Day One and starving
 

Hey everyone... today is Day One and its only 950 am and I am totally starving... wondering if I can make it to lunch.... I have been drinking lots and lots of water to try to curb the hungry feeling....I had a protein shake blended with spinach for breakfast.... I am thinking maybe I need to have some hard-boiled egg whites on hand for times like this.... just so I do not give in and eat something I should not eat. What did you guys do in times like this?

Eggs are the perfect answer! Hard boiled is easiest if you're at work. If you're at home, you can scramble eggs and add spinach or eat them with some sugar free salsa. You could also add eggs at lunch to bulk up your protein. I like to make pudding cups, crispy cereal pancakes or potato puree garlic rolls - all unrestricted and all add eggs to the recipe. That will give you a little more bulk and make you feel more full.

Remember - you can have 4 protein packets your first week. Do it. And if you really can't stand it and you have to go slightly off plan, overdo it on vegetables. It won't kill you to have more than 4 cups the first few days if you need it.

days 1-4 are HARD. Try to get out (take a walk) or find something interesting or absorbing to do. If you need to have an extra IP packet or an extra 4 oz of lean protein ... do it ... You just need to get through the first couple of days ... then you will find you stop craving carbs and sugar. After day four (for me at least) the diet has been a breeze.

This is also a really good reason NOT TO CHEAT ... because you will have to go through the carb sugar withdrawl symptoms AGAIN ... and that is torture

Thank you 2much2 do..... I will definitly use those pointers.... I will bring some boiled eggs to work and also some more veggies.... just to have them here if I need them so I do not go to something I really should not have like a candy bar :)

Some good quotes (not sure of the authors) ...

"If you really want to lose, you'll find a way, and if you don't want to, you'll find an excuse. It's up to you."

"The only thing standing between who you are and who you want to be is what you do."

"I've worked too hard to take orders from a cookie!"

"Hunger is a feeling...thin is a skill."

"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels."

"Every bite is a choice."

Day one was really hard for me (just two weeks ago). I found (that for me at least) if I ate my restricted for breakfast (Southwest cheese puffs) for breakfast about 30 minutes later than I was used to eating and then ate something every 2-3 hours that it became a lot easier for me. So I would eat my puffs at 8:00, then at 9:30ish eat some cucumbers that I had packed, and then at 12:00 I would go home and make the omelet with added veggies, 2:30ish eat a snack of my choice etc.

I ended up eating extra eggs the first couple of days because I couldn't take it :) Seems like a great "go-to"

It gets better! Do the best you can and don't forget that fourth packet. Good luck! It will be so worth it once you start seeing those losses and feeling better.

This may be late, but I promise it does get easier. Try spreading your allowed food out throughout the day, at least for the first few days. For example, have your lunch packet at your normal lunch time, but maybe save your lunch-time 2 cups of vegetables for an hour or two later.
Perhaps tomorow, have your breakfast shake, then midway between breakfast and lunch, scramble 2 egg whites, then a protein packet for lunch, then midway between lunch and dinner have your lunch veggies (or your snack packet, which I have at night).
It really does get easier on or about day 4. Just keep telling yourself that you deserve this. It will happen. Good luck!

Today is my first day. I am starting to get hungry now - it is close to dinner time. So far so good but did not realize how much veggies are in 2 cups!!! I will have to find different ways to get over that. Good luck!!

Veggies
 

If you use the cauliflower for a "dirty rice" recipe, you will see that nearly an entire head of cauliflower shrinks down to very little, and certainly manageable.

Zucchini chips is another recipe where once dried in the oven, two cups ends up very little. Same with kale chips.

So if you are daunted by the volume of the veggie requirement, roast, bake, boil aand puree and it is very manageable. Give it a try!

I balanced it out so that I ate something every three hours. That way you feel satisfied, and it boosts your metabolism. I lost 14 pounds my first week! I know that is not a norm... but I was able to pull off 2-4 pounds every week. I am starting tomorrow from week one again and this is my strategy again. Keep those positive thoughts in your head and avoid the negative Nellies!

Also try drinking hot herbal non-caffeine tea - for some reason drinking something hot seems to make me feel full and you can count it towards your water for the day.

Also try eating lettuce - it's unlimited and makes you feel full.

I thought we suppose to measure raw veggi not shredded or cooked. Am I wrong?

Measure raw but then you can cook

I am just on day 6 and had a rough go the first 3 to 4 days. First two days I had a lemon bar cut in half, 1 half between breakfast and lunch and 1 half between lunch and dinner. Coach gave me 4 extra items saying I may need them the first week. Felt kinda bad at first about eating them but by third day did not need them. I agree about the lettuce. I put some in a bowl sprinkled with a touch of salt and it did the trick. Tea also helped me. (and i ain't no tea person)

Now on day six..... I felt stuffed after lunch and did not want my evening protein snack, but had it anyways.