Wuv, okay, you're on......I teach highschool and have to head back two weeks from today, the kiddos return in 3....nervous about how to plan ahead with the scheduling, we begin at 7:55, not sure which lunch I will have (we have 3, one at 11:10, one at 11:46, and one at 12:08) AND we only have 22 minutes for lunch!! We have a brand new 2 story school, no time to run to a microwave.....any ideas? I am an OCD planner.... Also, really hate feeling I have to choke down so many veggies, even though I like them, I feel I am going to puke eating so many!!!!! Are you sure you are up for this???? lol

LOL...yup, I'm up for it.

This is only my opinion, but I start my day off with my restricted I have oatmeal for breakfast everyday.
I would bring a shake or a rtd shake or bar for lunch and easy veggies for lunch like maybe a cucumber. That is what I have for lunch every day.

Does one cucumber give you the 2 cups veggies though?

The cucumbers that we have here do, if it doesn't add a few broccoli spears

Josey, do you have facebook?

Yes, I have face book, sorry, I was scanning recipes for stuff.......

do you get IM's on here?

I don't think so, not sure how I would do that.....technically challanged!!

look on FB for southern3fc and request an add

just requested....from Michelle Sims Josey

Just a few thoughts . . .

1) Lettuce Stir Fry. Since we are allowed unlimited lettuce and I am often hungry, I literally stir fry romaine. In the morning I use my 1/2 tsp olive oil (to make sure I get it in) and some extra pam. If you alraedy have a plan to get your oil in, you can just use pam. I vary the seasoning but it is generally minced garlic, chopped ginger root, and/or minced green onion - let all that heat up for a minute or two then throw down chopped up romaine. Cook to your desired tenderness. I love veggies, love stir fries, so this works well for me. Just had one. This time, I just used pam and some extra spicy mrs. dash. The spices help me up my water -)

2) Working Out - look at the threads and you will see several that discuss this. The rules state not to work out, esp. in the first 3 weeks I believe. because of the low calories it can result in muscle loss. That said, I have found I need to here and there. I haven't been running, but I have done abs 3x per week, a few leisurely walks, and taken 2 classes . . . in just about 2 weeks. this is less than my usual, but I need it mentally. After my first class, I was spent the next day. Today was my second class, so not sure how I will feel tomorrow. I did end up having some extra protein wtih dinner and consuming a 4th shake (in addition to my own whey protein addition in the morning that I need to stop using :/)

3) Accountability - post on here and we (I) will respond. I check here often, I like the "conversation" We may be the blind leading the blind but we are all bound by the same rules so we can succeed together!!

4) Planning and getting veggies in. I chop a ton of veggies (cucumbers, radishes, celery, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, etc.) On Sunday night, then I can just scoop out 2 cups of finely chopped veggies as needed for a meal. What i do is make a salad for lunch with 1 cup of chopped veggies and lettuce and permitted dressing. THen I put another cup of broccoli and asparagus in my cream of chicken soup. I like breaking the veggies up that way because all the salad dressings suck so I don't want that muc of it!! Anyway, you can make 3 salads on Sunday night. Then make 2 more on Wednesday night. Early veggies solved! If you cannot do soup, add the other cup of veggies to the salad and have an RTD shake. Voila - 2 cups down! For dinner, I like my food hot. Soooo I chop up broccoli or zucchini or asparagus (usually) and saute that and have it with some protein. You can chop it all up (veggies & meat) and stir fry together. Whatever you like. If you are really struggling, sautee 2 cups of baby spinach. It wilts down to the teeniest portion of veggies imaginable (not enough for me, personally) so you don't have much to get through. We do pam spray, minced garlic, then add a little soy and oil (not sure if we can use sesame oil, but that makes it yummy). Always season the veggies with the sea salt. You can also oven roast them if you like.

It may be boring, but its easy!

I haven't gotten it yet but I sent you a request

I probably sent it to the wrong person.....but got yours and accepted and posted on your wall. Have to take my son to dentist out of town tomorrow right during lunch hours.... Already thinking about how to succeed.... As always 2 cups of lunch veggies will be the issue.....may just try the IP drink with a duke if u think that's good enough......

Thanks for the planning idea.... Still seems like a lot of raw veggies to get down....spinach is a great option because it does shrink down . Did that tonight.

Hello All,

How are all you skinny minis doing tonite?

I am doing quite good for the most part..i got 4 cups of spinach down through my soup packet and im almost through 3 litres..however...im having issues with packets today..trying to get them all in...Ive only got one down so far..so need to work on getting the 3rd down at some point tonite.

I had the most amazing soy chicken pattie tonite...it was sooooo good and topped it off with a piece of Vegan soy cheese...i was told we can have those..so i did that and then topped it with a wf ketchup...mmmm..tasted like a chicken burger from mcdonalds..it was awesome...

Hope everyone else is going well tonite..

Had my first weigh in last night. I am down 10 lbs! That keeps me motivated to continue.

That's FANTASTIC!!! :carrot::carrot::carrot: What a great job - this is Day 2 so that gives me hope!! :D Keep up the good work! :hug:

10 pounds in a week! I was just over that at 3 weeks! Way to go.

Wow! 10 pounds is amazing!!!! Trying very hard not to have dieters envy! Keep up the strong work!!

Congrats Whirly!!!!

WOW!!!!...awesome job:hug::hug:. Stay OP 100% and see what happens? the weight does come off with the hard work you put in. Keep it up!!

Thanks chicas!

After spending some google'ing the diet & reading the posts from the website I can't wait to start. I have a couple friends/family members on the diet that have had AWESOME results. I think my whole life i've battled with my weight & the only success i've had was with starvation diets. By no means do I consiter myself "fat" but I am very unhappy with my body. I can't remember the last time I put on my bathing suit or wore a pair of shorts with confidence.

I've always been up & down with my weight, seems I always manage to pack on the pounds when i'm in a relationship, or slim down when i'm single. I've never been a dedicated gym go'er either - I have cycles where i'll go 3 x a week, then i'll slack for weeks at a time. My eating habbits are BAD. I basically live on fast food and portugese food. I occasionally eat "healthy" but I always feel starved so I end up binge eating. I'm lucky im on the taller side to carry out the weight better, but with my scrub uniforms off it isn't pretty ! I've always been a "tommorrow dieter" , tom i'll start my diet, tom i'll
eat better... SURE but tom was like 5 years ago !

I think what put me over the edge was my vacation with my boyfriend and friends to the jersey shore. All the girls got into their little bikinis and here I was with my one piece ( it's a sexy one but still ). Then when we were at the concert, the guys put all the girls on there shoulders to get a better view, my boyfriend didn't even offer ! LOL, I knew that I was too heavy but man was that a big REALITY CHECK ! Then when I joke-ing-ly ask if I could be put on his shoulders ... his response "babe, you know I would if I could but your not petite like these girls, their like 100 pounds" oh man did that feel awful

At times I get so fusterated with myself, like really lindsey? if you are so unhappy with yourself, why not do something rather that EAT. My boyfriend is really supportive, but he has even worse eating habbits ( but of course he's thin ! ) it's not easy to eat a salad on the side of someone clearing out a plate of french fries ....

Regardless i'm ready, i'm ready for a new plan & a new me ! I'm 23 years old and I want to show off my hott bod, not hide it! I'm not going to lie the last couple of days i've been having a "food going away party" i've been eating my fav foods and enjoying them while I can, BUT when wednesday comes... It's ON !!! I can't wait to check back with everyone, I hope I have some success to share !!!

Welcome Lindsey, this is a pretty good group of people overall to rant and rave with.
I am actually in the 2nd week slump myself, I know I am having a typical light weight loss week my second week... but I have to keep moving on.

I have to say I feel like I have still lost some inches here and there, it just feels like I have, and I have seen some weigh in's where they lose more in inches then they do in pounds which is what I am hoping for.

I am also doing the forbidden and have been riding my bike trainer since I started but oh well, I need to do something to get my cardio up lol.

We struggle through the ups and down pretty well here, so welcome to the group, it sounds like you have all the right motivations, you just need to keep them in mind. Also if you have a really supportive boyfriend he will try not to eat all that bad stuff in front of you.

It's my 2nd day (but first full day on IP). Last night I was proud of myself for staying OP even though I could have used the "well I'm not really starting until tomorrow" since I only had IP stuff for the 2nd half of the day yesterday. But, thanks to my BF's encouragement and his steadfast if you can't snack I won't snack with you - I said no to everything delicious. :) I only have 2 weeks and 4 days before I'm gone for a week for a wedding. I will only have IP stuff until then and then I'll have to come up with a good - non IP plan while I'm gone that hopefully won't put too much weight back on. I'll plan on minimizing drinking except for the wedding night!

Welcome Lroderick! I hear what you say about not being unhappy but not being happy with your body either. I'm also a tomorrow dieter - I procrastinate - which is why I'm tarting this 2 weeks and 4 days before this wedding ....

I wish I had done that because the first few weeks I kept thinking of things I would've loved to have had before I started. I was going to start on a Monday but was like you and thought, "you always say Monday, why not tomorrow!?" SO I started right away on a Thursday and wished all weekend I had just waited for Monday.

Iroderick - you and I are the same height and our goal weights are similar...I was aiming for somewhere around 135 but might go lower. Having a supportive partner makes a big difference. My husband isn't doing IP but he felt bad (as he should!!!!) eating junk in front of me so he stepped up and is doing P90X with a low carb diet as well. If you can get your boyfriend on board, that will be of great help in your success I believe (and, let's face it, thin or not . . . nobody needs to eat a plate of fries!!!). Anyway, best of luck you will be great. We will be here!

Second Week Sloooooow Down here as well. I knew it was coming but hoped it wouldn't, yet as I am only 2 days away from the full 2 weeks I think I might hit 2 to 2.5 pounds at most. That is still 2 pounds more per week than I was managing on my own so I will take it. 6+2+2 = 10 so in 3 weeks I could lose 10 pounds! Will feel amazing!

I cannot give up the exercise 100%, for my sanity alone it is necessary and I don't want to lose my oomph -)

Yeah my weigh in is tomorrow after work, still only 12 days, but I know it's going to be a lower number. It looks like my wife is going to have a pretty good week this week though.
I know she still hasn't gotten on here, I have tried trust me.
We have been pretty busy after work though so she just hasn't gotten around to it.

Funny with the start tomorrow and food going away party. I had to wait 2 1/2 weeks for my IP consultation so I spent them not dieting. I ate things I wouldn't even normally eat . . . even gained a pound or two. When I picked up my IP I started immediately! I couuldn't wait to be thinner -)

This lunch seems huge - RTD shake - 2 cups of lettuce with my version of dressing (1tsp olive oil/apple cider viengar - 2 tsp water then eyballed Ms. Dash onion and herb, sea salt and splenda); 2 cups of cauliflower and cucumber. I'm sure I won't stay too full for long though. :)

That's so funny - I also had to wait and did the very same thing! I think I was artificially high when I started IP because of my gorge-fest, but I was still ecstatic to see a 9 lb loss the first week! Anyway, that's when it clicked for me, and I'm anxiously awaiting my second WI this Friday!

A supportive partner definitely helps... my hubby has been in Japan since I started IP, but I emailed him my success and he said, "OMG, it's the incredible shrinking wife!" It made me laugh, and I know he's on my side... he's my rock.

I'm so happy to have found this forum and looking forward to being on this journey with y'all!

Ha! It is huge in volume but I do find that I don't stay full forever!

SO, I just looked over my weight loss and I have not even lost 2 pounds in almost a week. Is that too slow??

Looks like you don't have a lot to lose so it may be slower for you. Those of us that have more to lose it comes off faster. But I would think that as long as it is a loss I would be happy. Maybe you are losing inches instead of pounds so that would be a good thing as well. Stick with the program and it may take a few weeks to show but you will feel different and be able to tell even though the scale doesn't move.

What week are you on? I think depending on how long you've been going, whether you're retaining more water because of working out or any other reason, and whether your body is just going to be cranky that's still an average success!

Soooo, how much of a no no is diet coke?

BIG BIG BIG NO NO of the diet coke!!.....NO sodas!!

So... WHY is diet coke not allowed, but seltzer water is? Is it the aspartame? Would a diet drink sweetened with Splenda or Stevia be okay?

Sigh, that's what I'd heard - I was hoping it was a horrible rumor. At least at the movies I could enjoy myself more with a large delicious diet coke!!! :devil:

I am on week 2. I guess my dilemma is that if I am only going to lose around 2 pounds per week (or less) that I can do it on a calorie restriction diet with exercise vs paying for this. I will absolutely give this a few more weeks to see how I average and I will continue to think positive thoughts -)

As for diet coke, I have read several things. First, is that aspartame interferes with the diet. I don't recall the details but that was one reason. Another is phosphoric acid is in the majority of sodas (including diet coke) and affects the base/acid levels which are carefully addressed through the protocol of this diet. Soooo, I believe you can have diet RC Raspberry or Orange - I don't think either have aspartame or phosphoric acid. That said, my coach was more like . . . nope, don't have it. I still do provided it is above and beyond my 3 liters of water per day!

I completely get that - I do wonder if your body is similiar to mine in that it might actually slow number weight loss with you working out. It always annoys me that sometimes when I'm working out a lot and eating the same calorie restrictions I lose less - I know I can't be gaining that much muscle - so I assume it's water retention - or maybe my body thinks it needs to retain because I'm burning calories instead of just letting the fat/water go. I would say be as 100% OP as you can next week - and then certainly revisit if you're not seeing the slightly quicker progress. I plan to do this for quicker progress and then mve to clean eating as a lifestyle.