Slip,

Things have been CRAZY busy over this way, but I'm still sticking with being OP! Getting the last of the things that the Bean (my daughter) needs before she goes off to college. Orientation is the 17th and 18th of this month, Freshman move in on August 18th, and my baby girl starts classes on August 24th. Then I've got a trip (to Maine) from August 31st through September 9th. September 13th is my best friends wedding, and then after that I've got my good friends wedding on September 26th. So many good things!

I've been cleared to go back to working out, so I had my first trainer appointment today. I've been walking every day, and I'm up to 4 miles with elevation changes. Today I added strength training and core muscle building. It's all with small amounts of weight, so I'm not straining anything. I am so excited. I know that at my center, they take measurements, but while I was meeting with the trainer, he told me that my thighs (the part of me that has moved the least in the measurements in the recent past) are within 3 inches of "normal".. seriously?!? On top of that, my visceral fat rating is 11. That's a HEALTHY level!!!!! Water is coming up, and everything else is going down. I cannot believe that I've only got 88lbs left to go.. that's it.. I've come so far and to be able to "see" the finish line. For the first time since starting IP I walked into the bathroom after my training session with my trainer and started to bawl. I was so in shock. I guess there's still a part of me that sees myself as the 642lb girl I was. I'm at the point now where I SEE the changes, but the emotions are still up in the air about what those changes actually mean.

Sorry to ramble so much... Thanks for all the support (even though I've been spotty about being on here in the recent weeks).

Maddy

Awwwww Maddy!!!! I absolutely love how you still refer to your daughter as "the bean" even though she is heading off to college!!! How sweet is that!! :D

Kooky, love the great Trader Joe recommendations. Great information and support.

Maddy, so glad that you are seeing all of your hard work come to success. Also glad to hear that your feeling so much better.

I have been working like crazy and now the garden is finally beginning to bloom in the perennial section. Sat outside tonight and appreciated the gifts of summer.

Thank you! You're so right about the challenges, but having you ladies and a great coach supporting me REALLY helped. :hug: Now I need to follow your example and become more dedicated to exercise. You're doing great! Congratulations on your progress with IP and your fitness! We'll be here for you cheering you on. I'm sure it will be hard when your daughter moves out, but you must be so proud. I bet it will be extra special when you visit her at school or when she comes home to visit. I got closer to my mom when I was in college.

Slipfree- Trader Joes has been a life saver for me when I don't have as much time to prepare my IP foods. It's a good place to buy cooking shortcuts, but I learned to be careful with the pre-cooked proteins because many have sugar in them. I have a healthy carb/low glycemic cookbook (bought on Amazon pre-IP) that uses TJ's foods. I bought it pre-IP and used it occasionally, but I need to revisit it for ideas. l'll share recipes if I find anything good.

I'm glad you're garden is blooming! You've worked so hard. I'm glad it's paying off for you to enjoy.

I'm on day 4 of maintenance. It's been good so far. I'm still mostly eating like I'm on P3 with the exception of having wine with dinner one night and having a fun meal instead of a fun day, followed by a P1 day. I'm following my coach's advice to pay attention to how my body reacts to foods as I re-introduce them. I've definitely noticed a negative after effect from alcohol. I had two glasses of wine with dinner the other night and woke up the next day STARVING. I think it definitely messed with my blood sugar and left me dehydrated. I'll remember to drink way more water and maybe eat more with dinner when I have wine. No wonder is gained so much weight when I moved to CA- wine makes me really hungry!

Kooky, it is a bummer that the phase 1 comes the day after the fun (wine) meal. Makes for a hungry day, but the strategy works.

Mellow day here. I hurt my right hand yesterday, I guess. Work up during the night with acute pain between my thumb and index finger. Today it still hurts, hard to grip even a coffee mug. Kind of limits my physical labor, since I am strongly right handed. Would make it a day of rest, but I have company coming tomorrow. Guess it will be left hand cleaning today :dizzy:

Kooky: I forgot to mention...you look like Alicia Silverstone!

You're right...the P1 day fixed me right up. :) I felt stabilized after I had a morning vanilla shake and it made me feel better mentally to eat lighter after the fun meal. I have anxiety about eating off plan on fun days which is good and bad. It kept me from going overboard because I basically had a P3 day with an off plan dinner, but I didn't enjoy the anxiety I felt. I don't think it helped that I had pizza for dinner which has been my cheat food of choice when I've cheated on IP, so I think I associate it with negative feelings. It will be interesting to see how I feel the next fun day. I'm definitely not having pizza because it triggered negative feelings for me.

I hope your hand gets better soon! I've had what sounds like a similar pain from raking leaves for hours in a day and it woke me up too. Hope you lefty day goes well. :)

Thank you! That's so sweet of you. I wanted to be her when I was younger and she was in Clueless and the Aerosmith videos. :)

Pizza is one of my "only in a restaurant" foods, ice cream too. Too many negative food patterns with both of those foods. Breaking the pattern is a vital part to our maintaining.

I agree...I feel like I need to re-read my P4 stuff to get more comfortable with it. I'm still doing P3 for the most part and feel anxious moving beyond it. I was so looking forward to the "fun day," but I felt so anxious, it wasn't really fun. I guess I have to get used to experiencing a few fun/free days followed by P1 days to see that the weight does come back off, so that I'm not as anxious about eating off plan on fun days.

Kooky and Slip,

I love "listening" to the two of you talk here on the boards. I've never once heard other people (outside of 3FC) talk about trigger foods, or for that matter, the emotional aspect of eating foods that we ate previously.

Had a huge NSV last night. Went to my 20th class reunion. It was a bit funny, no one recognized me. A few people came up and asked who I had married, and then I said hello to them by first name... After a bit it dawned on them. One person I was in English class all 4 years looked at me and said "holy $hit!!!! What happened to you?? You look great!" I went to my reunion in a size 14 dress. Not quite sure how that is possible because I'm still stuck at a 20 for pants sizes! I can't get the pictures on here from my phone, so I'll have to share soon.

Kawaii, what a fantastic NSV! I am so glad you had that moment of "look at me now" but even more importantly, that you feel beautiful and healthy. Can not wait to see the pictures :yay:

Wow lots of great things have been going on here. Way to go Newbies, you guys ROCK!!!

We made it to our camping destination, lots of family going to be here which will be nice. We didn't get our puppy. 😔 We were told we could go pick her up but when we got there the shelter couldn't get a hold of the foster mom. It was a pretty sad day for us. We are supposed to pick her up on the 21st now. Hopefully that date will work out.

Hope everyone keeps up the positive attitudes and the hard work. I will check in when I can. The internet is not great here.

I'm off to the gym for cardio and legs... Just had done egg whites and 2/3 of a cup of yogurt and have a shake in my bag for after. I NEED to hydrate today!!! I can feel that dry mouth monster that means I'm dehydrated... Ah well.. Water all day! After gym and shower, it's back home to enjoy walking around town at sailfest, and here's the kicker... I'm gonna go on the Ferris wheel.. Haven't been on one in about 30 years.. Yippee NSV!!!!

W2b!! I'm so sorry your pup isn't with you.. We had to wait two weeks when we got our rescue. We met the transport truck in a parking lot with about 20 other families.. I recognized him right away and it was like we had found something we hadn't known we were missing. Our lug is now 2.5 and the biggest (no, really he weighs 85lbs) lap dog you'll ever meet.. He's my running partner, bed warmer and nurse all rolled into one. It is TOTALLY worth the wait!! Soon you'll be snuggling with YOUR fur baby.. Bless you for getting a rescue pup!