Day 1, Monday, 11/9/09: Went to sleep at 1:30am the night before (had a sick 13mo old), woke up for work at 6am. Was completely exhausted, eyes were burning. Had my normal routine cup of coffee at 6:10am. Took 1 SQ before I left the house at 7:15am with no breakfast (I usually eat breakfast at work around 9am). Had a great, positive boost of energy (was cracking jokes with my 12 year old son while dropping him off at school, b/c he wasn’t as awake as I was, he didn’t find the jokes so funny). I didn’t feel hungry at all! Because I do love food and want to be healthy, I made sure I ate. I had a banana at 9:15am. Drank tons of water in between then almost finished a packet of low carb banana nut oatmeal. Then it was lunch time. I had little tastes of a couple of appetizers (was taken out to lunch for work…this was the real test!) and was already feeling full in my pants. I was able to finish my small salad with grilled chicken. I stuck to water and refused coffee as I would normally indulge. I was definitely coming down and hitting a rock by the end of my luncheon but knew I had to be patient and wait for that next 1 pill when I returned to work (take 2nd pill 6 hours after the 1st is taken). I thought about dessert, but that was it, just a thought (normal habits are hard to not think about!). Now this is what passes the test, I’m a HUGE chocolate fan, you can see my eyes light up when chocolate is mentioned. Well, I had my pick of several FREE chocolate goodies from king size Reese’s Peanut Buttercups, Dove Chocolate bars, Snickers and Klondike Peppermint chocolates from the person who treated me to lunch (with other co-workers). Guess what I chose? NOTHING! I did not crave 1 piece of darn chocolate ALL day long!!!! My co-worker KEEPS Peanut M&Ms AND regular M&Ms on her desk and normally, I can’t resist! I didn’t even have 1 today! = ) I ate a cheesestick for an afternoon snack, then a pear before I left work to hold me over until dinner while I ran some errands. You wouldn’t believe how much left over Halloween candy I have in my house (hence the reason why I need the assistance of a product like SQ), NO cravings and had NONE today! I ate some rotisserie chicken breast with some steamed, lightly seasoned green beans around 7pm. That was it for me. As mentioned earlier I have a 13mo old (and a 12 yr old). At the end of March 2009, I started the South Beach, yes, that was hard after indulging throughout my pregnancy and after while nursing. After I stopped nursing and returned to work, I knew this extra weight wasn’t going anywhere without a fight. I had lost a good 10lbs +/- on the South Beach. So I’m 5’3” and started at around 180lbs in early March 2009. Got down to 170lbs with South Beach by May. In April, I started exercising, walking/jogging at least 20-30 minutes a day, 3-4 days a week, even on vacation. I was committed. I got down to 160lbs by Aug. 2009. Man was my progress slow, but I was so determined, I wouldn’t give up. ..until I moved (to a different house and area). That’s where it all went downhill b/c I didn’t have the same hills and routine since I’m not in the same neighborhood anymore and the weather is colder and it’s darker in the mornings, I just want to stay in bed. I must have lost muscle b/c I got much slimmer after I stopped working out and still lost weight. So I had gotten down to almost 155lbs (pre-pregnancy weight is 150lbs, but even that’s too heavy for my taste, a healthy weight for me at age 32 is 140lbs at minimum which is my goal weight). This is when my co-workers really started to notice my weight loss (and the fact that I had to buy smaller work clothes to fit properly). So now I fluctuate between 155lbs-160lbs. It has always fluctuated day to day for me, so that’s normal. I think it’s way too soon to weigh myself after taking just 2 doses of SQ, but I will weigh myself by this Sunday and see what the results are looking like. So my goals are: 1.) To wake up at about 5am to do at least 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill then sit-ups etc on my workout bench at least 4 times a week. 2.) Stop munching on unhealthy foods and snacks (such as chocolates and Halloween candies!!!) 3. Eat smaller, healthier portions of food 4.) Drink more water to rid of the water weight I’ve been told it’s best to work out in the mornings before you eat because you burn the old calories from the day before, jump starting your calorie burning day! Not to mention the afternoon and evenings are dedicated to my kids. I can go through my day feeling good knowing that I got my exercise in already and don’t have to worry about it or feel pressured to still have energy for it, it’s done already! This does increase my energy during the day time at work too (exercising alone-w/o any supplements). So knowing this, I’m excited to see what results lay ahead for me with SQ. If only I can get into that morning workout routine again and continue to eat healthy, I think I’ll get to my goal weight by my 33rd B-Day, 2/26/10. That’s a little over 3 months for 20lbs, maybe not realistic, but that’s why it’s called “a goal”. I do have high expectations of this product, but that’s because they advertise so many great benefits (reduces bloating & PMS symptoms, increases energy, reduces cravings, etc, etc). I’d really like to keep a weekly record in providing my review of this product because if it works for me, I would hope it works for the next person that decides to give it a chance. The worst that can happen is it doesn’t help you and you return it for your full refund before the 30 days (bought my bottle at a local GNC retailer, 30 day money back guarantee on all items. Already returned the QuickTrim, that was crap!). As far as the funky side affects that some feel, there may be some ingredients that just don’t agree with your body, unfortunate, but it happens. I am a coffee drinker and love my coffee (for the taste), I bought decaf today and had a small cup around 8pm. I skipped my normal afternoon coffee and had to take baby steps in cutting back on that. So far, I have not experienced any jitters, only light headaches, like my brain may be over stimulated (like right now), but it’s the first day and my body has to adjust. I think it’s great that you start off with 1 pill then build up to 2, that’s smart and makes complete sense. I would do that with any other supplement out there even if it wasn’t advised or directed. You never know how your body is going to react to such a supplement. I’m hoping I won’t have to increase to 2, but I will if I need to. I promise my weekly updates will be WAY shorter!!!! Good luck to you new SQ users!