Good suggestions on the taco salad, I do the Big Mac in a bowl, walden farms 1000 island is excellent with the 4 oz lean burger lettuce red onion tomato. Very satisfying and the roasted chicken you can purchase at the grocery store when u have no time to cook. This is very doable, even with a family, it really is a matter of making your mind up, go with the nike slogan, JUST DO IT!

Dream board
 

I just made myself a dream board. It's not just losing the weight for me. It's overcoming whatever it is that is holding me back from being the best person I can be.

I put it up in the kitchen. I'm going to *** stars for each lb I lose.
Let's do this!!

Started on November 6th, down 7 pounds. Feel really good, typically not hungry, and enjoying my meals. Love the Quest bars and RTD EAS Dark Chocolate with a splash of Torani SF peppermint. I also tried the cream of mushroom soup and added sauteed mushrooms...yummy.

I restarted Friday, November 15. Went to a buffet for lunch, with visiting friends today. I really thought it would be a disaster for my restart, but I was able to find some delicious turkey breast, vegetables and salad and was full. usually I can't go near buffets without overeating. I plan to speak up next time and not put myself in that situation again. I feel very nervous about all the approaching holidays and gaining weight.

I started November 6th. I was initially shocked once I realized how much I needed to loose --- Like, I knew what my goal weight was - but never calculated how many pounds that really was or how long it might take. YIKES!!! Anyway, so far so good - but sometimes I get overwhelmed at the thought of doing phase 1 for so long.

How do I get the weight loss ticker?

I'm so happy there are others who started in November to be on this journey at the same time. Four days and I'm already tired of the vegetables. I haven't cooked in years but am scouring these forums and pinterest for interesting vegetable recipes that might entice me a little more.

When you have been here for 20 days and have 20 posts the option to add signature shows up in your user cp:)

I started nov 1 and feeling really good! Im down 11.8 pounds...ive never stuck to any plan for very long before and i really feel like this is something I can do. My goals are very similar to yours skinny, regular clothing store for sure!!

For meal times i always make protein and veg that I can eat and add extras like baked potato or rice for the family....if they want something like pasta then i just make myself something else or eat ideal rotini noodles with my own sauce made with chopped tomato and other veg....its extra work but i prepare on the weekends what we are going to eat and do as much prep as i can before the busy work week starts!

The results are worth it! Off to make zucchini muffins with the oatmeal packet to take for on the run bfasts this week...there are so many recipes i want to try with the packets but im afraid of wasting them if they don't turn out!!

on Day 3. I'm still drinking tea all day..much harder to cut out than the diet soda. Was wondering why Ideal protein is limited to 1 cup of regular tea? I want to do it but need a good reason to give up something I love and enjoy each day. Does anyone know why it's limited?

Tea and coffee are not limited to 1 cup per day. 1oz of skim milk is all that's permitted so if you drink it black, that's not an issue.

I would just make sure you're drinking plenty of water to compensate for the caffeine, unless you're drinking decaf/herbal.

Enjoy!

Thank you IdealProteinNewbie, I think I can see where my problem is now...when I drink the tea, I tend to not drink any water at all...I think I need to cut down on the tea and add some water.

It was so hard to give up diet soda and this is my third day off of that. Now I have to work on increasing my water.

I was worried about quitting my diet sodas. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought, but I am drinking a lot of water. Before this, I was drinking soda all day and no water. It feels really great!

Ok, I'm going to give it a try this week, I'll commit to trying to drink more (any will be more for me) this week. Maybe a slice of lemon in it will help get me started. So hard to change habits!!!

I start with a bottle of water, the 16 ounce one you get in cases of 24. I refill it at least 3 more times during the day to make sure I'm getting all my water. I try to space them out so that I have one right after each meal and one extra in the afternoon. I pretty much chugged it the first few days because I really haven't been drinking water in a while. I bought a brita water bottle yesterday but I don't like having to squeeze it to drink, although it does taste good and I won't be recycling as much plastic.

I use mio or dassani drops in my water....they are 0,0,0 and use splenda so my coach said go ahead. It tastes great and its much easier to drink....i usually drink a plain one first thing in the morning and then flavor the rest of the day.

Don't give up hope yet....once you get going and see the minor results , you will be pumped to keep going. Baby steps.
After 20 posts you can get a ticker...

good luck my dear! you can do this.