We can all use some help, sometimes more than others. I just taked with another member in another thread about how hard it can be to get on track and stay there. My new mantra is "One day at a time to a healthier life." That is all I can do right now.

I keep adding new receipes and have added steaming to my cooking, which is so much better than I thought it would be. When you steam add spices to your water and it infuses your vegs, ginger infused carrots are really good. I think this is really helping, because I am not feeling as pressured to do it all at once. If you feel you have to have a treat limit it to no more that one a day or once a week would be better, but I often binge when I do that. Last night, I had soy ice cream that I sprinkled with unsweetened coconut.

The other thing I think is very important is to take your vitamins and supplements. Since you are reading the UM, don't try to overload. I take multi, extra C, probiotic/digestive ensymes, Omega 3-6-9, and a few added for my needs. I have noticed over the last couple of months that I feel better and my cravings have decreased. Sometimes I think craving come from vitamin deficits too.

All that being said, you can kick start your diet with the USD 7-day plan, which helps because it is a detox and an elimination plan to identify allergens. It also has a health test that is a composite of the ones in the UM, since it is a small book it is an easy read. I will redo this again when I feel determined, until then I'll keep making small changes each day. Millet is our new grain today, at least I know my birds have loved it, yum yum?

You have lots of new buddies, but if you need a private chat you can send me a message anytime. I think I have finally gotten they hang of it.

Temptations/cravings, can be a hint to you about what is making you feel bad. I was told that when you start to detoxify (this is a very simplistic version so don't take it as medical fact) the stuff that you are allergic to that couldn't be used up and got stored is now released back into your system and making you crave it. How true that is, I'm not sure and like I said, I'm not sure how medically based it is, but it makes sense to me. Every time I've eliminated something, I've pretty much craved it for a couple of days and then stopped.

If you absolutely can't stop yourself, give in consciously. Think about each and every nibble (not big gulping bites). Taste it, feel it, smell it. Then write about it. Did it give you what you needed? What about it was so attractive to you. Was there something emotional or was it all about taste. And most important, how did you feel afterward.

One more thing to think about. When we feel we are depriving ourselves, sometimes we feel (on some level) that we are punishing ourselves and then we tend to start feeling a little sorry for ourselves and then we feel we've been so good we need a treat. It's a viscious cycle because once we "cheat" then we are "bad" and have to punish ourselves again. This is not about being bad. This is about feeling good. This is about helping ourselves be healthy and happy not making ourselves pay for "being bad and overeating".

Will it work if you have an occassional slip-up? It depends on what stage of health your body is at. The closer you stick to the program, the better you will feel- faster. Try to give it one full week (USD) to give the program a good chance. Commit yourself to one week. If you just can't do it... really try to consider something that is a little less harmful. Kettle plain potato chips have potatoes, sunflower oil and salt. Much better than Pringles. If it has to be a piece of bread, make it whole grain and use nut butter instead of butter. GIve in as little as possible to achieve the same thing, and do it consciously. You may find it's not really the food that you wanted. Enjoy and savour every morsel, and you may find it really doesn't taste as good as you thought it would. (Or you may find yourself in Nirvana :) )

And have a list on your fridge of acceptable "cheats", like Chocolate Un-pudding, Bird's nests, etc. Don't buy the Kettle chips to have on hand, make it so you have to walk to the store to get them. (You may decide you don't want them THAT bad and if you do, you've gotten exercise!)

It helps to think of these changes as temporary sometimes. I know I had to. Now, I'm liking it so much I'm not sure I'll ever add some things back, like sugar. I don't even know what I would do with it. I reintroduced gluten-free oats and panicked about the brown sugar... so I mashed up a ripe banana instead. It was incredible! I didn't need the sugar. :)

I just got back from a weekend out of town and was sooo happy to come home and be able to cook MY food again. I felt yuck and didn't like what places had. It was hard to get them to cook "plain" food sometimes. It's all in what you get used to, and I'm really liking what I'm used to now.

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Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

Just want to add some encouragement. I have been on the Ultra Metabolism diet for 6 days now and as of yesterday I had already lost 6.5 lbs.  I have been following the diet pretty well with only a few cheats :). I am always snacking on some fruit or a few nuts and I did pretty well exercising last week. I walked 3-4 miles about 3 times last week and I have a 10 month old baby to chase after. But I feel great and can't wait to see what I accomplish this week.   Keep in touch if you still need a buddy.

Jessica