I started at 226, and am down now to 218 — eight pounds in a single week. Not bad.

What is strange when you lose weight, you feel a little loose in the skin. I can pick my belly up and drop it — couldn't do that before. Course, there's less of it.

I am going on vacation Sunday for 3 weeks, driving through Utah and Colorado. Can't stay on the hard part of the diet for the duration — "Phase 1" they call it — so I will drop down to the more carbohydrate-friendly Phase 2, until I get back. A maintenance schedule seems easier to manage while away from home.

I'll let you know how it goes.