so i havent been completely on the fs since i got back from my vacation....i actually havent been back to the gym...i plan on getting back probably this week or next though....i have been trying to just make better choices when eating...last week i followed phase 1 from monday up until friday night where i broke off a little bit....one thing i noticed...since i got back from my vacation....was that i slowly drop weight....last week since going on phase 1 completely i dropped 5 pounds....so this week im going to do the same...im about 10 pounds away from my final goal....

now about working out....i havent been working out for the last few weeks...is this normal for your body to drop the weight regardless?....if i can maintain without having to workout every day that would be heaven but i know i will have to work out at least 3 days a week...maybe not the usual 5 days a week...and maybe not an hour each time...which would be great if thats the case...has anyone dropped weight without the work out and just making better choices when eating out?

ok i see lots of views but no responses :0)...just want to update you on the progress....

so i have been following phase 1 pretty much during the weekdays...monday - friday....with a couple of exceptions...friday night i will sometimes break aweay..but not like eating fast food..just maybe adding a piece of chicken or something...saturday more or less the same...and sunday i will usually try to stay on track with phase 1 but i may have a coffee or something to that extent...

so far since my original post...i have dropped down another 3 pounds...this is purely by keeping my eating habits as much in check as i can....so i am down to 154 now...my second weight goal was around 152 or so...so not too far off...my ultimate goal was 145...so not completely off either...since i was around 161...i have just been eating right and not really doing my cardio right now...i am thinking that eating the way i am is keeping my metabolism in check and still letting me burn off some of the fat i have left on me...i dont plan on staying like this always ....but i do think that if some of you ARE tired of working out and want to take a break...i would say go for it...take a few weeks off...maybe a month even (i am running on 3 weeks now without the gym)....BUT...YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE EATING RIGHT AND FOLLOWING THE 4-5 MEALS A DAY PLAN....i am going to probably stick to this for a little bit longer until i either increase a pound or two...or hit a plateau and just stay stuck at this weight....feel free to chime in if you want :0)

Could you give me an example of what you eat daily?

sure!!

for breakfast (first meal)
half a cup to a cup of cooked oatmeal with a banana in it

second meal
about 3/4 of a cup of brown rice with about half a cup of black beans or garbanzo beans and about half a cup of steamed veggies

third meal
4 egg whites or beans (about half a cup again) with some steamed veggies

4th meal
half a cup of beans plus half a cup of veggies (maybe some brown rice but usually the rice i eat earlier is plenty for me as far as carbs go...im not tired AT ALL through out the day unless i get bad sleep which is rare)

5th meal
banana smoothie - 1 banana, 1 cup of nonfat milk, about 3 tbsp's of nonfat unflavored yogurt, some cinnamon sprinkled on it


In between meals i have a piece or two of fruit as a snack....

Sounds pretty good, although a hot lunch isnt an option for me everyday. How are the beans prepared?

i only use the canned type..so i just bring them to a boil and thats it...i try to drain out the liquid if its garbanzo beans for example but for black beans, the liquid isnt too bad...