Question for the ladies. Men, cover your eyes, this might be TMI!

Did anyone have any spotting at the beginning or continue to have spotting? Both me and my weight loss buddy have both started spotting and I am still 10 days before TOM.

Thanks!

We have movement on the scale!
 

Well for my weigh in tomorrow morning, I think I might be able to report some lbs lost.

And a scale-related victory ... I bought some size 16 jeans that are good fit on the hips/belly and loose on the band -- in a regular store! And, because I know that I'm going to continue to reshape, I picked up a size 14. My belly has total muffin top in them, but not for long!

:p to you my little self-induced weight slowdown!

Yay girl! Good way to end a weekend!:carrot:

Brown fat, again
 

Please, go read CARLA'S post in the FAQ sticky.

hey ladies!!!

i feel heavy today... sucks

anyhow, im going to go do my wii fit workout and jillian michaels wii.. I think tomorrow morning I will start my 30DS back... wish me luck...

oh, i created a blog today...its not just about weight loss...but i will be blogging about that...

elysejanelward.blogspot.com

Hi...yep IP can play havoc with your periods....some have them early..some have 2 a month...things will smooth out when your body adjusts to the eating program. Hmmm thought I should mention...use extra caution with birth control!!!

You are doing great!!!
Gaile

I totally skipped mine this month. Hopefully that is caused by IP too!!

Great victories!!!!!

Your body may be adjusting. Is it a craving or is it real hunger? What type of food are you seeking? Someone who craves peanut butter or other nuts might be needing more protein or more omega oils. Someone craving chocolate might need more iron, copper, or magnesium. If you are wanting chips, pretzels or, something similar is it the cruch or the salt you miss? OR do you feel "I NEED to eat!" If that is the feeling, are you eating restricted food items? How many or how often? If you are not having any, try having 1/2 of a restricted bar or soy puffs if that doesn't work have the other half.
IF YOU ARE HAVING restricted, cut back on the frequency or quantity.

In some respects this is like working in a lab. As people adapt their bodies may need more carbs (that is why adding a restricted if you aren't using it helps) or, they may need more protein to help their body regulate blood sugar (the reason to add an extra meat portion (3oz or so) or a packet. Alternatively, you may have started using too many restricted products thereby coming to close to your carb threshold and drift in and out of ketosis OR you may have stopped carefully measuring your vegetables or protein both of which can cause problems. Extra veggies can add carbs and extra protein that is unneeded or unuseable by the body is able to be converted to glucose.

Take some time and look at your journal. First, make sure you are not increasing portion sizes. Second, if you are using restricted packets/bars/etc see how often and what then, cut down a little to see if that makes a difference. Third, if your portions are good and you are not using restricteds, try adding a half of a bar or soy puffs when the craving hits (it is possible to have low blood sugar on this diet and following that event you may have a craving), see if that corrects it. You can add up to one restricted packet per day as ONE of your 3 packets per day. Try adding them in slowly. Some people find they can only use 2 or 3 a week and not in sequential days.

You also have the option of adding a cup of chicken broth that is low sodium or adding a protein portion (about 3oz or 2eggs) or another low carb (unrestricted ie pudding/drink/yogurt/eggs/soup) packet if you are feeling hungry.

Another option, temporarily increase your essential oil or olive oil in take. Fat triggers the release of the cholecystokinin hormone which slows down food movement through the digestive tract. A new study in Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press, reveals that once this type of fat, known as oleic acid, reaches the intestine, it is converted into a lipid hormone (oleoylethanolamide, or OEA) that wards off the next round of hunger pangs.It is the last nutrient to get digested and leave the stomach, supplying you a delayed feeling of satisfaction after eating. Two teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil taken 20 to 30 minutes before a meal to slow the stomach's constant contractions.

You can also add some crushed red pepper or a dash of cayenne to your recipes or in a glass of water with lemon. Capsaicin is recognized in the natural remedies and naturopathic community with having the ability to reduce or quell cravings.

Another nice addition is a bit of cinnamon. Cinnamon is recognized by the american diabetes association to be able to help regulate blood sugar in as little as 1/2 tsp per day added to food.


You have done GREAT! :bravo:

:welcome:

You may be surrounded by a group of women but, we do have a few men on this program posting or lurking on the boards. Men are definitely welcome here! :)

You mention that you were 240 and are going, I think, for 195 with only 10 pounds to go. (I hope I am reading that right). First, every pound counts and your concern is in no way insensitive and it just as important as any pound anyone else is wishing to lose. Next, I am wondering how tall you are. If you are very tall and have a large amount of muscle AND have an athletic background, you may have a faster metabolism and need to have more protein in a day. That said, I would add an extra packet of protein a day the first week or add an extra 3 to 5 oz portion of lean protein to your day. This will not effect your weight loss and will help manage the hunger. You should be in ketosis between today and Wednesday (if you are slow about this, I don't think you are). You may or may not notice a change in your mouth. You may find you have more energy, need less sleep, or just pee a lot. You may also start to have some light headed feelings next week. Make sure you get plenty of water and all you sea salt and supplemental potassium/calcium/magnesium.

Your understanding of coffee is the same as the one I was coached with. One "free" cup of coffee then any extra costs you an equal amount of water.

Exercise. It really depends on you. If you have been recently very active, you may get away with it but, you must add an extra packet or protein portion. If you haven't been recently active keep it to low intensity (50 -75% of max heart rate) and ease into it slowly after week 2. If you ease in slowly you can see how much it boosts or slows your loss and know what is the right workout threshold for you.

(I just started back on phase 1 and, during my second week did weight training for 3 of the days. I actually lost 4 pounds. For me that is a normal week. I am going to see if it continues this week. If it does, I have an acceptable routine.)

Good luck! And, welcome to the group! :hug:

If you want to do better, you can try cutting back on the restricted. You should only be having one restricted a day. Maybe have it every other or every third day.

During my first run at phase 1 I did it with out any restricted foods or occasional veggies for 5 months. During the first 10 weeks I lost 43 pounds. If you try one week with out any restricted items you will have an idea of how much impact the restricted foods are making on your loss. If it isn't much, don't worry about it. If you see a big difference, you have a new strategy to get where you want to be. :)


YEP! The official IP corporate rules are two cheats and you are out of the program. It doesn't matter why. Some coaches really try to use the strict and hard approach and others are more lenient. The coaches that take a hard approach tend to try and make the first cheat very "meaningful" so another won't occur.

Yes, all of the products are being reformulated. I am aware of 4 or 5 having already been done. The reason is, in part, to use an even higher quality of protein. The difference this is making is HUGE! These products will not even be close in quality to other similar, alternate products out there. The bio-availability of the proteins is definitely higher in the new IP lines.


Be patient! :hug: you may have done your best but, especially if you were eating other people's cooking, you may still have had more table salt than normal. You may just be holding water. Drink plenty of water the next few days and I bet you see a change.

I found it interesting. I have done some research and come to the same conclusion.. brown fat is a healthy fat with properties similar to muscle. I shared some of what I learned in the FAQ area.

Yes, I did this for about 3 or 4 months then it went away. It has something to do with the added hormones running around our body.

I got back from a weekend conference a little while ago. It was great, but I'm pretty tired. I have no idea how I did weight loss wise and I'm pretty sure being female will mess up the scale tomorrow morning, but I think I did well. We went out to a steakhouse last night and the smallest steak was 20 oz! We split it 3 ways and took leftovers home. They brought me a plate with baked potato and cheesetoast on it. I handed my daughter the bread and ignored the potato. I really didn't want it. Lunch today was out too and I had chicken, salad and broccoli. If I blew anything it is probably not eating enough veggies today, but I'm tired and I've consumed the last cucumber I'm going to for the day! LOL

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend! I'm so thankful knowing you all are here!

Newbie
 

Good evening everyone,

This is my first day on IP. Let me start off by saying that you all are wonderfully supportive to each other and I really like that! I have read a lot of older posts and have copied some recipes for the future.

Congratulations to everyone’s weight loss success!

My biggest hurdle is going to be eating 4 cups of vegetables a day! I hope it doesn’t take me long to get used to that.

When do most of you have your snack?

I look forward to posting on this section of 3fatchicks and getting to “know” you all better.

That happened to me too!LOL I couldn't even choke them down...man that was a waste! Haven't bought any of those pancakes since.

I had a great NSV today...still in shock! My younger sis has a bunch of size 10's that are too big for her (did I mention she's skinny these were post baby jeans for her!!), and all of the 10's I tried on fit wonderful! No sucking in to button or zip, no muffin tops or anything!WOOT! I was in a SKIN TIGHT 16 (should have been in 18;s) mid-August, and never imagined sticking to this diet, and actually getting thin again in this lifetime, but I was SO wrong! I feel like crying I'm so happy and shocked! She also has a lot of 8's and 6's waiting for me too! Oh, and she buys nice nice jeans that I wouldn't so it's even better! Sisters are the best!

This sounds great!!!! Could use the crunch...think that's why I like the vinegar soy crisps.

Hi ladies,

I'm just dropping in to say hello to everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend full of losses and NSVs. I've been busy celebrating my birthday with friends and family this weekend. I feel very blessed. Everyone made me feel great about my weight loss progress. I officially weigh less at 34 than I did on my 30th birthday. (Yay, small victory for me). I've had a great weekend and ready to tackle the week (after some much needed sleep).

I look forward to returning to my daily stalking and participation on the forum. You ladies are great. I've missed keeping up with the posts over the weekend.

This made me :lol: and almost :rofl: Great work on staring down those off-program foods. :yay:

:welcome2: cmsgrrl! I hope your first day went well. I heartily support your decision to read the older posts -- I found it time not just well spent but wisely invested.

I used to joke that I would do one of my monthly rituals, buy vegetables. Then 3-4 weeks later, another monthly ritual -- cleaning the slime out of my fridge. I totally hear you on the veggies!

Planning, buying, and eating the veggies is a big adjustment. After all, if we ate that much before this diet, it's likely we wouldn't be on site with "fatchicks" in its name. :) You don't have to eat the 2 cups of veggies in one sitting with the protein. If you need to have some of the veggies between meals, try that. It can help with between meal hunger and/or cravings.

When I have only 3 packets, I usually have my snack in the late afternoon. It just works better for my schedule which would usually have 6.5-7 hours between lunch and dinner. Sometimes, I'll have a lower carb, lower calorie packet (i.e. the jelly/jello or a drink) as a second snack in the evening well after dinner and before bed.

Yes, all of the products are being reformulated. I am aware of 4 or 5 having already been done. The reason is, in part, to use an even higher quality of protein. The difference this is making is HUGE! These products will not even be close in quality to other similar, alternate products out there. The bio-availability of the proteins is definitely higher in the new IP lines.

Well, if this is for the common good, I'll just have to "hush-up" and shake or stir a little harder..lol

Marilyn