This is my first time to the message board. I am so glad to find you all. I haven't weighed myself today so I don't know how much I have lost so far, except to say that on day 10 I had lost EIGHT POUNDS!!!!

My start weight was 286 and I am thinking that I should go one more week on Phase one. I am a little aprehensive to start II, as I have been pretty successful at Phase I. Anybody have any thoughts on that?????

I also want to see if you all think this recipie would be good for Phase II. I need an alternate idea for the noodles. I love this Vietnamiese soup at restaurants, so I hope this is something that I can include on this new eating lifestyle.

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

Jen[/SIZE][/SIZE]


2 tsp olive oil
1 cup onion(s), chopped
1/2 pound lean beef sirloin, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cup beef broth, reduced-sodium
1 average cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp peppercorn(s), black, (about 5 peppercorns)
1/2 tsp table salt
8 oz packaged rice noodles, dried, flat
2 medium scallion(s), chopped
1 cup bean sprouts, fresh
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped, fresh

Instructions

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 2 minutes, until soft. Add beef and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until browned on all sides. Add broth, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes. (Note: Star anise pods are added to traditional beef pho to help flavor the broth. Add and remove 1 to 2 star anise pods with the cinnamon stick and black peppercorns, if desired.)

Meanwhile, cook rice noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain and transfer to individual shallow bowls.

Remove cinnamon stick and peppercorns from beef mixture. Using a slotted spoon, spoon beef and onion over noodles. Top beef with scallions, sprouts and cilantro. Ladle remaining broth over dishes and serve. Yields about 3/4 cup of beef and broth mixture and 3/4 cup of noodles per serving.[/SIZE]

Hi Jen

Congrats on your weight loss. You have done really well sticking to phase one. You can continue on phase one for up to four weeks. If you have a lot to lose it can be a good idea to stay on phase one for longer than two weeks. Slowly introduce starches on phase two. Perhaps you could introduce a daily piece of fruit for a week then a daily starch in addition to this. If you add a whole heap at once you tend to stall or even regain weight.

I wouldn't have a clue what to substitute rice noodles for, perhaps you could just leave them out altogether. It sounds tasty without them. I have been eating lots of bowls of chilli or curry without the rice. It just looks weird on a plate but in a nice bowl it looks like its meant to be like that.

Welcome to the Beach, Jen, and congratulations on your loss!!

Hmm... if you hunt around (health food stores, etc), you should be able to find some low-carb pastas/noodles to replace the rice noodles.

Welcome to the Beach. Great loss. Keep up the great work.

Welcome to The Beach and on your loss so far!