I read that article this morning and was trying to figure out how and where to post it on this forum. I certainly don't want to discourage anyone who is on P1 for the first time and is losing weight.

On the other hand, it certainly explains that there is more afoot here to our losing/regaining/maintaining issues. It explains why, when I am not on IP, I crave food, any food. I find that I can't eat what "normal" people eat because I gain weight so easily.

It's an interesting article.

I have read this article before. It does explain some of the quick regain, but- for me, I did not regain when I was following Phase 4. I regained when I went back to eating sugar carbs on a reg. basis. Having to do this reboot has really changed my view of maintenance. What works in Phase 1 planning, needs to continue in my Phase 4. Cooking, prepping, and changing up my food choices. I got lazy after a year and a half and was eating the same things all the time. This opened the door for food boredom.

I have never been able to eat the same as "normal people" without gaining weight, guess I was blessed with a slow metabolism all along. It does concern me that I may have slowed it down further with yo-yo dieting. I also know that I have never been able to take the weight off before IP. Now I have even more incentive to focus on clean eating for the majority of the time, going forward.

As for IP or another program, I say whatever works for you. I really did not use IP products during Phase 4 and I totally believe that you can take off the weight using real food. One person did Phase 2, with eggs and reg protein. She lost just as much weight as I did.

Information is always good. I say we keep fighting the good fight in whichever way suits our lives.

Sue - so glad you popped over here to post on 3FC!


Pishposh - you too have emerged from the shadows!


It's like old home week - I am thrilled to see your screen names here again on our thread.:hug: :hug: :hug:


Ro22, I think, had the same experience re: craving for real food and posted not too long ago about following Keto Clarity.


I too did some reading about other ketogenic diets and wonder about having more fat than IP calls for in P1.... I keep thinking that perhaps the Alternative Diabetic P1 might be a good alternative. It allows a grain and a dairy, and even a fruit each day -- this is in addition to the regular P1 menu I think.


I have to confess I have been struggling to stick to P1 - I think mostly because I am in my house, alone, too close to the fridge, with too much freedom to eat extra bar or chips... I need to be elsewhere, distracted with other stuff besides the same scene with no one in it but me, my computer and 3 bored cats.


I am down 7 lbs but I need to keep it rolling forward or I am going to slip backward. I am doing several things right - posting my food diary in MFP, weighing every day and those stats sync with MFP too. So I have some progress on the good habit front. Just gotta stick with it.


I deserve to get the excess weight back off. We all deserve to be at healthy, slim weights!


I have not read the article yet, but I bet it is talking about the high percentage of regaining... I have seen studies about this before - it can be discouraging.


But - we all know this is a head game. It's my head... I should be able to quiet that little voice inside, and allow myself to do what is good for me, not just what's easy and counter to what I really want for myself.


another day... another challenge to make a plan, eat according to the plan, and stay on the straight and narrow!

Hi Ladies,

Yes, I am following a ketogenic diet as Cheryl mentioned. I have included intermittent fasting so I eat just once a day - I go dinner to dinner. I am really enjoying this whole journey and there will be no transition for me to different foods, which is quite appealing. Also, I love the freedom of a HFLC diet - I can find something to have at any restaurant. I am also in my 3rd week back at the gym - I was away from the gym for almost 2 years during my 2 rounds of IP.

As I mentioned before, this is no knock on IP as it introduced me to a ketogenic diet - what I am doing now is just totally ketogenic.

I am really enjoying the journey - I love finding recipes - many more possibilities than with IP packets. I still even incorporate IP and alternative packets occasionally. For example, I made a low carb version of my sister's awesome jello mold with Healthsmart Raspberry gelatin with sour cream and walnuts. I still have Healthsmart hot chocolate and use IP chicken soup mix for gravy. I won't go into any other detail about what I am consuming as I don't want to make it difficult for those still doing IP from our group as I don't want to tempt anyone with "forbidden" IP foods (unless someone asks).

Today started my 3rd month - I weighed myself for the first time last Thursday and was surprised at how much I weigh still as I knew I gained all weight back and then some based upon how clothes fit (I had to buy new clothes as I didn't fit into much when I started). So, I have probably 4 more months before I get to goal, but it doesn't much matter to me as I am really enjoying the foods I am eating and I love the flexibility with the meals by having all my calories in like a 2 hour window. I upped my calories from 800-900 as on IP to 1200 about 2 weeks ago at the same time I added intermittent fasting. My blood ketone readings are great - always shows me in deep nutritional ketosis so I know the intermittent fasting is working to get long stretches of fat burning.

No matter what you are doing, I hope you find it a fit for you and you are enjoying it! Case in point - my brother also recently switched after doing 2 rounds of IP to Weight Watchers- he loves their app with the scanning to automatically tell him how many points. He tried to get me to do it, but I told him I believe in a ketogenic- HFLC diet.

Regardless of what weight scale is showing, I feel great!!! I especially love the sense of accomplishment after each workout session. I hope you all are finding you are enjoying what you are doing! I have come to appreciate how important that is when before, I would shrug it off and commit to making sacrifices to get weight off as fast as possible even if I didn't particularly enjoy what I was consuming - I honestly felt like it was deserved punishment for getting myself in that position. I also learned I won't make absolutes anymore- I don't know if my brother and I are just wired to continually yo-yo as we've always done. I feel a HFLC diet gives me best chance for that not to happen as I feel there is a lot more flexibility and no deprivation.

Wow it is like old home week... Glad to see everyone and hear about the things you are all doing even if not IP.

Really if any new people are reading, I just want to say for the record I would not change a thing about my decision 2 years ago to do IP. It truly did give me my life and my freedom back. I would not change a thing about losing that 80 lbs the first 1+ years. I followed strictly from July 2014-August 2015 and did manage to lose 80 pounds that I would have never ever lost without IP... My totally issue was my mind. Once I left my clinic in August it was like the freight train derailed.....I held my own till Christmas 2015 and then I had the I feel sorry for me eating packets while everyone enjoys Christmas dinner blues LOL.... And from that on it was a sad and slippery slope...Seemed to me that that first bottle of wine I drank put 5 Lbs on the scale. And then I just kept saying well I can get this off quick ... Yeah NO. I never learned when to stop. It is a totally and complete mind game I play with myself. I need to figure that out or nothing will ever keep this weight off.... ~~ Stepping off my milk crate LOL~~

Happy to report on my new plan (not sure what to call it), I have gotten myself back into the 220's this morning. I am trying to not set expectations like how fast I dropped on IP, but I would be really happy back under 200. So for now that is what I am focusing on. And I am eating healthy to do it.

So glad to hear from the gang, and I am so glad that people are finding approaches that fit well with where they are right now. There are few problems in this world that have only one effective solution.


I went to the office today - much easier to get thru the day without eating an extra packet or extra anything! I am not fond of the crowd I work with these days, but there is something good for me about leaving the house (and kitchen) behind and focusing attention someplace else for 8 hours....


Wore my fitbit today and I will probably have about 7000 steps for today... not the 10K goal I want to meet, but for someone who has been sitting for months, it's a start.:)


I have also challenged myself to do 30 squats a day for a month. I don't know about you guys but when I was at my lowest weight, my glutes were loose skin and flab... no muscle tone at all. So I am working on them this time as I lose, hoping there will be something there besides deflated flesh when I reach goal. ....was that TMI??... :o


ta ta for now,
cheryl

Cheryl - Consider adding lunges too. They'll work your hamstrings while the squats will work your quads. Pay attention to proper technique!
Squats - stick butt out as you go down with head up - your body should not lean over your toes.
For lunges, ensure your back is straight vs hunched over.
This will give you a great leg workout.

I am going to start incorporating Miracle Noodles. Has anyone tried them? I found good info at lowcarbyum.com and ketodietapp.com in regards to how to prepare and recipes for them. They have Miracle Rice for which I am going to make rice pudding. I had made Rice pudding on IP with cauliflower which I thought was decent. Curious to see how I like it with Miracle Rice...I love rice pudding!!!

Ro22: Miracle noodles are great! I have had to be gluten free for many years so they've always been my go-to for Chow Mein or 'spaghetti'. I also like the Explore Asian noodles as they have lots of protein 15-18 g per serving, taste good and are a bit more 'pasta-like' than the Miracle Noodles. They also have a lot of fibre so very low in carbs. My general plan in maintenance was/is HFLC but I do better if I separate the fats & carbs like IP Maintenance. When I combine them more I start to head off into cheats (what I call bad combinations that set up cravings for me).:burger:

Liana

Liana - Thanks for the alternative suggestion. I'll check into those as I had read that Miracle Noodles were more geared towards a noodle replacement (e.g. Asian and soups) than as a pasta replacement, when a pasta alternative is what I am seeking.

Ro and Liane - I to eat the miracle noodles and rice. When I was winging it on IP but could not allow carbs, that was my go to on pasta night LOL... I also liked that I could do that rice with dinner and eat like a normal person LOL...

WI today on my new program. My Aria still has me under 230, but I WI at 1 after lunch so I am sure it will be over...that's OK because in my mind I know I have dipped back under lol

Hi Ladies!

Just popped in to see what's been going on here lately and imagine my surprise to see all of these wonderful ladies back! Yay! So proud of all of you for finding new WL methods instead of giving up! IP is so hard long term!

Not much to update here. 6wks post surgery. Things continue to heal well, just slowly. Still no working out. Intermittent P1 days here and there but not allowed to go into full blown ketosis. My weight is up about 10 lbs over goal. I usually hover 5 lbs over goal and such little activity the last month and a half hasn't helped. Trying to eat really clean on maintenance. April and May are alway crazy busy months with lots of social events....and food! Gah! Kills me. My birthday is on Friday and we are going camping this weekend with other families. Need to find the strength not to eat all the crap that usually comes with these fun days.

CenTxChk: Nothing like barbequeing your veggies in a grill pan. Makes them taste awesome - maybe a bit of help with meal planning.
Do you 'camp' in a trailer with normal kitchen, or are you a tent/campstove-on-the-picnic-table sort of person? If you are in a camper/trailer with a little fridge, no problem, lol.
A little more difficult when you have to think about veggies as keepers w/o refrigeration. Maybe it's the roast-over-the-campfire treats that are the problem, eh? :flame:

DH & I are tenters (just graduated to a stand up model - no longer backpacker tiny) but we cook on a campstove set up under a tarp. Two burners - one for hot water (tea, bullion, coffee, dishcleaning water) and the other for our one-pot meals. This means lots of stew type dinners with cucumbers & celery on the side as those veggies last best for fresh salad type meals.

Have fun.... the way things are going this year I don't think we will have time to camp unless DH gets hernia surgery and I get my ankle metal taken out at close to the same time. What a couple of cripples, lol.
*my apologies to anyone offended by my non-PC terminology*

Liana

Sue - Congrats on gettin to next "decade". Thanks for input on the miracle stuff. I have 2 boxes from Amazon so I hope I like them.

CTC - Good to hear from you. Glad to hear your recovery is going well. Congrats on following through and maintenance success! Happy early birthday!!!

I am quite bummed today. As you guys may recall, I was working on a presidential campaign. My candidate dropped out last night. This started 6 months ago - it is a tough pill to swallow. I was emotional today - I left work in the middle of the afternoon to workout to alleviate the emotions. I didn't sleep last night so I didn't feel like getting up this morning to workout so was happy to get this in this afternoon and not have to go tonight. I left Indianapolis yesterday morning as I had a feeling and didn't want to be there last night but it was still a gut-punch. In spite of the emotions and sleep disruption, I am going strong on my diet/exercise. Looking forward to nicer weather this weekend to get out and golf - get a great workout in walking the course and so peaceful.

Ro sorry about your stress, but choosing to work out instead of eating is a step in the right direction....

SO I know it has been a while since I logged on, but the whole look of the site has changed for me and I can't change my stats! Ugh.. I am on my IPad...will try to log from my laptop today and see what the problem is.

Was down 5 yesterday at WI... Scale moved further away from that 230 number this morning.... Now I just need to keep on moving...

Sue - I am on an IPad and went to see if I could figure out how to change my stats. Click your UserID and then your profile is in a series of tabs. Your stats and such are in the About Me tab. There is a pencil icon next to each set of info that if you click will allow you to edit that piece of info. For me, my stats were the first thing listed in the About Me tab. I didn't actually edit mine as I just wanted to see if I could figure it out given your post as I am on an IPad. Hope that works for you!