I know that everyone is busy with the holidays, but it has been a bit quiet on our board. I just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing?

The holidays have definitely been a challenge, but so far I've been 100% OP and feeling pretty proud. It's not easy and I've been craving a glass of wine like nobody's business! Anyone know of a zero calorie wine .

I hope that everyone is still on track!

you are doing FANTASTIC 2bskinny, looks like you are almost done!!!! WOW! Great job.

Thank you! I'm a little scared to be honest.

You are doing great too Avalon! Keep it up!

Just keeping on keeping on with IP and a few alternatives. Nice drop this week after last week's single lb, so feeling happier.

Did I see mention of Zevia as a sugar free one glass wine or beer? It was on yesterday's daily thread, I believe. Watch for high sodium levels and the usual culprits in any sugar free wines.

I am still on track, but my weight loss has slowed. I feel like I have worked hard for every one of the last 10 pounds I have lost.

I've done well through the holidays. Before I go to parties, I eat my IP dinner. Basically, I've completely ignored food at parties. I've also ignored all the gift food that is coming into my house for the holidays. I've been able to let others eat it without sampling.

I'm hoping that the weight loss speeds up soon. I'm so excited to watch all of you still losing at a quick rate. I am losing and in the end, that is what really matters.

I am very focused on making it to goal.

Hello ladies!!

I hope you've had a very merry Christmas and are ready to celebrate tomorrow, Woohooo!!!

Congratulations 2bskinnyagain!!! You're so close to your goal!! I'm very, very proud of you

Lose2Win hang in there, you mentioned you're losing weight slowly, you're losing weight and inches? I have only once not lose anything, not even inches, and I have to admit I was feeling disappointed, but then I thought that it was probably because of my ToM and the following week I lost 5.2lbs and inches!! Have you talked to your coach? The clinic where I go, they've mentioned during an informational session that if you don't lose weight they "throw a curve ball" at you, and you'll lose weight, I don't know what is it that they change in your diet, but you lose weight, you should ask in your clinic if it concerns you. Congratulations on staying 100% OP during the holidays!! Keep up the good job I have as well, and the one thing that I craved the most was red wine!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!! I seriously can't wait to get a bottle, well a glass, of merlot!

Briael Grats on a great loss this week!! That's what I've noticed, if one week the loss is not much, or none, the following week will be a nice, big loss! Is Zevia soda allowed in P1? I stared drinking some of the mineral water, La Croix, and I like it I've been having that instead of wine or champagne.

Thanks Ariel13!!! I had a pretty small weight loss at my WI yesterday, but considering it is/was the holidays - I'll take it! A 0.6 lbs loss is better than gaining!

You are doing awesome too! Every week you are getting closer and closer to your goal. You will be there before you know it!

Something that has really been helping me is tea. When everyone is drinking wine and eating desserts, I make myself a nice cup of tea and it seems to help me not feel left out! Ha!

Happy New Years to everyone on here! This will be the year that we ALL make goal .

2beskinnyagain Thank you! I am getting closer to "something" because I honestly don't know what my goal is anymore In the clinic I said 175lbs which I'm 9lbs away, but the one I wanted is 165lbs and I recorded that here in 3FC , but I'm thinking that's still a big number, I do not want to be fat anymore, there are all sorts of people some are skinny, slim, toned, chubby, a bit fat, fat, super fat, super, super fat, and I do not want to be in any way thought of being a fat person...

I "feel" right now that I'm still a fat person, even though I'm not a plus size anymore, I think I'm fat...my family say that if someone sees me they won't think I'm fat (but then I think they say that because they love me, and because they've seen me at 258lbs before!) I am big boned and I'm 5'3 so I know my body frame has a lot to do with the number in the scale, and I shouldn't fixate on it!! I can't change my broad bones, I wish I could though Over the weekend I saw a friend, he told me I looked very good, I told him I was thinking on losing another 30lbs, and he said that would be too much, I would look too skinny and he said about 10 would be ok...so I'm STILL fat, if I get to my 165lbs I won't be 'looked' as a fat person anymore....Ahhhh, that felt good, had to get it out!

So, what tea is it that you're drinking 2beskinnyagain?

I am not a tea person, I'm a coffeeholic person! and even more now with the diet, it feels like it wasn't the only yummy thing that wasn't taken away from me!! and I also drink LOTS of water when before I couldn't really drink a glass of it...Well, I still have sleeping issues, I can't get myself to sleep!!! I'm up like an owl, and when talking to coach, well a couple of them, they said that being unable to sleep, meant I have a lot of energy, and that's a sign of ketosis, and to cut down on coffee, not to drink it too late - now, before the diet, I could drink a cup of coffee before going to bed and I could still sleep like a baby- so it is odd to me to be having these sleeping problems due to coffee, its the ketosis mode, not my caffeine, but I really want, NEED to sleep, so I'll try my best to not drink it late. My coach suggested to drink a calming, relaxing tea, I bought it yesterday, but I didn't drink it, and yes, I was up very late, thankfully we're on break, but I do need to try that tea and hopefully it helps because even thought I'm glad I'm in ketosis, I really, really need and miss Morpheus

Augustians!!!

I am also having difficulty knowing what my goal is. I've adjusted from 150 to 154 based on something I saw on a website, but it could change again. Who knew I was also broad boned? I am learning so much.

Now for comments from others telling you to stop: I got sidetracked the last time I was losing weight. When I hit the high 180s, I got so many compliments. I didn't finish what I had started. I didn't have the tools to maintain weight loss. This time I take compliments for what they are, a nice affirmation that I am on the right track. I am much more focused on the goal and recognizing that at 190 pounds and 5'8", I have just passed from obese to merely overweight. My very good friend told me the other day that I was "wasting away". This time, I can take it as a compliment, but it isn't changing my attitude toward my diet.

I am glad you are all still in this with me! Your successes keep me going!

Happy New Year! Isn't it wonderful not to be resolving to START a diet? Hoping you are all doing the New Year's challenge. It makes time pass so fast.

Ariel13 my absolute favorite tea is the Morrocan Mint by Stash! I've tried a bunch of others but I just love it. I tried some detox tea that my clinic gave me but I wasn't a big fan it was too spicey. The flavor is tough to explain. But I also like good old Lipton, Green Tea and Earl Grey. It definitely helps me when I get the munchies.

As for finding a goal weight, it really is tough. When I first started IP, my goal weight was 180lbs. When I got to the 180's, I still felt fat so I changed my goal to 170lbs. Then the 170's came and well you get the picture . Now, I'm in the 160's and I'm actually contemplating the 150's. I NEVER thought I would weigh this little as an adult.

Lose2Win2014 my mom who was one of my biggest supporters was doing her best to derail me on Christmas! She said I'm way too skinny and I need to stop when the reality of it is that I'm STILL considered overweight with a BMI of 28.8. I tried being polite about it because everyone in my family is overweight, so it is a delicate situation. I completely understand where you are coming from with all of the compliments/comments... ie. wasting away.

At the end of the day, the diet is about you and how you want to look and feel. My biggest advice is to keep taking pictures of yourself along the journey and compare. That for me is all the motivation I need! I see my problem areas and know that I need to continue to get rid of them.

Lose2Win Thanks!! I'm also very happy we continue our journey together and this year starting a diet to finally lose weight was not in my list of resolutions You're doing an awesome job as well, and I love that we come here and continue to inspire and encourage each other As always, keep up the good job, we've gone through the hardest seasons of the year-Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years- and we've SURVIVED!!! WE DID IT!!! Now mostly everyone around us is going to be "on a diet"

2bskinnyagain- WOW!! That's an awesome accomplishment you've made and thanks for the advice, I shouldn't listen to the people telling me I shouldn't lose more weight, I should only stop when I "feel" comfortable with my appearance, like I said before, I'm trying not to fixate on the number the scale shows, I would like so much to be a size 4, the smallest I've ever been was a 7-8 and I want to be smaller than that. But yes, I've been having more people also telling me I'm "shrinking" I'm "flying away" and I try not to believe them because I "feel" I still have a long way to go, I'm a bit over half way, even thought my ticker says I want to lose 19 lbs. more, I don't know yet if that's where I want to be and maintain, that's how much I weighted when I was wearing size 8 before.

Ariel & 2BSkinnyAgain I love Chai Tea Lattes, especially from Starbucks and Panera. To mimic them, I steep 2 Tazo Chai tea bags in 2-3 oz of water(very concentrated). Then I add my Vanilla Drink RTD and zap it in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds. It is such a nice hot drink and a great evening snack.

I am down 1.8 in my first weigh-in in the New Year! The last 10 weeks have been slow, but I am hoping that I am seeing a trend in my body revving up. I would be happy with 1.8 every week.

Happy New Year, Friends! This is the year we achieve our weight loss goal!

GREAT way to begin the new year!! Grats on your weight loss My first WI will be next Wednesday!
YUM!! That really sounds delicious Lose2Win!!! I'm not a tea person, more of a coffee person, but I remember having iced chat teas before, anything iced is good I think it would also be good with the Frappuccino drink RTD!

I have not started drinking the tea my coach suggested to help me get some sleep- Ever since Thanksgiving weekend, I have not been having troubles with my sleep, my coach said that insomnia was a sign of ketosis because I have all this energy and it keeps me up.
I wonder if any of you have had this issue?
I am not tired, I'm still very productive and with plenty of energy even with so little sleep, but my brain is getting a bit foggy. I was able to sleep by taking naps during the break, but I'll be back to work and school next week, and I will need to get good night sleeps in order for my brain to function correctly!
Good news is that right now my eyes feel heavy and I've been yawning so I guess I am sleepy? I should try to go to bed right now at midnight- I really wish I could go to sleep by 10pm the latest I guess that's going to be my New Year's resolution- NOT to drink coffee after 6pm, drink my sleepy tea by 8:30pm the latest AND make myself go to bed NO LATER than 10pm!

I am so proud of you all - dedication to staying OP and keeping it real, day after day.

I love how creative you all are, with the morning coffees and chais. Only thing I've ever done is put in some Torani SF salted caramel with a vanilla drink packet and called it good.

I'm finding water difficult to chug in this cold, cold weather. Been adding lemon slices (squeezed well) and a drop of the SF Nestea lemon tea additive, but I'm still barely making requirement. Debating making it hot in future as it seems so much more comforting on a cold day.

Ariel13With the sleeplessness ... have you tried turning your temperature down a degree or two? Apparently, the body has to drop temperature by 1.3 degrees in order to facilitate sleep. I love the warmth and have suffered insomnia all my life until I turned the thermostat down half an hour before bedtime. Now I sleep like a baby. Put extra blankets over your feet or wear some warm socks if you suffer cold extremities from ketosis.

Howdy and Happy New Year, August Starters -- you are all doing so well!! I just had to drop in and congratulate you all on your results!! A month behind my start, a number of you all are at a month ahead of my pace of loss. So, I am in here looking for your hidden secrets to great results

Altho I am a July starter, my current weight (and in some cases starting weight) is similar to several of you and I too feel my losses have slowed during the holidays even though I avoided all holiday foods and drink. My transgressions were (1) to add in an extra IP packet here and there when I just could not resist the need to eat something more, and (2) taking in more coffee (with a little vanilla RTD as a coffee lightener) and NOT upping my water intake to match the volume of coffee.

I believe these practices, straying off the 100% OP path, are just enough to slow losses, so I have to blame myself for that. My plan going forward is to increase water intake and go for an extra green salad rather than a packet if the crave for more food gets unbearable.

The tea idea is a good one, too -- I have some Bigelow Constant Comment Decaf tea that is very good -- nice spice blend but not as heavy on the spice as most Chai teas. I love how a just a drop of Vanilla RTD lightens a cup of tea (coffee takes at least an ounce). I have a Stash brand Chai (black tea variety) that I find yummy, too, but it's as caffeinated as coffee, I suspect, so not a good alternative to my usual java.

Regarding goal weight - I have gone thru the same thinking and re-thinking about my goal. I began with 190 as a goal, never imagining I would hang with IP long enough to lose 50 lbs... when I was a month into IP and saw that the program was more doable than I expected, I dropped my goal to 160. Now that I have done the unthinkable, I have dropped my goal to 150. I would like to think that 5'4" at 150 lbs ought to be a maintainable weight (or a weight I should strive to maintain) and might mean a size 10 in most clothing (my 7.5 inch wrists make me a large frame too).

Another data point I am interested in regarding goal is waist size -- I do believe Dr Oz's claim that waist size is a big indicator of heart health. Right now my waist size is 33.75 (down 7.5 inches since IP start), but I ask my coach to measure the midriff area above the waist, too. It is 34.75 (down 5.25 inches). While I am under 35 inches now, I believe I'd like to get it down to 30 inches and make that an ongoing metric to monitor in maintenance. Achieving that may be more of an outcome tied to working out, toning up, strengthening core.... all of which ought to contribute to overall weight maintenance.

You guys are great participants on all areas of 3FC IP - I hope you don't mind me being an interloper to your group.... I think my July Starter group and you August Starters will be compatriots in maintenance before too long. I am looking forward to tackling those challenges with you guys!!