Thanks Maureen! I do a lot more "coffee dates" nowadays. It's just easier. Although I do have lunch with my sister fairly often, but it's usually at my office and she brings her salad and I have my lunch so we're all set.

And congrats on the new place - moving is exciting but stressful!

The cheat threads always make me sad too Lisa. Not the unintentional or emotional type cheating, but the on-purpose ones. I never wanted to spend one more day on P1 than needed and don't understand why someone would purposely set themselves back and put themselves through getting into ketosis again. So not worth it.

You are right on the pic - will have dh take some new ones this weekend!

LOL - thank you drd! You are awesome and such a good singing voice.

Thank you Anne!

Yayyyy Ruth Ann : ))
 

That is great news, Ruth Ann, congratulations! :carrot:From someone just starting on day two of the program your success is very encouraging.

I agree, doing this program 100% is the way to go. In fact this is why I like it, no room for cheating. It is all or nothing! Last night for dinner (and my first day on the program) my family picked up burgers, onion rings, french fries and cheese curds. I made myself the mock burger in a bowl and dined along side them. They asked if I felt like I was missing out...my response..."I am not missing out on anything here guys...just poor health and lots of unwanted weight gain" I felt so empowered to say those words.

Love it that you are still wrapping your head around such a successful loss. So happy that you feel so much better.

Thanks for being here to help the rest of us. God Bless You and keep up the good work.:hug:

Joanne

I agree. I would never claim to be a 100%er, but getting into ketosis sucked so much I don't want to go through it again. I "cheat", to avoid a downward spiral. I figure if a SF Jell-O or a controlled amount of extra fat can satisfy me and stop my cravings from spiralling into a binge, they are valuable weapons in my arsenal, and safe foods. I use quotation marks because, in my own mind I don't consider them cheats and don't feel guilty about them. My biggest focus and concern is not feeding sugar cravings with sugar, and hopefully breaking the cycle of addiction. I dunno, I guess I just think we're all looking for support as we work towards a common goal, and trying to do so in such a way that works for us.

Congratulations, Ruth Ann!

Thanks for the really nice words Joanne! :hug: You have the exactly right attitude - you aren't missing out on a thing! I always thought to myself "I know what those whatever taste like, there is no shortage of them and they will be around later if I want after I lose weight." Funny thing is, there's nothing I'm really craving - I've learned a whole new way of eating and I like it. I really think my taste buds have changed or I'm learning to listen to my body more, but none of the stuff that I loved so much that got me really fat appeals to me. Hooray!

Thanks!

Hey Ruth Ann! Congrats and welcome to maintenance! You have proven already that you can make good and healthy choices so you will do great! None of us are perfect but we can plan and decide to choose health first at the same time enjoying our life! This plan teaches us a lot of good habits! Good for you!

Thanks Hawaii! 1st day of maintenance went well! I was worried, I have to admit - but I stepped on the scale this morning and weighed exactly the same! And I ate what appeared to me to be a lot of food.

Sounds like maintenance is going well for you too - so inspiring to see people hit their goals and then make it work.

Great First Three Days but puzzled!
 

Hello Friends, I started on Friday. Can this be too good to be true:o....so far no headache or gross fatigue....just a bit foggy and crabby....my appetite seems suppressed between meals and no cravings. Is this the calm before the storm? Will I begin to get that beginners low carb flu? I feel as though I must be cheating because I feel so well. I am measuring and weighing all veggies and protein and of course making sure there are no hidden sugars in things like hot sauce etc. following 100%

I sent my hubby out to get the ketosis stix and I am not even showing a trace, three days may be too soon? Hopefully at my 1st weigh-in on Thursday things will go well. I have never been on a diet and felt well in the early days. But I am not complaining...just seems too good to be true. :carrot:

Well I survived what I will now dub **** week... Today was the first day in over a week where I didn't have to constantly fight of the urge to eat, taste, lick, or otherwise put in my mouth everything from sweets to peanut butter, even things I don't like gave me problems. I don't know what brought on the days of super cravings.. well not even cravings so much as urges since I wasn't sitting thinking about them they were all things I was feeding my children. I'm just glad it's over. At no point today did I have the urge to eat something off plan. However I have to say that I did do a P2 day yesterday by having a few extra ounces of lean protein... I don't know why I was so famished it was a few slices of lunch meat or bust... It did the trick and I felt fine today, I almost wonder if my body wouldn't function better on P2? Any thoughts.

jo4applerose
Welcome to 100%
No better place to be!

Not everyone gets a bad case if ketosis flu. Count yourself lucky!

And I'm sorry you wasted your money on the stix. They work super well for some folks but not for everyone. Very inconsistent. Try them first thing in the morning. If they don't work then, they may not. And try again at the end of your first week. If they still don't work, toss them & go by how you feel. You can also google Ketosis symptoms (big list,,,not everyone had the same ones).

And welcome!

I have been OP for 3 weeks and never experienced that...VERY lucky I guess. In fact, I have not felt better in 4 years! I thought i was perhaps doing things wrong since i felt so good! For me though, sadly, I was eating so terribly that there was no where to go but up.

Congrats Ruth Ann!!!!!

Amber, if I recall correctly, your coach is very nice but not always terribly helpful (that could have been someone else's coach, it's early). You might talk it over with him. But are you getting a full 8 oz at dinner? You might try moving 2 or 3 ounces to lunch and bulk both meals up with lettuce. Are you getting all your oil in?

The only other thing I can think of is - what proteins are you eating? If you are always choosing the very leanest meats (chicken, fish, etc.) you might try mixing some higher fat meats in there (steak, ground beef). Fat is satiating and your body needs fat to operate correctly.

Thanks evemomma!

Like Lisa said, some people never have an issue getting into ketosis - lucky people!

And yes, I know exactly what you mean about never feeling better - it is amazing!

I agree 100% with Ruth Ann...also...are you blending your greens into a shake in the AM?? You may want to rethink that...2 cups of steamed broccoli or cauliflower at lunch with a light squeeze of lemon juice ...is going to give how your tummy feels more for the daily veggie ration than 2 C of spinach blended. I never an AM shake with spinach for this reason. 1.) I like veggies, and 2.) Because I definitely needed the bulk mid day to make my tummy feel like it had some real food....I ate 2 C of real veggies...with shake and a salad at lunch.

Bet your hunger period is followed by some real weight loss at the next weighins...that seems to happen a lot toooo!:dancer::dancer: So keep toughing it out. You are doing the hard stuff now....

Amber: To this I'd like to add that not only do I have my veggies through the day, very often I only have 1 c left for dinner so then I put my meat on a BIG salad of romaine (4-8 cups of lettuce). The veggies keep me going thru the day and the salad fills me up for dinner.

There is something about salad at lunch that ends up making me MORE hungry but at dinner its a different experience. But 65 is right, if you're blending any veggies, I'd suggest stopping or reducing those and eating them, instead. Also, cooked veggies tend to satiate me more than raw. Just a personal thing but it works for me.

Rutabaga?? No right?
 

Hello Zero Cheaters,

I noticed people talking about rutabaga fries in so many threads so I went out to buy them and cut them up and ready to bake and GOOD THING I LOOKED. I see they are not on the select veggie list. I hate to throw it all in the trash but better than throwing my 3 days down the tube. :0) Just double checking in case they are called another name?

Rutabagas are on the occasional list so you can have them occasionally (I believe it's 2 cups per week of the occasional veggies but not where I can look at the sheet right now). I personally like turnip fries better and turnips are on the select list.

Enjoy!

Thanks ladies, but I don't blend my veggies. Turns out I was definitely PMSing. I get hungrier the week before but this was off the charts. I get all 8oz of meat, I weigh and measure everything. I get my oil, I do eat salad, but not all the time just depends on if I'm hungry or what foods I am planning to eat. Typical day is muffins made from IP pudding (1 packet) for breakfast, 2 cups of mini bell peppers raw for lunch and an IP soup or shake, and for dinner my meat plus 2 cups of sautéed zucchini. With a snack sometimes between lunch and dinner, sometimes after depending on how early or late I end up eating. Snack is an IP item. Sometimes for dinner I have like a buffalo chicken salad, sometimes just a steak and veggies. My proteins are a combo of super lean and less lean. Last night was a steak, night before some pork. I haven't quite experienced the level of urges that I did last week, but alas it is gone as of yesterday and today I feel fine. My stats were good from the doc, down 2.6lbs of fat and 3.6lbs total. Lost 2 inches on my waist, hips, and almost 2 inches on my thighs and bust. No loss on the arms but that's ok. I'm glad that after such a trying week I had such good losses.

You might not be able to answer this, but what is the difference in taste and texture between turnip and rutabaga. I grew up calling a rutabaga a turnip but I do know the difference in appearance. I love rutabaga but find the fries just never cook enough and they shrink so much. I have tried to par boil too. Instead I stick to my traditional mashed. When I have had a hungry day that is my go to comfort food (once a week at most) since I don't like any other occasionals.

Hi!

Yesterday was my first day back to phase 1. I was feeling very tired today, complained about it on another thread then cleaned out my master closet! I have been telling myself to do that for a couple of years. What got me motivated was that I lost my Ideal Protein folder which dates back to 2011. Didn't find it but I'm counting it as a NSV. Lol!


Congratulations Ruth Ann!

Jo, I think it can take a little more than 3 days to get into ketosis. I've had some luck with the Keto sticks but Lisa is right about the first thing in the morning. Once you've consumed a lot of water the results are diluted. (Pun intended.) I don't use them a lot but I find it reinforcing to see some pink on the stick, especially in the beginning.

Shelflife - I totally understand where you are coming from. I am definitely a sugar, carb addict.

AmberLS - It is soo much easier to do this diet with the kids out of the house. I admire your ability and coping strategy. I have found that I can't keep anything in the house that is not on plan. And things that I never would have thought of eating, like salad croutons, are not safe from me! Sad, sad, sad. I see you've posted your losses - congratulations!

So I'm on day two phase 1. The night time urge to eat is the toughest for me. I bought some celery today. I found the first time around that sometimes that mindless eating in front of the TV can be taken care of with bite sized pieces of celery. I hope it works this time!

I find them pretty similar in texture. To me, turnips are more bitter tasting. I prefer the rutabaga... Neither gets crispier than the other and they do not get crispy like potato fries. I had someone suggest cooking longer at a lesser heat level (maybe 325?) to get them a little crisper. Have not tried that.

Thank you for the info on the rutabaga. My son ate the whole cup and loved it. I did taste one, it was quite delicious. While I am getting into Ketosis I would rather stick to all select veggies.

Also, thank you for the info on getting into ketosis, tried testing the morning urine still nothing. I am feeling way too well to be in ketosis as day 4 comes to a close. When I was on Atkins a couple of years ago I had to go really low on the carbs around 20 and stick to just lettuce with the proteins and no veggies to show a trace. I will talk to my coach at my first weigh in.

So glad to be here and appreciate the warm welcome the last couple of days. I am all about keeping it 100%! If I say something wrong feel free to scold me. :dizzy:

Blessings!

Joanne

Those ketostix are notoriously inaccurate... Tho it can take 4-6 days to get into ketosis. You do not have to purposely eat lower Carbs - the program choices already have been worked out to get you there! Just stick 100% to plan and you will be in ketosis despite what the stix show!

You may not get the ketosis flu symptoms, especially if you were eating lower carb before you started.

Thank you for the encouragement Laurie. I am not going to change a thing. I haven't felt this good in ages. I still feel like it is cheating to eat the restrictive once a day hahaha :0) greatest diet plan ever. Food is not on my mind 24/7 any longer. I AM FULL! Amazing!

NSV: It's a whole lot easier to do "La Raspa" without the extra 50lbs. ;)

NSV2: I fit inside a standard restroom stall without almost having to sit on the toilet to close the door! :dancer:

NSV3: I started kosho ryu kempo tonight. Fun!

I would say that is your biggest signal. I did not have a single sign other than I stopped being hungry. If you are losing weight, you are good.

good morning everyone

just checking in to say hello - still 100% and feeling great - I can see goal not too far away - I'll be moving into my condo on the 17 and I'm already planning what to do about food for the day - will pack as if I'm going to work so I'll have my shake; salad etc that way there'll be no excuse for going off program. I got the keys to the condo and will be slowly moving what I can in my car after work until the move date.

well let's all have a great day we're worth it

What great NSVs! I love them all!

Hooray for new home and planning ahead!

Ruth Ann -- I was sorry to see on another thread that you're not feeling great on maintenance (yet). Hoping things are feeling better today. You know you will settle in soon, hang in there! I know you will.

I am up the proverbial pound this week. I have certainly learned to roll with these little surprises, but now that I am so close to goal, it feels like an even larger set back than it really is. I have been running this little dialog in my head about when to call it good and start phasing off. I know I have discussed this before on this thread, so I won't go over it all again. I mean, I can't say I am unhappy with my weight at this point, so the goal of 120 seems a bit random now. (I've always been a sucker for an even number.) That said, after losing this much weight, I hate to "just call it good" and feel like I am ending on a compromise rather than feeling like I got to where I was going, all the way, exactly. kwim? Anyway, that's where I am today . . .

The grocery store got a new shipment of jicama yesterday, and I was all over that. Just polished off 2c of it with lemon juice, lemon zest, and splenda for lunch. y-u-m. I will eat that stuff for the rest of my life. It's so good for you and tastes like candy to me. :dizzy:

Thanks SylviesGirl! I am doing much better today - I think I just needed to adjust. After a year of P1 & P2 it's not surprising that my body needed some adjustment time!

You know, I think you will know when you are done. I had set my goal at 150 but when I got there I knew I wanted to go down a little more and, like you, I kind of randomly set my goal.

And look at you! .5 pounds away! How awesome is that?? (Of course, I like to round so would have called it goal when the first 3 numbers came up right!)

I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling better, Ruth Ann. We have been on IP for almost the same amount of time, so I consider you my own little canary in the coalmine. You don't mind, do you? ;) After eating so simply for so long, I am a bit nervous about how my body will take to digestive challenges at first. Keep on, keeping on, Ruth Ann. I am watching and learning.

NSV: My concert black fits fully and completely, even the vest, which not only buttons but can actually be worn buttoned ... with room to spare. :D

Also and too, NSV: District admin, the front office staff, and the teachers' association ALL brought treats TODAY for Teacher Appreciation Day. The office folks brought breakfast burritos from [Local Restaurant], Admin provided donuts, and the Association gave us a GIANT SHEET CAKE. I had a moment of, "I wish I could have that" and then realized that I genuinely didn't want the donuts or the cake! For me, that's a major change! (I was still ever-so-slightly disappointed that I couldn't have a burrito, but I'll be able to have one next year.)

I just noticed that not only have we been on about the same amount of time, we've lost the same amount of weight! i am happy to be your canary - if I couldn't have followed all the great people who did this before me, I would have been totally lost.

And I suppose it makes sense - my body had to adapt to getting on IP so it takes some time to adapt to adding things back in.

Yeah you! it's funny how our tastes change. I don't even want most of the stuff I missed in the beginning. I'm pleased that the change has happened!

Well done! I think it is very smart how you keep careful, mindful track of your NSVs. At the end of the day, those are what we are all really doing this for. Hip-hip-hooray for buttoned-up, yet roomy things! And, as for the breakfast treats, obstacles, just obstacles -- way to stay on track! :carrot:

Yes, Ruth Ann -- We have a lot in common, including, even our height. I was trying to get down to 120 with my long-term goal being 125ish (allowing for the maintenance bounce). But I dunno if I'm going to stick to that. I'll give it a couple more weeks and then re-look at it.

I'm pretty happy where I am at the moment - my scale shows the 3 up pounds are gone. I know the standard BMI charts say I am still slightly overweight but my doctor said to ignore that number as long as I'm feeling comfortable. My plan is to maintain this weight for awhile and then see if I want to lose more.

I'm getting the hang of maintenance - haven't done a ton of variety yet, still playing with numbers, etc. but I've been testing myself on serving sizes and boy do I come close when I eyeball things (practice, practice, practice!).

down 1.4 lbs this week less than 5 to my goal!!!
my current weight won't change on my signature!!

Yeah Maureen - you've done so great!

I love the new pic.

Wtg Maureen
 

You look terrific Maureen. Congratulations! Love the new photo. :)

NICE job Ruth Ann
 

Great job Ruth Ann so glad you are feeling comfortable on your new maintenance protocol. WTG on getting the serving sizes correct! We really appreciate your sharing your success—very helpful to us newbies. :dizzy: