That sounds like a good plan, if for no other reason than to set your mind at ease. And I'm glad the Miralax helped. It's always rather surprising and amusing to me that just a good, um, movement, can make one feel so much better!

Just FYI on the menopause thing, pre-menopause can often last 10 years. The average age of menstrual cessation is 52, so the symptoms can start in your early 40s (or sooner).

Blue, I lived in Wisconsin for two years, so I remember snow in October - through May! I was never so happy as when we moved to TX. :D

I had a tough evening yesterday. I knew when I finished dinner (OP spaghetti made with zoodles and ground turkey) that I was going to be hungry within a short time. By 7:30 I was ravenous, so I had my snack, a Quest bar, which usually does a pretty good job of topping me off. But at 8:30 my stomach was growling, and it was too early to go to bed. I ended up eating some raw cucumber, a pickle, and then 1 oz. of deli turkey, AND 24 oz. of water. I felt like I could have eaten another complete meal! UGH.
I can ignore a little hunger, but that feeling of my stomach being a huge, empty, rumbling pit is so hard! Times like that are when I wish our veggies were unlimited, so I could eat a big bowl of broccoli or something.

On my way to WI this morning, there before me appeared a rainbow, so pretty!. I'm thinking this is a good omen to start the day :yes:
I'm still losing pretty steadily, down 1.4 this week :)

HIS - it's interesting that you had one of those "hangries" days yesterday.
Seems like everyone who has had that is pretty close to goal, so maybe it's a good indicator?
If you remember, I decided to change my goal from 150 to 135, but really I haven't been too sure of that. But I'm thinking it was the right thing... I haven't seen any real slowdown yet, and I'm not having any of those "hangries" days. So I guess I was right, and I have a way to go yet.

Have my apt with my rheumatologist this aft, she's in another city about an hour from here. So the afternoon is pretty much shot, But I have a cousin who recently opened a home décor shop there, I missed his grand opening (sick), and have been meaning to go over, so that's on the list for today. I know he has some really nice things, as well as his own artwork, so I'm sure I'll be bringing something home ;)

I just had my week 2 weigh in and lost 0! How is this even possible? I followed the program completely. When every meal/day is a struggle, how do you stick with it...even when you lose nothing? Feeling defeated already.

Hi happy!
It appears you lost 10 pounds your first week? That's terrific! You are already that much closer to goal!
Question - did you lose any inches?
Any number of things could have caused the scale to remain steady...I am going to guess that you wore the same clothes to this WI as you did last week? You could be retaining water or Mars and Venus might be in collusion ;) That is just my way of saying *deep breath* Many of us have felt what you are feeling right now. Stick with it! Follow protocol and realize there is so much more you are getting out of doing IP than just the number on the scale. You are working towards a healthier you and a better relationship with food in general :)

Blue - hope you RA appointment went well and :broc: on the loss this week :D

Iluv2bhapy, stay the course! I know it's frustrating to have a week when the scale doesn't move, but believe me, it will!

Blue, I'm sure you're right about the hangries being related to being near goal. It was really hard again last night. The hours between 6-10 p.m. are the worst. All I could think was, "I just want to be DONE with phase 1!" The scale is moving so sooooo slowly now.

But in a more lucid moment :D I was thinking about bumping my goal down just two more pounds, to 153. That would mean a nice weight loss number of 60 pounds. I think my warning weight will be 160, so 153 would give me a 6-7 pound range to stay within. In any case, I'm still moving to P2 on Nov. 2. The Happy Scale app says that at my current rate of loss, I can be at 153 in just over 2 weeks, which is while I'll be in P2.

My poor daughter texted me in a panic yesterday - the scale went UP 3 pounds in one day. Not TOM or C or too much sodium or not enough water or any of the other usual culprits. I told her to stop weighing until her next weigh-in (Friday), and to keep doing the protocol. She was so discouraged. I really hope she has a good weigh-in at the end of the week. That will be the end of her 2nd week OP.

Blue, I would have chosen the lower goal weight of 135, too. For your height, that seems like a healthier weight. Like the rest of us, I guess you'll know for sure as you get closer to it.

Happy hump day everyone!

Looks like I am over the worst of the work-hump for this quarter. I can't even begin to tell y'all how grateful I am that my co-worker came back...I'd be drowning and with all the issues I've been having, probably would have given up on the WL weeks ago.

HIS - you are SO right :lol: Took a dose of Miralax last night and then one more tonight, just to be safe ;) So far, so good - no horrible side effects except morning cotton mouth and a little bubbly-tummy :o

I am also just feeling better in general...so while taking everyone's advice to heart, I have decided to add some healthy fats for a couple days and watch the scale / how my clothes fit

Healthy fats (I have around...) = whole eggs, avocados, PBFit (powdered peanut butter), coconut oil

All low carb so it shouldn't knock me out of ketosis, but packed with healthy fats / energy.

DH and I were talking last night - he has been doing a lot of research preparing for his 10K and wondered out loud if maybe my stores of fat have been depleted to the point where I need a little extra.
Now, I am still somewhere between 30 - 34% body fat so obviously have plenty left ;) but can say today is the best I've felt in a week or more - yesterday I had 2 eggs, 1/2 a small haas avocado and 2T PBFit in a vanilla pudding. I wasn't hungry yesterday afternoon and actually had the energy to work late.
Per MFP, it changed my macros to 40/40/20 but I was still right at 1,000 k/cal...and down -1.6 on the scale

Today, I am cutting back to 1 egg, 1T PBFit and using the other 1/2 of the avocado in my salad (probably a little less than since avocados don't save very well and I will have to cut some away).

I do understand that this flies in the face of the IP protocol and I might be screwing up, but health > weight loss

Beth, that sounds like a well thought-out plan. Fats are slow to digest and will probably help keep your blood sugar more even - if the blood sugar was indeed what was making you feel ill.

Beth, if it gives you comfort, my doctor/clinic had several people that they needed to add fat to the IP protocol in order for them to continue to lose weight. I did that after about 6 months and it really helped.
So I don't think it's screwing up protocol, from my clinic's perspective anyway.

When I am on P1 now, I add 1 tsp coconut oil to my morning coffee, and add an extra tsp or two of oil with food (or sometimes a bit of cheese instead). Sometimes for something special a little butter or avocado.

Thank you all for the encouraging words. It helps to hear them from those of you who have been there; as I know all of you have.

Thanks Amber - & truthfully, I'm not as super concerned about the WL now (as in, right at this moment lol) as I was about my general health. I really felt awful the last week - I've been hungry, woozy, lightheaded before on IP - what got me this time was the brain fog and confusion I was having.

I've experienced it before, but with everything going on at work I can't afford to not be able to think straight / be hungry constantly all the time.

Hi all!

Well, I'm back on 3FC. I got down to 216, quit calorie counting, and gained it all back plus 3 extra "friends" along with it.

Today I went for an IP consultation knowing fully well that I was leaving there with the starter pack. :)

I've never done a meal replacement program so this is all new to me and I'm VERY excited.

I think it's time to peruse the other posts to see what I'm in for, haha.

Welcome Precious Missy and iluv2bhapy.

Beth - again:) I know those feelings. I got to the point where my body was just intuitively screaming at me to add fat. I was craving healthy fats like I would guess people crave drugs - my body (including my brain) just needed the extra fat to function. My clinic told me how much to add, and I stayed within their guidelines, and did fine.

Hi all!

Officially started the IP protocol on Monday. ( This is my second time - tried it a couple of year ago but it became cost prohibitive!)

Going through all the same first week symptoms that have been mentioned here. Gotta be honest - it is rough! I want to just go home and lay down but I have to work. lol

I am very glad I found this team - I am looking forward to cheering everyone on and also receiving some needed support!!!

Lots of reading and absorbing here! Tonight I took a hula hoop class and I gotta tell you, it was an amazing workout! Who would have thought an hour of that would kick my butt. Did an extra packet- the blueberry drink. Anyways, crazy busy- keep up the good work ladies and stay the course-