Lrg - I know Frawnie does

I actually take a collagen supplement. Country Life Maxi Skin collagen + C&A tablets instead of the packets. I get them at the Vitamin Shoppe here. I couldn't see spending the money and "wasting" a packet. I checked the ingredients and they didn't do anything to slow the weight loss, so I've stuck with them.
CindyjuneWelcome back! You can do this!!! You've got us all cheering you on!!:cheer3:
I knew getting the scale (which I love by the way) was a mistake...I've gotten on it every day... :shrug:Oh, so today I'm up from 144.6 to 145.8...I know better, but I can't help myself...I know there are factors like what I ate last night-(ground sirloin, cauli rice -with soy sauce so I'm probably holding on to water) I'm going to get on tomorrow morning, and that's it till weigh in day. I will only get on on Wednesdays, which is midway to weigh in day. I'm so flipping a/r. I am feeling a bit "fatigued" and I don't want to do what I usually do..those of you who are "yo-yos" know what I mean. Just an early morning lament here. I'll probably be fine later on.
Been pretty busy, so haven't had much of a chance to catch up woth everyone. Hope that you are all well and I hope that you all have a great Tuesday!!!!

Don't get down on yourself. You've done a great job on the plan and have great stats to show for it! If you stay OP the scale will move in the right direction. You are probably right too...with soy, you are likely retaining some water. Flush it all away today.

I am suppose to go back to the Vitamin Shoppe on Thursday...there is a collagen blend I am thinking about picking up. It was super $$$ though (for a 30 day supply) so I may look for the one you are using :)
:hug: my friend - ugh...maybe its the change of season? Fall is associated with sweaters, pumpkins, leaves changing - warm and cozy things...but I also find the changing seasons are difficult (for some) mentally - I know they are for me.
I am absolutely obsessing about food right now, and for the last couple days, have gone to bed feeling famished. I lay there thinking about how long it is until breakfast. Even with the extra snack, I just can't shake this overwhelming hunger - especially in the afternoon. Yesterday, I ate a fairly substantial lunch, packed with lots of 'free' veggies (mushrooms, celery), and STILL could have had my afternoon pudding as soon as I finished eating.
Idk what it is...I very well could have knocked myself out of ketosis over Labor Day weekend b/c of the BBQ pork I ate, but it's been 10 days now and other than the Quest Mint Choco Chunk bar, I've been eating protocol foods (while averaging higher calories). Ketosis doesn't care about calories though...
It could be stress
It certainly could be diet fatigue...I guess the good thing is the foods I am obsessing about are OP (vanilla shakes, chayote squash, etc... :lol:)
Maybe its time to shake things up a little - find some new recipes, try some different spices / ways of cooking things I like.
IP was exciting in the first stages - getting new kitchen gadgets, trying new veggies, cooking...I've certainly fallen into a bit of the doldrums - ie, grabbing a bar or pudding every night instead of making something fresh (like a maple-oatmeal "cookie") for snack, and having the same 2 dishes for lunch, every week, since April / May :dizzy:
I hear you on the scale too - and yes, the additional calories appear to have added up and I am not going to make -80 by tomorrow (see my siggy)...unfortunately, I don't think I am going to get to normal BMI either.

My choice - I own it & its honestly ok. I may snail-pace crawl to goal

NSV - I have 2 today:
1. With the changing weather, I went through my slacks... I currently have 1 pair of slacks that fit (the 12's). Time to hit the thrift store!!!!! :D

2. Went to dinner last night with my beautiful, size 6 niece and she said "OMG, you look GREAT! You are SO skinny - I think you're smaller than ME"!
:lol: I'm not (we got to talking and she's a healthy, muscular 140 - she runs)...I've just always carried my weight well...but she made me feel like a million bucks :D

Beth -
This for sure happened to me at the end of P1.
Here are a few things I did toward the end, per my coach/doctor's suggestion:

At different weeks:
1. At higher fat/calorie content meats - a lot of ground beef for me.
2. Added more oil (about 1 or 2 tsp)
3. Switched to using an extra packet for a few days in place of the 8 oz protein (you can't do this for too long because the daily calories go too low)
4. Added an extra packet
5. Added 1 oz cheese for a while
6. For the last 30 days went strict 3 packets only, no extra anything, no exercise. I could only do that for 3 weeks and was so hungry I binged on extra packets at least once a week. Then I called my coach and said "I'm done. I'm doing P2 for a week and then going to P3". The day after I started P3 I felt great again and all my energy came back and no hunger.

In the end, I only lost about 5 lbs in three months, and then lost 5 lbs on P3. So not sure that the agonizing last 3 months was worth it. Esp. because they came back on in a few months and my body seems to want to stay at the 5lbs higher.

Good luck!!!

Yeah, weighing every day can stress you out.
But you KNOW it doesn't mean a darn thing. You've been losing well, consistently, you KNOW that. So tell yourself so. :D
I know, I'm one to talk, though... I'm one of those who can't help weighing every day. But I've been doing it all along, and I've learned to not sweat the daily variations. I actually stress more when I can't weigh myself - like when my scale broke, before I got my new one. Drove me nuts!
On my scale this week so far, (daily results) I've been up .4, down .6, down .4, up .4, down 1.2.
Who knows why. Lots of reasons, we all know them. Doesn't matter, as long as I'm still moving down overall.
Try weighing once/wk, like you said...unless like me you can't stop yourself :rofl:


Beth - Great NSV's! That's got to make you feel terrific!! :dancer:

You have done amazingly well since you started, this "diet fatigue" or whatever is just a small bump in the road. You're getting so close to goal, maybe this is what happens as you get close :?: maybe it won't be so terrible to add a few extra veggies or an extra packet, there might be a reason your body is telling you it needs it. Maybe add extra protein and skip a packet. (Just no cookies, though :yikes:)

This is week 20 for me, so not nearly as long as you, and I've been thinking lately I've gotten into a bit of a rut. Haven't tried many new recipes lately, lots of same-old, same-old...and though I'm not getting the raving hungries like you describe, I'm finding myself opening the fridge or the cupboard, looking for something (NOT a good thing). Definitely like your idea to start trying some new things :)

Getting ready to head of on vacation, leaving Thursday. We're meeting up with my sister and BIL, we try to plan a vacation somewhere once or twice a year, so really looking forward to seeing them. We'll be away almost 2 weeks and I've been getting together all the packets etc I'll need. I've been away for 4-5 days before, this will be the longest since starting IP, and I sure hope it goes well. Hoping not to gain, I think I can stay OP most of the time ...thanks to everyone here who has shared lots of tips on just how to manage.

I did have my WI today (a few days early) and have a small loss 1.4
Not unexpected, I've had some RA flare-ups this week so some inflammation, and I've been feeling a bit puffy.

oh:) and I weigh myself every day, I have for a long time. It keeps me focused on my body because I have a tendency to disassociate from it and be in denial about weight gain, so for me it works really well, and it actually helps me during maintenance.
Because I've been doing it so long I can control my mind fairly well.
When I don't do it, I know I'm in trouble.

So I think each person has to figure out for themselves what works the best.
I have friends that had to throw away their scale and/or really commit to only doing once a month or once a week.
For me it's the opposite, I hate weighing and I don't like taking all my clothes off in the morning because it makes me cold:). lol

Beth, I'm experiencing the ravenous hunger, too, now that I'm within 11-20 pounds of reaching my goal. (Thinking more and more that goal should be 160, not 150.) Yesterday evening I had 8 oz of sirloin + 2 c. broccoli for dinner, which was a HUGE amount of food, and still ended up having my snack (pudding) within an hour after dinner, because I was SO hungry. My weight loss has slowed way down, too, and my energy level has decreased. I think my body is trying to tell me it's done, or nearly done.

My plan at this point is to stay on P1 for 2-4 more weeks, but I'm going to bump up my fat intake just a wee bit to see if that helps. (This morning I put 1/3 T. "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" olive oil spread on my protein pancake.) If I can get down to somewhere between 160-165, I will transition to P2/P3 and hopefully lose a few more pounds in those 4 weeks. I'm signed up to run a 5K on Nov. 21 and would really like to be eating more normally the week before the race.

Sounds like there are a few of us closing in on goal experiencing this :dizzy: My niece and I were discussing doing a local 5K on October 9 with a 10K coming up the Sunday before Thanksgiving...the 5K, with extra snacks / protein shouldn't be an issue - the 10k: I'm not sure I'll be ready for that in time. Certainly wishing you well :)

I am also a daily weigher but maybe need to rethink that right now as WL slows. The hunger / exhaustion is whats really bothering me right now though.

I remember a few months ago (April or May I believe) reading the summer 2014 starters thread and how a couple of them, all about the same time, "hit the IP wall" (so 8 - 10 months in)

I've gone through these stretches before, but never more than 2 / 3 days and I don't remember ever having the hangries going to bed. I said last month around this same time I didn't know how much more I could take

Maybe too I just need to reset my thinking - I am over analyzing and prepping for goal but just need to keep focusing on the daily...on the NOW (if that makes sense?) All this prep is making me antsy and impatient to get there, right now :lol: I've started thinking about some of the things I'll be adding back in (slowly) like avocado and nut butters (not together - although I've been hungry enough to do it recently). Guess that's enough to make anyone obsessive and hungry ;)

Amber - it was you or Liana I believe who posted the link to the website that helps you determine bone density (ie, small, med, large) and apparently my ideal weight falls somewhere between 130 - low 140's ...and I at least want meet my original goal of 145.

We had this chat the other day, but I know I have a good 10 pounds left to loose, even accounting for skin.

I am also just whining to be completely honest. I am having a super hard time focusing at work right now even though I seriously need to be keeping myself sharp. General malaise has struck the entire team, with 2 co-workers leaving within a week of one another...add insult to injury, we just found out this morning we are going to have to move the department and I (along with 3 others) will be losing our offices & going into open cubicles :( it pays the bills though...first world problems...etc *sigh*

So I am editing this with an update and confession:

Confession - I bought and ate a small haas avocado tonight with dinner - not proud but there are worse ways to 'cheat'...and was a h3ll of a lot better than the tub of cinnabon rolls I looked at :o

Update - I think...(been doing too much of that lol) I might have finally 'scratched an itch' tonight. Janeva posted a mug cake on FB earlier and I probably used way too much WF caramel but my goodness - the heavens opened and angels sang :lol:
I finally decided to order her cookbook - I might only be 6/8 weeks from goal (hopefully) but believe it will continue to be useful into maintenance and beyond

I was all set to come here today and adjust my goal to 160.... and then I got on the scale and it registered a new low of 169.25. So now I'm rethinking my rethinking on my goal weight. LOL.

Part of my issue, as I get closer to being done with P1, is that I'm sick of the food. I don't like any of the baked, bready goods (the texture makes me gag; I'm dreading choking down my pancake later this morning), and I realized yesterday I don't want any more shakes w/ spinach. I think I have enough packets to get me through the rest of my journey on P1, but most of what I have is oatmeal, chili, pudding, and some bars. I've only been on the IP protocol for 3 1/2 months. I don't know how some of you do this for a year or more. Big kudos to all of you.

I had a pretty good morning. I got on the scale this morning and I was 248.2, I was quite excited to finally see it drop below 250. And to get over the 20 lb mark. :carrot:

I discovered something new on the weekend by accident as well. I had stopped by and picked up a couple extra packets for the weekend to try out some new recipes. I was going to do a chocolate banana zucchini loaf with the pudding packets and I had also gotten some potato puree packets for dinner that night. I was running late and rushing to get dinner ready so I made up one potato puree and decided I should probably make up a 2nd packet as DH is also on IP. Without looking I grabbed the second packet and dumped it in, except it was banana pudding mix instead. OH NO! Thankfully I had some extra potato puree in the cupboard. But didn't know what to do with this mixture that I had just ruined. I mixed it up anyways and after dinner when I was cleaning up realized it actually didn't taste that bad so we put it in the fridge and made 2 banana pancakes with it the next morning. Who would have thought of mixing pudding and potatoes??

mandasquared That is one of those combinations that sounds so weird that it is probably delicious. The weird stuff always seems to taste best!


I am a daily weigh-er too. I find for me it helps to know that when i do see the slight increases, they are just temporary. I tend to look at it as a small range, and as long as the range over a couple days keeps heading down, then i am on the right track. I like the happy scale app for that as well. It shows me that even though day to day might be up and down, overall the trend is still heading downward.

My WI this week I finally hit ONEDERLAND!!! i was 199.0 when i stepped on the scale. Feels great, esp with my 30th b-day approaching, and being away celebrating that impending birthday last week, that i finally managed to get back to this point. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/imag...les/carrot.gif

Ugh - I am great with spreadsheets but not message boards

I made a collage last night of pictures - me at 220+ in October 2014, down about 40 pounds May, 2015, and then this past weekend. :) It amazing to see the progression!

manda - CONGRATS! :broc:
& lol - thats awesome. I'm not much of a cook but the pudding probably added the flavor and I remember growing up, my dad having potato pancakes for breakfast quite a bit when we went to Pennsylvania. I believe it is a German culinary thing :)

HIS - Hear you on burn-out...have you tried adding eggs (scrambled, poached, hard boiled) for breakfast? I believe the general protocol theory is if you do 2 whole eggs, it should count towards your protein for the day & as restricted - 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites is ok though (unrestricted)...and during the week, I almost always eat real food for lunch - subbing 4oz of (insert meat here) for a packet (example - 4oz of pork tenderloin = 22g protein / lean chicken = 24g) & 2 C veggies...primarily salad. I do generally eat the same lunch, prepped over the weekend, M-Th - Friday's is more of a toss up and I might have a packet / shake & salad depending on if we're going out to eat or not.
I am the opposite right now lol - just discovered the joys of 'mug cakes' and next week am planning to bring in a stock of proti-diet blueberry pancake mix to cook up w/ a cup of rhubarb compote :D Love bread-type foods

So, I have some interesting perspectives regarding yesterday's mini-meltdown:
After dinner, I felt like I could have ran the Marine Corp Marathon, I had so much energy! Absolutely blew my mind - I went from complete zombie to feeling like The Tasmanian Devil...no joke! :dizzy:
Went to bed at 11:00 but I had so much energy, I couldn't sleep and was up until 12:15am (up at 6:00a)
WI this morning = -0.2 (so a small loss, no gain)
I still had tons of energy this morning - I actually wanted to get up, get moving...my DD10 responded positively to this change and we had a great morning!
I have had mental clarity today and actually accomplished some tasks I'd been putting off at work
I went for my 2 mile walk and did it UNDER 30 minutes
I still have energy
I am not ridiculously hungry

Our bodies are amazing machines...the reaction I had to the additional 120 calories and fat was nothing short of miraculous, imho - miraculous that I've stuck with this and am so in tune with my body that I could feel the energy. Basic science 101 - calories = energy...but until you feel something like that...I really, really need to start listening more carefully to mine...

I think this has created an even larger conundrum for me regarding my goal weight (and thank you again Amber for all of your insight).
I've set a firm date - October 10 - for reevaluation. It is marked on all my calendars.
Between now and then:
1. I am going to stay as close to P1 as I can - no more cheese :lol: or extra restricted products! And I will listen to my body best I can
2. I am going to invest in a good home scale
3. I am going to do as much research / reaching out as I can about P2 / P3 (here, my work-friend, the inter-webz, etc...).

I should be right around 150, my original goal weight.

It is a HUGE weight off my shoulders having a plan and firm goal in sight. Now I just have to stick to it :lol:

ONEDERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :bravo::cp::dancer:

acidlollipop, congrats on Onederland! That's such a huge milestone.

mandasquared, go you! 20 pounds is a great start to your IP journey. I bet that in another 10 pounds, you'll really notice a difference in yourself.

Beth, isn't it amazing what a few extra calories can do? When I got home from work last night at midnight, I was starving, but had already eaten all my food for the day. I decided to have a dill pickle. Then I had another. I worried that the extra sodium would push my weight up today, but instead I had an almost 2-pound loss!

I think it's good for you to have that mini-goal/reassessment date. It gives you something to look forward to and work toward, but doesn't leave you hanging indefinitely. I got out all my IP protocol paperwork last night and re-read everything about P2 and P3. I'm still thinking I'll start my phase-off around October 19, but am willing to be flexible about it, depending on how my weight loss looks at that point.

Edited to add, Beth, you look like an entirely different person since that first photo!