Susan -- yes, they are like that, and I very much like edamame as well. I get the steam-in-the bag microwave kind, and then salt them, then sit there sucking out the beans from the husks that are a tad tough for eating (to me, though I occasionally eat a few). Lots of hand to mouth and takes along time and satisfies that urge to snack.

Tonight I have microwave steam-in-the-bag sugar snap peas, and they are like the child of green beans and edamame, because the pods are perfectly delicious as well as the peas inside.

Switzerland is a bit behind in most things- healthy fast food for one, vegetarian food for another. Healthy fast vegetarian food?

So I was thrilled to bits when the edamame made it here- I grew my own one year, I was so desperate. That and rainbow chard. Edamame makes a great dinner for me because, as you say, it satisfies that snacking urge. Plus, I tend to eat too fast and then realize I probably ate more than I needed when it all hits my stomach 15 minutes later. Sucking each chubby little bean out of the pod helps solve that problem.

Irrelevant but exciting news; I haven't been able to use the upstairs of my studio since I rented it last fall. Today the rickety stairs will finally be replaced and I will use the upstairs to paint again! So excited!

MagicS-what type of painting do you do? That is exciting that you get your studio back! And did your DD get home from Greece? How was the trip?

Beautiful day here! I bought a salad and diet Coke and had a picnic by the river. 'Didn't plan very well for supper and made pancakes--the kids love that.

Mrs. Snark- I saw Laura Prepon on tv, talking about her new book (the Stash Plan). I thought it was interesting how she does "twice weekly cooking sessions". So, she can just come home and plop everything on her plate, LOL. Plop! Plop! Plop! Yum!

Guacamole-How are you doing? Is the PT getting any easier? And hows the running?

I wish I were motivated and organized enough to do a weekly cooking session (twice-weekly is definitely never in the cards -- it is as likely that I that I would become an astronaut next week as it would be for me to cook twice in one week). I am going to roast broccoli tonight, and that will sum up my cooking for the whole of next week. Thank goodness for sandwiches and salads and canned soup.

Hello, ladies! I am very busy with an upcoming holiday and lots of guests and kids at home. This year, even though I am the head chef and lead food taster I will NOT eat any baked goods. I made it past one holiday so far not caving in, but this one will be a doozy. I refuse to gain weight and set myself back. I will be happy if I maintain. PT round one is over. I'll have to see if I ask the doc for a script for round two. My back is better, but not pain free. I worry that without the massages, heat, cold packs, plus exercises that I make time for during the sessions it will go back to what it was. We shall see.

PMS is here with a vengeance and with it a stall in weight loss. I didn't lose anything this week, and am disappointed in myself. I always give in to eating the wrong things during this time. I am really trying to stay on plan.

I am still doing C25K, and this morning I accidentally skipped ahead 2 weeks to week 6. I was wondering why it was so challenging, and when the workout ended I saw my mistake! Ha! So, now I am wondering should I go back to week 4 or just continue with week 6? It was hard, but I did it.

Hope you gals are doing well!

FYI - Have any of you heard of the Fast Metabolism diet? Someone I know lost almost 30 pounds since January doing it. It kind of reminds me of Ideal Protein but without the shakes or prepackaged foods. It's pretty prep-time intensive and requires you to eat something like every 3 hours and trade off days eating grains/veg/fruit and protein/fats. There are some youtube videos on it and a book. I am really impressed by my friend's results and how quickly she achieved them - BUT - would I be able to make this into a permanent lifestyle? Eating so often and having to prepare so much is probably not realistic in the long term. Plus, some phases of the plan are pretty restrictive.

Is restrictive the only way to get faster results?

Guacamole - have you considered doing Week 5 instead since you jumped week to week 6 ? PMS is a problem in our house & so is PMT .... Ok well some days I feel sorry for the family as I have mood swings the week before during and after ....
Nope never heard of the Fast metabolism diet - heard a lot of different theory about metabolism = you should eat 5 small meals or ever 3 to 4 hours to keep metabolism fully burning - fast 1 day a week, change which day it is so your body doesn't adapt - change how you eat each day to keep the body from getting used to it
Old fashioned diet advice -have a Breakfast like a king eat lunch like a prince have dinner like a pauper

Mrs Snark - -sounds like you have a lot of 1 veggie dinners?

magic S - glad someone has sunshine - I'm in the southern hemisphere and its now dark early - still light in the morning when I go to work is the bonus for now... changes soon!

Oh, Snap! I was just going to say week 5 when I saw Karencat already had that idea.

PMS OMG. I have three teenage daughters and a Mirena spiral which means no periods for me, just lots of sympathy symptoms and shrapnel dodging when that time rolls around ...
Mood swings are evil. Sometimes they make me just... eat. At the moment, I'm not really following any diet, just trying not to succumb to the munchies and keep getting a bit of exercise. I hung up two loads of wash already- does that count as exercise?

Guac, take care of your back and ask for help with the cooking when you need it! It does teenagers good to chop veggies and stuff

I'm off work today for an exciting round of domestic duties- laundry, putting all the things back into the kitchen cupboard now that we've caught the mouse our dorky cat brought in and left in the kitchen, new passports for the kids, maybe even raking up the petals from the magnolia tree before the compost collection tomorrow... surely I won't have time to stuff my face, right? Right?

Karencat: I eat alot of frozen meals/soups/sandwiches with one veggie on the side. Because: lazy. I've been having a sandwich and roasted broccoli for lunch every day this week.

MagicS: I'm laughing that your cat brought in, and left, a live mouse. What a nice gift for you guys!

Guac: I feel like I might have read about the fat met diet a long time ago but don't remember anything about it. My experience has been that every single "diet" works, if you stick with it, but you have to find a method of eating that becomes second nature to you and you can live with long-term. Way back before becoming veg*n, I was very successful with Atkins. I was also very successful with some plan that was called something like 40-30-30. I was successful with some weird plan bodybuilders did that rotated super carb restriction and super carb loading. I've done "cutting" diets (I used to be big into weightlifting in my late 20s/early 30s). I've done the eat-every-2-hour thing. I've done strictly low fat. I've done high fat. I've done a multitude of "exercise like a woman-out-of-her-mind" plans. I did Richard Simmons 'deck-o-cards' plans (with my mom). Weight-watchers. There isn't anything I probably haven't tried, and all of it worked for a period of time, until I went back to eating in a way that easier for me.

What's funny is that I've probably settled at this point into what works best for me, which is fairly opposite of 'eat breakfast like a king and dinner like a pauper'. I tend to go light at breakfast and lunch, and big for dinner. For whatever reason, that is more emotionally/mentally satisfying for me, therefore, I can do it with little thought and keep doing it without a lot of effort.

I have definitely realized over the years the no matter what worked well physically (because most things did work physically) if my mental/emotional state wasn't on an even keel and in the comfort zone, I was not going to be able to sustain the plan for any significant period of time, no matter how well it was working physically.

And, now that I've typed all of that, I could have just said that: No, I don't think 'restrictive' is the only way to lose -- I believe for me, that long-term commitment/consistency is the way to lose AND to maintain. The plan does not need to be complicated and have strict rules about timing and mixing macro types and yadda yadda, the plan just has to have you in a calorie deficit and you have to be able to execute the plan day after day, week after week, month after month. Often if a person aims for too big a deficit in order to lose faster, the plan become unsustainable.

And there you have it, my blah blah blah for the day.

Karen and Magic - I kept up through week 6, and now I am going to rinse and repeat week 6 because it was so challenging to me. I am not ready to tackle week 7 yet!

Mrs. Snark - I think what you are saying makes sense. The key is not only finding the diet that works to take pounds off, but works with your natural emotional rhythm too. I also find myself not very hungry in the morning. Usually I am hungriest at lunchtime or early dinner time. I also am not usually hungry later at night. Eating like a pauper until 3-5pm and then eating like a king for dinner is more my speed. I know I couldn't do a plan where I have to eat every 2-3 hours, so while I am happy for my friend and it is working for her, it wouldn't work for me.

I have stuck to my guns and not eaten any of the baked goods I made for the holiday. Now I just have to get through the holiday meals and all the goodies on offer. I think I am much less addicted to sugar than I was a few months ago, because the cravings haven't been there - although the fresh baked cookies did smell good - but not good enough to eat! Now I remember how it feels to get those achy joints and fatigue after binging on sugary and white flour treats, and I sure don't think a few cookies are worth that, nor the cravings for more sugary stuff after I have given in.

Also, I had a nice drop in weight this week, so staying on track has been worth it! I need to keep up the momentum during this upcoming week.

Magic - the sound of the Mirena and no periods sounds so nice, but I had a copper coil a few years back with a lot of side effects so I am wary that my body can tolerate it. Plus, with my blood pressure, hormonal birth control can make it worse.

Mrs. Snark - how long have you been a vegan? My diet has definitely taken a turn in a veganish direction, but I am not sure if I am ready to commit to going all the way!

Guac: I actually had to do a search on the 3fatchicks site to figure out the exact time frame I went vegan -- it was April 2008. So celebrating 8 years vegan this month! Wow, does time fly.

Apparently you are cursed with being a good baker, I feel sorry for you. Seriously, though, GREAT JOB passing up the sugar. I always feel wretched coming down from a sugar high, too. Really, the only time it doesn't give me that terrible hangover & craving period is if I use a sugar hit for running fuel, but I don't really run long enough distances for that sort of thing to be helpful (or needed) anymore, so I can't use that as an excuse to indulge. So, like you, I just try to say no. I do find that the more I stay away from sugary baked good etc., the more delicious natural fruit tastes, so there is that.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Mrs Snark - nothing wrong with being lazy especially if your pre prepared with frozen meals etc...
I could probably do that if I didn't have fussy children - they love fresh food which is wonderful especially as the really like having fruit and veggies to eat
not a bad thing at all
Also tried pre planning - that doesn't work in this house ... I end up going off track then making up other stuff and things get left to either go off or forgotten about - about the only way pre planning works is by making enough for 2 nights then hoping like heck the rest of the family doesn't eat it
tonight I made stir fry chicken with rice and garlic bread .. hoped that the bread would help full them up - nope they still had 2 portions of the chicken eating into what would have been either tomorrows lunch or part of dinner
Well done on being vegan for 8 years - not something I could do - my grand mother was vegan by necessity she had allergies to animal protein my mum has a protein allergy to nuts almonds and oats (something to do with the chemical/protein make up being similar to nuts) and I developed one to soy products! Discovered this when I had a serious rash / vomiting reaction to tofu.. then tried soy milk reacted like someone who is lactose intolerant the first time - second came up in hives... had allergy tests done - ok allergies to Soy Grapefruit and possibly wheat - as well as most grasses - ok so wheat is probably just an intolerance

Guac - how is the program going with week 6 for the second time sounds pretty intense
Well done for avoiding those baked goods - Wish I had that will power

I made lolly cake log with my girls - made with fruit puffs and malt biscuits (cookies?) taken from a 1970's recipe for apricot log - which used dried apricots instead of lollies - not the healthiest thing but been a very long time since we last had them in the house and their dad usually eats most of the lollies - the eldest cant have a lot of bad foods as she has braces this is one treat she can have - and unlike chocolate I don't have a piece then go I WANT more!!

You ladies all have such busy and interesting lives! Greece and mice in the kitchen!

Great job on skipping to week 6 and sticking with it!! That's a big jump!

Yay on 10#s down and for new/old jeans!

Great job skipping the sugar treats! What holiday is it?

Sorry if I don't remember your names yet. I will learn all of them because I don't plan on going any where.

I am still doing the low-carb thing. I print up 7 recipes from Pinterest and try a new one each night. I get a thumbs up or down from the family. There is a pretty good pile of thumbs up recipes. The hubby has been diabetic for 12 years and this is the most cooperation I have gotten from him on lowering his carbs.So yay for Pinterest and food blogs! I think I have given up on weight loss. I just want to re-shape my body. I am going to hike the Grand Canyon next year. That is my goal.

Ninerschick : that's a pretty cool way to work out good food ideas

Guac - hows the C25k app thing going moved onto week 7 yet?

I fully get the being cursed being a good baker - found a new flour free muffin recipe to try probably end up being more like a soufflé

At least I don't end up eating everything that gets baked here I have family to do that one

Hiking the Grand Canyon! So exciting! I would like to do that and then camp at Havasupai Falls. It is on the bucket list. My husband has done it and says it is spectacular.

My mom is low carb and now my husband is trying to embrace it. That style of eating works great for my mom!

I had to google "lolly cake". Now I totally want one!

Beware Mrs Snark they are dangerous items indeed, quite addictive too - having said that I had 2 small pieces in total out of all of it and kept it within my WW points!
Here is another one for you to google - Anzac biscuits, I think they may be suited to vegans they contain rolled oats desiccated coconut golden syrup, flour, butter (but a vegan margarine equivalent can be used) baking soda and boiling water
and a bit healthier on the calories/carbs side of things seeing as oats add protein to it

I have a Weigh in tomorrow - first one for may here (its now may in NZ!)