I don't know . . . hum? Whatever it is it sure is adorable; kind of, sorta like, a tiny spaniel? But then my Papillon is a sort of spaniel, too, but doesn't look like one unless you flatten his butterfly ears. (His name on the street is die Fledermaus, but said with affection.)

aw that is cute. I am trying to get a picture of my dogs together but every time I pull out my camera or my phone my black dog goes and hides... she is very camera shy... soon.

Laura, here's a yogurt, made in San Francisco, and hands down the best I've ever eaten -- both taste and consistency. http://www.pavels.net/about/ It's a Russian yogurt. And yes, do doctor it a little with Splenda or stevia if you don't like a tart taste. I sure hope you like this.

Has anyone tried skyr yogurt? I've seen it all over NYC... I haven't seen it here yet, but I just checked their website and it looks like Whole Foods has it.


www(dot)skyr (dot)com. (in case they delete my link below)

For flavored yogurt, the carb count looks relatively low.
http://www.skyr.com/skyr.html

ooh, i will pick some of this up next time i go to safeway. thanks!!

Add Stevia to the Greek yogurt. Also, I have the best tasting brand of Greek yogurt to be "Fage" 2%.

Laura,

I add Starbucks sugar-free vanilla syrup to my greek yogurt. It's 0/0/0 and made with splenda. So good.

Lynn

Awww... Sob, sob... I feel the same way.

LONGDIVISION - did you have the greek yogurt from Trader Joe's? Not my favorite thing from there. Definitely shop around. I like the Yoplait and Dannon ones that are out now. LOVE that greek yogurt is going mainstream.

I'm brand new but love reading all the success on this thread. It's very motivating!

Anyone have any advice, I've been on on Ideal Protein since last November, I have lost 45lbs, my goal is 60. But the last 15 have been very difficult, I can't get past this stage, i drop a little and then jump back up. I'm having difficulty with my will power lately too. Not sure what to do to re-focus myself. Anyone have any tricks or advice?

I weighed in at 149.0 this morning! I ate my protein meal for lunch yesterday because I was home with my son and ordered in a salad for lunch (he got a whole grain organic low-fat pizza). Last night I didn't feel like eating. I had an IP bar and a chocolate drink and went to bed. I really needed sleep after the night before. Today I will eat better!

Way to go Pxlkitty! I bet that was nice to see

Thanks, Jordanna... I have a huge grin on my very tired face this morning... I'm so glad you're back. I remember READING *yes, I read things before asking questions on the daily thread* so many of your posts when I got started on this diet. I attribute a lot of my success on this program to you.

I've had this discussion with my coach on several occasions. When you get close to goal, it's very easy to start letting things slide. You are probably tired of the diet, sick of feeling deprived when you don't feel too heavy anymore, and want to rejoin your social activities that you've been avoiding while you were on the diet.

Here is my advice. Going from 160 to 150 for me (the last 10lbs, I still have 5 to go) are where I have started to see the most results. I look pretty darn good with clothes on (size 8 now), but there are still some wiggly bits here and there and I wouldn't yet buy a bikini. It's the end of the diet where you can really see the most improvement.

I have started toning by doing pilates and swimmng laps. Yes, it makes me hungrier and, yes, I'm adding a packet when I work out. Recently, as a result, I've started to see imrovement in my abs, leg muscles, and my arm flab is starting to disappear. The loose skin really needs all the fat to be gone before it starts to firm up. That, and you HAVE to tone with exercise. Exercise is a vital part of maintenance, so you might as well get it started now. Even if you are only walking, it's better than nothing. Also just try stretching... it's not vigorous exercise, but it does help a lot. I am about to drag about my "fluidity" bar (ballet bar) and do some additional flexibility training.

Here is the hard part. All of these things are coming at a time when people are saying "why are you still on the diet? you look great! why don't you stop now?"... And, the compliments have stopped from people who see me all the time. People who haven't seen me for a while are still shocked. Others are just lecturing me on the fact that they think I "might gain it all back" or "do you think you'll be able to do this forever, it sounds so strict"... I've really stopped talking about the diet, but refocused my energy internally. People have become more critical during the past 10lbs than they ever were before.

Note that I attribute this reaction to the fact that I am smaller than most of the people who are criticizing me now. Everyone's reaction to my weight loss has to do with THEM rather than ME... I've learned so much while on this journey. Most people have their own issues, and it is reflected in the comments that they direct towards me.

Anyway, here is my advice... I'm going to kill these last 5lbs. In all truth, I have 10lbs more of fat to lose but 5lbs of muscle to gain. I know that these pounds will take longer than the rest. It's ok! I never thought I would be in a place where I was trying to lose "only 5 lbs" and I should be very happy about that. Most of the time, I am very happy about that. But sometimes I slip and start to think I haven't yet reached my goal and that makes me a failure. Then I snap to it. I'm a superstar!

AND SO ARE YOU!

Pxlkitty - congrats on finally reaching the 140's!! You've been very patient for this reward! I'm proud of you.

Day 2 of phase 3 today. I am going to have the same breakfast today as I had yesterday ('cept, i'm poaching the eggs instead of scrambling).

I felt really great yesterday after my tummy had settled from the big breakfast. I did have to force my lunch down and skipped the lettuce.
The best thing was that I was able to work out (we live on the east coast of vancouver island, at the bottom of our hill is a beautiful fishing village - it's quite the hike up back to the house and up til now have avoided it like the plague! It took me longer than I thought it would, but I managed to walk up without stopping once...I know it may not sound like a major workout...but my body was burning!) I'm going to keep doing it everyday until i can RUN up that hill!
I weighed 137.6 this morning...weird.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

THANKS! Which town do you live in? We visited there last summer and took the train from Victoria up to Qualicum Beach and back. It was so beautiful. We rented a house just outside Victoria for a week... such a wonderful time.