Newbies

Hi, Rumming. Apologies – I didn’t see your earlier post, but I will search for it, in the meantime, I can tell you that i you have been on a restrictive diet in the past, your metabolism may have slowed and it may take several weeks for your body to get used to normal amounts of food again. If you are staying stable and not gaining weight, this is already a good sign.
Another common cause of lack of weight loss or weight gain is an imbalance in thyroid function. For this, we recommend getting tested and followed by your healthcare provider. If you are receiving medication, be sure the dose matches your need.
The most reliable (and healthiest) way to give your body a boost here is through physical activity (not just because of the extra energy it burns, but also because it protects and strengthens your most important fat-burning asset, muscle tissue). If you are new to exercise, please let us know, and we can assist you with resources on getting started if you wish—note that you don’t have to dive headfirst into anything strenuous, and that there are helpful exercises to fit all ability levels and time schedules. Even just walking in place in front of the TV for the length of a sitcom is great—if you feel like you’re “out of shape,” just start with 5 minutes each time, and work your way up to 30 minutes, then twice per day if you need.
If you recently started exercising, the number on the scale may not be reliable at this stage. Since you are now swapping fat for muscle, which is much heavier, you may be getting healthier while the number of pounds or kilos stays the same. In this case, pay more attention to how you’re looking and feeling, how your clothes are fitting, etc. You may be pleasantly surprised!
If you have been exercising all along, the muscles you usually use may have become complacent and don’t burn energy the way they did at the beginning. In this case, we suggest to introduce new exercises, even swapping them out for the old ones for a little while, to wake up new muscles. The best results have been reported with introducing weight training—again, it doesn’t have to be super strenuous, just something you can do on a regular basis. Even just lifting filled food cans in front of the TV counts. Another option is to mix up the rhythm by adding bursts of higher intensity movement to a steady aerobic regime. This can be something like 30 seconds of jogging or going uphill every 5 minutes during a regular walk.
Regardless of your situation, it is recommended to you discuss your plans with your health care provider to be sure any needed safety steps are taken.
If you have additional questions or concerns, or if none of these scenarios appear to apply to you—and/or you are noticing that the food amounts are exceeding your physical comfort level—please do repost, and we will work with you to right-size both aspects of your plan.

I’m confused by the menu’s being generated. I try to eat a largely paleo diet and this menu has a lot of dairy added to my diet, and when I look for an alternative, it’s a lot of other dairy options or vegan options (that I avoid because I don’t use vegetable oil-in most vegan dairy substitutes). I also see a lot of rice ,etc. being added, which is something that in my mind should be limited. How can I gage putting the right combination of fat and nutrients together without all the grains and dairy?

Hi, Kat. Fluctuations like that are normal – it is the overall result over longer periods of time (i.e. 2 months) that is important. It is trying on the patience, but do keep doing what you’re doing. You can switch exercise regimes every three weeks to keep your muscles “awake” and burning fat better. If you would like more guidance on this aspect, please let me know.

Hi, Carla. Enter the “Apps” area (link near the top left of any site page), and select “My Menus” (the right-most option in the Apps area). Your menus will be listed in order of date, with the most recent at the top.

Hi, geekgirl. Those foods are kept generic to give you more flexibility. You can insert any one of those main ingredients into the search box in our recipe collection to get ideas for preparation. Using the example you provided, your meal may include Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken (http://www.trimdownclub.com/recipe/baked-parmesan-garlic-chicken/) and Crunchy Pea Salad (http://www.trimdownclub.com/recipe/crunchy-pea-salad/).

ok I’m going to need extra help with this so I don’t totally mess myself up. I’ll give a proper example since the last one I just made up out of my head.

Breakfast
=========
1 cup of Cereal Hot, Porridge, Wheat (Cooked)
1/3 cup of Milk, Coconut, Raw/Canned, Regular
1/2 ounce of Cashews
4 small Apricots
Fish Oil

So what does this mean, I have to find recipes for every single one of those foods like a bowl of porridge and a bowl of granola which contains cashews and apricots? Seems like a lot of food if it is!

Hi thanks for your previous response am at the end of week four now and ive still not lost anymore and still bloated 🙁

Well, today is my first day. From the midwest and a small town, so it is, believe it or not, hard for me to find alot of foods…smoked salmon, rice crackers etc, but I am ready to do this. Silly question, but what is 1 serving of Fast Food, Vegetable salad mean? Is it telling me to eat fast food and a salad? Help!