Here just in time for a night cap. Missed coffee completely. Ruth I hope you had success with the vampire treatment. My DH and I go for blood letting tomorrow a.m. at 8:00 no breakfast, you know the drill.

Marlene: My understanding is that you can eat till satisfied on Phase 1. And you will find that if you follow his menu in the book, that you will be satisfied with normal portions. It is the careful planning if the between meal snacks that are so helpful. Hope you can get your book soon. How about Amazon .com. I think some people have purchased it there. Welcome to the beach.

Sounds like you have all had a busy day.

Frannie: Our dog has been giving us problems. We have had to get up in the wee hours to take her out, otherwise she will leave a puddle. We took her to the vets and she has had to have blood work done, and a urinalysis. She has too much protein. Our clue that something was wrong was finding the puddles. She never would do that, under ordinary circumstances.

good night all. Lizzie

Marlene,
Try e-bay for the book. Also, I got mine at Walmart for $12+ which isn't bad. I've been on the waiting list at the town library for almost a month!

Welcome and good luck!

Lizziepie: What is a "normal" portion? If I really understood that concept, I wouldn't have as much of a weight issue!!! (yes, I know it's the size of my palm or a deck of cards...but c'mon ... really!?)

Thanks for all the good thoughts, you guys. My headache continued to plague me though the day so I didn't get much good sleep. I called in sick to work, then the headache magically disappeared! Just kidding...I still feel puny but better than earlier.

The dog (still not sure which one-DH is convinced it is the female!) has been pooping all over the loft...multiple piles (sorry to be so graphic!) If it continues I will definately call the vet. I hadn't even thought of that to be honest...the doggage around here is pretty healthy in general.

Normal portions, huh? My suggestion would be to start reading labels and see what portion size is listed. I found a link that may be helpful because it lists portion sizes along with something you can visualize so you don't have to weigh or measure:

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/co...on_Control.asp

Here is another link that talks about the difference between a portion (what you choose to eat) and a serving (the amount that nutritional calculations are based on.)

http://www.nflhs.com/news/cheerleadi...052003_sim.asp

I know I suffered from "portion distortion!" When I first started losing weight I was counting calories, so I weighed or measured everything. That helped me get a handle on portion size so it really isn't a problem anymore. I also notice that now I am completely satisfied with much smaller portions than I was a few months ago.

There are some foods you should eat all you want of....especially veggies! You just can't go wrong with HUGE portions of good-for-you vegetables!