Quote:
Originally Posted by dodomommy
Linden thanks for the compliment in yesterday's post about my avatar..No need to apologize about just noticing, i only put it up a few days ago and I don't post too often. I must say, I cringe when I look at the before photo...but it's good therapy to remind me of where I came from. Have a great I.P. Friday.
You Look GREAT!! I love the new avatar!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosemary2612
I talk about this because I find the chat changing from when I first came to the boards in July. There was a lot of encouragement all around and if you wanted to talk about cheating, you went to the thread about "cheating" and discussed it there. I think as people that have been committed to this protocol, it is important to role model the positive behaviors for the new people that are starting every day. Cheating is not an option! We shouldn't need cheat free weekends, our week should naturally include not eating off of protocol. Things happen and sometimes people do slip, but you get back up and start again. We don't hope that it is not going to happen tomorrow. We commit to ourselves and the people on this board that it is not happening - not any more.
When we let ourselves down, we lose self esteem, lose belief that we can be successful, fail at other things in our lives, and remain unhappy. Please don't give up on yourselves. Determine what it is that you can live with and go for it. Recommit to yourselves that the Ideal Protein Diet Plan can work for you.
I love you all and want everyone to be successful - Thanks for being there.
Very nice reminder that cheating should be far from our minds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linden
Here's what I tell my writing students (repeatedly!). Use transition to smooth out your writing.
But I do believe that you can say BUT to what you were and AND to what you are becoming, and what you want to be. Does that make sense?
I like this! What a great way to look at things. I am printing this out to keep handy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by iowahawkeyemom
What a can of worms I feel I have opened by posting a no cheat weekend challenge last week.
Responses have been overwhelming to say the least! Some responses almost felt like a personal attack. I do take things personally though.
To clarify what I meant by it, I did not imply that cheating is ok. It is not ok to go off protocol if you want to reach your goals. It does slow down your progress and it costs you financially. Common sense tells us that. I merely meant that I personally need to pledge to others and myself that I plan on being true to IP. If that means, by posting that I am going to have a cheat free day, weekend, week, month, life so maybe others will join me who are also tempted to cheat, I truly hope that this helps them and me. I think that is a good thing.
Not everyone has support at home. Some of us actually have people in our lives that don’t want us to be successful on this weight loss program for their own reasons. Not all of us have strong will power. Some of us are new and still trying to break old habits. Maybe some of us need reminding that we are not alone, and if by pledging to not cheat, we will think back to our commitment we made on this forum, and it will get us through our tough days that some of us have. Not all of us have strong will power. By reaching out, and encouraging others here on this board, to stay the course, we will all arrive at our goals.
When I first started the IP program, I did have a few small slips from protocol. Now I don’t cheat and want others to join me on that promise. If that means pledging to remind each other how important it is to stay on protocol and that we are in this together, I see no harm. If others don’t agree, that is fine. But I will still reach out to others who are struggling and need the extra hand to stay with this lifestyle. That is why I came to this site in the first place. Seeking advice from others, who understand where some of us are at in our lives. Maybe these no cheat posts belong in the cheating forum, but what harm does it do to post it in daily chat to keep those who haven’t cheated from doing so? I personally see no harm. There are many posts that have nothing to do with IP. I see no problem with that either. Although some, I question where it is going with the dialogue. But I make no comment. We all dance to a different drummer.
My background as owning two successful businesses with employees has made me discover that sometimes, people need encouragement to do a better job. Everyone needs coached in different ways. Most of my employees perform better when I speak to them and in an uplifting manner instead of directly pointing to their flaws. I have also found that when we speak off the cuff, it does nothing but get their backs up and their performance slides. That is human nature.
I call it, “paying it forward.” Watch the movie, Pay It Forward, and you will understand. (I just checked the daily chat and noticed someone else just used this same phrase.) It is a phrase that I have instilled into my children when they were growing up, and who now are successful in business doing pro bono legal work, volunteering for the needy, and in their relationships with others in their lives.
Here’s to a cheat free life. And remember, pay it forward please.
Sincerely, with hope that all of us reach our goals
I am not sure who has said what but for as many people as are here there are quite nearly as many opinions.
I agree with your approach and see no problem with it. Many people have commented how difficult the weekends are and that it is easier to be focused and avoid cheats when they are busy at work. I think having the support, encouragement, "challenge", or motivation to help a person focus and retrain themselves from old habits is perfectly appropriate.
Just because we acknowledge that cheats can happen and our objective is to avoid them DOES NOT mean we condone or accept them or even seek them. The challenge you presented I saw as just the opposite of encouraging cheats. I saw it acknowledging some people are struggling to change lifestyles and those lifestyles can be most tempting on the weekend. I saw it as providing a "thing" for those people to use to stay strong and build a new set of habits.
As is pointed out in the quote below, we are imperfect and some of those on IP have and will cheat in one way or another, it can be talked about in the cheat thread but, it should be encouraged away from in the daily chat. I think you were trying to do that.
I, for one, appreciated your post last weekend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheila1971
Thankyou because I personally feel that it is ok to say how your feeling about the program, and lets face it for some cheating is a reality and it may be one little thing a person posts that changes the outlook of another. NO ONE is perfect but together we all can be GREAT!!
Agreed!