So, I am on the home stretch to halfway and I am looking for some advice on how to get ready for it. I would like to start cutting out my weekday Jenny breakfasts and go with a healthy alternative cereal (suggestions?). So, next week, I am going with all Jenny cereals Mon-Fri as a way to prep myself.

But, what about other meals? What days did you find easiest to replace and what did you do?

Thanks for any help!

Lindsay

I am right behind you!

I found that I am now 8 pounds away from my halfway mark and it is so exciting! I would love to know what to expect and such.

I know you're asking from suggestions from those that have made it past the half-way point, but I'm looking for suggestions, too! I'm a pound away from 1/2-way!
I work 4 long days in a row and then have 3 off, so I was thinking that I might stick with JC on my work days and do MOMO on my days off. I wonder if anyone else has had this type of schedule? Does it work to do it this way or is it better to do a specific meal each day on your own? It seems to me that whatever works for the individual is what's best, but I want to set myself up for success!!!
Thanks in advance for any input!
Congrats Myriad & Murlin for being close to HALF WAY!!!

I am about 3 lbs away from my halfway mark, and my thoughts are that breakfast would probably be the easiest meals to do on my own. My plan is to have 1 cup of Special K cereal, 1 cup of milk (1/2 for the bowl, 1/2 to drink), and a serving of fruit. I was also planning on measuring out 1 cup servings of cereal and putting it in ziploc bags so it's already pre-serving size to make it easy. I am actually a little nervous about "going on my own" but will have to eventually get used to it again.

Hey Michelle!

Great idea. I think I will pick up some of the small Ziploc snack bags and pre-measure out the cereal for the week. I agree, breakfast will be the easiest of the meals to do on my own... that is why when I hit halfway, I will be doing all weeks worth of breakfasts on my own.

I am still trying to work out the dinners though - I think they will be the hardest!! YIKES, only 6.6lbs to go!

Lindsay

This was my first week doing my halfway menu with the two days of MOMO's. I picked breakfast and dinner to do on my own because lunches are harder for me. It takes a lot of planning which I really wasn't prepared for, I was thinking it was just basic exchanges like on the back of our menus. But there seems to be more servings of all the items which I have problems getting all in. I think I have done pretty well though considering... Cheerios with milk and berries for breakfast... 4 oz meat with vegies and rice for dinner.. etc. I know I am not much help.. hope people with more experience chime in!

For me, I typically do lunch and dinner on my own. I have never really been a breakfast eater except when doing JC or when pregnant, and I like the JC breakfasts very much. I also like the convience of the JC snacks (I'm not a fan of 100 calorie packs). Dinners are typically a vegetarian meal with my family (my husband is vegetarian) which is often heavy on carbs, and then I like to plan a lunch high in protien to balance out my day.

The extra bonus is that I am saving money buying breakfasts and snacks instead of lunches and dinners, but that wasn't really a consideration when I decided to do it this way.

My husband made a lovely excell spread sheet for me that totals up my exchanges for when I plan my menus. It was much easier than doing it all up on paper because I would keep crossing things off and re-doing it.

Good luck planning your own days! Its hard at first, and kinda scary.

Take care,
Angela

Angela, I'm there, too. Would you be willing to share the excel spreadsheet so I don't have to recreate the wheel? I'm a big excel user and would love to have a copy e-mailed to me, if you're willing. I work in version 2007, so either 2003 or 2007 would work just fine. If it's not available, please don't worry, I could create one easy enough. Thanks in advance.

Oh my gosh, I would love to have a copy of the speadsheet, too! I hope your husband hasn't copyrighted it! Or maybe he should!! hehehe:)

Hi Angela,

If would be kind enough to share your spreadsheet I would appreciate having it too. I have rejoined JC for the second time after losing 82 lbs the first round and regaining pretty much all of it back. This time I am trying to prepare myself mentally well ahead of time to avoid a repeat and would love to use your spreadsheet in the future. Thanks!
Dee

I would love a copy as well!! Angela, you are a hero!

THanks,
Lindsay

Anyone who wants a copy of the excell spreadsheet can send me a pm with their email address, and I will gladly send it! It is set up for 1500 calories, but would be simple enough to change.

It doesn't calculate exchanges, it only adds them up and totals it at the bottom so I can can keep track. I suppose I could have my DH make a calculator to figure out exchanges, but he is really busy right now. Perhaps in a few weeks. I am blessed that he is such a great husband (most of the time).

Take care,
Angela

Hey! That's so cool that you're about to your halfway point. I'm about 8 lbs past mine. Got aobut 7 lbs to goal. What I did at my halfway point was cut out the JC bars, JC syrup and JC dressings and started doing it all on my own. I had learned the portion sizes and I bought some snack bars at the store and some yogurt to use for my morning snack. It has worked very well plus helped cut down on cost. I found that weekends worked better for me for going on my own. Right now, I have 3 days on my own, which is usually Fri, Sat, & Sun. That allows for BBQ or eating out which usually happens on the weekends. I've learned so much about portion control that it has been fairly easy. I also try to stay with the same concept on "my own" days like having a piece of fruit as one of my snacks or just a few crackers, etc.

Stick to it. I hope this helps! You'll be at your goal in no time! Take care!

Linda R.

[font="Comic Sans MS"][/font]I need some advice from those of you experienced with the Halfway MOMO plan. I'm supposed to do breakfasts and dinners. I've been pouring through recipe books (including the JC 30 Meals in 30 Minutes book), but can't find anything that plugs properly into the numbers given to me for the 1200 calorie plan. Am I being too anal? Should I just look for the calories? I've just been winging it for the last several days and I'm not getting satisfied, which means by the end of the day I'm starting to snack on "a little of this and a little of that" until I've just given up for the day and eat the whole doggone bag of whatever. I'm so disappointed in myself. As soon as I see that I'm losing some weight, I start eating more. As Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day!" Well, that tomorrow became today and today turned out to be like yesterday. At this rate, I'll be out of Halfway and back to full-time JC foods. I've only lost about 15 pounds in 19 weeks and am at about 140 pounds, going for 120. I know I'm not that big, but for me and my clothes, I am.

Thanks for your help in advance. I really want to do well on this program; I just need some ideas for "real" food that "fits" into the plan.

I've been around forever and don't understand the new approach to halfway. It would be difficult for me to plan just two meals on my own and one JC meal. I prefer the flexibility of having ALL exchanges available for me to mix and match as I see fit. That could mean more protein at dinner, more starches mid-day. Or a bigger lunch out with office friends and a lighter dinner. Whatever works!

Some of my go-to meals are:

> little pizzas made on english muffins or flatbread
> quesadillas or soft tacos
> big salad with beef or chicken strips
> chicken sauteed in lemon juice with capers, side of rice or potatoes
> Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime... my favorite veggie meat patty and my husband's (he's a huge carnivore, but loves the 90-second convenience)

Breakfasts:

> scrambled egg (or egg whites), slice of 2% American cheese, Morningstar Farms breakfast strips, on english muffin
> scrambled egg, shredded cheese, crumbled up Morningstar Farms veggie sausage links, rolled in a small tortilla

If you're not feeling satisfied, try to go for more nutrient-dense items. For example: lentils (great in soup), sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, bananas, oatmeal. While a starch is a starch and potato chips can be worked into the plan, they're not very satisfying long-term. Also look at the timing of your foods. I find the combination of starch with protein (apple and cheese, banana with peanut butter) more satisfying than fruit on it's own.

Do you use the JC checklist/menu sheets to make sure you've gotten all the required meats, starches, etc.? I'm afraid to get away from that. It seems that if I get "off track" and don't know exactly how much I've eaten I get WAY off track and start over tomorrow. I know I've got to break away from that; it's just weird to do it forever.

I used my own checklist, but yes, I checked off food groups for a LOOOONG time... at least 6 months after reaching my goal and that was after being on JC for a solid year to lose the weight. Eventually, it becomes habit, but give yourself a very long time for that habit to form. If you use a checklist as a tool to ensure your success, so be it!

I have definitely learned that not all calories are created equal. It's soooo easy to start doing things like substituting cereal for fruit, pretzels for milk... same calories, right??? Maybe, but totally different results in how the body feels. The JC program is built on balanced food groups for a reason. It works!

Thanks for your help, LesterLou! I really appreciate it and look forward to talking to you more.
Nicole

I have been practicing the on my own for a couple of weeks now. What I mainly look for is the calories and I try to completely stay away from sugar, such as snack bars with no sugar and ice cream or pop cycle bars with no sugar. Rational being that sugar is so addictive. Next I'm on this plan with my spouse and he has a lot more weight to lose than me. I want to remain on the plan for most of the duration of his losing and that will be weeks more than I need. We have started doing one day a week of a dinner on our own and have mostly been b-bquing with side of salad or sauteed veges. The difficult part for me is the last 10 lbs, about 1/2 way for me. I haven't been at that weight in 20 years, wish me luck....

I'm a few lbs from half-way myself now and was thinking of this topic earlier today. I am on week 8 of JC and there has not been 1 week where I am have been completely on plan. Is half-way 2 DOMO's or 2 days with 2 MOMO's? For me, it would be easier to have 6 MOMO's a week rather than 2 DOMO's. I've looked through the exchanges and think that might be hard. You basically need so many of each throughout the day right? It just doesn't matter in which meal you eat them? I'm afraid that if I plan for a certain 2 days, something will come up on another day. Or maybe I would continue to do things as I am (if something comes up) plus 2 DOMO's. I just want to stop spending so much on food each week.

I'll be honest, I haven't read the manuals all the way through. I have some time off work this week so maybe I should read them!!

You are better off figuring out the DOMOs, beause MOMOs have extra exchanges and is meant as an occasional dining out meal. If you did that several times a week it could really mess up your weight loss efforts.

Take care,
Angela