Hi Ivy -

Welcome to the forum and this WOE! Congratulations on your 3 lb loss! That's great! Its hard to be patient though isn't it? As for the water retention fairy...that's what you want!!! From what I understand your cells take out the fat and replace it with water for a while as a place holder. When your body is finally convinced that the fat isn't coming back, it dumps the water...we call that a Whoosh Fairy around here and sometimes you'll see her fly up your screen! Sometimes I have days where I spend more time in the bathroom than is warranted by the amount of water I've had to drink...and I know if I weighed in I would register a loss.

Good luck with the artichokes/eggplant. I can never get the eggplant to work properly but I just love to cut off the sharp points on the artichoke, steam it until you can easily slide a fork into the stalk. Then you peel off each leaf and dip the underside in either melted butter or a vinegarette and use your bottom teeth to tear off the soft "meat" on the underside of the leaf. Keep pulling off leaves until you get to the hairy ones...then cut those out. You'll be left with the "heart" of the artichoke and stalk - also good dipped in butter or vinegarette.

Lisa