So few pounds, so much time

Well it's been a while since I've blogged my progress. My boss had some sudden projects for me for a change. Usually I can blog during one of my several breaks in the day but I've been sent on outside errands the last couple of weeks. Nothing much happened. Today I weighed in at 126.6 lbs. A bit of a loss. I'm over my last plateau but I seem to lose 1-2 pounds and then stay at the same weight for 1-2 weeks. Progress is slow. I'm not discouraged though, just a bit restless with the time it is taking to lose the weight. I can see that eventually it will all come off but I need to be patient and accept it will be a longer process than I anticipated. I am 5.6 lbs away from my original goal and they say the last five pounds are the hardest to lose. I want to revise that and say the last ten pounds, even twenty is the hardest to lose. I am more afraid of gaining weight now because I remember how hard and slow it has been to lose it. If I even gain three pounds back I'll probably resort to the first deprivation phase of the diet to go back to the goal weight. These are little plans I'm forming in my head.

I am sticking to my plan with the occasional cheat. Yesterday for example, I came home after my run and was so hungry. I still needed to make dinner and wanted to reach for a naughty treat. I resorted to eat a handful of fresh strawberries. That may seem harmless but I had already had both my fruit servings for the day. So this was an extra serving. Also, yesterday I had two fat servings. I put some butter on my toast, less than a teaspoon but then I had a full teaspoon of olive oil at dinner on my salad. I've decided to skip fat at breakfast altogether and save it for my dinner salad. Anyway I can still put sugar free jam on my toast so I won't have dry toast. Peaches are so in season right now and they have been a real treat for me. I've been eating my apple a day to keep me on a regular schedule. It's been working but very slowly.

One thing that has helped is staying away from the LA Delite cookies. I had been having them on the same day as my LA Slimdown shakes. I spoke with Jenna, a counselor, and she advised not to have them on the same day since both have a high carb and sugar content. I had already finished my supply so just decided not to buy anymore. I have cereal bars left but I think I'll just save them when I am allowed more carbs. Anyway, the slimdown shakes are the best lunch solution because I don't have to spend my mornings weighing out leftover protein servings or making more protein servings in the AM. Of course nothing beats real food but the ease and time savings is worth it. I either drink a shake accompanied by a vegetable or a fruit. The chocolate and vanilla are really good. I'm going to take supplies with me when I go to my cousin's wedding in San Antonio this weekend.

That is what I'm really worried about. I'm afraid I'll go crazy at the buffet table. I'm just going to get in all my foods before going to the wedding as much as possible and just drink diet coke when I get there. Well, I take that back. The last time I did that I overate because I ate all my foods before going to a party and they had such lovely food there that I could not resist. So I'll just save a protein, starch, dairy or fat and vegetable serving for that evening. If I don't get all my foods in at the wedding I can still come home and have a midnight snack. I just hope I don't gain any weight back over the weekend. It's very easy to over holidays. The positive is this is the last major holiday of the season. The next one will be Thanksgiving and I should be at my goal weight by then. Then the challenge will be maintaining instead of losing. Losing just takes so much mind control. I swear I want to throw in the towel sometimes and just say 'ok, I'll just stay at the current weight'. But I paid my money so I'm going all the way. I think the part of me that wants to give up every once in a while is the hungry girl who wants more fruit. It's funny how my cravings have changed. In the beginning I was always hungry for pizza and stuff. I've gone so long without it I just forget to want it anymore. When they took away one fruit serving I was suddenly wanting it back. I had eaten a cereal bar for one of my fruit servings so I was eating two real fruits a day already. But then when they took one fruit serving away I wanted it back to take advantage of it and eat real fruit. Also, I used to hate fat free cream cheese. I bought it one time and wanted to spit it out. Then when they gave it to me as a free food I was suddenly excited about eating any kind of cream cheese that I was grateful even if it had to be fat free. I have to say, after you've been denied cream cheese, full or 1/3 less fat, even fat free seems like an indulgence. I'm going to try to stick to the plan as much as humanly possible this weekend. If I slip, then I slip but I'm not going to plan to slip. I'm planning on sticking to it. I honestly don't want to gain any of what has been so hard to lose.

The Green Plan

I weighed in at 129.6 lbs today. No weight loss since Monday. On the positive side no weight gain either. I'm trying to think positive. Shannon, seeing there was no change, decided to transition me into the Green Plan. She let me know the Green Plan was for losing the last five pounds and that even though I was not at 125 yet she thought it best to transition me to get the remaining weight off since I was teetering the plateau. The Green Plan reduces my vegetable and fruit portions by one serving each so I'm getting two servings less per day. That's the negative. I didn't think I could make it on less food.

The positives are, I can have plain, lowfat soy milk as my dairy serving, 4 oz a day. Beef is removed from my list, but that's ok because I've only eaten it about three times since I started at the end of June. Another positive is the addition of starch choices and free foods. Whole wheat pita (1/2 of 4") is a new starch choice and fat free cream cheese (1 tbsp) is a new free food. I'm so excited I'm going to buy some pita and cream cheese today. Currently the only free foods I take advantage of are vinegar and salsa. I'll trade a tablespoon of vinegar for a tablespoon of cream cheese any day. I've never liked fat free cream cheese either but I'm so excited about having the new option that I'll make an exception.

I hope the absent portions of fruit and vegetable make a difference and get me to my goal of 121 lbs. Shannon will put me on the stabilization diet when I reach my goal. I've considered staying on the weight loss phase for a few more pounds but will revisit that later when I reach my goal which doesn't seem that far way unless the scale stays the same.

Over the Hump

Well, I've made it over my plateau. I weighed in at 129.2 lbs today. I'm in the next phase of my weight loss journey with eight more pounds to go. If I make it to 121 lbs I've decided to go for another six. Eight pounds will take another four weeks and a remaining six will take three more weeks. A total of 7-8 weeks left, unless I hit another plateau which would not surprise me. I upped my dosage of FB 500 to three per day. I take it prior to breakfast, lunch and dinner now and I'm taking lemon water in the morning and the evening along with psyllium cocktails every other day. I think the FB 500 is what got me over my plateau. I think it kicks my weight loss mode in high drive but then takes a little siesta after three pounds. We'll see what makes me plateau if anything next. I've also been exercising more regularly which I did not do during my plateau. I was not feeling any energy, had been in a rut, tired of the same proteins and vegetables from my list. Variety only goes so far on this program. I asked Shannon at my consult today if I could eat Eggbeaters all week if I felt like it when I reach my 6 egg limit for the week. She said I could eat unlimited egg beaters as long as I adhered to the portions for each meal. I just can't eat another piece of fish, turkey or chicken. I don't really like beef. It is allowed on the program a minimum of twice a week but I only eat beef a few times a year. Veal is allowed but I only eat veal cutlet or scallopine. The scallopine cuts at Central Market are too expensive for everyday dinners so I buy cutlets instead, but even those come out to $9.99/lb so I can't buy those very often. The majority of my protein has come from frozen fish and turkey breast. I eat chicken but not as often. I prefer turkey to chicken meat. Plus eggs which I have on weekends because of the limit. That leaves a small list of proteins from which to choose from. I'm not allowed tofu on my program because I am not on the vegetarian plan. The plan I'm on is formulated to work with animal proteins. People can successfully lose weight on a vegetarian plan but they have to follow the full plan. There is not a plan at LA Weight Loss that mixes animal and vegan proteins. I can't wait for eight weeks to be here. That should put me at the beginning of October. Just in time for my four year wedding anniversary. Maybe I can celebrate by going somewhere tropical and not being embarrassed about wearing a bathing suit. The count down to eight weeks begins.

A New Number

I went to my consultation this morning and weighed in at 130.8 lbs. Mindy met with me first. She smiled at me and let me know I lost a pound. I wasn't so sure though if it was water weight or lack thereof. I told her about my session on Wednesday with Shannon and told her how we had been considering putting me on a "Plateau Break". The program requires eight 8 oz glasses of water a day. I had been drinking double that from the beginning of the program. I am really thirsty from morning til about 2pm and drink the majority of my water intake in the AM. Shannon had advised to cut my water down to 80 oz. She did not think so much water was a good thing, even if it has been a hot summer. The days I work out I definitely need extra or I get a headache that doesn't go away until the next day. The way I have to monitor every morsel I ingest keeps me from taking aspirin or pain meds of any kind.

So I let Mindy know that perhaps the loss was water only and not real weight and I wanted her to be sure before she just sent me on my way. She felt better having Shannon look things over because she had seen me on Wednesday. Shannon came in and let me know I could go on the Plateau Break if I wanted to but that she would rather wait until Monday to make a final decision. The fact that there had been a change no matter how slight made her think I might be over the plateau. I let her know my weight in the mornings is still the same and that I had not been drinking as much water before I came in. Even so, she would rather wait to see Monday's results. However, she understood that I was anxious to lose the weight and said if I really wanted to I could go back to the first phase of the program. I let her know I would give it the weekend and see what the numbers looked like on Monday. It is a relief to know I may be over the plateau and I can move forward with good results ahead. A part of me was hoping to go on the Plateau Break. This reverting to the first phase of the program would give me unlimited amounts of protein and vegetables with limited amounts of fat. If they had put me on the Plateau Break I would have looked discouraged and given in to my cravings at dinner tonight in the form of extra servings of vegetables or dessert then jumped back on the straight and narrow first thing Saturday morning. But hearing encouraging news I am still on the wagon and have not deviated from the plan. I had started the last two days drinking a cocktail of hot water with lemon. Shannon advised to drink the cocktail in the morning and again at night so I will continue this ritual. The lemon offers enzymatic properties that cleanse acting as a light diuretic and burn fat. I hope the change is real and I am really over my plateau.

Still Riding the Wave

I'm still riding the wave weighing in at 131.2 lbs. today. Thank goodness today I didn't meet with Mindy, a diet counselor at LA Weight Loss. I started thinking she had been assigned to me since I'd seen her four times in a row. We just don't click. I feel like she's just going down a checklist when we meet. She'll ask if I am getting all my foods in, if I have any special weekend plans, etc. But I get the feeling she is not genuinely interested in my plans. Anyway, today I met with Shannon. She looked over my chart and saw I had been at the same plateau for almost two weeks. She determined I was not deviating as she looked at my food diary. Also, deviation results in some weight gain higher than 4-6 ounces. She let me know she would give the program until Friday and if I still have not lost anymore weight by then they can put me on a "Plateau Break" which results in some changes to the current program. One of those changes would be no more free foods which I do partake everyday. I use up to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar on my salads. On weekends I use one of those tablespoons as salsa on my eggs. I will really miss vinegar and salsa. Those are the only free foods I use. Also to be excluded are fast foods and frozen foods. I haven't eaten any fast food while on the program but I have had two frozen entrees since starting. If the "Plateau Break" is issued then I will have to exclude beef and limited starches such as rice, potatoes and pasta. These starches were allowed in 1/2 cup portions once a week. That won't be the case if I don't break the plateau on my own. I will be confined to the one slice of 40 calorie diet bread for my starch. I'm hoping I lose by Friday but if not then I will have no choice but to restrict my diet more. If the "Plateau Break" does not work Shannon let me know there are other measures that can be taken to insure a weight loss. Hopefully, I won't have to find out about those. The one positive is that the Center is willing to step in and make some changes to my program to help me lose the weight. It's nice to have that support. Every diet I've tried on my own always had a plateau but when I would reach the plateau I didn't have any alternatives and would just give up. I feel good knowing there is at least a light at the end of the tunnel.

New Plateau

I've hit my second plateau at 131 lbs. I hit my first plateau at 135 lbs and seemed to overcome that when I switched my fat blocker supplement to morning and lunch rather then lunch and dinner. Now I can't seem to get below 131 lbs. I did realize I was overeating by 2 oz of protein per day last week and have since reduced my protein portions accordingly but still did not lose any weight over the weekend. I did deviate on Friday. I had a huge craving for a michilada, a cocktail I usually like to have in the summer which is a mixture of Dos Equis with a bloody mary, minus the vodka. I instead substituted sparkling mineral water with Knudsen's Low Sodium Tomato Juice and lime. It didn't measure up but it did satisfy my craving for a cocktail. I just put it in a pretty glass. I miss drinks. I re-read my guidelines and did notice that when eating salads I'm supposed to combine complete servings of each vegetable. For example, I should mix a complete portion of cucumber (1/4 medium cucumber) and tomato (1 small tomato) to form a salad that equals two vegetable servings. I made a salad last week of roasted eggplant, tomato, portabello and garlic. I mixed this with chopped parsley and celery and add a tablespoon of cider vinegar with a half cup portion. But since there are so many different vegetables in the salad it may have thrown off my portions. I should probably limit my salads to two ingredients (how boring) and save the third portion for another meal. I was trying to add some variety to my diet because the foods I've been eating seem very bland lately. Also, eggplants are in season and the roma tomatoes were so colorful, so were all the other vegetables. I just couldn't seem to stop at two vegetables. At least seasonings are not considered vegetables so the garlic and parsley don't count. Rather than waste my beautiful salad I'm going to try to freeze it and hopefully I can revisit it in about five weeks. I hate to waste food, part of my problem to begin with. We'll see how the complete portion salads go. Hopefully I can get beyond my current plateau. I've been looking at the same numbers on the scale for more than a week now.

Whole Lotta Enchilada!

I've been f__king up big time in my portions, as I learned today. I feel so dumb. In my Gold Plan the food card specifies portion sizes for everything. For chicken it specifies 6 oz and fish is 5 oz. etc. , but these are raw weight measurements and I'm supposed to subtract an ounce if I'm weighing them cooked. I've been weighing them after they're cooked and eating the raw weight portion! It's just easier to weigh out my portions after the food is already cooked. I read it the way it made the most sense. Reviewing the literature further today I realized I have been wrong all this time. The literature states to subtract one ounce if weighing after cooking. I realize this has resulted in a two ounce protein surplus everyday. Give or take. I really believe meats shrink differently and portions should be specified in both cooked and raw weights. I think the use of "subtract one ounce" is just to keep the numbers even. Well, either way I will start abiding by this rule and see what happens. I had been saying my protein portions were very satisfying, now I know why. I'm surprised that I have been able to lose weight despite this mix up. Today I weighed in at 131.4 lbs.

I had a huge craving for some Tex-Mex today and ate an Amy's Black Bean-Vegetable Enchilada entree at lunch with my salad. It was very satisfying to my craving. I can't have this entree very often. It is one of the higher fat and sodium entrees on the list. When I first looked at the food label in the grocery store I thought the entree would fit very well into my program. Now if I wasn't on the program I would eat this entree without guilt but being on the program I can't help but have guilt. It was very filling and satisfying and now I know why. I have been saving the food labels from certain items so I can make comparisons when I go grocery shopping for similar items. When I was analyzing the label on my Amy's enchilada more closely I realized there are two servings per container. The nutrition information listed was for one serving. At first I was a little upset with Amy's but then thought "it's really my fault for not reading carefully enough". Afterall, the labels are included to meet the FDA rules but the marketers can spin the information anyway they want. I will have to read the labels very carefully from now on as I've always known. But again, I'm thinking the manufacturer is thinking practically like me. They aren't, they are thinking of the marketing aspect of presenting their product.

It's still dumb though. Why would I buy one frozen entree and only eat half? What should I do with the rest, re-freeze it, save it for later, share it with a friend? So one enchilada is one serving and has enough nutrients and not so much bad stuff, but two might as well be the Taco Bell full meal deal. Two servings/two enchiladas contain 340 calories, 10g fat (1g sat. fat), 780mg sodium, 52g carbs, 6g dietary fiber, 4g sugar, 10g protein. When divided by two the calories, fat, sodium, carbs and sugar don't look so bad. So I will be sure to read "Servings per container" and "Serving Size" part of the labels first from now on.

I've noticed my guilt meter is less tolerant these days. Every diet mishap is concentrated by ten. I mean, I felt so bad for making the protein weight mistake and even worse for my delicious enchilada. The entree is on my program, it is just listed as a one time per week allowance but it still counts towards my protein and starch servings, is vegetarian and still, I feel bad because it has 10g of fat and 780mg of sodium. I haven't eaten this much meat in so long either. I can't wait to eat some tofu again. Ever since that bad chicken experience I've just stayed away from chicken altogether. Turkey and fish I still like.

This was just a tough diet week. I'm in the middle of the program. It took me a month to get down to 131 lbs and maybe I'm just not looking forward to another month in the diet mode. I'll just have to be more positive. Those missing two ounces of protein better make a difference!

8 oz = 1 cup

I had my mid-week consult today. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet with my favorite counselor, Stephanie. Better luck next time. I met with Mindy in from the north location. I weighed in at 132.2 lbs. Mindy looked very concerned and said, "you're up 6 oz". I let her know I wasn't worried about ounces especially since I had already had breakfast, my mid morning snack and plenty of water to drink before coming in. She sat me down and looked through my food journal. She asked if I had done anything different and I told her no, which was true. I have still been following the program faithfully. She asked if I was weighing my food and I told her I was. I kept quiet for most of the consult because I felt she was looking for an error on my part but I knew I had not made one since Monday, my last consult. Maybe she was just going through a list of canned questions, either way I could tell and didn't feel much like engaging in any conversation. I didn't want to spend anymore time than necessary. She asked if I had any questions and I decided to ask if I could count my dairy by using milk in my coffee or tea. I have been getting my dairy serving with 1 oz of cheese everyday but sometimes I get bored and want to try something new. She said that was fine. I guessed she could sense I was not warming up to her which was also true. She just annoyed me. I felt like she was looking for a trigger in my journal or change in my routine that would have resulted in a 6 ounce weight increase. Oh gee, could it be any of the 48 oz of water I had consumed that morning? How many ounces in a cup?

Vent Session

I had my Monday consult and weighed in at 131.8 lbs. Yay!! Almost a full ten from the original 141 lbs. Hopefully tomorrow I will make the complete ten at 131 even or less. That was the best part of the morning and the day, so far.

Now for the negative stuff. I consulted with Courtney (from the north location). Today must have been a busy day for the south location if they had to call in reinforcements. The office was really busy when I went in this morning.

First of all I got a phone call from the center just as I was leaving my office for the consult. It was from Jennifer letting me know in celebration of the coming sales tax free weekend they would be offering 10% off all purchases of LA Weight Loss products and that they hoped I would come in to take advantage of these discounts. I let Jennifer, who I'd never spoken with before, know I was actually just on my way in. I don't know why, but I was annoyed by the phone call. The only time they called me before was to remind me of my intial consultation.

So I got to the center and signed in. I was weighed by Courtney who I had never met before and we walked back together to a spare cubicle they use for overflow. Courtney told me she was from the north location and was helping out today. I handed over my food diary which she proceded to go over with a fine tooth comb. She checked off items in the diary counting for each category. I must have just been in a pissy mood because that really annoyed me. I mean, if you're going to write in someone else' book or notebook, you should ask them first or use a pencil. I mean, I know it's just a silly little paper bound booklet, it's not a hardback leather diary embossed with my name but it should be treated as such by a total stranger. I'm just nit picking I know. Well, she commended me on my progress. I didn't even make any inquiries or offer conversation, she had already annoyed me. I had meant to ask if I could satisfy my dairy serving by putting milk in my decaf tea. I'll have to save it for Wednesday's consult.

She saw I had been taking the supplements and asked if I liked them. "Umm hmm", was my reply. She asked if I saw a difference while taking the Tri Max. I replied that I had been taking all the supplements while on the program so I didn't have an alternative comparison to make but that the Tri Max had never impeded my progress and assumed they were benefitting. She proceded to tell me they were a really great product and she just loved Tri Max so much she thought she should be their spokesmodel. I thought that was the dumbest statement I'd ever heard made at the center. There was clearly a cultural difference between the staff at the north location and I preferred the staff at the south location much more. She informed me about the 10% off discount. I let her know I was pretty well stocked on products and had actually purchased a bunch of LA Slimdown shakes the week before using a coupon. I didn't think I needed a hard sell on the supplements since I was taking them faithfully and had purchased a two month supply at the beginning of the program. I need to make a suggestion to the staff to add a purchase record to everyone's file so the counselors can see which products a client has already purchased to avoid the hard sell scenario. I didn't offer any INs to the conversation so it was pretty much over at that point and I stood to leave. Courtney rose to escort me out. She held my chart like a nurse and looked at me then said, "Another two pounds by the end of the week, ok?" In my mind I was rolling my eyes and saying "Whatever, I don't respond to your pseudo encouragement, we just met, save it for the varsity dieting team honey". I really wished I had seen Stephanie today, but she was already occupied with a client when I walked in. Bad luck really. I just had to do my best to brush off the bad consult experience. Hopefully I will meet with Stephanie or Danielle this week and I can gossip about Courtney. I think she's sailing without a chart.

I had brought some leftover chicken tenders for lunch today and they ended up grossing me out rather than satisfying my hunger. Chicken just doesn't make a good leftover. It tasted great on Saturday night. I microwaved it and started eating it then noticed it had some cartilage so I cut that off. Then while I was chewing I got to a piece I couldn't break down or swallow. I was alone so I spit it out. I looked through the rest of the chicken and each piece had a center like this so I cut it out of every piece. My required 6 oz of chicken ended up being 4.5 - 5 oz really. Luckily I had brought two vegetable servings instead of one. I ate the chicken quickly just to get the protein but did not enjoy any of it. I saved my salad for last so I could savor it and have a decent memory of lunch. I had also brought my dairy serving and nibbled on my 1 oz of cheese. Then I took my supplements and had more water. I have to remember to buy some veal for variety on my grocery run today.

Oh, this morning I had an LA Lite, vanilla cafe au lait and it was yummy. It didn't taste like the real coffee drink but seemed more like drinking a general foods international coffee mix. I really liked it and it was a nice treat. I have to remember to keep it on hand. That was the second best part of the morning.

Great, venting session over, I feel much better now.

Personal Eating Profile

At my initial consultation Shannon had me fill out a Personal Eating questionnaire. They submitted my responses to their headquarters and today I received my Personal Eating Profile. It covers my cravings, eating behavior, emotional eating behavior and hunger. It identifies my weaknesses and gives suggestions for behavior modification during and after the program. For example, in my craving section it states "You have a tendency to experience and give into your food cravings". Duh, that's why I started the program. At 5'0" and 141 lbs. I looked like the blueberry Violet from Willy Wonka. I scored 16 in cravings with 5-10 being the normal range. So to my craving disfunction here are just a few of the many suggestions they made.

-keep lower fat foods like LA Lites, fruits, LA Weight Loss popcorn or cheese curls and vegetables handy for snacks
-eat only when physically hungry
-keep tempting foods out of sight or only purchase single servings
-eat 5-6 meals to minimize time between each meal
-try liquids, they can fill a craving quickly especially warm beverages sipped slowly

To my eating behavior the profile stated "not bad, but there is room for improvement". I scored a 12, same range. So they suggested the following.

-decide beforehand when eating out what you will order at a restaurant to fit into your meal plan
-FB or Tri-Max would help prevent over indulgence of sweets
-order a la carte to prevent overeating, to regulate portion control and to help you eat foods on your meal plan
-when eating out ask that the foods you do not want be left off the plate like potato chips, french fries, sauces, gravies and dressings

Emotional Eating section stated, "On occasion, you allow emotional ups and downs to effect your eating behavior". I scored 11, same range. They suggested the following.

-before eating, take a moment to decide whether you are really hungry
-monitor emotional eating behaviors to learn when and why it occurs in your life
-do food shopping with a planned, written list and don't deviate from your list
-sit down whenever you eat anything to help control "extra" unconscious eating

The Hunger section stated, "You have a tendency to eat when discussing, thinking or being around food". That would be me. My score was 18, way out of normal range. They suggested the following.

-try not to go longer than 4 hours between each meal
-serve your foods on a plate to control the amount you eat rather than eating straight out of a container
-remove foods from all places in the house or work other than appropriate storage areas
-have a large breakfast and lunch and a smaller dinner

There were a few more suggestions that I could identify with so I will use this as a guideline to help me along in and after the program. My present tendencies probably will not be eliminated but I can start forming good habits to ward off the bad ones.

Endorsing Weight Loss Phase

Well, I've decided to endorse the LA Weight Loss Center program. If anyone asks me how I lost the weight I will tell them. Until now I have just been saying I started exercising more and omitted the LA Weight Loss story to everyone I know. I just hate to answer so many questions. If they ask, I'll point them to my blog. I had lunch with two friends on Monday and they commented on how great I looked, and this is just half way to my goal.

Today I went in for my second consult of the week and I am down half a pound since Monday and have lost a total of 12 lbs. I had not taken notice of the loss until today though. I guess because we see our reflections in the mirror everyday and we're touching ourselves everyday, at least I do, it's hard to see a difference. Then I put on these khaki pants with a security button and a metal hook fastener above the zipper. I haven't been able to fasten the security button for over a year now for fear of having the button pop off. Also, I was bulging out of the top and after one meal I was uncomfortable in the pants. This morning when I put them on I could button the button and fasten the hook and I wasn't hanging out over the waistband. Also, I just ate my lunch, and the pants still have about half an inch of room left. I'm so happy about this. Now I can see a difference too.

So I will recommend the center for weight loss. I'm far from the stabilization and maintenance phases. I won't comment on those until I am in the thick of it.

At today's consult I asked about frozen food entrees which are allowed on the plan. The guidelines are, count them as a protein and starch and do not consume more than three a week because of their higher sodium content. The LA Weight Loss Fast Tracker Dining Guide listed several brands and varieties and specified which ones you can have in limited or unlimited quantities. For example, Healthy Choice Mandarin Chicken Medley, you can eat everyday if you wanted. Compared to Healthy Choice Tuna Casserole Solos, which is specified as one time weekly. I've decided to try one per week to be sure it does not impede my weight loss in any way. It will help for those days when I don't have enough protein leftovers to take for lunch. I'm saving my eggs for the weekends when I have time to cook breakfast. The LA Slimdown shakes also work great as substitutes at lunch.

What has really helped with my cravings is the LA Lites. This morning I had a hot cocoa and it was smooth and delicious. I've stated before and I must again, "the LA Lites are the best and most fun part of this program". Here are some of the benefits of the Lites as stated in the literature.

- burns stored body fat
- eliminates loss of lean body mass
- protects hair, skin and nails
- increases energy
- decreases hunger
- helps with cravings
- vegetable protein
- includes soy protein

I've had the shakes, nutrition bars and soups and have not been tempted by sweets and I have the biggest sweet tooth. For non sweet cravings there are also fruit drinks and fruit bars.

Meal Replacement Shakes

Well, I've had a meal replacement shake for lunch the last two days and have to say, "I'm hooked". They are yummy and in sync with my choco-holic persona. Yesterday it was because I had lunch out with friends and only had a small salad. Today though, I'm glad I bought some. I did not have enough leftover protein to put together 5 oz of anything for lunch. One of the "Don'ts" on my program is not to combine different kinds of proteins in one meal. For example, no surf and turf or mixed grill dishes. So I should eat only fish or only poultry at one meal. I have about 3 oz of fish, 4 oz turkey cutlet and 3 oz of chicken sitting in Gladware in my fridge. I hate to see food go to waste. I guess that is why I'm on a diet now. So maybe if I have some leftovers tonight I can pair it with another leftover from the same species.

Tomorrow is my mid-week consultation. I plan to ask about use of frozen entrees. I have to admit I was ready for the afternoon LA Lite Bar. Today I had a vanilla cafe au lait mix in the AM and had a double chocolate bar in the PM. The afternoon bar gives me enough energy so I can go workout after work. Before I started the nutritional bars I was so depleted of energy, all I wanted to do is sleep. The first two weeks on the plan were the hardest because I was so concerned about eating the right foods in the right amounts and getting the supplements down. I felt like I was not getting enough food until I was well on the supplements and bars and felt so tired at the end of the day.

Now I feel like I'm back to normal. I think my body has gotten used to the food program and is working like clockwork now. I was able to run for 3 miles yesterday and felt even more energy afterwards. I just need a bar to get me there and the exercise will get me through the rest of the day. Today I'm going to do a lighter workout at the gym, do pilates tomorrow and another run on Thursday. I am not thinking past Thursday. I'm taking each day as it comes, doing my best to stick with the program and hoping for the best results possible.

Supplement Glossary

Below is a listing of the different supplements I'm taking on the LA Weight Loss plan. The descriptions are taken from the LA Weight Loss literature. Each of these is an LA Weight Loss product and available only through their program. I have not listed exact ingredients for any of these supplements in this glossary.

Tri Max
-six a day, two before each meal
-works to reduce hunger and cravings
-helps inhibit your body from storing carbohydrates as fat
-improves your body's fat burning abilities
-assists weight loss and inches loss

FB500
-two a day, one before meal (any two, but breakfast and lunch work for me)
-unique herbal formula
-aids your metabolism in eliminating fat in your system
-helps decrease sweet cravings

Vita Max
-two a day
-multi-vitamin designed specifically for people following a restricted calorie meal plan
-provides your body with the nutrients needed for proper metabolism and safe weight loss
-helps increase your energy level

Calcium with Vitamin D
-two a day
-crucial to your overall health and weight loss success
-helps strengthen your bones
-aids in prevention of osteoporosis
-improves bone structure
-according to recent studies, aids in fat burning and hinders fat storage

EFA (Essential Fatty Acids)Caps
-2-9 per day, can be taken 2-3 at each meal
-increase metabolism
-prevent dry skin, hair and nails
-protect the body from a large number of diseases

Turning Point

They say everyone's body is different and it's true when you look around at so many people everyday. You would think the basic mechanics of a body would work the same physiologically. All the studies on groups of people on the Atkins diet seem to work the same. Those on the Atkins are loosing weight fast and those on the lowfat high carb diet are loosing weight at a snail's pace. Well, I was not loosing weight until this past weekend. I had hit some kind of plateau and thought I was just destined to stay at the 135 lb. mark for eternity and that was as good as it was going to get on my LA Weight Loss diet. I did one thing different this weekend and it made all the difference. It's all in what time I take my supplements, well just the FB500 supplement. FB standing for "Fat Burner". When I first started my diet with LA Weight Loss they had me go through two phases before settling me into the Gold Plan weight loss phase.

First, they started me out with three days on LA Express. These three days started with me drinking 5 oz of the LA Weight Loss product "TakeOff" drink mixed with 5 oz of water. I would drink one cocktail in the morning and one in the evening. It was a very yummy fruit juice that was very sweet and I thought it would impair weight loss with all the sugar but it was the only treat allowed so I was happy to have the one indulgence. The rest of the LA Express diet consisted of unlimited amounts of protein from a specific list and unlimited amounts of raw, green and salad vegetables, also from a specific list. All veggies were to be raw. Two eggs per day were required each day as well as a minimum of eight glasses of water and 1/4 tsp of Morton's Lite Salt. Limited quantities of diet soda, coffee and tea and artificial sweeteners were allowed. No dressings, even fat free, or sauces of any kind were allowed. During this phase I had not begun to take any supplements yet. I lost about 2 lbs during the three days.

The next phase was called the Ultra Express Gold. This phase was four days long. To this phase they added starch, fat and cooked vegetables, and every food group was limited to a specific list. I began taking supplements at this point in the diet. Everyday I take a total of six Tri Max supplements, two before each meal. I also took two FB500 each day, one before each of two meals. Two Celluway supplements, 2-6 Essential Fatty Acid tablets, 2 Vita Max tablets and 2 Calcium tablets per day. It was tricky to remember how many to take each day and when. The suggested usage did not suggest with which meals to take the supplements but only specified before or after a meal and how long before or after. I made my own plan and came up with the following formula.

Wake Up
2 Tri Max
1 FB 500

1 Hour after Breakfast
1 Celluway

1/2 -1 Hour before Lunch
2 Tri Max
1 FB500

1 Hour after Lunch
1 Celluway

1/2 - 1 Hour before Dinner
2 Calcium
2 Tri Max

After Dinner
2 Vita Max

Before Bed
2 Essential Fatty Acid

I was amazed during the Ultra Express Gold phase that I went from 138 lbs to 136 lbs even though I had gone to a wedding and eaten foods not on my plan, drank four glasses of wine (maybe 5) and also attended my cousin's bridal shower and enjoyed an entire enchilada platter, also not on my plan.

I was afraid to see my weight back on at my consultation the following Monday. The damage was not too bad at all. Two pounds were gone. I always think up questions I have for the next consultation and decided to ask my counselor to review my supplement schedule to make sure I was taking them correctly and at the right times just in case I had misinterpreted the suggested usage.

Lisette, my counselor at that session reviewed the schedule and made only one change. She suggested changing the FB500 to just before lunch and dinner. I made the change and went forward with phase three, the Gold Plan weightloss phase. The counselors had all explained to me that phases one and two were preparing my body for optimum weightloss when I began the Gold Plan. Well, I lost one more pound and had reached a plateau at 135 lbs give or take a few ounces. I was frustrated at the same weight for two weeks and wondered what was I doing wrong. Last week I made minor changes to see if there was one thing I was doing wrong. For example, I switched to PAM non stick spray instead of using up all my Mazola non stick spray which I was trying to use instead of buying another item I already had stocked in my pantry. The LA Weight Loss literature suggested PAM as the non stick spray to use. When I compared them at the grocery store I saw each product listed 100% fat free and zero calories. So I thought it would be ok to use up my Mazola, but when the loss of weight came to a standstill I decided to give PAM a try just in case. No change. I stayed at 135 lbs. I even asked my counselor if I was on track for weightloss and she assured me I was. I expressed my frustration last week to both Carol and Stephanie letting them know I was adhering to the guidelines but was getting discouraged. I made the change Carol suggested and started eating only poultry breast meat. The veal dinner I had out with friends had been the only indulgence I consumed and had eaten probably less than the 4 oz specified for veal. When Friday rolled around I dreaded the weekend and hoped to ward off any cravings that came my way. I was going out to see a band on Saturday with my husband and knew I would not drink alcohol and we planned to see our friends for brunch on Sunday. Breakfast is actually an easy meal to manuever but I was afraid of not being able to control certain variables in the cooking at a restaurant.

When I woke up on Saturday morning I decided to make a change in my supplement schedule. I remembered loosing weight more easily taking the FB500 in the morning and mid-day so I decided to go ahead and switch back. I took my FB500 with my Tri Max on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Then I took the rest of my supplements as usual. I had Diet Coke on Saturday night and stuck to the rest of my diet that day. On Sunday I had two eggs with a cup of fruit at brunch. My platter had come with homefries which from the tender looks had been sauteed in oil, hopefully canola. I ate four homefries and decided to count it as one starch and my fat for the day. Then I saw my husband had not finished his whole wheat pancakes. They looked so yummy and he does not drown his in syrup so I decided to have three bites and count it as my second starch. I followed the rest of my plan faithfully that day and was a little scared the scales on Monday would betray my deviant behavior. Not so. I made my Monday consult this morning at 10:00 AM and weighed in at 133 lbs. That was after breakfast and about 16 oz of water. I was so happy. I told Stephanie I had made a change in the FB500 schedule and she said she had never heard of the schedule affecting weightloss. I told her I didn't think the time of day would have made a difference but it was the only significant change I could account for my weightloss over the weekend.

I'm hoping to continue this positive trend and take off the weight I set out to loose. I took my FB500 before breakfast and lunch today too. I've stuck to every part of the program today and vow to do the same on Tuesday. I'm actually looking forward to my next consult and weigh in. I've jotted down some questions for the next session regarding frozen entrees, which are allowed in limited quantities in the program.

One change I did make today was drinking an "LA Slimdown" meal replacement shake at lunch. I was having lunch with two friends and ate a salad of mixed greens, tomato and shredded carrot with fat free cucumber wasabi dressing. I had them hold the feta cheese, croutons, red onion and black olives. I knew I would be hungry later in the day so I had the shake as a protein and starch. I plan to incorporate the shakes for those times I'm eating out for lunch and only eat a salad. I'm a little aprehensive to incorporate the frozen entrees and so need to consult my counselor a little more on the usage since I have restrictions on pasta and rice consumption each week. I don't want to regress, it was so hard to get to 133 lbs.

What a Relief!

Well, I made it through my first dinner outing and stuck to the plan without looking like a freak. It went much better than I expected. Luckily, our dinner date is with child so there wasn't a tendency to drink too much wine. I was able to have one glass and have a few bites of the dinner roll and 3 bites of the roasted potatoes. Siena in Austin is a great place for dinner. They offer the complete multi course italian meal. I had the antipasti course, skipped the primi piatti which is usually the pasta course and had the secondi and a bite of dolci. Here's what I had with a few modifications.

Insalata Catarina
Grilled asparagus w/portabello mushrooms, roma tomatoes in balsamic vinaigrette.
I asked the chef to hold the pecorino toscano since I had already eaten my reduced fat cheese portion for the day and I'm sure their pecorino toscano, while very delicious, was not reduced fat. There was olive oil in the vinaigrette which I had anticipated so good thing I had held off on my one fat serving for the day. This was such a satisfying salad even without the cheese. The portabello mushrooms really fill you up. I ate half of them because they were really generous with the portions. Had I eaten all of them that would have been a full meal. The vinaigrette was also yummy and went really well with the roma tomatoes.

Costata di Vitello al'Erbe

Wood grilled veal rib chop marinated in fresh lemon, garlic, cracked black pepper, capers and oregano. Served with rosemary roasted potatoes.

I asked the chef to hold the oil and salt. This was an easy request since the veal chop was simply cooked but usually would have been cooked with additional olive oil and salt. It was quite tasty on it's own. It was huge and I was to eat 4 oz of veal. So I thought it best to eat a little less than what I perceived 4 oz to be. I was able to sample the rosemary roasted potatoes which I'm sure were brushed with olive oil before the roasting took place. Again, they really were generous with the portions. My husband offered to take on the leftovers for me so I took the rest home in an aluminum pan.

I admit it was hard to resist a few treats. The waiter brought these wonderful rolls with hot bubbled cheese baked right in. I had three tears off the roll and tried to stay away from the bubbly center but I did get a good taste of the garlic cheese mixture anyway. It was great. Also, my husband ordered a vanilla gelato with fresh strawberries and balsamic vinegar topping with his espresso. They brought two spoons just in case. Good thing too. I couldn't help myself. Luckily it was a very nice restaurant and they brought tiny long spoons for his dessert. It was a small portion served in a mini martini glass. I had one spoonful of the gelato with balsamic vinegar and half a strawberry. It was to die for.

I finished my meal very satisfied and not full and bloaty they way I did the first time I ate there. The waitstaff and chef were very accommodating to my requests and didn't make me feel like I was a real pain.

The only thing I forgot to do before the dinner was take my one fat blocker supplement and my tri max vitamin which supposedly helps stave off carb cravings. I took them when I got home along with my calcium and vita max (multi-vitamin) and two EFA (Essential Fatty Acids) supplements.

Today when I went to my counseling session I weighed in and was still at 135 lbs. but three ounces lighter than my visit on Wednesday. Stephanie was my counselor today. I told her about the dinner and what I had eaten. She looked more at my food diary and determined everything was on track and told me at least I didn't gain any weight from dinner the night before. I agreed this was true. Most every other time I have a night out I have gained weight back. However, the previous times I was not as disciplined. This time I was determined to stay on the plan even at one of my favorite restaurants. After giving Stephanie a brief seminar on psyllium husks (I told her Nature's Reply is a joke) she sent me on my way.

Today has been really easy to stick to the plan. So far I've eaten an LA Delite cinnamon raisin cookie, 1 small orange, 1 psyllium cocktail, 1 LA Lite Lemon Yogurt bar, 1 cup of salad, 1/2 cup spinach w/cider vinegar, 5 oz whiting (leftovers), 1 slice diet bread and 1 oz part skim cheddar. This equates to 1 protein, 1 and 1/2 vegetable, 2 fruit, 2 starch, 1 dairy and the LA Lite bar. I've consumed half of my salt intake and about 50 oz of H2O.

I'm in a much better mood than yesterday. My stomach was growling as we drove to Siena. After work I will make one of the three grocery runs for the week and go home to make dinner. Tonight we're having grilled lime and ginger chicken breast with cucumber mint salad. No wine for me but I'll pick up some nice chardonnay for my hubby. Why should he have to sacrifice?

Portion Size and Strategy

One thing to remember when on the LA Weight Loss program is, "plan ahead". Even if you go over your daily allowance by just a little, you'll see it on the scale the next day. The days when I've lost weight are great, but it's not everyday. A slight overdraft of any one item will tip the scales. I put one tablespoon of unsweetened cranberry juice in my psyllium cocktail last night and went over my fruit intake. If you add, then you have to subtract from somewhere else. Here are the serving items I'm allowed on a daily basis.

2 Protein
3 Vegetable
3 Fruit
2 Starch
1 Fat
1 Dairy (separate but not equal to protein or fat allowance)
1/4 tsp Morton Lite Salt
2 LA Lites (LA Weight Loss products)
Minimum 64 oz of water per day

This probably seems like a lot of food and it is enough usually, but the portions are really limited. Chicken is the largest protein portion and the best thing to eat if you want to be really full. Here are some examples of the serving portions.

Protein
6 oz chicken breast
5 oz turkey breast
5 oz fish (from the fish list)
2 large eggs = one protein portion (women cannot exceed 6 eggs per week, teens and men cannot exceed 9 eggs per week

Vegetable
1/2 cup cooked vegetable = one vegetable portion (unless other portion specified)
1 cup raw vegetable = one vegetable portion (unless other portion specified)
Some vegetables which are higher in sodium or sugar must be eaten in smaller portions. For example one rib of celery, 1/4 of a medium carrot or 1/4 of a medium cucumber. Only vegetables from the list can be eaten.

Fruit
1 small apple
3 medium apricots
9 cherries
1/2 medium grapefruit
1 small orange
These are examples and each fruit has their own specified serving portion.

Starch
1 Slice Diet Bread (40 calories)
2 Slices unseasoned Melba Toast
1 Bread Stick (Diet Stella D'oro)
1/2 Akmak Cracker
1 Rice Cake (unsalted)
1 Kavli Crispy Bread, thin
2 tbsp. Millers Bran

Fat
1 tbsp Diet Margarine
1 tbsp Lowfat Mayonnaise
1 tsp Corn, Safflower, Sesame, Soybean, Sunflower, Canola or Olive Oil
1 tsp Butter or Margarine

Dairy
4 oz skim milk
6 oz plain nonfat yogurt
1 oz part skim, lite or reduced fat cheese
Do not use fat free cheese as it can be high is sodium. LA Weight Loss suggests a cheese with low sodium content.

These are examples of the portions. It is easy to stick to these portions if you eat all your meals in private and never eat out, never go out, decline all dinner, wedding, happy hour invitations and have no social life whatsoever. In other words, if you are a hermit, this is the diet for you. Unfortunately, I like to go out and have dinner with friends, accept invitations and invite others to Sunday brunch, drinks or whatever.

Today's dilemma has been getting through the day eating half of what I usually eat so I can go out to dinner tonight. By now I would have had all my starches, two out of three fruits and one and one half of my vegetables along with my one protein. So far I've had one protein, 1 dairy and two LA Lites. The LA Lites (nutritional bars) are what have saved me from fainting. I had a cream of chicken soup with my chicken breast for lunch and a chocolate crunch bar in the afternoon when I start to crash. These little gizmos are actually the best part of the program. They taste really good, like real chocolate and do fill you up.

So why am I in starvation mode? So I can drink wine and have a nice dinner tonight without making it look like I'm on a diet. I hate explaining things. I've decided not to tell anyone but my husband that I'm on a diet. My mom doesn't know, she'd be totally against it. So would the rest of my family, except my brother. He usually supports anything I do and vice versa.

So I plan to consume the rest of my daily food intake at dinner. One salad will probably equal the three servings of vegetables. Two glasses of wine will satisfy two starches and two fruits and then my one protein portion. I hope there will be good things to choose from so I don't deviate from the plan. This will be a real test because I usually just throw my arms up and surrender. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The Diet Counsel

Today I had another weigh in at the counsel. I'm still weighing in at 135 lbs. How discouraging, and I'm not even cheating. I met with Carol, another counselor at LA Weight Loss. She looked over my diary and checked to see if I was getting all my water in, my dairy, my fat (yes, that's in) and my salt. Only 1/4 tsp of Morton Lite Salt is allowed each day. She asked if I had any questions/problems/concerns. I told her about the whole BM episode and devulged I had taken the psyllium husks because Nature's Reply did not yield results on it's own. Carol did know what psyllium husks were and she commended me for using them. I let her know they were 15 calories a tablespoon and the Yerba Prima brand I used had neither salt nor sugar. She seemed satisfied and said it would not deter the program.

I told her I was discouraged from staying at 135 lbs from the previous week. She looked at my diet diary carefully and saw I had been eating turkey loaf. She asked me what kind of turkey I had eaten. I told her it was ground turkey thigh. She suggested sticking to turkey and chicken breast meat only to reduce the fat content in my diet. She saw I had eaten rockfish the night before and asked how I liked it. "I liked it just fine". I let her know I wasn't sure when buying the rockfish if it was part of the plan since it was not in my list of fish. I had intended to get red snapper but it was $15/lb so I opted for the rockfish at $7.99/lb. I also let Carol know I had looked up rockfish on the fish identification website and it was listed in the snapper family so I guessed it would be acceptable in the program. Also, I had eaten golden trout over the weekend and determined from the fish website it was in the salmon range of fish so counted it as my weekly salmon allowance. Carol said trout was acceptable on my plan.

Side note:
I'm following the Gold Plan. There are other plans LA Weight Loss offers depending on your general health and number of pounds you want to lose. Other plans are Green, Purple and Blue. There are probably more but those are the only ones I remember from my orientation session.

Carol offered to give me a list of additional fish I could eat on my program to add variety. I was so happy she offered more fish choices. Eating fish on the program takes the guesswork out of determining what kind of meat you're allowed. Fish are so small. There aren't as many parts on them. No breasts, no thighs, just fish. So now my list of fish has gone from 14 to 65 varieties!

Carol asked if I had any events coming up and I told her my husband and I would be having dinner with friends the next evening at Siena. I had already looked up the menu online and had made some choices that would help me stick to the program. She seemed pleased to see I was anticipating and planning ahead. I told her my only room for error would be alcohol. I love the stuff and have never been able to refuse a drink. Two weeks ago at our friend's wedding I had chunked the plan and drank to my heart's content. Carol said she understood and she herself was actually on her own plan and missed margaritas. A girl after my own heart. Her advice was this, if I decided to have a glass of wine to follow it up with another glass of water. This way I would get fuller faster and not want as much wine. She also let me know if I did drink to count one glass of wine as one starch and one fruit. Hallelujah! I decided the next day I would not have any starches or fruit so I could have two glasses of wine at dinner. Since I have not been drinking lately that should be plenty to feel good. The daily allowance on my program is three servings of fruit and two servings of starch. I may even get to have one more fruit on Thursday, yay!

I left the consult feeling very encouraged and went back to the office to have some Nature's Reply.

The Lowdown on BM

So part of the program is to check in with a weight loss counselor three times a week. They look over my food diary and ask me if I have any questions, problems, concerns, etc.

On Monday, I told my counselor Stephanie that I had not had a BM (bowel movement, only gonna say it once)in two days and "yeah, I was concerned". I asked if my program allowed psylluim husks. She'd never heard of psyllium husks. She suggested a box of tea called "Nature's Reply", an LA Weight Loss product. It was $12/box. "Another twelve bucks" I thought, but I was desperate so I took her up on it and actually bought two boxes of the tea. I figured if "Nature" didn't "Reply" and beat the crap out of me I would just take the psyllium husks without permission. Hey, it's still my body. I had a cup of Nature's Reply as soon as I got back to my office. The directions on the box read "results in 6-12 hours". Geez, it wasn't turning out to be a good day.

I ate my lunch, 1 cup herb salad mix, 1/2 cup baby spinach and 5 oz of baked sole. I added one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to liven up my salad and had one slice of Pepperidge Farm Light Style White Bread (40 cal). I thought the salad would stir things up for me, but by 4pm it was no go.

I went home and had another cup of Nature's Reply. No reply. I didn't even feel like eating anymore but started making dinner anyway. I went back and consulted the box of Nature's Reply. "Do not exceed more than three cups a day" it stated. I decided to hold out and limit my intake to two cups that day. I ate a small apple instead (for fiber) while I prepared dinner. At dinner I ate 6 oz curry chicken made with non fat plain yogurt, 1/2 cup of steamed green beans, 1/2 cup raw baby spinach (need roughage) and 1 tsp olive oil as part of my required fat intake for the day. By the end of the night I was feeling very discouraged. "Would I ever crap again"? I took my remaining food supplements and decided to call it a night.

Tuesday morning I woke and decided to take control of the situation. I had a nice jar of psyllium husks in the fridge. I mixed one tablespoon of the psyllium husks in one cup of Nature's Reply and tried not to gag as I downed the smudge. I moved on and had the rest of my breakfast. One small apple (roughage) and one LA Delite-Blueberry Cookie. I packed my lunch and went to work. I felt the positive results moving during my drive and felt hopeful for the first time. I got to the office and checked my voicemail, email and looked over the mail from the day before. I drank enough water to sink a small fishing boat that morning. By 9AM, I had sweet relief. I decided to add psyllium husks to my program.

I think I must have been on a diet even while still in the womb. Prolly trying to burn off the heavy cream my mother drank by the pint while she carried me. She always told me she could eat to her heart’s content while she was pregnant with me and never experienced the perpetual vomiting that usually comes with pregnancy. That must be why I still can’t bring myself to put my finger down my throat even after I completely exceed my last oink fest.

So I started a new diet on June 29, 2003. I've chosen to document my progress/regress here. I'm keeping a record of my daily food intake which is part of the program I've chosen. I went with LA Weight Loss Centers. At this point I'm not endorsing their product until I've given this diet a real effort. My goal is to lose 20 lbs. They tell me if I follow the program I will lose the weight but I'm sure Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers say the same thing. What diet center tells you "eat the same way you have always eaten and you'll lose the pounds with our miraculous program"? None that I know or I would have gone with their program. I ended up at 141 lbs. and decided to take the plunge and actually pay someone to lose weight. Today I am at 135 lbs., but I'm not sure how much is actually water weight versus fat weight. Only time and my clothes will tell.