PS: I am not gonna let nurse measure me until I am down to where I was before I "blew up." I WISH I had taken measurements on my arms, etc., before tho. SOMEWHERE I have some measurements I took a few years ago...and those should have still been accurate cuz I was nearly the same weight.

Swilk - Boy, I give you credit for going to the gym on your lunch hour. Maybe I should wait until 1pm-2pm to exercise...that is when I get the energy low. I also have chronic headaches daily...so usually around 3pm, I lean back in my recliner and try to release the tension in my neck and shoulders (yup, sometimes I even fall asleep - but rarely). Wow -- how long is the flight from Quebec to DisneyWorld? I will bet you can reach your minigoal before then....! I am wondering -- since I was basically off IP for over a month....will this next weighin be like our "very first" weighin? Ahhh...too much to hope for, huh?? AND...how do we know WHEN our pancreas (sp?) is healed??

Geez, I GOTTA go take this garbage out (after I open the lindora box)

echobaby, crab stuffed mushrooms it will be, and hey, they can eat what I eat. I also think I'll make unbreaded baked buffalo shrimp! It sounds yummy!! Thanks!

The chips for breading, were they the I.P. puffs or some such? I remember on Atkins using pork rinds for breading. Too much fat for I.P., but they worked well.

Ooooo, thanks Torchlaker, and some pepperoni chips for everyone. That will top it off.

Buffalo Shrimp (not breaded, baked)
Chx wings for them
Naked buffalo fake meat strips for me
Turkey pepperoni chips
fake pepperoni chips
crab stuffed mushroom (made to be IP compliant)
spinach dip (made with greek yogurt....okay, cheating a tad here, but won't have much)
devilled eggs (again made to be IP compliant)
asparagus
broccoli
cauliflower
peppers
celery
radishes

Any other suggestions?

Sorry to say this but in a way I'm kind of glad to read that so many of you are struggling. misery loves company i guess. while i've been "mostly" good - my heart's just not been in it this last week or so. i've stopped doing any excercising (and I love my Wii) and didn't even go to weigh in this week. that time of the month so that might be part of it.

went out of town yesterday and had an o.k. lunch but not enough veggies - then out to my sister's last night - again no veggies i could eat. i was still hungry so when the snacks came out later, i dug in - peanuts, oysters, olives, etc. also had a glass of wine - wish i could have enjoyed it more.

i'm going to go and pick up some ketostix and try them - haven't used them before so thought i'd give them a see if they will help with motivation.

Continual challenge on the bathroom situation here too - i bought the Nova-lax (sp?) from the ip folks and they work but i need to take them more often apparently. friend of mine who's also on ip says milk of magnesia work great - and it's cheap.

i'm with you on the recommitt strategy. i'm going to Toronto in early April and want to be out of phase 1 (at least). So...here's to better progress from now on!

I love you all!

There must be something in the air blowing down from Canada all the way to Texas because my sister in Texas and I both recommitted to Phase I yesterday.

In the meantime, all of you here recommitted. Universal Synchronicity. YAY!!!!!! We are gonna rock it so much and when those crocuses push up through the frozen ground we will be feeling so great.

AAAAAndddd, I've lost 6 pounds in 3 days. That's half of the 12 pounds I gained on my vacation. Now, this is proof to me that the wt. gain was mostly bloat and backed up P.O.O.P. No more basketball tummy.

Torchlaker: This is how I make myself "go." Miralax in my water every morning x 3 mornings. 6 psyillium fiber capsules with every meal (3 times per day.) Boiled cabbage. And lots of water. It took 3 days to finally have a normal poopy doopy. And I lost those 6 pounds!!!!!!! But not without feeling very bloated for 2 days while things took effect.

Here is the best sore throat remedy I have ever found: gargle with warm, diluted apple cider vinegar.

Then make a "syrup" with honey and apple cider vinegar. Heat in microwave and sip with a spoon. It will stop the sore throat pain instantly.

When I am sick with a cold or flu symptoms, I only take ibuprofen and my apple cider vinegar treatment. But since starting IP, I have not gotten sick once. And I work in the ER! You can only imagine the number of people that sneeze and cough in my personal space! I attribute this to the healthy foods and supplements I am using wiht IP. I have never been this consistent in taking vitamins before.

I do believe in hand washing to prevent catching colds. Also, I try not to touch my face unless I have just finished washing my hands. And when I shake someone's hand, I will not touch my face until I wash my hands. So I am sort of a fanatic about washing my hands. Most nurses are (thank goodness, huh?)

Measurments: sometimes looking at the inches I've lost are more "real" to me than the pounds lost.

Jeans (my favorite subject) My size 12 jeans are starting to look "big" to me when I hold them up to look at them. I threw out all my size 14 and 16's before the holidays so I have nothing else to compare with. I am looking forward to losing 10 more pounds so I can get into some 10's by Spring.

Disney World: I love it! I was there last February. And they do have excellent food there! Plenty of healthy choices. Most of the vegetables and salads that they serve are grown on site at a research garden within the Epcot Center. You can even take a tour of the garden and see giant veggies growing upside down. It is worth buying a guide book ahead of time so that you can plan which restaurants to eat at.

All for now. Have a great day/week on IP.

Oh, don't forget we can make turnip fries for Superbowl Sunday! Yum! I am having shrimp with WF ketchup, chicken wings with WF hot BBQ sauce and turnip fries.

I don't care who wins either since it's not the Dallas Cowboys but my boyfriend is rooting for the Saints because New Orleans needs a break after Katrina. They can sell Superbowl T-shirts at all the little gift shops for the next 10 years if the Saints win.

Mom22, come on and get back on the IP Phase 1 train with the rest of us. Use that trip to Toronto as your goal/motivation!!!

[QUOTE=torchlaker;3136905] Swilk - Boy, I give you credit for going to the gym on your lunch hour. Maybe I should wait until 1pm-2pm to exercise...that is when I get the energy low. I also have chronic headaches daily...so usually around 3pm, I lean back in my recliner and try to release the tension in my neck and shoulders (yup, sometimes I even fall asleep - but rarely). Wow -- how long is the flight from Quebec to DisneyWorld? I will bet you can reach your minigoal before then....! [QUOTE]

Torchlaker... it was me! Loll
The hardest part is to dress up and leave the office! Try exercising before you hit that energy low (as you will not want to go!!). The perfect reward to this is the boost in energy (and heat) that you get from it - definitively worth it. The flight from Montreal to Orlando lasts around 3 hours... instead of 24 hours on the road! 10 pounds to loose to reach the mini-goal - yes, hopped on the scale again this morning!

Lilita175...
Thank you on the feedback on Disney's food! Will try to make the best food choices while I am there and not eat anything my kids will! The travel agent helped me choose the restaurants for the Plan (1 table served meal, a snack and 1 fast-food meal each day). Should I bring some IP ready-to-eat products for the snack - such as bars? Has anyone taken the plane with IP bars in their luggage?

Thank you for your feedback! Hang in there and our goals are within our reach!!

I just posted 2 recipes in the recipe section. That's if you're having normal people over (HA! normal!). We could still eat them if we kept portions down.

Quote Lilita:
Disney World: I love it! I was there last February. And they do have excellent food there! Plenty of healthy choices. Most of the vegetables and salads that they serve are grown on site at a research garden within the Epcot Center. You can even take a tour of the garden and see giant veggies growing upside down. It is worth buying a guide book ahead of time so that you can plan which restaurants to eat at.

Lilita, that description of the Epcot Research garden vegetables is a little scary. Giant vegetables. Are they close to Three Mile Island?

this was so funny - it's worded so it sounds like "we would eat the normal people".

some days you're just that hungry LOL

OK -- I looked for an IP recipe for crabstuffed mushrooms (I just bought mushrooms -forgot the stupid pepperoni chips, tho. May have to go back and get those)....how are you guys gonna stuff them? Just plain crabmeat? Echobaby...those recipes for superbowl look great. If I left out the chili powder, would the chicken not be as spicy (I can't do spicy...big baby). Jordanna posted a couple of rubs that look good, too. Bought some eggs for deviled eggs. I tried putting 0% fat Greek Yogurt in them back in December...they were good (I just used a little....)

Tried my first Lindora thing....It was the peanut butter/chocolate bars. At first, I nearly spit it out....thinking "Blah....what is this?" I ate it slowly and it did start to taste okay after a few bites. Lets see ...what did I buy? Cheesecake pudding, vanilla pudding, cinammon crisp bars, coconut almond bars, and oatmeal. Right now, I am going to intersperse (sp?) them with IP items.....

Feeling sluggish today.....and have a headache. I am gonna go take Milk of Magnesia and some fiber tablets. This is the 3rd day I haven't gone. God only knows what Lindora will do to me. I got so used to "going" every day.... I cannot drink the Miralax....altho maybe if I put it my my Crystal Light OJ in the a.m. I could (still keeping that....I only drink about 1/2c. a day).

OK - so my ketostix came in with the Lindora products today. I hurried to see if I was in ketosis....I am not. Doesn't it take about 3 days? (OH no....not only a scalehopper but a pee-checker, too!!)

Mom22 - just have a good talk with yourself. We CAN do this....we are all struggling, but we know this works. It helps to know that nearly everyone on this thread has "been there, done that." We have been on IP for awhile, so I think boredom is kicking in. I am gonna browse thru more recipes...Ogdog posted one with chicken and saurkraut that sounded interesting (I always ate saurkraut with pork - I just made it in the slower cooker last week). Maybe we need to vary our food choices....I find myself just making the same old thing (I hate to cook). IN FACT....after looking at Ogdogs menu for Superbowl....I am wondering how long it would take me to drive to PA???

Bwahahahahahaha, the normal people comments started me laughing and the eating the normal people got me rolling. My cubie neighbors all got silent because I was so loud. Thanks you two for that laugh!!!

That's exactly what I meant. Normal people have no carbs.

There's a comedian who does this standup where she talks about her thin friends(she's very overweight). She says:

"don't you hate it when your skinny friends eat just like you and they never gain weight, while you gain wieght just looking at food?.....I used to have this friend who could just eat and eat and eat and never gain a pound. I ate that bitc$."

You had to be there.