I miss you guys!! I don't have internet at my new apartment yet, so keeping up with you all will be tricky.

Just wanted to update you all, I moved several boxes and furniture up stairs all weekend long, so I got some serious exercise.

W-I today, #5

down 2 lbs
down 1 inch in my waist
Down 1.5% body fat!! accredited to all that working out I did!! Woo!!

Here's a thought. I was a little discouraged this week, too, after having lost a decent chunk the first week, my next two weeks I lost a mere 1.8 and then 1.6 pounds. I also, on my own scale at home, GAINED a pound and a quarter from last Saturday, and I haven't been cheating at all. :( I don't know what your diet history is, but I am thinking that when I went on a starvation diet a few years ago I lost a lot of muscle, and IP is now building back that muscle, so I am not losing "weight" just replacing fat with muscle. I think the question to ask is, are your clothes getting looser, are your measurements dwindling? From your recent posts, it seems that you've been able to fit into smaller and smaller sizes despite your weight hovering around the same number. Then again, you may just be at a plateau and start losing again as soon as your body adjusts. I'm sure those with more experience (NOVAK!!:listen:) will have more and better advice, but I'd say don't give up! You look fantastic; I'm sure this is just a temporary hurdle.

YOU LOOK AMAZING!!! Love the new pic

I have not been here as long as you...only 4 weeks on the program. However, I am in the same boat. I have not cheated and weight loss has slowed....No TOM in July....Lost lots of inches though.....With this amount of calories, I would think I would be dropping weight like crazy....So, I too am looking for some inspiration. I am not giving up...just wondering what the heck is going on....How do I make my body give it up??????

I originally found the liquid drops at whole foods and sprouts (found in AZ, CA, TX, and CO). I then did some research online and found more flavors and that several different place have the drops including, amazon. I bought the 4 pack trial tin to start. I love the little refillable bottles! :) I later bought the large 2oz sizes of the flavors I enjoy the most. I still refill the original 4 pack and, for me, find they are some of the best flavors. If you google or bing search use this phrase "sweet leaf stevia clear flavored drops", imho, it provides the best links. Here are a few example pages to check out.

http://www.buywisdom.com/products.asp?dept=2 6ml is the trial size

http://www.steviasmart.com/stclfl.html

http://www.herbalremedies.com/flavor...af-stevia.html

Yes, the formulations have changed a bit. The original stevia products which I began using in 1990 were very dark brown and did have a bitter, herbal, sweetness. Over time these products became lighter in color and less herbal, then less bitter. Later, as they became more main stream they went to white but the bitter aftertaste was hard to shake. About 6 years ago, a few companies figured out how to cut that out too. A very sensitive palate will still pick up on "something" that is an aftertaste. In that same time frame the clear liquid stevia became more available. Then, about 5 years ago, the flavors started to become available. I find the flavor helps mask the aftertaste a bit for some people.

Different brands still taste different. That difference is not just across brand but also across form. One company may make a better powder instead of a liquid. Some stevias "cake" quite a bit and others don't. Some carry cutting agents to prevent this and I can taste the chemicals which, bothers me more than the aftertaste! :)

I like the now powdered forms because they don't get that chunky cake like thing happening. I buy the french vanilla powder at my local health food store. It is also available online. 100 packets varies in price from $6 to $8 usd. Here is an example if you want to try and find it locally. I am sure any health food store could order it.
http://www.amazon.com/Now-French-Van...f=pd_sim_hpc_7



FANTASTIC!! I am so happy for you! Best wishes for a very Strict week. :hug:

:hug: I know how hard it is to be with people so much what we want to be in size and hear "I am fat." I am sorry that is upsetting or disquieting for you.

If I may, can I offer a different point of view, and this comes from a gal who wore a size 20 too?

FAT is a relative term. Yes, we live in a world surrounded by the fat, overweight, obese, and morbidly obese so, it is easy to think people should know the difference and be kind when they speak to someone heavier. It doesn't work like that. Being FAT, to any degree, is a subjective, relative, and VERY personal/emotional experience. It is colored by those you spend the most time with and how you grew up. It is effected by your esteem and confidence. It comes with baggage and pain. AND, it doesn't differentiate between 5 pounds or 500 pounds for some people. :(

Often times, people say what they say not to hurt us or shine a light on us but because, in their space they really do relate. If you had never been more than a few pounds over weight your entire life and suddenly gain 15, on a 150 pound person that is nearly a 10% gain, it is very distressing.

I don't say this to excuse others. There are those who can be unkind out there but, they are usually more bold in their cut downs. There are also those with eating disorders. In that case, they have a very altered health and mental state they are fighting. It really is never about how they see you but, how they see themselves and the world around them. It is a struggle they face on a daily basis when trying to reach "normal".

I still remember the year I gained my first 15 pounds. I had always been trim, never happy with my body, I always saw fat even though I was 5'5", 115 pounds, size 4 with a 36" -20" -36" figure. I grew up in a family that weight was a big deal. My dad, to this day at age 67, weighs what he did in high school. I was on my first "diet" at age 13, with a doctor, when I only had 7 pounds to lose. The year I gained that 15 pounds, all at once and over a summer, I was devastated! I had put away a dress in April and by August when it was time to wear it again, I couldn't get it zipped. In fact I couldn't get anything from that season to go on. I hadn't changed my diet, but I had gained what was the most I had ever been. I remember sobbing for hours and my mother trying to console me. FOR ME, I didn't know anything else. FOR ME, that 15 pounds was as challenging as any 100 pounds that I have had to lose today. By the way, I never got that 15 off. It gathered friends and over time became 20, 25, 60 and more. Every so often I could get 30 or 45 pounds to leave but, they came back and I could never touch the pounds that began the journey.

When I hear a very slim person, IN MY OPINION, saying they are fat, my heart breaks for them. I know how that feels. I know how frustrating it is. I know how important it is to change and correct that when you can. I try to respect that they have never known what it is like to carry 40 extra pounds and I truly hope they never learn what it is like to carry the 120 I have carried, or the 400 pounds others have learned to carry. I remember that every pound is hard to lose and sometimes, the last ones where it is essential body fat, like to cling on the hardest and take the most fight and determination to drop. In some ways, I guess it is like getting the momentum going to drop the first 10 of a 50 or 100 plus story.

It is just my perspective but, maybe if something rings true in it for you it may help you not feel as self-conscious around those girls.

Congratulations! You have done so well! I think you should look for a healthy body fat and/or BMI. Go by how you feel. Clothing sizes change all the time. Trust me! I have clothes in my closet from 20 years ago labeled size 12 that are smaller than my size 8 things today! :?: In general, depending on age a woman should have a body fat between 20 and 25 percent. I think if you find a place in there that looks and feels good, it won't matter what the scale floats around at.


Great Job Taylor! And, with all that added confusion and stress! YOU ROCK!!

I used Stevia years ago and agreed with your description. Before IP I have been using Splenda BUT my doc said it is chemically altered sugar and we don't have enough history to know of its ramifications. (Aspertame was considered fine in the beginning before the years of research on people who used it.) Since IP, I have been using Stevia again. My doc really thinks it's the best choice. I buy a Trader Joe's kind with a tiny spoon. It works great for my tea and to doctor up the vanilla boxed drinks in the blender with ice and Walden Farms or other flavors. Trader Joe's Organic Stevia Extract. 622servings and about $10 - container is about 4" high.

oh you the verbal hug I needed !!! Thx!!!:hug:

Oh I HAVE to try them!! I'm saving some recipes for the fall- something NEW to look forward too!!
:D

Oh That's so great!! I just did the same thing! Went thru everything in my closet!! I am donated all my big clothes to!! I tried on my new bathing suit ( size 20) and it fits so comfy! It's a 1 piece with skirt attached...:cool:
I can't wait to NEVER have to wear a skirted bathing suit again!! Next summer!!!:)


I weighed in yesterday at IP.. and got on my scale this morning and it dropped 2 more pounds! Oh Yeah!!:carrot::carrot:

I responded on the other thread. :)

I'd say up your activity level. You are already on a very low calorie diet so walk more or do some resistance training... that should help you out of the funk

:hug:

It's ok. Be patient. This is normal at 4 months for some. ALSO, you are very close to your goal. Remember what you wrote a few days ago? You said
You have lost a large amount of fat quickly. Your body could be adjusting and shrinking. I did. I slowed down. Some ups and downs and many .8 or .9 losses happened but, my skin tightened and my inches were dropping too.

NOW, keep in mind you are nearing your smallest post teenage weight. You are just about 5 pounds more than you were BEFORE having used metabolife and well before having 2 little kiddos. Your body may be objecting or trying to find what is your ideal weight. Believe it or not, we do have a range of weight that we settle into very nicely and our body likes to be there. It is a healthy place.

I say, let up on yourself. Don't stress. Maybe even don't be as restrictive. That added stress isn't any help. If you keep doing the phase 1 program it will come off. Just remember you are trying to get your body to a point you didn't even have as a 16 /17 year old. It will be a bit more of a challenge.

That said, maybe this signing up at the YMCA is a good thing. A little exercise might just be the variation your body needs to give that extra push!

:hug: I know this is a challenging week. Don't forget to get plenty of sleep and have extra water. You will need it if you are trying to flush away the fat! :)

PS: I have read that some people adapt to ketogenic diets around 4 months. Their bodies actually are no longer shocked by the ketosis and they become very efficient and normal at using ketones for energy and regulate there body processes and blood sugar quite like they did before. They can create a large amount of glucose/glycogen from foods entirely without carbohydrates and maintain blood sugars at about 100 which is normal. When that happens they get a reverse whoosh as the body once again puts on the glycogen and glucagon stores it knows it would normally need.

See, gluconeogenesis regulates ketosis. It prevents us from becoming toxic with ketones and keeps the normal homeostasis of our body but does it with little to no carbs. It does it using enzymes and amino acids and, elements obtained from protein and fat. If you are truly healthy your body will do this very effectively. Unfortunately, it makes things go a bit more slowly because you carry the added fluids. ALSO, when this happens, you get back about 400g of glycogen in the muscle tissues. That glycogen can not be dropped by fasting. It can only be accessed by the muscles for energy and that means working out. The other 150 g of glycogen that we are able to store in our liver is accessible when we have no carbs or are fasting for more than 12 hours. It is released and replaced. For each gram of glycogen your body stores 4g of water. So, start adding things up and you can see where a quick gain or loss can happen.

Yeah, I love all that space and astrophysics stuff... :D

I changed my goal from a 40 pound loss to a 50 pound loss, based on trying to achieve a 22 BMI. I did it when I realized that I actually COULD do it... that is was no longer something out of my reach. I thought I'd be fine with just getting back to a familiar weight, at which I had done several marathons (which was, coincidentally, 142) but when I got close, I knew I could do better and feel better. It was a little intimidating in a way, but I went for it and I'm glad I did. It was during that final 10-15 pound loss that my body shape and clothing size changed the most. It was during that last month that there was no question in people's minds what was different about me... it wasn't just a new hairstyle!

At any rate, I am glad I went for the 22 BMI. For you, that would be around 125. My sister is 5' 4", and she was going for 125 to build in a buffer, and actually is at 123 entering Phase 4. I also believe that your body will try to find a set point when you get close to where you should be...

And by the way, thanks for marathon chat last week. I was inspired to get out on the weekend, and included about 50% jog time during my 6.5 miles on Sunday. Not sayin' I'll do a marathon again, but it was remarkably easy for me, carrying so much less weight... knees felt great, no huffing and puffing... almost like it used to be when I was training! :D

This is why I love new sizing and lower rise styles...

(36-20-36???? :yikes:)

Hey I was there for some time (actually far too long).... others may not agree with this but I think it is time for you to phase off... complete the phases correctly and get to maintenance stay there for awhile and if you want to lose a few more pounds comeback to phase 1. I think sometimes the stress of getting to a number is part of the problem, like you said you feel great ...look fantabbo so who cares if your 165 or 160.... really I can fluctuate in weight by 5 pounds in a day. Stop beating yourself up, you have done great now its time to move on to phase 2 ..... or at least that is my 2 cents. You may even find that you will cont. to lose in 2 and 3 like Pita, Novak and myself and others have done :hug::hug: Oh yes and the exercising.... I am still getting use to that part of it as I am fundamentally lazy, it will become second nature soon as I do enjoy it I just havent developed the habit yet!!!

Yep. My mom called me her coke bottle girl! She had to make almost all my clothes or seriously tailor things to fit.

Right now my measurements are 38.75 with a 32 ribcage -26 -39 I am beginning to see frustration when I shop but it is nothing like when I was a teen. I have 2 of the skirts I wore back then. Very tiny waists with pleats to taper the waist to the hips then a-lined. I can't believe that was EVER my body! LOL


My problem has always been lower hips, behind, thighs and calves are large. My calves are 15.5 inches, ankles are 10 inch so it looks ok and my bones show in ankles and feet so, I don't have that cankles thing happening! :)

Ha, ha... clearly I meant 36-20-36, and not 36-2-36 :rofl:

Even so, Scarlett O'Hara had to wear a whalebone corset to get those numbers!!

Kelsey not sure if I am to late to vote on the shoes they both look great and so do you. I like the strappy ones better !!
Your granddaughter is gorgeous you look too young to be a grandmother !!

First day back at work after being off for two weeks !! It is going to be a LONG day !!