Other than my husband, skiddos, coworkers, and fellow group members (10 of us in this group), no one has really seen what I eat these days. Many assume it is just shakes as it comes in a powdered form. I have shakes for breakfast every weekday, and they are delicious, but that is also because 1) I am not much of a breakfast person anyway, and 2) I am usually running late!
This morning, I had pancakes with maple syrup:
My breakfast today
I apologize for the quality, I am eating it at my desk as I type this, and there is a window directly in front of me and to my left, and I did not worry about lighting.
Anyway, it is delicious! They are NOT burnt; for some reason, every time I have cooked with maple extract (these, waffles, and another dessert type thing) the edges always look burnt but it tastes the same as the rest.
This is one meal replacement. With that, and the additives (including syrup), this whole breakfast was 180 calories, with high protein. The pancakes taste like pancakes. Sure, sugar free maple syrup is not as good as the real thing, but as a whole it is great (and to eat pancakes with maple syrup while on a diet is great for the mind. I’m telling you, this is more about mouth feel and your head than anything else, though everything I have had except one recipe I have tried tastes great, IMHO). The syrup is also good on baked apples 
I have definitely learned a few things that I know will be sticking with me even though I am nowhere near my research run commitment: one, is that you can do a LOT with extracts, and spices, and not add any calories (or very few if you use things like Molly McButter, etc). It tastes pretty much the same!
I also realized how much salt I was eating, and now, how things that I would have never thought were salty before (even bland), I find WAY too salty now. I may have mentioned before, I have a taste here and there of what Dave cooks, and it has really helped any cravings I get. Sure, I get cravings, but I have yet to give in and also they are SO MUCH more infrequent than I would have imagined.
I can say with confidence that I do not think it will be hard at all to continue through my commitment time, which includes through the holidays. And if I cheat once, so what? It is only once. I know from experience that once you train your body to eat well, splurging on something may be fun in your mouth, but you will feel like crap after and look forward to going back to your healthy ways.
I started out doing the 5 MRs a day and nothing else, but now I am doing 4 a day plus 5 servings fruits and veggies (2 and 3, respectively – though for me it is more like 1 and 4 or 0 and 5 as fruit is not my favorite, but you definitely have to limit your fruit). You MUST eat 4 a day while on this, as 4 packets equals 100% of all of your vitamins, minerals, and balance of everything you need (actually lower than what you need in fat, and high protein). Even on a day when I eat a LOT, I still have yet to go over 1000 calories. 800-950 is the norm. Another reason it is medically supervised!
I will try to make this more of a habit of taking photos of what I eat! I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to lose weight and more importantly, learn lifelong habits!
You rock. <3
<3