't hurt; I made it especially for you!" Those are difficult circumstances to work through, but I'm sure you can do it!!..

Can you clean out a cupboard and fridge drawer just for yourself, and keep your food in there? Isolating designated food storage space just for you will help keep you away from the other tempting off-plan foods. Then you just commit yourself to only taking food from those areas. I did this when I visited my parents, and it seemed to work really well..

The single cupboard is a great idea!.

Right after I started, Chik fil a sent their new spicy chicken to the office. It was horrible. Yes, my problem is worse at work than at home..

I've learned to remember, how much I'm spending on this program, why I'm doing it and how much more important it is for my health then splurging and going off plan..

It may help you to set your EYE on your prize and answer the question, Why are you on Medifast?..

I really love the one drawer/ cabinet idea. I will remember to do this when I visit family and friends in the future!! Thanks!..

Good question....

Are you feeling temptation now or are you preparing for it?.

Most of the junk is cleaned out of my house but there are some things that are for my children and of course my husband brings in ice cream, candy, cookies, etc and eats it all the time (yes, he does have a weight problem and he isn't very supportive in any of my attempts to have the family eat healthier but that is a different thread.

).

When I see that food...or smell a trigger food...I keep in mind those first few days when I first started and especially focus on how miserable I was. Also, reading about those people who went off plan and were physically ill (or gained x lbs) that really helps me stay focused. If all else fails, I think about how good I feel now, how loose my clothes are, the compliments and where I will be because I am staying on plan..

Good luck..

There's still junk in my house (I have teenagers and a dh with a great fondness for ice cream.

) but none of it calls my name. Really. None of it. This is not like me, I'm tellin' ya!.

I found the first several days of MF, the time before I got into ketosis, to be so unpleasant that I vowed that I wouldn't eat anything to throw me out of ketosis. Besides, I feel really good when I'm fat-burning. (energy, spring in my step, not hungry, happy) Oh, and then there's the fact that I'm losing weight FAST while feeling good which strikes me as rather miraculous..

Today I was organizing the candygrams for our school marching band. There's a LOT of candy in the back of my car. My car smells like Swedish Fish and M&Ms. None of it appeals to me. For me, nothing tastes good enough to risk getting out of ketosis..

In fact, today I went into Panera Bread with my carefully planned menu. (I was planning to have my L&G there.) When the manager told me that there was no more Fat Free Poppyseed dressing to put on the salad, and no other fat free dressing available, I was prepared to turn on my heel and walk out of there. I was really hungry, but I just won't risk getting my fats or calories too high. (Fortunately, they found a few more containers of my dressing in the fridge - whew!).

Don't worry too much now about how you will deal with cravings later. Put a plan in place, of course, but just dive in and get started. I think you'll be surprised at how easy this is, once you get into the routine...

Thank you, Ladies! This thread has been so encouraging. I'm in week 2 and I swear I.

Fantasize.

About popping open a can of Lays Stacks and eating the whole thing in one sitting -something I did on a regular basis not too long ago- more than I ever fantasized about sex or romance! But I have to keep reminding myself how much it's just not worth it - not worth the calories, not worth the carbs, not worth blowing ketosis and certainly not worth flushing the last week of.

Religious.

MF. My first weigh in was yesterday and I lost 8 1/2 lbs! THAT certainly helps motivate me to continue. And then I saw the progress you and so many women here are making in such a short amount of time! Wow! So thank you! I'm so glad these boards are here!!!..

It was hard at first when I would go somebody elses house and they would eat food around me and I was craving it badly, but then I longer I been on Medifast it rly doesnt bother me that much! You just get so used to it and if you are hard on set to lose the weight and get skiin like me lol....then there should be a huge motivator for you!.

I know the holidays may be a lil tough, but Ill manage to get through it and I will be having eggbeaters both them days LOL..

You know, sad as it is, off plan food is always going to be there, within reach. People are going to eat in front of you. You have to feed the kids and the husband. You have to cook for the carry in at work. Whatever. You're not EVER going to be able to get the off plan food out of your life, and if you're going to lose it and maintain, you have to face up to that fact now, and start dealing with it..

I know how hard it is, believe me, but you CAN do it. You just remind yourself that the off plan food is not an option for you right now, and then you eat on plan and ignore the off plan stuff. That's all. As difficult as it is, it's really as simple as making a choice and sticking to the choice...

Of all the ways I've worked on to keep myself calm around sweets and other junk foods the best one I figured out is to stop seeing it. I mean, my eyes still work but I don't really SEE it. I don't let it past the eyeballs into my pleasure center. It's my own little Zen-like technique: "Seeing-but-not-Seeing." LOL, I know, it sounds more than a little strange, and I can't describe exactly how it works but when I'm in the zone I feel almost no temptation what so ever, even when faced with my favorite trigger foods. I can look at cookies and it's like looking at a lamp. Just doens't touch me.

And THAT is a major internal struggle, one I can't win, at least not forever. I have to not care about the food. This is one of the ways I do it..

Ann..

Funny, I was just thinking about this the other day. My husband is a big fan of The Dog Whisperer who deal with challenging dogs initially by saying "no touch, no eye contact." I can hear Cesar Millan somewhere in my head, when I'm near tempting food. "No touch, no eye contact"!.

I really am learning to.

Ignore.

Most off-plan foods completely...

My husband and I are both doing Medifast, so I gave all my off plan food to someone on Freecycle..

It must be pretty hard to see all the off plan foods and not know how to handle it yet. My roommate and I both did the program together, so there was nothing off plan in the house for the duration of the 5+1 for both of us. If I had a husband or kids who were not doing the program, or I lived with my parents I know it would have been harder. I honestly think my strategy then would have been to tell myself that the other food is not mine, and so I am not entitled to touch it. I could see it all day long, but it would have been as though I were in a grocery store or something. It is not mine, I cannot have it...

I have a skinny husband and three kids so we are junk food central. It really does get better. And I keep my Medifast food in a separate cabinet too, lol..

I was and still am a firm beleiver that one bite off plan would lead me down a path I didn't want to go to. And for me, this has been a big financial sacrifice for my family so why take any longer than I had to to lose the weight..

Finally, your taste buds change and you'll be looking forward to your new healthier food..