[hysteria_625]

Originally Posted by Tigridia

Haven't checked in recently. I'm still losing, albeit slowly. I think I need to increase my water and reduce my salt intake a little when it's hot, but otherwise feeling good. Just need another 6 pounds off so I can start the C25K, but I have some business travel starting at the end of the month so even if it's not all gone by then I may start running on the hotel treadmills to avoid that awful post-flight stiffness and lethargy. Glad to see everyone is progressing well!

Hey Tig! Glad to see you continue to lose! A lot better than the alternative
Hope that 6#'s disappears quickly and you are able to dive into C25K I liked the program and once I drop about 20 more to take the load off my knee, am hoping to start up again.

[Destony]

Hi everyone! Long stressful week, but I made it �� Biopsy on Tuesday, got results yesterday and it's benign. PHEW!! Work has been insane, people are really abusive. We're doing the best we can, can't get blood from a stone. Surprisingly, I lost 2.2 lbs...time to refocus, and keep on moving forward.

[kdramalover]

Hello everyone!!

Destony- great news on the biopsy!! Congrat on losing more weight!!

Hysteria- Getting into those pants that haven't fit for years is the best feeling ever. You are doing so good.

Lucky- don't beat yourself up for something that has already been done. You recognize the behavior and that's a move in the positive.

I'm still going through more blood work, MRI, and more blood work. I've cut out my beloved flonase which helps me breathe and started taking medication. The MRI will show if I have a tumor on my adrenal gland. That will be Monday morning.

My weight has been stable at 159. I'm eating pretty clean and not gaining which was a huge concern for me. This protocol has changed the way I eat completely. I find myself craving healthier foods. So I lost weight and learned to eat better...this diet has changed my life.

[hysteria_625]

Originally Posted by Destony

Hi everyone! Long stressful week, but I made it �� Biopsy on Tuesday, got results yesterday and it's benign. PHEW!! Work has been insane, people are really abusive. We're doing the best we can, can't get blood from a stone. Surprisingly, I lost 2.2 lbs...time to refocus, and keep on moving forward.

So happy to read this Destony! High five on the weight loss too!

Kdl - glad your weight is holding steady and what a blessing to take away from the program. I hear you on wanting healthy foods now - last night after the festival, while my friends / hubby were having brats and marshmallows I had a plain salad. My body wanted / needed greens! Life changer!

I write this at 7am sitting at our campsite. The festival was fantastic!!!! Our favorite band Carbon Leaf killed it of course and we found out / enjoyed some new bands too (Red Wanting Blue). Such a great time with family and friends <3

I am also pleased as heck to say I stayed 95% protocol - have no idea what fat % the 2 hamburgers I had yesterday were and ate 3 slices of turkey bacon. Not a drop of booze According to my iPhone health tracker I did 16,000 steps Friday and 12,000 yesterday - but it was more intense than that...I danced, a LOT and part of the time didn't have my phone. It was also almost 90 here yesterday and that heat will drain. I am exhausted and looking forward to getting home but this weekend was worth it!

[kdramalover]

Beth you are my hero!! Enjoying all the festivities while staying within the protocols limits!! Doesn't it give you an empowering feeling?

[Destony]

Thanks everyone! Finally a chance of some rain here on the Cape, but not enough to get rid of the pollen, but something to give the lawns a bit of a drink. That might take some pressure off at work..(one can hope) So, I've been thinking a lot about the fact that even though I have lost 34 lbs, I have barely dropped a size- I mean, yes- I can get in to a limited amount of 14's BUT they are pretty tight-I know, our bodies are different, but did any of you find this, or something similar? If so, have you found a way to conquer it? At the rate I'm going, my original goal of a size 10-12 is a LONG way off...I have a better chance of seeing the weight goal before the size...I am angry that I let myself yo-yo for so many years that the likely hood is I've stretch things out so much that I'll never look like I hope to get back to looking. I hope that everyone else is doing well.
On the bright side, DH and I adopted a rescue cat Saturday. I forgot how much I missed having a pet. He's a real love!

[hysteria_625]

Beth you are my hero!! Enjoying all the festivities while staying within the protocols limits!! Doesn't it give you an empowering feeling?

Thanks KDL - yes, it was awesome coming home and seeing the scale move in the right direction! Gives me more hope for this coming weekend and our trip to Indianapolis I CAN do this and it IS worth it

Originally Posted by Destony

Thanks everyone! Finally a chance of some rain here on the Cape, but not enough to get rid of the pollen, but something to give the lawns a bit of a drink. That might take some pressure off at work..(one can hope) So, I've been thinking a lot about the fact that even though I have lost 34 lbs, I have barely dropped a size- I mean, yes- I can get in to a limited amount of 14's BUT they are pretty tight-I know, our bodies are different, but did any of you find this, or something similar? If so, have you found a way to conquer it? At the rate I'm going, my original goal of a size 10-12 is a LONG way off...I have a better chance of seeing the weight goal before the size...I am angry that I let myself yo-yo for so many years that the likely hood is I've stretch things out so much that I'll never look like I hope to get back to looking. I hope that everyone else is doing well.
On the bright side, DH and I adopted a rescue cat Saturday. I forgot how much I missed having a pet. He's a real love!

Destony - Congrats on the new kitty

SO much of this has to do with how our individual selves hold weight - where / how / etc...also, with how we are loosing it with IP...
I guess I was blessed to some extent with a small waist, but otoh, wide child-bearing hips / rear end...pear shaped. BUT, after I started drinking beer, whereas back in the day my weight collected on my hips / rear, now it was collecting in my stomach! So I VERY quickly went from tight 14's (in the 190's) to 18's / 20's when I was 234#'s...for comparison's sake, when I was in the 220's in 2013, I was still wearing mostly 16's / 18's
Exercise also makes a huge different - we did Insanity the summer of 2013 and my lowest weight was around 195 - I have a cute black/white polka dot dress I wore to my birthday dinner in November 2013 and it fit perfect (size 14)! I am now 191 and that dress still doesn't fit through my chest imho, this shows the difference in *how* I am loosing with IP.
I'm a smart lady and realize that doing Insanity, my body wasn't just losing weight, it was tightening up / gaining muscle (leaner than fat). The workouts focus on both upper & lower body, but Shaun T is bear for push ups, burpees, and planks, so my upper body looked pretty amazing - and I am sure I was leaner through my chest at 195 b/c of all the push ups, etc...
Also, bear in mind different clothiers cut their stuff differently. I can now easily wear my size 14 Gap jeans, and other size 14 work slacks, but I also have a pair of size 16 Gloria Vanderbilts (Amanda-cut) and wouldn't dare wear them for fear of shifting my internal organs. They might fit ok in another 10 pounds...and imagine if they were 14's!
Anyway - hope this makes some sense...

Speaking of...I love IP but this past Saturday scared me a bit - a reminder to all about electrolytes.
So I did really well compliance wise - Turkey burger with salad and BBQ Quest chips Friday night and a Quest bar that night while the others drank / had s'mores.
Saturday we got up and had a big breakfast - turkey bacon (I had 3 slices), scrambled eggs with cilantro, green onions, diced ham, and some cheese (couldn't measure...didn't care lol).
We got to the festival at 11am - it was already about 80 degrees. We walked, we danced...Lunch was around 2:30 - a plain burger with mustard and some sea salt. More dancing - a Quest bar for a snack about 4:00 (ish)...by then it was in the 90's and we were sitting under our shade chairs. All the while, I was drinking 15 - 20oz of water per hour - a little less when hubby was helping.
My brother and friends got to the festival about 6:00 - it was really starting to cool off...I had a grape proti-thin protein drink mix (mmmm - highly recommended!)...and then about 7:30 started feeling REALLY out of it I didn't grey/black out but it was a near miss. I tried another 1/2 a Quest bar...then realized I'd not had salt for hours, and I'd been exercising, sweating and drinking tons of water. Got another burger / mustard / salt and almost immediately felt 1000x's better.

This was also a reminder to me to ALWAYS listen to my body. When I drank the protein drink, I was already feeling weak and should have immediately gone for real food. I was trying to suck it up though as I'd already had my 8oz for the day. This rule doesn't count when your walking up/down steep hills and dancing for hours - at least for me it doesn't!

I had a BIG salad when we got back to the campground Saturday night - so I had my veggies

Now it's time to prep for our 5 day vacation to Indy & back. Started packing my IP supplies last night...this time being sure to add some No-Salt (potassium) and regular iodized salt packets, just in case. We wanted to stop with DD10 and do the Western MD Railroad trip, but there are no available bookings on Thursday when we had planned to be in Cumberland. I am now looking at "The Wilds" in Columbus, OH for Thursday and then roll into Indy sometime before noon on Friday

[Tigridia]

If you are losing a lot of weight but not changing shape I would double-check to make sure you aren't losing muscle. That much fat loss should get you into smaller clothes by now. My story/body shape is pretty much like hysterias, substitute wine for beer. I dropped a clothing size almost immediately just from getting rid of the gut and some rump fat. Right now 12s are a little too loose but 10s are a little too tight and I expect it will take me a little longer to go from a 10 to an 8 just because I am small-waisted but thunder-thighed and need to be able to get pant over my legs before I worry about the zipper LOL.

[CO_6]

Destony- You are not alone in this. I lost 35lbs and only went down one size from 14 to 12 and can squeeze into very tight 10's here and there. I surely would have thought with that big of a drop that I would have been in a loose 10, but I guess that I am more apple shaped and have a wide waist and hip.

[Gem9117]

Hi all, checking in it's been a busy week for me. Eating out more than usual and going away tomorrow so more eating out, ugh! Hate try to guess portions, down a pound on my scale up .2 lbs on the scale at WI. My coach thinks the scale may have been calibrated wrong as everyone this am said that it was off from their home scales. Oh well, I'm not sweating it the weight. But my lean mass went down again grrrrr.... 1.2 lbs, I had a 2 lb gain 2 weeks ago in lean mass not sure what's happening. I'm eating the 8oz cooked protein (except when dining out when I'm guessing at the weight). My coach wants me to add a packet when dining out & hope that makes the difference.

Beth sounds like you had an awesome weekend! Congrats on the continued weight loss. Hope this weekend goes as well.

Destony So glad your test result were good! I can totally relate to the dress size. I wanted to lose 25 lbs and have lost 22 so far. I'm super short (4' 11") I look MUCH thinner and my clothes are loose but 'm not a whole size smaller. I think we all carry weight differently and loose it differently as well.

[canadjineh]

Just a note on clothing sizes... the larger the sizes the bigger the range they cover ie there may be 30 lbs between a 22 and a 20 but only 5 lbs between a 2 and a 0.
So at first your clothing sizes may seem to drop very slowly especially if you are wearing things that stretch or are loosely cut over your problem areas (and who doesn't do that, lol).
Hang in there...

[Destony]

Thanks EVERYONE for the input. I'll ask about the fat vs. muscle loss at my next weigh in. I usually just ask for weight and the inches to record in my log. I really hope to be in a 12 by the beginning of August. My son is getting married at the end of August, and I really want to look good- especially since I will be seeing a lot of people whom I haven't seen in a very long time from his dad's side. Family, even exes, dynamics- sometimes they're just *peachy*.
Anywho- looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. Though our boat isn't in the water yet, we're late because the weather was so crappy, we'll finish up all the work needed and get her packed and ready for launch next Friday. The absolute best day of the year!! I am glad that this diet is so easy to follow, especially since I can keep stuff on the boat and just worry about making sure I have fresh veggies.
What are you all planning for this weekend??

[kdramalover]

Destony you may skip a size. You might just bypass and go into 10's skipping the 12's all together. I feel like after the weight loss it takes much more time for our bodies to shift and change. After weeks of being off protocol, my body looks thinner and things are shifting.

It drives me crazy to have so much IP/Alterative foods left and not be able to go for the last 9-20 pounds. I actually enjoyed the structure of the IP protocol. It was so much easier and cost effective packing my lunch. I like routine and structure...I'm a Capricorn. I love seeing everyone still doing well and staying on plan. I'm jealous and can't wait to get my dr's okay to restart.

[hysteria_625]

Originally Posted by kdramalover

Destony you may skip a size. You might just bypass and go into 10's skipping the 12's all together. I feel like after the weight loss it takes much more time for our bodies to shift and change. After weeks of being off protocol, my body looks thinner and things are shifting.

It drives me crazy to have so much IP/Alterative foods left and not be able to go for the last 9-20 pounds. I actually enjoyed the structure of the IP protocol. It was so much easier and cost effective packing my lunch. I like routine and structure...I'm a Capricorn. I love seeing everyone still doing well and staying on plan. I'm jealous and can't wait to get my dr's okay to restart.

Good to hear from you kdl - have you heard anything yet on a treatment plan? Glad you seem to be adjusting well off IP

Destony - hope you had a good Memorial Weekend

Wow it's gotten quiet on the boards over the last couple weeks.

We left Wednesday to visit family in Indianapolis - a 9.5 hour drive - about 11 with stops. We had a fantastic time visiting. We took DD10 to the Indy Children's Museum and it was really cool - we played as much as DD10 We also went to a nature conservation where a bus takes people through to see endangered animals in a fairly natural habitat.
With the cousins, the beer tour went really well. I drove most of the day and we visited my Uncle. Other than when we got in late Thursday night, I really wasn't tempted by the beer. We had a lot of good times, good laughs, lots of love, and TONS of food.
My cousins went out of their way to make sure I had awesome food to eat. We had dry pulled pork, steaks marinated in soy/ginger/green onions, salads, broccoli, cauliflower, oven roasted brussel sprouts (a new fave!). I weighed where / when I could but easily had +1,200 calories Friday night and +1,500 Saturday night. No beer, no sugar (except the fake stuff in the Quest bars), no carbs - lots of good meats and veggies
We got back in last night (after a final dinner on the road at Cracker Barrel - grilled chicken salad - plain, no dressing/croutons/only a little cheese). When I got up this morning I had a real shock - I was down 6 pounds from my last weigh-in on Wednesday morning!
185.2!!!!!!!!
I posted on the main weekday chat thread but am wondering about such a "woosh"! I have 2 theories:
1. No intentional exercise...maybe I was retaining water / gaining muscle?
2. Is it possible with the additional exercise I was flirting with 'starvation mode'? I was still losing over the last 4 weeks, but much slower than I was without walking
I'm not complaining - far from it! I am also not expecting to start losing 6 pounds a week - but am going to watch the next 2 weeks and see if I can narrow in on the issue...especially if it is 'starvation mode'

[hysteria_625]

Oh - and another theory...stress - or lack thereof while on vacation.

6 pounds! Even though TOM is lurking (I am cramping and spotting), I was only up 0.6 this morning and maintaining in the 185's My goal had been to be in the 180's when we left for Indy and I was a little disappointed Wednesday morning when I didn't see "18_" on the scale (it was 191.2).

I feel like a braggart right now...sorry if it's annoying anyone - I am just blown away...and a little confused. Maybe too, I just shook things up enough after 16 weeks of near 100% compliance / same foods / same amounts...?

Anyway - need to get ready to pack it in and go home. Our A/C unit is still having problems and the service company is suppose to be back out this afternoon.