Planning is definitely key! I'm trying new recipes to keep myself motivated. This morning I made Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa from this website: http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2012/09/apple-cinnamon-quinoa-cereal.html . It came out great and I have two more servings in the fridge to take to work.

I'm alone with my four year old all day today, so I'm going to take her out to a bike trail so she can bike and I can run behind her.

Good luck to all!

I am going to do the "Fat Smash" diet, at least the first 9 days, starting today. I've already eaten just plain oatmeal and half a dried banana. Here's a copy of the diet plan, taken directly from this site, Peer Trainer: http://www.peertrainer.com/diet/fat_smash_diet.htm


The Fat Smash Diet is a diet created by Dr. Ian K. Smith best known from VH1's Celebrity Fit Club.

The most important thing to know is that it is based on some sound nutritional principles, and we have seen it work at PEERtrainer, particularly among people with the discipline to adhere to the different phases. It is also important to note that the principles are similar to those of the new "PEERtrainer Cheat System", in which the focus is a diet high in plant based foods.

Fat Smash is part of a "new wave" of diet approaches that are very healthy and sustainable over the long term. The differences are in how one is asked to follow the plan. Some people can do well with some flexibility, while others do better with a specific set of instructions. The Fat Smash Diet is organized around phases. The first one lasts nine days and really serves as a "shock to the system" that sets you up for easier compliance in later phases.

If you don't do well with approaches like this, you'll still get value out of the book and others by Dr. Ian Smith. Paperbacks are cheap, and you really want to build a small library in your home of "health" books. We find that we return to ours again and again. We'd also strongly recommend that you download a free copy of our new eating system. There is a blog post that describes everything, and you can read it here.

What Do You Eat On The Fat Smash Diet?

The single most important aspect of the diet is the idea that you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you like. This is critically important because traditional diet approaches focus on limiting and restricting the foods you eat. This is a recipe for failure. The Fat Smash Diet is especially good at kicking off a diet. It is hard to maintain long term, but the first phase will begin to condition your "healthy eating muscles."

It is literally impossible to be obese with a diet that is extremely high in fruits, vegetables, greens and legumes. The reason for this is that these foods give your body the nutrition it needs and fills you up. Diets high in meat, milk, cheese and processed foods are nutrient poor. Your body is not getting what it needs and continually sends signals to your brain to keep eating in a (usually futile attempt) to get nutrients. When you eat a diet high in the "good stuff", your body no longer goes into panic mode when you get hungry. "Food addiction", which is often a reaction to toxic chemicals in food, goes away. You have the foods you need, you are much less compelled to overeat, and your odds of successful follow through go way up.

The formal diet is a 90 day program and it is divided into 4 phases. It is a very common sense approach to eating and dieting, and is very popular among the members of the PEERtrainer community. It really does not matter if you want to follow the diet in a formal manner. Take a look at what Dr. Smith is advocating- there is much to learn. Any diet loosely based on his "Phase One" will be healthy and will likely help you lose weight. Additionally, diets high in fruits, vegetables and greens are shown to dramatically lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and more. Due to heavy marketing we are asked if we "Got Milk" and told that "Beef is What's For Dinner." The reality is that the focus on these two food sources is making us fat and probably killing us. This does not mean eliminate meat and dairy. Just go easy on it. And eat all the fruit and veggies you want.

1. Phase I - Detox - This phase lasts 9 days. In this phase you will eat mostly fruits and vegetables. The idea is to cleanse your body of junk and you eliminate things like alcohol and caffeine. By increasing fruits and vegetables you increase the body's ability to cleanse itself on the cellular level. You can eat all the fruits & veggies you want except white potatoes and avocados. You also can have the following: legumes/beans & tofu, 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 cups of brown rice, 2 cups low fat or 1% milk, 2 6oz yogurts and 4 egg whites (eggbeaters) only water & 2 cups of herbal tea to drink. You also get a very limited amount of olive oil dressing to use. This Phase lasts for 9 days.

How PEERtrainer Helps You Lose Weight with Online Support Groups

2. Phase II - Foundation - This phase lasts 3 weeks. In this phase you eat the same foods as phase I, except you will reintroduce lean meats. Phase 2 is for 3 weeks and you keep everything you are eating in phase I & add in most protein meat chicken turkey fish (except pork), 1 whole egg add unsweetend ceral, 1 oz of cheese, coffee 1 10 oz cup & 2 diet pops a day come back.

3. Phase III - Construction - This phase lasts 4 weeks. In this phase you eat the same foods as phase I & II except you will reintroduce whole wheat pasta and bread. Phase 3 4 weeks: increase the amounts of protein, adds ff mayo & peanut butter, 2 whole eggs, 3 cups of lf milk now & 1.3 oz of lf/ff cheese, 2 cups of freshly squeezed juice & whole grains bread 4 slices a day, 1 cup of pasta and 1 desert serving per day.

4. Phase IV - The Temple - This phase is for life. In this phase you eat the same foods as phase I,II, & III. In addition to those foods, you can eat some white starches (ie. white rice, potatoes) as well as have a couple of glasses of wine or beer each week. Phase 4 for life every food you want come back including alcohol & all sweets/chips everything. the idea is your able to now handle a snack or high fat meal & go back to your regular good habits you have learned to retrain your body with.

So here's the list of authorized foods for the first nine days. Basically, if it's not on here, you can't have it. This nine-day period is called Detox (although I don't necessarily believe in detox, but that's another subject. That's just what this is called).

Authorized foods:
-Fruit in any quantity
-Veggies in any quantity except:
-No white potatoes
-No avocados
-Protein sources:
-Chickpeas
-Beans
-Tofu
-Lentils
-Brown rice, two cups of cooked rice per day
-Skim milk, two cups per day
-Water
-Oatmeal, one cup per day
-Herbs and spices
-Low fat yogurt, 6 oz., two times per day
-Egg whites, Four cups per day
-Herbal tea, two cups per day
-Low fat dressing, No more than three tablespoons per salad
-Low fat virgin olive oil, one or two teaspoons if grilling veggies

**** Copied from Peer Trainer: http://www.peertrainer.com/diet/fat_smash_diet.htm ****

Get my butt up and go to the gym. It takes 10 mins to walk there. eat fruit and vegs. not cheating at all. If can't go to the gym i will do the 30ds drink tons of water.

Hey group! I did weigh in today upped my water intake big time. Started w 30 minutes of cardio and counting calories! Seems like 10 lbs in 4 1/2 weeks is going to be tough but let's see how it goes!

Go to the gym at least 5 days per week 30 mins each. No chocolate. Greek yoghurt instead of sweet. Watch sodium. Keep protein high.

Drink lots and lots of water, keep walking to Leslie Sansone's 'walk it off' dvd's. As soon as it arrives, do the 30 day shred with Jillian Michaels. Keep eating my fruits & veggies. Use portion control on my meals.

I started the 5 Day Inferno Plan today. I figure it will be good to get in the zone! Especially cutting out all the sugary snacks I've been eating :noway:

I did 55 mins turbofire + 10 min stretch

Ate around 1200 cals.

So far, so good!

I plan on following Turbofire up till xmas, but will increase cals on Day 6 to include eating back about half exercise cals.

Good Luck everyone :flowerforyou: