**Before making comments to this thread, please keep in mind that I am only trying to relay my experience to others who are in my situation. I am simply trying to help others if I can. If you have a question for me, I will be happy to answer it, but comments such as "you don't need to lose weight" and "your expectations were too high" are not helpful because a) I DO need to lose weight (since you don't know me, you really can't make a judgment to the contrary) and b) I did not have ANY expectations of this diet. Please feel free to ask questions, but keep in mind that I am not looking for advice. Thanks!**

I want to document my experience on the UltraSimple diet for two reasons.  The first reason is because I want people who haven't done this or are in the process of doing it to have reasonable expectations.  Or, more like no expectations.  The other reason is because I think the process of documenting may help me realize some good things about the diet that I can use in the future.

I decided to do the USD purely for weight loss.  I didn't need to detox; I have been on the South Beach Diet so I had already been abstaining from white flour and sugar; the only things that I had to give up were caffeine and artificial sweeteners.  The problem is that, unless I have a strict, short-term plan, I will cheat.  The USD is very strict and, since it's only seven days, I knew I could do it.  As I type this, it is the evening of my 7th day and I have not cheated one bite.

First, my stats as of the morning of Day One:
Weight: 127.5 pounds (I am sure that at least a couple of pounds was water-weight because I ate a very large lunch the day before.  I had been at 126 the last time I weighed myself before Day One.)
Waist: 29" around belly button, 25" around narrowest part
Hips: 37"
Waist-to-Hip Ratio: .78 around belly button, .68 around narrowest part of waist
BMI: approx 22 (slightly under)
Health Score: 59

Now I want to document everything that I ate.  Super-boring, I know, but I want you to be able to see that I did not cheat at all.  I didn't eat anything that I wasn't supposed to.  In fact, I could have gotten away with eating more because I skipped most of the optional shakes.  When I did make the shakes, I kept the ingredients to a minimum.  (Only 1/2 banana OR 1/2 cup berries, not both, no nut butter unless I was making shake #3 where nut butter is the main protein source, flax & borage only once a day.)

Sunday
Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, green tea, Ultrashake #1
Snack: Ultrabroth (no optional shake)
Lunch: Veggies sauteed in olive oil, rice, Ultrashake #2 w/o flax & borage
Snack: Ultrabroth, green tea (no optional shake)
Supper: Lemon Garlic Basil Chicken, sauteed veggies, rice, broth

Monday
Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, green tea, Ultrashake #2
Snack: Ultrabroth (no optional shake)
Lunch: Veggies sauteed in olive oil, rice, Hearty Lentil Soup in place of optional shake
Snack: Ultrabroth, green tea, celery in place of optional shake and only because I knew supper would be late
Supper: Lemon-Dill Salmon (small portion), sauteed veggies, rice, broth

Tuesday
Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, green tea, Hot Rice Cereal in place of shake
Snack: Ultrabroth (no optional shake)
Lunch: Veggies sauteed in olive oil topped w/flax seeds, rice, Hearty Lentil Soup in place of optional shake
Dessert: Approx 1/2 cup strawberries & blueberries
Snack: Ultrabroth, green tea
Supper: Leftover Lemon Garlic Basil Chicken (small portion), sauteed veggies, rice, broth
Post-workout snack in place of PM shake: Ultrashake #3 with 2 Tbsp almond butter, no flax or borage

Wednesday
Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, green tea, Hot Rice Cereal in place of shake
Snack: Ultrabroth (no optional shake)
Lunch: Veggies sauteed in olive oil, rice (no optional shake)
Snack: Ultrabroth, green tea
Supper: Grilled Rosemary Chicken Breast (small portion), sauteed veggies, rice, brothDessert in place of PM snack: Ultrashake #2

Thursday
Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, green tea, Ultrashake #2
Snack: Ultrabroth (no optional shake)
Lunch: Veggies sauteed in olive oil, rice, Hearty Lentil Soup in place of optional shake
Snack: Ultrabroth, green tea
Supper: Leftover Lemon Garlic Basil Chicken (small portion), sauteed veggies, rice, broth
Dessert in place of PM snack: Ultrashake #1 w/o flax & borage

Friday
Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, green tea, Hot Rice Cereal in place of shake
Snack: Ultrabroth
Lunch: Veggies sauteed in olive oil, rice, Hearty Lentil Soup in place of optional shake
Snack: Ultrabroth, green tea, 14 baby carrots & 2 Tbsp Garlic and Herb Hummus in place of shake
Supper: Leftover Grilled Rosemary Chicken Breast (small portion),  sauteed veggies, rice, broth, extra helping of sauteed veggies
Dessert in place of AM snack: Ultrashake #3 w/only 1 Tbsp almond butter and 1 Tbsp cocoa powder

Saturday
Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, green tea, Ultrashake #2
Snack: Ultrabroth
Lunch: Veggies sauteed in olive oil, rice, Hearty Lentil Soup in place of optional shake
Snack: Ultrabroth, 3 carrots & 2 Tbsp Garlic and Herb Hummus in place of shake
Supper: Cod with Roasted Chili Peppers & Cayenne (small portion), sauteed veggies, rice, broth
Dessert in place of AM snack: Ultrashake #1 w/o flax or borage

As you can see, I could have eaten more and still kept to the plan.  I was so full of veggies at suppertime that I didn't eat much meat; I kept my shake ingredients to the absolute minimum (with the exception of the one time I added cocoa powder but I only used 1/2 the nut butter); I only had the optional bowl of fruit one time; I skipped many of the optional shakes.

I was very tired on this diet.  It could have been from giving up caffeine but, if that was the case, I think I would be over it by now.  I didn't have the energy to exercise; I went to my weekly step aerobics class and I could barely keep up.  (The only other time that has EVER happened to me was the day I donated blood.)  I didn't make it to the gym at all (except on Tuesday for my class) because I was just too lethargic to even think about exercise.  I went for walks almost every day but I did not get going fast enough to get my heart rate up to what I usually do when I walk.  I am afraid that I have lost some of my cardiovascular fitness this week.

I have not lost much, if any, weight this week.  Any weight that I may have lost was probably water-weight anyway.  My clothes are not fitting any better.

That's not to say that I think the diet was a complete waste.  There is obviously nothing wrong with eating things that are good for you.  I just think that the restrictiveness wasn't worth the (lack of) results.  As I said, I need a diet to be very strict or I will cheat.  But there were a lot of times that I just really really wanted a Diet Coke.  Having a Coke would not have made me cheat on my diet.

Here is what I hated about the diet:

1. Drinking water with lemon juice (I am SO glad I don't have to do that anymore)
2. Not being able to drink a Diet Coke

That's it.  There's nothing else about the diet that I hated, other than being too tired to exercise.  I didn't have any cravings (although I am reeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally looking forward to Sunday brunch tomorrow, maybe ice cream for dessert, and possibly pizza for dinner).  I wasn't hungry.  In fact, I was pretty full from all the veggies, too full for a full serving of meat.  I didn't feel as though I couldn't have something that I really wanted (except for the Coke).  Making the broth was a pain and I'm glad I don]t have to do that anymore but overall it wasn't really that bad.  Shopping and finding some of the ingredients was a big hassle too, but I'm glad I did it.

Here are the positive things that I got from the diet:

1. I realized that I REALLY like sauteed vegetables and I will probably continue to have them with most meals, although I wonder if the olive oil may be the reason I didn't lose any weight.
2. Warm broth is very nice to have when I'm sitting at my desk in my ridiculously over-air-conditioned office.  I won't make the broth anymore, but I made one last batch today that should last into next week.  After that, I will probably start buying vegetable broth to drink in my freezing office.
3. Green tea is not bad and I should make an effort to drink it more often.  I used to drink it at work to prevent frostbite but I got bored with it and stopped.  I should pick it up again.
4. The Garlic & Herb Hummus recipe is FABULOUS.  It is the best hummus I have ever tasted - better than anything have ever had in a restaurant or from a store.  I will continue to make that instead of buying hummus.
5. The Rice #2 recipe is also pretty darn good.  I will probably continue to make that as well.

Now, although I do plan to indulge tomorrow, it's not because of cravings or anything like that.  It's only because I feel as though I need to be liberated; I'm looking forward to the freedom to eat macaroni and cheese.  I'm not going to overdo it; at least I don't plan to.  I will probably have an Ultrashake in the morning because brunch won't be until noon.  I will continue with some of the food plan from USD even after I am off the diet.  (I still have all that tofu, borage oil, rice protein powder, and flax seeds that I need to consume.)  So I'm not just giving it all up.  I'm just not going to take it so seriously anymore.  I will probably go back to South Beach because there was so much more variety and I did actually lose weight on that one.  I just need to be more strict with myself about overdoing it, while still enjoying variety in what I eat.  I will definitely incorporate some of the things from USD into South Beach and probably for the rest of my life.  But not the lemon juice.

I guess the main reason for this post is because I don't want people to have high expectations of the diet before starting.  You're not going to lose 10 pounds in one week.  You may learn some things about healthy foods that you didn't know you like, and that could help you to lose weight in the long term.  I don't regret doing the diet, but I really didn't need to take it so seriously.  I could have had a Diet Coke with my lunch and it wouldn't have impeded my progress.  And I didn't need to spend all that time in my kitchen when I could have been doing one of the other billions of things that need to be done at my house.

So if you're thinking of doing this diet for weight-loss purposes, don't expect to be skinny next week. It's probably a really good detox diet if that's what you need.

I am going to go make my final Ultrashake for the day, and then I will have my Ultrabath.  I will edit this post sometime tomorrow with my stats after having been on the diet for seven days.

OK, I just had my breakfast (the remaining portion of my leftover brown rice cereal and an Ultrashake #2 - NO LEMON JUICE HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!) and I have taken my measurements and my health quiz.

My stats as of the morning of Day Eight:
Weight: 123.5 pounds (Four pound loss. Probably mostly water-weight, maybe a LITTLE bit of fat.)
Waist: 29" around belly button, 25" around narrowest part (No change)
Hips: 37" (Exactly the same)
Waist-to-Hip Ratio: .78 around belly button, .68 around narrowest part of waist (No change, obviously)
BMI: Slightly over 21, maybe as high as 21.5 (Change of MAYBE 1/2 point)
Health Score: 38 - change of 21 points

Now, I think the health score is an INCREDIBLY MISLEADING comparison and I really don't think it should be used to show results. The original health score is taken using the last 30 days. The final health score is how I'm feeling right now. Well, I don't get arthritis or a stuffy nose very often, probably less than once a month, but I did happen to have them sometime during the month before I took the health quiz. Just because I didn't have them this week doesn't mean that the USD cured me of them. As I said, I didn't get them often to begin with. So the Health Score is obviously not a true assesment of much of anything.

Oh, by the way, after my Ultrabath last night, I put on a pair of pajama pants that I hadn't worn for a few weeks. They were too tight. I'm just sayin'.

So there you have it. My results.