I joined LA Weightloss in Charlotte, NC in Novemeber of 2008. I was pretty successful pretty fast. I loss 12 pounds in one month. 6 of that was from Take Off. Well my Center closed without notice in December. I tried WW and would lose and gain but I stilll have not gained back the 12 from LA Weightloss. So I would like to start the program again. There of course are no centers in the Charlotte area. I have my Take Off information but I don't know what plan I should be on after that. I was doing 4 weeks of no beef or pork (I think). I am 5'6" 288 pounds. Please help!

In my monthly diary I have this written

3 1/2 P, 4V, 4F, 5S, 3D 2 fats 2 lites

That sucks! LAWL did that to a lot of people. Do you know if you were on a numbered plan or a colored plan?

I think I was on the red plan

I am the old plan "off the books" too. I am on red without lites. Believe it or not, I got sick of eating so much sweet stuff with the bars. I am doing 2.5 protein, 4 or 5 veg, 3 fruit, 1 dairy, 1 fat, 3 starches. If you don't have access to the bars I believe you can bump up your "real" food to the next plan. Katie would know more about that.

You can do it away from the center. YOU CAN! I have done it before and now that I am losing baby weight I am doing it again (this time my hubby is doing it with me). It is just healthy food in normal portions so you learn how to eat. It is a lot of cooking and not a lot of processed/restaurant food...that's the hardest part for me since I am the family cook.

Ok, I am on the second day of Take Off. (I forgot how hard it was!) I am anxious to start a meal plan tomorrow. I think that I should be on red. I just have to try and stay focused. Dairy Fairy, I have that plan that you re referring to. It said, Ultra Express Daily Plan RED but it said no dairy during this phase. I just don't know how long I should be on this plan.

The good thing about Take Off is that you TREASURE your starches and dairy when you get them back! I have never gone to a center, so I have just done unlimited or limited takeoff...don't know exactly what Ultra Express is.

Essence: I would buy a notebook or on the computer create a food log and keep track of your foods. I would also be very diligent about weighing and measuring everything you eat. I do still have access to centers however I only have 2 weeks left on my plan. So I will be doing everything at home as well. I also use an online website dailyplate.com- it tracks calories but breaks it down into how much sodium,carbs, porteins each foods have. They have a very large database that even includes LAWL foods like take off. Trust me I had not idea how many carbs Takeoff juice had in it until I saw the breakdown. Good Luck!!

Thanks for the advice ladies. Mommyofsix, I'm going to check out the website that you suggest now. I lost 5 pounds this weekend and woke up this morning already confused about what I should eat!