and here i am again! hahaha, yes taylor, ellie(pita) and i are the lushes of the forum, been yelled at many times for our in depth convos so now we've been asked to talk about them in the "OOOPS, NO-NO" thread.

before this diet i did the vodka(monopalowa potato vodka is my favorite) and crystal light but have since gone to cranberry-raspberry la croix sparkling water($3.99 a 12 pack) with vodka when i cheat. 60 cal per drink(with one shot) and no aspartame-crystal light does have aspartame which has been expained to me at least can trick your body into thinking it's consuming sugar.

i'm the same ellie with the sweet drinks, i used to use a little sprinkle of crystal light just to have the lemon flavor. didn't have a clue how many sparkling waters there were out there. ugh, that slenderwine-was it gross like white zin?

you are not the lush Erin, I am one though. yes wine sucked, hate to say it but its like them mike's hard lemonades, you know on that show that they catch pedofiles, the pedofile always brings mike's hard lemonade?? well he could switch to slenderwine to be more sofisticated.

lies, all lies i am a lush, my hubby and our best guy friend call vodka my "medicine". i am an unusually up tight human being on most days and that's what mellows me out in the evenings after workdays and days i'm stuck at home with two wild children normally. used to be a whiskey gal-i'm a self proclaimed redneck, but alas-too many carbohydrates. so i made the switch the the russian drink of choice and have never looked back.

i miss my potoato vodka at night...

what sorority? i'm an alpha xi delta alum from UT and you're young! i'm getting old pushing the big 2-6

may i ask what esophogitus is and how you got it?

alright youngin...I've had that...ehmmm and I was able to find a remedy and allowed to enjoy my libations

Erin: I remember when I turned 25, my brother called and said "happy birthday, you are quarter of a century year old now". Yeab what was over a decade ago

ellie, you look no more than 22-23, honestly. i can't wait to be in my mid 30's, i hear the libido gets better AND my kids will be self sufficient at 12 and 15!!!!! woo-hoo!!!!! you're GORGEOUS.

I miss my vodka too! I haven't had any alcohol since september last year, when I started trying to lose. WHY you ask?? Because, I drank enough back then that when I counted the empty calories I was "eating" it was a WHOLE meal! ACCKKK!! So, no alcohol, then I started this in November, so it was kind of a good prep thing.

I LOVE Vodka. All Kinds - grape, potato, flavored, prickly pear, you name it, but it BETTER be good quality! Favorite drink was vodka and soda or vodka/diet tonic. Also, vodka martinis. When not drinking vodka, I was a whisky, scotch, rum, red wine, stouts, and micro brews gal. (in that order!) Not much for frou-frou drinks unless it was summertime by the pool. In that case, a nice Icey Cold, blended drink was PERFECT.

all I have to say is *S I G H*

one day, one day...one day in the future, hopefully near future.

Can anyone tell me if lettuce can be counted towards the 2 cups of veggies? I know we can have 2 cups veggies plus unlimited lettuce, but can the lettuce be used instead of other vegetables?

Lettuce is in addition to other veggies. The only lettuce I am aware of as counting instead of veggies is spring mix. You need the veggies for the added nutritional values (vitamins, minerals, aminos, etc.) the lettuce really is not as nutritional and offers "roughage".

Some people have skipped the lettuce but, you really need the veggies.

Thanks Carla!

i believe baby spinach is also counted towards veggies at least i count it

I thought about that too! I wasn't sure exactly how it counted and think it comes up most often with greens (collards, turnips, mustard, dandelion, arugula, beet greens, spinach) when I searched. I DON'T KNOW for certain though! LOL... it sure end up in a lot of salads these days!

Does any one know if black beans are allowed?

Thanks!
Delia

Nope, they're not. But I believe you can have black soybeans as a restricted item. Carla?