Today is New Hampshire Primary Day. Anybody want to participate in a mock election of MARCHers? I know they say you should never discuss religion or politics...but hey - we are a fun group- right???? Vote here if you want to participate! I'll announce the winner later on if we get any votes!!! My vote today will be Republican for Mitt Romney.

I did the pouch test and was starving during the first two days and just when it got easier, I went off track. Good Luck.

Funny, I tried the elliptical at the gym I joined the other day and liked it. It was just a quick test as I had never tried one before and I think I will like it. Sounds like you are developing you own home gym!!! Have fun and let us know how you like it. This time of year when it gets dark so early, it is nice to be home and not having to go back out again. That is why I am looking forward to the gym at work - do it during lunch and get it over with. Thanks for keeping us motivated! Barb

Rebeka, Thank you for your comments. It sounds like you have things figured out about the way your body works and the signals it is sending to you. Take care, Rick

Sorry this is going to be long. I was encouraged to undertake this test when Barbara recently mentioned it. I had been out of control with my eating and I had gained and lost the same four pounds week after week during the holiday season. If any of you are interested you can find the information on the web by going to: http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/days1_2.html There is a detailed description of the goals for the test and easy to follow directions and recipes for each day. Many people say that they would have trouble with the first two days because it is the liquid phase. For me they were the easiest days. Because I was committed to make the most of this experience I had the right mindset to succeed. The things you are allowed to eat also made this a breeze for me. Days 1 and 2: I ate or should I say drank protein drinks throughout the day. I ate sugar free Jell-O and sugar free pudding. I had chicken broth when I needed something warm and also had sugar free hot chocolate. I was able to get in my regular amount of water, which for me is 100 ounces a day. I also think it is very important to take all of your vitamins because you are not getting in your nourishment through your food intake. Day 3: This day you are allowed soft protein which should come from mainly tuna or other canned meats or from fish. You are also allowed to eat eggs. I do not care for fish other then tuna. I had tuna/egg salad for this day. I added mayonnaise to make it moist and some relish for flavor. I also put in celery seed. Day 4: This day calls for ground meat or other fishy foods. I ate ground turkey patties and ground beef. I used BBQ sauce to give it some flavor. Day 5: Today was solid protein from chicken or beef. I had skinless/boneless chicken breast and beef pot roast this day. I must say that throughout this whole process I was never hungry. I stuck to the plan with the small exception that the last night I ate two cookies (sorry STYLZ, I gave in). The plan indicates that you can eat as much of the daily food group as you like. You just have to eat no longer then 15 minutes at a time and not drink before or after eating. There are a few things I will do differently when I do this again. I should have paid more attention and used skim milk for my protein drinks and to make the pudding. I used 2% milk which probably added some calories. I also used too much mayonnaise when mixing my tuna/egg salad mix. One thing of note was that during this time I had very few bowel movements and a great reduction in the production of gas (can you say TMI). I think this was because my intestines were not having to process the amount of crap (pun intended) I had been eating recently that was not providing fuel for my body. I would highly recommend that anyone who has found themselves back to eating in a way that is not working for them to achieve their goals to try this pouch test. It worked for me. I think that now that I am back to eating a regular menu again I may find that I will gain a few pounds back, but that is okay with me. If you have suffered though all of this I will tell you what you really want to know. I started this at 184 pounds (up nine pounds from my low) and after 5 days I weigh 176 pounds for a loss of eight pounds. Your results may very. If you have any questions about my experiences with this let me know and I will answer them to the best of my ability. Life is great, Rick