Originally Posted by FinnSteven:
RE: Not reading at night / plus other post about once you "blow it" and cheat, then you just eat everything and decide to go back on tomorrow.

Urrr, I was kind of kidding. Sorry it came off as a show of weakness. I really do think you're right about sleep, and it's born out in the research on diet and sleep. That and enough water are probably almost half the battle for most people.

Originally Posted by Linden:
Urrr, I was kind of kidding. Sorry it came off as a show of weakness.

Apologies if my response made you think that... I actually fought against going to sleep early to avoid cravings because I work all day, take care of the kids in the evening and after nine is usually my only time to do something for myself and let my brain relax (and I am an avid reader.)

So I was more talking about my own personal experiences of feeling like I didnt want to make yet one more sacrifice...but after doing it for a week, my body and brain started working with me better rather than against me.

sorry if I didnt write that point better. Not at all a judgement, but sharing my own experiences.

I love this thread! I had some success on IP way back in February, went off for a short vacation, and have been trying (and failing) to restart ever since. I am a frequent exerciser so I was a little hesitant to give
up exercise. I figured I would just slow down for 2 weeks while my body adjusted to the lower calories. Well...since I kept caving in to my cravings and was restarting every other day, 2 weeks turned into 6 months, and now I am not only up 20 pounds, but much flabbier than when I started, yikes! So, this time I am not going to stop exercising and will maybe eat an extra protein serving or 2 to compensate. I am on day 3, woohoo!

Originally Posted by esammy12:
I have to exercise. I am on my treadmill every night for at least 40 minutes and I'm also back at aerobics 3 days a week. I didn't enjoy the feeling of weakness and loss of muscle when I did this before. Yes I was getting smaller, but was also feeling very jiggly. :) I think it's why I gained so incredibly fast - no muscle to burn up those calories. I have to exercise. If that means taking in extra protein then that's what I'll do. It'll be a mix of the regular Phase I and the Athlete's protocol.

Ditto! I'll have to look into the athlete's protocol, I forgot there was one, thanks for the reminder :)

Originally Posted by mickey2011:
I am not a big veggie fan and I am really having trouble getting all these veggies down. I have tried adding them to food, eating them on the side at my desk and even throwing them in a blender. I am sick of them already and this is what is going to be the downfall unless I can find a way to enjoy them a little more.

I hear ya! The only veggies I used to eat were all the starchy ones we are not supposed to have. Cold salads did not appeal to me so I started eating warm grilled veggies in my salad. My George Forman grill is probably the most used appliance in my kitchen. I cook mushrooms, peppers, onions, and lots of zucchini (which I never ate before unless it was in zucchini bread :). Add Walden Farms thousand island dressing and maybe some diced grilled chicken for dinner and it can be very satisfying. I also like to put salsa in my salad to liven it up - after checking that the salsa is primarily veggies and no sugar. Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by FinnSteven:
I have found the most of our battles are in our heads. If in our heads we feel like "I will never be able to eat chocolate cake again, so if I 've already eaten a tiny piece, then I have to eat the entire cake!"

I think the healthiest way to overcome the obsessive urges is not to say "I will never be able to eat XX again" but to tell yourself that you WILL be able to eat that again, but just not today.

I also think we unintentionally sabatogue ourselves by cheating on a "small thing" so that we can justify huge cheats ("well, this day is screwed. I might as well enjoy it to the fullest before I head back to prison" ) If you cheat a little, let it be a little cheat, not the doorway into more. Forgive yourself and move on... to another salad, dill pickles, a 2-egg white scramble, or something still on-program until you get under control.

Great advice!! I have such an all or nothing mindset. Unfortunately, knowing this is my problem does little to fix it. I like your idea of changing "never" to "not now but maybe someday".

Originally Posted by HokieHi:
I love this thread! I had some success on IP way back in February, went off for a short vacation, and have been trying (and failing) to restart ever since. I am a frequent exerciser so I was a little hesitant to give
up exercise. I figured I would just slow down for 2 weeks while my body adjusted to the lower calories. Well...since I kept caving in to my cravings and was restarting every other day, 2 weeks turned into 6 months, and now I am not only up 20 pounds, but much flabbier than when I started, yikes! So, this time I am not going to stop exercising and will maybe eat an extra protein serving or 2 to compensate. I am on day 3, woohoo!

Ditto! I'll have to look into the athlete's protocol, I forgot there was one, thanks for the reminder :)



I hear ya! The only veggies I used to eat were all the starchy ones we are not supposed to have. Cold salads did not appeal to me so I started eating warm grilled veggies in my salad. My George Forman grill is probably the most used appliance in my kitchen. I cook mushrooms, peppers, onions, and lots of zucchini (which I never ate before unless it was in zucchini bread :). Add Walden Farms thousand island dressing and maybe some diced grilled chicken for dinner and it can be very satisfying. I also like to put salsa in my salad to liven it up - after checking that the salsa is primarily veggies and no sugar. Hope this helps!



Great advice!! I have such an all or nothing mindset. Unfortunately, knowing this is my problem does little to fix it. I like your idea of changing "never" to "not now but maybe someday".

I too am much flabbier than before I started this 6 months ago. I also gained more weight back - I am starting again at almost 8 lbs heavier than I was when I started. And the rate at which I gained this weight back was mind boggling. I'm a diabetic and can hardly eat carbs at all, ever, and the few that I took in turned in to unbelievable weight gain. Just unbelievable. I would have had to have eaten an entire sheet cake every day to gain this kind of weight before I did IP. It scares the **** out of me to think that I could have altered my system so completely. I lost 20 lbs on the Zone Diet a year before I started IP and never gained that back. It was slower to come off and I was allowed to have low fat cheese and 2 small fruits a day - but other than that, it was low carb, low fat, 16 oz. of protein, non starchy veggies and tons of water. But there were no cheese curls, or apple cinnamon puffs or chocolate puffs. These are the items I rely on with this program. I don't know, I may still be on the fence a bit. This is day 3 for me and I am absolutely wiped out. My bones hurt, my skin hurts, I'm so tired. I can barely get off the couch. And yes, thinking about cravings...

I am 7 pounds from goal. Been having a very difficult time staying OP. Seem to have a hard time with extra IP restricted snacks daily. It is my TOM now, and it's especially challenging.
One NSV last week, I bought a pair of jeans in a size 4! My 6's are lose! I dont know how this is possible when the scale has been moving so slow. I have lost 25 pounds on IP 10 before hand and went from an almost 14, to a 4/6? How is that even possible? Having surgery Thursday, so im thinking that week should be easy to stay OP as I will not want to cook. Will rely heavily on my IP foods. The dr recommended a HP diet for faster recovery. Perfect.
Anyway, I am motivated to knock out these last 7 pounds, may even change my goal to 145 at some point, well see.

Originally Posted by esammy12:
I too am much flabbier than before I started this 6 months ago. I also gained more weight back - I am starting again at almost 8 lbs heavier than I was when I started. And the rate at which I gained this weight back was mind boggling. I'm a diabetic and can hardly eat carbs at all, ever, and the few that I took in turned in to unbelievable weight gain. Just unbelievable. I would have had to have eaten an entire sheet cake every day to gain this kind of weight before I did IP. It scares the **** out of me to think that I could have altered my system so completely. I lost 20 lbs on the Zone Diet a year before I started IP and never gained that back. It was slower to come off and I was allowed to have low fat cheese and 2 small fruits a day - but other than that, it was low carb, low fat, 16 oz. of protein, non starchy veggies and tons of water. But there were no cheese curls, or apple cinnamon puffs or chocolate puffs. These are the items I rely on with this program. I don't know, I may still be on the fence a bit. This is day 3 for me and I am absolutely wiped out. My bones hurt, my skin hurts, I'm so tired. I can barely get off the couch. And yes, thinking about cravings...

This is very scary to me. I have gained weight back instantly on any other plans I have been on and even before IP I was eating low carb, low cal.

I was hoping phasing off properly would help with this and also the fact I am losing much slower than most people, possibly because the plan is not too far from my normal way of eating.

I guess all one can do is keep on trucking and hope for the best.

Pat

Essamy and Patns, please read Disgal's post in today's The Maintainers. It makes sense to me.

one word....weekends...uggg

Still struggeling
 

Hey guys, :(

I know, I know it's only week 1, but I am soooo sick of vegetables. I can barely choke them down anymore and it's only week one. Help! Can you
give me some ideas of how to eat all of these vegetables? I have sauteed,
put them in the soup (yuck) and eaten them raw and I am so tired of them.

Can I do salad instead or a low sodium V-8 to get some of the veggies
in?

Thanks,
Carol.

Originally Posted by mickey2011:
Hey guys, :(

I know, I know it's only week 1, but I am soooo sick of vegetables. I can barely choke them down anymore and it's only week one. Help! Can you
give me some ideas of how to eat all of these vegetables? I have sauteed,
put them in the soup (yuck) and eaten them raw and I am so tired of them.

Can I do salad instead or a low sodium V-8 to get some of the veggies
in?

Thanks,
Carol.

54 weeks later and all I can say is that I told myself over and over to "suck it up"....spending my entire adult life as size 18 and hating every minute of it to a size 6....it was worth it. Sorry...but that is how I got through it...good old fashion will power. But please know that you are so WORTH IT!!!! and sea salt, roasting, and tamari go a long way.

Why do you ask if you can eat a salad "instead". A salad is veggies. My coach suggested that two cups should be cooked but I much prefer two large salads a day. I only mind chopping them up. Having a large salad at at least one meal a day is something I plan to do for the rest of my life.

Originally Posted by Linden:
Essamy and Patns, please read Disgal's post in today's The Maintainers. It makes sense to me.

Thank you Linden, it did make sense.

I'm back
 

:o First week back on this wonderful program and did NOT lose anything :^:
So I'm so ready to start losing this week...30 more lbs here we come,,,

Originally Posted by mickey2011:
Hey guys, :(

Can I do salad instead or a low sodium V-8 to get some of the veggies
in?

V-8 juice is out of the question because tomatoes are restricted. One small glass would be like eating 3 or more tomatoes. And let me clarify about eating vegetables and salads. Vegetables are required, 4 cups. Without them you miss vital nutrients and fiber. Salad, as much as you like and hopefully Romaine for the nutrition and fiber, is a freebee, relatively low in carbohydrates, 4.67 for 4 cups, mineral rich, and has 2.2 g fiber.

How did you handle vegetables the first time you started?

To help with vegetables, try chopping them finely in a cusinart or blender. Yesterday I made a shrimp salad by chopping 2 total cups of green onions,cilantro, white onion, tomatoes,celery, and jalapeno. Mix the chopped vegetables with cooked shrimp.or tuna. Sprinkle with lime juice and add wf mayo if needed. Then you can eat with lettuce leaves.

Aunty Sheesha: I loved the article you posted. I am saving it.