Hello everyone! I'm not really new to the group, but it's been so very long since I've been around that I doubt anyone remembers me, and you all seem to be new to me too. I lost 30+ pounds on IF several years ago, gained 15 back but in the last year have taken 10 of the regained weight off again, so I'm holding at roughly 25 pounds lost, which I'm really pretty OK with overall, especially since I've developed a raging sweet tooth the last few years. But I still want/need to lose more, so right now I'm just doing a sort of pre-check in as I'm just in the planning stages of getting back to IF. I'm trying to decide whether to do the week or two of protein shakes only in the beginning, as many books advise, or to jump back into the reduced-cal meals right away. I hope to be back here frequently, as I'm sure that during the first few weeks I'll need to talk about it! Has MFP revised it's calorie counter? It was basically such a good feature, but on fast days it kept scolding me about not eating enough!

BTW, @mamainthekitchen I came to love oatmeal myself when I did IF before. The beauty of it was that it stayed with me a long time, so I could stave off hunger well into mid-afternoon after an oatmeal breakfast. It's 140 cals, but well worth the expenditure.

The group's really kickin' now...happy to see it. Spring is in the air...getting everyone pumped up.

Mini eggs are ok...I'd have to make them myself. Lots of great chocolate and baking recipes out there now using erythritol. (ooh, just found a keto recipe for lava cake.)

Here's a good article for those looking for more info on erythritol...could this finally be the sweetener that takes on cane sugar?
An excerpt:

1. It’s heat stable.
That means that you can add it to all your favorite baked goods.

2. It’s calorie-free and doesn’t impact blood sugar.
These words are so sweet they’re worth repeating. According to researchers at the European Commission, erythritol does not impact blood sugar.

3. It’s safe.
Studies have shown that erythritol is safe and it’s generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

4. It’s not overly sweet.
Even before we realized that artificial sweeteners were carcinogenic, back in 1995 when you were sipping on Diet Coke, you likely puckered at the flavor. That’s because it tasted too sweet. Thankfully, this sugar substitute is much less sweet and therefore, tastes realistic.

5. It does not cause tooth decay.
Unlike sugar, you don’t have to worry about damaging your teeth.

OK my ladies...get your bonnets on...enjoy the holiday...come back Monday refreshed and ready to work!

Rus

Thanks for the warm welcome, @jknight001 ! Thanks also for the tip about not closing out the diary. I may try that myself.

orlcam wrote: »

Here's a good article for those looking for more info on erythritol...could this finally be the sweetener that takes on cane sugar?
An excerpt:

1. It’s heat stable.
That means that you can add it to all your favorite baked goods.

2. It’s calorie-free and doesn’t impact blood sugar.
These words are so sweet they’re worth repeating. According to researchers at the European Commission, erythritol does not impact blood sugar.

3. It’s safe.
Studies have shown that erythritol is safe and it’s generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

4. It’s not overly sweet.
Even before we realized that artificial sweeteners were carcinogenic, back in 1995 when you were sipping on Diet Coke, you likely puckered at the flavor. That’s because it tasted too sweet. Thankfully, this sugar substitute is much less sweet and therefore, tastes realistic.

5. It does not cause tooth decay.
Unlike sugar, you don’t have to worry about damaging your teeth.

Hi @orlken! FYI: I've been using erythritol (Wholesome Organic Zero brand, which is pretty pricey, but well worth it, imo) for a while now and love it. It does have an odd quality though: it feels cold in the mouth. That's why I mostly use it to dust on berries and things like that. Using it alone for sweetness in coffee doesn't seem to be enough for me and I wonder if the sweetness may be affected by contact with heat. But I also use a stevia sweetner for my coffee that contains erythritol (the best one I've found is the Safeway brand), and don't notice any cold quality in it while it's just the right sweetness, but the slightly bitter taste of stevia apparently disappears with it's addition. What I'm hoping for is that someone will start using it, along with soy milk or something similar, to make a calorie-reduced ice cream.

Hello all! Did my weigh-in today and down .8 lbs. Slow and steady does it.

In regards to erythritol, I was reading my Allrecipes magazine today and saw Pyure advertised. It is a granulated combination of stevia and erythritol. They say you can bake with it. Forgive me if you all knew about this already. I know @orlcam said erythritol was FDA approved but I don't really trust the FDA. Would love to hear outside sources that have done long term studies on the stuff say it is ok. To much science influenced by politics out there.

Hope to get rid of my cough soon. A woman the other day jokingly said,"I hear that you have the 7 week cough I had". That pretty much sums it up.