[MaryW]

This is my first time posting here. Like most people trying to lose weight, I've been on quite a roller coaster. I was following another low fat plan in 2009 and lost 50 pounds. I still had about 115 pounds to go. I hit a bit of a plateau in 2010 and really struggled. I was over at a skinny friend's house in the summer of 2010. We were sitting on her balcony enjoying the view when my flimsy little lawn chair collapsed. I was mortified! I thought I was doing so well, but in that moment I realized that to the outside world, I was still morbidly obese at 265 pounds. I was devastated and I gave up my eating plan, my exercise, everything. And of course I consoled myself with mounds of every bad food I could get my hands on.

So here I was 10 months later, at 319.8 pounds, facing a checkup with my doctor. I knew I had to do something. I've had the Rice Diet Solution book for a few years, but never seriously considered following it. It just seemed too restrictive. But I lost my momentum with the other plan and couldn't get back on track. This past Monday, April 18, I decided to give the Rice Diet a try. It's been going really well. I haven't had any trouble following the plan so far. I know tough times will be ahead. But I'm feeling much more optimistic and motivated than I have in months.

And I just got my internet hooked up! Yay! Now hopefully I won't feel so cut off and alone. I have definitely retreated from friends and family since my weight has crept up this past year. Being alone or feeling alone is not good for an emotional eater like me. I plan to post frequently, if not daily.

Starting weight: 319.8
Today's weight: 311.2

That's 8.6 pounds since Monday! I'm sure alot of that weight was water retention from all of the junk food I was eating lately. But I'm still excited! Now I want to keep my enthusiasm as the weight loss slows.

[MonicaC]

Hi Mary, congrats on the weight loss that is terrific. This is my second time around on this program. The first time I went all the way to my goal and then over the years the weight crept back on due to that I got sloppy and had frequently eaten out and I translated eating out as a free for all, with eating all that I wanted. Now I feel better as I have lost this time around this weight since October of last year. It feels nice to know what you can eat and just going with natural whole foods and cuting out all the processed foods and chemicals I feel alot better. You will find your way of doing the rice diet program and before you know it you will be at goal. Welcome to the forum, it is so helpful to share your journey.

[MaryW]

Thanks for the welcome! Eating out is hard on anyone's waistline, but it's worse for those of us trying to lose weight. I was very proud of myself yesterday. I went out to lunch at a Mexican place. I got rice and beans with a side of lettuce and tomato. I know the rice and beans were loaded with sodium, but I wasn't going to drive myself crazy about it. I made sure breakfast and dinner were low sodium, and my ankles weren't swelled up today!

[MaryW]

Today's weight: 310.8

Nine pounds gone since I started on Monday! However, I am leaving today to visit my mother for Easter. We will be having dinner tomorrow at my brother's house. And I'm been invited to another party at a cousin's house. I don't know if I will make it to that one. But it will be food, food, food tomorrow. And not low-fat, low-sodium food either! Why does everything always have to be about food? But I guess for people who don't have an eating disorder, it's fun to indulge. I wonder if I will ever get to the point that food doesn't make me nervous?

[MonicaC]

Wow, Mary, you lost more weight. Great going. The thing about eating with family is that for me it is easier to eat a small portion and be done with it than to say I can't eat this stuff and then the whole family focusing on you and your different eating regime. I tend to drink alot of tea when I am with family so that I can do something and it is non caloric. I recently was with my parents my dad is an amazing cook so ate one portion of items instead of two or three portions and when I got back home made my food with lots of veggie soups base this time lentils. Have fun at your family outing and know that eating one portion is a victory when you enjoy the food item. Good Luck.

[MaryW]

I can't believe it! I got back this evening from my family Easter visit. I decided to weigh myself, even though I had been eating all day, and some of the food was quite salty. I'm at 308.4! I'm amazed that the weight is still coming off. Tomorrow will be my first full week on the program. This is an exciting beginning!

I've decided to change my ticker just once a week. Easier for me than every day, even though I plan to post my daily weight here.

[MaryW]

Today's weight: 308.2

That means I've lost 11.6 pounds in my first week. Amazing! I know I can't keep up that rate of weight loss. But I can't help but think that if I did, I would be at my goal in just a few months!

Today is a rice and fruit day for me. I'll be having quinoa with pineapple and strawberries. I've never measured my food before. These one cup portions seem surprisingly large! That's why I'm using quinoa. On a rice and fruit day, I can have 1 cup of quinoa instead of 2/3 cup of rice. I like rice, but I like the idea of eating more. Maybe I'll get to a point where I want rice. But I'm trying to win the psychological game as well as the physical one.

[karolinakat]

WTG Mary. You won't lose at that rate but it will still go quickly

[MonicaC]

Mary this is awesome so happy that you are enjoying these results. It is a great feeling to see the scale going down. I always get happy when I see my scale move. WTG.

[MaryW]

Today's weight: 306.6

I'm surprised my weight is down today. I was terribly, terribly thirsty last night. I drank lots and lots of water, and my ankles swelled up. I don't know why I was so thirsty. I ate quinoa and strawberries yesterday. But I also ate some gum drops! I don't have the package with the nutrition info, so I don't know how much sodium is in them. But I don't have any business eating candy right now! Weak moment. Moving on.

Thanks for the support everyone! Hope you have a good day.

[Sarah1466]

Nice job! Way to go! Very motivating for sure!! Keep up the good work.

[karolinakat]

WTG Mary. I doubt there is enough sodium in a few gumdrops to cause the swelling, but maybe your body was trying to process the weight loss and caused the thirst and swelling, then whooshed it all out of you before way in today. Either way, water seems to help a lot on the days one eats the wrong things.

[MaryW]

That's a good point about water. I know I need to drink more. We are supposed to shoot for eight 8 oz glasses, right? I think the book says something like 40-70 ounces? I don't think I've been getting that much. I drink some coffee in the morning. Are we supposed to limit coffee? And maybe another 20-30 oz of water the rest of the day. Drinking water will help with flushing stuff out of my body and metabolizing all of this fat! So water, water, water. But not too much. Don't want to wash all of my sodium away! My grandmother did that once when she was sick. She ate nothing but salt-free crackers and drank plain tea for days. Her electrolytes got messed up for a long time. So I know to be careful about too much liquid and not enough sodium. I just have to get myself up to "enough"! I have some of those flavor packets you add to bottled water, but I hate to use them. They are full of artifical everthing. I like water just fine. But I forget to drink it. The flavored waters taste good, which encourages me to drink more. Maybe I should use the flavors for a while until I get in the habit of drinking more.

I know the day is coming soon when I won't have a loss to post. I know that's OK and normal. But I am still dreading it! Thanks for the support!

[karolinakat]

I'm not sure about coffee, as I don't drink it, but most plans count 2 cups a day as water I think. Then the rest needs to be water I drink 1 propel a day (flavored stuff, low sodium) if I am taking bottled water with me, otherwise usually plain water. Once you are in the habit it will be easy.

[MaryW]

Today's weight : 306.4

I haven't been exercising this week like I should. I worked out on Saturday before all of the Easter craziness. And I didn't work out again until this morning! I made myself get up and do it. I always feel better afterwards, but it's way too easy for me to slack off. I've got to burn off that fat!!

I made the black bean salad out of the Rice Diet Solution book. I've made similar recipes before. Most of them use salsa as the dressing, which of course is almost always high in sodium. This one is good with the vinegar and cumin. I love cumin! I had tossed salad and bean salad for lunch yesterday. But when I got home from work last night, I forgot to put it in the fridge! So it sat out all night!! I hate to waste food, so I brought it again for lunch today. So far no diarrhea or projectile vomit. I guess I dodged the food poisoning bullet! Yesterday I had regular dressing on my salad (fat free but not low sodium). And I made the black bean salad with regular black beans (not low sodium). I hope this isn't pushing me over my sodium limit! Today I just skipped the salad dressing and mixed the tossed salad and bean salad together. Very tasty.

Still not doing well with the water drinking. It's almost 1 pm and I've only had a cup of coffee so far. I have a 20 oz bottle of water to drink with my lunch. I plan to finish it! If I drink another one when I get home, that should be better. Maybe that's why I'm so thirsty at night. I don't drink much during the day, so when I get home I'm super parched.

[Sarah1466]

Nice work on the weight loss!
And, If you are following the diet, you don't really have to worry about the electrolyte thing as far as sodium is concerned. The human body only needs about 300mg a day to function. In the dairy and grain you will get that for sure. Keep up the good work. I have a water bottle with me on my desk at work, and put it near my computer so I look at it all day and sip all day. It goes by faster, then I don't have the thirst at night, which translates into having to get up to pee because I drink so much after 6 pm!
Keep it up!

[MonicaC]

Mary, yahoo on your program, this is so lovely to see your quick results. I am so happy for you. I have been drinking tea with some regular black tea daily and it does not appear to negatively affect my program. I am not sure how they feel about coffee as it is higher in caffeine than black tea. It is my challenge as well to get all the water in on a daily basis but the pitcher idea that Leeney said is a good one. Keep it up.

[MaryW]

Thank you for your kind words of support! It really means a lot to me.

I had a sort of rough evening. I mentioned before that I sat in a chair at a friend's house last summer and broke it. And after I had been dieting and losing weight for a year. Well, the friend has been bugging me to come over again since then. Why she wants me in her house, I can't figure out! Mary, the Destroyer of Furniture! I shouldn't say that, but I can't stress enough how horrifying that experience was for me. It was the end of my weight loss for almost a year. Well, I finally went back to her house tonight. I had myself worked up into a frenzy before I got there. But she was so nice (of course) and we had a lovely dinner. It was vegetarian, and low-ish sodium, but she put a lot of olive oil on everything! The world didn't implode, I didn't break anything else, and I was pretty much on program. So all in all, it turned out well! phew! I really need to stop overreacting! Like Kitty says in the book, change your perspective.

And my friend looked so cute in a little sundress. I need to add that to my list of things I want to do someday: effortlessly wear a little sundress (and look cute in it!)

[MaryW]

Today's weight: 307.6

Oopsie! No loss today. After that meal last night, I didn't really expect one. But I'm back on plan today. We're having a party at work today, but I won't be eating anything. Unless there is a fruit or veggie tray! (probably not)

[MonicaC]

Mary, you are doing great and holding firm through a party is quite an accomplishment. It is day and day of actions like this that will get you to have fun wearing a cute sundress. It will happen. I can tell you that I gave up on my losing weight and really tried to accept it, but one day I restarted my program of whole natural freshly prepared foods at home and guess what I am 1/2 way there. You can do it too. It is the same effort day after day just the number of days may be longer until you will get to goal but you will get there. Then I hope to maintain it this time around. I guess older and wiser has its benefits that I will get it right this time. Mary there will be eating out events and so moderation and enjoy it and then go right back on the program is the key to continuing on this journey to goal. Enjoy those dangling earrings and soon enough you will have a pretty sundress to match.