Many many congrats! You have a very sensible attitude toward maintenance. I will be phasing off on Halloween, no matter my weight, just because it is time for a break (I don't want diet fatigue to become a detriment).
You rock. Enjoy your vacation & all your success!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and congratulations on meeting goal. I think you will find DC has lots of food options that you can rwork with.

I am down with a stomach bug and sticking to Powerade Zero today. The thought of a salad for lunch is not too appetizing right now. How do I get through this, I don't think food is an option right now. Do I just write stomach bug in my journal and strt again when I feel better?

Congratulations!! Fantastic news..

Lisa, even tough I have just started IP, I decided from the beginning that I would do phase 1 for 16 weeks until Dec 16th, then phase off - not go nuts until mid January and restart phase 1 to finish off whatever weight loss I have left.. like you I want to give my body a break.. and I think knowing I have 16 weeks of phase one and then I can take a break is really going to help me mentally.. I have an end date in my head..( I will def restart), because I have so much weight to lose I know it will take a bit and wanted a plan for the long hall.. this might not work for a lot of people but I it will be me.. Now I know I have to do this for 16 weeks no excuses then will get a slight reprieve over the holidays.

FINALLY staring to see the scale move in the right direction again. Woohoo!

Have to get this weight off by the end of July next year. I'll finally be marrying the love of my life!

So with that in mind, i have to start dress shopping. I don't have to order my dress until the end of December, but i'm getting nervous now. What the heck size should i order? My seamstress can take a dress in up to two sizes. I would like to lose at least 50 lbs more by next summer (i lose very slowly). I'm in a size 14 wedding dress now (i tried on a few already). I know the smartest/safest thing to do is to wait until December, but i'm worried that if i find something i love, if i wait, it won't be available. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Excited but perplexed on what i should do!

Sorry you are not feeling well. Can you try soup? A little fresh/frozen spinach in chicken broth, or chicken broth with no-sugar tomato puree/sauce/paste. If you have a soup packet, you could mix that in, too. Cucumbers might be a lighter option. I've made a cold soup puree of cukes and tomatoes with spices.

But if you can't eat, just relax and log it. Be good to yourself!

When I first started IP, I would have been totally afraid to do this.
I would have been afraid to veer from P1 for one single bite.

But the health problems that have developed along the way helped me know that bodies can use a break from the VLC diets and the thyroid will thank you for the break. I Phased off in June but stayed OP, just not on P1. When I restarted, I counted out 12 weeks and that fell on Halloween week so I chose Halloween for my next phase-off.

I don't have to lose the weight with lightening speed. I just need to be healthy. Learning to maintain is important, too. The tortoise won the race anyway, not the hare.

My focus from the get-go has been on how I will maintain this loss, not on how quickly I will get to goal. (That's good b/c some of the physical ailments caused LONG stalls).

You have a very sensible approach!

Some people have commented that it was hard to return to P1, usually for a reboot. I guess I never strayed too far from protocol so that helped. P2 is pretty similar & I didn't have "fun days", even when I was doing P4.

I made sure I picked a "drop dead" date to return to P1 and I made it "public". I actually restarted one day early so I was truly committed to the restart.

Weird news: Before IP I dreaded my TOM, now I welcome it because it's an automatic whoosh! I might actually meet my first day of fall goal

Congrats to those reaching goals, strength to those needing it!

Congrats! I just imagine how great it feels to reach your goal! You should be soooo proud!

What happens if you go very low carb is that thyroid levels go down. 2/3 of active T3 thyroid is not secreted from your thyroid gland, it is actually made in the liver from T4 (the inactive version). This conversion in the liver is catalyzed by an enzyme that is regulated in response to the presence of carbs in your diet. If you go low carb, there will be less active T3 made in the liver and you get hypothyroid. There is some mechanism in your body that adjusts for this after several weeks. However, there is a population of people where this does not happen. Since there is no functioning thyroid in your sis case, I guess it depends whether she just takes T4 or a mix of T4/T3. What I wrote about is also known as "low T3 syndrome" or "Euthyroid sick syndrome" or "non-thyroidal illness syndrome". I got this on the IP diet within a couple of weeks. Your sis should very carefully monitoring thyroid levels with her doctor (Note that even some endocrinologists will never have heard of this syndrome). I for myself would not do a ketogenic diet. Maybe the alternative protocol, but only under medical supervision.

Congratulations! How exciting for you. I cannot wait to be able to say those words!

Congrats on making goal, sounds like a workable plan. Enjoy your trip!

[QUOTE=JLUS;4829056]WI today got me TO MY GOAL!!!

Congrats, that's wonderful news!

Last night I had my first social gathering at my house since starting IP 2 weeks ago. I love to bake and my friends love that I bake when they come over. I baked and cooked like mad yesterday, but stayed on plan even during the gathering - I had left some of my veggie allowance so I could munch on some raw veggies with everyone else. I stayed away from all the baked goods and sent the leftovers home with my buddies (who were very supportive and happy to take them out of my house!) It wasn't easy being in such close proximity to the foods I love but need to stay away from, but I'm glad I didn't give in to any temptations!

Funny story to share...just got home from the gym and starte making lunch. Put my 2 cups of veggies in the micro and got my shaker bottle out, filled it with water, took the veggies out of the micro and poured my orange drink packet all over my veggies! Maybe this is why you shouldn't exercise OP...it messes with your brain!!!

Meeshellee
I have one for you, yesterday morning, making hubby's fruit smoothy for breakfast and I add raw steel cut oatmeal to it, I was making my chocolate spinach smoothy for me I dumped his oatmeal into my chocolate shake,.........grrrrrrrrrr I was only half awake I guess. I had to dump it out and start again.