It's not much, but I'll take it!

Start Weight: 168 lbs
Weight after two loading days:  171.7 lbs (3.7 lbs total gain)
R2P2D5:  167.6  (-4.1 lbs gross, -.4 lbs net)


Oh well, only .2 lbs down today, but hey -- a loss is a loss, right?


I'm not going to dwell on it, but it also doesn't hurt to examine the possible causes for my tiny loss over the last 24 hours.  Here's what I came up with:
- I weighed a little earlier than usual this morning because I had an early appointment.
It's good practice to always weigh at the same time each morning, before you have anything to eat or drink, so that you are always comparing apples to apples (mmm.... apples :-) when weighing yourself each day.  Pick a time that works with your schedule and try your best to stick to it.
- I ate a little later than normal last night.
It's a good idea to not eat anything within three hours of bedtime.  This is hard for me most days.  For most of my adult life, my "hunger" will rear it's ugly head during the evening hours.  So, I tend to save some of my foods for later in the day.  I need to break myself of this habit.
- I ate off-protocol yesterday.
After examining yesterday's menu, I decided to remove one of my off-protocol things to see if that helps.  I've replaced the balsamic vinegar with red wine vinegar.  It's not nearly as tasty to me as the balsamic, but it is zero everything -- 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g sugars/carbs, so it's practically a free food.  A little goes a long way, however.  Actually, that is a good practice on this diet, or afterward during lifetime maintenance.  Choose high-flavor, low-cal spices and condiments (like red wine vinegar, spicy brown mustard with no sugar added, and hot sauce) so you get the most bang for your buck.  Seek out these spices and condiments and USE THEM.  One of the biggest difficulties during the VLCD portion of this protocol is boredom, not hunger, so always try to spice things up a bit.


Here's my menu for today:
Water with Lemon Drop stevia and lemon wedges all day
Coffee w/ Hazelnut Liquid Stevia all morning
3p:  Baby Spring Mix lettuce/Raw Spinach salad*
       with salt, pepper and red wine vinegar
4p:  Nonfat Cottage Cheese mixed with sections of half a grapefruit
7:15p:  Steamed Broccoli*
8:45p*:  Nonfat plain greek yogurt* mixed with Vanilla Creme
               liquid stevia, diced strawberries, and a crumbled up
               Melba toast


*OFF PROTOCOL WARNING!
1. Mixing veggies
2. Broccoli is not on the original protocol.  However, with all the good nutrition that is packed into this little vegetable with its relatively low calorie count, it was a chance that I was willing to take last round and I suffered no ill effects.  Hopefully that will continue during this round. The scale will tell the tale tomorrow!
3. I'm eating TOO LATE again!  Not really off-protocol, but please don't follow my bad example if you can help it.
4. Yogurt not on protocol.  I choose to add it to try to make this protocol work for me as a practicing vegetarian.


Later losers! ;-)