Your thought process is pretty much in tune with mine. If I was doing this diet using tofu, etc., as an alternative protein source in place of chicken/beef/fish/pork from time to time I'd certainly do what we're talking about and see how close it would be. If it's reasonably comparable I'd be awfully tempted (and probably would) go ahead. Check that calorie intake, fat content, carbs, protein level are all within acceptable areas, when compared to 8 oz of protein from chicken-pork-beef- etc.

Hi Ladies,
I am exploring my options for eating out so I have two questions with regards to Moe's or any restaurant: is salsa ok? And, why can't I have guacamole or avocado?

Aaah, thank you oh wise one! This is why I posted the question! So I will have to wait to get my cheese flavor fix!

I will enter the info for a recipe and see where it comes out. If I skipped a restricted (which I have every day) then it might work out in the end...I haven't been a purist on this diet either but 4.4 lbs this week tells me I haven't screwed it up too bad either...Plus some people use a little of the veggie cheese and that's not 0/0/0 either...Haha! It's amazing how I can talk myself into things!

Have you ever looked up the nutritional value of 1/4 of an avocado? They are good for you, yes - but VERY high in fat AND carbs. Fine when you are eating a balanced diet (since they are good fats and high in fiber) but for the purposes of Phase 1 they are too high on both counts.

RE: salsa - it would be helpful to ask them if they make the salsa fresh or if it is from a jar. Fresh salsa is almost always safe, just count it as part of your veggies. It's usually just tomato, onion, jalapenos, lemon or lime juice, and cilantro. Salsa from a jar is MUCH more likely to contain sugar.

I always plan out my entire day's worth of eating by entering everything into fatsecret.com when I enter my breakfast choices. That way I see what my totals for the day are going to be. So if this tofu/nutritional yeast recipe ended up being a reasonable fit for us as our dinner protein, but maybe slightly higher in carbs than as if I had pure beef or chicken protein instead, I'd adjust the carb level (chose a lower carb veg for example) with my other meals or snack(s) for the day - so at the end of the day things would still balance out fairly well for the day's total food intake. There's a carb range anyway, as it's generally accepted that we can have somewhere between 25-40 net carbs/day... in fact, I noticed recently that Wuv said something about up to a maximum of 50 net carbs/day being ok... unless of course, you find that you are quite carb sensitive, and then you would know that you have to stay within the lower part of that range.

And I agree - it certainly doesn't sound like you've screwed anything up too badly so far! (and I somehow managed to get to my goal weight too..... )

Hello fellow IP'ers! this is my first participation in a thread, although I've done a lot of research on this site.

Today marks 2 months OP for me (still haven't cheated!!), and I'm down 33 lbs (19 to go)...unfortunately, I've been fighting a cold this week, and seem to be experiencing some water retention. On top of all that, that TOM is due anytime now. Last week my endorphins were through the roof...I'd catch myself randomly walking around with a smile on my face. This week it's disappeared. My WI this week only yielded 1 lb, and I usually average 3.6 (unless I'm ovulating, then I retain water too)...probably had a lot to do with it. Has anyone else experienced this, and how do you cope?

On a side note, I rarely have cravings (not since week 2), but right now I'd love to have an IP dark chocolate pudding as a second snack Must stay strong...this will pass! Somehow last TOM I didn't have cravings. I should've bought lettuce at the store yesterday.

Congratulations! I started at the same weight so you are a real inspiration to me! Thanks for sharing

Yay for you!!! That must have been such a nice feeling for you. That's great.

You're right, it will pass! Stay strong! Make yourself a nice cup of tea and think about how you would rather have a better WI than that extra pudding. You can do it!

Congrats on all the huge losses and pending whooshes!!

This week, I accidentally cheated twice. My schedule and routine is different this week because DH and I are taking classes to become foster/adoptive parents. I have been ravenously hungry-- which I attributed to a stress eating habit and a desire for comfort food.

Today, I figured out the actual culprit: We have been stopping at Starbucks on the way to class. I used to get skinny vanilla lattes but obviously can't do that and be OP. so...I ordered brewed coffee. Vanilla blonde--thinking we were talking about the coffee being brewed with vanilla bean. Delish. Then today when i ordered, I noticed her heading to the vanilla syrup. Omg. I have had 10 pumps of straight sugar on Tuesday and Wednesday. I stopped her today!

But nonetheless, I had a -2 WI today so at least there's that!

Good for you...don't let a little mistake get you down, you're doing great!

Thank you...I had dinner, and now I feel better. I sincerely appreciate the support!

Congrats on all the losses today everyone!

I just had weigh in #3 and down another 2.6, I love this program.

I also had a nsv today, one of my customers at work noticed I'm losing weight, was shocked she never said anything about my hair..lol

It's so nice to read about successes. Congratulations! I had a stressful day dealing w Sandy paperwork which got frustrating and more times than not I wanted to throw in the towel and eat eat eat for comfort, for stress, and to just give up on it all. But...I didnt! Every time I got the urge to eat I had to realize that I wasnt even hungry and I was angry or depressed or whatever the emotion would be. So that worked. I was so tempted to just go out to eat like I always used to eat (pizza, sandwiches, ice cream, etc) just act compulsively and immediately but I went home and made chicken and asparagus which was nice. (: (: