Hi Everyone. I have been reading the posts everyday but have been super swamped at work/home! Boo.

Glad to see that people are going down pant sizes and looking forward to improving their bodies!

I am on my last day of Phase 2, so starting Phase 3 tomorrow, my birthday. I lost three pounds on Phase 2, so that's pretty good. I am anxious about maintenance, but I know enough people on here can do it, so I can too. Plus, I know not to let myself get out of control before I do something about it. I'm looking forward to a healthier lifestyle.

Wishing you all the best on your personal journeys.

Happy Blue Moon Friday everyone! Can't wait to relax in front of the fire pit tonight!

That is fantastic HIS! I love Gap jeans - OLD Gap jeans
I always have to go back and check individual stats (it is nice when folks post them ) At 167, I am finally getting down into 12's - maybe 10's (not sure, going to "pop tags" this weekend as I need shorts) - but am 5' 6.5

dickinsp - Quick math...(-2.4) a week - that is awesome weight loss!!! clothes sizes...this is an lol for me - Lets take today - I am wearing a pair of 14 jean capris - at 200 I was using a shoe horn & butter...at 185ish, they were still pretty tight / bad muffin top...a couple weeks ago, around 175ish, they fit nicely...down another 7 / 8 pounds, and now they are bagging badly in the waist - my hips & rear are holding them up Some of my L / XL lady T's are getting loose too. I believe it was Liana, maybe Amber, who mentioned clothes sizes start dropping a lot faster the closer to goal you get - ie, the difference between 140 - 145 might be (depending on your height / body composition) a size 6 (140) and a size 8 (145) - where as size 14's can be stretched to fit 165 - 190+...

Blue, Destony, Amber, Mary - Thanks for all the wonderful kind thoughts and advice! I <3 my iPeeps

Destony - I see that ticker slipped into the 150's!!!!!

I even have wondered if my thank you email made it through (this is a government job...outside emails may not be allowed?). I need to pick up some nice stationary (gosh, do we keep paper anymore lol) and I will send a note Monday. That way it gets there by Wednesday, 2 weeks post interview.

I was SO in my feelings yesterday - super stressed...but finished the worst of my deadline work and talked to a texted with a friend who helped remind me to keep looking at the positives I have NOW.

Blue moon Friday...the end of July (gosh where has the summer gone!!!) 3 weeks to vacation from today...and the scale this morning read:
166.6
I don't generally look for omens or read tea leaves, so to speak, but that number made me do a double take...and I weighed 3 times to be sure it didn't change

Huge NSV too - I was able to put on a size 12 dress my mom bought me when I got into the 150's in 2004 (she passed in 2009 but would be so proud of me). This was the last piece of "skinny" clothes that had stubbornly refused to fit...and is still snug in the chest (absolutely no give and a weird cut imho) - but 100% wearable next Monday.

eta - I should know better than to list out people who have been a great support to me during this IP journey - someone important inevitably gets missed - and that was / is Frawnie - you ROCK lady! You are an inspiration to us all and amazingly supportive

My FitBit is due to arrive today; I'm pretty excited about that. Walking is one of the things I've started doing to improve my physical and mental health. Used to be a runner, but my old bones don't tolerate the pounding so well anymore.

My daughter is bringing her new boyfriend over for dinner tomorrow night, and I'll be making a beef roast in my new pressure cooker. If anyone has recipe/cooking tips, I'd welcome them.

This week I switched my dinner meal to lunch time, because I was just feeling too full in the evenings. Seems to be working better for me. I eat a Quest bar or other IP-compliant packet (+ veggie, of course) in the evening, and then pudding for snack, and don't go to bed feeling stuffed.

dickinsp - absolutely, like everyone has said, thrift stores are your friend right now. Just think about it. many of us have been dropping off our clothes (in my case, some were almost new) at the thrift store.
Our stats are similar. What I've been finding is that when I put something on, like the jeans you mentioned, that kind of still fit, but don't really feel right, you should just say goodbye to them, if they don't make you feel good, let them go.
For change in sizes, every body type is different, so it's hard to say how quickly you'll need to downsize. At the beginning of July, I ordered some pants in 16P because I had some (from before IP) that I really liked in 18W, found them online, on sale. Thrilled! Had them on yesterday (ie 3 weeks later) and kind of loose. I've only worn them twice, not sure if I'll wear them again.
Don't spend money on clothes unless you have to (or you're $$$$$rich$$$$$)



Arobed - I suspect a lot of us may have some thoughts about plastic surgery in the back of our minds. I know I would love to hear your thought about the process, and especially the results once it's done, if you feel comfortable sharing


Beth for the nice loss and for the NSV.
I'm so glad something good happened for you to take away some of the "down" feelings you've had this past few days.
About the dress ... You should absolutely have a good picture taken of you wearing it, have it framed and keep it somewhere you'll see it often. It will make you feel good for lots of reasons - how good you felt when you fit into it, how happy your mom would be if she could see you in it. Good memories to keep for the future

Blueskiesahead. I will absolutely share my surgery journey I'm going for a tummy tuck and a breast lift with augmentation. I have a second consult next week and then I will decide which surgeon to go with

Congrats Arobed on your decision about surgery. I had a tummy tuck and breast lift/augmentation 12 years ago when I originally lost a lot of weight and I haven't regretted it since!

I love reading about everyone's need to shop for smaller sizes - I have enough for now that I've hung on too when I was smaller but I look forward to the days when I don't have anymore "smaller" sizes at home!

It will be an interesting week for me for sure. We are flying our 12 and 8 yr old grandkids here to spend a week with us without their parents. We're going camping for just two nights with my daughter and her family (2 nights without the conveniences of home is all I can handle LOL), so there will be 4 adults and 7 kids! Of course everyone wants junk food but I plan on making muffins with my oatmeal and have bars and crisps to make it easy. I figure only 2 dinners I can just have salad. I'm actually not too worried, I feel in the groove I'm down 28 lbs in 8 weeks and 2 days (yes, I'm anal that way LOL) and am SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED! I can't believe how much I LOVE this program!

As others of you have stated, I think I'll be sticking to low-carb/non dairy for good. I just feel so much better!

I hope everyone has a VERY successful weekend!

Arobed I would also like to hear how your surgery goes. I found a surgeon I really liked (I’m just going to do tummy tuck, maybe neck lift) but I won’t do it until April or so.
I would love to hear anything you feel to share about your experience. I’m esp. wondering about the recovery time.

Roxy how long was your recovery?

I'm actually looking forward to having dairy again. I miss yogurt and butter especially. But, yes, being low-carb has definitely increased my energy levels. No more mid-afternoon nap. I'm sure it has to do with a leveled-out blood sugar.

Another NSV--bought this gal some size 12....read that again size TWELVE capris! Still snug but it wont be long! Yeah, me!!!! Down from a 3X/24-26 to a 12...whodda thunk it was possible!

WOW!! frawniemae - That's fantastic - Great NSV!!
You can just tell how tickled you are with that TWELVE! Floating on air!
Your progress has been amazing. And inspiring.

I noticed how close you are to 100 lb lost
And, yeah, I noticed that "may make it yet! " that you added to your birthday goal.
Two big milestones so-o-o-o- close!!

My fingers are for you too!

Amber my recovery wasn't bad at all. I had it done around Thanksgiving so if I remember right I had about two weeks off work then was back. You wear girdle type underwear for about 6 weeks to hold everything in place after the surgery and that helps. I was so darned excited to be able to wear regular underwear again LOL
I was in the 120 lb range then so was in pretty good shape - I think that definitely helps! It's been about 12 years ago now so hard to remember it all but I honestly remember how amazing I felt with that big flap of skin gone - that is what stands out in my mind the most! You will lose feeling in your lower abdomen which is kind of weird but not a big deal for me. Even after gaining 70 lbs I still don't have that flap of skin like I used to, my stomach just stuck out farther but not really any rolls HaHa. I still think it was well worth every penny and I'd do it all over again!

Frawnie what a HUGE milestone - that is so AWESOME!

Grateful I don't have personal experience with a tummy tuck myself but I have a close friend who had one about 10 years ago. I thought her scars would be pretty difficult for me to deal with personally but I've seen some pictures online of others that don't seem bad. Maybe the surgery has improved in the last decade. The one thing maybe someone else can address is this friend ended up gaining about 50 lbs after the tummy t and none if that weight showed in her stomach but all went to her upper body in a really odd way. She carried it in her back, arms and her whole upper body. The Dr. Told her when she had the tuck the fat would not go back to that area, but the alternative was so odd looking that I just knew I would never do it. That would only be a problem if one gained though... Online reviews seem like people are quite pleased with that procedure. I have friends who have done almost everything: breasts, brows, eyes, face lifts, you name it. I say if it bothers you, do it!

That's awesome !!! so excited for you!!

Frawnie - AMAZING!!!! Size 12! You are a rock star lady! Congrats

Blue - thanks! & thanks also for the idea

Roxy - Great loss and have fun camping! We went back in May and I prepped with Quest bars, Quest chips, protein concentrates, and pre-measured / made turkey burgers...breakfasts were eggs and we had a huge bag of salad we were able to dig into for 2 days. The only 'cheat' was a little shredded cheese on the eggs we had a blast

Aro - best wishes on the surgery

HIS - did you search the forum? There is a crock pot thread - I've made chicken and pork tenderloin, but not roast beef (that's IP compliant)

Quiet weekend DD10 goes back to school the Monday after we return from vacation so we spent the weekend getting school supplies and clothes for the coming year.
We did go out last night - took DD10 and her friend for dinner...DH and I ordered tea - his sweet...well, they came and he swore they were switched and I ended up with a mouthful of sugar-sweetened iced tea (have NEVER liked sweet tea) had no where to spit it either. I find myself both laughing and kind of that I have given more than 1/2 a thought to swallowing that micro-amount of sugar
I know logically my 3 mile walk today has more to do with my hunger this evening than that sip of sweet tea...but it keeps floating into my head regardless. Silly

I am also so anxious I am starting phase 2 this Thursday and I feel overwhelmed about preparing my lunch protein

The first surgeon was adamant that I do nothing that forces the abdominal area for 3 weeks and strongly recommends to take 4 weeks off of work. My second consult is tomorrow so I will have more news then

Awesome you look fantastic in your pic.