The fun's over! It's time for an Easter (Sunday, March 31) Challenge!

[Lynn49]

Down 4.3lbs for the week. Not as great a start as I expected, but we went out to dinner on Thursday and yesterday I wasn't completely 'on plan' either, so that shouldn't be a surprise. Thank goodness for the loss, though!! Even that small amount feels better re my clothes.
To quote Ben Franklin: "If you don't have a PLAN, you plan to fail."

Our DD and several other co-workers have been on their diets for their trip (they reached the villa this morning at 5am,lol...hope they got some sleep on that flight!)....all of them are on "a plan", and have been losing weight. The one gal who said she was just going to cut this out, eat that, etc, hasn't lost a pound. It's just not the way to go when losing weight.....and the WW plan is free if you know where to look, is easy, I still have my cookies and tea in the evening...some ice-cream when I feel like it, a glass of wine here and there...and that's how I lost 50 lbs last year. If I didn't have this silly fall last May, I'd still be svelte today!

Regarding sweeteners, I've always used my Sweet 'n Low, my Mom used her saccharine (and lived to 92!), and I don't know what I'd do without it. I also sweeten water with those little squeeze bottle thingies that do NOT contain aspartame. Plain water nauseates me (weird, I know), so some of that in a glass or bottle is perfect for me.

Lecale, if you have a bulk barn near you, we buy the stuff by the bag, but you could pick up a few and give it a few days of using it, perhaps that would solve your dilemma?

This is a war, not a skirmish...it takes time, but boy is is worth it!!!

[Granger]

This may continue to encourage you to stay off the colas, Granger..



http://www.reshareable.tv/25-practic...coca-cola.html

Oh yeah, doesn't phase me! I am too sciencey. I just think about how strong the acid is on our tummy.

Haven't had one in 6 days. Will treat myself tomorrow.

[walkonby]

Well the thing I am learning about stevia is that it's pretty tasteless and its sweetening power may be overstated and it is ALWAYS blended with a second sweetener for flavour. E.g., PureVia tastes pretty good, but that's because the #1 ingredient is dextrose. Lantic stevia uses sugar alcohols for flavour so it has a cooling effect like sugarfree gum.

The packets of Lantic are supposed to equal 5/6 tsp (? lol) of sugar but they do not seem as sweet as the 2/3 tsp real sugar I use. The cooling effect is pretty unpleasant once your tea gets cold.

Sweet tea is my crutch, maybe I will just have to walk more to earn the pleasure.

I can see now why you are more inclined to abandon the use of Stevia. Just know that NOT all Stevia is blended with something else, as I said earlier there are many products claiming to be Stevia and they are crap!
The brand I use is called NOW BETTER STEVIA ( and yes that one does cost more, see website link below ) BUT there is no dextrose or alcohols in it.

http://www.nowfoods.com/Foods/Better-Stevia/

The Ingredients label on the side of my large ( 454 gram ) container states : Certified Organic Stevia Extract Powder ( Stevia Rebaudiana leaf)
That is it. Nothing else in there.
Further down it states:
No sugar, salt, yeast, wheat, gluten, corn, soy, milk, egg, shellfish, preservatives, artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners.

I have never had any problem detecting an aftertaste when I have baked with it UNLESS I use too much.
Here is perspective for you, on the other side of the label of my canister it says this: Use to naturally sweeten your beverages and foods.
Use 1/4 of an 1/8 of a tsp, ( yes I typed that correctly ) and after that in brackets it says ( 1/32 ).
So can you see what I mean by how little is needed? If other products are telling you to use more that means they are inferior imho.

To each their own, if you will not enjoy your cups of tea without using sugar than just carry on, but I do not feel Stevia is the problem, it is the kind of Stevia you have tried.

[lecale]

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[thriftygranny]

Way to go Lynn, that is a lot to lose in one week, you must be so happy!!
Myself I am sticking to more vegetables and less refined carb and have a pretty good eating week and have my menu planned for the week so I am optimistic!!

[walkonby]

That one says


http://www.nowfoods.com/Better-Stevia-45-PacketsBox.htm

well lecale, MY container does not say " other ingredients " anywhere on the container so I am confident that it is pure. It would have to be listed there if they put maltodextrin in it.

Wondering now if it is possible that there is a difference in the way they manufacture the extract powder that they sell in the large bulk canisters ( like I have ) and the boxed packets that they think most people will buy to sweeten their beverages with?

Honestly, I am at a loss here why they are showing differently.

[walkonby]

Stop by and wish Curt81 a Happy Birthday!!

http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/408954-...a/#post6476728

[lovelikewinter3]

Oh normally I like it tasting pretty green, my issue with this batch was how bitter it wound up being! Do you have a trick to cut the bitterness out? I think it was the combination of kale and swiss chard, was just too much. I'll figure it out eventually!

hey, isn't that weird that I love my juice to taste like that! ( lawn clippings ) The greener the better, ha ha Lots of fresh Kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, basil, and then just enough apple to take the edge off. Oh yeah and also a fresh peeled lemon in there. My DD is like you vw and loveliewinter3, she wants lots of fruits in hers.

[lovelikewinter3]

Nice work Lynn!! How are you feeling? I think you're right, I need some sort of a plan. I tried to do a meal plan for last week, but I did it after the groceries were already done so it fell through on the first day... I'm going to take your advice though and think about what sort of plan will work best with my brain and my schedule. Especially with such an inspirational result in you!

[SassyAshley]

Good Luck everyone, I am still all over the place. My eating was going well but now think I have yet another infection which is causing my stomach to go off and when this happens I am all about the carbs as the starch really helps to calm things.

Doc is no help says the infections will keep coming until I lose weight only issue is with the infection it is almost impossible to lose weight and at times they will last weeks and will only feel infection few for days or maybe weeks before I can feel it coming back on.

Feels like I fighting a losing battle but I will see what I can do given the current circumstances. Will start another treatment and see where it goes but feeling very discouraged as the infection has me retaining water and bloated and leaving my clothes feeling tight.

[vw_girl]

hey, isn't that weird that I love my juice to taste like that! ( lawn clippings ) The greener the better, ha ha Lots of fresh Kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, basil, and then just enough apple to take the edge off. Oh yeah and also a fresh peeled lemon in there. My DD is like you vw and loveliewinter3, she wants lots of fruits in hers.

I don't like much fruit either....I can't handle any apple or pear at all. Its just too sweet. I stick to 20% or less fruit and that's usually some berries, watermelon or pineapple. And of course lemon and lime to brighten up the greens (I don't peel - skins supposed to be good for you) I like savory ones like what you would put in salsa or greens with an Asian twist with some bok choy and 5 spice. I use ginger and jalapeno a lot too....oh an beet if you get it right is delish too.

MMMM, getting excited to get started. Was too sick this weekend to follow through with my plan but my mind set is getting there now.

[vw_girl]

Oh normally I like it tasting pretty green, my issue with this batch was how bitter it wound up being! Do you have a trick to cut the bitterness out? I think it was the combination of kale and swiss chard, was just too much. I'll figure it out eventually!

I'm still learning to love kale, its not a favorite and my juicer is stubborn with it too. Have to feed it in a few leaves at a time followed by something juicy. Have you tried ginger to cut the bitter?

[lovelikewinter3]

I have not! I will try that, thank you!

I'm still learning to love kale, its not a favorite and my juicer is stubborn with it too. Have to feed it in a few leaves at a time followed by something juicy. Have you tried ginger to cut the bitter?

[vw_girl]

Good Luck everyone, I am still all over the place. My eating was going well but now think I have yet another infection which is causing my stomach to go off and when this happens I am all about the carbs as the starch really helps to calm things.

Doc is no help says the infections will keep coming until I lose weight only issue is with the infection it is almost impossible to lose weight and at times they will last weeks and will only feel infection few for days or maybe weeks before I can feel it coming back on.

Feels like I fighting a losing battle but I will see what I can do given the current circumstances. Will start another treatment and see where it goes but feeling very discouraged as the infection has me retaining water and bloated and leaving my clothes feeling tight.

That does sounds like a no win situation Sorry about your struggles. Have you tried any holistic remedies for either infection or the upset tummy? Banana and papaya are good for stomach upset and digestion issues. Switching to brown rice, bread etc or try a protein bar to level out the carb intake? There are some really delicious ones out there now. Little steps that you can change/make will get you headed in the right direction.

Its a shame your doctor isn't more helpful.

[curt81]

Maintaining, but off this week.