Hi Novak! I was around the same time you were and I remember you well. I am 12 days into my restart because I did not follow transition wit the phases. I gained 80 pound back from the 120 pound I lost. I am not losing as fast as I did the last time, but I am following the plan. Thanks so much for posting, i feel I am home.
I’m sure it was at least a year before I had my first piece of post-IP pizza, and only a family birthday party could get me to eat cake. I held on to my maintenance plan for quite some time, but cracks eventually emerged… not so much with sweets, but I am partial to cheese, crackers/bread, and wine. Gelato crept in more recently, too. Oh, and I just bought a snazzy new Margarita maker. I attend the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival every fall, and then I started to carry that consumption level through the holidays and a January Disney trip. I told myself I’d repair any damage during my annual reboot.
My weight has always been a problem, though never so much as just before I started the IP diet at 185. I am an emotional eater, and stress and depression are triggers for me. That has NOT changed. I’ve established a plus or minus 10 pound window I like to stay within, and if I creep up too far, I go back on Phase 1 until I get to where I need to be, which is under 135 (my original target). Rarely do I get over 145, but this last stretch got me over 152, and my wardrobe suddenly became very limited. It’s often difficult to reboot – I’ve had lots of false starts over the years. But in the interest of having something to wear, I put my head down this time and have been plugging away since late January at about 2 pounds a week. I’m at 136 (down a pound since yesterday!), and would like to lose another 8-10.
I have to fess up that it is VERY difficult to restart the program. IP is a wonderful tool that works, but the triggers are still tough to fight. I know what I need to do, I know how fast it can work, but depression and stress are very powerful obstacles. The diet itself is hard, but the other stuff is harder.
When I completed the program 5 years ago, I was thrilled. I had been keeping a spreadsheet and looked at my final totals of pounds lost, inches gone, blood pressure/cholesterol levels lowered, and clothing sizes shrunk – it actually brought me to tears. Plus I looked fabulous! I was so proud of my accomplishment. And it is a HUGE accomplishment. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I rode that high for a good long time, glancing at my reflection as I passed the storefront windows between the Metro and my office every day, trying to get used to the new body I was walking around in. When I’d trot up the escalator at the Metro stop, I couldn’t imagine how I’d schlepped another 60 pounds around with me for so long.
Just before I started the diet, I had done a half marathon at Disney, in sleet and freezing rain. It was miserable. I’d done a marathon a year for about 10 years, then my sister and I switched over to the half as we got older and couldn’t find the time to train. But I’d never done it carrying so much weight. After my initial loss, I went for a walk on the bike path one summer day, and was feeling pretty good. I decided to see if I could walk/jog out 6 ½ miles and back to cover half marathon distance. I did. It was so much easier, and not just because of the weather. All along the way, I tried to envision myself trying it with a 50 pound bag of horse feed strapped to my body. This was so much easier! So my sister and I signed up for the Wine and Dine Half the next fall at EPCOT. What a difference! We promised we’d never let ourselves or each other get to that point again – that we’d always rein ourselves in and jump back into the program. We now had a tool that really worked.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
I have to go run some errands, but when I get back, I want to talk about how IP spread through my office, and how I am learning to get a handle on the triggers that make me feel like I need to eat something I love in order to feel better.
Perfect timing. I am starting phase 3 Sunday and have been trying to figure out the rest of my life.
I tried searching for your "life after phase 1" thread and can't seem to find it Any suggestions?
I would have liked to have lost a bit more but am happy with where I am now. I felt it was more important to go through the phases than lose more. The diet was easy, maintaining worries me.
Thanks for your insights. I too have been sneaking looks in those windows. Cant walk by a mirror any more without stopping. Love those new clothes.
Meeting with two friends this am who saw me for the first time in awhile and want in!
Perfect timing. I am starting phase 3 Sunday and have been trying to figure out the rest of my life.
I tried searching for your "life after phase 1" thread and can't seem to find it Any suggestions?
I would have liked to have lost a bit more but am happy with where I am now. I felt it was more important to go through the phases than lose more. The diet was easy, maintaining worries me.
Thanks for your insights. I too have been sneaking looks in those windows. Cant walk by a mirror any more without stopping. Love those new clothes.
Meeting with two friends this am who saw me for the first time in awhile and want in!
On the main IP forum in the very first Sticky thread at the top you will find lots of links to archived threads.
Perfect timing. I am starting phase 3 Sunday and have been trying to figure out the rest of my life.
I tried searching for your "life after phase 1" thread and can't seem to find it Any suggestions?
I would have liked to have lost a bit more but am happy with where I am now. I felt it was more important to go through the phases than lose more. The diet was easy, maintaining worries me.
Thanks for your insights. I too have been sneaking looks in those windows. Cant walk by a mirror any more without stopping. Love those new clothes.
Meeting with two friends this am who saw me for the first time in awhile and want in!
It is post 27 in the link Cheryl just provided that we have been referring to but the whole thread is good if you have the time to read.
Just got back from Target where I picked up some EAS low carb shakes on sale: 50 cents off per 4 pack, plus a $5 gift card for every 3 you purchase. I usually buy them by the case at BJ’s, but they only have vanilla and chocolate, and I was in the mood for more flavors. (Before I left the house, I had to make sure I wasn’t wearing tan slacks and a red top, because customers come up and ask me questions if I’m not careful.)
I’ll get into the really important part soon, but Largo posted something that leads in well to this section. At some point, your success will be noticed, and people will “want in.” By all means, you will probably be very gung ho about sharing because you are excited about this life changing program. IP as a protocol is almost foolproof if you follow it as closely as humanly possible. Just remember that it is up to each individual to implement it. If they succeed, help celebrate their accomplishments. If they don’t, it is because of choices they and no one else made… least of all you. When that happens, some might tell you or others that the program doesn’t work. Just smile and shrug your shoulders. You can mention that a lot of people you know disagree, if you feel you need to say something. But you know the truth, and you can be comforted by knowing that you now have a powerful tool in your weight loss arsenal, and when you do it properly, it will ALWAYS get you results.
CONTAGION
People at my office noticed the rapid and dramatic weight loss, and once they were sure I wasn’t suffering from a serious illness, folks began to ask about the diet. I was more than happy to share the information, and offered to help coach a few who were really serious about following the program. Pretty soon, about 20 people were on some form of the diet. A few actually went to my chiropractor’s office and worked with him, or found an IP program closer to home. These people knew about the phases, and how to properly follow the protocol. Others just bought the products and sort of followed the Phase 1 protocol, often with a “twist”.
Nearly everyone lost some amount of weight, often a significant amount. One person found that her travel to meet with dignitaries from other countries made it difficult to follow the protocol. She felt that turning down an extravagantly prepared dinner with her counterparts in Italy would have offended her hosts, and I am sure she was correct about that. She was always hungry, and never lost a thing, though her husband slimmed down nicely. Those who did the program with coaching and transitioned through the phases properly got to the same point I had – they entered into a maintenance program, presumably with the goal of maintaining their current weight for life. Those who kinda-sorta followed the protocol for a while lost weight, and then stopped. Almost immediately, they started gaining again.
Sadly, as time has passed, most have gained back much of what they lost – at least one has done this twice. Some are no longer at my agency, so I don’t know about them, but the most successful is a guy who used to work for me, who is now a peer. I coached him largely via phone and email, as he was working in Houston for much of the time, and there were no clinics nearby. He was able to find an IP product source some distance away, and I helped with his shopping list. He used to call me from the supermarket when he couldn’t figure out what to put in his cart. It was kind of cute. He is at HQ now, and stops by every so often when he needs some encouragement during reboot mode. I think he just wants me to give him a kick in the rear like I did when he worked for me, but I’m now often in need of one myself. The key is, like me, he knows what to do and how to do it properly. He has a few kids, so he also understands the importance of controlling his weight to increase his odds of walking this Earth for a good, long time. That's really the best kick in the rear anyone could have.
This is good stuff... Thanks for sharing your experience! As a newbie here and to IP this gives us a peek to what obstacles we will face in the future and how to overcome! Don't stop posting please....
This is good stuff... Thanks for sharing your experience! As a newbie here and to IP this gives us a peek to what obstacles we will face in the future and how to overcome! Don't stop posting please....
Thanks. I am trying to not come off as self-indulgent, recognizing the cathartic effects for me, but also not wanting to make is sound like I know what's best for everyone. I hope people can see that I am still struggling to know what's best for ME!
But I would have killed for someone to share this kind of peek into the future when I was on the program, so I'm going to keep plugging away until I'm done... I'm on a serious roll, and it is helping me in more ways than you know. I figure if folks don't want to read it, they can skip on down every time I make it pop to the top of the list with another post.
I remind everyone that this is all based on my experience and choices regarding how to approach the IP program and hopefully maintain for the rest of my life. I know some maintainers are rigid carb and/or calorie counters, institute rigorous exercise programs, or devise whatever fits into their lives and works for them. These are wonderful approaches suited to people who have the stick-to-it-iveness to make it a routine part of their lives; I have the utmost admiration for this ability. Unfortunately, this is an attribute that many people lack, and I am absolutely one of those people. I have made many such efforts, but they often end up having a limited shelf life.
I kept up the marathon thing for quite some time, but to be honest, I don’t love running. There, I said it. Don’t get me wrong… I love being in shape enough to go out for an easy ten mile run early on Thanksgiving morning. It’s wonderful – the endorphins are pumping, my knees don’t hurt, the cardinals are fluttering, oncoming fellow joggers greet me with a smile, and all is right with the world. But I have not been in that kind of shape in quite a while, and the thought of getting back into that condition is daunting.
Anyway, I know that I am basically a lazy person, who has been around long enough to have developed questionable habits and routines that, quite frankly, I enjoy. Can I change them? Do I want to change them? The jury is still out at the moment... I will talk more about that later. But the bottom line is that I have subsequently had to adopt the reboot program I described earlier, triggered by my 10 pound warning signal. Is this the best way to do the program? To be honest, quite possibly not. But it is where my life is right now, and it is the best way I have found to manage the difficult job of maintaining within the parameters of my current life circumstances. (I see lots of self-described rebooters on the forum, so I am clearly not alone in my proclivities.)
REBOOTING
It’s easier to plan a reboot than muster up the motivation to actually do it. Out of curiosity, I just went back and reviewed my reboots since 2011 – at least those where I kept a spreadsheet. I know I became more lax about that as time passed, but I think it’s a good idea, and very beneficial if you are really trying to maintain. I can go back and check my measurements, weights and blood pressure against how long it took me to reboot, so I can assess my progress and make adjustments if I am not keeping up the pace I should.
Let me report out on my findings.
2010 – I achieved target weight of 135 in 16 weeks
2011 – I twice “rebooted”, though I didn’t really have to. I did an annual reboot to go from 135 to 125, which took 3 weeks in January, and 2 weeks when I did it again in May. The reason I decided to try and stay below 130 was because my blood pressure got crazy low there, and I was able to go off my meds. Plus I looked really awesome.
2012 – I don’t have a sheet for a January reboot, so I’m not sure I did one. In May, I went again from 135 to 125 in 2 weeks. I crept up over the summer, hitting 142 in August; it took me 3½ weeks to reach 131. I was up again to 141 in December – 1 week got me down to 136, which I’m sure I figured I would “fix” after the holidays and my Disney vacation.
2013 – The “2012 creep” told me I needed to get serious again, so I took 9 weeks to get back to 125 from 145. This time I added Phase 3, since it was such a long duration reboot. By August, I was back to 142, and 2 weeks got me down to 135. December brought another 142 pound warning shot; 2 weeks got me to 132.
2014 – No January spreadsheet, but I probably did shed some holiday/vacation weight. In June, I was up to 147 (EEK!), and I did 9 weeks again to get back to 132.
2015 – As I have confessed, I got up around 153 this time, by maintaining an indulgence level that lasted from my first sip of Chardonnay at the Food & Wine Festival in November 2014, to the last Bloody Mary and crab cake eggs benedict to cap off my annual WDW vacation in January. There were of course some pretty major holidays in there, and I strung everything together filling up my free loaf of bread card at the Great Harvest Bakery. (I managed to earn the freebie, by the way.) I am into week 8 of working this off, and I have dropped 17 pounds. If I hold out for 125, I have 11 pounds to go. I haven’t decided yet… 128 might satisfy me.
So if you are in any way analytical, you may note some patterns in there, and not particularly good ones. The original diet gave me the metabolism to quickly snap back to a lower weight. That was very cool. But then, as always happens, things took a turn in my life, and this shows up in my reboot trends. My work situation changed drastically, and the job stress went through the roof. I had some minor cardiac issues, and ended up back on blood pressure medication – two varieties this time. Before long (and with the addition of other particularly stressful events in my personal life), I was on an anti-depressant as well.
We’ll put that aside for now, but I will come back to it in a subsequent post. What I want to note about reboots in general, is that they do tend to get more difficult over time, and many factors affect the motivational aspect. For me (and my sister), there is the psychological consideration of feeling that a reboot lacks the urgency of the initial weight loss. I honestly believe the latter was a matter of saving my life, while the reboot warning just tells me I’m pushing the envelope and need to rein myself in. Failing to recognize the seriousness of not managing my weight as I went along this last time got me into a bit of a pickle, and I am now paying the price.
Another reboot trend I see is that the length of time to lose has gotten longer. One IP truth for me is that I generally lose less quickly as I get closer to my goal. Another is that I am simply not the zealot I was the first time around. But let’s face it – I don’t want to be going on that strict a diet over and over. It’s effective, but not fun. So I have stopped measuring as a rule, I sometimes skip a lunch or don’t eat the amounts of salad and veggies I am supposed to consume. And yes, I might have a glass of wine. As long as I catch myself within the envelope, I may decide to be satisfied with a 2-3 pound average weekly loss rather than 3-5 pounds. Given how I know I am, sometimes that feels like a good trade. It is still more than I’ve lost on virtually any other diet I’ve tried, but it inflicts enough pain to make me remember why I need to manage myself more carefully.
At any rate, I’ve been thinking about all this and I want to talk about it in a subsequent post. I am realizing that I not only need to recognize the triggers that got me up to 185+ in the first place, but also how to manage them better in maintenance. They have not gone away. They are still powerful. But I’ve recently begun to implement a plan that I hope will make a big difference for me.
Another reboot trend I see is that the length of time to lose has gotten longer. One IP truth for me is that I generally lose less quickly as I get closer to my goal. Another is that I am simply not the zealot I was the first time around. But let’s face it – I don’t want to be going on that strict a diet over and over. It’s effective, but not fun. So I have stopped measuring as a rule, I sometimes skip a lunch or don’t eat the amounts of salad and veggies I am supposed to consume. And yes, I might have a glass of wine. As long as I catch myself within the envelope, I may decide to be satisfied with a 2-3 pound average weekly loss rather than 3-5 pounds. Given how I know I am, sometimes that feels like a good trade. It is still more than I’ve lost on virtually any other diet I’ve tried, but it inflicts enough pain to make me remember why I need to manage myself more carefully.
I love this. I think your approach would work for me, too.
Thanks for sharing your experience/journey, Novak. It's immensely helpful for those of us who are looking at the future and how we plan/manage maintenance.
