I was hoping to lose 2 pounds... I lost 6 instead

Hello everyone! I hope all are well. Just wanted to drop a note to say I've lost six pounds since my quest to get skinny again started last week. I was expecting two, maybe three pounds at most would be gone, but no, I lost six. Which is way more than I've ever lost in a week.

I realize it'd be quite hard to maintain that kind of weight loss, and it may not even be the healthiest thing for me. I'll look in to that (and any input from my Facebook peeps on that issue would be much appreciated... Katie, I'm sure you're about to chime in). Still, this weight has gotta come off.

My exercise has been limited largely to cardiovascular work. I'll start to get weights in a little more often, but getting that heart rate up for 45 minutes or so five times a week is the biggest priority.

I've made some modifications to my diet. Protein and fiber are key ingredients to feeling full. The challenge, however, is finding food that'll do that without being filled with carbs, LDL cholesterol and saturated fat.

If it's green, I eat it, and I eat it with reckless abandon. Raw spinach with my mom's sharp vinaigrette is a lunch-time staple. On Saturday, after interviewing a potential new babysitter, Kimberly, Richard and I went to Ruby Tuesday for a salad and baked potato, and I found myself rather full after covering my field greens with broccoli and a few good scoops of edamame, which not only has tons of fiber, but just enough of those very handy plant fats which help you absorb more nutrients. Fat is not always a really bad thing! In fact, putting a little bit of margarine on your asparagus, green beans or what have you will allow you to absorb about 15 times more of the plants' nutrients. The key phrase in that last sentence is "a little bit."

Here's another tip for salads. Skip regular dressing and splash a good amount of balsamic vinegar on there. The flavors in your vegetables will become a lot more apparent. When you're done adding the vinegar, add just a few drops of olive oil.

Also, beans are a huge help in fighting hunger while keeping the fat down. One serving of black beans has 15 grams each of fiber and protein. I don't know of any other food - except maybe quinoa - that can do that. Anyone know any good quinoa recipes? Anyway, I've been replacing rice and such with beans instead. Kimberly made this pinto bean and spinach salad that's the bomb.

One food I've discovered over this past week is greek-style yogurt. I saw a report about the stuff's popularity while watching the news in the gym. It's got no fat at all (can't say that about my usual Yoplait), 13 to 15 grams of protein (in yogurt!!!) and barely any sugar. The downside is its fully organic status rings in at about $1.80 for one container. Yoplait is generally $0.50 - 0.60 a container. Still, I would eat two containers of Yoplait a day, as opposed to one five ounce container of greek-style yogurt, so I'm not out that much cash.

My thanks to God and to everyone for their support. With your help, I'm gonna beat this weight. Bless you all!