Avalon1957 - thank you so much for the hint about the Cinnamon Apple tea trick - I will add it to my shopping tomorrow. I have not gotten into too many tough moments yet in the 2 weeks I have been on IP. I have eaten in restaurants and done OK. I laugh as I order a salad but "hold the olives, the tomatoes, the parmesan, the carrots, the nuts and the dressing"!.

But my resolve is strong for the moment. I lost 12 the first week and a much harder 5 pounds this past week, so I am charged to go!

I started on 8/6 and am down 14 lbs as of my last weigh in on 8/29. I have a mini goal of 25 lbs by my birthday at the end of September. I have gotten through most of the cravings but I get so hungry in the afternoon. I tried kale chips but couldn't make myself like the taste. I bought a dehydrator and am making zucchini and cucumber chips in all different flavors. They are perfect solution to have my vegetables with me no matter where I am during the day.

I am going to ask for a dehydrator for my birthday coming up soon! Lol funny you mention about the cinnamon apple tea...I have been drinking the hot version of this tea with stevia almost daily. So sweet and fruity! Love it!

So I am getting really pissed at the scale...been bouncing from 212-215 since last Wed. Not seeing a nice steady loss as I was in the past! Grrrrr it must have to do with water retention, or hormones or something. Not the big c however lol. I have been following protocol nicely too. :( guess I have to keep on chugging along I suppose and keep on watching for the losses to show again!

Hang in there. The weight WILL come off! My coach said to try to stay off my scale. Yeah, right! I cant stay off my scale. The worst part is that my scale is 7 -8 lbs heavier than the one at the clinic. So I get to feel discouraged.....and then have to do math lol. Time for a new scale!

Well ladies I had a slip up yesterday. I ate. A slice of American cheese and half of a grande skinny mocha from Starbucks. The mocha tasted terrible! It was like watery chocolate milk so I chunked it. Gonna not beat myself up over it and stay OP. But I don't admit my slips then I'm not being true to myself.

Thanks! Yes, So far it is a huge benefit that we are doing it together makes meal planning easier and he is usually the test dummy for foods I am too chicken to try first. He is losing more than me , but I knew to expect that and I know he will phase off considerably sooner than me. By then it will just be the norm to eat this way and hopefully a non issue that we aren't at the same phase.

Happy Monday!

Here is something that I tried that worked and even I will admit it sounded ICKY and I was so very reluctant to try. It was in regards to those veggies with which we sometimes have challenges.

I took an entire bag of greens (chard, collard and something else) and made a soup out of it - simple chicken broth base with some garlic, onion, salt.

Surprisingly, it was good! I have added a protein packet of mushroom soup to it once for variety and that was nice. OK, here is the gross one - I used it as the base for my chocolate shake mix and you could not really taste the greens.

That way, you can get your protein and your veggies in at once when yu are either in a hurry or not interested in a big meal.

I NEVER thought I would eat greens soup, but for this self improvement project, I will try anything. Next comes trying parsnips and rutabaga which I have never eaten before in my many decades.....

I eat 2 spears for a mid-morning snack. My stash of B1G1 free jars has dwindled! I made pickled okra this summer & might use those for my snack.

There is hole in the wall restaurant in my town that makes "Swamp Soup" - has collards in it! I may have to try that once the collards are ready in the garden.

Yeah! Great idea!!! I am coming up on my second weigh in but I am nervous. I was working at my family's restaurant at the Cape for the whole labor day weekend and while I never cheated at all, I found it very hard to get the 4 cups of veggies in!!! Not sure how that will effect my weight loss this week. Fingers crossed!!! Headaches are gone but bad breath has settled in.

I think I have learned that the right kind of 2 cups of veggies are important. I will add cucumbers & peppers to my lunch salad, but I think I need to add spinach or broccoli more often to that salad. This week I'm wondering if I'll see any weight loss! I stepped on my home scales today & wasn't impressed. 2 more days until WI.

I made an Asian soup with bok Choy, onions, celery and cabbage in 0/0/0 chicken broth and added some fresh grated ginger and spices. Often the warmth of the soup fills you up more than cold veggies to snack on.

CAREFUL - parsnips are not on the approved list (up there in carbs) and rutabagas are of course occasional so that limits the soup consumption!

We are all human :) at least you admitted it and are getting right back on program.. I suspect from what I hear from others that you will quickly see the little slip was soo not worth it for the time it will take to get back on t rack, at least that is what I am telling myself as motivation :) (

I started on 8/8/13. On my 4th week and have lost 12.1.
Just got diagnosed with shingles, I hope it was not a result of me going on this diet.
I really want to maintain on phase 1 as I feel I have been following the plan and want to loose 50 lbs.

JLUS - thank you for the warning re parsnips and rutabaga. You have SAVED me from trying something I have reluctant to eat anytime in my life

(I probably would have checked just to be sure before I made anything but this way is faster and easier!)