Thanks NewEnglander! I had the sauteed baby spinach with the grilled salmon fillet and it was so delish! The greens tasted very rich sauteed in olive oil and garlic. I added a dash of beef stock too and it came out perfect. I'm gonna have to make that again! Great way to get my leafy greens.

Today I walked for 35 minutes. I was thrilled that my back is beginning to get stronger. Its been tough walking with an aching back. But I am definitely getting stronger and have a bit more energy. I'm still impatient to get back into shape. I used to ride my bike 200 miles a week so being this out of shape is really killing me.

Today I walked another 35 minutes. I am slowly but surely on my way to my goal of 45 minute walks.

Today I had:

early am snack: 1 cup herbal tea; then 1 banana and 1 cup of orange juice

breakfast: 1 cup of cooked 7 grain cereal with a pat of butter

lunch: 1 cup homemade lentil soup, 1 cup soy milk

afternoon snack: 1 whole wheat pita bread with about 1/2 cup homemade hummus

For dinner I'm having tofu and veggies in red curry coconut sauce over a cup of brown rice, 1 cup of 1% milk.

Haven't decided on a late snack but probably some cold fruit or a fruit popsicle.

Applevalleygirl, are you sure about a whole loaf of Pita being 100 calories? what do you mean by a loaf? Don't they come in "pockets?"

I'm just finishing day 2 of Phase 2. I lost 9.5 on Phase 1.

Best of luck to all.

Well I'm back. Fell off the diet for a while but now I'm back and weighed myself this morning and lost some more weight. 3 more lbs to be exact!! Woohoo!!

I also stopped doing the walking exercises because its so cold outside I'm gonna wait for this cold snap to stop.

I think part of the reason (if not all of the reason) I fell off my diet is because my job hours were cut back. Everyone at my office had their hours cut. My regular job is with a real estate corporation and there just isn't any biz because of this recession.

Also, the Farmers Market and Craft Show season won't start until early May so I am trying desperately to make ends meet until I can make some more money with my crafting biz. I have a small candle and soap biz and sales were about 30% down last year from the previous year. I am not expecting this year to fair any better until around the end when the fall and holiday sales tend to pick up.

Anyway-- its hard to buy some of the foods with a smaller budget but I am working at it. I remember when 'diet' foods like fresh fruit and veggies were dirt cheap. Now they can be so expensive along with the price of fresh fish and meat.

But I will keep at this diet for as long as I am able cause I am determined to lose some wieight this year.

So far I have lost a total of 9 lbs and 3" so I am happy with that.

Hi RLandis! Yes a loaf is a pocket. Thats what I meant. The pita bread I get is a low cal whole wheat and its only 100 calories per pocket.

I also added some chili powder to my last batch of homemade hummus to give it a little kick. It is soooo good!! Makes a great low fat snack. I try to find as many foods to snack on cause snacks are my downfall.

you could do it and with the help of everyone doing this same diet it will be more better..... i just started the extreme fat smash diet.. two days ago. and i am crying like a baby its not easy. because i work in a restaurant and i have to cook for my kids and hubby...... i hope i could finish this challenge

Good Luck

welcome back apple and hang in there we all can do it.. Rlandis way to go.. I'm on day 2 of phase 1 and I understand why they call it extreme but day 2 is better yesterday I had a terrible headache but I'm hanging in there.. 9.5 pounds wow.. keep me updated on phase 2..