I use to drink soda consantly. Now, I've replaced that with Crystal Lite ice tea. But I have soda every now & then. Was on vacaton in Dec and was given a diet coke when I had ordered sf lemonaide. It wasn't worth waiting line to get the right thing so I had that - drank about a 1/3 to 1/2 of the large and started to feel a littlle uncomfortable, so that was my limit. (dh got my leftover as ususal) At home I keep sf root beer in the fridge as a treat - sometimes with sf chocolate ice cream for a root beer float. I could never get my water/liquid requirements in if I was drinking soda, the carbonation would limit me. So I look at soda as a once in awhile treat. Like many foods, I can't say never again, because that leads to cravings and cravings can lead to binges. So, if I really want something I'll have a little bit - I think it's the 4 bite rule - so I don't let the cravings get out of control. diane

I was just wishing that we "slow losers" had our own message board. It is so frustrating to see all the "rockets" that went from size 22 to a size 4. What I have to keep remembering is that just like all the diets that we tried, results are not typical. We will have the gammet of us on one side and the rockets on the other end. Are you hypothyroid? I am and even though I do all the right things, vitamins, water, exercise. I do cheat sometimes, and I truly believe we all do. Just some of us don't admit to it. Glad do see you beat the plateau. Keep it up, you are doing good. Hopefully the rest of us will follow. Still have 36 pounds to go. And that isn't even to what the BMI says I should be at. I plan on having my TT in August, maybe that will jumpstart me again. NEVER GIVE UP> Take care all...

Try dairy, cottage cheese, soy and don't forget the whey protein drinks. Beans, chicken and pork are great too. If you get a lot of gas chew beano. The anti gas antacids don't help with intestinal gas, only stomach gas. I mix a light yogur****er and designer whey and get a whopping 30 GM of protein. Since I exercise early in the moring I drink this before exercise. It tastes great. Good luck getting back on track. Just remember we all cheat sometimes just keep it to less than 20 percent of the time. When you do cheat, make sure you have some protein with it. I also eat beef jerky. Fiber like triscuits and fruit keep you feeling full. One last thing. The 94% fat free popcorn is wonderful for those times when you want volume.

I'm 6' even. I really didn't "do" anything. I know it sounds bad. I eat whatever I like for the most part. I love pasta still although I can't eat a ton of it. I eat chips, ice cream when I can tolerate it. Trying to think what I had today to eat. Let's see I always start off my morning with coffee. And then I had an everything bagel toasted with lots of butter. I ate about 3/4 of it. I had no real lunch. I snacked on a kit kat bar and a bag of peanut m&m's along with some diet pepsi. I also had a few animal crackers for a snack. Then I came home and had some hamburger helper stroganoff for dinner. About 2 big scoops, with again a diet pepsi. I'm going to have an ice cream sandwich in a little bit and then I might have some more hamburger helper.

Sorry I didn't get back sooner! I didn't go to the gym but I did make some great steps. I spent about 2 hours in Walmart reading labels and looking for Protein. This afternoon I went to the gym and signed up for Boot Camp. 4 days a week with a personal trainer to kick my butt. I start tomorrow. I hope we can email. I tried to reply to your email through my system but I was blocked. Here is my email info: [email protected] Let me know how you are doing. We are going to do this together!! Va.