To LADY5ANDY I agree with you. I'm not buying any more unrestricted items b/c they are too tempting and I eat 2 a day if I have them.

Congratulations!! You are doing so GOOD with this program! I am sure your whole family is cheering with you having reached the 1/2 way mark!

I wish my coach would sell me a restricted. NOPE! I am not allowed a restricted item until I am at my goal weight.. not 70, 80 OR 90%.. I have to be done! :( It makes it very hard especially after 6 months and now losing so much more slowly each week. It will be another 8 to 10 weeks before I get a restricted!

Lettuce is lettuce. My coach recommended staying with romaine but you can use iceberg or butter leaf or green leaf/red leaf or Rocket/arugula. Spinach, "collards, kale, dandelion, mustard, turnip or beet" greens are counted as a vegetable. I always mix mine up. ALSO, if I eat the spinach raw, I haven't worried about having a large salad of it with 2 cups of other veggies. Spinach is 0 carb per cup if raw.

The extra (4th) packet, I was told, is for whenever you need it. If you need it in the afternoon use it there. It is to be a NONRESTRICTED food item.

I wasn't given a limit on coffee or brewed tea. I could have regular or decaf or herbal so long as it was brewed not bottled or mixed and didn't have any form of sweetener, flavor, or citric acid pre-added. It was suggested I could flavor my water with a little lemon, mint, basil, or cucumber. I was told to drink more water on days I was having caffeine. I was told I could added splenda, stevia, extracts, or italian soda/coffee syrups that were sugar-free made of splenda (like torani, da vinci, or artisan brands).

I hope that helps! WELCOME! And, have a great week! Stay focused and on plan for the next 4 days, whatever it takes, even if you have to go up to 5 packets for the first 3 days. DON'T Cheat at all. You will be amazed at how much easier it gets and how much success you will have.


WELCOME!! Best wishes to both you and your husband. HOW NICE that he is doing this with you!

WOO HOOO!!! Excellent result! You and I are the same height and weight right now! I wonder how we will both be losing. I have been doing this for so many months, I am now losing just a pound or two a week. I bet you will be below me very soon!

Depending on the restricted item, some are 1 per day, some are 2 per week. Jordanna is allowing herself only 1 per week of any restricted (it sounds like that to me; I hope I am right) but, that is her choice and not her coach's restriction.

I agree with you about the habits we are forming while on the diet. I keep thinking by the time I have reached my ideal weight, I won't know how to go to sleep without having a pudding first! :)

You are such a good mom! You have really gone a long time nursing, well past the window where the good health, immunity, and antibodies are transfered. I am sure any choice you make at this time will be fine.

just wanted to clarify, i read a lot of congrats to mamaerin on quitting smoking...i don't smoke and haven't quit recently. i believe the congrats should be going out to natural girl, i am pretty sure she was the one who posted that she quit last year:)

want2run and carla, woo-hoo!! CONGRATS!

i also don't think i'll be purchasing anymore restricteds for a few weeks. i think i've hit my plateau and i need to switch it up to get to losing again. TOM is back again today, i hate bloating! :(

OK ... NSV alert! ;)

I decided to go through my last amount of "when I used to be small clothes - all size 8 and 10". I could get them all on!!! Even the items I wore at the end of high school, 23 years ago! I was shocked! I am a good 20 pounds heavier than back then. And, it is the same clothing! They were a tad snug but not bad. All zipped, no uni-boob looks, and could sit. The 10's were a pretty good fit and the 8's are almost right. SOOO..... boyfriend and I went shopping.

When we were at Nordstrom's I tried on several items. I have always wanted some designer jeans and clothes and haven't been able to fit them. GUESS WHAT! The sizes I picked were TOO BIG!! YEAH! What I finally found was that I can were size 29 jeans/jean shorts and size 10 dresses! My bustline is too big for anything smaller right now. I was shocked. I was even told by another shopper that my legs looked skinny in the pair of jeans I had on! I didn't say it, just smiled with a thank you, but thought "OH, HONEY! If you had only see these thighs at a size 30 inches 5 months ago!" LOL

Feeling pretty good about how things are going!

Congrats! That is great!

Welcome!:welcome2: You will love IP! I think it's great that your husband is doing IP with you. My husband has been very supportive, but it would have been a little easier to have someone else in the same boat as me. My husband is actually toying with the idea of starting IP after seeing how great it's working for me.

Congratulations on seeing the 160's on your scale! Don't those little milestones feel great?!

I tried to post a link for you but apparently I don't have enough posts yet so I'm not allowed:rolleyes: The link I posted was from www dot kellymom dot com. I don't know if you're familiar with the site but there is tons and tons of great info on breastfeeding there. There is a section on nutrition for mom while nursing that I think will help.


I completely agree. Whatever your cheat triggers are, get rid of them. There are some things that I used to keep around the house, but don't anymore because it's too tempting. At first I felt a little bad about doing that because I told myself for a long time that I was buying those things for the kids, but I finally realized that if that junk isn't good for me than it most certainly isn't good for my kids either. Get rid of the temptations and refocus yourself. You can do this!:hug:


Tomorrow is my 8th weigh in. Last week was TOM and I only lost 2 lbs. I'm glad that I still had a loss, but I'm hoping this week shows a bigger loss. I wanted to be under 200 lbs when we visit family at the end of the month, and I think I'll be pretty close. What I'm most excited about though is that fact that my husband is really interested in starting IP. He's been very supportive since the beginning, but he was extremely skeptical. I don't blame him for being skeptical because I've tried several diets without success. My husband is seeing my successes though and I'm proving to him that this isn't yet another failed attempt. Not to mention he sees that I have so much more energy and don't feel crappy and rundown like I always did before. I'm praying that he'll take the plunge and start soon.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week with big losses and lots of NSVs!

Great Job! WAY TO STAY STRONG!!!

Awesome! That must feel great!

Welcome and good luck!

Well I am just finishing my week 3 and WI is on Tues. I'll let you know how it goes.
With everyone saying that the restricted is a major temptation, I may not want to get them. I have not tried any yet.

Has anyone that has been on them really noticed a major slow in their weight loss????

Chimpchamp I think this is the best thing to do. I doing this, we are learning to ignore the things that we cannot control, and that are bad for our health. I know that if I buy cookies, I'll eat all of them, and eat too much and gain weight. Because I know that I can't control myself on that, the better thing to do is to never buy it again !

Showgirlaz You're losing weight much faster when you don't eat restricted item. I know it's hard, but you'll be able to eat the things that you wan't MUCH faster by doing that!!

You are an inspiration to me! I started this diet at 190, and you at 248, and you're having some amazing result. It's normal that as time goes by, it's getting more difficult to loose. Don't give up !! :) Now, we're the same height and weight, so we can walk in this together! I'll be watching your results with interest for sure :) !! :hug:

I agree with you about the habits we are forming while on the diet. I keep thinking by the time I have reached my ideal weight, I won't know how to go to sleep without having a pudding first!
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY!!!!
Thanks for the laugh!!!!

love this diet
 

I just had to say that I am loving this diet. Down 4 lbs. last week... total of 15lbs. in 3 weeks. Some days are tougher than others. Especially taking the kids out for ice cream and not having any- but it will be worth it in the end. There is just so much great information and support here on this site. Thanks everyone!! :D

I completely agree with you. I have some restricted items but I don't eat one daily. I eat maybe 2 or 3 a week. I like to have them on hand because I would much rather "cheat" with a restricted bar than something much worse.

That is great, Carla! I must admit though that I'm slightly jealous because I noticed that we are the same height and I was never able to wear a size 8 or 10 at your current weight. The last time I wore a size 10 I was probably 135 lbs. It's amazing that you can be the same height and weight as another person, but still have such different shaped bodies. Anyways, congrats on your NSVs today. Your commitment to the plan is definitely paying off!

Karleem I'm been eating some restricted items since my 3rd week and I haven't noticed any slowdown in my weight loss. I've had weeks where I've had a bar every single day, but recently I decided to have them less frequently. I didn't make the change because I wasn't losing weight, but because I didn't want to get into the habbit of thinking that I needed to eat a candy bar like chocolate every single day.

I'm sorry for my poor comprehension, but what does NSV mean ?

Showgirlaz That's some good news !!

Yelliemom Yes, those milestones are really encouraging! That, and the fact that my size 11 are too big. :)

Karleem I don't know if it's because of that, but it's been two weeks with the restricted item, and I'm not loosing as fast as before.. But I've cheated last sunday, so, I'm not sure.. I've bought some ketostix so I'll be able to tell you soon.

To those of you who are missing alcool, and a drink or two, I've done something great when everyone around me is partying and I can't have a drink.
___________________
Mojito Cocktail:
1 cup of Perrier
1 cup of Tap water
Sprinkle splenda to taste
3-4 leafs of fresh mint
1 splash of Mint Extract
3 splash of Rhum Extract
Lemon juice

Mix all this together with ice. This really taste like a mojito!

___________
Bananas Mamas Cocktail:

2 splash of banana extract
1 splash of coconut extract
1 splash of rhum extract
2-3 lemon slice
1 cup Perrier
1 cup tap water (well you can only put Perrier if you want)

Mix all this together with crushed ice, add splenda if you want, and it taste like Bahamas!!
___

All those extract are in the cake section of the grocery store. Mine are from club house I don't think they have some calories or carbs.. The ingredients are water, propylene glycol, alcohol and artificial flavour. I think that it's allright.. anyway, it's better than cheating!!

NSV: non-scale victory! Just had one as my sister-in-law, gave me a skirt that was too big for her (sized 0-1!!!!). At first, I thought that she wanted to laugh at me but I tried it on and event thought it is not as good looking as it could be, I was able to put it on and to button it up!!

Too bad the scale still deprives me of the 130s... It has been 2 weeks between 140 and 142... :mad:

Awww, thank you Carla. :hug:
Congratulations on your newfound clothing size!!! What a fabulous experience!


want2run: great work!!! You are doing awesome!

yelliemom: thank you for the link - I will definitely check it out. I really think I'm going to wean her... I'm sooooo ready for it to be done.

THANKS! :) I am just amazed! I was never able to wear those sizes before at this weight so I am floored that I even got into them. I know I have spent the past few years working out a lot, lifting weights and doing strength training but I guess it is starting to show as the body fat is burning off? ELIZABETH!! Any thoughts?? I just checked and my thigh measurements are smaller than they were 15 years ago in a pair of jeans I used to wear. :dizzy: I am a pretty definite hour glass shape and have a large/heavy bone structure so, I used to fit into smaller sizes than my weight would suggest but this is surprising even to me.

As I think back, other people have indicated the same thing. I think Sylvie was one that was in a smaller size than she anticipated too and, maybe Barb was the other one??? Anyone you may have some surprises ahead of you yet!

THANK YOU!!! :hug: You just made my day! I love and miss my summer mojitos and pool side drinks. I haven't had a drop of anything since October. Just today BF (boyfriend) and I were talking and I told him how I had hoped to be done by summer so I could enjoy these things again! You just made my day with your recipes!

Bravo!! A size 0!!! ??? OMG!! I can't begin to see myself in that size. I still have 23 pounds to get to your weight but, to see a size 0! I might just FAINT! You must be so proud of all you have accomplished! What did your sister-in-law say about you in the skirt??

Thank you! I am just confirming I am a good size 10 but, what a nice treat that size 8 sliding on and zipping was!

Has your baby started eating solid foods yet? My nephew is 18 months and a little chow hound! He loves his veggies, fruit, meat and cheese. Not much for the sweets but he sure can pack away the rest! Not a fat little guy either. He has always shown signs of being large. His head was 14.5" around at birth and he was 10.5 pounds, 26 inches long. His shoulders were so large that the collar bones broke during birth. Even his hands were large too! He had an 2" first! Anyway, now, he eats, acts, and looks like a 2.5 year old. My sister teaches him at home and he is speaking English, Spanish, and Sign language. He can even read/recognize 75 words and say what they are and give the sounds (if they make one). She has been using that "your baby can read" program and it has surprised us all how well it works!