Good afternoon everyone. I have missed you all and have been thinking about everyone over the last few weeks. I am still in Maintenance and had my 1st cheat day on Saturday. It was good but the crappy food wasn't as tasty as I had remembered it. It's all good. Reset yesterday and am onwards and upwards.

Life has been totally nuts with trial last week. It was originally scheduled for 12/16 and 12/18, but got continued, effectively ruining my holiday, holiday travel plans and so on. I cried a lot about it and felt like going mad crazy on emotional eating but pretty much kept it together. My body definitely craves better things anymore.

How is everyone doing in here?

Welcome back!!!! I am so sorry your holiday plans got jacked



I am alive, freezing cold but alive LOL. The kids have no school tomorrow again due to the extreme cold!!!

I am in onderland but I am struggling today a bit but not nearly as bad as yesterday!

Hang in there life will balance out and all will be good again!

Hi Sarita...I've missed you! Hope things get better. Good for you ---you stayed together...!! Welcome back! Your buddies are here, and we are all in different places to start the New Year with getting over holidays ...family stuff...indulgences amid lots of success tales...so it helps to read, chat and be here with the community as we get 2014 on track and resembling the life we want!
PS- I also found food and wine was not as great as I remembered it being...except chocolate...real Chocolate.

Congrats SarahBell! What an accomplishment! Be proud of yourself - it is such an amazing thing you are doing!! Woot!

Aw, thanks! And re: chocolate - Ah, chocolate. I did have some on Saturday (and a lot of other things!) and it was delicious. That and pizza crusts are truly the things that remained delicious. But I was definitely craving some veggies!

Well...I left the chocolate ...all of it...at my daughter's a week ago...but can still taste it!!! LOL...NONE in this house! But I could be persuaded to go back to Chicago once it warms up...if she has any left!!!!

Did anyone see the segment on losing weight on ABC news? It was about how hard it is to lose weight, but even harder to keep it off. They are doing a follow-up tomorrow but two rules they gave tonight are:

1. Don't cheat

2. Eat breakfast

I'll try to catch it tomorrow but if I miss it maybe someone else will see it.

Posted this up above but no one has said anything. How do you know you are in ketosis?

Here I was progressing down consistently, but I think I've inched back up a little. I really don't want to be weighing myself all the time, but I do. I should probably hide the scale. I have been 100% on plan. So I should be losing, right? Not feeling so great about it. Probably just a bloated day or something.

Here's a link to the first segment....will try to remember to do it again tomorrow....

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/secr...eters-21442437

Jendilly, the scale is going to fluctuate, even when you are 100% OP. Lots of reasons for the changes, sodium,TOM, etc. If you stick 100% to the protocol,you will be in ketosis. If the scale is making you crazy, skip it. Try to put the focus on what you are putting in your body. Hope this helps.

True enough. If you are a "daily weigher"...pay attention to what you are eating the day/days prior to a fluctuation. It can give some insight on certain foods, esp those higher in sodium (check the label info) ...IP foods ARE processed, and you may not think about too much about how your body responds unless you get a nudge. You can determine if it's wise to cut back on some things, or make sure you are not unwittingly choosing a full day's worth of the higher selections. Many are not at all low sodium...in fact some are crazy high and some of us "collect water" if we consume some of them.

Those are choices you CAN control. I've said before...don't take the program as a "one size fits all and IP is magic". Your body is not the same as anyone else's!

65x65- for me, it is pickles and the soy garlic chips. Can only eat them sparingly and never near an official WI The scale fluctuation used to make me crazy, just too much sodium for my body. Now, I save the pickles for Big Mac in a Bowl every once in a while.

Ok tonight I made spicy shrimp over zuchinni noodles. All I can say is OMG OMG OMG was that good and filling!

I added a salad on the side with home made dressing and I am full and content. I need to have a small decaf coffee and then water from here on out and I am all set, the only down fall to spicy food is that I want some thing sweet after it!

How do you do the zucchini noodles? I LOVE zucchini.

Thanks for sharing the ABC news story. It is very interesting-looking
forward to the rest of the story!!!

If you have a mandolin you use the little pop up blades to shred things! It makes nice loooooooooooong noodles!