Literari: could you repeat that wonderful recipe in the recipes thread so it'll easier to re-find? Yum!

Lzybnz: huge congrats in your 27 lb loss! It isn't "slow". It is your fantastic progress! Almost 30 lbs in just over 3 months! Most other diets would have offered you about half that. Who cares how long it took? You're 30 lbs less!

Pinup - That's awesome! I love the idea of a new dress for every 5 pounds. Please do share your photos. I love to see other success. It keeps me motivated. I started two days after you and haven't weighed yet. I'm trying to hold off until exactly a week. Congrats on your first week!!!

she gave me the sheets but did not really explain them and I have never seen a video?! I am about 15 pounds away from my goal so I think I will just do it on my own and when we leave on vacation to my family in Kansas just stick to it. The coach thought it would be too hard with traveling and she talked me into phasing out and then just dropped the bomb on me that I should just go into phase 4 and see ya later. thanks for the info and support!

Second time on IP
 

Hello!
I am back on IP after 2 years in "maintenance". I just want to get to a lower weight. Weight is coming off slowly but not surprised since I don't have a lot to lose. I just want to lose another 10 lbs and then back to my paleo diet ASAP! I struggled at first when I got off IP until I cut out grains and went paleo and then the weight gain stopped. I am down maybe 5-8 lbs so far 3 weeks in. I miss weight training so I am hoping I can reach goal fast (under 130 lbs). I lost 20+ lbs last time on IP. It works great. I am limiting myself to the gluten free choices this time. I found I cannot tolerate gluten at all since going paleo. IP is great and so darn easy I feel like I am cheating.

Berta, before you head on vacation tell (be assertive - esp if they are just 'dropping you') your clinic to hook you up with phase 4 videos - you NEED to understand the process to be completely successful and there is no way to link the videos so you can see them - only through a clinic. See if you can find travelling with IP threads on this forum and read them through for ideas. I will look & try bumping up to help you find them. Re-read the sheets & if there's anything you aren't sure of, ask on the Daily Chat - we'll all come to your rescue as we want you to be totally successful!! :hug: Lurk on maintenance threads too, to learn more about maintenance in action.

Liana

Liana

Good evening! I am new to this forum and new to IP. My start date was June 23, 2014. Have had only one weigh in so far and lost 6 pounds and 13.25 inches. My coach I think was more excited than I was. I have felt great since day one. I want this so bad so keeping the right mind set going. Day er night 12 and no cheating yet! :)

Oh thank you so much!!! Sounds delicious! *slurp*

Welcome to all the newcomers!

Yeah you! I really think keeping your mind in the right place is essential for success on IP and it sounds like you have it down! Pre-planning is so important to making this work.

Be sure to check out the recipe threads - so many ways to not get bored with the food and learn new ways to cook. Also, check out the 100% thread - lots of people there to give you support, ideas, etc., on how to stay on-track.

Hi!:wave:

Introduced myself on the main page but wanted to say hello here too. I started IP on 6/23 and lost 5.8lbs at my first weigh in. Have been struggling with my weight for years (most of my life really). I feel like I've tried most diet plans out there. I finally went to my dr a few months ago to discuss other options (ie: WLS) and he recommended IP. It took my a few months to get the courage to try it....2 weeks in and so far, so good.

Really feel like I am at a point in my life that I need to make a change or I will carry this weight around forever. I can really see myself making a life change on this plan!

Looking forward to getting and giving support to everyone here! :cheer:

Welcome! I missed your intro in the "main page". For us, that is the daily chat.

Sounds like you started for the same reasons I did...to avoid WLS. Now I have no reason for it and neither will you! Stick with the 100%ers. I see more success there than any other thread, over the long-term.

I had to view this plan as treatment for a disease. I had morbid obesity. I'm now in remission, as long as I do what I need to do on a regular basis. I'm also in remission from chorionic back pain. I'm much happier now. Stick with it.. IP can be life-changing!

Found this thread while I was searching for something else, but glad I did! I was wondering if there was an intro thread here, I don't often wade into the other forums (I have enough trouble keeping up with one!).

So, me. I'm Sarah. I've been overweight since I was a little kid. I did Dr. Bernstein while I was in university, lost a ton of weight and then went backpacking through Europe for four months where I gained a ton and contracted mono. When I got back, I moved back home to finish university and started packing on the pounds. Having no energy because of mono didn't help with the weight gain. I moved in with my (then, new) boyfriend several months later and we were terrible influences on each other. I gained back all I had lost + 50/60 lbs.

A couple of years ago I did Optifast through a local hospital and was very successful. I was within 20 lbs or so of my goal but I was having a lot of trouble getting to it. I think my brain was mentally fatigued of the battle (Optifast is *very* strict, only 4 shakes a day to stay in ketosis, no other food). My head ended up rebelling and I started eating worse than ever, and now I find myself back up where I started Optifast. At least I caught it before gaining even more.

On the non-weight side, I'm a 26 year old accountant from the Ottawa area. I love to travel, and being fat does not make it easy. I live in the 'burbs with my boyfriend of 4.5 years (also overweight, but not as much) and our two cats and (very large - Bernese/Pyrenees/Retriever mix) dog. Since buying our house last year I've become very interested in gardening, as the previous owner basically didn't have any. Unfortunately I love to drink good (or average :P) wine, craft beer, visit farmers' markets (and not just for the veggies) and try out new restaurants or food trucks. I was perhaps drinking a bit too much wine on a regular basis (it's been a rough year), so this diet has acted as both a food reset and also an alcohol one. Not missing the wine at all, mostly because I feel more in control of my life again.

I've been on IP about two weeks now and I love it. I love that it's challenging me to try new recipes. I love to cook, but was getting stuck in a rut of our favourite (but unhealthy) meals. My boyfriend is excited too, because many of these new dishes he actually likes. I've seen some comments around the internet that IP is a bad idea because you don't learn how to fend for yourself in the real, non-IP, world. But if anything, I find it the opposite because of that one really healthy meal I have to make a day. Having the other meals taken care of helps make the transition gradual, but at the end of this process I know I'll have a repertoire of healthy recipes that I'm happy to keep eating. That's more than I can say about a lot of other diets.

And, as you see, I'm a talker. :P Being to the point is not always my best skill.

This was me close to my lowest weight in recent years (180ish) in November 2012. Aiming to get back to this. Ignore the disastrous bedroom behind me haha.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94...ps8cae2c4d.jpg

Good morning y'all! I didn't find this thread right away; therefore this isn't my first posting.

Like SarahBee above, I too am a talker:D. I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

I'm Mary and I just celebrated my 50th birthday in June:carrot:

I've been on virtually every pill known to man since I was 15 years old. Lost a lot of weight, only to have it come back and bite me in the a... :^:

I have several things going on in my body. . . I am peremenopausal (forgive the misspelling) and have been for 12 years :mad:, sleep apnea (use a CPAP), hypothyroidism, varicose veins, and clinically obese :(. If this isn't enough . . . . my scare came when I found out (around my birthday) that I am pre-diabetic.

It took that, not everything else already going on, but pre-diabetic to finally get my butt in gear :mad: Diabetes runs rampant in my family. . . I have always been afraid of it. I don't want to be on meds for that too. I have 2 diabetic sisters, one of which has a pump. The other one found out she is diabetic only after she suffered a heart attack on her 59th birthday.

This isn't turning out to be very short. . . is it :^:

I started IP on July 11 and quickly discovered it's way too expensive. I found the 3FC's website while researching for more inexpensive alternatives. I have not discussed alternatives with my coach, as I really don't feel a connection with her and don't know whether she'd support it. I've already placed and received several orders of alternatives. I guess I'll see what happens when she realizes that I haven't bought anything from them in a while.

Hi Sarah

Welcome to IP
If you only have time for one thread, make it the 100% thread. This is where you'll find people sticking with plan and getting to goal.

You're in good company!

Welcome SaraBee! Glad you found us - this is the best place for support, ideas, motivation, etc. happening!

I think most of us can identify with your journey that led you to IP - looking for a way to lose the weight and learn how to maintain is hard (as you know) and for many of us IP is the only plan that we've managed to find that really clicks with us.

I too have read the naysayers on the internet. What most people don't understand (because they really have no clue as to what IP is and just dismiss it as "another fad diet") is that we really do learn how to maintain on IP if we do it right. I've been maintaining for 3 months and there are people here who have been maintaining for years. Learning portion control, discipline and how to make good food choices are really important skills that carry over to maintenance. I really think IP resets our thinking about food.

Please join in on any thread that perks your interest and ask questions - there are so many people here with lots of experience who are very generous with their knowledge.

You have a great mindset and will do outstanding on IP!

Pebbles - welcome!

I too was pre-diabetic when I started IP. In 3 months my blood tests had all improved to the point I was absolutely "normal" on all of them - my doctor was amazed and I was thrilled. I continued to be totally normal all the way through.

Staying OP 100% is the key to making this diet work - you'll do great!