I certainly hope so! I'm busting my butt at the gym too (though it didn't feel like it really tonight...or I should say it doesn't feel like it now like it did last night). Hmm. I really think you're supposed to do the entire 5 meals. Can you not do the shakes on the go? I personally think they're pretty easy and to be honest, I can down them quickly myself. Not sure if you're supposed to do that or not though... Main reason you're supposed to have all the meals is probably BECAUSE of the calorie count. I honestly think this is just an easy (and ok, probably LAZY) way to avoid counting calories. Like I said, the other day when I logged everything, I had around 1300 calories which is just about perfect! I'm pretty sure 900 is too few, especially if you're mixing in exercise as well. That's what I was doing from 1/23-2/8 and to be honest, I've lost the same amount in the past few days (though again it's probably water weight) that I did during those two weeks of eating 800-900 calories and walking 40 minutes a day.

I'm hoping to get into Intelligence in the AF. To be honest, I haven't looked too much into it because I don't want to get my hopes up. I have two very big hurdles: A) Lose the weight and B) get a medical waiver for having one kidney. Needless to say, I have a ton of anxiety about both feats and potential failure on either front. However, if I am successful in losing the weight, you can bet that I'm going to fight tooth and nail for that waiver! I'm hoping that showing that I've lost the weight and gotten in shape for it will show how determined I am. We shall see! I do know that I've never been this motivated in my entire life and I've been overweight and miserable for as long as I can remember.

Great job! Just keep it up. Like I said, I'd increase your caloric intake a little bit so your body doesn't go into starvation mode. As for the low carb options, I bet you can do as a few above mentioned, and make your own meal so long as it's within the nutrition guidelines.

Essbee, I logged everything I stuck in my face today on Fatsecret and it came to 1400 calories.. so Im good..it had a little more fat, but thats ok..my carbs (net)were at 19 grms protein at 28%..so good for me..
You will make it, it will be a fun journey.Wish I was young again(53)I went to vet school for a year then got involved got married ,had a kid, got divorced.. so settled for Equine Vet tech.. did that for 36 yrs...started at 17yrs.
Im not going to weight til Monday..id be happy with any kind of loss!

MaMiaGirl

Hi,
Can you make your shakes at home?
Why frozen food, arent you allowed warm food?
What are entrees, same as snacks?

I think 1400 is a good amount! Are you doing any exercising? I know it says that in addition to the five meal replacements, you're supposed to burn 2000 calories a week as well. How did you manage to keep your carbs so low? If you don't mind, I'd love to see your intake for the day!

I say you're as young as you feel! Being an Equine Vet Tech sounds really interesting! I used to want to be a Vet before I decided that no way could I stand seeing animals hurt or anything of the sort. I don't have a weak stomach, but I'll say I have a weak heart! Haha!

As for weighing...I usually try to do it just once a week so I don't get discouraged with the ups and downs of what I presume would be water weight, but the book says to weigh daily, so... I've never been that great about following a diet all the way through every step, so I'm really trying here!

@puneri - I don't believe there would be a problem making your own shakes so long as they meet the nutrition guidelines I posted on the previous page. The diet is as it says, "simple" more for the fact that you don't have to prepare meals and outside of choosing your frozen meal or "entree" and ensuring it has the proper calories, protein and fat, you also don't have to count your daily calories. The entrees are the frozen dinners and snacks are fruits and/or veggies. You must have at least five servings, but you can have as many as you want. In the book, it says that the best results were actually with higher fruit and veggie servings.

Hey,
I did my own protein shake.
1% milk, coffee and protein powder.
I like coffee flavor.. So i liked it.

I hate this diet. So much, mainly because the shakes make me want to puke. today I completely gave up and went out to eat for dinner. I'm still good on calories for the day, so hopefully it won't mess me up if I pick up again tomorrow. My husband is doing much better than I am. He grabs a shake on the way to work, has another for lunch and then eats two frozen meals for dinner and has his third shake before bed. Fruits and veggies are whatever I give him as he leaves and then whatever we share at night. He doesn't even really need to lose weight so go figure he does a great job with it.

I need to work harder. And start exercising. I am terrible at dieting.

Aw, that's a bummer that the shakes make you feel ill. I actually kind of like them. Well...some of them. The Cappuccino ones I'm not crazy about because of the after taste, but I really (surprisingly) like the chocolate ones. I just bought my second 12 pack of the Equate brand of them and stocked up on frozen meals. The problem I'm facing at the moment is a craving for nothing but the Smart Ones' Canadian Bacon breakfast sandwiches (basically Egg McMuffins). Don't ask why, because I couldn't tell you. Today was my first day not working while on the diet though I was out running errands for most of the day. I do notice that it's a little difficult to be around food that's more readily available whereas at work all I have is what I brought with me. We'll see how tomorrow goes as I don't plan on going out too terribly much.

I'm also wondering how things will be affected if I only eat half of the frozen entrees... I've had that problem a couple of times this past week. I either don't like them or simply fill up on water and the veggie or fruit I'm having with it. I swear my stomach has shrunk impossibly small the past few weeks and I'm having to really push it to get all my fruits and veggies in.

I love the smart ones breakfast sandwiches. They really are pretty delicious. I have the problem of not liking my entrees sometimes too. But Ive narrowed it down to a good 7 that I will eat and I'm just going to be rotating those. I haven't been getting more than one and a half shakes a day,but I eat protein bars instead sometimes. I know I'm not "supposed to" but whatevs, I guess.

I'm not doing too bad eating the fruits and vegetables. I usually have them early though. 2 servings with breakfast, 2 with lunch, one with dinner.

Water intake I am struggling with. I used to have maybe two cups a day. I've made it to six glasses the past couple of days but I don't see eight ever happening

They are awesome! I honestly think they're better than McDonald's Egg McMuffins. lol I don't like the after taste of the yolk with theirs or something! I think you'll still do ok with the meal replacement bars. Truthfully this seems like little more than a version of the Slim Fast plan anyway which is the 2 meal replacements and a sensible dinner. I just bought a ton of Smart Ones meals because there was a coupon for $3 off when you buy 10, so I'll figure out which ones I like and which ones I don't and kind of go from there. I had the Lean Cuisine macaroni and cheese earlier and took two bites before tossing it. It was awful! Even with salt and pepper I couldn't stomach it. Lesson learned, I suppose. In a lot of the pasta/rice dishes, I also find that I pick at them. I don't know; I guess it's just each person's preferences. Back to the shakes... Have you tried the different flavors? Like I said, the chocolate is my favorite, but I also really like the strawberries and cream too. I'm afraid to try the vanilla because I've never been a huge vanilla fan. Oh and the Atkin's strawberry banana is really good too!

Water is definitely important! Because I have trouble keeping tabs on how much I drink at work, I suck down 32 ounces in the morning. I have a 32oz water bottle and fill that up and guzzle before I head to work. Then I fill it up in the evening and drink it before bed, that way I know I've had not just the 64oz, but more because I drink at least 3-4 16oz cups of water at work. I do put ice in those cups though so I'm not entirely sure the amount of water I drink. What I would recommend if you can, is instead of having 2 servings of fruits and veggies at a time, replace one with a glass of water. I promise it's just as filling! I try to have at least one serving of fruit/veggies with each "meal" to get my 5. Speaking of... It's nearly 9:30 and I haven't had my 5th serving!

I'm on three servings of fruit/veggies today but I'm not trying to eat anymore. I am so full from eating real food for dinner....I feel like I've been starving for the past week but having a good size dinner and I'm stuffer to bursting. I might need to have a little cheat once a week or so to keep me from giving up completely.

We have the chocolate slim fast shakes at the moment. They're not bad but I just can't bring myself to finish them. If I mix it with strawberries it's not so bad. Strawberry banana shakes sound delicious! I might have to try that too.

Oh gosh, I know my stomach has shrunk in just the past few weeks. I struggle trying to eat enough of the fruits and veggies myself on most days because I am mostly full. Thinking about it, I think I've only had 3 servings today... Ugh. Hopefully that won't impede anything. Are you keeping a chart like it says to? I've kind of created an excel spreadsheet to keep tabs on things just to kind of see if I can pick up a trend or anything. I've been thinking about a cheat all day, but I think that's mostly because I'm off work and not distracted by being busy all day!

I gotcha. I wanted to get a blender so I can make more complex shakes and try some of the recipes in the book, but I think I'm going to put it off until I get tired of the plain old shakes (assuming that I do). Why fix it if it ain't broke and all that. I say try the strawberry banana! Can't hurt. It is thick like the other shakes though, so I'm not sure how much more bearable it'll be.

I made the strawberry banana.

Oh. Em. Gee. I can do this diet forever. And ever. Delicious. Don't care so much that it's thick because it tastes so good. First half went down easy, I'm slowing down a bit now, but that's because it's really filling. I'm glad.

I'm doing better on water today too. Every time I smoke a cigarette I'm drinking a bottle of water. Helps wash the taste out of my mouth, helps me get in my daily water, and is encouraging me to quit smoking because drinking all this water is making me have to pee really really bad.

I checked the scale today....didn't gain any weight from yesterday, but didn't lose. Its cool though. I'd rather maintain than gain more.

Awesome! I'm glad you found something you like! It's also good you're drinking more water. From what I've read, that's really key in weight loss. Even better if it aids in quitting smoking!

I'm keeping a spreadsheet and overall since last Tuesday I'm down 4.2 pounds. I did go up today .6 from yesterday, but I'm not nearly as discouraged as I thought I would be checking the scale daily. I get excited and updated my stats on my profile here and then had to backtrack. lol I think I'll wait for weekly official weigh ins to do that. I'm since you're drinking more water, you'll likely see the water weight come off soon!

I've been using my fitness pal to track everything. I'm not noticing much of a loss, but here's to hoping it happens!
My husband has lost like 8 pounds already....jerk