[southern]

ive been overweight most of my life. i lost 30lbs right before college and maintained until my senior year. when i was put on antidepressants, i ballooned those 30 lbs back. the more i noticed it and tried to fix it with diets, the more i gained.
i came across a post on another forum asking about IP. no one could answer except to say it was expensive and i might as well eat right and exercise
curiosity lead me to googling, and i found 3FC
the rest is 11 pounds down 60something to go

[EPAPRN]

Tried and failed on WW. Hadn't seen a good friend of mine at work in a few months, when I finally did, I didn't recognize her. She had lost 40lbs on IP. I looked it up and dismissed it because of the avoiding whole food groups and cost of buying packaged food. Then a waitress/friend at our regular friday night bar had lost about 70lbs in 6 months, again, barely recognized her. She was on IP.
The last straw was when I spent a weekend up in Maine with my MIL and her 2 friends. One of which was on maintenance. I got to spend the whole weekend with her and I asked some specifics about it and observed her eating habits.
I was also extremely unhappy in my size, uncomfortable and frustrated. So my hubby and I thought I should give it a try since I had failed on WW so many times.

[GroovyCat]

For me there were a lot of factors that all came together for IP.
- losing my mom in Dec 2010 I decided to get rid of the weight once and for all. In May I joined WW online and started seeing a nutritionist weekly. I had some success and was working away. I usually would spend my summers with my Dad in BC. I loved going there because it wasn't too hot (unlike Bda in the summer) and I could do aquafit everyday if I wanted for $2 a session. (In Bda we don't really have 'public' pools so aquafit costs $20+ per session.)

So I spent the summer there and worked my tail off only to lose 5 pds in 5 weeks. I was disheartened and derailed for a couple of weeks but then got back OP only to lose my Dad unexpectedly that October.

Needless to say, I was devastated. My parents had been divorced since I was a little girl and so to lose my two pillars of support was almost unbearable. At that point all I could focus on was getting through each day. I didn't start to eat crazy stuff, I just didn't care at all what I ate. I ate whatever was fixed for meals.

So I gained back all I'd lost. Then my hubby and I got pneumonia and that scared me. The feeling of being unable to breathe/feel like I was going to die was horrible. Not to mention that I had to use a wheelchair to get through airports, to get on board the cruise ship... Awful and embarrassing.

Then last May my good knee started bothering me. By the time school was finished in June, I was having to use a cane to get around. Being a primary school teacher is a pretty active job and I started dreading going back to work because I knew it was going to be almost physically impossible.

I'd heard about IP the year before and had a friend who was doing it. She had been very successful but said the doctors running it were mean and insensitive. At the time I thought, "oh I don't think that's for me" but somehow with everything else going on I reached the conclusion that I was just going to have to take my lumps from the doctors and do IP anyway. I needed a kickstart.

(Here in Bda there's only one IP program available and it takes upwards of 3-6 months to get in. I applied in July and finally got the go-ahead and started in late September.)

I'm happy to report I haven't found the doctors to be unpleasant and so it hasn't been as rough as I thought it would be.

I feel like this is the right road for me and that I can actually do this.

Everyone around me knows I'm doing it and have been so incredibly supportive. Plus, I found y'all and that's helping too.

[tobehealthy]

I had heard about it from my doctor who had lost a lot of weight on the program. I kind of wrote it off, said I couldn't afford it right now, etc. Then nearly 10 months later, I saw a coach do a Living Social deal. Essentially it was for the upfront cost (it really wasn't IP she was advertising... it was a food based diet), but just seeing it again at that time made it click.
So I bought the "deal" and set up an appointment for the week after my sister's wedding. Talk about a lot of before pictures!

[maezy1]

I was at the lowest point that I had been in my life after losing my mom and a dear, dear friend to cancer. I had also fallen down and broke my ankle. I found out later after the cast came off that I not only broke my ankle but I had hurt my knee. I ended up having my knee replaced in May. (my mother died while I was still in the hospital) Oh and in April my hubby admitted to his alcoholism and he/we started getting help for it.
I decided it was time to turn my life around and take control of what I had control over, my weight. My doctor recommended this program to me. I am so much happier now. Still have a long road ahead of me but feel like I am finally doing something positive and something for me. The expense is my commitment to taking it off and keeping it off.

[megscarles]

I got engaged in May. My fiance and I very much enjoy living in New Orleans. We lived in the French Quarter. Bars and amazing restaurants right outside our apartment. We made the most of it!! We moved out a year ago to a quieter neighborhood, got engaged and started WW. We both had great success. A slow loss compared to IP, but I loss 28 lbs. We kind of hit a plateau in August, so I started IP in September to get into "wedding dress" shape.

[dk8258]

I had been trying to lost weight on my own since the birth of my second child with miserable results. Before joining IP, I had lost 24 pounds in 8 months. Nothing was working. My brother and sister in law had started IP, and they looked great at a family party we had in late August. That was it. Started IP on September 1st and have lost 20 more pounds in 2 months and haven't looked back yet.

[hyrysk]

It was several things for me.
Father passed from a heart attack almost 2 years ago now and I gained about 40lbs.
Scale hit 350 one morning and something about that number scared me and I realized I wanted to see my 15yr old graduate HS.
At Christmas last year DW asked what I wanted for my 50th birthday in January.
We both started IP the day after the big 50th party. Best gift ever.

[Samkatmom]

I had friends who started on IP and my husband decided to go on it. He had gained almost 80 lbs from the time we met. I also gained about 60 lbs in that same time period from pregnancy and bad habits. So, my hubby starts losing all this weight and I decided I was tired of feeling like the "fat" girl when I was with my friends (they are all size 2 and 4). Trying to lose the weight on my own was not working and I needed someone to be accountable to. I jumped on the IP bandwagon and now I am in phase 3.

[Onyxmom]

After being diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago (and having it all removed at the same time), I decided that I needed to lose the weight I'd been carrying around for more than 20 years. My work schedule doesn't allow me to attend regular meetings, like WW or TOPS, so I tried on my own. Last year my medication gave me severe joint issues (I was like an OLD person and could hardly move) so I couldn't get the excercise and put back on the 20+ pounds I'd worked so hard to lose. After getting off of that medication and getting my movement back I decided I needed something more drastic. A couple of neighbors had lost weight with IP, so I went to the information night, and signed up. Because it's so expensive, I will be going to alternatives when I get back from Las Vegas next week. So I will continue to come to 3FC for support.

[OneofThreeGirls]

My scale said 190. 200 lbs is the heaviest I have ever been and I look back at those pictures in disgust at myself. I vowed I would never let myself get that big again and when I hit 190, I knew I had to do something drastic. My sister had done Ideal Protein and looks fabulous! I thought it was too expensive but when you consider how much weight you lose and how fast, it is more than worth it! It is also motivation for me not to cheat because I want to stop shelling out so much money as soon as possible.

[Yesmyqueen]

Well for me, I've always seemed to struggle with my weight somewhat but generally could keep it in check. But I went thru about 2 ruff years, totally unhappy and depressed, food was my comfort. But than I truly turned things over to God and he has certainly blessed me and helps me daily. My turning point was like I feel crappy, nothing fits didn't even know what kind of diet to do again that would work my family's comments, than one day my DH said man you should see this office lady, she looks great I didn't even recognize her, she had lost about 80 lbs. I said ask her what she did, well he gave me her phone number and we talked about 45 min. And I made an appointment next day and am now a much happier 38 lbs lighter and on my way to ecstatic. Good luck to all! Teena

[Bricon]

Noir, that guy sounds like he needs a smack down! I know someone who went for a real transformation. Body, job, house. I see how happy she is and since I just became an empty nester I decided to make this my year of transformation! I can do this!

[Lizzy63]

I had been thinking about it, but I was really ready when I went to see my doctor and weighed in at over 200 lbs! That really got to me, especially since I was already on cholesterol and blood pressure meds!

[My2loseW8]

I have always been overweight. My brother and I both. My sister is not- has never been. I hadn't seen my brother in four years when we met up in Canada, half way between where we lived at the time. He was pretty heavy, the heaviest I have seen him. Me too. He met my then fiance. We had planned our wedding for last June. He wanted to get thin for the wedding as he was our officiant. I of course wanted to lose weight for the wedding. I had lost on WW before I met my husband. After we met, we got comfortable- I ate- and then my son started having issues and was later diagnosed with late onset Muscular Dystrophy. I ate some more. I was at my highest 253 when I started WW again, with less success. Then I tried the Dukan diet. Lost about 40. Was very hard, a lot of work in food prep and I had major issues with the big C. Post wedding... ate again- dang cake!... gained 11 back. At my wedding my brother came and looked fabulous! He had lost about 55 lbs at that point. I was interested in what he was doing, but seemed he was struggling doing it alone and now away from his coach (he moved here). He kept losing. 85 lbs down. I wanted to know more! I researched the heck out of it. My husband said he would do it with me to start. My brothers wife started about the same time I did. I turned them on to this site and all the recipes. I find it so easy!!! My husband and I are doing alternatives and we are doing great. He is in phase 2, and so is my brother. I have a lot to go, but truly with this site and IP, I feel like I can get to goal for the first time ever.