I am hovering right around 176-178 right now without clothes on. I am comfortably in size 12 pants and a few size 10's fit but they are tight... Your goal is completely reasonable. In a shirt, I am a solid L... some of that is becasue I'm a 36DD...

Hi all - I've been traveling and crazy busy this month so I haven't been on site. Good to see everyone's progress. I have gotten within 5 lbs. of my original, realistic goal. I've lost 30 which I'm thrilled with but I want to keep heading toward that dream goal of 50 lbs. lost because I want to wear shorts this summer and I still have more celulite than I want the world to see. I finally had to buy some new cloths. The sales woman talked me into buying some stretch denim Not Your Daughter's Jeans. They are extremely comfortable even though they fit like a second skin. I told her that at age 56 I didn't wear jeans that form fitting. She told me, "You have to buy those jeans. They were made for you - trust me, they're the right size." Well, I've been wearing them and have been getting so many complements. Fun, fun, fun! I'm going back for another pair! My 25 year old son just noticed last week that I had lost weight. I was wearing the old baggy jeans. He said you ought to get yourself some more jeans that fit you mom. I found some Gloria Vandrbilt Jeans at Cosco for $15.99. Grabbed a size 10, brought them home and they fit. Went back and got another pair. I think they're great for hanging out in. Unfortunately, at my book club meeting the hostess opened a bottle of Champaign to celebrate my 30 lb weight loss. So sweet, I couldn't turn it down. Kicked me right out of ketosis even though I only had half a glass. But sometimes when your girls are toasting you - you've just gotta go with it. Have a great weekend everyone.

The champagne wouldn't have knocked you out of ketosis...although on a ketostix it might show it for a few hours while it burns the alcohol in the champagne. Unless you ate something else. I see you have been on the diet since October. How is it going? Have you followed phase I the whole time or taken times off. I too have been on since the fall....started last September. I am close to finishing...I hope to be done by the middle of June. congrats

Good morning everyone. Hope you all have a great OP day. Today is day # 4 for me of being perfect OP. I have a plan for the weekend so I should be ok.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Well not sure what to think about my bootcamp experience after this morning. Down 3 more pounds and at 107 I should be moving to phase 2 and it's not happening. Because I haven't been consuming cooked protein my coach is afraid that phase 2 would be no much to fast, sooooo
I have to do a "real" phase 1 for at least a week, maybe 2... AGH!

Good god, someone pass me a loaded gun.... lol.

Hi from Israel everyone!
\Just chiming in to say I am eating everything in sight except for massive amounts of sugar, but still...I can see myself poofing out a little bit even after just 3 days of eating and drinking stuff I usually save for a free day. This is my first vacation since starting ph4 that every day is a cheat. I'm not going near a scale while here, and just need some encouragement to not worry about it and just get back to basics when I return next thursday, right? Any experienced "break takers" feel free to chime in and tell me I can take the extra weight off when I get home. thanks guys :)

I am 5'6", 184 lbs (PEAR) and wear a 12 pant. They are starting to be a bit loose. You'll meet your goal, no problem!:D

Sadly I have grown quite experienced in this. I went on a cruise in February and ate and drank whatever I wanted (lots of martinis and beer) for 9 days. When I returned the scale was up 13 pounds, within seven/eight days I was down the 13 plus another pound.

I went to the Finger Lakes for a wine weekend....I choose not to step on the scale for 6 days and when I did I was down a pound.

I went to Bucks County, PA (wine weekend) and to Atlantic City last week and as of this morning (back home 8 days now)...I am down a pound and a half from when I left.

So relax enjoy eat and drink what you want (in somewhat moderation) and don't step on the scale for 5 days when you return...drink tons of water and do phase one for 3 days and your weight will be the same as when you left.

Now go have fun.

oh I have missed your advice. I laughed (sorry) at what your husband did, that would just freak me out too.

I am still at 16-18 more 16s but I want so much to be a 14 as I haven't been there for ohhhh 15 years... and I just dream about the 8 & 10s.. hopefully some day...

OH that is too bad you look so forward to phase 2 and have a set back like that. Hoping the next 2 weeks go by fast for you and you hit phase 2 flying.. :hug:

My former Dr informed me that, "Well, if you don't shorten the intestine enough, it grows back. I prefer to do it the way I do and hope it doesn't." Huh, he didn't mention that before the surgery! The method of doing it changed about 5 years later.

Interesting that you wrote (pear)...shape has a ton to do with the clothes we wear. I am an hourglass....I have never had a butt....my outter thighs do not exist. My trouble area has always been my arms, breast, and stomach.

Also the longer on this diet the more fat we lose (and I have been working out with a personal trainer for 14 weeks now) so we are leaner and stronger and slimmer at a higher weight.

I love that for the first time in my life I don't hate my arms (too much).

champagne........
 

WHAT? it wont knock you out? I have been avoiding it cause I THOUGHT red wine would be safe......as champagne has more sugar no???? WOW

I think for a dry champagne it would only have 1 or 2 carbs for a regular serving (3-4 ounces). Sweeter sparkling wines or champagnes could have up to 5 carbs (still pretty low).

I have a yummy bottle of sparkling reisling champagne in my fridge from my Bucks County PA wine tour last week....I am saving it for my goal weight!

You can do it, after all you've been through what's another 2 weeks. I was down 4.4 today after your advice this week. I also had my BMI measured and it was 25.9, which is still high, but almost to the OK range!
Thanks for your help.
Mary

Yes, I know your right Mama, what else can I do? Have to keep on getting down this road. I guess I should be thrilled that I can have my cooked protein again. I really have missed it. Guess I'll have to start my protein eating tomorrow as I don't have any pulled from the freezer and I'm certainly not going to the store for it today, I was just there yesterday.

So if I am understanding this correctly you are not having a "real" cooked protein? I think I read you have 4 packets a day? if this is correct what is the reason for this and did it help with the weight loss?

I think my body is unhappy with all the starting and stoping I have done since the beginning of the year and I find that I loose big the first week then stall out again. I may have to try the packets 4 times a day if it works.

Hi Mepeterson! :wave:

Yes, thats right, 4 packets on non-resticted packets per day, and no cooked protein. Coach recommended it to me when I started only losing
.8 pounds to 1 pound per week. I am a pretty tiny lady, 5'0 tall and small boned so he wasn't that alarmed with my slow weight loss. But he knew I was getting frusterated with the whole thing. It did bump me up to maybe an extra pound per week but then about 3 weeks into my no cooked protein plan, I did a cleanse and that really helped. I don't know if it was really the cleanse or what it was, maybe the diet moons just lined up for me... lol.

What I did, I ate my protein once a week, instead of having the 4th packet.

sherry- do you have a license for that gun ma'am?

sunny- april was kinda atkins for me with a few beer days thrown in for good measure. i went all out (cheating) for a weekend then started OP this monday. i took off 7lbs. 155 down to 147 this am. it is alot of "water weight" i think. i don't know, but whatever, it seemed to hit my reset button so i'll keep you posted if the number continue to go down now.

ronda

Day 4 back on 100% protocol (from Dr. Tran's book & website, with lots of IP thrown in, but no IP products).. plenty of cravings the first 3 days, but today I feel like I've finally got my head back in the game... maybe that's the ketosis effect... or maybe it's that new swimsuit I bought the other day that's just a smidgen too tight... whatever it is, I'm sooooooo relieved to be on the right path again... it's been a long, hard trip back to this place... cheating is so NOT worth it...

Since joining the fitness center two & a half months ago, I've become really hooked on exercise... I'm going 4 days a week, working with my trainer one day, doing Group Power & Zumba the others... thinking about adding Centergy, but haven't figured out how to fit it in yet... before joining the gym, I was exercising at home, but it sure got boring... plus, it was too easy to put it off 'til later, then when when later came, I was out of the mood... having set times to be at the gym keeps me a lot more accountable & a lot more active... I'm loving it!!!.. I think I will get back to doing yoga at home a few times a week, though... I'm noticing a little loss of flexibility lately...

I hope everybody is having a great weekend...

hugs :hug:

It won't knock you out of ketosis, but it WILL slow down or stop your weight loss. Sorry. ;-)

As I understand it, it takes a couple consecutive days of carbs to leave ketosis. But in the meanwhile, your body is burning the calories from the sugars and the alcohol first, instead of burning fat.

Red wine is better than champagne, straight alcohol like vodka or scotch is also good - but be careful. :-)

Post-reset Update
 

I did my four-day diet reset over the holiday weekend, and expected to gain weight temporarily, and then start losing again, at a faster rate than before.

Last Saturday, I was at 146. Wednesday, when I went back on program, I was 152. I flipped back into ketosis yesterday (I can always tell when it happens, always the afternoon of the third day, but it's getting easier) and I'm happy to say this morning I'm down to 148 again. So, probably a 2 pound gain of actual fat, which, given how I ate over the weekend, I probably deserve. ;-)

Seven pounds to goal. The nice thing about the reset is that now instead of being angry and frustrated that I'm not there yet, I'm excited and enthusiastic that I'm *almost* there.

So much of dieting is psychological. I've been seeing a therapist through the whole process, and I think I would never have been able to do this without it.

I can see the finish line now. 83 down, 7 to go. I can do this. ;-)

-Lisa

That is AWESOME Lisa! Nice to see results like yours. It's very encouraging to all of us!

Thank you again, experience IPers, for encouraging me to keep pushing past my desire for a cheat day. I do have to admit I had a restricted bar binge but I think that's all out of my system and my TOM is right around the corner so I blame that for the craving. ;)

I'm having a huge NSV/SV morning today:
-I hit 189....I can not remember in my adult life being 189.
-Oddly enough, I used 189 for my driver's license when I turned 16 (it was a lie, I was heavier) and I'm now 29 and I weigh what my license says! But, not for long. ;)
-My BMI moved from "obese" to "overweight"
-My husband is in the 180s and I've ALWAYS wanted to weigh less than him and never have- we've been together 12 years. I can do it!! I see the finish line.

My spirits are renewed today. I hope everyone out there plugging along has a breath of fresh air in their journeys!

Hey everyone. I thought I would join in here since I don't really feel I get paid any attention to on the other threads and it is frustrating! I am having a hard time. For some reason I am an extremely slow loser. Like Sherry, I am only five feet tall but I have much more to lose. My loss has slowed to only about a pound a week and I am getting very frustrated. When you still have 65 lbs to lose, a pound a week is maddening! Perhaps I could give you guys a big of background on what I eat and we can figure out how to boost my losses!

Breakfast is cereal. Lunch is my restricted (yes, I have a restricted daily, (maybe that is my problem but I was told by a nutritionist that it isn't good to go below 30 carbs per day or you run into problems). Afternoon snack is a RTD. Dinner is usually 6 oz of protein (chicken, turkey or lean burger). I stick to just a few veggies as I have gotten sick of most of them, I eat cucumbers, turnips and zucchini. Occasionally I will eat brocolli or spinach. I don't eat the lettuce that I am allowed to have during the day, perhaps that would help my losses. I drink 100 oz of water daily with the occasional coffee. That is about it. Here and there I will put some mustard on a burger or hot sauce in my turkey but I stay pretty strictly to this.

On that note, why are my losses sooooooooo slow? I am getting so discouraged that I just want to give up.

Lisa are you in phase II? I went to Phase II last week I had also lost 83 lbs and had 7 left to go. But, when I weighed in this week, I had gained 2lbs this is the first time I gained in 7 months. :(

I don't know if anyone else has had this happen, but I was disappointed. I know that I have been under a lot of stress with Finales (college). In the past I handled stress by working out, so I thought I would go to the gym and do some light weights and some cardo (20min), my muscles hurt for three days, I am not sure what happened, I do yoga once a week and do about 2 miles twice a week, maybe it was the combination of stress and excercise, and maybe not enough water, so this week I am trying to make sureI am supergood, and restrict my self to walking and plenty of water.
:)

Lalison....

I don't know if I'm really the one to help you with this problem, but I will give you some thoughts and share what I have read on here.

I think your doing awesome with the water intake and the protocol in general. Make sure you are getting the full 4 cups of veggies a day, if your not, that could slow you down a bit. Maybe try having your cooked protein for lunch instead of dinner, maybe it will confuse your body a little bit and I would also step away from the restricted items, that could be causing the slow weight loss too. If you are eating the 4 cups of veggies a day AND a salad AND all your packets, I think you will end of at 30 to35 grams of carbs a day.

It really does suck when we have thos slow weight loss periods, I was about ready to light my hair on fire and put it out with a hammer, and I'm not joking!

Lalison... I'm gonna echo Coloradodivegirl's advice, try cutting out the restricteds for a while & see if that helps... you might be throwing yourself out of ketosis... remember, not everybody's bodies are the same, some folks can tolerate up to 60 g. net carbs before ketosis stops & some can't... more than 30 g. net carbs might be too much for you...

hugs :hug:

like a lot of people, my weight loss has slowed. with some weeks of only losing 1-2 lbs it makes me wonder if this program is worth continuing.. considering all the sacrifices im making. lately ive been thinking about phasing off for a while and joining weight watchers instead. at least i could eat a variety of foods with the same results??? i have been on ip since feb 1st and i think im running out of steam. do u recommend i take a break for a while?

No....you won't get the same results on WW unless you follow an IP type diet but track your points. I was on WW for 2 years. NEVER went over my points allowance, rarely even used 1 or 2 points of my "bonus points". I lost the same 8 pounds over and over and........ The flaw in the points is that yes, you can have that Banana Pound Cake for 12 points and still have enough points for a latte and maybe a burger. Is this a good diet? NO Does it fit their points profile? Yes...but it's NEVER going to train you to follow a good nutritional lifestyle. JMO!

Wow Blk...

I will STAMP your post.....

Cajun, I too don't think it's a good idea. Read this posts and most will say that
once you get off of it, it's so very hard to come back to and be 100%. they usually regret it in some form or fashion...

With 20 pounds to go.... I would tell you to hang on... you can do it!!!
just look towards the goal!

Thanks for the replies everyone! I will lay off the restricted packets for this week and see if that changes anything for me. I will also start eating salad on top of my 4 cups of veggies. That just seems like so much food! I hope I will find something that works for me. Thanks again!

Good to see you back at...goal is there...I am 11 days back on plan...ready to get to goal!


Hey Lisa, when did you start? I too am ready for goal!




Good girl. I was supposed to be done by the end of February and here I am...but I am 2 pounds below the original 175 goal that I set.



Cereal for breakfast...is this IP oatmeal? That is a restricted item. Are you having two restricted a day? That might be the problem. As far no restricted...I always lose more when I have my restricted. do you follow the IP protocol 100% every day or do you have little cheats...? could you be setting yourself back and then starting over. (I know that my planned cheats set me back for at least 7-10 days following them)...at the end of the month I am always down 4-5 pounds, but if I didn't cheat I would be down so much more.


The gain sucks, but wow...you were a couple pounds more than me a few weeks ago and now 163...YIPPPPPEEEE...good girl. I am vowing to be good until at least 163...then maybe a little cheat weekend until 156. GReat job...by the way...when I starting exercising in January I gained a pound two weeks in a row.

You are right Darbs - by the next day I was back in ketosis - according to ketostix. I joined 3 FC last fall. Then I was trying to do the healthy, cut the fat, eat whole grain and fruit thing. I also worked out rather rigorously 5 hours a week. I was lucky to lose 10 lbs in a year. And so easy to gain back. I started IP on January 14. I followed phase I for a long time.Until I lost 20+ lbs. I found I cannot do the restricteds. I'm the one who bought a box of IP bars and ate it in 2 days. I also stopped having the IP cereal very often. I am a starchy carb/sugar addict still. When I have those things it just gets me wanting more. I'm also not good at having a normal healthy portion size of those things. I'm not saying I will never have them again. I take it one day at a time - like addicts of other things. As to how it's going...well, I think it's a hellish torture at times but I'm very pleased with it. I'm used to it. I've moved into my own version of Phase II. I'm fine have an IP drink for breakfast and lunch. I do the RTDs unless I'm traveling. If I'm out with friends for lunch, I will have a salad. But I eat real salad dressings now - not a lot and lowest sugar/carb. For a treat a few times a week I started having Maries Blue Cheese dressing. Jar says it has no carbs but lots of calories. I love it and I don't start craving the evil things. The other part of my personal phase 2 is that I have cheese, usually Gouda, as my bedtime snack. It doesn't get me craving anything. The third thing I discovered when I had bad bronchitis were sugarfree cough drops. I have those when I want something sweet - every night. If I eat too many I get diahrea which helps with the big C and keeps me from overeating them. Now that I've bought some clothes and people can tell I've lost weight and the complements are rolling in - it's been fun. And I feel like I can breath again - it is literally easier to inhale and exhale. I only lose 1-3 lbs a week now but I'm okay with that. What is hardest for me is when I am in social situations surround by the foods I love. I pop a cough drop. And believe me - this could all come to a screeching halt and I could slide down that slippery slope and gain it all back and more. But at least I know how to lose it. I am sick of all the IP soups etc. But I've gotten very busy and just grab the RTDs for fuel. I don't expect to enjoy my breakfast or lunch. I don't want to hate it and I want the fuel to have energy. But I really have to love my dinner, salad dressing, bed time cheese snack and Ricola sugar free lemon mint cough drops. I think I might add wine more often now! I think everybody has to find what works for them. Thanks for asking.

No it isn't the oatmeal. It's the crispy cereal, which isn't restricted. I make sure to only stick to one restricted a day. I follow protocol 100% each day. Haven't had a cheat in the 14 weeks I have been on it. I figure I just need a bit less carbs. Thanks for your response!

I'd definately try dropping the daily restricted. See if that shakes it up enough for you. Good luck :hug:

thanks for all the input. today i allowed myself to cheat for the first time on this program. im glad i did because it made me realize that i really dont miss all that other "junk". now that i have gotten it out of my system im ready to start fresh again tomorrow.

I just started phase 2 last week. I'm fairly confident it didn't contribute to the gain. I really ate (and drank) quite badly over the weekend. So, I'll take that two pounds as a reminder that I can't do that anymore, and hope the rest comes off this week. :-)

You're changing your life. Yeah, it's a lot of work, it's a lot of sacrifice, but, 2 pounds a week is a LOT. You're never going to get results like that on WW.

If you feel like you're running out of steam, try finding things you can have that ARE allowed. Coffee. Herbal tea. I discovered Truvia about a month ago, and it's been saving my butt ever since. I add it to seltzer and it tastes like a sprite. I add it to coffee, and I find I don't miss the milk that much.

I find it's easy to stay on plan when the scale is moving - and really, really hard when it's not. If you're bored with the food, mix it up a little. Have different veggies. Add interesting spices. Use soy sauce, or garlic. (Also, which foods you pick are key. I like the chocolate shakes - both the pre-mixed and the powder. And pretty much all of the bars.)

For me, this diet changed my life. I have been fighting with my weight my whole life. I had given up on ever being able to lose enough weight to matter - Weight Watchers and other diets felt like trying to move a mountain of sand with a teaspoon. Too slow, too much work, for too little reward. I'd be there forever. But 1-2 pounds a week, consistently, will get you there - I've lost 83 pounds (85 before my little cheat weekend) in less than a year. I've gone from a size 22 to a size 12 (and the occaisional 10). A year ago, I would never have believed that to be possible.

How much do you want this weight loss? Enough to hang on another couple weeks? Another day? Another two days?

Whichever way you decide, good luck.

I started eating 1-2 heads of lettuce with my dinners. :-)

You HAVE to eat all your veggies. That's key.

You might also try adding in some light exercise if you're not already. And be careful about the accidentals - the little things like, what's in the sauce when you eat out, or putting dressing on the salads.

OHOHOH! Sleep is also a big deal. Make sure you're getting enough. That really helps. And water. Drink more water.

Good luck!!!

My orientation was May 7th of last year, and I started the following day. I've been a little anxious about coming up on my one-year mark. ;-)

I was hoping to be done by then, but, I was hoping to be done by last Halloween when I started, too. Optimistically, I'll be on Phase 2 for another 2-3 weeks before I start transitioning off.

If I can figure out how, I'll upload some photos, and see if I can actually fill out my profile. (I optimistically took some "Before" pictures last Mother's Day, and I'm using them as my reference point. It's hard for me to look at them now, but they're a good reminder of where I started.)