Thanks for your post. We like to have wine with our meals and I've cut that out for now. Don't want it to be forever, but if choices have to be made, would prefer to have a sweet over alcohol. I know both are sugar, but 1 glass of wine becomes 2, then I start eating a little extra of this and that...so will experiment when that lovely time comes that I dream about - Phase 4!

Ishbel,
Thanks for mentioning Beck Diet Solution, I went to her website yesterday and read some the daily motivational quotes. They are excellent. While I did sign up for the newsletter, is there a way to have the daily motivational quotes emailed to you? I looked all around her website for that option, even sent them an email on it since it is such a simple thing for them to do once they have a subscriber list, which they do given their newsletter.

Things may have changed but last year I was working with Wuv on phasing out as I was taking a long trip and she had me do 2 weeks of phase 2 and 2 weeks of phase 3. I lost weight on both phases. I also barely gained weight on a no holds barred food and wine cruise, so given that experience, I will be repeating the same phase out sequence. I will not be repeating the crazy eating that followed phase out despite not having gained much then, since it was pure craziness and I don't want to tempt fate.

Have a good day all!

Welcome, and congratulations on losing 58 lbs! That's terrific:carrot: LOL re: all the different feelings! It is a big step with seemingly few guidelines. With trial & error you will find what works best for you.

I also use a mix of IP & alternatives on my P1 days, and enjoy the IP soups. Usually I add one of Liz's purees to the soup, and have a side salad too.

Kinda wish I had kept an article of clothing from 'before', but didn't. I have tried to be cost-conscious about buying new clothes, and have shopped at 2nd hand stores for some things. Once the weather gets warmer, I'll need to shop some more (though I've gotten a few excellent clearance sale bargains for summer clothes already!).

Scorbett - I skipped phase 2 entirely with no problems. Lost weight in phase 3, and even in maintenance as I was sorting out what my calorie range should be for maintenance. I just could not wait for those breakfasts - I am a breakfast lover! There was also some talk at that time that IP was considering dropping phase 2 entirely. There's an old thread on that somewhere.

Lori - have not had a phase 1 day yet. I prefer to just balance my calories. I'm sure I will need to do it eventually, but even then I think I will not give up my breakfast!

I hear you on not wanting to give up your breakfasts. I am a big breakfast eater and missing it right now since I am doing P1 this week. People are surprised at what I eat for breakfast, but then I keep it pretty much veggies and protein for the rest of the day with fruit or an IP bar for a snack. I realize that having too many "fun" days isn't worth having to spend these days back on P1, but I am sure glad it is here for me if I do need to get back on track.
I am 2 lbs up from where I want to be so am hoping to be there this weekend, so maybe I will get my big breakfast on Sunday!

Lizzy and Lori, I know what you mean about the breakfast. I haven't had a free day yet because I want my breakfast in the morning. I am loving the fruit.
Scorbett, I did do 2 weeks of phase 2 and lost some and in 3 also. I was going to shorten it but wasn't mentally prepared for P3 yet so I waited. I only ate 4 oz. Of protein for lunch or split 6 oz. Between the two meals. You'll do fine. I do like being a lower weight than what I chose for my goal.

mommak8 Welcome to maintenance! :)

Lizzy and Beck You're both doing awesome! I've been speaking to others at work in maintenance (who've done this program) and for me cutting my breakfast (although I love it) seems to be where I'm most likely to give up some calories so maybe that's why I'm ok with a Phase 1 day (they cut other things). I know I like my fun day still and because it's been almost 10 months it's become part of me. My weekends "I relax".

Lori T WOOHOO for getting back to where you want to be, 2 lbs is 'nothing!' compared to where we've come from hey? :yay:

chloe Are you on facebook? If you 'like' her on facebook her daily motivationals will show up on your newsfeed. Trick is to 'like' them once in a while so facebook remembers it's a 'favorite' or you won't see them in your news feed. :)

greeniris I think I 'blew' my account because I was so excited to get into lululemons that I went a little nutzo (going from a size 28 on top to a size 10 top at lulu). I remember having deer in the headlight looks and my gf would say "do you want to take anything back" and I'd just look at her "no, but I don't want to spend this either". I'm lucky that another gf who is the same size as me now has more or less outfitted my closet and just told me she's going to give me another tub full for me to go through. So I have quite a few clothes from her. But it was the lululemon that put me over the edge LOL

++++++++++++

So I went to physio, she thinks it's my lower back and lower disks that are causing my hip problems (I broke my tailbone 7 years ago). So now I've been putting the gel on my lower back and doing my 'physio homework' (they do like to give homework). Part of that is going to the gym to 'move' without being 'determined'. So I did 30 minutes of light bike work yesterday. It felt like a waste of time even though I know it wasn't...I'll do it again today. I didn't even get sweaty! I was tempted to 'whistle' while I was on the bike because I was kinda like "ummm ok, this is SO NOT a workout" even though...I needed to 'move'. Looking forward to a relaxing x-country ski this weekend as at least I get sweaty! :)

Hi Everyone!

I'm not quite on maintenance yet, but I've been lurking here for a few weeks. I'm getting pretty close to my final goal, although I keep lowering it. When I get to 125 I will begin Phase 2.

I'm a little nervous about the big breakfasts in maintenance. The IP drinks for breakfast work so well with my busy mornings. I usually run "late" and have time to make a drink and drink it while getting ready for work. Not sure how I'll fit in making an egg and sitting down to eat a big breakfast. I also don't like to eat a lot in the morning. Oh well, I'm going to try it exactly according to the instructions! It's worked well so far!

Thanks to all for your inspiration. My ultimate goal is to keep this weight off and NOT go back to where I was. I'm with you all on the clothes.... Once I buy a new wardrobe, I want to wear it and continue to fit into it!

See you all in a couple of weeks!
:):)

Happy Lunch Time! hehehe
Mom's surgery went well yesterday; she will be in the hospital for a full week. They ended up removing 2/3s of her colon, much more than anticipated. But she will be very happy if she is able to eat the 'forbidden' foods again. (She has diverticulitis.) Thank you all for your prayers & positive thoughts.
Unfortunately, due to the weather reports, I did not end up going to the hospital, and my boss told me to just take the day off rather than come into work! (Wow!) Sooo, I began P1 yesterday rather than today. Had the headache last night, but so far so good today. Am hungry, but think it's all mental hungry, so doing ok. Forgot to have the extra olive oil yesterday though. And...I've been weighing myself daily since Tuesday (when I was 150), and have been losing a lb each day, even before starting P1. Yeah, a head start! If this rate stays the same, I'll reach goal by the end of February.

Ishbel - I've got to look up lululemons to see what all the fuss is about. But if you went from a size 28 to a size 10 - you deserve every bit of what you bought gf!! Wow!

Joysh - so happy you'll be joining us in maintenance soon! I too worried about the time factor for big breakfasts on workdays. Usually I'll prep it the night before so it doesn't take too much time in the morning. But I rarely have eggs because they do take longer. My fave is Liz's Peachy Bread Pudding, which I make a double or triple batch of! WhaLa - 2 or 3 breakfasts in 1 fell swoop :D

Time to get back to work...ttyl!

Just got to say that it is so fun to see pictures as people go through the weight loss journey. greeniris and joysh you look fabulous! I avoided the camera like the plague so don't have a lot of pictures of me until my weight was getting much lower.
Yes Ishbel, needing to lose the 5 lbs I needed to lose seems like a breeze compared to where I came from. This morning I am down to only 1 more lb to go so no fun day this weekend, but should be back to my maintenance weight by Sunday. WooHoo!

Beck,
You look tremendous, so young. I also want to go lower than I first planned. At 142 I'm between and a 4 and 6, hope to get to 135 so I can be a solid size 4.

Ishbel,
Have you heard of Robin McKenzie? He's a physical therapist known for successfully using exercises to relieve back and neck pain. He has a couple of books on amazon. I was told 7-8 years ago I would never be pain free from herniated disks unless I had back surgery or take painkillers 3 times a day. The painkillers put me in a dazed state - not acceptable - so I searched for an alternative approach. Found this book and started with the exercises on my own. Within a week was feeling much better. Within a year I was back to everything I did before, including lifting heavy weights and running sprints. I just checked and saw he has a newer book as well. This is so worth checking out.

Thank you Lori! That is very nice of you to say so. Love seeing everyone's transformations. I too hated having my pic taken when I was so heavy, but with a professional photog in the family it couldn't be avoided. The camera was like an extra apendage on him, so just grimaced and accepted. I just didn't look at any of the pics of myself. And congrats on getting back to your maintenance weight so quickly!

A beautiful sunny afternoon following the snow storm yesterday & last night. Going to the grocery store soon for veggies, and also drinks for VIP. Poor guy has the stomach flu and I'm worried about him getting dehydrated - he can't keep anything down today.

Have a good evening all...

It has been a while since I have checked in here! I am still figuring out maintenance. I am not following phase 4 to the letter. I go a couple of weeks watching what I eat, lower carb and a few fun meals thrown in. I have done a few phase 1 days and my weight drops back down to 150. I need to do better! I really want to lose more but I don't want to stop running so i have a constant battle going on in my head with what to do. I have 3 very good friends starting IP because of me and I do not want to let them down. I am trying to help them as much as I can so i am also thinking of starting phase 1 again to do this with them and lose another 10. Battle battle battle. :) I need to get caught up on all of the posts! It is so great to see everyone doing so well!

Joysh - you can get away without much cooking. I buy the precooked turkey sausage pop it in the microwave, then have greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of blueberries or raspberries, topped w/ 1/4 cup of granola. Takes me about 2 minutes to get it ready.

This is a great idea, although I must be the last person who doesn't have a microwave. I think I'll probably end up doing something like this. I like yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit.

Glad that your mom's surgery went well, Greeniris. Yes, stay out of the storm! I looked this up and it's on a thread full of phase 3 breakfasts. Thanks so much for pointing me in that direction.

I didn't like to take pictures either at my largest weight. Now I love it! Thanks, Lori!