The following excerpt is from an email that our Health Coach Shirley Sileven sends out to new clients. Shirley was a counselor at the Medifast Center in Texas for nearly a year before joining out team full time. The information she gives is fantastic:

Medifast has made five of our meals very convenient so sometimes I know it can be a challenge to come up with lean and green ideas especially after a long, exhausting day at work. Here are a few things that our family did during my journey. My husband is still on his…and so we still incorporate a lot of these ideas into our lean and green meals. (I still eat low carb…it works for me)

** During the weekend, we will generally cook out at least once and so we go to Sam’s and pick up one of their big packages of chicken (we find buying the unskinned and deboned cooks more evenly and stays moist). We season it and grill it. We take what is left over and put it in a baggie in the fridge to use later in the week to quickly heat when we have “steamed” veggies or to put on our salad.
** We will also purchase fish from Sam’s in the frozen section, they are sealed individually, so you can pull out exactly the number of pieces you want….this always works “in a pinch” if I forget to take something out of the freezer to allow it to thaw….as fish thaws rather quickly and definitely cooks quicker. (If you grill out….put cedar planks in water while you’re thawing it and getting comfy from the day….to add smoked flavor to your fish….yummy)
** Some mornings before I begin my day, I will put a roast in the crock pot (with an onion) and when we all come together for dinner, it’s nice and tender….and all I have to pull together are the veggies. (It also smells good when you get home!)
** There are some nights that I will drop by Sam’s on my way home (you can also get this from your local grocery store…or Boston Market) and pick up a roasted chicken….I will generally purchase two….one for tonight’s meal and then debone the other and put it in a baggie in the fridge for another meal during the week.
** We cannot have this….but I also know/realize that our children don’t always want to eat lean and green (all the time)….so you can take this deboned chicken and put it between two tortillas, put on some cheese, salsa, and chicken….grill in a pan, cut in wedges and serve with sour cream for them (quick quesadillas) and you can continue the theme with your own meal and make a salad with the deboned chicken and to stay lite….use salsa as your dressing.
Now for the veggie ideas. Along with purchasing our meat from Sam’s, every week….we go to Sam’s and purchase a bag of spinach and a tub of field greens, white button mushrooms, tomatoes and cucumbers for our salads. I will purchase my frozen vegetables from the regular grocery store and will sometimes have some chicken or beef stock and cook my veggies in that to add “flavor”. You can always be even quicker with your veggies and open a can of green beans or asparagus. Whatever your favorites are…I’m just trying to tell you what I’ve done to give you some fresh ideas.

To date, Shirley has lost 85 pounds and her husband David has lost 119 pounds!

Prep Time: 15 mins (+4 hours marinating time)
Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

2, 6 oz. chicken breasts
1/2 cup cauliflower
1/2 cup broccoli

Marinade

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Method

Blend marinade. Butterfly chicken breasts and tenderize till the breasts are of even thickness. Marinade with spices at least 4 hours or overnight. Grill chicken and steam veggies until desired softness.

Nutrition Info.

Cal 360 | Fat 16g | Chol 100mg | Carb 10g | Pro 43g

It is the Continental Divide that slices America into two sections. If you are west of it your rivers will eventually flow into the Pacific Ocean. If you are east then all your rivers eventually flow into the Atlantic or Arctic. My home state of Colorado sits on that big split and it definitely shows. There are more mountain peaks over 14,000 feet in Colorado than anywhere else in the contiguous 48 states. California has 13 peaks, Washington State has one, and Colorado has 58.

On Wednesday I climbed two of my favorite peaks: Gray’s and Torrey’s. These are not technical climbs but rather an excellent indicator of strength and endurance. The climb is 9 miles round trip with more than 3,000 feet of vertical ascent. Gray’s peak has the distinction of being the tallest peak on the continental divide. At 14,270 feet the summit is nearly three miles above sea level. The air is thin up there. Amazingly spectacular views and the occasional mountain goat combine with a lack of oxygen to make the experience surreal. I thoroughly enjoy it. It’s Rocky Mountain high. At the summit I stand elated and exhausted. I’m standing on the rooftop of America (stole that from Kerouac). But you know what? There is no way I could have done that climb five years ago. At that time, with 40 extra pounds, even a gentle climb at low elevations was too challenging to really enjoy. I find it very interesting to see how my interests have shifted in relation to my body weight.

As a Health Coach I teach my clients that having a physical activity that they can really enjoy on a regular basis is essential to living life at a healthy weight. Many of my clients are regular, brisk walkers. They have a path, or paths, that they will walk daily or very close to daily. It doesn’t much matter what form of exercise you choose as long as your muscles are working, the blood is flowing, you enjoy it and you do it regularly. Ideally you are also building a little bit of muscle because your muscles naturally atrophy as you age. Do something to neutralize that. It keeps your metabolism up.

Below is me atop Torrey’s peak, 14,267 feet. I was fortunate to be up there completely alone for about 10 minutes.

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Yes, life is good.  Today I officially hit goal!  I am doing the Happy Dance.  I have been on plan for a long time and it really paid off.  Now I can start the next phase - transition.  I have decided to stay on the 5/1 for one more week.  I will start transition on July 7, 2008.  From now on, I will watch what I eat and how much I eat.  I am well on my way to being one of the 5% that keeps the weight off for good.

Truly Take Shape for Life and Medifast has changed my life.  50 years of being overweight, no, morbidly obese, is now gone forever.  I know that I could not have done it without this program.  Not only is it easy to follow, but the food actually tastes good.  In the grand scheme of things, it is also very cost effective.  I spend less using Medifast meal replacements than I did buying food from the grocery store, fast food places and convenience stops.  Who knew that you could eat healthy nutritionally balanced food, lose the weight (130.6 pounds to be exact) and save money all at the same time? 

I tell you, I am living proof that this program works and I would love to help others follow in my footsteps. I am a Certified Health Coach with Take Shape For Life and am still as excited about this program as the day I started.  If I can help you, contact me at  jensine_brown@ Yahoo.com  and I will help you design a weight loss and maintenance plan to fit you.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!  I know I will!