Beth, rock on! Glad you are doing well and made it through the start of TOM on vacation!

dickinsp I went on vacation in May and did a brief vacation phase off prior followed by a fully non-IP diet while away. I gained 7 or 8 lbs, and they were gone PLUS by the time I weighed in a week later at my Clinic. I think a lot is water weight, and also there are some people who suggest it's actually healthy to allow the body carbs sporadically through a low-carb diet to kick start the process. I believe Carbnite does that. I missed IP too though. IP Phase 1 gave me a mental energy that I still kinda' miss on maintenance.

HIS Size 12!!! Yay!

3BD Yep, I am maintaining just fine so far on modified Phase 3. As I said before, I need structure to be successful. Plus it keeps me in the habit of staying low carb most of the day...I am not eating pasta for dinner or sandwiches for lunch. I skip all that carb stuff I'd probably go for during the work week. And then during the weekend I eat what I want. I did skip the bun on my cheeseburger on Saturday...I would have never done that before IP.

I hope you all don't mind if I stick around while on maintenance. You all hold me accountable, and this is such a great source of support!

miwi I hope you hang out here as long as you want, I've wanted to hear about maintenance experiences all throughout P1. Good to know what is next. A lot of us are very close to where you are so thanks so much for sharing!

Even though I'm below my goal I still feel like I would love to lose 5 more lbs. now on P3, I lost .5lbs this week but have not been eating as many calories as they say to for breakfast. I'm being really cautious about the morning fruit as that is my weakness. I made a fruit salad for family night last night, told my dh I could eat the whole thing myself. Didn't have any but I know I'm going to always have to watch that.

Thanks MiWi :)

Just finished breakfast and was thinking it is going to take some willpower getting back down to P1 calorie levels.

It's easier for me to eat P2 lunch for breakfast- scrambled eggs with a little cheese and green onions, Proti diet blueberry pancake and a slice of turkey bacon. Not exactly protocol but the macros work out to a P2 lunch and it keeps me going through the day. Yesterday on the beach I had a bag of quest chips and some celery and was fine until dinner.

I'm not stressing too much though ;) we are having a great time - might take a walk down to the pier today

Beth, it sounds like you are doing great! And the getaway must be a wonderful mental break, something we all need from time to time.

Miwi, please stick around! I may need to pick your brain when I get to P3!

My WI was today, and even though I had what felt like a major slip last night (way too many carbs at dinner at a friend's house), I lost 2.5 pounds over the last week, and hit a new decade. :carrot:

Destony thank you for sharing all that you did. I loved reading your post about vacation and how well you are doing on the boat! You did not share too much at all - I love the "sisterhood" atmosphere here too.

Amber thank you for your post about compulsive eating. I have struggled with it all my life too. I am not sure about the difference between addiction/complusive eating, but I know that I eat for all the wrong reasons. I have always felt I have an "addictive personality" LOL because with me it's all or nothing - total binge on food/drink, no wasting calories on fruit or veggies, or analy sticking to a diet - no cheating whatsoever or I give up. I think this all or nothing personality makes it even harder in some ways yet when I get in my strict mind frame I do great. Oh how I would love to get to a place where I eat to nourish my body rather than any other reason.

Beth great job on being able to wear size 10's comfortably! I think I'm getting closer to the 10's - fitting comfortable in 12's now.

3bigdogs I don't see your before pic but your current pic is amazing!

HereIStand congrats on the Old navy jeans and Ralph Lauren capris! I've started my "too big clothes" pile but haven't figured out what to do with them yet. I've gotten rid of them before and gained weight back and said I would never get rid of bigger sizes but I really don't want to keep them either.

I had a couple of NSV's last week. I actually was able to wear a pair of high heels I've had for about 5 years and maybe wore twice. They got too tight but I couldn't part with them and hoped they woul fit again. Well I tried them on and they fit so I wore them to work! They are really cute and I was so excited. I also had bought an XL size womens jersey for my fav football team and it seemed too big. I'm not quite halfway to goal and know I'll make it so I decided to exchange it for a large. When I was in the store I felt I had to explain to the salesperson that I was losing weight and knew the large would fit soon (because I felt like he was thinking, no way will that fit you LOL). Well I got home and tried it on and it fits now! I was so excited my DH was laughing because I was dancing around the house LOL

Beth – Size 10 :woohoo: WTG!! Sounds like you’re having a great vacation. Looking forward to hearing how switching to P2 works out

MiWi – Yes, absolutely do stay, we’re all looking forward to maintenance (someday :shrug: sigh) and love to hear how you’re working through it. I like your idea of doing a modified P3, it will be interesting to hear how you like that as you get a few more weeks into maintenance. Please do continue to share.

HIS – Congratulations on the 170s…love those changes in numbers! :cp:

Roxysmom – Great NSV’s !! Loved hearing the shoe story. Funny, I never thought FEET would lose weight too. :lol:
If I had cute heels stashed away, I’d be trying them on right now


It's been a quiet week for me, catching up on odds and ends I've neglected.
Lots of little nagging jobs I've been putting off, good to get them off my list!
One thing I did a while ago was to start a pile of "almost fit" clothes. You know how you have something you think is too small, so you don't try it on, and then when you do, whoops, too loose!! Aargh!! So I figured if I tried them on each week or so, that wouldn't happen. Two pairs of size 12 pants are now in my closet :cp:

Fall allergies are a plague for me right now, lots of days of itching and sneezing. Not as bad as it used to be, though (maybe I'm outgrowing them :lol: ) Fortunately they only last till the first hard frost kills all that nasty ragweed!!

My WI got bumped from Tues till Thurs this week, so I've been weighing myself for the last few days, and I might just be in a bit of a stall :( Scale has been reading pretty much the same thing for days!
Hope not, the last few weeks have been slow, and I hope this isn't going to be my new pattern. Everything seems to be fine with me otherwise, not bloated and no "C" problems, too old for TOM ;) ...I'm wondering if I should change up a few things, maybe my body's just in a rut

Thanks Roxysmom, got that picture straightened out on my profile page.
Loved reading your nsvs.

Went to weigh in today after finishing my first week on P3, exact same weight as last week down to the fraction. Fat percentage too. I guess that's good. I'm having some stomach problems so I'll have to figure out what that is.

Hope everyone is enjoying the last little bit of summer left. Of course here in CenTexas it will be summer for at least 2 more months but maybe we'll get a break in the over 100 degrees soon.

Thanks everyone! I will stick around and eventually we will all be in maintenance. It's not that I don't like the maintenance crew, but I know you all better right now.

roxysmom: Great NSVs. Yep, my feet totally got smaller from IP. I am looking forward to some cute boots that actually fit over my calves this Winter. Woo hoo.
3bd :Wow! What a change!
blueskies : You've done awesome. You have lost consistently for 5 weeks. But changing up what you eat can shake up the system. I know some people who have been encouraged to do Phase 2 for a week and back to Phase 1. All things to consider. But nonetheless, I think you're doing awesome.

Ugh, I supervise two Psychology fellows so I had to attend the graduation of my last year's fellows and now the new fellowship starts today. That means party, party, party. I brought a fruit salad to two gatherings, which was highly popular. Everyone said, "You are so healthy!" What they don't know is that FRUIT is a huge treat for me after doing IP since January. I also had some bagel and half a vegan, chocolate chip banana muffin this morning...but I think calorie-wise, I am not that different from my normal Phase 3 type breakfast. I am weighing myself morning and night for a while to make sure I am doing OK.

Wishing you all the best.

Thanks for sharing the side by side Mary - you look fantastic!

I am grateful for all the folks starting to phase off / maintain sticking around and giving us an idea of what to expect :)

Stormy morning at the beach - looks like it should clear in the next hour but more storms are predicted for the afternoon. It's been nice having a very lazy morning though (we are active vacationers and don't sit around too much)

Last night was arcade night and DH won a $100 pair of Beats by Dre headphones from a claw machine & had only spent $5!!!

Feeling a little bloat in my tummy today. I was hungry yesterday - ate around 1500 calories but we walked over 4 miles so it was burned.
The big C hasn't really been an issue thank goodness but I've ate more fat (cheese) in the last 4 days than I have in 7 months. Otherwise I've been 95% OP with (generally) P2 calories levels (1200 ish) and a lot of exercise

Eta - shocked! Went to weigh and even after breakfast / coffee / water weight stable at 163 (up 1.4 from lowest but again, this is weighing after eating / drinking) I was expecting at least + 5#s

Hi Everyone!!!
Have loved checking in and seeing what everyone is up to. Thanks for all of the posts!!
Vacation was wonderful!! I stayed OP the whole time- I didn't expect to, I really had a plan - I was going to taste ice cream and have a bite of the amazing donuts they have over there- they are a whole story un to themselves- I had figured, ask for a piece at the end, so if I wanted more, there wouldn't be any- well, I just decided not gonna do it and I didn't! I came back from vacation and weighed in the next day - and I lost 3.4 lbs on vacation!! My coach was amazed!
She was going to phase me off for the wedding, but we discussed it and I'm just going to stay phase 1- she explained to me what to do, how to approach thngs, what to plan for and what to stay away from. She said I probably won't want the whole piece of cake- which I probably (knowing me) will want to show off and kill myself with willpower...lol...I know there will be some eyes watching me and what I eat from people who told me I probably won't keep the weight off....Anyways- at work, lunchbreak- up to my eyeballs in catch up- but wanted to do a quick check in.Love ya all!!!

3bigdogs love the pics - you must feel amazing!

Miwi it is funny how fruit is a treat after not having it for so long. I've never eaten fruit unless I was on a diet or if it was included in some other dish and I find myself wishing I could have it LOL That's a good thing I think for when I eventually get to maintenance!

Beth - wow Beats headphones from a claw machine - awesome!

Linda - so glad you had such a good time on the boat and lost 3.4 lbs!!! You are still going strong this far in!!! Can you share a little of that mojo with me? LOL I'm finding I am giving myself excuses for not sticking 100% on plan, like it's my birthday I can have a dessert, it's pre-wedding activities I can indulge then get back on track. You are so determined and have such willpower - I need some of that!

WTG Linda!!!!!!! :cheer:

Roxy - :lol:

MiWi - Fresh Summer Fruit has been one of my biggest challenges - glad you have phased off soon enough to catch some :)

So a front has stalled over Myrtle :( Ugh - it is storming like crazy - we got about 2 decent hours on the beach. Being out on the beach keeps me busy and mind off food (and I've been proud of myself - normally I graze sitting on the beach…) but sitting in the room, I am surrounded by SO many temptations - bagels, cream cheese, chips. We probably won't be able to really get out tonight either - we did most of our indoor activities earlier this week - might hit the indoor pool if the storms finally push off. Otherwise, it's move night.

Thanks Beth ☺Sounds like you're having a great vaca too!!
Roxy I just try to keep my focus. It's harder, I will admit, if I am hungry, stressed out or tired. Hmmm, which most of my life is...lol. Seriously, I keep checking in here, even if I don't reach out to people, i see what everyone else is doing-usually someone is struggling similar to me, I think about how miserable I was fat, I think about how much I love wearing clothes, I think about the money I have invested in myself, and I remind myself that I am not going to stop/give up like I have in the past. THIS will be the time that I make it!! When I am done, I am going to stay connected to these forums-no ifs and or buts about it. I'm always happy to share any mojo I have. Sometimes I make a game out of the willpower.

New milestone - 158.8 on the scale at the hotel gym this morning! In the 15x's for only the second time in my adult life!!!!
We will see if it holds until we get home Sunday :)

So, I've been all bent out of shape this past week, thinking I'm in a bit of a stall --- was weighing myself every morning since my last WI, and the scale was stuck, no movement, nothing, nada, aargh! :?:
Well, yesterday morning, I stepped on my scale, and it showed 0.0 :lol:
YES, I lost ALL my weight :D
Then I kept getting error messages. Tried everything to fix it, but Broken Scale. Sure explains the readings.

Anyway, WI this morning, DOWN 2.8, out of the 170s into the 160s :dancer:
And lost some inches too. All in all, a good day. :flow2:


Beth, congratulations on reaching the 150s, and Linda, great loss on your vacation :cp: - I noticed how close you are to reaching the 140s...and soon, GOAL.. WTG!!