Avalon and Amber - Yeah, I don't think an extra packet is a killer. I do notice when I start to play with the plan and make lil cheats, they can quickly develop into bigger cheats. Learning how to confidently loosen my grip is something I need to do!
Hi all! I Like the motivation. Back from business travel - sales kickoff - totally on plan! A bit anti-social since I avoided the whole post-dinner bar scene, but feel good about myself. I was starving yesterday (got home the night before). Ate an extra packet and feel more balanced today.
Going back to the discussion of depression. Part of me definitely felt depressed/anxious when started to approach and then maintaining (before I befriended. Ben and Jerry). I didn't do a great job of reframing success. I will this time around.
I did like fitting into all of my beautiful clothes and how I looked. Really, that feeling - well, the loss of it - was the catalyst for going back OP. I've always struggled withe the concept of looking good and vanity - they were almost synonymous to me. Now, I understand you can look good and it does not mean you are vain.
So much work to do - physical and emotional! It's a journey...right?
Rayze, I can relate to a lot of what you wrote. First off the whole social aspect of eating and drinking. And how when you are dieting, it kind of drives me into being a bit more (as you say) anti-social. Drinking is such empty calories and the way I understand it, alcohol converts right into sugar in your blood. And when you avoid the whole social drinking aspect -- it does make me feel a bit out of step with others. It's interesting how drinking is such a social/bonding experience (at least that is my take on it). Yes, I do realize you can drink club soda and socialize, but there is a shared experience there that you are missing (getting tipsy together! LOL).
On the starving thing -- I actually worked pretty hard to avoid that feeling -- as I always felt like the feeling of "starving" meant that my body wasnt quite getting enough of what it needed. So I was always on the ready to eat an extra few ounces of chicken or an extra IP pack or a cup of coffee with some IP chock drink mixed in -- SOMETHING. I found it kept me on the straight and narrow and kept me from having more serious cheats that might have knocked me out of keytosis. I guess ultimately I changed my mindset that having a bit more protein (of foods already approved and on plan) was not really a cheat and I never ever beat myself up over that.
Depression and/or anxiety is certainly a nemesis of mine -- I think I get such a high out of the rapid weight loss (feeling like I am accomplishing a big goal) that it's sort of self sustaining and motivating for me. And I have felt a letdown as I have approached goal and seen my rapid loss rate drop. I definitely feel like I need to find another thing to focus on to get my emotional high back -- I am not sure that just maintaining will be enough. Not sure if that is working out or getting more into HEALTH in general -- or maybe finding some other hobby or past-time. But I do feel a bit of a hole opening up in my life where previously I was filling that with the HIGH of weight loss.
One other thing that you didnt mention that was kind of unanticipated for me was coming to grips with aging more. I am 58 and I think when you are really overweight, it kind of masks some of the aspects of aging. You are plumped up and that hides wrinkles really well! I know that I did look younger when I was fatter as I just didnt have wrinkles. And losing 120 lbs (esp at age 58) leads to a lot of wrinkled excess skin. I have heard others talk about this too. Kind of interesting. Still for me I would rather look older and be healthier. I was having so many weight related health issues when I was 320+ pounds -- that have completely disappeared as I have approached 200. So for me, it was a good trade off. Still it was a bit of a shock that weight loss ... rather than a fountain of youth and a recapturing of past glory ... really instead for some of us that are older ... puts us more in touch with our true age. I think one possible thing I might explore after I hit goal (if I can hit goal) is to start to explore weight lifting -- as I think building some muscle under the skin will be a healthier way to both maintain a lower weight over time and also mitigate some of the sagging (empty balloon effect). It's all a journey!
Finally I really related to your eating bad things (your friend Ben and Jerry's) being an emotional comfort -- I struggle with that as well -- as eating bad things that taste good has always been associated for me with "great times" -- that feeling of having a party and throwing caution to the wind. For me it probably goes back to my childhood -- amazing how far back some of this programming goes.
In any case, keep up the good fight! I am with you.
Last edited by Avalon1957; 08-04-2015 at 10:47 PM.
Thanks guys....as usual you are always there for me.. I see my coach today so I will talk to her. My scale is up again at home which sets me off on a bad foot! Ugh...
I have thought about phasing off, but my fear is never getting back on and I know I will not be happy finishing my journey here... (but apparently my body is LOL...) I will speak to my coach today.
Thanks guys....as usual you are always there for me.. I see my coach today so I will talk to her. My scale is up again at home which sets me off on a bad foot! Ugh...
I have thought about phasing off, but my fear is never getting back on and I know I will not be happy finishing my journey here... (but apparently my body is LOL...) I will speak to my coach today.
SG, Sounds like you are going through a tough time. It really shows your drive and fortitude on how you have stuck with this even though you are not getting any positive reinforcement from the scale.
Bodies and people are all so different, it's really hard to advise you from afar with little info. But I did have a few thoughts
For me, I seem to respond to calorie in vs calorie out budgets. So your first step might be to start/keep a really detailed food log with things weighed out precisely and then calculate exactly how many calories you are eating every day.
It's amazing to me how when I didn't carefully weigh or measure my food, I found I was eating more than i thought. So my first step would be to get a firm handle on what your calorie intake is over say a two week period.
Also be sure you get your 80 fluid ounces of water in every day. This is an easy one to miss the mark on. I know sometimes drinking all that water might seem pointless or wasteful -- most of us just are not that thristy -- and we pee so much of that water out pretty quickly. But the importance of all that water should not be underestimated. And if you drink caffeine -- you need to drink even more water -- since caffeine will slighly dehydrate you in sum total.
I might even suggest buying some bottled spring water so you know how many bottles you need to down. I love Evian water as it's the best tasting water I've found and the only one that I can drink a lot of without too much problem. But if you didnt want Evian water, find another botttled water you can stand. Make sure you do this because your body needs water to break the fat bond (so I've heard) and it keeps your body flushed out. If you dont drink enough water you will sabotage your weight loss. Finally You should have 0 problems with the big C if you drink 80+ oz of water a day!
So Lets say you calculate that you are eating 1000 calories a day (actually on IP P1 I think the total will be more like 800 calories a day -- but I am not sure you are following a strict IP P1 right now?)
So if your intake is 1000 cals a day ... and you find that the scale is Stuck and not moving ... that must mean you are also only burning about a 1000 cals a day (which actually would be unusually low). At that point I would have things like your thyroid checked. Or you might have other hormonal issues that are messing things up in terms of metabolism and burn rate. Are you active or sedentary?
Some other things you can do to increase your burn rate is exercise more. If you were to take a 1 hour brisk walk every day. That might burn another 300 calories or so. Maybe even take 2 long brisk walks a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Walk with your SO or find some neighborhood walking buddies and talk! That makes the time go by faster and That might give you enough of a "DELTA" to start your weight dropping.
However note that I read you need a 3600 calorie deficit to burn 1 pound of fat. So if your calorie deficit is only 300 calories ... it will take 12 days to burn 1 pound of fat.
I bet most of us have calorie deficits on IP P1 of closer to 1000 cals a day ... so that would mean a 1 pound fat loss every 3 to 4 days, which seems to be more in the wheelhouse of most dieters (at least early on)
As a final thought ... it's important to give yourself CREDIT for losing 90 pounds!!! THat's a huge accomplishment -- and if nothing else simply maintaining that big loss has huge POSITIVE impacts on your health. So it would not be a bad outcome if you never lost another pound but simply maintained your big loss.
Last edited by Avalon1957; 08-04-2015 at 10:49 AM.
Avalon I really liked everything you wrote in your last two posts.
Sue I really can relate to all you describe. I had the exact same thing happen when I was within 10 lbs of goal. For me personally, it took me 6 months to lose the majority of the weight, and another 6 months to lose the last 10 or 15. And, now that I am in maintenance, I still go up and down in that last 10 lbs. So, I think that is where my body naturally wants to be, whether I'm eating 900 calories or 1700 calories or even 2500 on special indulgence days - it still stays around the same. It's interesting Amy Schumer the comedian speaks a lot about this stuff - I think she found that around 160 was the right place for her body, but she still struggles with it, and all the comments people make to her both in person and online.
I had someone make a comment this last weekend that I was on the large side. It was innocent and I was standing with 4 other people that were very petite and about 7 inches shorter than me. I think for most people it would have been fine, and I thought I was fine in the moment, though a little confused, but then I noticed the last three days almost subconsciously I went into kind of an old eating disorder/body dysmorphia phase - really watching what I ate from a place of wanting to starve myself, and thinking paranoid thoughts like everyone thinks I'm outrageously overweight. I have these same thoughts whether I'm underweight or 85 lb. heavier than I am now, so it occurred to me today that the thoughts are truly mine to deal with, regardless of whatever positive or negative external feedback that is spoken.
And, I am older, as you say, and I do have extra skin esp. in the abdominal area, that I translate to feel "fat"... and likely people who don't know me well do also... and I'm at the very top of my comfort zone, and I will feel a little better when I drop back down.
So that's me for today
Last edited by Grateful4Health; 08-04-2015 at 11:32 AM.
Alexandra - Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I really appreciate it.
I also see more wrinkles, but I have to say I am using some great face cream that is helping that situation out. The sagging skin is another issue entirely. My sensitive area is really my stomach (the apron!). Of course my arms and thighs are droopy, but a very hot summer took care of my issues with showing my arms and the thighs, well...whatever. I've taken to wearing some slenderizes to help the tummy jiggle. I like the support!
Thanks guys....as usual you are always there for me.. I see my coach today so I will talk to her. My scale is up again at home which sets me off on a bad foot! Ugh...
I have thought about phasing off, but my fear is never getting back on and I know I will not be happy finishing my journey here... (but apparently my body is LOL...) I will speak to my coach today.
Besides the other helpful comments you've gotten, I'd like to add that stress is a major block for weight loss. Cortisol (hormone produced by stress) is known to inhibit weight loss.
You have done so well! I've watched MANY people take 3-6 months to lose the last 10 lbs (especially those who had more to lose). If you persevere, your body will eventually play catch-up (I've seen some incredible whooshes after a plateau).
For myself, due to other medical issues that developed, I chose to phase off & do p4 for a month and then jump back on P1. It worked for about 10 lbs-worth but I never got to my desired 110-off total.
Am I healthier than I was? Yup.
Do I still struggle with eating? Yup. Anything you read about large weight losses will tell you the maintenance struggle is harder than the WL struggle.
Do I know 3FC-IP is just where I belong? You betcha.
Alexandra - excellent insights as always, thanks for sharing with us!!
Amber - interesting that your friend's comment sent you off, glad you figured it out and came back
As for body dismorphia, I met with one of the other coaches last week (mine was on vacation), and said that was one thing I struggled with. She looked me right in the eye and said "every woman has body dismorphia."
Sue - hope your coach comes up with something helpful, let us know!
Hey all - starting in on my 4th week! I am happy to stay the course! I took my Banana pudding back to the clinic yesterday... It just tasted awful - a very strong chemical taste... And I'm not a picky eater. The coach said they don't 'do returns or exchanges' but that she would double check the policy. I asked if there was a policy related to 'bad' product because I'm nearly convinced that it shouldn't taste that way! I like the Butterscotch pudding and was really surprised the Banana tasted that bad. I have a feeling they will accommodate an exchange just because I was (politely) insistent that it was not edible. We shall see.
Hey all - starting in on my 4th week! I am happy to stay the course! I took my Banana pudding back to the clinic yesterday... It just tasted awful - a very strong chemical taste... And I'm not a picky eater. The coach said they don't 'do returns or exchanges' but that she would double check the policy. I asked if there was a policy related to 'bad' product because I'm nearly convinced that it shouldn't taste that way! I like the Butterscotch pudding and was really surprised the Banana tasted that bad. I have a feeling they will accommodate an exchange just because I was (politely) insistent that it was not edible. We shall see.
Welcome Desirae Nicole. I can relate. I didn't like the taste of most the IP Foods myself -- and ended up just using the IP Chocolate Drink Mix as my IP Food. This worked out fine for me as I am a chocaholic, plus I liked getting an extra 24 oz of liquid this way. You defintely don't need to like all (or even most) of the IP foods to get this diet to work for you. All you need is 1 or 2 that you can stand. One of my other issues was a soy allergy and few of the IP foods are soy-free.
Last edited by Avalon1957; 08-06-2015 at 01:29 AM.
I spoke to my coach yesterday. She was so helpful. She said to me essentially look at the big picture. My body fat is consistantly going down and my lean mass is building. I didn't lose any weight this week but I did lose all the inches + that the prednazone artificially put on me. She explained it like this... I am flying to florida on a airplane but I keep looking at the bus schedule. The bus schedule does not take me the times that I want to go, but yet I am focusing on the bus scheudle when in fact I am getting on an airplane! LOL I LOVE HER...
Alexandra - You are always so insightful... I do follow IP pretty closley, however due to my schedule some days are improvised....I always do 4 packets and sometimes more if I am on the road...
Lisa - Thanks...and by the way so good to see you around again! Missed you
So this morning I got on my scale as usual every day and after all that it was down LOL...1lb I will take it...Hopefully it sticks for next week and gets me back to the number in my stats LOL...
Sue - sounds like an awesome visit, and I LOVE her analogy!!
Okay ladies, drumroll please.... I am officially "graduated" and in maintenance!! I only gained about 1.5 from last week which my coach said was perfect, and I go back in a month unless I panic.
I don't know how long I'll leave it up, but since you have all been sharing this journey with me over the past year, I wanted to show you how much IP has changed me, on the outside at least-
I cannot thank all of you enough for support you have given me, and I know we will continue to give each other!
Sue - sounds like an awesome visit, and I LOVE her analogy!!
Okay ladies, drumroll please.... I am officially "graduated" and in maintenance!! I only gained about 1.5 from last week which my coach said was perfect, and I go back in a month unless I panic.
I don't know how long I'll leave it up, but since you have all been sharing this journey with me over the past year, I wanted to show you how much IP has changed me, on the outside at least-
I cannot thank all of you enough for support you have given me, and I know we will continue to give each other!
Your pictures are amazing JJTX. You look at least 10 years younger, if not more, and so healthy!!!!! What incredible work.
I had someone I really admired once tell me that "when God gives you a reason to celebrate, CELEBRATE!". I think it's important to take time to really be grateful for the good times.... there are so many bad times strewn throughout.... I hope you can feel so satisfied for what you have accomplished, truly!
Last edited by Grateful4Health; 08-05-2015 at 11:55 AM.
Woot Alexandra and JJ, those are some smokin' pictures - you should both be very proud of yourselves and I'm glad to see you look in' so glamorous with it!
Sue, I love your coach's logic and grats on the lb gone.
Sorry to be absent again but I will be back Tues night and ready to rock p1 once more. Eating better this trip so am maintaining weight but I am in the right mental space to lose again. Ribs are almost healed and tired of the stiffness from lack of exercise.
Hope maintenance is holding steady, Ladies! And that those of us still in the loss phase are focused and planning accordingly.
Been gone for a while, felt down and stopped pretty much all activity and put on a few pounds, but I'm back at my exercise and watching what I eat.
I didn't read too far back, but Sue, it sounds like things are going well for your DH, that is fantastic! Sorry you are struggling, and I too like your coaches analogy.
JJTX and Avalon, you both look fantastic, and JJTX, welcome to maintenance!
Amanda, glad to hear you will be rocking P1 again, I know you can do it!
I will try to check in more to keep myself accountable and I'm rooting for everyone!
