Wow, my bad. I haven't checked in here much at all!!

I am down to 262 now, which is 7.8lbs since the start of the challenge. 5.5 weeks felt until Canada Day, and 14.2 lbs to go. YIKES! I'm not so sure about making it. I'm not giving up yet though!

Gooooood luck to us!!

OhMyDog, we will get there. Stay strong. 14 lbs is quite a bit but not impossible. We will get there together! Good luck

GailMarie, sorry I totally overlooked this question. What to eat when travelling? Hm, not easy. What plan are you on? Weight Watchers is fairly easy. There are points out for all kinds of chain restaurants (Timmy!) and it is easy to figure out your points in the supermarket. When I go to a restaurant, I really pick what I want to eat (well, maybe not the 4 cheese pasta) and enjoy it. No point in picking some salad or dry chicken when it doesn't taste good or is not your favorite. Better invest the points in something you love, because even the salad will have a gazillion points in a restaurant. They say the worst one is a Caesar Salad. So stay away from that one! I like steaks and that usually is a good choice even when they bathe it in butter. And it is soooo tasty! Soups I don't like and I would expect some hidden fat in there anyways. I also stay away from fries and other deep fried stuff. I like it but the points are ridiculous! Baked potatoes are yummy too and so much better for losing weight. I also stay away from pop and alcohol. I get water or maybe a glass of juice or juice/water mix (my favorite is cranberry soda).
Tim Hortons is very WW friendly I find. (Well, and I LOVE it). The oatmeal for breakfast is filling, full of fiber and has not many points. The sandwiches are good and ok for points. Just be careful with all that Iced Cappuchino ;-)

Phew, long answer eh?

One more thing: If you can limit what you eat in your restaurant do so! Eat only half a portion (tough I know!) if you can.
Especially if you don't like your food, don't eat it!!! I went to Tony Roma's recently (not my choice) and they had a horrible coleslaw. So I only had a fork full and no more. It was a good idea! I googled coleslaw later and it has like four million points!! Ugh! Am I ever glad I didn't eat it. I didn't like the taste and I was full anyways. So no point in eating it.

Well, I'm on Ideal Protein...so that pretty much eliminates anything with sugar, starch, and fat. I was hoping for something really yummy, but it will be steak/chicken and salads I guess. Most restaurants will give you meat and veggies, but the thing with IP is that there can't be any sauce as it usually contains fat and sugars.
I find IP is a VERY restricted diet...and it's so hard not to cheat while your on a little get-a-way, especially when you eat out because I always feel like that is a real treat for me because of where I live.(No decent restaurants)
Hope to be in ONE-derland soon (maybe tomorrow)
thanks for all the tips

I MADE IT TO ONE-derland! 199.6 this morning! Think I'll do my happy dance! Have an awesome day everyone!

Uhoh, that sounds very restrictive. Don't think it would work for me. However, steak and salad sounds great!

I don't have the self control for IP. When I see how fast people lose weight on it, I think, just for a minute "maybe I could do it", but in reality I know I couldn't. I LOOOVE fruit, yogurt, and I have to eat carbs or I feel like I am starving. I admire anyone who can stick with IP!!

How do you switch back to "real life"? This is not a forever thing, is it?
OhMyDog, what plan are you on?

There are 4 phases to this diet...they are in the sticky
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...et-phases.html

it explains all the phases, what you can and can't eat etc. It is NOT an easy diet to do, but the results are enough to keep me motivated. I have never lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks...and I look and feel great. 29 more to go

What programs are you on?

Wow, I had no idea. That is one **** of a plan. :-) Good job sticking to that! I wouldn't be able to do it. Not even a week. I love food way to much to give it up like that. Anyways, as I said I am on Weight Watchers. The most flexible and least restricted plan I know (apart from calorie counting which is too much work for me). I read a quote somewhere on this board that says: I can eat anything but not everything! Whoever came up with that was a genius!
That's exactly what I need. I love, love, love food. And I love to cook and bake. I can do smaller portions but not give it up completely. And I am very good at planning (used to do it professionally) and that's a big part of WW. You plan it right, you can even eat fast food or some fancy cake.
And it works! WW might be slower than most programs but it works. Steadily the pounds are coming off. No stalls yet, no gains yet, just losing a few pounds every week. Love it!

I am curious too, what plans are you guys on?

I am calorie counting. I love the flexibility (I am the kind of person who will binge if I don't get a little treat from time to time). It's some "muss and fuss" with writing everything down, and weighing everything, but it's working well for me, and it's teaching me a lot about portion sizes, etc.

Weighed in this morning at 258.5 WOOT!! 3.5lbs last week!!

Awesome OhMyDogs!! Good job!

I live in a northern community with no supports from groups such as weight watchers, TOPS, etc, and so when my girlfriend (who now lives in Red Deer) started IP and told me that she lost 65 pounds in 5 months I was eager to learn about the program. I had done Atkins January 6-March 1st with walking 4 times a week and aquasize 2 times a week, and lost a size in clothing, but very little weight. Then before I went to Mexico, my husband and I did a month of Body by Visalus and we again lost some inches and not too much weight. I started IP on April 11 and to date, my husband has lost 20 pounds (he is now on the maintenance phase and still losing) and I have lost 22 pounds (still on phase 1 for another 20 pounds, then phase 2) It is the hardest thing I have ever done for myself, but it feels so good to get rid of some extra weight that I didn't need.
I told myself that January was going to be the month that I start looking after my body, and with 40 some odd pounds gone, I feel fantastic, and can't wait to see the next bit go too.

Hello Chickies!

I'm still here - I've been reading all the posts as I go along. Gail - I am also on IP - just started last week and today I am officially down 10 lbs from my start weight on IP! Woohoo! It is a tough program, but the results are worth it! I may need to adjust my Canada Day goal - I only have 6 more pounds to reach it! I'm not changing my ticker - I only do that on Fridays - my official wi day, and I'm hoping I'll have blown right by my mini goal (since I'm there already!) LOVE IP!