I'm going to go to twice a week once this week is over. My 7 day average will be my official starting point.

The new scale, BTW, has been great. Wide platform and a much more solid feel than the old one.

I think it is the mouth-feel more than anything else. It seems mushy to me, and I don't like mushy. However, I need to get used to citrus and other things if I am going to have any variety to what I eat.

Here goes...

Fruit is still a hard thing for me to..for some reason incorporating veggies is a lot easier.. Saying that, I add mixed berries to my oats in the morning! Not a bad way to get fruit in, if you like oats that is.

The book I am following for my weight loss plan is called 'The "I" Diet' and is based heavily on the research of a PhD in nutrition at Tufts U, Dr. Susan Roberts.

The book's initial diet plans are really written for, I think, petite women. The diet plan is 1200 calories for someone who weighs 120-160 pounds (54-72 kg). The book then has modifications, in 200 calorie segments, 1600 for someone weighing 160-200 (72-90) and then maxing out at 1800 calories for someone weighing 200-240 (90-108).

I was wondering - should I proceed with the 1800 calorie menu or will that leave me too hungry and likely to go off the rails, so to speak.

Well, when an author is a PhD with a University position it is pretty easy to find a public email address! I emailed Dr. Roberts with my question (with a note that I understand if she wants to keep her author work and academic work separate) and she got back to me within a couple of hours.

Her advice - add two 100 calorie snacks to bring the total up to 2000 a day, then ramp the calories down if/when I move into the weight zones in the book.

She also wrote something that just makes me more optimistic about using her work: "No problem, I’m doing this to help people lose weight."

Weigh in - 327.4
Today's fiber additions - 4 Fiber One bars (doubling the amount), two pieces of fruit.

The extra fiber is REALLY impacting my appetite, and I may actually want to be careful.

The orange I ate (and at least tolerated) at about 12:00 satisfied me until about 2:30, at which point I finally ate lunch. The I Diet specifies eating a SMALL orange for a snack - now I know why

In other news, I have started to build my menus for the first two weeks of the program. All the meals can be made with flavors and ingredients that I already enjoy, so that's a plus.

Berries are next on my "things I don't eat but should" list...

Does that diet allow you to eat any two pieces of fruit? Are there any fruits that you WILL enjoy? One of the most impprtant challenges, in my opinion, is finding ways to make dieting easier and more enjoyable. Choking down food you hate doesn't seem like it will work in the long run.

To your earlier point 2000kcals seems better than 1800 for similar reasons.

Hey op...honest question. Are you allowed to log on sabbath or is it considered work?

Do you intend to log the previous day on Sunday?

I am of two minds on this. I enjoy most things that are not citrus. However, I have never really given citrus a try. If it turns out that I really do not enjoy it I will not force it on myself. Right now, I am looking at all this as a new adventure.

Good question! In my case I will not be logging on from just before sunset on Friday until nightfall Saturday night. I live in the Eastern Standard Time zone of the US (UTC -5). I will either update on Sat night or on Sunday (as I am doing right now).

Yesterday, BTW, was day 6 of week 0. I was able to get in all the fiber I was supposed to.

My community has a weekly sit down luncheon after services on Saturday morning. There is ALLWAYS some sort of very rich/sugary dessert. Yesterday it was a platter of rugelach (cookies that are basically filo dough with sweet filling rolled in) and these marzipan/cookie things. Instead of going straight for the desserts I had an apple after my meal. While I ordinarily load a plate with cookies or cake I was totally satisfied by just one rugelach after the apple.

So, progress!

I forgot to weigh myself yesterday, but this morning I was at 329.2

Great control on the rugelach, well done! (Just looked it up on wikipedia, goodness it looks delicious)..

Just a small tip...if your going to post your new weight, post your old weight too.... This log is small for now, but as it gets bigger, you don't want people to spend time searching for your old weight! Likewise post your +/-.

Again though well done mate!

Good answer!!!

Will do on the weight reporting. Week 0 will be averaged together for the baseline, though that already seem set at about 330 pounds.

Good man!

Need a day off, beginning the real plan tomorrow.

Some **** going down where I work that will be over, one way or another, tonight.

Good luck with work op! Does this need to affect your meal plan though?

OK, here we go.

Baseline weight - 329.7 pounds
Today's weight - 327.9 pounds (-2)

I am following a set menu without deviation. The menu is meant to total about 2000 kcal per day.

I will be eating 3 meals and two snacks, with a "treat" after dinner

Breakfast was:
3 slices light bread toast
2 tsp. peanut butter
1/2 a grapefruit with splenda (and I enjoyed it!)
10 tortilla chips (100 calories)
Green tea

My midmorning snack will be two part skim mozzarella sticks

I did ALL my shopping for the first 1 1/2 weeks this morning. I think I spent more in one trip at the local market than I have spent on a single trip there since a Costco opened nearby.

Time to prep my lunch!

Also - the stuff going down at work delayed my meal plan by a day because I had no time to get the food together.

Also - wow does citrus make me feel full!

No food porn right now - sorry!

Lunch was a salad:
1 1/2 cups of greens
1/2 cup sliced yellow pepper
4 oz. of turkey breast
1 tsp. imitation bacon bits
2 Tb. light dressing
100 calories of crushed tortilla chips

It was VERY tasty, and it is only now that I am beginning to think about an afternoon snack.

Today's afternoon snack is an apple with 4 pecan halves.

So far, so good...

Great job on the food so far OP...

If you know what your meals are going to be in advance for the next couple of months you may want to think about buying in bulk from a cash and carry..

That's what I am doing with staples.. Bulgur wheat, chicken breasts..Likewise because I do all my cooking on the weekend, I usually make more than 5 days worth...(usually stews and the like), so I have some low cal meals in the freezer, if I ever can't cook, or I just couldnt be arsed cooking!

That is exactly what I plan on doing, but I want to get to know the menu first. See what I like, dislike, that sort of thing.

Had a 100 calorie (sugar free) ice cream cone as a treat mid-afternoon.

I ate dinner WAY too late - I need to figure out how to schedule it better with my 3rd grade son's evening/bedtime schedule.

In any case, dinner was:

6 oz. of canned tuna (water) w/ 1 Tb light mayo and mustard
1 1/2 Cups sautéed string beans
A whole yellow pepper

I'll be having a bit of sugar free ice cream with high fiber cereal mixed in for dessert.

I have no idea my calorie count from today but I would estimate it was between 1800 and 2000, right where I want to be.

Goodnight from UTC -5!

Good morning from the East Coast of the US!

WEIGHT:
Baseline - 329.7 lb.
Today - 325 lb. (-4.7)

Surprisingly tasty breakfast:
20 g Fiber One cereal
1/4 cup lite granola
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup watermelon chunks
2 Tbs. peanuts

I did NOT expect to enjoy the cereal, but it and the granola were a great mix of flavors.

My mid-morning "snack" was sugar free chocolate milk. 1 1/2 tsp. cocoa, 3 packets of splenda, 1 cup milk. Really good and satisfying; no way am I going back to things like Nesquick after that...

Lunch:
1 cup mushroom barley soup (80 calories)
4 Oz. Turkey breast
3 slices low-cal bread
1 tsp. mayo
mustard
1/4 cup grapes

Afternoon snack will be an apple and 4 pecan halves.

I am getting hungry here and there, but nothing I can not handle. The food plan allows for some extra snacking as long as it involves the Fiber Once cereal, so I may go in that direction. We'll see.

Keep it going man, well done. Back in Belfast the vernacular we would use is, "Keep her lit"

Thanks for the encouragement - I need to check in on your progress more often, I think.