Hey all! I am in a rare mood today. I cleaned my apt!!! That NEVER happens. In the 2 years I have lived here, I have probably vacuumed maybe 5-6 times total. That's kind of embarassing to admit. I am not a pig, though, just detest vacuuming and dusting with a passion. I always do my dishes and don't have any clutter laying around. Anyway, took me 2.5 hours to clean a one bedroom apt

Dawn-You are so right. It's frustrating sometimes when the weightloss is not as quick as we'd like. But, so long as we are making progress, we are soooo much farther along than if we hadn't done anything at all. Thanks for reminding us of this!

Lissette-I hadn't gone back to induction-like eating. I had decided to do a clean Protein Power, meaning no artificial sweeteners (I've always avoided all other LC products and Frankenfoods). It didn't last very long and then I did a couple weeks going hog-wild with the daVinci syrup, SF gum, diet Rite, and that Fruit2O energy drink. I was craving ALL the time. I knew it was all something I needed to avoid, so 2 days ago, I quit again, cold turkey. I have incorporated some actual whole-grains in small amounts. Last night I had a small amount of plain, steel-cut oatmeal with my dinner, and was down to 147.5 today. I think I just have to come to terms with the fact that I simply cannot handle anything sweet-tasting, whether it is real sugar or fake. It just messes with my whole system. This is why it's been so hard for me to give up, b/c I am obviously addicted to it. But, it's something I have to do, and I've completely cleaned it out of the house.

Definitely, eliminated as much fake food as possible I think is a positive step for all. It may be lower in carbs but I don't believe that it is entirely safe. I would rather indulge in a little whole-wheat bread or oatmeal a few times per week. Anyway, that's obviously my point of view and others may disagree. Well, I have to finish up the cleaning now. I did everything but the dreaded vacuuming. The sooner I do it, the sooner it's done. And then I don't have to think about it again for another couple months or so