Hi everyone. I did my recipe class the other night. Some people backed out so it wasn't a very big group but that was ok. I had probably 25 pages of recipes to hand out and gave the clinic extra copies. I made chocolate zucchini muffins with chocoolate,caramel, pb frosting, lemon muffins with lemon frosting, apple bars with caramel, apple butter frosting, chocolate bark, rhubarb jello and took some sliced jicama. They loved it and they were excited about the recipes. I gave them other tips about the diet and it felt good sharing my knowledge. I live in a small community so most people know me and that I have lost weight. Another good incentive to keep it off.

Maile, thank you for your info on maintainable weight. Great discussions on it.

Lynnie and Joysh, good luck heading into maintenance! And hi to everyone else!

Hi Maintainers,

I need some advice and thoughts. You probably don't remember, but I was on P1 since last July until February 10, when I found out I was pregnant. I had lost 60 lbs in that time and was 10-15 from my goal when I had to phase off. I had an early miscarriage at 7 weeks, and when I went back to my coach at that time, I expressed that I wanted to try to go back to P1 to get the rest of the weight off.

She did not want me to do that because 1) my hormones were all over the place from the m/c and 2) we were going to start trying to get pg ASAP. 3) i wanted to get into a regular exercise routine. plus, She said something about my lipoprotein lipase levels 'coming down' for the next 6 months on maintenance and I shouldn't restart P1 and get them elevated again. Plus she was concerned that I would get pg again quickly and have to phase off quickly.

Fast forward to this month, 2 months post m/c: I have gained back about 6-7 lbs, so I am 20 lbs above my goal weight on maintenence, and I am not pg yet.

I feel like had I gone back on P1 soon after, I would probably be at or near my goal, instead of obsessively worrying about my weight gain and navigating maintenance. I don't feel like maintenance is that difficult, but I have gained some weight back and some of my size 8's that fit a couple of months ago are too tight to wear comfortably.

So, I see her on Tuesday for weigh in...and I am debating telling her I am going to go back to P1 despite her recommendations. I like her as a coach, I like the whole clinic - they were the first clinic in CT 6-7 years ago to bring IP and they are 'old school' and do things by the book, the correct IP way, unlike so many other clinics I hear about.

I mean, who knows if or when I will get pg again??

What do you guys think?

Hi Maintainers,

Almost finished with my first week on P4, Just added little things to
my meals and had a peice of fruit here and there, so yummy. The scale
is cooperating so far, feel good! yeah!

Wondering if anyone takes or has any info on Collegan supplements?
Heard theyre good for our skin and joints. Almost 50 here and I do sometimes
have achy knees after workouts and some sagging skin since the weight loss.

Any feedback would be great!
thanks,

D

Hi Beck - so glad your class went well. Those that did show up will really benefit from the info & recipes you shared with them. Great job! Oh, and happy belated anniversary on IP! You're a fantastic role model!

I just want to say I'm so sorry about your m/c. I don't feel qualified to answer your questions re: going back on P1 while trying to get pregnant right away, but want to send you ((HUGS)). Good luck.

Your Collagen question has me thinking...I ran out of it a couple weeks ago and since then my hips have begun aching more. Haven't noticed any difference in my skin though. Think I'll get a new bottle this week and see if I notice any difference after taking it again. Will try to let you know in a couple weeks. I did take it through most of P1 until recently and don't have too much saggy skin after losing 60 lbs, so maybe it did help with that.

maile - love the Beck info you share and the responses from everyone. I'm going to subscribe to her blog today.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. This last week has been hard for me, and haven't found the time to post much. P1 went out the window a couple of days. Fortunately when I weighed myself yesterday a.m., I hadn't gained anything, but hadn't lost any either, since official WI last Tuesday. Today is a new day, and will be very busy working around the house & garage, so hopefully the #s will start dropping again.

Yesterday we went to a funeral...the 56 yr old wife of VIPs best friend. She had breast cancer 20 yrs ago and beat it, but it came back a few months ago with a vengeance. I'd just like to say that I feel it is so very important to live life to the fullest, and be sure to tell those closest to you how much you love them often. So, even though we all don't know each other personally, I value this community, the support, and the friendships found here very much. Thank you to each one of you.

So sorry about your miscarriage!

I am past that point in life, but I would talk to my physician, since it sounds like you are still trying to conceive. Of course you want a healthy baby and IP is not a balanced diet. Maybe he or she could suggest other options that would allow you to lose or maintain and better support a pregnancy.

I am not an expert on this either. I am sorry for your experience, I know that is very difficult.

As for going back on P1 right away I would do it now. You are past the stage where your hormones are disrupted from your mis-carrage and you don't know how long it will take you to conceive again. I think it would be best for
you to get in the best physical shape before you get pregnant.

I went through the same experience many years and I remember that my doctor was concerned when I became pregnant again very quickly. But that pregnancy went through with no problems.
But as other said, your doctor would know best.

I had a miscarriage between my kid. Such a sad experience...sorry you had to deal with this
I would revert to phase 1. If you get pregnant GREAT

Epap: I was so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I would go on Phase 1, but would probably call the doctor's office and ask if he/she had any concerns about IP and getting pregnant. I hope you get pregnant soon. Hugs.
Momto2cs and Patns: I was sorry to hear about your experiences. I am so happy that your next ones turned out well.

Cindy: It is too bad that you had a hard week. Hopefully this week will be better for you. Yes, I also value the support here. You are right about life being precious.I am sorry about your friend's wife.

Beck: You presentation was a success! How fun to give people new recipes. I am a recipe addict and am always taking pictures of new recipes with my phone.

Dregan: I never took the collagen pills. I have found that after a year my loose skin toned up with exercise..although not all of it.

Hi to Lizzy63. Hope your weekend is going well.

Epaprn,
Sorry so for your loss. Hope you will
get pregnant soon!
I would probably run it by your Dr,
I know my TOM became irregular when
on p1, might make getting pregnant
a tad harder.
Best wishes to you!

D

That is a valid point I didn't think of.

Beck Sounds like a class I would have joined!

greeniris I'm sorry about your friend :/

Epaprn I'm sorry, I have nothing for you. I was told to be very careful on Phase 1 because it equalizes your hormones and you can get pregnant very easily. If it were me, I'd probably make sure my doc knew and jump back onto Phase 1. Just my humble opinion though. I do want to hug you!

+++++++++++

I went to TOPS Provincial Recognition Days this weekend. VERY VERY uplifting and inspiring. I was the provincial runner up for weight loss and the lady who lost 13 lbs more then me was FANTASTIC. She has MS and lost all her weight in a wheel chair doing upper body excersises. WHOA!! Very cool!!!

Another lady, who weighed over 500 lbs at one point in her lift has lost over 250 so far. My favorite line from her speech was "do you don't have to like it, you just have to do it". It's on my fridge at home.

ALSO, there was a lady who has maintained her weight loss for 41 years!!! (!!!!!) She has gone down to TOPS Headquarters in Milwaukee. She said she found her name for her 25 year maintenance award listed on a flag down there. That it was small but she found it. I told her I could work for that...to see my name listed on a flag would be a good enough goal for long term.

It was SO awesome!!! What a weekend to gain more determination for a lifetime.

Hi, all! A few secs to share quickly and then off to baseball games - 2 grandsons playing tonight...

Went to my doctor today and she told me to completely stop my cholesterol meds and cut my BP meds in half. This is what I've been waiting for since starting IP in July!!

Hey my fellow ip peeps!
I'm entering phase 3 On Thursday so I'm studying up on phase 4 and they say after your cheat days you do a modified phase 1 day. Do you guys use the ip products or your own food? If you use you own food may I have some examples please

My coach and clinic taught me that you can do a 'clean' day after a cheat day...basically, IP non restricted foods or alternatives, and/or lean protein and non restricted veggies. My coach said I could also do FF plain Greek yogurt or 2% cottage cheese, LF string cheese as well.

For my clean day, I usually do eggs/egg whites and veggie scramble for breakfast, lean protein and veggies for lunch and dinner, snacks would be some FF Greek yogurt with a dash of stevia or SF torani syrup or an IP chocolate drink.

Thanks for the thoughts and advice everyone re: my m/c and wanting to go back on P1. I emailed my coach my fitness pal journal for the week and she emailed me back that she found some things I could change...will speak in person tomorrow.

I started the diet in order to lose weight to get pg, and once I lost about 1/2 my goal weight, we started really 'trying'...and it worked the 2nd month. So, I stayed on P1 during those 2 months.

I don't have PCOS and I am not insulin resistant, so I didn't have any issues with my periods changing or becoming 'more fertile'. I discussed this theory with my OB and she said low carb diets/sig weight loss are helpful for people who have PCOS or insulin resistance to get their cycles more regular, but not for people who have no issues otherwise.