Journeysend thank you so much for your daily quotes...they are very inspirational! :D

Ack! I'm so jealous!!!!!

Wow! Fabulous! Congrats!

Happy Birthday!

Have been so hungry for cake. Will definitely give this a try. Thx for posting the delicious-looking pics! Made my mouth water. :)

Awesome. That must feel great!:)

1 Thanksgiving down
 

Had my first Thanksgiving dinner. BF's step-dad's place. I am not a big turkey fan to being with..........but this was soooo dry way over cooked. I brought "crackers" made from the crepe mix and my contribution to dinner was a layered green salad with red onions, grated cauliflower, and cucumbers. I was not really even tempted by the stuffing and gravy, one of my favorite things. I did eat some of the skin off the turkey, bad I know.
On the actual day of Thanksgiving I will be working so no more turkey skin for me.

That is great. I hope to make 50 real soon. I have only 4 lbs to go. That will feel like a dream come true. I find it takes time to break through decades. It took ages to get past 180 and now I'm trying hard to get out of the 170s.
Paula

Welcome to a fellow Manitoban! The screen name fits! LOL! :(

mmm I think I found my substitution for pumpkin pie. Thanks for the pictures. By the way did you make them in muffin pans in the oven or microwave?

I am had my WI today, down 4 pounds. My weight loss has been great, but I have a concern. I've noticed in the last 4 weeks I am having a lot of hair loss and have been really tired. I currently am on natural thyroid replacement and I had my thyroid checked. I find out this coming week how my numbers are. Has anyone had the same thing happen and if so does the hair loss stop?

Thank you all who joined in my happy dance today - your support is very valued! :)

Where is the recipe? The only one I could find calls for goat cheese - definitely not Phase 1.

Just got home. Don't be jealous. :( It was a real disappointment. My date and I both hated it and he is a Cassidy fan.

He came out late. He seemed drunk. He hadn't rehearsed. Kept apologizing. Kept interrupting himself while singing. His lead ins were way too long and convoluted. He was mostly playing covers of classic rock songs. It was really unprofessional. And, kept talking. He talked more than he sang. I really didn't want to know about his sinus surgery! :eek::fr:

The seats were only half full to start and many people left by the 3rd song. We finally gave up by the 6th song.

Too bad. It could have been fun.

Aww. :( How disappointing. Some entertainers reallyneed someone to tell them when it's time to stop.

Gabby Lou - I put them in muffin pans and in the oven.
Mamadancer - that's the recipe I used. Just didn't use the goat cheese :) and I added 1/2tsp of paprika.

I spent about 20-30 minutes yesterday trying to find the shrimp scampi recipe, using I'm Svelting!'s method and the IP one. If anyone could lead me to it, I'd really appreciate it.

Other uses for IP RTDs
 

I woke up this morning to find that for some completely un-knowable reason my dog got up in the middle of the night, went down into the basement, grabbed a 6-pak of chocolate RTDs and proceeded to drag them, chew them, pop them open and dribble them through all 3 floors of the house across 5 different white carpets!!!:devil:

This is a dog who is usually just barely one step above a stuffed animal. Think: hound dog from the Beverly Hillbillies!

So, by the time I got up, there was 6 pints of chocolate protein shake completely soaked into the carpet.

Have you ever TRIED to get a carpet shampoo company the Saturday before Thanksgiving? I was afraid to touch it since I have heard of people making things so much worse by trying to fix it....I called about 15 places and finally found a company that had a cancellation and could come out.

The guy arrived at 2pm and was here for 7 hours. He just kept rinsing it with more water and the Chem dry stuff (essentially hydrogen peroxide). And it all came out...every single speck. He only charged me $220. No chemical smell and the carpet is almost dry already.

Simply unbelievable from beginning to end...
Guess I'll stick to vanilla RTDs from now on!;)

OH, man, living with a dog who has been known to, um, eat things she shouldn't, I feel for you. She's eaten the RTD contintainers that I'd already drank and left out before...but never a full one!! Let alone 6....

JC

OMG, Rocky, that is horrible! What a mess! You were so lucky there was a cancellation.

(LOL at the Beverly Hillbillies description)

Rocky Monarch - sounds like a mess. Glad you were able to get it cleaned up! Sometimes man's best friend just does the craziest things!

Good morning everyone - Hope you have a great day. Horse show this a.m.! Got my travel food packed and off I go!

That was sad - for you and him. You must have been terribly disappointed. You were excited to go, too. :(

]

I use Chem Dry, too. They do a remarkable job. I have 3 little dogs and 2 of them get a little over excited about chewing things occasionally. This week it was a 60 year old coverlet that I got when my aunt died. It is a heavy cotton thread like (looks like a heavy doiley - however that is spelled). They all sleep with me and one of them chewed a hole in it during the night. I do understand your frustration, and expense 220 plus the 78 for the drinks, but I am so happy you got your carpet cleaned.

I have been on IP for 13 weeks, I have lost 40 pounds and now I am finding that I am always cold. Does anyone else experience this. I thouhgt it was just cause I lost some insulation. I can ususally add another layer and be OK, but my hands are often like ice. Any thoughts?

Good Sunday morning to everyone. It's a overcast, damp cold day here in Iowa. We are suppose to have a high of 22 degrees here by Thanksgiving. Brrr!

For several weeks now, I have been considering changing my goal weight. From 135 up to 145. Well, I officially did it. My deciding factor came about Thursday when I picked my daughter up from the airport. She hadn't seen me since I started this plan. For a couple of weeks, people had been telling me that I had lost enough weight. That my face was really sunken. I thought it was just people not used to seeing me thinner. My daughter took one look at me and said mom, you can't lose 20 more pounds. People will think you are sick. She is very honest with me, I'm sure that if she thought I should go to 135 she would tell me. We talked for sometime about it and decided 145 would be better for me instead of the 135. I overheard her on the phone to a friend telling them that I looked so good now. That they won't believe the change in me. What a great feeling that was for me.

At first I had that 135 number stuck in my head and had to reach it. Then, I realized, it's just a number. It's what I weighed in high school. 33 years ago! After hitting my highest weight of 207 three years ago, I said I would be happy to weigh 160 and wear a size 12. Now I'm 154 and wear a size 10. My body has changed so much and so fast on this plan. I am off all of my medications, blood pressure, cholesterol, and pre diabetes pills. When I hit my new goal of 145, and maintain it, I will rethink it. I may decide to go to a lesser weight. But for now, I have switched to the 145.

The past couple of days have been hard. My back has been giving me problems followed by two trips to the chiro. Now my muscles are hurting and I'm on otc pain meds. I've had back problems off and on for years. They started when I worked at a factory and lifted 50 pound bags for 8 hour shifts. Thank goodness I no longer do this. This weather we're having isn't helping either. Now I sound like a cry baby. Today I think I will keep active and work through the pain instead of laying around the house. I should think positive.....now I have less than 10 pounds to my new goal. Thanks for listening.

I just realized, I hit 30 pounds lost this week. What a great feeling!

Yes -- I am freezing all the time. I usually spend my evenings all wrapped up in a blanket with a fireplace and my dog. I do think this will pass as we adjust to new body weights and our blood thickens up. Here is a hug to help keep you warm :hug:

Yes, I have found that I am much more sensitive to the cold too. I think it's because we aren't eating much fat. I've turned up the temperature on my house, frequently wear sweaters inside and bought several of those little things you squeeze to warm your hands.

I'm not looking forward to colder temperatures here. :-( I think your plan on re-evaluating your goal after you get there and maintain is good. I've had people make similar comments to me and I have much further to go, and I do think that sometimes it is just that they are adjusting to seeing us at a different size. I also think that it's an adjustment to learn to live in our new skin and that sometimes takes longer than we have when we lose on IP. Mixed blessing I suppose. ;-)

That is frustrating. Keep plugging away, it should all even out for your Monday WI. Good Luck!
I do weigh in regularly too ...just to keep tabs :) and I find that even tho I am strictly on protocol my weight tends to stay the same or go up a bit after the weekend. I have yet to figure out why it does this. Thank goodness WI isn't until Tuesday.

I can't believe you are so calm about this! LOL! Good job! I love my pets, and would be furious, but would also quickly get over it! I am so glad everything came clean and you were able to get someone to come so quickly!

Freezing, all the time! Apparently its a side affect of losing weight and it goes away when your body goes back into its normal state. For now, as I do, wear mitts indoors, use hand warmers, wash lots of dishes, and wear 2 pairs of socks! :P

Congrats on your loss!

Well, I am officially off protocol until after my procedure on Wednesday, and I have no regrets, other than my tummy is uncomfortable today. I went on a date last night (first one is a year or so) and had lasagna and a glass of wine. My "fluids only" 3 day fasting starts tomorrow, and I think that the reason I had had some cheats because subconsciously, this 3 day fast was on my mind, so I decided instead of try and stay on protocol and stay in ketosis while doing this, that I would have a couple of good meals, get through the procedure, and start back into it on Thursday after the procedure is over. With 3 days of fasting, its not like I am gonna gain anything anyway. And who says a good colon cleanse isn't good for the waistline! LOL!

I am pretty sure I might starve to death by Thursday, and a packet on Thursday morning will taste like heaven!!!!!

Have a great Sunday everyone, I am going to clean house today!

Even tho I had a planned cheat day yesterday...I didn't! Lots and lots of food and wine out but stayed totally away from all the off protocol items. Enjoyed the veggies and pickles and stuck to IP. Want to lose a bit more before the Christmas holidays and thought that the cheats weren't worth it. I really do miss the fresh fruits and a good glass or two of wine now and again.

Good Snowy Sunday Morning from Manitoba, Canada!!
 

35 days until :hohoho:

Inspirational thought for today: Treat yourself generously, the way you want others to treat you!"

Well it is snowing here....sure makes me want to put up my Christmas decorations!!! Maybe after I go watch my Grandson play hockey ;)

Must tell you all a very hard lesson I learned that past couple of days: My DD & I had an open house for our home based business and of course we had coffee and Dainties there....well didn't get the leftovers back into the freezer fast enough and ate some of them!! Don't know if it was the sugar or the flour or the combination, BUT BOY WAS I SICK.....a lesson learned the very hard way!!!!! PLUS when I weighed myself this morning I had gained :mad: Now I am doubly afraid to go off IP ... I can remember the days when I had to take 10 Imodium a day :( and certainly don't want to have to do that again. So the moral to my story is....NO SUGAR AND FLOUR FOR ME!!!

Catch-up!!
 

:congrat: I love shopping now!! I can't remember that last time I shopped in the "regular" sizes!!:hug:

OHHH...love craft fairs...hope you had a ball!!!:)

:congrat: Way to go!!!

Peg you have done great...your Mom is so proud of you!!! Take care and pop in once in awhile to say "Hi"!!!:hug:
:congrat: Great WI.....Great :dust: at your school feast...There are lots of great food you can eat on Thanksgiving!!! By the way...I would love to be able to speak Spanish...we are in Yuma, AZ for 3 months every year!!!:)

:congrat: the 140's WOW....way to go!!

:congrat::cheer2: Great job!!!

:congrat::congrat::cheer: for reaching your first mini-goal!!!

:grouphug: You will do great!! Drive carefully:)

:congrat: Way to go...:hug:

:congrat: on losing 40 lbs!!! and yes I am always cold to...especially yesterday when our weather was really cold...minus 30 C which is 22 below F., went and bought myself some tights to wear to the Grandson's hockey game this afternoon!!:brr::brr::brr:

On my own tonight for dinner, the boyfriend starts late shifts tonight so I'll be on my own for 4 more nights. I took out some ground beef for me to make anyone have any suggestions on what to do with it? I've looked through the recipe thread I must be over looking maybe?

MaryKate89-- I either make "mini burgers." roll up into small balls to make burgers. Season with worchestershire, sea salt and pepper. Topped with pickles, and hot sauce for me. Or I cook it up like taco meat, same seasonings and make a taco wrap. I add in mushrooms and green peppers. Then wrap in lettuce.

Well I had a rough night. I'm home babysitting my very much younger siblings. Too many noises kept me up. So I'm exhausted. We are going over to my Oma's soon. She's made the kids chicken noodle soup. No cheating for me. She fully supports my husband and I's dieting.
I think for supper I'll make a pseudo-Chinese dish. Chicken, bean sprouts, possibly green peppers and worchestershire/soya sauce. Sounds yummy to me.
Weighed myself and down another 2lbs since my weigh-in on Thursday. Hopefully more to come for next Thursday.
Everyone is doing so well. You are all truly inspiring. Glad I found you all!!!

Yumm SashaJS sounds like a great idea!! Sorry those siblings kept you up last night! Your dinner sounds so good maybe I'll make that tomorrow night! Congrats on your 2lbs! Im buying myself a digital scale tomorrow I havent weighed yet since my pre start weigh in last Thursday Im excited and super nervous to see what it says! I fought many challenges last night but I did it I made a capp drink in the middle of chick fil a while my cheer girls ate their yummy smelling fried chicken haha! Ill just live vicariously through my 15 year old cheerleaders :) :) My boyfriend ate waffles for breakfast this morning this being my first week I'm still feeling that hungry sensation so i basically wanted to hit him with his ego!! (haha) I think my lack of bread and snacks is making me violent (lol) Ive already planned out my thanksgiving my mom is making all her normals but im going to make the turnip fries i think everyone will love them!! and i can not wait for turkey!!

Hi all, I made it back at midnight last night from our "Polar Express Train ride." It was awesome. I packed for extra food incase we stayed the night. I only ate a pack of southwest cheese puffs on the way home for my snack because the pizza house we went to had a salad bar with plenty of stuff on plan and I brought my WF dressing. I didn't have enough salt yesterday, and probably not enough water (didn't want to stop every 12 minutes to use the restroom ;) ) and now today I have a headache in a result of that I believe. Before I left I had a 1/2 a gallon of water, then maybe 2- 32 oz of water. Sounds like enough, but I've been used to drinking a lot more than that. I was served cookies and hot cocoa on the train, gave them to my son. At the pizza place, they ordered a REALLY good smelling and looking pizza, I just got a good wiff of it and that was ok for me. I was dissappointed after seeing the pictures that my friend took of me, I thought I was doing so good, but I have a long way (over half way) to go. That is a big motivator for me! If you think you want to cheat, have someone take a picture of you when you're sitting down from the side, and that should take care of the temptation! lol.
I had the celery root "fries" the other day, not bad at all! I will try these again.
Have a great rest of the day all!

Here's the best way I can describe it -- I've been on phase 4 for about a month now, and it's like before, I was cold from the inside out, and now, if my outside is cold, I feel like it's just on my skin and not my entire body. I was miserably cold all summer, I know how it feels.

It does go away once you get to phase 4, promise!

Hi Everyone. I just made a batch of zuchini chips, but they are not crispy. I have them sitting out to see if they get less saggy. Has anyone tried doing these chips? I heard they are good, but I'm not sure mine will trun out as they should.

I haven't run across a post by I'm Svelting for scampi. I have run across some other scampi recipes in the original recipes thread and references to using the WF scampi sauce. Maybe I'm Svelting can direct you? I will keep looking.

Congratulations! And, YES! :) we all get there at some point. I don't know if it is the rapid weight loss effecting our insulation or our changes in blood pressure or vascular changes. I have been wondering based on some comments about brown fat others have made if, when they say we burn brown fat, they don't mean we activate brown fat. I wonder that because brown fat is a fat burning "tool" that activates strongly when we are cold. I may be getting this wrong or cause/effect wrong but, it was something I pondered. ANYWAY, to answer the question, YEP, nearly all of us end up feeling cold. :(

Congrats on hitting 30 pounds lost! :) Way to go, Lady! :carrot::carrot:

Definitely go to the 145 goal. You will notice as you phase off and starting eating more like a balanced diet that sunken look changes. I had it and I had dark circles below my eyes (just starting). With in about 2 weeks of moving to a phase 3 approach it was back to normal. Still a more slender face but, I had a more natural look. You can always tackle another 10 later if you feel it is still important at that point in time.

GOOD FOR YOU!!! That took a lot of commitment and will power.

Well.... The good news is, after 2 days of fasting your body is in ketosis. Starvation always brings on ketosis, so, getting back on plan will be easy if you remember that the fast KEEPS you in ketosis.

The bad news, if you hadn't eaten the pre-fast feast, your body was already in ketosis, would have stayed in ketosis, and would have taken all of the needed calories/energy for the 3 day fast from your fat. You would have lost more and gone back on plan very easily.

More good news, when you finish the procedure and are allowed to eat, go back on plan immediately, use a restricted packet or occasionally veggies right away (more carbs), then stay on plan using an extra packet a day if you need too. You should be in ketosis on day 1! You really don't need to have any other "stuff" and you can't really justify a cheat given that a liquid fast (provided it isn't made of fruit juice) will keep you in ketosis.

Be careful with sugary fluids during your liquid fast. They will cause you to gain some weight because they will replace glucose, glycogen, and add water back to your body. Try to go with sugar free and low carb low sodium chicken broth.

When you go phase off, you might try treating it as coming off an allergy identifying diet. This plan takes away many foods that people are allergic to in small or large degrees. New science is showing that some forms of inflammation, including weight gain/obesity, may be the result of toxins created from undigestible parts of food. Those toxic food parts actually cause the body to swell when it can't eliminate them through proper processes.

As you phase off slowly add one item then another. Try adding a sugar first and see how it reacts with you. Then try adding a non gluten flour item (rice, oats, etc), then add an ancient wheat like spelt or a rye, try adding a gluten free dessert, and last add a real wheat. It will be a slow process but, it can help you identify if you are allergic to a sugar, a grain, and which grain. Wheat flour is a common food allergy. Also, consider that you may be allergic to dairy food or real eggs. (That assumes you haven't had any real eggs while on this plan.) Any of these allergies can cause you too rapidly hold water,and feel achy, sick to your stomach, or gassy.



You could make the "big mac in a bowl" recipe that Jordanna posted in the tips for newbies thread.

Southwest STYLE taco salad. Onion, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, hamburger seasoned with taco seasoning (Jordanna posted one), I have added a few of the bbq chips crumbled or the bbq soy nuts as a treat. I make a cumin, lemon or lime, with chilli pepper vinegar dressing to go with it.

You could make sliders using lettuce leaf or mushroom caps as the buns.

Make hamburger lettuce wraps or lettuce cups. Kind of like chicken lettuce wraps.

You could make a goulash with lightly sauted onion, red pepper flake, ground chili powder, garlic, and ground black pepper with chopped tomato (assumes you have your occasional veggie allotment left), and put it over cauliflower rice. (many modifiable recipes online.. search hamburger goulosh and drop the macaroni from the recipe. make the cauliflower rice and add it toward the end or serve the hamburger mix over the "rice" on the plate.)

You could make a hamburger stew with ground hamburger, turnip or rutabaga, leeks, mushroom, zuchinni, onion, green pepper, or any other mix of acceptable veggies. (my grandmother made something like that when I was a kid.)

I used to make a clear hamburger gravy with rice (cauliflower rice) and veggies.

You could make stuffed peppers, mushroom, cabbage, or tomatoes. The mix would be with an IP soup or egg white to hold together, onion, bell pepper, finely chopped cauliflower, zucchini shreds.

Those might be some starting ideas.

I LOVE THAT!! Honestly, of all my pictures the ones I like the least are the side views. :(

As always, thanks Carla for your expertise! I was thinking the exact same thing, that it would be easy to get back in, but didn't realize that I would stay in ketosis during the fast without the protein. Learning all the time. I think for the most part, I was really wanting to eat because I am going to have to go 3 days without. I had lasagna because its my favorite. Other than that, I have still stayed within limits without the packets.
I will go right into the packets and right at it, as soon as I am allowed to eat. As I am also getting a gastroscopy, am thinking that fluids will be until next morning. Hard to say! I always wake up from surgery STARVING and demand food! LOL!

Talk to you soon!

Susan

That happens sometimes. Zucchini can be very wet. Try drying them out with a little salt or with paper towels.

Some people make these with dehydrators so they become very crisp.

Another website tips is :Cut the chips and par boil them for about 3 minutes until they are soft. Make sure oven is very hot *(220C or 425F) put on a pre-heated tray at top of oven until golden brown.

Try putting them back in the oven and dry them out some. I can't remember who said this, last week, maybe Mrs. Diettrich??, use a lower heat, maybe 300 or 325 and check on them about every 5 minutes until they seem to be going the direction you want.

Oh wow!

Yes, you do need protein, that can come from a good low sodium or homemade low sodium chicken broth. If you don't get protein, your body will start to burn its own muscle along with fat. That will happen on any liquid fast too.

Sometimes the doctors will be ok with you using a gelatin. As long as they don't say no red, you might be able to use the IP jello. You could ask if they would allow the orange drink, or blueberry drink, or pina colada, or pineapple. I KNOW! :o As I write this, I am thinking too late, maybe next time.

Maybe it will help someone else. We have had several people go through surgeries and pre-procedure care. Maybe we should write a thread about what can be done based on experiences of those who have been there?

Good luck with the procedure. I am sure things will be great. Enjoy your break. You will get back on program very easily when you are ready to start up!

I would second that crab cakes are a no-no...even without bread crumbs there has to be mayo or eggs or something holding them together. I am 10 weeks in an only ate out once (I used to eat out 3-4 nights a week...very social) and that is because I can control everything. This is such a strict diet. No sauces or additives in our foods. But I have gotten used to it. With that said I plan on phasing off before goal sometime mid to late January because five months of this will be enough. good luck to you the diet is amazing and works wonderful.