[davematthewsband]

I am beyond happy with my two week Induction results! 11 pounds down, clothes already looser, acid reflux pretty much gone, and hunger itself almost gone!

I'm trying to decide what to do next. Historically I stay on induction until I get so tired of my food choices that I flip out and binge at some point and then never fully get myself on track again.

I'm not ready to get out of induction yet - I feel like I still need my training wheels, so I think I'm going to really focus on trying new recipes and not getting stuck in a rut like I usually do.

I'm going to focus on trying to up my veggies as well. I was doing well at the beginning of induction but was having a hard time staying under 20 carbs while feeling full. Now that my hunger is at lower levels, I'm going to make an effort to up my veggies again to fill out those remaining available carbs.

I also was admittedly very bad about water intake. That's my personal challenge no matter what diet. I don't know what my problem is but I'm always horrible about my water intake.

Open to any tips and tricks! I've bought fun water bottles, tried to make a game of drinking a certain amount each hour while at work, have bought some of that no calorie flavor squirt stuff to put in it, etc. It's more just my discipline I guess...

My eldest's 5th birthday is mid-September so I'm going to make a mini-goal of increasing my veggies and water but staying on strict induction until then and seeing my results. My kids are one of my biggest motivators in shedding this extra weight so it's nice to think about them during my mini-goals.

I don't have a specific weight loss goal by then, though I would hope I could be another 10 lbs down over the next 3 weeks (though I know it isn't always easy to keep up the pace of weight loss of the first two weeks).

I plan to set additional mini-goals of mid-October for a work trip to Vegas (that is also turning into a girl's weekend), then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. It's so nice thinking of New Year's where I'll be going into it already successful and not starting at my worst weight like I feel like I do every year!

However back to the present, I feel great and motivated and will stay focused on trying not to succumb to my usual trappings of food boredom and eventual cheating.

Thanks to everyone for your support this far and I'm excited to continue this journey with you! I've never had a diet buddy - ever - and I'm already feeling the benefits of having someone to talk to and be honest with even if I don't know any of you in person :-)

[sheski]

Congrats! That is great, and your plan to experiment with new recipes to avoid the boredom sounds like an excellent idea.

I'm not sure if this is something you could do, but I have found that since I lived in a place that had really bad tasting water and I resorted to getting a water crock, a ceramic crock that you sit a 5-gallon water jug into. It has a spigot and keeps the water a few degrees below room temperature. For the past several years I have lived close enough to a Culligan that I refill my water bottles myself for about $1.76 per five gallons of reverse osmosis water. Having the water jug right there in the kitchen, and water that has no chlorine taste or rust flavor or funny plastic flavor like little bottles of water you buy, helps me to not forget to drink water. And I seem to drink even more if I don't bother to add ice or refrigerate a pitcher. I have had the same crock on a little wood stand for about 17 years, so I count it as a good investment.

[davematthewsband]

Great idea, sheski! That would also make it easier for my kids to help themselves to water on their own.