Thanks Bellamack!

I have committed to myself that I will stay on IP until 12/31. If I am still losing at the same rate then I will switch to alternatives as well... I know this works, I just can't afford to stay on IP for the amount of time it will take to lose 79lbs with 1 lb losses!

I'm 40 yrs old, but do have PCOS so I've been fighting my hormones for a long time... I'm still confident that THIS program will work, its just a question of using pure IP or alternatives for me.... :)

Boston,

I saw no difference using alternatives and itsaboutime has used all alternatives from the beginning and she is about to hit 50 lbs lost. I, like you just couldn't keep paying the prices of IP, I liked it just fine. WE have very high heat bills in upstate NY, so I need the money-saved for that. lol
Keep coming to the boards, there is always someone to support you, it is what got me through the down times. Good Luck!

Phase III, you are moving right along aren't ya Bella. I am so glad you hung in there...Very proud of you for sticking it out!!....Now you get to enjoy the foods and have the knowledge to know what you have to do to keep it going :)

Yep Wuv,

I decided to phase off and see what maintenance is like and then plan to be right back at the last 20 lbs after the first. I figure since I do lose slow that Jan/Feb/March is a good time to be on plan, there is not much going on since it is dark when you get up and dark when you get out of work. People just go home and try to stay warm. lol.

Wuv, talk about being proud, just look at you! Your progress pics are unbelievable, you were always pretty, but you needed to get healthy too and you are blowin' the roof off of it! You look like a diffent person, and I am sure you feel like it too. I am staying on here for support and most of all to see you all the way to your goal! God Bless :)

Hi, I was going to add to be sure you were getting enough protein at your "regular" meal but that looks fine.

One thing that affects weightloss if you are post menopausal. I am and lose from 1 to 2 pounds per week some weeks even less. But if you are younger the weight usually goes quicker.

Like Bella I switched to alternatives because the real IP program was too expensive for me because I lose too slowly. I also don't need grief from a coach because of slow loses when following the program exactly.
But in all honesty my coach wasn't like that at all.

Like WUV the only thing I see that may be a little off is the amount of veggies.
Good luck and just keep on trucking.
Pat

Wuv - awesome photos, love the bracelet, hope your aunt is not suffering.

Wayward - your little one is so adorable

Port - congrats on the A+

Bella - good luck with maintenance

Everyone else sorry I just skimmed the thread, trying to catch up. Have been sick, if I couldn't suck through a straw I couldn't eat it. Spinach blended into tomato juice looks nasty but not a bad eat.

Here is wishing everyone health.

Thanks Bella, I am very proud of myself for doing this and getting this far and not even being tempted. I see myself in the mirror everyday so I don't notice a difference as I do when I see a picture like this one. I would say I have come a long way and I am over Halfway done!! I think ok ok I know I can be finish by my birthday in Feb or so I am hoping. If not I can get it by my year mark on IP. THAT I KNOW I can do :)

Thanks blu, I hope you get to feeling better soon. The only thing that stinks is it is just the beginning of winter I hope this doesn't mean you are going to be sick all winter that would totally suck. Do what you can to get food down, Keep checking in, I'll be worried if you don't!

Good morning everyone, Had a quiet weekend of Football but it was a great weekend because BOTH LSU and the SAINTS won!!!.....whoop whoop!! Steven worked all weekend so it was me and the tv....lol...I drank my hot tea, not that it was cool here this weekend but it seems to be making me "feel" skinny. I go to the restroom a lot more when I drink Hot stuff! So we will see when I WI on Wednesday just how much of a difference it makes:)

I hope everyone had a great weekend and has an even better work week this week. Don't forget the NEW spreadsheet challenge is on. The Halloween Challenge as a group we loss over 845lbs!!!! Is that crazy or what?? I think its FANTASTIC, we have an awesome group here on this board. I think we can hit 900lbs with this challenge what about you???

Good morning everyone... busy weekend.
I finally told the motorcycle job that I just haven't had time to make my dealer visits.
It seems like something has come up every weekend and I just haven't been able to do it, I think a part of it was I lost some motivation to donate more of my time when they wouldn't accommodate for me if I am honest about it.

Got on the bike each day this weekend, got my lawn mowed again and my neighbors who is ruffing it over in Hawaii, so 8 big bags of leaves from the mower lol.
Went to the Vandals basketball game on Saturday, was a great game we won 114-71, so far they have won their first 2 games by at least 30 points.
Read another 2 books this weekend as well, now if I can just get the little guy to sleep in his own fricken bed I could get some sleep too.

I get my new coat today yay, as well as the 2 coats I ordered for my little guy from the Disney store that have his name on them :)
Still OP, my wife did find some cheese that she wanted to put on our taco meat this weekend, it was like 40 calories, no carbs and like 1 fat so I tried it.
Of course she put more on than I would have liked it almost made it too greasy.
Hoping for a better WI this week, I guess we will find out tomorrow.
Everyone stay positive.

Sounds like you had a busy weekend!! and a new coat is good since I am sure it is cold there by now! getting your little guy to sleep in his own bed will be a chore that is for sure. When I had enough of mine sleeping with us I had to swallow and make a choice just to put him in his crib and let him cry. Sounds mean but it worked. Only took him 3 nights of crying then he knew he was sleeping in his own bed.

Wuv, do you count decaf tea equal to water? I would love to switch it up! And my office is always COLD so hot tea would help me a lot...

Yup, I do, My first pot is the strongest then when I reuse the tea bags it gets weaker so there isn't enough tea in it. This is how I do it but may not work for others.

Hello!
Just in case you don't read the recipe thread I wanted to show you what I made last night. It was really good and a nice change.
I used the vanilla pudding to make waffles. The recipe is on the thread but I did it a little different, I think. I mixed the pudding, 3oz water, 2 egg whites, 1tsp vanilla, pinch of baking powder, pinch of sea salt and two pinches of cinamon. Put it in a waffle maker and got 2 waffles out of it. You could do just this for a snack but I decided to make it with my dinner protein of 2 eggs and also shredded zuchinin cooked like hashbrowns. I used the WF syrup on the waffles and it was all so good. I attached a picture of the final product :). Have a great day and week all!!

I will try to check in more but sleep over comes everything else. I really do not want to be sick all winter but I have a feeling it might be one of those winters...mur.

I did not lose anything last week, nor did I gain so I am happy about that. Hoping for at least a small loss this week. I'll take anything. Some days like last week I feel my body is fighting me tooth and nail on this journey, at least I know I'll go down fighting.

Sounds good Sarah, actually looks good too.
Myself I had steak and shrimp last night, we also found some baked chicken breast from Schwans that are only 4 grams of fat and 7 carbs, they are very lightly breaded, makes for a nice taste change and still very juicy and you get that little bit of breading taste without the usual 35+ carbs that comes with breaded chicken.

Blu, we all have weeks like that, last week was frustrating to me, not that there wasn't change since I lost a couple of inches, and my lean mass went up by 4 pounds and my body fat dropped to 21% but 1 pound down effected my goal date.
I am hoping for change this week I do not want to push back to January, but if I go at 1-2 pounds a week I will have to.

Thank you! Maybe I'll make the first pot and toss it so that I start with weak tea?? I took your advice and got 60ozs of water in today already and am starting on the next one to get to 80ozs. Maybe by the end of the week my body will be used to it so I won't have to move my desk into the ladies room!