Well, it's time for me to get back to somewhat of a "normal" routine. My husband travels for work...usually gone 4 days a week and home on the weekends. He's been working from home for the past 10 weeks or so, but is back on the road as of this week. It'll be an adjustment again...he was getting up to do the morning routine, picking kids up from school, doing a lot of the driving, etc. He liked the extra time with the kids that he had missed out on for so long. BUT...it also made me a bit lazy in that I was sleeping in more, not being as active. Another change will be that I'll be cooking less (he likes homemade dinners after eating so much at restaurants), but will still need to cook for the kids, plus myself. I don't know...just lots of adjustments and extra planning to make sure that the kids are eating right and I'm also staying on plan.

On the plus side...he did give me 6 gift certificates for massages for Christmas. My first one is today. Not a bad way to start off the transition. It's all going to be alright.

Good morning everyone! Had weigh-in #3 this morning and I'm pretty disappointed with the loss (see signature). I had great losses the last two weeks, so I did expect this week's loss to be a little lower. The only difference between this past week and the 2 before that is that I added in Quest bars this last week. I treated them as a restricted. The first two weeks, I had no restricted items and had EAS or Premier Protein shakes for every IP "packet." I hope they don't affect my losses every week, as they're the one thing I really look forward to every day to eat.

Other than the smaller loss, I feel great. I'm doing alternatives this time around, so I have no idea of inches, but people are starting to say they notice it in my face.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

You've lost nearly 15 pounds in three weeks - that's better than 4 pounds a week! You should be really proud of yourself - that is a great loss.

The scale is a fickle thing - some weeks will show better than others, hang in there!

Your weigh-ins are almost exactly what I've been at. 9 pounds week 1, 4 pounds week 2 and then 1.6 week 3. VERY normal to taper off after some big losses the first few weeks. Just remember...you are still losing. It may not feel like a lot, but you are losing and you need to take pride in that. You are benefiting your health by staying on plan. (By telling you this, I'm telling myself the same thing :) ) I'm hoping for bigger losses some weeks, but as long as I'm losing, I'm okay with that. Of course we all want to lose 9 pounds a week (wouldn't that be amazing), but it's just not going to happen. You didn't put all the weight on in a couple of weeks, and it's not all going to come off that fast. Keep going!!

slipfree, you're right...it's not worth having it. I know that. I never feel tempted to actually go off plan but every once in a while I really miss the emotions that tie into certain foods. Yeah, I'll go grab drinks with friends and end up with a club soda and dash of mio. I usually leave feeling great about my decision but don't feel like I got the same 'experience'. I don't know. Guess it's just the nostalgia.....i may just be rambling.....:dizzy:

I have been thinking about my goal weight and have decided to change it. I am already in a size 6, so I really do not feel that dropping 20 pounds more will do anything for me, so I think I will go 10 more pounds and then start phase 2. Most of my size 6 are lose now, so I think this is a good decision. It was hard when I started to decide what a good weight would be. In the past I have gotten to 145 and then just stopped because I was tired of it, not because it was were I felt I should be. What is hard is 138 is still pretty heavy of a weight in my mind, and I need to get past that.

Do you know what your % of body fat & muscle is? At this point in your journey, that's probably more important. I bought the same Omron HBF-514C Full Body Composition Sensing Monitor and Scale from Amazon ($74.99) that they use at my clinic. It's really helpful to look at something besides the scale. I think the viseral fat, muscle & fat % and BMI are more important as you get close to your goal weight. Also, if you're a small or medium frame, I would think another 10 lbs would be the max you'd want to lose.

I have realized with IP that I am a smaller size at a heavier weight, than in the past. I am sure it is because I lost more fat on IP. I am still surprised my size 6 pants are loose on me! I see we are close in height, so I imagine our size is quite similar. I had a goal of 135 and figured I would still want to go lower once I hit that. I anticipated I would be in a size 8 or 10 at that weight. Wow, size 6!? Crazy! I have had to change my way of thinking regarding weight and go by how I feel and look instead. I have heard this from others as well.

I second ecdslim. Calculate your BMI. I use this calculator online...
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/...MI/bmicalc.htm

Funny you should say that. I have an Omron on its way. It should arrive tomorrow. It is a handheld one, which is what they use at my clinic. Another number they say is important is hip to waist ratio. It should be no more than .75 and mine is at .78.

I agree. I look more muscular than I have ever before when I did weight watchers. Especially in my legs and arms and even my abs are getting more cut. I bought a couple of size 6's in December because they were on sale and even though they were tight I thought I would be able to wear them later. I have lost less than 10 pounds since I bought them and they are roomy. Lately my inch loss is out doing my pound loss, so I did not want to frustrate myself by not being able to lose more.

Currently BMI is 25.4(that is using the clinic weight which is 4 pounds more than my morning weight). 138 would put me at 23.7 and morning weight would be less than that. I was between 135-140 when I got married almost 32 years ago, but I had not started weight lifting then. I think weight lifting makes a huge difference.

Weight lifting makes a HUGE difference. The last time I weighed what I weigh now, I was in size 10's - now I'm comfortable in 6's, some of them are a little loose even. I've been weight lifting for 20+ years and after the 1st 3 weeks on IP, I was in the gym at least 2x a week, sometimes 3 weight lifting. I can see muscles (and also some crepey skin I'm sad to say) now. In fact, my trainer this morning even said, wow, your legs are really cut, you can really see serious definition. So play with your new scale, see what your stats are, that should help with your decision.

I used to feel that way about brussels sprouts...just kinda bland/okay.
Until I started using fresh ones and roasting.
A whole new taste sensation!

The first week or two you lose the most because you're losing all the excess water weight, as well. After those weeks, losses tend to diminish but more of the weight lost will actually be fat!
Low carb is GREAT at reducing inflammation, which shows on the scale as water weight. After the first couple weeks, you just don't have as much inflammation anymore (healthier!)
You are doing GREAT! and the plan calculates a restricted in every day.

Snow day here. Had lots of energy to go out and play with the kids in the snow. So much more fun than watching from the window. Yippee!