That's such a good theory, Annie. I'm going to try to adopt it myself. It's not that you CAN'T eat it, because if you wanted to, you could. It's that we are making the choices that are important for our health and well being. Good job filling up on those goodies that will be good treats for you, and healthy at the same time....I wanted to make oatmeal cookies and sweet potato fries today, but alas, I have 1 pack of instant oatmeal (not 1 cup) and 1 sweet potato. Grrrrr. So I'm going to have to go grocery shopping before I can try those things. And we are leaving to go out of town on Tuesday, so I won't be shopping before we leave, because I need to eat what I've got.

I weigh in tomorrow-nervous, ladies!!! Wish me luck!

Thank you Kara and Annie for your kind words. I know we are not supposed to do weight training but I've been doing it for the past 3 months so I didn't really want to stop. I guess I should really rely on my measurement tape...not the scale.

Kara, IE is Intuitive Eating. Based on very simple rule. Eat what you want. Eat when you are hungry. Eat consciously. Stop when you are full. I know it sounds like no brainer. But as we all know, we eat more than when we are satisfied... The hunger scale can be used for this...What I really did was Paul McKenna's plan... which is very closed to IE. While eating, you put down fork after each bite and eat very consciously. My portion dropped dramatically using this in a matter of days. He has more "tools" such as how to fight craving, emotional eating, and so on. As I'm not that big of an emotional eater, that didn't bother me that much. He actually had a 5 or 6 week series called "I can make you thin" on TLC and it does work. I'm still doing it...but not following it to the T since I'm doing FSD. According to Paul McKenna, there are no food I can't have. Well, some stuff he can do...like a lady who was addicted to chocolate, who used to eat at least 5 lbs of chocolate daily doesn't eat chocolate anymore after following his techniques... But I thought I needed to learn how to eat healthier, which was why I ended up with FSD..and big result in 9 days was very tempting too.. anyways.

Below is the Hunger Scale.

First, decide how you're feeling:

10: Stuffed. You are so full you feel nauseous.

9: Very uncomfortably full. You need to loosen your clothes.

8: Uncomfortably full. You feel bloated.

7: Full. A little bit uncomfortable.

6: Perfectly comfortable. You feel satisfied.

5: Comfortable. You're more or less satisfied, but could eat a little more.

4: Slightly uncomfortable. You're just beginning to feel signs of hunger.

3: Uncomfortably hungry. Your stomach is rumbling.

2: Very uncomfortable. You feel irritable and unable to concentrate.

1: Weak and light-headed. Your stomach acid is churning.

You should eat only when you're feeling 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Put your fork down at 5 or 6 and wait until the next scheduled meal or snack.

If you're trying to lose weight, stop at 5, the point at which you're eating a little less than your body is burning.

Good luck with your weigh-in tomorrow, Kara.

Tara - Thanks for sharing that. I think no matter what weight loss plan you're on, that's extremely helpful and makes so much sense. Sometimes, we make things so complicated when it's really simple. Now, we just have to do it! Ha. Easier said than done.

That's great, Tara. Thank you for filling me in on what IE is. I think that it's best to keep that scale in mind, especially when we are eating OFF the plan, because that way you don't dig your hole too deep, you know? I think it sounds really awesome.

As far as the weigh in, I lost 9.6 lbs. I know that my weight loss is going to slow down soon, but having as much weight to lose as I do, I can't help but be excited about the loss.

I love having you guys to talk to-it's awesome.

Before leaving for party, I just wanted to share some NSV.

This was awesome since I've been little bit depressed today about my weight. While getting ready to go to my friend's house party, I decided to try on this one pair of skinny jeans I got last year. I fit well last year, then this year..before I started this weight loss journey, it wouldn't even button up. When I lost some, I tried them on again and it did button up but HUGE HUGE muffin roll... and I told myself that I wasn't going to try these on till I lose at least 20 lbs. I wasn't even thinking about that but just wanted to try them on today. I did and it actually fits well. I can move around in them, even put my hand in my waistband without sucking stomach in that much. It just made me feel so much better today. (I'm kinda nervous bc my friends haven't seen me since April and I've lost about 17 lbs since then...)

Well hope you ladies have a great evening and Kara, really CONGRATS! That's sooo awesome! You lost more than 1 lb per day! wow! =)

Tara,
That is AWESOME! I know how good that must feel-I tried on some the other night and couldn't get in them yet, so I know I'll have to wait a while, but I know your friends will think you look beautiful, and even if they don't, YOU know how far you've come!!! Hooray!! Have a great time tonight!

Thanks for the congrats!

Kara - What a terrific job you have done

I have been lurking and just wanted to say
WOO-HOO!!!!

Thank you Evie!!! I appreciate that! I know how it is to lurk-I did it for a while before I started talking. But now that you've talked to us, we won't let you go back to lurking! Haha! Thanks again, I appreciate you taking the time to post this comment to me!

Evie Rose - So glad you're not just lurking anymore. This is a great site for support. Please feel free to join in anytime. The more the merrier!

Kara- You are rockin' it! I'm so excited for you. How does it feel to be in the 200 club again? Woo hoo!!!!!

Tara - That is so great you're fitting into your skinny jeans. Yeah, it's great to see the numbers on the scale change, but when you experience those kind of triumphs, it is so exhilarating! It's enough to make your entire weekend. Yay!!!

So, ladies...things didn't go so well tonight at my father's surprise party. I tried to do well, and I guess in the grand scheme of things, I didn't do terrible, but I have been doing so well lately. I ate cake and a little dab of ice cream. It tasted divine. And I had two beers. Tomorrow we have a block party, then Sunday is when we get all the girls in the family together to hang out once a month. I know at the cook out on Sunday I'll do much better than tomorrow, but wish me luck! I'm going to need it to survive tomorrow.

On a side note, my brother-in-law made a phenomenal salad. I don't know which phase it works in, but I ate it anyway! It sounds funky, but it was so yummy. It went right away at the party!
Baby spinach, watermelon, feta cheese and pine nuts. It was mixed with some olive oil and seasoned to taste. I believe he only put in some salt and pepper. So, so good!

Hey Annie!
Thank you so much. It really is a relief to be back in the 200 club. I know usually I'm going for 100 club, but I had gotten up to the highest weight in my life, and it feels SO good to be out of the 300s. I'm even embarrassed to say I was there, but I can say that I'll never be there again...it's too long of a way down for that.
That's ok about your father's party!!!! I think that there are some events where you need to enjoy yourself-and if that means eating some cake and ice cream, then do it! Life is only so long, you know? I know you, you'll get right back on the bandwagon. I have to say I really miss being able to drink some every once in a while. I enjoy having wine or drinks with my friends, and that's something I haven't been able to do, so having a couple of beers in my book is a-ok. That salad sounds AWESOME!!!! I love pine nuts with anything, especially in pesto...omg I love pesto pasta, did I mention I love pasta?

Hope everybody is having a good night-good to hear from you Annie!!

Thanks, Kara! I'm going to beat myself up about, just move on, but the weekend still isn't over. I'm thinking that I'm going to detox Monday - Wednesday next week. Thursday I head down to DC until Friday night to work the 4th of July parade down there. We live out of 7-11's when I'm on the road with this guy, so it's very difficult to eat healthy. I figured I would have to pack some stuff in a mini-cooler so I have some options. We'll see how it goes. I have some days to plan it out.

I know what ya mean, and I'm sure that whatever you do will work just fine I'll probably do detox again pretty soon. I might wait and do it when we get back from our trip-we are going to be gone July 1-7, so maybe when I get back I will pick up detox again.

Hope you have a good Saturday night-it's raining here-so so relaxing!!

Ahhh! So we're having the block party, and I'm trying to be good. It's not easy at all. I'm ending up being so anti social, since I can't be around all this junk food and not be tempted to eat. I did do veggie kabobs on the grill, but then I also ate a soft pretzel and a hamburger. I also am ready to get drinking with everyone, especially since they're playing some drinking games, but I know that in the end it's counterproductive. So, while they're all out there drinking, I'm in here typing. My brother has been laughing at me, but he understands. Hopefully he'll pass the word along, so people don't think I'm crazy! Thanks for letting me vent. I'm hoping that this will keep me from eating those really good looking hotdogs and ribs they keep grilling. Ugh. I'm not ready for the real world, apparently! Ha.

I know exactly how you feel-I looooove grilled food-hotdogs and hamburgers!!! I know how you feel about feeling antisocial too-that's the way it feels sometimes, and I remember that my family all thought something was wrong with me the last time I did a diet. They gave me a "sit down talk" to find out what was wrong...they weren't very supportive, so at least your brother understands to some extent what you are doing. I can also understand wanting to drink with everybody-I miss having drinks with my friends, and with Ryan. He'll be over here having beers and I'm drinking my water-it's a bit boring, but hey...like you said, it's counterproductive. Unfortunately, that logic doesn't always make you feel better. Good luck, and thanks for venting to us!! We are always here for you!

Hey ladies. I've been working out of town but I'm back. I wish I could say that I;ve remained on plan. Its hard to eat fresh when traveling. I weighed myself at the hotel gym on Thursday and lost 3 pounds.. even with my sushi mess up. I am going to remain on detox probably until the 4th then go back on it. I love my new dvds. I even bought 30 Day Shred by Julian Michaels and I love it even though I can't get throught the entire video.

I feel as if I've been missing alot.