Slip: I hear you bon not wanting to get rid of some clothes, I have favorites too. but they have to go! I am also realizing that I have no clothes for fall/winter! I have 3 pairs of pants and the some tshirts. Yikes! Hopefully I can hit some really good sales.

Thank you for the remembering, Slipfree. I took a detour and I am just now getting recharged to kick my b-tt back into gear. I think my warped little mind got a little too cocky feeling that I looked good and my focus slipped.

So I know I do not weigh 297 any more and relative to that, I do look good but I need to remind myself I still have a bit to go AND I have to phase off properly, not just go back to eating everything that does not move.

That is how I got there in the first place! Hard lesson to learn and remember.

Hey everyone, I'm still struggling but still refusing to give up:) I had a great chat with my coach yesterday and like a few in the summer, I've decided to go back on P1 September 2nd. In the meantime I'm working at drinking all of my water, taking my vitamins and making sure I get lots of protein in my day. Its only 2.5 weeks away so I'm looking forward to getting strict again... I kept trying and trying to get back on P1 but it just wasn't happening... I'm hoping this little break will help me... especially since I've picked a date... thank goodness Hawaii is my sister as she keeps asking me how I'm doing and reminding me of how much $$$ we've spent and all the hard work this year... all good reminders!! That being said, for some reason I've been totally OP for P1 today... lets see what happens????

I went and got fake nails for the first time this week and yesterday I got a spray tan... I fly out for the wedding tomorrow and despite a lot of family not making it, it will be fun to get decked out at a much smaller size (a 'normal' person size!!) than I was last year... thanks for not giving up on me guys!!

Thanks for posting Schenectady it helps me to fess up and let everyone know I'm having a hard time!! I know I will always have to work at my weight but with this support system it really gives me the stregnth to keep trying!!

Schenectady, lol "eating everything that does not move" - funny girl! :cbg:
Keep on Hiker! You will get to your maintenance goal, just don't give up - try to stay 100% and you will be done quicker and have learned new coping skills ;)

Hugs all! AND...:dust:

Liana

Hiker88 - you and I are very much in the same position - same height and nearly the same weight. Let's hang in here together and do not feel bad to have slips. Get back on the horse and get riding fast after falling off,

I know you have a special reason for phasing off for a bit - I will be there in October when our son gets married (he returns to Hawaii in early October but will be married up here if he gets his leave papers signed).

You will be back OP the way you want to soon. Hang tight! We a re all here for you.

Yay! Some of the ladies are back. Remember, fall 6 times get up 7. We are all works in progress. I am glad that you are here, because I missed you both.

The next few days will include more wine (mom is here), so next week will be a few days of phase 1. Making great progress on the tag sale, everything is pretty much priced. Set up tomorrow. It has been gloriously cool weather, making the work so much easier. But man, I am tired.

Just a quick not to you fab IPers. I am alive. Just real busy with the 2 houses. House we bought is almost done with updates. House we are renting is on the market. I am now on my 2nd week of P3. I am doing just ok. It is real tough right now. I have gained about 5 lbs total. When I am moved into the new house in late Sept I will probably go back to P1 and try to loose another 20lbs but this time I know what I am doing.

I am hanging on ladies but it is hard. I read your posts everyday just don't have a chance to reply. I agree this is a never ending journey. Glad we are in it together!!! Thanks for all the advice and support!!! I need it! ;)

Hey Luccilove! Seeing a note from you made my night even better. At least we have each other on this never ending journey. Soon the house stress will be done and you will be able to focus on yourself.

Hello all:

Its great reading everyones posts. And to know that even though some are struggling, they are not giving up. And look at all the weight you've all lost. The reality is that this is about the day to day struggle of life and learning to make good choices. What I've learned from this plan is that I don't need to eat as much to feel satisfied and that the protein helps my blood sugar stay level and I dont' feel as hungry and am satisfied for longer. I can enjoy some foods and drinks in moderation while making healthy choices most of the time but not having an 'all' or 'nothing' attitude as that means its easier for me to just give in and not try when having a bad day or two. I have more confidence in having control over my eating and as maintenance continues, I continue to learn. But, it does help to know that we are all on this journey together and can encourage each other along the way to make the best choices food wise to help us be healthier. So, thanks everyone!!

What fabulous support, you guys rock! Lots of us seem to be putting our plans on hold until Sept. I say whatever works for you, do it. For me only taking vacations off is the way to go, then getting right back on track works for me. I know that is not you are supposed to do it, but it seems to work for me. I need the freedom but also being able to get right back to my program is key for me. I use it as a learning experience for maintenance. Keep checking in letting us know how you are doing. We are a team and we will all get the our goals!!

Thought this quote applied to us all!

Tag sale tomorrow. Have a terrible cold and TOM. What does kill us, makes us stronger. I need some strength! :dizzy:

You can do this Slip! I am always so happy when I've had a good eating day and wake up the next morning because I can tell by the way I feel if I've eaten well. I don't feel so bloated and just feel better. So, there are those days I have to white knuckle which are totally worth it and then the days where I don't but I never beat myself up, I just move forward. You have done excellent! You inspire so many. We keep getting up! I hope that you will be feeling better soon, no fun to be sick! Look after yourself!

Hi Everyone! I'm sorry it's been a tough time for IP for everyone and I'm also struggling. This first week staying in TX on business has been pretty much a nightmare for trying to eat OP. I'm sharing a rental car with two coworkers, so we're together for lunch and sometimes dinner every day, so I've given up trying to steer the group in a healthier direction. I'm trying to make good food choices, but at some places, it's pretty much impossible, so I just order something that isn't horrible and just pay attention to when I'm satisfied. I also have been blessed with PMS and early TOM. I'll have some work to do when I get back to CA. I have been having IP drinks for breakfast every day instead of eating the continental breakfast at the hotel which is lowering my caloric load for the day. My clothes don't feel tighter, so maybe I haven't gained very much my fingers and feet feel bloated, but I think that might be from more salt in my food and the stifling heat. I have no idea. I just want to home...counting down the days. : (

I can really identify with the struggles everyone is facing and wish you the strength to power through it.

Hang on Kooki... You are doing well with your breakfast plan! Every 100% meal counts, especially your breakfast as it gets you headed in the right direction. I guess it's 2 against 1 in the 'healthier restaurant' choices game, wishing you strength and willpower. You have made your plan and you are killing this!! :cp:
Humidity/heat and restaurant saltiness will definitely cause water retention, so rest easy, it should be better when you get back home... make sure you are getting all your water in, it seems counterintuitive, but enough water in helps the body let go of excess instead of trying to store it. :cool:

Liana

Survived the tag Sale. Have no voice. Made about 500 $ have about tons of stuff to donate. Thank goodness for free meal because I needed a drink!

Slip:Glad the sale went well! Hope your voice returns soon.

Our puppy has had a sore leg for a couple of days so we took her to the vet on Sat. She gave us some to give Bella and told us to not let her jump up on anything and to not let her get too much exercise! I guess the vet forgets puppies like to run and jump up on everything. It has been stressful the last couple of days. If Bella hurts it she lays around and whimpers or yelps. I feel so bad for her. Hopefully she gets better soon and we don't have to take her back to the vet.

Good morning all,

Want2b- so sorry that Bella is hurt, such a helpless feeling when animals are in pain. I hope that her leg improves soon.

Hawaii, thank you for your support. It is strange, but with all the lifting, carrying,
and moving around- I am right at goal weight this morning. You are right about clean eating days and indulgences, it seems to be about balance in maintenance.


Kooky, just do your best. Travel is tough. Enjoy your new experiences and job.

Liana, glad things are slowing down at work for you :)

Kawaii, how are you doing?

As for me, I have a horrible summer respiratory infection. If it does not improve by tomorrow, I will head to the Drs. Feeling punkey is forcing me to slow down during my last week before school starts.

All of the left over Tag Sale stuff (3 truck loads) has been donated.

I did buy some really cute clothes for school. I am still searching for boots and will need some winter sweaters.

Hope all is well with Hiker, Luccilove, Schenectady, and Jig.

Thanks Liana and Slipfree- I'm doing ok with food. I'm not going overboard and into old habits. I've made good choices overall, but have had some things I wouldn't be eating at home. I'm still feeling bloated, but it's TOM and I always feel like this, but I'm sure the restaurant food isn't helping. I need to drink lots of water!

I'll be home Friday night and can't wait! I miss eating all of the fresh veggies I was eating before. Also, I miss my cat, my bed, and not sharing a car. I still need to get settled into my new apartment. I left lots of boxes unopened because I had to leave for training.

Want2Be- I hope your puppy gets better soon! It's always interesting when the vet tells you to make your pet do something like that. Mine told me to brush my cat's teeth. I don't think I could do that if I had four people holding him down. I hope you can get her to rest and let her leg heal.

Slipfree- Congrats on making $ at the tag sale and getting rid of all of that stuff! That must be a relief to have all of that stuff gone. I hope you get some rest now and fight off that respiratory infection. I'm glad you found cute clothes. It must have been a lot more fun doing back to school shopping this year. : )

Kooky- back to school shopping is easier, I order it and it fits :) I think I might be heading to the Drs. tomorrow, things do not appear to be getting better without pre. meds.

I am sure that you are excited about getting back to your new home. Time to nest a little and explore. Not to mention cuddle Suki.

I hope the doctor figures out what's wrong and gives you some good drugs.

I'm excited to do all of the above: nest, explore, and cuddle Suki. I have a feeling he's not going to be very friendly to me when I first pick him up from the vet where he's boarding for the two weeks. He usually bounces back and forgives me within a day or two after I return from a trip.

Another day of training...hope everyone has a great day!

What a great and very appropriate quote, Slipfree! I do not give up even though my journey has been often detoured; yet I know when I reach goal, I am NOT DONE. Dealing with "real food" on a daily basis without the support of the easy IP structure will be an incredible challenge for me.

As Lisa often reminds us, with great truth, obesity is a life long disease we all face. Just because we may reach goal does not mean we are done. Those little squirrels running around our mind agitating emotions will always be there. We must master those emotions to master our weight and health.

WI today with a loss of 3 pounds after a month of nothing. I have started going to the gym to start building some muscle back and have attributed the long stall to that. Anyway, it feels good especially since we are leaving on a week long trip to Virginia to see the great grandson and haven't seen him & my grandson & wife since May 1. I'm hoping that all restaurants will be friendly & that I can stay on track. With only 24 pounds to my goal there is light at the end of the tunnel finally, and I don't want to mess it up. (Been there - done that).
Reading this thread is very motivating so I am taking my iPad with me. I noticed that in a little over a month it will be a year of I.P. dieting. That is really amazing to me.

Peppergirl....where in VA are you going to be? I am in Northern VA. Have a good trip

Hi y'all,

Woke up today to cold sores :(. Guess my body is insisting on some rest before school starts again.

Schenectady, I think it is when we give in "to the all or nothing mentality", we are in trouble. The idea that we are done when we hit goal is just not true. All the stages are hard in their own way. I think all of us are aware that returning to our past food behavior on a regular basis will earn our old bodies back.

Peppergirl- yay :yay: for the 3 pound loss and hitting the gym. I know that you can stick to it on your trip. Do your best to plan ahead and most of all- enjoy your family.

Peppergirl- Congratulations on the WI and getting all of that exercise in. Hope you have a great trip to VA. Traveling on IP can be difficult, but bring your packets and bars and that's half the battle. Restaurants can be tricky too, but looking at menus ahead of time helps.

Schenectady- I agree we are not done when we hit goal. In many ways maintenance is trickier than the other phases with so many choices. At least there's P1 to help us lose regained weight or repent after the fun day, but I'm not crazy about buying IP products the rest of my life. I can't wait to get back home to get back into a regular pattern of preparing most of my meals and losing any weight I've gained in TX. I guess I'm included in the saying "everything's bigger in TX." I don't have a scale to verify...just a hunch. Trying to do as much damage control and repair as possible before I have access to a scale. I did a P1 day today and feel decent.

Slipfree- ugh I hate getting cold sores! Get some medicine on those and rest dang it! I mean that in the nicest of ways. :-)

Kooky, you are funny. I have been resting for the past two days. Getting my hair done tomorrow and going to breakfast-need a little fun before summer ends.

Having a lobster dinner on Fri. at a friend's house. Now that says, summer!

You will take care of your UP pounds when you get home, I have no doubt at all about that :)

Sounds like a nice low key, but fun week you have planned. I agree- having fun before summer is over is probably good medicine.

Thanks for having faith in me. Some P1 days when I get back won't kill me, plus I can get some exercise unpacking/setting up my new place and exploring my new surroundings. :running:

Schenectady: your words really hit home. Obesity will be a life long struggle for me. I now know other diets didn't wrk because I always went back to my old ways, I am smarter this time around! Lol

Slip: hope you feel better soon. Lobster dinner sounds like a great end to summer! Enjoy.

Peppergirl: Great WI! Also good job getting to the gym, it is not always easy to get motivated to do it. Keep going, I am sure you will get great results. Have a great trip.

Kooky: once you get home I am sure you will get right back on track. Hang in there. Think of all the exercise you can get exploring your new neighborhood!

I have been doing terrible, some days I am op and other days I am not. Life has gotten busy with lots of unexpected travel and me not being able to cook my own food. It is TOM this week and has made me not care on some days, which I know is not an excuse. I am not looking forward to WI tomorrow but I will do it and report it here. The bright side is I have been jogging every other day, hopefully that will help with WI.

Well the scale was VERY kind this morning, I am down 2.2lbs!! That was such a surprise. I am still .4lbs up from before my friend visit but I am working on that this week. 10.6lbs away from my ultimate goal weight, I think I can get there before Oct. What do you think? Hope everyone has a great day today.

Want2b, glad the scale was kind :yay: As for reaching your goal by Oct., I believe you can do anything you set your mind to do.

Hair is done! I went boot shopping. Irritating that I still needed a wide calf boot for my huge muscle calves. Oh well.

Now, I need a nap from all my running around.

Yay Want2Be! I bet you can lose 10 lbs in P2 before October. Good luck! We're here to support you. I feel you on the TOM issue. Mine is really awful this month and I'm training in a classroom setting at my new job. It's hard to be at my best when I'm feeling this badly.

Day two of P1 to make up for poor eating on this trip. With my coworkers wanting to go every unhealthy restaurant possible and TOM, the temptations are there, but I'm putting my health first. Tonight I drove my coworkers to their sandwich shop where they got big, cheesy sandwiches, chips, cookies, and milkshakes/smoothies and just stayed in the car while they did takeout. Then I dropped them off at the hotel and went and got a manicure and a healthy dinner. I'm not letting people who have no regard for their health make my food decisions. The places they pick literally have nothing healthy. I'm counting down the days until I get home and get a break from people.

I'm so cranky and drained, but proud that I'm not eating those feelings. Even at the kabob place I went there were big chocolate chip cookies. They looked so good, but I resisted because I'd rather look and feel good than eat garbage.

The kids live in Virginia Beach. I hear it's beautiful there. I haven't traveled much and am very excited to see it.

Kooky- way to stay strong! It is tough to deal with people constantly, but it will be over before you know it. Will these people be in your new office in CA?

It is hard for people that are not on the plan to understand, they just do not get it. But, your choices tonight show that you have really made changes to your life and that you are able to take care of you. Bravo!

WTG!!! Nice work, KookySuki!
Have you ever considered that TOM may be in your favour right now, lol. You are feeling cranky, proud, and taking no crap from your co-workers re: food choices! Maybe that is where your strength to resist is coming from, hahahah! You are victorious! (*cue Rambo power music from movie*)

Liana

Thanks Slipfree and Liana!

Slipfree- I am on the introverted side (meaning I like being around people, but also need to be myself a decent amount of time to recharge), so being around the same people I don't know every single day for long periods of time is stressing me. We're sharing a rental car, so we ride to work together, get lunch together, train together all day in one room, and then many times get dinner together or pick up dinner together. They're nice people and they're the ones I'm going to be working with in CA, but they're both into the whole Guy Fieri food tourism type thing where they want to try the local foods. The funny thing is that we're in the suburbs, so the "local" foods are mostly chains that exist in the south and Midwest that they've never tried before. I've been to a lot of these places since I grew up in OH and probably gained weight eating there, so I'm always reluctant to eat at that those places. There are lots of Tex Mex restaurants where everything is covered in cheese and sour cream. Also, lots of other unhealthy choices like pizza, sandwich shops, Americanized Chinese restaurants, etc.

They have been considerate and gone to a couple of healthy places at lunch when we have to eat at the same place, but for the most part they want the bad stuff. We're getting along and I'm being nice, but I'm just not going with the flow anymore and just trying to find something at a place they pick. I'm sure we'll get along in the office because we'll be busy doing our own work, will not be sharing a car, and will be separate for lunch.

Liana- Thank you- I think my hormones may have pushed me in the right direction for once to be firm about not letting other people push me into eating bad foods. After being on IP for so long and losing 80 lbs, I'm not going to sacrifice that to be perceived as more easy going. Of course, I go and just do my best when there are planned company lunches or dinners with our boss or other people. The other 90% of the time, I'm putting myself first and getting healthy food or just drinking IP shakes or eating bars, then doubling up on veggies later. I'm accommodating about driving them where they need to go to pick up food, but if there aren't options for me, we're making another stop.

Today is the last full day here, then tomorrow we basically have a half day of work and then fly back to CA. Thank God...I like the company and job, but the other factors involved in being on this two week trip have been stressful for me. A lot of it is food stress and the stress of being around the same people so much (who add to my food stress), but the rest is just the stress that comes from moving to a new place, starting a new job, being away from home for two weeks. I'm doing well overall and feel I'm handling the stress well, but I'm definitely excited to get on that plane tomorrow.

Kooky: great job on putting yourself first. I am sure it was not an easy to tell your coworkers your plan, but you did it and you followed thru! Be proud of yourself, you have come a long way in a year!

Thanks Want2B- I think the more we make healthy choices and see the results, we get better about taking care of ourselves and not letting others influence our decision to be healthy.

Hi everyone,

This virus is kicking my behind. Full week and I am just now starting to improve. Have been sleeping a lot more than usual, my body must need the rest. My mom is sick too.

Going to friends for lobsters tonight. Bridal planning brunch for my niece tomorrow, not looking forward to seeing people with cold sores on my face. Ugh!

Good Morning Everyone...I'm home finally and still on central time, but it feels great to be back in CA! I checked my weight and I actually lost a few pounds in TX. I'm not really sure how that's possible, but I guess I was more disciplined than I originally thought. I get to pick up my cat in an hour, so I'm very excited about that. Then I'm going to work on unpacking and making my new place my home.

How is everyone else? Weekend plans?

Slipfree- Glad you're resting and getting better, but I'm sorry to hear your mom is sick. Hope she gets better soon. The dinner party and brunch sound fun. I've gotten cold sores before, so I know how it makes you want to hide. I usually just put on concealer and use a lipstick that I can throw away after the cold sores are gone. Have fun!