Hi Michele,

It's nice to "meet" you. I love your honesty and willingness to change what doesn't work.

I agree with Copper and mosaic to get your breakfast really solid-including a complex carb,
enough protein, every day and within the hour of waking. Then go step by step. Supplements
are step 4.

When your steps are solid, you won't have sugar cravings after detox. The steps heal our bodies
so that detox is not a big physical deal.

I'm a triathlete, and this program makes competing a blast. I'm not a body builder, but I have a lot
of muscle and very little fat. I love competition and do well. I eat complex carbs with every meal. I don't
starve or diet. Maybe, as Copper suggests, it might be wise to wait a bit before competing to avoid the
pressure to take out carbs?

What's for breakfast?

JoEllen

A little over a year ago after years
: of yo-yo dieting along with
: bulimia, I made the decision to
: get control of my health and
: enlisted a personal trainer to get
: me on track to be the best ever
: for my 30th birthday. Long story
: short, she completely turned my
: diet upside down and had me
: incorporate a lot of lean proteins
: into 5-7 small meals per day. This
: coupled with exercise returned
: HUGE results not only physically
: but emotionally and mentally. I
: had more energy. I stopped
: binging, and I was on-fire in all
: aspects of my life.

: Fast forward 9 months my strict diet
: had relaxed a bit, but I had
: sustained the results and decided
: to take it to the next level and
: prepare for a fitness competition.
: To achieve the necessary physique,
: I have to be on a very low carb
: and high protein diet. Though I
: knew the restrictive diet would be
: difficult, I didn't realize my
: degree of sugar sensitivity and
: the detox of going from a healthy
: diet with a few high sugar cheats
: to a completely clean and low carb
: diet. I couldn't focus on
: anything. I couldn't sleep, I was
: constantly anxious, and I felt
: like a failure and that nothing
: was possible. My productivity at
: work was zero. I wasn't my usual
: happy self, and I started binging
: and purging. Thankfully I caught
: myself before I spiral to far and
: remembered the PnP book that I had
: bought years earlier that I never
: got around to reading. Within 2
: pages, everything clicked. All the
: struggles for so many years. My
: depression and even how my change
: last year became so easy after
: only a few weeks on the new diet.

: So I'm here looking for support and
: suggestions. Because of my
: previous changes I've already made
: it partly through a few steps
: (1,3,5). I'm working on
: incorporating emotional and
: physical feelings into my existing
: food journal, which is going to be
: really insightful. However with my
: training, I feel like I've zoomed
: to step 6, and I'm struggling with
: the fall out.

: Are there any recommendations on
: supplements to help with the
: detox? What are some no to low
: calorie substitutes people use
: when faced with a craving for
: sugar? Is there anyone else out
: there trying to do a bikini or
: figure competition?

: Sorry for the long post, but anything
: even just a hi would go a long way
: to making me feel like I'm not
: alone.