Awesome!

That is what I am doing. Actually, I've kinda veered away from the core plan and started doing an even lower carb plan. But when I was doing the QWLC plan faithfully, I still did very well. So, you can totally do it on your own!

Glad you liked it. I have actually tinkered with my recipe since posting that. Instead of using the mix, I am adding a little bit of lowfat milk and Torani no sugar chocolate syrup. The Torani has no sugar, no calories and 1 carb per serving. (Not sure where the 1 carb comes from if their are no calories and no sugar, but whatever). They have some pretty good flavors (Vanilla, French Vanilla, Caramel) at my Walmart, and others available online.

So, this past week has been kinda annoying. I have been very good on my diet plan, but I have hovered at the same weight. I am not discouraged, but it irks me that I am putting so much effort in to lose weight and don't get the results. Now, I always realized that there would eventually be plateaus, and I'm not even sure if that is what this is ... or if I'm just not being patient enough... but it still irks me. I should probably also mention that thus far I have been able to lose the weight without doing any exercise whatsoever. Perhaps I need to get my lazy butt off the couch at night and do some exercise. But its easier to go to the computer and complain that I am not getting instant results without working out.

That sounds really good. Next time I go shopping I am going to have to pick up these items so that I can try this.

Someone brought in the SF Almond Torani to work today! Last week, I discovered someone order a family size box of the diet Swiss Miss and today we have the Torani. It's the like the people at work at following this recipe too. Lol.

But really, this stuff is satisfying my mid-afternoon hunger. Works great because by the time I leave work and get home, I'm starving so I can finish all my protein and veggies for dinner. I did go to Sam's this weekend and see the Torani but I didn't see many sugar free flavors I'm going to check out Wal-Mart to see if they have more variety.

This is exactly what I loved about QWLC - the no exercise part. That sounds terrible, doesn't it?

Hopefully this is a just a plateau and you'll a larger than normal drop in lbs on your next weigh-in. Don't lose patience and your drive! Look at how far you've come! It took a long time to lose that weight but I'm sure it was definitely worth it - just like it'll be worth it to stay patient and break through this plateau.

Hello All!

I just wanted to tell you guys about a few new things I've been trying lately.

I went to a local Asian grocery store and bought a few things my vegan friends rant about - shirataki noodles, kelp noodles, and seaweed salad. I think I paid a $1.49 or less for each package of noodles and each package seems to have a lot of noodles in it.

Now, I've tried seaweed salad at sushi restaurants and it's delicious but I know that it's packed with sodium. I found some at the grocer that is salted but actually VERY low in sodium! Super excited to try that.

Last night, I made the kelp noodles (virtually zero carbs, zero cals, and zero sodium). I rinsed them in warm water and then sauteed them in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil, pepper, Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper, and added a few shrimp. I was so surprised that they really had the feel of noodles (that heavy full feeling you get after eating a plate of pasta) and they took on the flavor of the sauce really well. I wish they would have been a bit softer, they had a tad of a crunch to them. I've since googled ways to soften kelp noodles and will be trying that later this week. I was full after eating half the package of noodles, so I just refrigerated the remainder. I would say you can get at least 2 large servings from each pack of kelp noodles.

Tonight I'm going to try the shirataki noodles. From what I was told, they are more like real noodles than anything. We shall see.....

OMG Where have shirataki noodles been all my life?!?!

I tried the fettuccine version shiraki noodles tonight If I hadn't prepared the meal myself, I could have sworn I was eating ramen noodles. I bought a macaroni version but they had spaghetti and angel hair versions as well.

check em out if you're a pasta fan on the QWLC diet- House Foods Shirataki Noodles.

I haven't tried them because so many people have commented that they have a fishy taste. If I had no other alternative, I might try them. But I have been really enjoying spaghetti squash. It has completely filled the void of pasta that I don't even miss it. Plus, I like the fact that I am getting good nutrition from it. From what I understand, the Shirtaki noodles basically go through your system without being absorbed.

So, after lingering at 305 pounds for the better part of two weeks, I started to go back to basics - more or less - this week. I had been cutting out my mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon protein shakes in lieu of other options, and was probably getting a little too elaborate with my salads which I usually have for lunch. This morning I was down to just over 300. So, I guess its working. I'm hoping to get into the 200s by my Sunday weigh-in.

On a NSV note, I have actually been able to buy clothes at a regular store! The clothes are not small by any means, and I still have a way to go to get into regular sizes, but until recently I had to buy them at the Big and Tall store. I have been trying to hold off buying a lot of clothes because I don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes I will not be wearing for very long. However, being able to buy them at a regular store has dramatically cut the cost. For example, a pair of cargo shorts at the Big and Tall store are about $45. And often they didn't have the size I needed, or the style or color I wanted. So, I was paying $45 for something that wasn't even exactly what I wanted! It was very frustrating! But in the past few days I found shorts for 1/3 of the price which are just as nice as the ones I get from the Big & Tall store, and in all of the colors I wanted. I've also found shirts, pants and jeans.

Another NSV is that I went to the back of my closet and found four suits that I haven't worn in YEARS. In fact, my wife -- who I've been with for 12 years -- has never seen me in these suits. This week I wore three of the suits to work and got a lot of compliments.

Speaking of work, I was very moved by something my boss did for me yesterday. In the past he has expressed concern over my health because of my weight and implored me to do something about it. I know that some people are put off when their bosses comment on their weight, but he did it in a very caring way and expressed his support. I had been planning to lose weight for quite some time, but never really got started. It just so happened that during the summer of last year I got started on my weight loss.

I work at a law firm that has a NY and Florida branch. My boss is based in the NY branch and he travels down to Florida about once a month to meet with everybody in the office and take care of whatever business needs to be done. When he has been down in past months he has expressed his support and admiration for me in weight loss success thus far. He has commented on how glad he is to see me succeeding in my goals. He was unable to come down in December, so our year end performance reviews (and bonuses) did not happen until this month. Well, something VERY unexpected happened yesterday. In addition to giving me a year-end bonus, he also gave me an extra bonus for the weight loss. That completely blew me away. I don't reward myself for weight loss, because my belief is that the weight loss is its own reward. Seeing the number on the scale go down is all the motivation I need. But it was very nice of my boss to do that for me.

Have just finished week 1 of the program and have already hit a plateau. Dropped easily during prep but adding the 3 starches and 3 fruits seem to have stalled me. Is this possible? Did anyone else run into this?

That's awesome Joe! It's always nice to have someone notice positive changes that you're making. For me, that's motivation just as much as seeing the numbers on the scale go down.

If I remember correctly, when I hit a plateau early on, the QWLC counselors took away one starch for a day or two and replaced it with a veggie.

Is your plateau that you're not losing at all or that you're not losing as fast as you were during prep?

Ya know, I bought a spaghetti squash from Wal-mart and it's just sitting there in my fridge. I'm not sure how to cook/prepare it to be pasta like. How do you usually prepare it?