Thanks for the support :)

I weighed in today and lost more than I expected. I'm in the 150s. What what?!?! I lowered my goal to 155 in my ticker which should put me at a normal bmi. I don't see the clinic folks for a week and a half and we agreed to discuss then and see where I am. I'm hanging tough!

PS also posted a picture rather than an avatar. Photos still make me uncomfortable - I took this to post over a week ago - but I decided to bite the bullet and be brave (for me anyway)

Great pic! You are doing an awesome job!

Thanks! You too...I'm jealous of your size 10s :)

vachinyc, you look great! I experienced diet fatigue toward the end, too. If you haven't already done so, I suggest going shopping. Reward yourself for the fabulous job have done. Relish your success fully, enjoy your healthy new body to the max--now and on maintenance, whenever you decide that is. You've earned it.

Brenda, I had major hair loss toward the end of P1 that continued into maintenance several weeks to the point that I went wig-shopping. Recently, about the 4th month into maintenance, it started growing back. IP states that it's related to hormones released by fat cells as you lose weight and will grow back. My hair stylist (and others on 3FC) say that any diet with rigorous calorie restriction can cause hair loss. You can search the IP forum and find the hair loss thread and find some good info about it. Hang in there!

Thanks Mars. I haven't really shopped much yet - just a few pairs of inexpensive pants to have something to wear to work. (And I can shop my closet to a degree) Figured I'd wait until I settled in at a size but you're right, a treat outfit might help :)

Girl:
You are in normal BMI now!!!
Congrats!
I fully understand giving yourself a few lbs leeway, however
Love the pic. Congrats on bravery :)

Ugh, I'm having the same side effect - hair loss at an alarming rate. I'm getting a bit worried because I have about 30 lbs or so to go and I don't want to have to phase off quite yet! If it gets any thinner I'll have to give it some serious thought.

Are you guys taking Biotin? I've been taking it since day one at my coach's advice, no hair loss.

Some people get more hair loss than others no matter what they do. The biotin may or may not be helping you. And some folks don't experience any hair loss until after approximately month 5. It really does vary.

Well, if it helps your decision at all, the hair loss won't stop right away anyways. My doc says three months from whatever trauma (dietary) triggered it and 3 months approx from phasing off. SO whether you stay on or not for the next three months at least it will keep falling out. For me, I was within 9 pounds of my phase off weight and actually my original goal was 140 so I was ok with phasing off but really ready to stop losing handfuls every day!!!
For those who asked, yes I am taking biotin as well as all my vitamins, b12 and fish oil! Has not helped at all. Coach said it affects roughly 11% of women on IP. Lucky me!

I started taking Biotin as soon as the hair loss started (around month 3) and haven't noticed a difference. I was told it can take as long as 6-8 weeks to start having an effect, so if it's going to work it should start soon! At the very least maybe it will help my new hair grow in nice and strong.

Thanks Lisa! I am grinning ear to ear about "normal" bmi :)

Having a down month, Augusters. Just not feeling "it"; not in terms of IP, but just in general. I guess it is a mix of the weather and work stress, and perhaps the post-holiday let down. So I came home today quite down, just sat on the couch and zoned out completely. Then I decided to get my BUTT in gear and did not one, but TWO half-hour toning workouts. All that talk about endorphins- there is something to that! LOL I guess I have found my "anti-depressant" to get me through the dead of winter.

(Remind me of this when I am having another really bad, down day, please.)

here's a calculator
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/...MI/bmicalc.htm

Me too...down month...probably the remnants of the virus hanging on.
I went to the gym for my toning workout and a stretching class. Practically jumped out of my skin during stretching class but I did it. And I'm doing it again in the morning. Geez....it is soooo much easier to stay in bed but so much better for me to get my arse up & move!!!

Sorry you're having a down month. I'm so proud of you for allowing yourself a little time to zone out (nothing wrong with the occasional zone out) and then turning it around by doing something healthy instead of going for comfort food or something. It's really wonderful! Glad to see you coming to the boards for support too. :-)

Yay! Today is crossed into long-forgotten territory, the land of below 200! Pretty exciting!!

I hope you all have a great evening!

:broc:

Huge congrats!!! :carrot::carrot::carrot:

Pretty exciting? Very exciting! I know that is a BIG hurdle that I look forward to taking, so know that we are all proud of the hardwork and dedication that it takes for that.

I do not know how to make the carrots dance, but think of fireworks going off for you.

I've been up and down this month as well. Post holidays and all the junk.
Happy to hear the workouts helped. I'm all about taking the zone out and reflecting on why I'm doing this diet.

Today we got "fitted" for a fashion show we are having at work. I was able to fit in an off the rack dress that looks AWESome on me. ;)

Would love to see a pic! Fashion show sounds fun! And thanks for the support. Zone-outers, unite!!!

Congrats! I am getting so close I can taste it :) keep up the good work!

Welcome to Onederland!

You mirror my thoughts. I have discovered that when I start to feel blue or discouraged with my losses, I have to grab the bag and make myself go to the gym. Yesterday, I did that and discovered that my dear son had loaded new songs onto my IPod while he was home on leave. What a treat to thump on the treadmill o my favorite music and realize what he had done for me.

Guess that validated I had made the right choice.

Thanks for all the positive comments, everyone! I am working from home today due to icy conditions and am fighting the urge to snack!! So far, so good!

How many Augusters do we still have here? Check in so we do not disappear and lose each other.

Morning all! Took the weekend off since it's my daughters bday on Monday. She'll be 17! Gah! My baby is all grown up. :(

She had to take the SAT test this morning so I'm relaxing and trying to grab some sunshine. Lol the cat both dogs an I are crammed into the one window of the house that's getting the sunshine .

So when my boss joined our team in OCT he was close to 400lbs. After the holidays he overheard my co-worker and I talking about IP and our success. He asked a lot of questions and did some research now he's doing IP. He's doing great too! I think he said he's down around 10lbs in the first week. We're doing a biggest loser at work starting next week and we've decided our team is gonna win. Lol!

Still here! Truckin' along...


Wow, it's great that your boss has joined. Good for him! Enjoy your BL contest! We did that a few years back, and my boss won (the only man in the group). We teased him about having rolls of quarters in his pockets at the first weigh-in. LOL

Enjoy your time with DD and hope she has a great b-day! Also hope she does well on the SAT. We're getting ready to celebrate my daughter's 21st in March. It definitely goes by too fast!

~Renee

Still here! Hoping to reach goal and get to maintenance in the next 3-4 months or so!

Hi all: still here ...almost at my new goal. thinking I will be moving to Phase 2 in February.

Brrr, it's cold and ever since IP, I'm freezing anyway (which is a total change - most of my life I've been too warm. With or without added fat padding)

Have a great weekend!

KareVT...are you out there?

Happy Sunday morning!

I have questions for those of you who are experiencing hair loss. For quite awhile I've been kind of in denial that I could be experiencing it -- my hair is very thick and coarse and is currently the longest it's been in my life, so it seems normal that I'm going to make spectacular "drain rats"! But now I'm paranoid that maybe it's more than that . . . I honestly don't know if I'm imagining it! When you lose hair, is it all over or in patches? Are certain areas more prone to hair loss? I'm imagining (or not!) that the front of my hair on top is thinning. I've always had kind of a receding hairline on the sides of the top.

I'm not sure if I should continue my current state of denial until I'm bald (just kidding) or what. If I am losing hair due to IP, I've still got months to go so that's kind of upsetting.

I'm also wondering if seeking the help of my hair dresser might be more beneficial than going to the doctor!

I've noticed an uptick in General shedding. I don't notice any bald patches. Quite frankly I'm terrified by how thin my hair is. I am taking biotin but not sure what to do. I'm so close to goal I don't want to phase off. Any tips would be wonderful

I did a search on here for "hair loss" and found some good info. While it doesn't help with NOW, it is reassuring to know it is temporary.

Mine has been a general thinning as well. Luckily my hair was thick to start with so it's not noticeable to anyone but me right now. I'm going to stick with IP for a few more months to try to get as close to goal as possible and hope I don't get any bald patches in the process! It will take a few months for the new hair to grow back regardless, from what I hear. I just wish the grays would fall out instead of my nice brown hairs. :^:

Pay it forward
 

Nolasmurf - how wonderful that you provided the inspiration for your boss. I think one of the great things about this site is that the veterans can help the newbies and it is all being 'paid forward'.

When I get to goal. I hope that I can do that as well although I do not think that I will ever approach the good of 65X65 or Lisa.

Here's how I think...
I really don't think I can keep what I have unless I give it away.
So I help others...

Hey Team August we got kicked off the first page again. What's up in your worlds? How are you feeling?

Personally I've been feeling some fatigue with the strict lifestyle and I made some poor choices over the weekend. Mainly just eating out to many too many times. I could see and feel the bloat from the sodium etc so I'm back on track.

Was telling,y honey about a dream last night: I dreamt that I was shopping for a new swimsuit. :o can't even fathom that right now now. But I guess with tour weather at 34 and falling I was dreaming of being somewhere warm. He told me well yea babe you're gonna have to buy a new suit! He suggested a bikini! Ha! Doubt that highly even at my smallest I wasn't comfortable in a bikini. I guess we'll see come the summer time.

nolasmurf - I can appreciate the challenges eating out and that has been tough for me. We have our house on the market and so cooking anything that leaves odors is a no-no. I whirled around like crazy yesterday for 2 prospective buyers so I would think I burned off a lot.

We went out for our anniversary last night and I was very careful - Greek salad, no feta, no olives, vinaigrette on the side, unused (I guess there goes the "greek" in the salad!) I had delicious rosemary cut up chicken breast, drank lots of water. Hope being good will show up soon on my weight.

What struck me as we celebrated 24 years together is that this is a new 24 years starting now and it is up to me to make it everything I have wanted. I have lost -55 and I am essentially the same weight I was when we first married. So I am back and "go" and I am going to do all that I can for me.

Doing okay here in my bitterly cold world. Maybe it was a bad idea to start losing my "padding" before this crazy winter! Joking, of course. I do NOT want those 40+ lbs back! However, I can totally understand dreaming of summery things!

School/ work is as crazy as ever. Just teying to make it through till May. Sis and I got tix to see Billy Joel in July in DC, so that is definitely an event to look forward to! I am a HUGE Billy fan! (Well, not as big as I used to be! :carrot:)

Stay warm, everyone!

~Renee

Hi all, still here, heading down toward Phase 3 this weekend. Phase 2's been a non issue for me, mostly a pain as it was SOOO easy to have a packet and salad for lunch, now I have to think about what protein I'm going to eat. We have a cafe in the office but since I only eat fish and eggs for protein, the salad bar is getting a little same ole same ole. (only so much dry tuna and chopped hard boiled eggs I can stand). Phase 3 will be interesting - I haven't lost weight really over Phase 2 - maybe 2.5 lbs over 2 weeks - but think inches are going. I really wanted to be under 135 lbs as I know I'm going to put on weight when I re-introduce the carbs.