Thanks! It does feel good...and great job for you too. I think my "easy lbs" are done because it was mostly water weight. Now come the tough pounds. You're doing this the right way and yay for your all time low. :)

Wishing everyone a happy Mardi Gras! One of my co-workers went down to NOLA over the weekend, and he brought back a king cake. So I had a piece for breakfast...I know....bad girl, but I'm treating it as a phase 3 day. Carbs in the morning, and then strict after that.

Cajun- Sorry if you have mentioned this in the past, but how long did you maintain at 130 (ish) before you decided to go back on P1? I have been hanging around 132-133 since December and am THINKING about going back on P1 to try to get to 125. I am not totally sure though.

I have been doing the 24 day Advocare cleanse and I thought I might drop a few, but that has not really been the case. I am feeling really good though, so I am going to continue (10 days to go) and see it through. But it has kind of been on my mind to lose a little more.

Anyway, I am just curious as to how long you maintained your "goal" weight before deciding to lose a little more.

You might find this interesting. Fun? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0207133750.htm Saw a similar article in the NY TIMES and went looking for the original citation. This is as close as I could get.

I stayed in the 130 - 134 range until about December (so from Aug - Dec), then I was terrible about bringing my fruits/veggies/healthy snacks to work. So between December and the beginning of Feb., I went from about 135 to 141 (mostly water weight, it looks like). So now I'm back to 136 and determined to get at least those 6lbs off.

Wow! I mean, it does follow the principal of maintenance/IP that you should have your largest meal in the morning, and it can combine fats and carbs. I wish I could have king cake every day...LOL...but I'll be satisfied when I can have my Whole Wheat English muffins back. :) Thanks for posting!

It's nice to see a few new faces in here. Welcome all!
My kids are out of school until Thursday for Mardi Gras. They have been keeping me really busy. It's a gorgeous day outside. The high is supposed to be in the 70's with very little humidity. We don't go to any parades, so I've just been enjoying the boys while they are home. My oldest son turns 11 tomorrow. He is going to an LSU baseball game with a friend, so we will do a little family get together tonight for his birthday. Tacos for everyone! Except I will be having a taco salad. :) We are having an ice skating party this Saturday with his friends and extended family. I'm baking chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes with choc chip cookie dough buttercream frosting per his request. I've never made them before, but man they sound good!

Not a maintainer yet but I'm always cold nowadays...my thyroid is off a bit since beginning IP so it could be that but I'm wishing for summer and it use to be my least favorite season!

Hey LINDEN. How are you doing??

Thanks. I am not sure what I am going to do, but it is good to know that before the holidays hit you were able to maintain for so long. When I hit "goal" my coach said I should see how I do maintaining this weight before I decide if I want to lose more. I guess that is where I am now. :) Right now 135 is my ceiling #, and I think it would be nice to have 130 as my ceiling number. The biggest thing for me is wrapping my head around doing P1 again. My head is definitely not ready for that ;)

I think I am getting there. I am not nearly as cold as I was on P1, but even before IP, I was cold when others were not. I have a low body temp in general (97.1 is my norm) so it could be that.

On a positive note, I have noticed that my hair is no longer coming out in handfuls. And I have quite a bit of new growth.

Pxlkitty- That is great that you were able to enjoy your trip and gain so little! I'm getting really curious about this "wheat phenomenon". Just wondering, is it only wheat or other grains as well?

Cajunladybug- Congrats on the loss so far! Do you use other products from nashua? I've been thinking about ordering more alternatives.. I'm trying to go through the "Alternative products" thread at the moment.

bigpassport- Congrats on getting to your all time low! Did you gain any weight at all during phase 3 and/or 4 when you first phased off?

gettingmygrooveback- After I finished phase 3 the first time I went on vacation and didn't follow phase 4 protocol, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but mostly I wasn't cold anymore.. after maybe 1-2 days. There's only one thing that hasn't changed for me though, which is that I get really cold after eating.. this happened even while I was on vacation. I've read some info on this, but I'm not satisfied with the varied explanations I've found.. so I"ll ask my doctor next time I'm in.

Ok, so phase 1 still going well so far. The baby shower was .. alright. Not a lot of phase 1 foods available there, except for some cucumber and tomato slices which was enough for me. We were late and most people had already eaten, so I ate while others were playing games and instead of trying to explain my choices... I just "pretended" to be eating more (as in I put some dips on my plate which I didn't eat and then I felt terrible for wasting food.. ) I really do have to continue working on being more blunt instead.

Jenny- Thanks for letting us know that your hair isn't falling out as much! It gives me hope that one day mine will go back to normal as well. Im using nioxin products, which seem to help some, and just started taking biotin as well.

Gika..I do the same..I put things on my plate and don't eat them..It sounds like you did well at the baby shower.

I still get cold! I wear double socks. I am wondering if that will ever change!

Happy Mardi Gras Day everyone..I envy you people in LA..you must have great celebrations.

Jenny: I started maintenance with 142 in OCT,,then kept slowly losing until Jan on Phase 3/4. I got down to 128 and have stayed there. You might try losing on Phase 3 and skip the free days and increase your exercise.

Help, I feel so powerless right now. I'm on day 6 and have done awesome. I stayed home from work today and opened the freezer and saw a pint of Hagen daaz. I thought I'd gotten rid of everything but I saw that and without even barely a thought opened the pint and ate the whole thing in about 5 minutes. I feel like I have ruined everything and like I won't ever be able to do this right. I can't express how discouraged and pissed off at myself I am right now. I really could use some words of wisdom. I so thought I was ready. I just don't get myself sometimes. Please help if you can. Thank you! I posted this in today's daily thread also but then thought maybe some of you veterans might be able to help me. Thank you!

Hi, I'm not a maintainer but I do lurk here often as I will be one in a handful of weeks. The best advice is just get back on track and don't dwell on this mishap. What's done is done and you can't reverse it. So, again, just get back in the saddle and prove you're ready to take this journey and live a healthy life! You can do and you are worth it (otherwise you wouldn't be so concerned). Tomorrow is a new day! Be well and stay positive! You CAN do this!

Hi everyone,

I hope it's okay to ask a question here!

I am 15 lbs away from my goal of 135 lbs and I am getting discouraged for a few reasons. 1) weight is barely coming off 2) I feel good and get a lot of compliments so I might be becoming complacent 3) my goal feels SO far away

I have lost 85 lbs since my heaviest weight so this has been a long road. If anyone can give me some advice on how to stay motivated to keep moving forward, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, how hard were the last 10-15 lbs for you to lose?

thank you! :hug: