Today marks the end of my 4th week and I have stuck with IP more faithfully than any other diet I've tried in the past. Something finally seems to be clicking in my mind, and I know it's not worth giving into the cravings for the short term gratification of it. The gratification of seeing the scale slowly working its way down is much sweeter!

Well said, Clarington45 - I couldn't agree with you more. FINALLY losing the weight makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something huge which was an upward battle for so many years. Good luck on transitioning to alternatives today - keep us posted. Congrats on the 11lbs' - keep up the awesome focus!

QUOTE=Clarington45;4838701]HI All,

I quit smoking years ago and that was much easier - you just quit once and stay quit With food we have to make good choices over and over and over and.. well you get it But everytime we do resist something and make a good choice we are building strength within ourselves.. if anything as I am on this diet (3 weeks today) I am feeling more confident and strong that this is FINALLY it! I am going to lose weight.. i feel like it's now or never - I am 45 years old its time toget real and stick with something..

I am down 11 lbs in 3 weeks which I am happy about - slow and steady right.. Good luck to everyone! Stay strong![/QUOTE]


Congrats to you MidgieMoon - awesome loss!


Congrats tinimartini - that's some fantastic stats right there, YAY!! Just last weekend, when I looked in the mirror, I all of a sudden noticed a change in the shape of my face - I know what you mean. Isn't it just fabulous?!!
You look amazing MidgieMoon - happy for you! Keep it up!!!!

Hi Lighthouse - meant to include you in the reply above as not to take up extra space. Loved reading your entry b/c it rings so true. I'm just tailing you as far as being OP for about 3.5 wks and I couldn't agree with you more. I too am following IP more faithfully than any other plan. It's true, nothing tastes sweeter than seeing the scale go down.. Or what have I heard quoted lately, "Nothing tastes as good as Skinny Feels" BUT, I also recently saw this one "Nothing tastes as good as STRONG Feels" which I almost like better!

Schenectady, are you feeling better today? You are strong, and you are motivated, and you are doing GREAT!! Glass half full, girl!!

GREAT stats, clbott!!

Love your new pic. Are those collarbones I see?? You look GREAT!

This is so true, Clarington! I too feel strong and SO encouraged! Sounds funny, but just before I started IP, I suddenly realized I will be 60 in April! Well, I'm not quite ready for that! I'm determined to be in the best shape ever for my 60th!

You are doing AMAZING! My 3rd weigh-in is today. Wish me luck!!!

Wow! What a great loss!! I have decided I have 3 IP products that are my go-to's and is really all I need. First, like you, the chocolate drink mix. Couldn't do without my mocha smoothies!! What a treat! The Crispy Cereal is surprisingly good to me. And the (plain) Rotini! I mean, come on!! Pasta?? Can have it in a hot dish or cold pasta salad. I'm going to trade back my other packets today and get more of these, they are all I need.

We started out with similar stats, except I was a few pounds heavier and 1 inch shorter! The story of my life So it is great to track your progress and you encourage me! Perhaps some day I will get the courage to post pictures Boy, do I have a doozy of a "before" pic! Even I can't believe it's me in that picture!!

Agree, and I'm so thankful I found it. A friend of mine (one of my inspirations for starting IP) just hit the 100lb loss mark yesterday!!

Strong AND Skinny!! Isn't that a great goal to have??

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!! I took a "mental health" day today and intend to enjoy it!! As always, 100% OP!!

I am in my 6th week of IP and loving it. I am at a bit of standstill right now...as the scale has not moved but actually gone up 1 lb and there has been no cheating. I started to exercise and some people say stop that or slow it down. So I will try that....any words of wisdom Augusters. Have a great day!!!!!

slownsteady - thank you for checking in on me. Today I am back to feeling full of energy and determination. My daughter and her husband started me on this IP and they both hung in there with me yesterday, telling me to just get through it however I could, look for a new day today.

What I DID do while in the funk was to eat much, much more than I have in nearly a month - not so bad because what I ate was pure protein, no carbs! So I went crazy with some spicy crock pot chicken, some rib eye steak(actually not much) and eggs and an omelet with mushrooms.

So while this was definitely NOT the program, I did not fall into the temptation of carbs, sweets, or chocolates, which were my go to binges before. I see that as progress in controlling myself. I will not deny I was having behavior issues yesterday, but I stuck in there.

Today is a new start - I di not gain any weight (actually lost half a pound) but I know that one day's eating is not reflected the next day - it was probably from previous days. So I did not get depressed by an increase on the scale and that makes it easier to deal with just pulling myself back together.

I have three days to weigh in and I am at -4, so I am setting a goal of hitting -5 with good behavior. It has been really good solid weight loss to now so I want to continue.

Again, thanks for the kind words and sorry about my long diatribe!

Come and vent anytime! That is what we are all here for, glad you are back on track!

I agree this has been the easiest diet to stick too... even when the break room at work yesterday was filled with Mc'd's chicken nuggets and fries It didn't bother me one bit.
Asked my coach about veggie shreds cheese , she says they are fine in moderation, and also asked about shirataki noodles and she says those are also ok...so we plan on trying those sometime this week.
Had my week 3 weigh in and down another 2 pounds!

That is "house rules" and those responses will vary by coach.
Official IP protocol would be "no" on those items but each coach will give their own spin.
Some coaches don't allow Mio, some do.
Some allow some sparkling waters, some allow none.
It's a crapshoot

Just trying to claify for new folks that just because one person's coach says its okay, doesn't necessarily mean your coach will say its okay...makes me sigh & shake my head a LOT a the inconsistencies but somehow we all figure it out

slownsteady - you posted
"I too feel strong and SO encouraged! Sounds funny, but just before I started IP, I suddenly realized I will be 60 in April! Well, I'm not quite ready for that! I'm determined to be in the best shape ever for my 60th!"

Too crazy because one of my motivation for starting IP is that I, too, will be turning 60 in April! We shall have to walk next to each other through this process and then have a HUGE celebration in April since we both should be able to make it pretty close to goal - I just have a few extra "steps" to walk.

Yeah that's what I've gathered from reading others posts , that each coach has their own do's and don'ts

Hey everyone. Heading out for my vaca at the beach tomorrow. I've packed up packets and got my veggies portioned out and ready to go. Wish me luck!

Too crazy!!! We were meant to be sisters in this journey! 3rd weigh-in today, and down 3.5 lbs! I was happy with that. 14.5 total in 3 wks (actually 3.5 wks). I do have this fear that I will slow way down, even though staying 100% OP, and get discouraged. No reason to even feel this way, these are just old fears and behaviors I need to overcome. I have not gotten on the activity (not really 'exercise') bandwagon yet though, and know I need to, and know it will help all around. I am WAY too sedentary (desk job, then it's me and the dog and the tv when I get home!). I'm a bad doggy mom and don't even take the dog for a walk. So, that is a real goal of mine to increase my activity. At least take a walk for goodness sake! One of the reasons I got to where I am today, so I'd BETTER change it!!

So Schenectady, April here we come!!

Schenectady, I just looked at your signature and realized you've lost 26 lbs!!! Yowza!! That's wonderful! I'd better up my game!

I started IP in August. I started because I had en event over labor day that I was slimming down for. However, after starting the diet I realized I wanted to keep going until I get back down to my goal. I'm finding the diet very easy to follow (by keeping prepared). But I am realizing that I am obsessing about foods all day. From the time I finish my last bite (and realize I wish it was more) I start thinking about how many hours until my next meal and am I still in the mood for what I planned.

I guess I'm a very sensory eater, and the eating itself is so enjoyable for me. That is my addiction. From the time I take my first bite of my bars I am already depressed that I will have no more in a mere minute.

This is all said, I have totally stayed on plan and have lost 14 lbs since starting. The first week I was waiting for the food so was just kind of being careful and trying to figure out alternatives (I did a pretty good job) so I'm not even sure that can count. Anyway, I have about 20 lbs more to do - I hope I can stick it out. I'm also really worried about the maintenance, because I don't want to go back there but I miss my enchiladas and indian food sooooo much!