torchlaker, I will bet all of your stress is related to your son. As a mother of 3 adult sons myself, I know I view everything differently when they are struggling with something ...then add grandkids to the mix- UGH! I have often said, as hard as it was, it would be easier to have them back in their playpens where you had some control on things....you could just pick them up and rock them or kiss their owies better. Being a mother is an emotional rollercoaster....doesn't matter the age of the child.....but when they are happy, the world is sunshine and roses! (Just remember you need to take care of you!):)

good post spatime!! and so true. the stresses that coincide with adult children ( i have 2 - ages 20 and almost 19) seem much bigger than when they were toddlers! although it may not seem so at the time. bottom line, we just want to see our kids safe, comfortable, and happy. regardless of their ages. and i know it is tough sometimes to stick to plan when worries and stresses take over. but torchlaker, you CAN do it!! try to recall the many times that your posts and tidbits of advice, helped so many others. you went to alot of work to get to where you are today, both in your wieght loss and your personal life. and as spatime said- always remember who you are doing this for!! so even if you cannot give an instant remedy to your sons situations, you can still be good to yourself!

Torchlaker, glad you're feeling better. And about the 4#...you know that isn't fat. In a few days. Remember how surprised we were when we all came back from Christmas and had only gained a few #s after eating and drinking whatever we wanted? It's fluid.

And March is a whole month away. Before, when you were doing I.P.( mostly stricly), you were one of the steadiest losers. So please don't stress about the weight. You can lose whatever amount anytime you want. We have faith in you.

Today for the first time I had a prepared shake from Lindora. It was Mocha and it was delicious. I never had the prepared shake from I.P. so I can't compare. It was very rich and had absolutely no aftertaste. So the sale ends tonight, huh? I may have to pay them a visit.

Has anyone heard from Mirazon?

Well that was interesting.....
Do not waste your money on the newlifestyle "Chick'n in Tomato Sauce"...beyond YUK. Thank God they sent it as a free sample and I didn't buy a full box.

Hi
 

Its been great reading this thread!! I've been gone since it started, but I've been following an alternate plan. Not sure which phase it is but have been eating two IP packets and two IP meals a day. My wt loss has slowed to about half of what it was on strict IP (according to my home scale). I'll officially weigh in tomorrow morning. This program was recommended by my coach due to the extensive travel I have to do the first quarter of this year. Restaurant meals are obligatory. I must admit I have enjoyed this phase so much!!! I'm staying low carb but eat cheese, nuts, and veggies off the occasional list. At my weight, I'll have to be on the program longer to reach goal and this alternate program will help when I want to throw in the towel. Even if the wt loss slows, I'll trade that to find something sustainable.

OgDog, thanks for creating this thread as well as the information on the Lindora and NewLifestyle products. Right now I'm going to stick with IP products but will tuck this information away for the future!

elishatamar: thanks for the ideas for asparagus. In regards to pans, my teflon was flaking so I got rid of all of it and switched back to cast iron. I tried stir-fry but did something wrong. Instead of fried it was charred :?: My cooking skills are a continual work in progress:)

Torchlaker: so sorry to hear about your fall and stress levels. Glad you are feeling better. The increased stress reminded me of what I heard on Biggest Loser this week. Jillian said something to the effect that because of biochemistry, stress hormones cause you to retain water. That could be the reason for the wt gain. Hang In There!! and know that we are all here to offer support.

I'll quit rambling now, but want to say that I missed you all and am glad to re-connect!

Mirazon.....even with your alternate plan, you have averaged 20 lbs. a month. That is awesome. And on the other thread, you reminded us to cut the ketostrips in halves or thirds to save money. You'd mentioned it before, but I totally forgot to thank you. I, too, am a compulsive ketotester.

Torchlaker, your story on the other thread about the black ice and your bigfoot shingled boots and jacket had me laughing by myself while driving today. Thanks, I needed to laugh...wacked-out PMS is upon me again. In Dr. Tran's book (he of the glorious coif)he mentions in passing women's hormone fluctuations on this diet. He says it's until our bodies adjust to less fat. I bring this up again because I notice a lot of the Newbies talking about it like we did.:chin:

Spatime....I thought about it today..and you are right. I think my son is a big stress factor for me right now. He is all I have...and I hate to see him suffering. I probably talk to him 1-2 hours a day (I barely heard from him when things were going good.....isn't that the way?). No one else knows about his "relationship" problems (he doesn't want anyone to know cuz he JUST got engaged). Yeah...so I stop what I am doing and listen...always did that - always will. I just find after those conversations, I just cannot get "back in the saddle" again. Ya know....I remember my wonderful motherinlaw saying, "Little kids - little problems ----big kids -- big problems". Hey, she had 12 kids!

Well, I got 2 tops cut out...and nothing else done. I hate to make the patterns from scratch....and wouldn't you know...I picked out difficult ones (for me, anyhow). I have stayed on plan today..except for the water. I am hoping my nurse/dr will still see me, even if I am on Lindora.

Mirazon...Mirazon...where have you been???? YOUR plan sounds a lot like my "made-up" one....eating some cheese, some nuts...some greek yogurt. Yeah, I remember Jillian saying that if you are stressed out, you probably won't lose much weight that week....!! You do what ya gotta do, babe!! You are still amazing!

Echobaby - I KNEW you would get a kick out of the "roadkill" story...we seem to have the same sense of humor. Geez...do I still even have hormone fluctuations at my age?

I do think it is good to stop by the other board and offer what help we can....but Echobaby...you said it well. We are hardly very motivating right now......but we are there for each other. It does seem like there are not as many pages of posts as there was early on....

Echobaby, Torchlaker, I experienced this kind of weight gain 3 times now (from 1 or 2 day weekend cheats!) and every week afterwards lost twice the usual weight! For example, went from 167# (Jan 23) to 170# (Jan 25) and went back down to 164# on the Jan 30. Hope my body does the same this week, as I confess I cheated once again this weekend.... (bread, donuts, turnovers... in small amounts but it still added up to the results on the scale!)

I am trying a 2-week non-cheating this time around... Hope to succeed better...

torchlaker - so sorry to hear about your fall - on top of everything else, just what you didn't need. I too know how you worry about your kids and how much their situation affects how we feel. We want so much for our kids and are just so invested in their happiness and well being. Yeah - big kids, big problems - that being said - the rewards are huge too. Your son is lucky to have you to listen and to care - he will figure out what he wants and you will be there to support him. it's a mom's love. has your court date been set yet?

Rhubarb - i found it in the frozen food section with the strawberries and raspberries. Veggie ideas - Try cooking asparagus in the oven - use a cake pan - little bit of olive oil and salt. give them a shake about half way. bake your cauliflower same way as asparagus - tasty and different texture. you can also slice zucchini and cook it basically the same way. cut up cucs with salf and vinegar. try a variety of raw and cooked for supper they'll have different textures/tastes i.e. raw turnip and raw zucchini have different taste and texture than when they are cooked. buy some vegetables that you didn't eat before - it amazes me that i like green pepper and radish now - i hated them before.

Mirazon - glad to hear from you - your weight loss has still been really steady - very encouraging!

I had a delicious supper last night - had my mom and dad over for supper and cooked pickeral. layered fish in a glass cake pan, spiced with dill, seasoning salt. added a layer of my homemade salsa - it has very little sugar and i would only be getting a very small portion of what was even there - i haven't had tomatoes in a long time. then a sprinkle of tex-mex cheese on top (i didn't have cheese on my portion) - bake in the oven - so good and except for the cheese no fat.

Torchlaker: Sorry to hear about your fall!!! Hope you are feeling less bashed and bruised!!!!

Miazon: congratulations on your continued success, keep up the good work!!!!

Mom to 2 (not to be confused with Mom with 22 kids) congrats to you also, you are getting really close to your goal!!!

Slowly getting used to the maintenance thing, I have some good days and some bad days but generally it is going well. I think this month should be better as I seem to have gotten over my need to eat sweets. Guess I just needed to give in to the cravings for a while and now I can move on.

Did anyone ever try the Gymnemia? What happened? Feel a difference?

I tried the Gymneva and I think it made a huge diff. I was confronted with sweets this weekend and thought about it for a sec then decided against it but I did not have that really strong craving where I kept thinking about it. So my vote is they work. Anyone else?

OK, I ordered it. Will report on results.

I did something I've never done, and that's ordering bars. Never again. I knew I'd be eating them all the time if allowed, and guess what...I am. I don't have that kind of strength right now. And the weird thing is that my weight gain had almost nothing to do with sweets. Just not that into them...I thought....

Hi Ogdog13, I am finally getting to the 'alternative post.' I am so jealous you are in the 150s! I was thinking this weekend, as I was cheating, that I might switch to Atkins for a while. As of now I am back on IP......But I like your philosophy!

I am going to go read all nine pages now. Thanks!

I double that - you DO rock!!! sorry my reply is so late. I just jumped to this thread tonight. Love it!

Josh, my suggestion, send your documentary to The Biggest Loser so you can be featured as a success story who did it w/o Bob and Jillian!

Keep it going! :scooter: