Sandy,
good luck on your WI ! Ya know I love everybody on this thread, I feel you are open and honest about what goes on in life and diet. I have been totally honest with ups and downs. I think that makes people going through the same thing feel better. We all are adults and we do what we have to do, to make "it" work for us. I am phasing off and comfortable with it. My body really needs the fruit and yogurt that PH3/4 provides. If you read the original diet, it was never meant for long term. I will jump back to PHI after the holidays and play it by ear, if the big "C" starts again, I will phase off. I don''t care if it takes a year to lose the rest of my weight. I am healthy and comfortable. I won't leave the boards though. I like the accountability and friendship. AND I am seeing WUV all the way through, she has been such an inspiration. 2Ride, you are also awesome and I don't think you have an "actual" rant in you. tee hee. I salute you all for your contributions!

WUV, I didn't mean anything negative about the 100% thread, I just meant for me it was hard to decide what 100% meant because some coaches say one thing and others say another so it's hard to say what's exactly right. I tend to be pretty rule driven so probably was taking the concept of 100% to an extreme.

Okay now I don't really understand, and maybe it is because I never seriously was ever on a diet other than this one. My thought is this maybe when you get to 17 week and want to quit the diets and you say you tend to quit... so this is what I think it is you have to refocus on your goal... what you are experiencing is your inner child having a temper tantrum because it can't have what it wants... tell it to settle down and eventually you can have what it wants (but not needs). Now focus on the goal and stay focused.:hug:

I wouldn't do it one day at a time, unless you are like somewhere and can't get a phase 1 done do a phase 2... I would do a week on phase 2 and a week off and see how that goes. Give your body a little time to adjust to phase 2.

Congrats that is great news...

I am sorry Lisa I didn't mean to be mean and it isn't really about you honestly... I am glad you answer the endless questions and am thankful you do and you don't bite peoples heads off. cause after a while I feel like doing that. Yes you have a long way to go but you may want to hang with us once and a while. I promise to behave myself. You are really an inspiration and this is (me being mean again) this week you are going to lose again and have lost more than me again... I mean really do you know what it took for me to lose 3 lbs to get ahead of you again? man .

Now about the 100% thread, I was just explaining why I never put my story on there as about the time that you opened it was the time I was having my stall and feeling crummie and all that I was reading day after day is I cheated and... and I think I just got so frustrated I had a cookie... yep me... the one that kept telling everyone how could you cheat? and here I was a hipocrate(spelling??) and I don't know if I am successful yet? my story isn't over and probably won't ever be over but ... I just couldn't put something there as other than the cookie and peanut butter I have been 100% OP.. and the thing that really rubbed me wrong is I told my coach I cheated and she didn't really say anything but she did tell me she was at another client's place and that lady really wanted to cheat ( with yogurt) and she told her it was okay... so that was more what my rant was about the 100% op thing. I guess I was just trying to justify my cheat. Either way I don't think it helped my weight loss but I don't think it could have slowed it down any more.
The problem with written words is you can't put the nuances that we do with our voices..

No excuses, I apologize for my Rant, that is the only thing I can say is I am sorry my post hurt you, not really my intentions.. just a little frustrated.

I miss the old daily thread where we all got to know about each other and we talked about stuff other than the diet and answering questions. It just frustrates me that some are still saying they can't find the stickies. Really! have you read the first post each day? I know at one point I had stopped reading the daily after someone had said they didn't want to hear anymore about peoples dogs... so we all will learn.

Have a good night.

I will hang out in here every now and then do you really think I won't come check on y'all?? yea right...haha....No need for apologies, I was just explaining why I started the threads and what my intentions were when I did them. You have done an outstanding job on your weight loss, I am losing like I am losing because I have almost 200lbs to lose, not that your 100lbs means nothing because it does! My losses will slow down eventually and I will be prepared for that when it happens from watching all of you go through it. Its all water under the bridge now so its all good :) Time to keep moving forward!!

.


Jenny - I switched to Ph 2 in September and have still consistently lost. My first week on Ph 2 was a low lost and after that first week it's been 1-4 lb losses each week. I don't mind a 1lb loss - to me that's not a bad thing since a loss is a loss. I like the flexibility of Ph 2. I still do Ph 1 days when I'm super busy and can't find 'real' protein.

I really like this thread. I am thinking of losing another 10ish lbs and then phasing off. So many of you are THIN now moving into Ph 3. Congrats to all of you!

My goal is to fit in a comfortable size 12 which isn't thin (I am 5'7") for my height but it's a good size for me to maintain. I have never been smaller than that - ever - am I'm too scared to get too small and not be able to maintain it.

[QUOTE=stolaf;4085195].

Jenny - I switched to Ph 2 in September and have still consistently lost. My first week on Ph 2 was a low loss. After that first week it's been 1-4 lb losses each week. I don't mind a 1lb loss - to me that's not a bad thing since a loss is a loss. I like the flexibility of Phase 2. I still do Ph 1 days when I'm super busy and can't find 'real' protein.

I really like this thread. I am thinking of losing another 10ish lbs and then phasing off. So many of you are THIN now moving into Ph 3. Congrats to all of you!

My goal is to fit in a comfortable size 12 which isn't thin (I am 5'7") for my height but it's a good size for me to maintain. I have never been smaller than that - ever - am I'm too scared to get too small and not be able to maintain it.

Ha ha! You said exactly what I was thinking the other day. "Really? Do you ever read the first post of the daily thread? I know everyone is busy, but does it really take that long?"

When I used to start the daily thread, I went to so much time/effort to redesign it so that it was easy to read. I think it's easier now than it used to be.

I miss the old daily thread too. And I love hearing about your dogs...

Thanks! I am getting ready to head out the door for my WI and will talk to my coach again. I think I might do 1 more week of P1 (that was her original suggestion) and then switch to P2, even if it means being there for a few weeks.

See, I feel the same way you do about the size. A long time ago when I was very heavy, I always thought, I just want to get into a size 8 (single digits and all that). Now will IP, I blew through 8's in about a month. I am now wearing 6's and some 4's and I have NEVER BEEN THIS SMALL! I am happy with where I am at size wise, and happy with my new, smaller body. But I would like to see a little bit of a smaller # on the scale because I would like a little bit of leeway when I start phasing off.

As you can see, I am definitely struggling with the mental aspect of the dreaded "last 10 pounds" :) It is time to run off to WI, even though I officially count what I see on my scale because WI naked ;)

I will certainly keep you posted on what I end up deciding

Good morning! Guess who saw a new number on the scale this morning? Yep, 157. Maybe I CAN reach the 156s by weigh in tomorrow. (I just hope it doesn't go the opposite way since sometimes it does that to me...being an everyday weigher.)

I decided against the chicken at lunch because we have parent teacher conferences tonight and my husband has practice with his band so they decided to order pizza and I will need the chicken then. It will be my first week in months not having 3 fried eggs the night before a weigh in. ;)

2ride.....You don't think switching it up and doing a day in phase 2 here and there would help at all? My chiro had mentioned starting with weekends would be a great idea so I never thought I had to go a full week at a time.

As I was showering this morning I had several thoughts running through my crazy little head. One was, at 157 you are 12 pounds from goal. There is NO WAY you are getting rid of this fat in 12 pounds. I think I will lower my goal by 5 to start but not yet. I'm just leaving it in the back of my mind. I want to see what the 12 pounds does, or close to it, and then reevaluate. I'm not sure in my eyes I will ever be happy so I need to just see how my clothes fit and where I'm at when I get there. I know it's very common to take off more towards the end, even if it is slow going, because you pull this goal weight out of the sky on day 1.

Good luck today Sandy and whoever else weighs in. Can't wait to celebrate all the great losses!

Good luck at weigh in! I go in 40 min. and I am afraid the scale is UP a pound from yesterday. sigh....it might be the same weight. Why do I always have the big C on weigh in day. I tried the salt in water trick, hope it works before I go! heehhee

Oh Sandy! I heard that's awful and haven't brought myself to try that one yet. Good luck!

Jumping on here. I'm experienced alright. Does that sound right :)
I really enjoy reading all of your posts to encourage me to keep going. Thanks!

Good morning!
I'm hungry and sleepy but so ready to ditch the next 3 lbs this week and start Phase 2 next week. I hate it when mornings are still dark and you have to get mobile. Painful. Have a good day!!

Totally off topic but you know what I think is funny? My icon at fatsecret is a piece of cheese. That's the one thing I craved the most this whole time. That's all. ;)

Are you moving no matter what next week? I'm so excited so many are moving so I can see if the losses are the same, better or stall. Good luck with that 3 pounds. :carrot:

If that is what your coach says then I would go with them... I just thought a day here and a day there you wouldn't notice the difference as 1 whole week with a routine... I am into routines... It is hard when we are showering and still see the fat but a lot of exercising will tone us up real good I have finally bought an exercise ball (had one but no pump for it, those suckers are hard to find) and was going to start yesterday, but it was after 7 by the time I got home fed my animals and ate my food.. well it was late and I am in the beginnings of a cold.. runny nose and sore throat, I hate being sick so I have been taking cold -FX to help but was feeling a little crummy last night. Hopefully I will start feeling better today.

Yesterday was a write off no matter how we looked at it... accident on the highway was 1 hour late for work, forgot about a meeting arrived 1/2 hour late. And played catchup all day...and am now on standby for 7 days. today is bound to be better. Have a great day.:hug:

Just back from weigh in! Lost 1 pound and 1 inch. I am officially 159!

My day went downhill yesterday too. I got a call from my oldest daughter's teacher about 1:30 that she was sick and I needed to come and get her. Then my youngest came home from school crying because her arm hurt. She fell off the monkey bars last period. I brought her to the chiro and her shoulder was out so we are lucky that was an easy fix and no breaks. Here's to a better day!

Oh, and my chiro isn't my coach, just a friend on the program also. She has been asked to start selling and consulting in her clinic though and is pretty close to saying yes I think. (I hope!) She's been to 5 meeting about IP. 3 before she started it because she was such a sceptic. (sp?) She knows pretty much anything I ask. :)

:cp::dancer:

You did it!

And you only have 9 left! So jealous.....you rock!

hA! I look at my belly in the shower and think that too! I try to guess how much my belly weighs. Diet coach says that's the last to go. And she thinks in ten pounds I will see a big difference...hmmmm we will see. If I am not done by Thanksgiving I definitely will phase off by Christmas. Social settings just keep getting harder and harded. Maybe in January I can jump back on if I feel the need. Plan to find a new Gym once I stop buying so many packets, phase 3= find a gym to tighten tummy!

Can't wait to hear! That is what I would suggest too. :) definitely start phase 2 next week.

Oh and Sandy, how did the salt water thing end up goin?

:hug: Yay you!!! So glad you made the cut this week too!!

I was going to say, "let's not stay here long though and make it the 140s club soon" but I see I'm shorter than you ladies and will be going to the 140s alone. :(

:( don't worry, you're never alone here. Besides I still have 9 lbs to go could be here for ages yet hehe

Just got back from WI, down another pound, so I am slowly making my way down. I talked to my coach again this morning and she had some very sound advice for me, and I now feel so much better and a lot less preoccupied.

We discussed that starting next week, I am going to start P2 and start phasing off. Here is what she said to me to help me make this decision and put my mind at ease:

I have met and / or exceeded my original goals, which were to 1). Get down into single digit sizes. I orginally was aiming for 8, but I am now comfortable in 6's and some 4's. And 2). I want my body to reflect all of the hard work I put into it ie: exercise. I have been exercising for years and running, doing marathons and triathlons and I never felt like my body reflected the inner "athlete" that I am. Now, it does.

So, does it really matter what I actually weigh? I have accomplished my goals. I am happy, comfortable and confident in my new looks. She also told me that I want to be at a weight that I can EASILY maintain. Sure I could probably keep losing and keep at it, but how much of a struggle would it be for me to maintain a weight like 120-125? I would constantly be "dieting" and trying to maintain that weight. Where I am roughly at is a healthy weight that I can maintain without constantly worrying about it. I just want to live a healthy, normal lifestyle.

And on a final note of our discussion, she said to try maintaining at this weight for a while and see how it goes. If a few months pass and I feel like I really want to lose more, then I can always go back on P1 for a month or 2 and drop another 10# or so.

I am so down with this plan and I feel so much more at ease about it. I am finishing up this week on P1 (my weeks go Wed-Wed) and starting P2 next week (Nov. 2). According to my coach, I should still lose on P2, so I am hoping to lose those "leeway" pounds so I can maintain comfortably here, at least for the next couple of months. And if I want to re-evaluate in February or so, I will.

That sounds like a great plan! I am the same, I want a size 8, although I'd prefer a 6, and I'm thinking 12 more pounds won't get me there. I'm in a few 8s but mostly 9/10s at this point. Good luck next week. How exciting, now the phase 3 planning will start. (At least for me it will start when I start 2 because I will need a few weeks to get my head around it all.)

Hey Hey Everyone!

I'm so excited I have to post it twice (I tend to go to the daily, but I am going to be in here once in a while too).

I'm offically smaller then my VIP...TEE HEE. OMG I can't believe how excited I am, I have never ever been smaller then the big deal in my life. If I only knew last week how much better I would feel this week then I probably would have been able to snap out of my grumpiness. LOL

Next up, 100 lbs! I wonder if I'll be AS excited as I am today. lol I'm not excited that I have to go two weeks without a scale again though. :)

Everyone have a great day!!! :D

congrats...

I did that in grade 4 fell off the monkey bars and broke my arm, didn't tell anyone for about 6 hours and by then it was swollen up like a balloon.. I can remember it clearly happened on a Sunday, got to the hospital around 8 pm and they wanted me to stay overnight and I said no way (probablly had a hissy fit) so they called in the xray tech on overtime, then set my arm and I was back in school the next day... It was kind of funny cause my one brother was so proud of me that I didn't cry and I kept quiet for so long... silly the things we remember.

I hope all of you in the 150's don't take as long as me to hit the 140s it seemed like forever I think it was over 2 months.. but it sounds like you all are still losing steadily so you shouldn't have any problems there.

Jenny - Your coach has given you sound advice and it is similar to what I realized last week after all the struggling. I am losing in phase 2 so you probably will as well, eveyone is different. Look forward to phasing off this is what we all worked so hard to get there.

I hope not too! I avg a month in a decade but the 160s took me 5 weeks to get through so it wouldn't surprise me if the 150s took just as long, if not longer. I hope to join you in the 140s SOON!

It sounds like you have a wise coach. :) It's nice to be reminded why we originally started this. Good luck with your plan.

Yes, my coach is awesome! She has done IP and definitely has a good grasp of it. I am excited to have finally made a decision and yes, I am hoping that I will continue to lose in P2. So technically, I have 3 weeks of weight loss left before I start P3 and maintenance, and whatever I am at, I am at. Thank you all for your support! Sometimes I don't know what I would do without 3FC!

Isn't that the truth, I often wonder if you all weren't around how well I would have done... I really enjoy our chats. :D

LOVE THIS PLAN!!! Way to go!! I hope you are excited! Sounds like a great plan to the rest of your life!:cheer::broc::cheer::congrat:
i think you just inspired me to go outside and walk. and come inside and do some abs/arms. i need to tighten this tummy. no excuses with, what i put my goal at...10lbs to go. :^:

It's almost midnight here and Iäm reflecting on the daz from ****- (Thatäs what happens when zou tzpe English on a German kezboard.)

In another thread IowaMom and I reflected on ''those days'' when even the cat can't lick itself in the right direction. Started (mechanically) with the electric tooth brush stopping dead mid brush. A bad omen. In between other disturbing electric phenomena, the computer I'm borrowing from my daughter-in-law, because mine died, locked out, undoubtedly because Andy-the-cat was sitting on it for warmth while I finished washing the dishes, because the dishwasher STILLLLL isn't hooked up.

Finally got the password from D-in-L AND it threw me back in to some arcane world that only speaks Deutche and I lost all my saved desktop icons. Everzthing. Zip.

No problem. We live in a flexible world, right. OK, OK, so I can't find the question mark.

So the skirt I'm knitting for my grandaughter, knit on tiny circular needles, has to be ripped out because, somehow, I managed to twist it when I joined the ends. A learning experience.

And I continue my four day barrage at Amazon and a vendor for the whey isolate I ordered a week ago and it still hasn't arrived allthough they say it was delivered last FRIDAY. I have been totally out of IP alternative and, I think I mentioned, hungry - for three days now - even using a very expensive pharmacy substitute and a sort of Phase 2. Only gained 3.9 pounds. Two weeks down the drain, so to speak.

Sheeze. And I could go on. 2 Ride, THIS is a RANT.

Thanks so verz much for listening (or not, if you were wise.)

EDIT. Lord, I hope zouäre laughing. I mean, that was sort of the intent.

I am so glad that I looked at the list today and found this thread. You guys are just exactly what I needed today to lift me up and maybe even smack me in the face a bit. I have been having a really horrible month! I have been on IP since Feb and did not have a single cheat until Sept and then I just kind of gave up. I would tell myself that I would stay OP but I don't think I went more than 2 days this past month without having something extra. I am doing ok during the day but can't seem to control myself at night. I will wander out to the kitchen and just start grazing.
I had pretty much decided to phase off as I am pretty happy with my size. I really wanted to be able to say that I had lost 100 lbs but I am in a size 8 now and really liking it. Now I am just trying to get in two weeks on phase 2 so I can phase off. Aargh! I so don't want to have all this hard work go to waste. And I really want to do it properly and phase off right. So here's to hanging in there and finishing this off right!

Phase 1 should have it's own stages. Just from reading this site and my own experience, I've found:
Stage 1: Excited to start, Day 1 is so hard!! Where is the recipe for Big Mac in a bowl? I'm starving, but made it through! Whew! Can I eat this or that? Which WF dressings are good? Everybody is figuring out how to do this diet and the site search isn't the easiest to figure out. I don't think anybody reads the first post of the Daily Chat. Expect newbies to go through 2-3 weeks of this stage at least. The more threads created, the better, Woohoo!
Stage 2: Getting everything figured out, settling into a routine. You know what you like and you know what you don't like. Most people are still losing high numbers on their WI's. All is well with Ideal Protein. Clothes are getting too big, people are experiencing NSVs all the time. People are feeling really good!
Stage 3: You are about 2 or 3 sizes or 15-20 lbs away from your goal. If you've been on IP for at least 3 months or so, you're starting to wonder how long you will have to keep doing this. You want to kick the scale when there is no loss or the loss is low. 2 -3 lbs? You dance out of your visit. You're starting to think about the next phases and wonder how in the world you will eat all of that breakfast on phase 3. You're scared because you are so used to your routine, but you start trying to figure it out. You start getting frustrated that nobody reads the first post on the Daily Chat thread. You get tired of trying to find your favorite thread because 20 new threads by the same new member were started during the same day. You think about kicking a puppy, but don't.
Stage 4: You have 10 lbs or less to lose from reaching your goal. You want to curse the scale because it barely budges from one week to the next. You can't wait to start the next phase because you want some variety back in your life. You're ready to move on and that "fun" day is sounding so darn wonderful, and at the same time, still really scary. You are thankful when you lose a whole pound and not just point something of a pound. You wonder if you set your goal weight correctly. What is it about that magic number you set out to reach? Maybe it's really too low, or maybe I need to lower it? Will I ever lose these last 10 lbs? Thank goodness no puppies are around to kick. You're sick of all the people in the daily chat posting about losing 10 lbs in a week. You don't care if they eat Big Mac in a bowl and liked it. You want to gouge your eyes out when you read about all the cheats and then the same person wonders why they "only" lost 5 lbs that week. Maybe you will kick a kitten in frustration.

Disclaimer: This poster does not advise people to kick kittens or puppies. I only posted that to be funny and sarcastic.

I find myself currently in between stages 2 and 3. Hopefully that makes me experienced enough to join you guys in this thread.

Not sure if you read through the entire thread, but I am in a very similar situation. I made the firm decision today that starting next Wed., I am phasing off. Like you, I am very happy with where I am and happy with my new size. I still have a ton of packets (I have to buy by the box and had bought some extras so I could have variety) so I am doing this last week at P1 and starting Nov. 2, I am officially phasing off. I am so excited with this decision.

I hope you decide to stick to P2 so you can phase off properly. I am a firm believer in that being the most important thing we do on this diet, phase off the right way. Otherwise, I think we will set ourselves up for failure in the future.

100 lbs is a great accomplishment...WOW you must feel great. I find so much of this is mental....one of my favorite sayings is...nothing tastes as good as thin feels! Phase off properly and be happy with yourself...you can do it....we believe in you. Stay strong...think of how successful you have been.

Yes, I am very excited with this decision. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I spent all last week agonizing over this, it was definitely weighing heavy on my mind. I kept thinking, how can I be so happy with what I have accomplished and still feel so low about reaching goal??? I feel like a new woman today! :D

How stinkin true! Love it!