Laurie - It's great that you are staying mentally aware of everything, especially when you start backsliding. It's when we start telling ourselves that it's nothing, doesn't matter, everything's JUST FINE, and then a few months later we've noticed a pretty significant gain on the scale. Staying aware is a great way to keep it under control, long term. I'm wondering though, do you know what triggered your binge days, or did they just sneak up on you? I'm glad you're getting to a place where you're comfortably back on plan though! I think we found that cross walk. I might have to send you on ahead though after tonight's carb fest with spaghetti and garlic bread (I'm going to try to limit to a small portion of each, and a BIG salad, but I can't guarantee anything, that bread is amazing) and tomorrow's dinner with another family... But I'll do my best to keep up, especially after seeing the new low on the scale this morning.

I came back to share with you all a couple NSVs regarding clothes.

- This morning I went rushing up the stairs (and didn't get to the top out of breath!) and my pants LITERALLY fell down past my butt. I caught them on the way down. They would have hit the floor! I guess it's time to say good bye to my 24s, and start wearing my 22s. Which I did. Comfortably.

- I also managed to put on a bra that I absolutely adore (it's white with a black and teal zebra print, so cute) which I bought in Texas, then promptly got too fat to comfortably wear it. I've lost enough so that I'm able to hook it shut (in the middle loops!) and it isn't uncomfortable to wear.

Just going to jump out real quick and say I'm not in any way approaching a serious relationship with anyone. In some ways, it surprises me that I'm flirting at all when the divorce isn't legally done, but they I stop and realize that it's been something like 8 months since he dropped me off at my dad's and six months since I told him I wanted a divorce. Still, I have no desire for anything serious until after my divorce is put to bed and even then, I want the courtship, if you know what I mean. I let my ex completely cut out any of that sort of thing and don't want that to happen again. I'm just finding myself incredibly confused some days and I needed to express that confusion somewhere to someone who could help. You guys do that. <3

In M's defense, he's a slow mover and I've always known that. Not to mention he more or less had his heart broken last December/January by someone he'd been in a long-distance relationship with for several years. He went to visit the girl in Germany for Christmas to discover that he had a boyfriend he'd never mentioned. Now that's leading someone on.

... It's like they say about timing and chemistry. If you have chemistry, all you need is timing, but timing can be a b*tch. I don't know. I'm not looking to jump into any relationship right now, but it doesn't stop me from getting all emotionally turned around and I don't know why it is that I feel like I'm betraying M by flirting. Our mutual agreement right now is friends. I don't know if it speaks to how deep my feeling for M run or just how crazy I am.


Toasted, yay for keeping calories in check yesterday. Even if it wasn't absolutely what you wanted, it was still a good day as far as I'm concerned.

Jenni, CONGRATS! I'm so proud of you for hitting that 20 lb mark!

Mandy, ooooo purdy! Also, yay for the loss and SUPER YAY for the NSV victories. <3

Laurie, take pride in the fact that while dinner might not have been on point, you didn't let yourself have a binge day. So, as far as I'm concerned, you're still succeeding at stringing successful days together.

Hi everybody! I'm happy to report that I finally saw a drop this morning. Two pounds-- down to 251! That got me excited because I'm spitting distance to a new decade!!! I doubt I'll drop another pound by tomorrow, but it is funny as I mentioned that when I looked at my old weight loss log from 9/09, on the way down, I hit 250 on 9/19. And actually, I have two scales in my house-- one used to weigh me a pound heavier and now weighs me a pound lighter, and I was 250 on it this morning. Ten more pounds and I will have lost half my regain. I definitely heard all of you loud and clear-- my looser plan with slower loss but some opportunities to eat more from time to time seems to work okay, and just when I despair of every seeing scale movement again, it moves! I don't know why I go two weeks with no movement and then drop 2 pounds over night, but it still averages out to a pound a week, which isn't bad for a slow loser.

Mandy Salivating over the furniture! (which is pretty funny actually, as it looked even tastier than the yeasty bread!) And pants falling off? HOORAY!

Jessica Lots of good advice from the other ladies about the guy issues, but may I just say that it is obviously a GOOD problem to have!

Toasted Sounds like you are doing well and I ditto all your advice to Jessica!

Laurie Honestly, girl, if we can learn to binge a little and then stop, then we will be able to maintain a weight that we like in the long run. Getting off track is too easy to let it be a ride on the express train straight back to fat land! Thanks to this group, for the first time in my 53 years, I've had a few bad days here and there and still kept up the downward trend. I'm convinced that if we can master that one thing we will end up being thin ladies!!!!

Diane and Martini Hope you guys are both doing well!

So while I've lost a lot and I'm on the brink of entering Onederland for the first time ever, I find myself once again looking at some of my faults more than my successes. By which, I mean the belly fat. Whenever I mention it, I tend to get "toning and scuplting" from my brother's fiance. Yes I'm working on toning and sculpting but I still have extra belly fat on top of my muscles so you can see that sort of progress. I'm hitting one of those periods where I see inches coming off my arms/legs more than my gut and that's okay. But it can still try to undermine my pride in how far I've come.

So to see if it really is bigger or if it just feel bigger, I went and compared my inches to previous one. Turns out, it's almost exactly the same. And in the places where my measurements aren't the same, they're actually smaller. Now I didn't specifically measure my muffin top before, so I can't say whether or not it's huge in comparison to the past, but it was a nice reminder of how far I have come. I have lost 8.5 inches from my muffin top alone in the last three months. That's something to be nothing less than extremely proud of. <3

I have been having one of those weeks. I explained some with the step daughter....I feel some relief as they are with their grandma for a long weekend. But now we are going to see my husband and I feel all the pressure of getting things packed and making sure I have on plan foods. I am really freaking out. My life runs good when it is planned out to a tee. But it seems when something comes up I freak out. I also had a filling fall out and my mouth is in pain...now I am spilling all of this because why is it I know where every bad thing for me is in the house? Guess what there is one piece of ice cream cake my kids didn't finish staring at me in the freezer. There are a bowl full of candy bars that my husband bought last weekend laughing at me. There are fruit loops and apple jacks taunting me in the pantry....oh and there is ice cream left over from a birthday that gets my attention every dang time too! So what do I do.....I get a big garbage bag and throw it all away....even the cereal my kids eat....boy oh boy am I going to have angry kiddos tomorrow but you know what???? It made me feel oh so much better. Now I have to figure out how to plan good things when we have to eat out most the weekend! Rant over!

Jenni ((((hugs))))) Good for you for throwing it all away! I never have the guts to do that, but it is exactly the right thing to do! Why oh, why does food seem to taunt us sometimes, while it stays quiet at other times? I also do best when everything is just ticking along and I feel worse when things unexpected things come up-- but hang in there. You'll do just fine.

Hi all!

Wow, just didn't have time to get on here yesterday. I am so glad it is Friday! It's just been crazy busy with 2 coworkers gone. Nothing much to say. I haven't weighed for awhile, and I didn't work out this morning. I had trouble with my legs cramping last night, so I just felt like I needed a break. So, instead, I came in early to work. Got a lot done! I'll go back to the gym tomorrow.

Jenni: I live near Grand Junction, CO, which is clear on the western side of Colorado, very near the Utah border. Love it here! Oh, I'm impressed that you were able to throw away all the bad, tempting food. I am not good at doing that, so I am impressed!

Uber: Sorry about not giving credit where credit is due!! You did a good job starting this thread. It was just so fitting for so many of us. Oh, and congrats on more weight gone!! You may want to reconsider changing much of anything. You're still losing at a pretty good pace, so you hate to mess that up!! But, it is totally your call, and we'll support you!

Jenni: Sorry you're having one of those weeks. I know how you feel when the structure is gone for a while. Hope it all goes well for you!

Jessica: Sounds like fun times with flirting! Timing is not always the way we think it should be, though. If something comes from any of these relationships, then so be it! Just enjoy the process! You deserve some fun.

Mandy: Love the furniture! It is so nice! I really could stand to get some new furniture, but for now, we'll keep the old stuff. Oh, and love the story on the way too big pants!! You are rockin it!

LaurieDawn: Enjoy your last few days with the kids! It sounds like you are still doing well keeping on plan, so good for you!

Toasted: Yep, fast food is frightening! It is hard to find something you can feel good about. But, it is just one day! Hang in there!

Laurie...great job on keeping on plan...you got this!

Mandy...wooohooo for the NSV's those are just as great as the scale movement. It's something to be VERY proud of!

Uber...thank you! and great job on the scale loss I hope it continues to drop for you to see an even bigger wooosh!!!!

Diane...I know where that is. We drove past there on our way to California one year. I love love Colorado it is so beautiful.....it is the only other place that I have lived that I truly miss!

Jessica....I think that is a true problem with women we always focus on the bad parts of us! You have the right attitude to just look at things as positive. I always tell myself if I focus on the negative everything is bad but if I focus on the positive than anything is possible. I LOVE the fact that anything is possible!!

Martini...hope all is well with you...

Lotusmama...toasted...and anyone I missed hope your day is awesome!

So let the drums roll.........229.6 I am hoping for a little more of a drop before weigh in tomorrow but we will see I am just happy for this. I am packing for the weekend and getting the girls stuff together and probably will try to do their hair to hold up for the morning....Do you all know how hard it is to do my girls hair???? They are mixed and my hubby is black...it takes hours sometimes!!! I love how beautiful it is but wow oh wow ....if I can figure out how to post pics I would love to share a picture of them and my puppy!

IT'S HERE! YAY!!!



Super excited to have furniture that's OURS not "well, this was my parents and they don't want it anymore..." First thing in our marriage that we picked out together for our home. I LOVE it.

In other news. Even after my pasta and garlic bread affair last night, and TOM being annoying, the scale showed a little drop this morning to 287.2

I don't have time for too much more, it's hubby's day off and we've got errands to run before going to dinner at someone's house.

<3 be back later!

I am becoming the worst poster. Which is unforgivable, given that I so regularly rely on this group to read and respond to my craziness. But if I don't make this quick, I won't have time to hit the gym, and my fledgling re-commitment to plan is way too vulnerable to skip the gym before pizza and movie night.

I was hard-core on plan yesterday. Finally. Woot! Not that I was perfect perfect, but my plan allows for a double-stuffed Oreo or two on occasion. =)

So I am down to 215.4 Still a good 9 pounds up from when I picked up my children from the airport, but 4 pounds down from the 219.6 I saw a few days ago. It is what it is.

I will be back this weekend for a proper post! Until then, so good to skim everyone's posts! And Diane, thanks for the reminder of Carter. I hope things are going well for her. She's one of my inspirations.

CONGRATS LAURIE! I know that you're still up from where you were, but you have got to be feeling so good about seeing that downward trend! Lady I am so proud of you and I can't wait for you to creep in behind me again.

Jenni, congrats are falling into the new decade! You're doing so awesome!


I had an incident at work last night that was a rude reminder of how deeply scars from my marriage still run. Two of my co-workers got into a disagreement with me and decided to essentially block off my only exit from receiving and one of them told me that I needed to listen to them. About that point, I pushed past them, more than willing to run either of them over if they didn't get out of my way. After one of the other guys came in and I talked to him, everything was more or less better. Like I'm not angry at the other guys or anything. They didn't really think about how the approach might come off. And the other girl said something about us all being equals. There is a yes and no factor to that. By which I mean they never would have approached any one else on freight in such an aggressive manner whether they meant to be aggressive or not. That aside, what really has been bothering me most about the whole thing is how much of a slap in the face it felt like it was by reminding me how much the bad incidents from my marriage are still there, just hiding beneath the surface. I felt like I was back in a house with my ex and I'll be d*mned if I'm going to go back to that place mentally.

In other, much happier news. I've been at 201 for two days now.... It's starting to feel real. The prospect of 199 by the end of September is still crazy, but it's close. <3

More good news from UBERLAND.

Dropped below 250 this morning!! Why it's even more awesome? You guys might remember that I checked my weight loss log from last time around back in September 2009 I sped through the entire 150s decade in just 19 days starting on September 1. I was wishing I could equal that but I figured it was unlikely... but this morning, Sept. 19, I hit 249.8, meaning that once again, I sped through the entire decade of the 250s in just 19 days. What makes it even better is that I did this using my "looser plan". I had one really over calorie weekend included in that 19 days! In other words, I'm achieving the elusive success without Kryptonite!! I really CAN'T wait to power through the 240s. I know from before that once I get into the 230s, I start to be able to wear nicer outfits, etc.

Laurie Obviously having the kids around threw a little monkey wrench into your otherwise awesome trajectory, but the awesome thing is that you are already heading back downward even though they're still here! You are doing awesome!

Mandy Congrats on the furniture, and on the drop! Sounds like you are settling right in without letting it detour you. Since my regain came along after a move, I realize how hard it can be to keep your groove through a lot of changes, but you are doing it!

Jenni a new decade!!! Awesome!

Jessica 201 You are going to enter ONEDERLAND But I'm afraid your story of what happened at work made my blood boil on your behalf. I'm really sorry that it brought up issues from your marriage-- that's hard. But honestly, they should not have treated you that way at all.

Jessica. Anyone you work with blocking off the only exit because you "need" to listen to them... You might consider filing a statement with human resources. Saying "this is inappropriate behavior" doesn't mean that it will change the person engaging in the behavior, but it does remind you that you're not some sort of passive thing upon which others can just dump whatever crap they want to dump. You weren't treated with any sort of dignity or respect and no one ever, ever deserves to have their humanity messed with.

Diane - I also liked Carter's posts. Lots of very good, very wise things in them. I'll join you in wishing her well.

Uber - Congratulations on getting into the 240s!!!! It's terrific news and a very, very well earned reward for all of your patience with the last two weeks!!!

Toasted - Wow. Long day, long commute, and you did the fitness dvd. And then you were under 1400 calories for the day. You are such an inspiration.

Jenni -

Mandy - You are doing so well!! That's wonderful!!! I mean the furniture is awesome, too, but the weight loss!! zomg!!!

Laurie - I'm so happy for you that you had a good on-plan day! Every day is a little bit better... until it isn't. If you stick with it long enough, though, the better days start coming again.

I wrote an earlier post that I deleted. I said I was tired and drained and on and on. It's Saturday morning here. I had some coffee and started puttering around and then I remembered that I tend to pull away from the world when things get tough. And they are tough. There's an issue at work and a family issue that are both just profoundly ugly - a sort of dirty, lose-faith-in-humanity, despairing ugly.

So by writing this I'm actually trying to do things differently. Rather than pull away I'm forcing myself to put that out there and say hello and keep in touch with my people who get where I'm at, fatness and ups and downs and all of the rest.

I had an off plan dinner last night. A sandwich and chips just made me happy. I expect to have an off plan weekend. I'm not in binge mode. I just need something that feels familiar and grounding at a moment where I'm not getting that sense from anywhere else. Or maybe this is an excuse to go off plan. Too early to say and I'm not particularly self aware at the moment.

What's surprising me is that the sandwich and chips didn't taste as good as I expected it to. I'll have an off plan dinner in the name of science to explore whether or not my taste buds are changing.

I hope all of you are doing well!!

Hi all I am just gaining information and getting myself ready to "battle" this weight off. I keep gaining and losing the same amount for the last 30 years. I am 60years old and want to stay healthy and off medications. I am considering going on IP but doing it myself as the $ doesn't seem to be worth a "coach" when I have all of you to speak with. Can anyone help with what salad dressings are "acceptable on this diet thanks I also am NOT techno savy so I hope I can find my way back here. LOL

Not sure why my profile says I'm a "junior" more like Senior.....
Newbie

mmmeaton - you might have better luck in the diet-specific forums as far what foods are okay for certain eating plans. I think there is a sub forum for Ideal Protein, and there's also a couple different low-carb diet sub forums as well. Good luck.

Just popping in to say I wandered over to the church rummage sale. Ended up buying a weight bench with 3 different bars, a complete set of plates, and a set of hand weights for $30. Awesome.

I get to start NROL again (I actually found my copy, shoved in with my husband's books. Apparently the friend I thought didn't give it back, gave it back to my husband and he didn't tell me. Therefore, she's not the hooker, HE is!) YAY!