Moving up another rung...BUT...

[Okapi]

Hi everyone!
I'm moving up another OWL rung this weekend BUT I've actually decided to swap rung 3 and rung 4. I know that this isn't as "by the book" as I have been committed to thus far, but I'm comfortable with the decision. I'm not going to skip rungs or fly through rungs, and I will come back to testing out nuts/seeds next, but right now strawberries and raspberries are in season and are looking just too beautiful to resist! I'd rather work them in now when they are at their finest, and it is easy to find cheap (or free if I get them from my co-worker who has some bushes!), locally grown organic berries than to wait another couple of months when the peak season is over. I will make sure to watch portions and to make sure to have them with some fat. Actually--I can't wait to add them to my Fage! or to have them with a little bit of cream....mmmmm...

Within the last two weeks I haven't noticed a change with my pants size BUT yesterday I had to go buy some new bras with a smaller band size! yahoo! So I'm still shrinking! And still feeling great!

Hope everyone else is still doing well too!

[Splandrea]

Sounds good to me! Congrats and good luck.
I want berries!!!

[TheDogAteMyName]

Ohhhh...we just picked strawberries a few weeks ago, it was wonderful. Just wait until you bite into the first berry - delightful!

[SunnySmile501]

I think that is a reasonable swap. You can get nuts at any time of the year, but fresh local berries are only in for a short while. Right now in my yard, I have ripe strawberries, black raspberries, cherries and mullberries and the local peaches are ripe and extremely cheap. I know I am eating too much fruit, but it is only here for a short while. My cherry tree is loaded and I have to only allow myself a handful a day.

Sunny!

[ValidRouge]

I think its reasonable too. My observation and experience is that more people can handle berries than they can handle nuts.

[TheDogAteMyName]

Originally Posted by SunnySmile501

I think that is a reasonable swap. You can get nuts at any time of the year, but fresh local berries are only in for a short while. Right now in my yard, I have ripe strawberries, black raspberries, cherries and mullberries and the local peaches are ripe and extremely cheap. I know I am eating too much fruit, but it is only here for a short while. My cherry tree is loaded and I have to only allow myself a handful a day.

Sunny!

Oh my...I'm going to Sunny's house!

[losetocruise]

It is funny how your tastes change on this diet. I have always loved strawvberries, cherries, blueberries, etc. and when in season could easily eat them without stopping.

Since reaching this rung though I only allow my husband and myself 1/2 to 3/4 cup sliced strawberries once or twice a day and not every day. I find that they taste better then ever, much sweeter then I remember and yet I am very satisfied with my small amount

[Okapi]

Thanks for all of the responses!

So far so good! I've had strawberries a couple of times and raspberries a couple of times. Tonight I had a few blackberries. Always with a splash of cream or stirred into Fage yogurt---mmmmmmmmmm!

I'm loving this Owl rung!! Seriously...this doesn't feel at all like a "diet" and it's still hard to believe that weight loss results when eating such delicious and decadent things as berries with heavy cream or full fat yogurt!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Katie

[TheDogAteMyName]

Katie,

My feelings exactly! Today I had cantaloupe with full fat cottage cheese for breakfast. Seriously...someone pinch me. The berries rung has changed my eating for the better. Since I've been able to have berries, I haven't felt deprived at all. I went to Trader Joe's today and picked up a bag of dried strawberries to stir into my Fage. With a few drop of stevia, I should be somewhere close to Heaven

Are you moving to Rung 4 or staying on 3 at this time?

[Okapi]

Originally Posted by TheDogAteMyName

Katie,

Are you moving to Rung 4 or staying on 3 at this time?

Hi!
I'm going to stay on my rung 3 (berries) for another week I think before moving on to my rung 4 (nuts). I want to have blackberries a few more times and blueberries a few times before I move on.

I've already started planning my next move though! I am planning on starting with nuts by using them as an ingredient in recipes first rather than just straight out of the package as a snack. I have always loved nuts and have always had some difficutly with portion control with them but maybe that will be different now. ?? I will eventually try nuts as a snack but I will start by blending some pecans with blue cheese and cream cheese for a delicious filling for celery stalks, or mixing a spoonful of peanut butter or some crushed peanuts into my stir fry or into a thai-style peanut sauce, etc. I feel like I will have more success with "nuts as an ingredient" compared to "nuts as a snack"...but we shall see!
Have a great day!
Katie