Thanks for the kind remarks re: my lost weight despite travel. Just shows you can have a good result if you plan ahead and commit to executing the plan.... I discovered the value of celery for car trips... it involves lots of chewing and I find it to be a good limitless snack item. In the old days I would be having a mixture of potato chips and white cheddar popcorn... until I needed something sweet to offset that (probably an ice cream picked up on a gasoline stop). Boy, have things changed!
Sue - so happy to hear that you have something other than cancer to deal with- I too hope it will be something treatable that enables you to heave a sigh of relief. Your family get together should produce lots of nice kudo's for you- I hope your sister is inspired by your accomplishments - You inspire me on a regular basis....
CenTXChk - so glad you are able to enjoy time with your mom and you still get out to walk and stick with your program. Many of us might use your circumstances as an excuse to jump off the wagon and in doing so, we would feel fully justified. You are doing SO well!
Avalon - thanks for sharing your stats and your assessment of what the data means.... I find all this fascinating and between your posts and Briael's I am learning bit by bit how all this fits together.
My ARIA scale tells me (at my morning wake up weigh in) that my body fat percentage has reduced to 38.5%... The IP measurement tool showed my starting fat to be 50% and now shows it to be down to 40.7%. My Fitbit software uses the ARIA stats each day to calculate my BMI - that has come down to 28.5. I really enjoyed leaving the 'obese' category and joining 'overweight'... I am not sure my goal of 150 lbs will quite get me to 'normal.' I do think that these various scales and tools that measure body fat and hydration are just indicators of relative change. I am not sure any of them have a high degree of accuracy on the number, but using the same machine to measure over time should at least be informative as to trends...
I struggle remembering to get all the water in - so I often have gulping evenings. My big boo boo with water, though, has been my unwillingness to give up the Sobe Lifewater. I thought it had .8 grams of carbs per bottle, but it actually has 8 grams. I drink at least 3 a day, so that is 24 additional carbs every day. I am weaning myself from them - trying to have 2/3 of a cup of plain water with 1/3 Sobe - so I can shift to just straight water pretty quickly. I think that may affect my losses in a positive way. We'll see.
Briael - I liked the article you shared - I am re-reading it and looking at some of the other stuff that is linked to your article. This whole ketosis vs keto-enabled is very interesting. I have learned a lot about food and it's nutrients over the years, but these days there are so many related topics of newer discoveries. I am learning lot's of new information that I hope will be helpful for the long haul. Thanks so much for sharing the results of your research.
I also admire your commitment to running -- very cool that you are taking on races at this time. Looking forward to hearing how this latest race goes!
DD - I think it's a great idea to go to the clinic and see what the stats measure out to be per the Ideal Protein tools! If you decide to get a scale that measures this stuff, you will then have more info to work with during maintenance. I am hoping that will be helpful -- it's something I have not tried before in maintenance... that means it has not failed yet for me....
You are so active - I confess that I have to work at making physical activity as much a part of my day to day life as you do - I suspect that your level of activity is really going to be a big factor in your success.
For me right now, getting into a regular routine of attending dance classes and getting practice time in is my primary activity. There is a cardio dance class at my studio, and it's followed by a Gentle Yoga class -- these are good additions to my routine. I want to add some regular/daily walking to that - try to get my steps up to 10K daily - right now my steps are way too few, especially on the days that I work from home which is all day on the computer and phone. I want to do some work with weights too - Ro22 recommended the Body Sculpting Bible for Women, and that's on my list to get working on. I hope you guys will feel free to remind me of these goals and to ask me from time to time how I am progressing.
JJTX, CenTXChk, Briael, Murrcat67, mrmiggles and
Canadgineh - thanks for all the positive feedback through likes and comments on MyFitnessPal -- I am enjoying getting into the rhythm of using it daily - somehow I am better at that than I am at remembering to wear my fitbit.
And of course - I have had my first fitbit adventure - I accidentally knocked my fitbit into the washing machine today as it was filling with water and I was loading it up with sheets.... It was in there for close to a minute before I realized I had knocked it in!
I fished it out, dried it off, and turned it on - to my great relief, it worked!!! I promptly took it downstairs and put it into a bowl of dry rice. A couple hours later I rescued it from the dry bath and plugged it in for a battery charge. (That was where I was headed before I stopped off in the laundry room and gave it the accidental bath.) I cannot say how glad am that the little fitbit survived my carelessness!
Ah well -- it's these little adventures that keep life from being boring...
This is a really long post... sorry for that -- Once again - it is so clear to me that the support I get from this forum, and from you guys in particular, is a major feature of how successful I am being with this IP program. Thanks for coming back here and posting - I love staying connected with you all!!!
You must be so proud to lose after a trip away from home! I knew you could do it!! 
for a good WI tomorrow even though I haven't been on a scale since Fri. Shorts are fitting looser. Once I hit a size 12 I started shopping for my permanent wardrobe thinking I would never go smaller. Maybe I jumped the gun. Good problem to have. 