WTG Deana! That is absolutely fantastic!

65x65 - Phenomenal advice. I have 4 children, ranging from 10 to almost 20. I've made my share of mistake along the way...plenty of them. But, by the grace of God, my children have turned out to be amazing individuals that truly have a great respect for others, compassionate hearts, strong morals and beliefs. I sometimes wish I could go make and change A LOT about how I parented them, but yet I look at them and thank the Lord that they turned out the way they did. You can't beat yourself up for how things have gone, but you can make changes. Respect is HUGE to me and my kids don't run over me. Clear boundaries is key, and then punishment to fit the crime is crucial if needed.

Okay...change of subject. Serious happy dance happening right now.

My jeans have been really baggy on me the last couple of weeks. I decided, "what the heck" and reached for a pair one size smaller that I haven't been able to wear in a couple of years (well, at least comfortably)...and they slid right on without a problem. No more baggy jeans for this girl. SO happy I saved one pair in each size (yeah, seriously...they've been a the top of my closet) so I have something to put on to try. Not wanting to go and buy clothes at this size, but I now truly feel like I've lost weight. And it feels so good!! My heart is literally beating a bit faster with excitement!!!

Deana: Congrats on 70! Let's have a 70s dance everyone!

Jendilly: smaller clothes put the whole scale "thing" into perspective, don't they? Wear those jeans as much as possible. They won't fit long! In the meantime, find a nice 2nd-hand shop for replacing clothes "on the way down" without breaking the bank. Almost everything I wear these days is new-to-me. I buy these items new: shoes, undies, swimwear, anything I need but can't find poppin' tags.

Lisa, it feels so good, I can't even tell you! But then again, you totally know! I will look for 2nd hand stores because I want to feel good as I do this and not be swimming in my clothes. Plus, going into the smaller sizes makes you feel good about what you're doing and does definitely put it all in perspective about how much I've lost. I do have plenty of clothes that fit me right now, being that I haven't really gotten rid of too much that fit a couple of years ago. But as I continue to lose, I will certainly need new things.

Funny the reference to "Poppin' Tags" since we are the home of Macklemore. I'm so excited...and I just can't hide!!! I want to tell the world...but most of my friends and family don't know that I'm on IP, so you all are my cheerleaders right now. My friend that introduced me to IP lives 4 hours away, but we volunteer together and see each other once a month or so. She's coming over today and I'm so excited for her to see me. She hasn't seen me since I started.

YEAAAYY for you! The inches lost and that re-shapping of your body is the best part of this journey. The scale does find it's own place in the equation for sure...but it is not a stand alone thing. By the end of the journey you are so much happier because things like size and your physique to say nothing of overall health measures are such a big part of the picture.

Go wiggle...!!! In your jeans of course!

[quote=Narae;4927364]Glad you chuckled...I could write a book! And we do go back and laugh about this stuff now...

Lucky for me I met some really wise women along the way. It is my responsibility to pass this on when I think it might help. It was a friend from work many years after the initial advice ....(who actually had 2 sons...no daughters!!) who really drove that particular point home to me about finding a punishment to fit every crime when dealing with teens...The original advice had come from a wonderful woman who is in her 80s now...{and we still get a Christmas card from her}...and she raised 4 boys...and no daughters either!!

So bring it on ladies...we should not let our young ladies off so easily! They must learn it's OK to expect to be treated well ... among other life lessons we want to pass down; our example counts. There is enough we get wrong ...somethings we have to really work to make right. They matter.

Week 2 weigh in - only down 1 pound and she told me it was muscle loss and not fat loss. Starting to get frustrated especially since I'm following the plan 100%. Still battling the big C as well even though I am drinking over 100 ounces of water a day and getting my veggies as well. Really struggling to convince myself that this very expensive diet is worth it when I am not losing much

Ang2376 my loss this week was only .4 and 1/2 inch. I've had great weeks, good weeks, and small loss weeks like this week. Stick with the program and it will work!

Thanks hockymom40! No more Sweet N Low for me!
Feeling good today hope all is going well !

Why would anyone loose muscle and not fat on this diet? My husband looks like he's lost muscle... :/

Are you doing anything about the big C? I have to take something every day to "keep things moving". My clinic suggested magnesium citrate. It is a liquid and is $.99/bottle at Walmart. Some bodies don't deal well with the lower carb/higher protein diets.

What is your total weight loss over two weeks? If you had a big loss your first week, you aren't going to have one like that every week. How many inches did you lose this week? They should be measuring you every week. If they aren't then you have to. You have to look at the big picture.

Are you taking all your supplements? Are you eating the required oil?

Those are all very important components of the diet.

What does you coach say?

Hang in there.

Looking at your stats, that means you've lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks - what part of that is not great? 4 pounds a week average is a great loss! And it wasn't necessarily "muscle loss" instead of fat. The scales most clinics use to measure fat vs. muscle are terribly inaccurate.

Along with your water and veggies are you getting all your oil in? That can make a big difference with the big C. If you're uncomfortable, you might try Smooth Move tea and see if that helps you out.

Hang in there - you really are doing great! I know we all want to see the scale move faster, but it just won't always do what we want!

Ruth Ann - our emails are almost carbon copies. LOL

Great minds and all that!

Hi,

I don't believe this recipe should go anywhere in the IP program! Milk, flour, cheese, pasta?!! I don't think so!

Alrighty...day one of IP/Plexus preparation. Grocery store, cleaning, and tupperware out and ready for cut up veggies. Now to get busy!! I'm excited about the second go round with IP now that I have Plexus on board. My cravings and appetite control should be QUITE a bit better and easier to stick to than last time. At least me and my doctor think so.