Well, I finally did it, I got myself a coach. I think he will be worth every penny.

After reading the posts so far today I do have some comments. First, I have not lost more than 3 pounds in any one week. So those of you that are struggling, just hang in there. It will come off. Some suggestions my coach gave me were: 1) Eat a head of Romain lettuce every day...one half at lunch and one half at dinner. He said it would speed my weight-loss. I think Lisa also mentioned that. 2) 2 cups of vegetables isn't always 2 cups of vegetables. I've seen a post where someone said if you cut it smaller you can get more in the two cups. He said 6 ounces is what I should be eating. I have a food scale so I've made that adjustment and it is helped me. I'm thinking this may be my biggest weight loss week yet based on what I've seen so far. (Yes, I step on the scale every morning.)

Just some ideas. Maybe these will help some of you if you choose.

Congrats to those of you with great losses and all the NSVs.

The lettuce thing is interesting as is the two cups of veggies idea. I too have though about how cutting can make a difference. Something I will be "chewing" on. LOL

Congrats on the coach - it cab be really helpful when you get a good one!!

sounds like you got some good advice... However, if you weigh veggies, you need a conversion "chart" which I think AVALON posted once awhile back... Six oz of cauliflower/broccoli vs six oz of spinach/field greens is WAY WAY different. Pretty much everyone here (and even the coaches) use cups for veggies and weigh meat (both raw). Meat has somewhat similar density compared to veggies.

I am pretty sure what Avalon posted gave weights for each different veggie as to what equals a "cup." Maybe she will read and chime in!!

Yes, thanks. I believe i do have a good one.

Regarding the veggies, yes, I agree. When I do spinach, I stuff it in a measuring cup, but broccoli, green pepper, cucumber, onion… everything else other than leafy greens, I will be weighing. I have chosen to heed his advice on that one.

Good, that could help with the weight disparity! Enjoy having a coach and getting great feedback and guidance!

Thank you all for your positive thoughtd, prayers and PMs
 

My poor inbox is so full of PMs with condolences for my grandpa. I do not have enough time to sit and thank each person one by one (I wish I did) but I want to say thank you to all of you who gave me positive thoughts and well wishes. It makes it easier when you have some happy thoughts :)

I talked to my sister today and she just cried and cried..... our grandpa helped her so much over the past years (she has kinda of a crappy life) he took her and her husband and kids in when they got evicted from their last house. She was looking after him, making sure he took his blood pressure and cholesterol meds, ate right ect. He helped her so much and this was harder for her than me :(

So Friday I will be home with my family saying my good bye and letting reality set in for me. But I know I have love and support from all over :)

Thank you all again!

Sarah

ps. Nashua nutrition has free shipping for today only promo code TODAY49!

Thinking of you and your family during this sad time Sarahbell

Mckaren- congrats on a great NSV of being out of plus sizes:carrot:

Gettinghealthynow- size 8- Way to go!

Snarfler congrats on size 6, a great reward for all the hard work

Ruthanne- I see from your tracker that you have lost over 100 - way to go:carrot::carrot:


At the beginning of the month I started learning how to jog on the treadmill, nothing fast you could probably walk as fast as I jog, but I can go pretty much for the whole 30 min. I feel do much better in my body now and look forward the changes that will happen to my body as I get healthier.

This week's weigh in was on Monday instead of Wednesday. I knew going in that the weight loss would be small, or even small gain. I had been OP the entire time and was just fed up. I'm phasing off this week for a trip next week and decided just "screw it" and asked a friend to meet me for sushi for lunch after my weigh in.

So the scale showed a .2 pound loss but a 5 pound loss of body fat and a 5 pound gain of water weight. I also had lost 2.5 inches. Well I went to the sushi restaurant and had them make me grilled chicken :)

Two days later I am down an additional 3 pounds. Moral of the story is that you never know when that woosh is going to happen and don't let the scale get you down. I almost let it derail me this week and am so glad I didn't.

Awesome. Great display of willpower and perseverance. Congrats to you.

Another pound bites the dust this week. First time in about 10 years I have been in the 160s! Can't wait for the 150s... I don't even remember the last time I was there!!

Have a great day!

Susie, rock on! So proud.

Weighed in this AM at my old clinic since my new coach can't see me till Monday. I bought a week supply from them, took my stats and ran. BUT on a positive note, I left them with 3.4 pounds! Happy Birthday to me!!!!!

Happy birthday to you, EMS!
 

Yeah, give them your pounds!

Happy Birthday for sure! Enjoy!

Awesome! Happy Birthday!

The virtue of virtue!
 

Congratulations for that thought process Calypso! Just think where you might me emotionally and weight wise if you HAD given in to that "screw it" impulse. Set waaaay back and working really hard to get back to where you were.

I have found over 6 months of this program that indeed the weight loss on the scale often has NOTHING to do with my virtue of staying OP or not. I can be so so careful, eating the conservative end of things and nothing goes down. Flat. Then times when I am eating the higher end, my weight falls.

What I have learned from this is that we need to just be danged good because it is good for us. The rewards WILL come, just not when and how we might want them to. We need to self-regulate - watch what we eat because that is the only way we will maintain our health over the long run.

Yes, the numbers on the scale can keep us a bit in check, but we need to develop a self discipline and thought process that keeps us on the even keel regardless of what the scale says.

I am back from my trip (very successful college visits). I learned a lot about traveling while on phase 1 of IP. It's not as easy as you think. In the old days, it was easy to run through a drive-thru to get food on the road. Now, I have to be more intentional about where we eat. Also, I found that getting a steak was easy at a restaurant (at least in AZ) and getting leaner meats was harder. Also, getting all the veggies in was really, really hard. I think I did the best I could. Confession...I did have a few little baby bites of my daughter's desserts on some days...and maybe a fry or two. But I would say I stayed 99% on plan for the 4 days. Came home with a miserable cold, too. Feel yucky.

Now...it's time for the weekly WI. Kind of dreading it. I did a lot of walking and stayed mostly on plan, but just not feeling like the scale moved this week. Guess I'll find out soon.

WTG Ems and Happy Birthday! 75 lbs gone is an awesome present to yourself!

Beck Daily Diet Solution Important reminder: there is, unfortunately, not a direct correlation between what you ate and what you see on the scale the next day. Even if you are “perfect” on your diet, it’s not a guarantee that the scale will go down every day, or even every week. However, at any point the scale is EXACTLY where it should be, given your eating, your biological and hormonal processes, your salt intake, etc. Keep doing what you’re doing – it will go down again!

Happy Birthday ems!!

Good morning, very exciting news, I applied for a new job yesterday and they want an interview next week!! I was not able to weigh-in this week because my coach had a family emergency and will be out all week. I guess this just gives me more time to lose :)

This is my second time around on this diet with the difference being I am using all alternative products.

Things I have discovered while on this diet;

1. It’s not always about how much you weigh, it’s how you feel when you have noticed that the butt of your pants is sagging and can go down the next size. Also, it’s great when you walk and your pants start falling down and you realize you need a belt. One more thing, it’s an awesome feeling when you can take off your pants while they are still buttoned and zipped. Makes me laugh and I like to laugh. Besides, laughing is good for you.

2. I feel wonderful when I’m no longer fazed by someone eating candy, a real chocolate bar or something else I’m not supposed to have. It just doesn’t bother me anymore. I figure that kind of stuff will be around forever anyway, especially Twinkies because they can survive a nuclear bomb.

3. I have many clothes in my closet ranging from sizes 6-10. I’m on the looser side of ten now (see #1) and am pretty sure I can fit into an 8. They may still be a little tight, but I am going shopping in my closet this weekend.

4. It will be ok if I can’t fit into an 8, I will though, very soon.

5. I have proof that I am able to accomplish something and not leave it halfway like most of the other things I’ve done.

Sorry, if this is a little long, but I just wanted to share my list of things. There’s more, but I picked out what I feel are the best things for me to say today.

How exciting, congrats!!! My WI got pushed back too :( Hope everything is going ok with her. My boss gave me a gift card this AM to Cocolare so I'm excited to meet Suzi and look through all their treatments! So tempting to buy IP products with the gift card but i'll treat myself later! haha

That's awesome! Happy birthday!!

Congrats on a really successful P1 trip... With all that walking you are probably fine on your WI!

In restaurants don't be afraid to look at the menu and then alter to fit IP. Most restaurants also serve chicken breast and fish in some form. Tell the waiter your dietary restrictions mean you need them prepared grilled with no butter or oil. Most any restaurant will do that for you. Also look at all the veggies they serve even on entrees you aren't having and request them steamed w/o butter or oil. Again, stress you are unable to have them with anything on them (get a side of lemon). I seldom have push-back on these requests and leave the waiter an extra nice tip for helping get everything just right!

Thanks JLUS. I did that each time, asking for extra veggies no butter. On the last day, I looked through the whole menu, picked the entrée and then asked for some specific veggies that I say they had and asked for extras of those without butter. They were very accomadating.

Well...back from my WI and I basically maintained even. She had me take off my shoes and then I was down .4 pounds. The combination of the traveling, having a nasty cold and it being TOM could mean that I'm retaining a bunch of water, too. I did lose a little in my hips, arms and thigh though. I'm not too upset. Just need to get solid back to my regular eating here and keep going down.

Love this. I agree. Good luck AnaBanana. it's my second time around the block too, day 4 doing well. All the best.

Milk/Almond Milk
 

Okay...I'm super confused now. My old IP coach told me that you could have a "splash" of milk in your coffee. She said she preferred almond milk because it was fewer calories and you could have 1 oz. I was using that in my coffee with a little bit of WF caramel syrup. Well, today, my new coach said that she had heard the other coach had been telling people that and she was going to confirm with her higher up coach but didn't think it was allowed. She asked me to send her a picture of the almond milk label, so I did. She just told me that it's a big no-no, since it's not 0/0/0.

So...why the difference? I've heard from so many on here and other places that an oz of milk was okay. But now it's not? She said I could use a little bit of the RTD (the new cappuchino is great by the way) and if I wasn't using the whole thing that it wouldn't even count as a packet used for the day.

Thoughts??

I use the RTD vanilla in my tea/coffee daily and it doesn't affect my losses. My coach said to go ahead and use it. Sometimes the last of the tea at the bottom is a little lumpy and I don't finish it!

I'm not sure of the sugar, nutrient difference between milk and almond milk but it does seem strange that you could have one and not the other.

Tough drive home. Thick fog, flooded country roads. And thunderstorms with potential tornadoes.

I just restarted I P. For supper I had rhubarb which I cooked in the microwave and added walden farms strawberry syrup to. Now looking at my sheet, it says raw behind rhubarb. I didn't think you could eat this raw. Please advise.

I'm sure you can have it cooked. I've received a recipe for rhubarb crisp from IP directly and also from some clinics. I make it by cooking it slightly in the microwave (to start it) and then put it on the stove with a little vanilla, stevia, some WF strawberry spread, and water and cook it until it's like applesauce. It's wonderful! My coach gave me a recipe just today for rhubarb crisp using the crispy cereal. Eat up!

Thank you! I can't imagine eating it raw.

Cold and flurries outside in Manitoba. Back from vacation and getting back on track. Lost and am at the weight I left with. Now plan and follow through on following IP and putting myself and health first.

I have tried some alternative products to IP (for variety and to save money) and really can't compare to IP. IP in my opinion is surperior. I have tried some quest bars for variety they are OK, but really not sure if they are an approved alternative "restricted" item. Any thoughts?

IP won't approve ANY alternatives
However, quest bars and many other alts discussed in the alt thread are comparable to IP products

The only items I find superior: the consistency of their pudding mix and the fact that I can't find the potato purée anywhere else

Perhaps it's a reminder to measure raw due to the fact that it cooks down so much? The word "raw" is a new addition to the p1 sheet.

ems -Happy Birthday to you :)

ems- Happy Birthday I hope you had a great day or maybe weekend :)

I am hoping that this blizzard that is on full force high tails it out of here by morning and the MNDOT crews have the highways cleared off!! I am hoping to make it home tomorrow for the visitation for my grandpa :( BUT I have a feeling that I will be leaving at the crack arse of dawn Saturday (like 5am early) to be there by 9am for the funeral that starts at 10!!!

I swear mother nature has PMS or something. We are slated to get almost 12+" with a side of 45-60mph winds all flippin night. I mean come on cut me some slack, I am stressed as it is and this just adds to it :(

Get this every school around us, miles from us and 30mins from us has a 2 hour late start BUT here!! WTH?! You cant see jack outside and the drifts are waist high..............I swear our sup. fro school lives in a hole some days!

I started using some alternative products because of the cost of IP and use the Quest bars and as long as they meet the guidelines for restricted items, you're good :) I also use the Pure Protein bars from Wal-Mart (they were on sale) and Muscle Milk or Pure Protein shakes (also from Wal-Mart) as well. I still have a fair amount of IP products so I mix it up.

Jo

Good morning Ipers.TGIF! Day 5 for me, so far this has been an untroubled week. Except for some battles with wanting to mindlessly snack in front of the tv! Last night I got home from work and wanted to crash but I didn't, I gave myself half an hour to roast a cabbage and a cauliflower so I have veg ready for a day or 2. Although, my husband is loving the roasted veg so I have to roast veg more often. Being on this diet makes you cook. I'm enjoying watching Masterchef USA at the moment. Funny, being on a diet and watching food shows.

MntRose I haven't made the puddings into hot drinks but I have made them into cold shakes. I would make a paste with cold water and then add hot water slowly, finish off in the micro. I'm not sure if this works. I'm looking at your stats and you are doing a fabulous job. Well done.