This forum is a life saver!!! It is so encouraging to be doing this with other people! Today is my first day on the diet. I will eat meal #4 at 7pm and I dont know how to prepare the beans!! Are they just plain? Do you add spices? Can you mince an onion or something with it or is that cheating? I would GREATLY appreciate it if someone could let me know what to do! I am doing the extreme fat smash diet and I would love to connect with others who are too!!

I will keep everyone updated!! My start weight is 147 (with clothes and shoes on....and having to pee reealllly bad). Ugh. I need to get healthy!

YAY we can start together! I'm starting tomorrow. I haven't read the book but I've gathered enough from this message board and other websites to start. But I'm going to have to go read the book tomorrow just to make sure I'm on the right track.

As for your lentils question, there is a good recipe on page 3 of the 'fat smash diet recipes' board, called Crockpot Lentil Soup, Phase One. I bought the stuff tonight to make it tomorrow.

Good luck! I'll try to stay in touch with how I'm doing, I have about 40 lbs to lose!!

I put onions and other seasonings in mine and I cook them in Chicken or Vegetable broth for a little added flavor. You can use whatever seasonings you want as long as they don't contain salt or sugar.

I am starting on th EFS diet tomorrow. Any words of advice? I have about 25 lbs to lose.

I am kind of discouraged. I am on Day 1, phase 1 of EFS and it was all I could do to keep Meal #4's beans down. Are other's cooking the beans with other stuff? I kind of thought the point was to have them with just some kind of seasoning or condiment. What is everyone else doing with them to make them palatable? I am not a huge bean eater unless they are baked beans or are in chili.

I find them easier to take if I puree them in the food processor with seasonings and use as a dip with my veggies. Here's a recipe from Cooking Light for such a dip. I'm probably not supposed to have tahini (sesame seed paste) on EFS, but it's only 1 tbsp divided out among 6 servings so either it won't hurt to eat it or it won't hurt much to leave it out! Everything else in there is ok for EFS I think. Not sure about original FS.

1 red bell pepper, roasted
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, quartered

Oh, and another thing I like black bean soup, made with two cans of black beans, both drained and one can mashed, then mix with some broth and salsa to make a soup.

thanks, Quiltz, for the dip recipe - great idea! I've just been mixing my beans with the brown rice and garlic salt, pepper, and butter buds for EFS