Vanessa,
    This is one of the reasons that liquid diets are so unsuccessful
(especially over a long range).  They aren't a permenant change one can make
and stick to in order to maintain the weight loss.  It is much better to eat
food (just less) that helps you to feel more satisfied, and increase
exercise.  Even though with increase of certain exercises the scale may not
reflect huge changes fast, you will see changes in measurements over all of
your body.  Also, your clothes will reflect it.  It would be far better,
because you wouldn't be experiencing all of the headaches, fatigue, etc....
Instead, your energy would be higher, you would get more complete rest, and
you would overall feel better about yourself.  Liquid diets hardly ever work
that I have heard of (and when they do, as soon as those people start eating
real food they will likely gain all back plus some additional).  This is a
good group to get incentive and moral support from.  Let them help you to do
this in a more successful way.

Between the sodium in the pickles and the boullion, you're probably
retaining water.  A woman in my HMR group had problems losing too until she
fessed up to eating pickles.   Also keep in mind that you've slowed your
metabolism down considerably.  Are you exercising?  If not, you need to be.
I was eating 800 cal/day and exercising approx 500 cal and had various weeks
where things would slow down considerably - hormone related water retention.
Drink more water.

If you're suffering from fatigue and headaches, I'd seriously consider a
transition back to food and slow down the weight loss.  If you're within
20-30 lbs of goal, I'd also do the transition and lose the rest with food.
Based on my experience, it will be more helpful in the long term. YMMV.

Jenn

What kind of help are you looking for?

Also, why are you in such a hurry to lose weight. Can you try to lose
weight more slowly? What are you trying to accomplish? If you lose
weight on those shakes etc, you won't even learn portion control, how
to eat, etc etc, so maintaining your hypothetical loss will be pretty
difficult.

Also, weight is never lost steadily.

Are you exercising at all?

If you are desperately hugry, you are on a wrong diet, period.

i

Isn't Medifast doctor prescribed? If you're having problems you should talk
to your doctor.

Well, first off, there is no *magic diet*. Secondly, if you want to
lose weight really really quickly, there ARE likely to be times when
you feel cruddy. It's a trade-off.

As for plateaus, they can happen with any diet, you might as well get
used to it. Our bodies aren't some kind of machine that loses weight
as regularly a metronome ticks.

Pickles are salty... you could be retaining some water.

Also, better think now about what you will do AFTER you lose weight...
if you plan to go back to eating big macs and fries, your weight will
come back and probably quite quickly too.

You need to give the group more details on what's going on. How many
calories exactly are you getting, how tall are you, how much do you
weigh and what you are doing for exercise. Do you have any other
conditions that could inhibit weight loss? Medications?

At any rate, don't get discouraged, we all go through periods where
the pounds just don't wish to drop. Consider measuring inches to see
if you are losing any that way. Eating a big mac and fries is just
setting yourself up. If you are hungry and just gotta eat, try some
nice vegetables, or good piece of meat.

If you just need motivation to keep up with it, keep reading and
posting.

Cynthia

You're suffering for nothing.  You should be on a program of exercising and
eating right.  You are ruining your health.

4th week. I lost some weight the first two weeks, now I am plateuing
and have
been for a week and half. <<

from the Medifast web site:

What can I do about a plateau?  

Plateaus usually occur after weight changes of at least 40 to 50
pounds. At this point, your body seems to take stock, and for a brief
period, attempts to hold on to the fat stores. It's as though your
body reshuffles its weight status while assessing whether it's safe to
continue losing. Once it feels settled, your system will kick back in
and allow your weight to drop again. If you experience a weight-loss
plateau, look for other indications of progress such as wearing a
smaller size of clothing.

and starvation for NOTHING!?! <<

Also from the Medifast web site:

Medifast low calorie diets require physician monitoring to minimize
the potential for health risks.

What does your doc say about the fatigue and headaches?

As always, YMMV.

Kasey
365/257/???

ugh. Stop now. Medifast is the wrong way to go.

It's like putting one leg on the floor when weighing and thinking
you've lost weight.

While I can't claim my recent experiences are the norm for everyone,
since I'm an atypical dieter, if you're at all like me I can say
maintaining a slight (eg. 500 kcal/day) deficit diet is really a piece
of cake if you're serious about losing fat.

The keys that work for me is not avoiding fat at all, especially
healthy fat like unsaturated plant fats, eat plenty of protein, don't
obsess about carbs but avoid empty carbs in crap junk food, soft
drinks, and especially diet shakes (they *really* suck).

Eat to fuel your body. Eat many small meals in day. Don't stuff
yourself. Exercise. Push your body to burn calories, but don't overdo
it. Break up the routine. Don't deny yourself, but by the same token
don't give into stupid temptations.

Cutting 500 calories a day from your daily diet shouldn't be hard if
you follow these rules, and is really no big deal -- my stomach hasn't
rumbled once since I started this regimen. I've also added about 500
calories of exercise per day on average, so over the past 4 1/2 months
I've lost almost 40lbs.

Please stop the medifast thing. You're going to have to eat sensibly
some day, so you might as well start today.

I just read your entire posting history and you're always upset.
Yet as of May you were down 130 pounds from your peak.  Think on
that.  Why do you only post hysterically when you are already
that successfull?

The time scale for loss is not month to month no matter how much
you want it to be.  Not even people dying of cancer see new lows
every month.  You are witnessing the laws of the universe at work
in a standard pattern of success and you are growing hysterical
in the face of that success.

Dr Atkins defines a plateau as 4+ weeks with neither a new low
nor a lost inch.  You've been successfull low carbing so you
know the truth of that.  Stop insisting that you personally
must be able to defy the possible and do the impossbile, and
stop being hysterical when you are successfull on a real time
scale.

No, you are losing.

Quickly is 4+ pounds averaged across a month, if you have at
least 20 to lose.

Multiple question marks show hysteria.  You have no need for
hysteria.  The time scale for loss simply isn't what you want
it to be and no amount of effort on your part will chance the
fact that you have been successfull on a scale that is
realistic.

This is something you wrote about 2 months ago:

So you should try some low carb plan not this unsustainable
liquid diet that comes with an iron-clad guarantee of regain.

Have you tried Atkins?  No, I don't mean only Induction.  I mean
the entire 4-phase program using ketosis to judge your CCLL.

According to your own posts you previously did great on low
carb.  So do that again, but be very certain you follow all of
the directions without the slightest digging into what you're
"allowed" to do.  Four phases on schedule.  Go for it.