I agree with you Emerald and I would avoid the half and half while doing the csd.  Then slowly introduce it back in your diet

nancy

There is a liquid non-fat cream that has only 20 calories for 2 T.  It's very thick and you can get away with only using a teaspoon or two.  I think Land o Lakes makes it and it's actually quite tasty.  Just go easy.  I was on the diet off and on for 3 months and I had to tweak it to make it bearable.  If you're only doing it for a week stick to it as much as possible.

Wow sweetjag, congratulations on the weight loss.  Have you been doing the csd with no breaks in between for a month?  How tall are you if you don't mind my asking?  I'm 132lbs, and I'm 5'2" so I need to lose at least 10lbs, I'm not fat right now, but I'm scared the weight will slowly creep up.  And for some reason when I do the csd, and lose weight the next day if I eat lets say healthy cereal, I gain most of the weight right back, and if I still eat healthy through the week I gain everything that ive lost back plus more.  So I don't know what to do.

Well Emerald basically I started the CSD in February.  The first week I stuck to the plan exactly.  Then I took a week off.  After that I started the new diet which made more sense to me.  I've posted it on here before so go look into my profile and you'll see it under previous posts.  I did one week on and one off.  After awhile I decided to add a serving of Fiber-One to help with mid morning cravings.  I kept this up for 3 months and went down 30 or so pounds.

I started at 158 and ended up at 128.  I'm 5'2" like you so every pound really makes a difference.  The only thing is I've really never struggled with my weight except for after being pregnant.  This was my 3rd and last pregnancy.  So for me losing the weight and keeping it off might just be easier since it's not really ever been a daily issue.

Since you don't have much to lose it's going to be much harder.  The closer I got to my goal the slower the weight loss was until finally my body just got used to the diet and I plateaued around 128.

I then started counting calories and staying right around 1300 and exercising 6 days a week alternating between a 35 minute step aerobic routine and resistance training.  I also try to walk as much as possible.  It's amazing how much you can eat and stay around 1300 calories if your meals consist of veggies, fruits, lean meats and healthy carbs.  I still have a little dairy and some sweets but I try to stay away from anything with sugar and opt for the sugar-free.  At first it was time consuming keeping a diary and counting calories but now I don't even have to do it.  I just know what I should or shouldn't be eating.  I splurge on Sundays by having something sinful like fries or such and I allow myself one night per week of drinks but I stick to vodka and diet or rum and diet... no fruity drinks or beer.

Keep in mind, I'm a stay at home mom and have a little more time to do all this stuff.  Counting calories and exercising can be time consuming but it is definitely worth it.  I probably wouldn't be as successful if I was working again.

Since you only have 10 pounds to lose you may realistically only lose 1 pound of fat and a few of water on the CSD.   The water weight you will put back on once you start eating properly.  All I can suggest is to try counting calories.  A pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories.  The average woman requires roughly 1800 calories a day.  If you can say cut your caloric intake to 1300 calories per day you will lose a pound per week.  Slow going, I know but it seems that's the best way to do it and keep it off.  I'm still losing weight and am now at about 120.

Oh one more thing... I eat several small meals per day.  I eat a small breakfast, have a mid-morning snack, have lunch, have a mid-afternoon snack, eat dinner and have a tiny snack or dessert later.  The key is to keep your snacks healthy, watch your unhealthy carbs and portion control.  I'm very rarely hungry and this keeps your metabolism going.  Also never skip breakfast.  It's important to jump start your metabolism in the morning.   Most people who don't eat breakfast tend to eat more calories and fat in one day than people who do.  I still eat the soup a lot as an appetizer or even as one of my snacks.  I've made it so much now that I love my recipe!

Good luck and if you have any questions, feel free to email me at sweetjag74@remove-this.hotmail.com

wow sweetjag. that's impressive... I also have the problem of finding the time to exercise. I have a job where at times we work around the clock sitting in front of our computers. Because of this I've put on 6-7 lbs. That's so wonderful that you have figured out what works for you... I'm new to the diet so hopefully it will jump start my ways of eatting correctly. I'm a huge fan of skipping breakfast and having a big dinner. I'm not as young as i used to be and it's catching up on me.

Congrats again to you sweetjag!!! Keep it up!