Billster, THANKS so much for responding to my question and sorry it took so long to respond. I took a girls trip to NYC and as my usual trend I gained 5 pounds so I'm back to square 1 - sigh! I've got to stop that cycle.

As far as TOM I don't have those any more and I do take frequent bathroom breaks. My niece was on the NYC trip and she's been eating this way for a long time and she shared lots of useful information.

Billster, when you mentioned the carbs in nuts and went to look at the 100 calories packs and I was shocked with the amount of carbs. I'll be doing the same as you now -- about 15 almonds a day.

I'm throwing out the cheese too and going to try to do as little dairy as possible. My splurge will be splash of milk in 1 cup of coffee a day and I may still cook dishes with it but not have it as a snack. I'm going to make the ranch dressing that's in the WB book and have it with vegetables, as you suggested.

Billister, congratulations on the 3lb loss. I think I will try the 80% raw and 20% cooked. Can you PLEASE share your shake recipe - approximately how much of each item you put in it? Will a regular bullet chop up the spinach/kale? Does the shake taste like spinach/kale? I might make a really aweful face drinking a green shake LOL

Have you still been trying the coconut water? That's amazing to think that it might keep me full.

I am doing this plan for improved health but I sure hope I lose weight too! I think it's wonderful that you are losing inches although we are all want to see that scale move. I have to keep telling myself, it doesn't matter how much I weigh as long as I'm in ___ size. And yes, everyone in the book does seem like they are losing and I appreciate your honesty!!!

DEE, keep up the good eating habits and I'm sure that you will lose some weight. I know how discouraging it is for our men to lose more than us!

Lately, it seems like the two of you are the only ones that comment on this board and I appreciate you comments! Billster, can you recommend other boards that may be more active?

And last, Billster, I hope we'll be hearing real soon that a little bambino is on its way!

Have a great day!

Hi, all!

Like you Tonz, I should try to limit my nuts and cheese to see how much difference that makes.

Congrats on the loss, Billster. I may have to try to eat more like you do.

I was reading an article recently that said that some of us need our "cells to be bathed" in micro-nutrients in order to lose weight. That we need to get lots of veg and some fruit and one of the best ways is through green shakes. On another thread I met someone who said she had lost about 14 pounds(?) the previous summer by juicing, but was stuck in plateau-land with me on Belly Fat Cure for months on end. She disappeared from BFC shortly after she mentioned her success on juicing. I always wondered if she went back to juicing after her post.

I bought some coconut water but haven't tried it yet. Hopefully, I will find it as filling as you do, Billster.

Tonz- My shakes well I don’t really measure to be honest! I use approx ½ cup of fruit- normally frozen berries, around a cup of kale or spinach, ¾ c of almond milk, and 2 tbs coconut oil and 2 tbs chia seeds. If you are not use to having raw coconut oil I would suggest using a small amount and work your way up as some people get very nauseous when they have too much for the first time. A magic bullet would mix it up well, I just use a normal blender. As for tasting the veggies the berries cut out the taste of them. My co workers think my shake is gross and have no clue how I could drink something of that colour, but it works for me! Yes still drinking coconut water, I work for the Canadian lottery corp and talk on the phone all day long dealing with people so I find the coconut water keeps me more hydrated then normal water and it keeps me from snacking in the morning. As for other groups… there was one on Facebook however that one has had zero activity the past month. My personal option on that is everyone started this diet in January (new years resolutions) and has since gone back to old habits. I do this for health no weight loss, however weight loss is an added bonus!

Dee- I don’t think juicing is the best to be honest, as when you juice your lose all the pulp of the fruit and veg which is where all the good stuff is! Better off blending the crap out of it and drink the pulp.

So here is some back ground info on me- My parents raised us as vegetarians as they felt meat was full of hormones and just not good for us. In our teens they let us eat meat if we choose to. I didn’t have a whole lot of interest in it or fast foods etc. 8 years ago when I was 21 I moved half way across Canada to Calgary Alberta for an excellent social worker job, well I learned that Alberta is beef capital of Canada- it was so hard to find and not eat meat! Plus I worked long high stress hours and found the joys of takeout food! Gained 100lbs within months! Got married a few years back and came to the issue of infertility and hormone imbalance. So I did a number of diets as my main focus was to lose the weight, mind set has changed to be healthy. My mom is still very much a health freak, she is now a raw food vegan and has been for about 2 years. She just had a checkup done and is in excellent shape (blood work etc). I do not want to go to that extreme but want to incorporate some of her diet into mine. So that’s where the 80/20 has come from. My main goal is to have breakfast/lunch/ snack raw fruits and veggies and dinner cooked, I’m going to try this for a full 30 days and see how my body adapts to that. In the past 5 days of doing this I have not felt deprived, ate more fruit then WB suggests and have slept less and not felt tired for the first time in a long time…. And as of this morning down 4lbs. The only dairy I have had is cream in my coffee, that’s the next thing I would like to knock out is the coffee altogether! I’ll keep you posted on my experiment

Also I'm making raw food bars this weekend- lemon coconut! We will see how they turn out as they are WB friendly!.
Have a great week-end everyone!
~Billie~

Billie, Thanks for the guesses on the recipe. I think I'll at least try it and I can tweak. I've heard chia seeds is a must have item.

That makes sense with people starting diet at the first of the year and not sticking. So Dee and I are counting on you to stick to this board :-) I haven't been with WB long, but to me the concept just makes sense. I'm not saying it's easy -- cause darn it's not -- but I'm hoping for a lifestyle change not a just another diet. And I hope to lose weight AND inches on it.

The people that I know that have adopted WB and/or Paleo (which is somewhat similiar) as a lifestyle are slim and health in excellent medical shape. I want to be one of them! And again, the concept just makes sense to me.

I'd love to hear about your bars but I'm afraid I'll like them so much that I'll eat the entire recipe.

I'm going to a wedding this afternoon. I sure hope I'll find things I can eat. I'm going to limit myself to 1 glass of wine!

Have a great day Billie and Dee.

Here I am already breaking my rule :-)

So I just scrambled some eggs with salsa, coconut oil and spinach. I'm trying to not do dairy except a splash in coffee. On WB would eggs be considered a dairy or a protein?

Thanks, Billster. Glad to hear it is working so well for you!!

If they turn out well, please let us know how you make the lemon coconut raw food bars.

Hi, Tonz!

Sorry! I missed seeing your posts, must not have refreshed the site before posting, and it doesn't refresh itself automatically with my browser.

To me eggs are protein not dairy. Dairy consists of anything milk based (milk, butter, cheese, cream), whether from cows, goats or sheep. Can't imagine that WB rules are different.

Thanks for your response Dee. I was hoping it would be protein.

Now I have another silly question. Today for lunch I decided to do a little coconut oil and balsalmic vinegar for a salad dressing. Well in case y'all haven't experienced this yet, learn from my mistake LOL. Do not put coconut oil in the microwave! It super explodes! I put about a tablespoon in a small pyrex dish for 45 seconds at 10% power and it exploded after a very short time.

So, how do you melt your coconut oil?

Boy is this a learning experience! I usually just open a store bought dressing but Billie told me to toss all that!

Hi,

At least one of Dr. D's recipes is made with sour cream and mayo, plus herbs. Since that sounded more like a veggie dip to me than a dressing, I substituted a little EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) for the mayo. (But, unfortunately sour cream is dairy.)

The reason for avoiding bottled stuff is that it is often made with soybean oil, and over 90% of the soybeans in this country are GMO (genetically modified organisms) and contain pesticides and other junk, (along with sugar or corn syrup).

I haven't tried to melt coconut oil other than when cooking. You might be able to put it in a small cup, then put the cup into a bowl containing water that has just been boiled, then let it sit. (Make sure both items are able to take heat.) That's how I would attempt it.

Chia seeds are a must have! They are awesome lil super foods! When the get wet the form a gel around them and are known for pulling the sludge out of your intestines and bowel. My husband loves 3 tbs soaked in 1c almond milk overnight, turns into a tapioca pudding.

Coconut oil i eat it in its solid raw state or cook with it, never melted it. Maybe use a larger dish and microwave it 5 seconds at a time.

As for salad dressing- bottle stuff is pure crap! Full of chemicals! Better to make your own. Always have a bottle of olive oil on hand to do so! I had some leftover guacamole this week (use it for a veg dip) and put about 4tbs in a large bowl with 1/4c oil olive an mixed it like crazy to thin it out- best salad dressing ever! Another one is olive oil, dijon mustard, parsley, basil, pepper and sea salt. I dont know measurements as i taste and add as i go along!

I have tried Dr.D salad dressing with sour cream a few months back and hated it! It was a veggie dip not a dressing. Avocado oil makes a wonderful dressing as well but i dont buy it often as its pretty costly (500ml for 18$). There is also a wonderful roasted garlic organic olive oil i found to and its sooo good but dont eat that one at work as i'd knock over my co-workers with my breath lol

Making spaghetti squash and meat balls for dinner tonight! Have not made my raw bars yet as I'm snowed in with 35 cms of snow and need a lemon to make them and the closest grocery store is 35kms away!

Lemon coconut bars are amazing! Super easy too!

In a food processor add-
1 1/2c soft pitted dates
1c unsweetened coconut
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
1c raw almonds or 1 c pre ground almonds
Lemon zest and juice from lemon

Dump mixture into pan lined with wax paper. With ur hands pat down and put in fridge for at least an hour. Mmmmm!

As of monday and one complete week of eating like this i have lost 6.0lbs.

Congrats, Billie! Six pounds in a week, that's awesome!

Also, thanks for the new recipe.

I tried the shake recipe for 2 days but went back to the flaxseed cereal when I ran out of kale this morning. With results like yours, I'll have to make sure I keep the house stocked.

I also tried the chia pudding. It worked pretty well.

My stomach seems slightly flatter, maybe.

How are you doing, Tonz?

OK Billie, you rock!!!! 6 lbs in 1 week is awesome. Looks like you definitely found something that works for you! After reading this awesome news, I definitely need to go to the grocery store and try that smoothie and stock refrigerator for the 80/20 rule. I've been doing somewhat OK. I've lost 3 of the 5 lbs I gained while on the NYC trip.

It seems like my husband (or just me) has been traveling a lot lately. We have another trip planned for next week. We are doing an Amtrak trip to the Grand Canyon for our 33rd anniversary. We fly to Los Angeles and stay 1 night and next day tour the stars home and then that evening board the Amtrak for overnight stay. Then we're at the Grand Canyon for 2 nights (3 days) and board Amtrak for return to Los Angeles. We've never traveled with Amtrak and are exciting, however, vacations play **** on - can I say it - no, not diets, lifestyle changes!

So I would appreciate any travel advice you experts have! I know I can order burgers w/o buns and request no bread, etc. but would love some other tips.

Dee - 'slightly' flatter stomach = AWESOME!!

Ladies, thanks for checking in on me!

P.S. Would also love to hear tips on quick to go foods. Yesterday I ended up being out running errands longer than I intended. Ended up having a greek chicken swarma salad which I'm sure there was something in there that wasn't exactly appropriate. But then, better than french fries from one of those chains>

Have an awesome day ladies.