Hello everyone! I weighed in today and it wasn't so bad...even though TOM is here! I lost another 4 lbs!!! I was so excited...I love this program!
Congrats to everyone this week on making great food choices and sticking to your goals! It will be so worth it when we get to where we want to be...
My daughter is very much into sports and today we needed to go and buy her some new spandex shorts..while picking them out I thought to myself..."hmm maybe one day I can borrow these!" HAHA!! She laughed at me...but the point was that I am starting to feel like the possibility to be healthy and NOT overweight is in my future! (as is everyone else on here)
Thanks for all of the great advice! Have a great remainder of the week everyone!

Thanks for the advice! I am seeking all the tricks for success. I weigh in Friday and I feel different for sure!

Thanks for the advice! I am seeking all tricks for success. Weigh in Friday - first one!

Kelsey and YinYang,

I am probably going to get hung out to dry but here goes:

I also went to Vegas and went with full intention of being off plan. I ate and drank what I wanted for 5 days. I had been on IP for 6 weeks prior. The first day back on plan I retained a bunch of water. I took a water pill and weighed myself. I lost 7 lbs of fluid from 5 PM to 5 AM the next morning. That morning I weighed what I weighed the day I left for Vegas. I think you should eat sensibly and enjoy your vacations. We don't get to go on vacation every month. Even skinny people gain weight on vacation.

I have been back on plan for 7 weeks until last week. I have not had much energy and fighting an abscessed tooth. I went off plan for another 5 days. I am up 1 lb from my weight before my "mini break". We all have to make choices everyday about what we eat. I am inspired and amazed by those that can stay on plan with out any extras. I started back on plan Monday with a much better attitude and will try to get 20 more pounds lost. It is definitely getting more difficult to lose more than 2 pounds a week. However, I usually allow myself a restricted almost everyday and I am still losing. I am happy as long as the scale is moving down and will probably move to Phase 3 the end of May even if I have not lost 20 lbs. Summer is my fun time and I will not live and die by this diet. I will manage it to the best of my ability just like the rest of you. I think it is very easy to become obsessed with this plan. I am kind of discouraged that the IP coaches cannot advise for people to take breaks from this diet. It is better to take a small break and get back on plan than to give up on the diet. Please remember you may have to go through the carb withdrawals again when you return to the diet. Just my thoughts.

You'll do great! When I first started I really couldn't stand the peach drink, now, it is very tasty! Things will change flavor for you several times as you take this journey!

Good luck at weigh in! I can't wait to see your numbers; week one usually gives some great results!

Carla

HAHAHA... SO NOT!! I will not be one to hang you out for the advice! I find it interesting that we each can do the same action and respond so differently to it. I think it is great that Kelsey is seeking input and wants see if she can benefit from other experiences. That makes each of us a valid opinion but only she can decide what is right for her. Just like I won't hang out for your advice, I won't say a word if she decides the right thing for her is to thoroughly enjoy the vacation experience. And, I will CHEER big time when she weighs in and posts her loss after the vacation!


NOW, my interesting moment for the day!

My BF is very into cigars and we frequently go to a local cigar lounge he likes. I have been going with him for the past year so many of the guys have seen me around. In the past week 5 of the guys have come up to him and asked about me, wanted to know if we were married, dating, just friends. The other day when I was there one was hitting on me right in front of him!! He just takes it in stride. Anyway, today he texts me, "another guy is asking about you. You are getting quite a fan club!" I just laughed but it made me feel good to get noticed!

I posted another picture of me today as my avatar. This is what I looked like 7 weeks into the program. I had dropped almost 30 pounds from the other picture. I am having my sister send me pictures of me from my trip last week. I will post that when I get it!

Night ladies. I was up at 5am and we rented "the blind side" so, off to the movies and then to bed. I made some fresh rhubarb for desert with my vanilla pudding. Will let you know how it tastes.


Carla

Nice loss in 2 weeks!!

You are over half way to your goal...Wonderful!!

I do not have a coach or clinic, I don't loose as fast as the others, but I do have variations to my diet and I do muscle train a few times a week. I am happy to see the scale move, regardless of how slow or fast it moves. This is an awesome plan, regardless of if you order IP or find something alternative, you will love it!!

Don't beat me anyone, but I say, it's your little man's 1st b-day, enjoy the day! Don't stress about your diet! I am not saying eat everything in sight, just enjoy and be a part of the day. If you can get your cake in time, wonderful, if not, make the best decision you can. I ate about a 1/4 inch square piece of my nieces b-day cake and though I only lost one pound this week, I still lost.

Hooray!

WOW!


I have to agree with you on this!!

I have been twice to Florida/DisneyWorld on this diet, and stayed on plan. I normally "partake" with glee, but I am very glad that I did not "stray" on these last two trips. I DID celebrate a successful shuttle launch with some white wine this last trip, but it did not seem to affect my loss... I suspect because it was offset by a significant amount of walking and pushing a wheelchair around the parks.

At any rate, I do NOT wish I had gone off plan. But that's just me... I'm in a hurry to finish this. I'm sure others have made the opposite decision and been happy with that. I think it's particularly warranted for someone who's been on for a long time... JoshB seems to be taking a good approach, by moving through the later phases ahead of time, then returning to Phase 1 afterwards. If anyone deserves a break, it's him!

Carla, it is flattering that other men notice you. Does your BF get jealous at all? Some men can be very worried when their women lose weight to the point of sabatoging the diet.

I can't wait to see the recent photos of you. It was nice for you to post some previous ones so we can follow the change you have made.

I do value your input since you have been on the diet so long. I think our experience gives us all better insight than some of the coaches. Your's were the first posts I remember reading on this forum.

Little NSV, I am in phase 4 so I won't go into details on foods, etc, but just wanted to let everyone know how amazing IP is and how much everything has changed in just the little weight I lost, cravings etc. I love popcorn, it was hard for me to give it up for IP. Before IP, I used to make a huge bowl for my boyfriend and I, load it with butter and salt and munch before the tv. I always handpop on the stove in a pot too. Last night, my boyfriend wanted popcorn, I didn't, no craving when normally it would have been there, so told him no, I wasn't making any. He offered to help, so I gave in and made a little amount for him, he did most of the work keeping the pot moving so it wouldn't burn. I let him put his own butter and salt, and I only had 5 pieces!!!! That's it, he didn't even finish 1/2, and we barely made any, before IP, I would have munched all the rest, this time, only the 5pieces, and then thought how the butter and popcorn, might fit in my breakfast the next morning, stale I know, but instead of 2 pieces of toast, 1 piece, no cheese, and a little popcorn with a little butter, then just tossed the rest.

My whole point is, IP really helped me control the craving and find a way to comfortably fit a little bit of a food I love into my diet, by substituting for something else I would have eaten, so cool. Everyone can look forward to not being driven by cravings in maintenance, it's all worth it!!!

I am going to Applebees for lunch today with a friend . Does anyone have suggestions for me to order . Im still on phase one . I dont eat out often it makes me nervous. Help ? Please .

This might sound really strange, but a little trick I've learned to prevent boredom on long drives, is find a craft to keep my hands busy so I'm not thinking about eating. I knit, scarves, hats, socks, etc. My mom does needlepoint, if you don't know how to do anything, pick up a how-to book to learn, and have a productive trip. For knitting, I recommend stitch & *****, there are all sorts of things you can do that don't require too much reading (which I love but causes headaches in cars) I did this while an exhibitor at booths at conferences last week during downtime, and it killed the need to go hunt for food to munch.

well stick with grilled chicken and vegetables. Make sure you ask them no butter.

I you want to "indulge" a bit you can get a chicken caesar or something like that. You need the protein and grilled better... be careful with the dressing though... they do tend to load it up with salt (not sea salt) so we can retain more water... but that would be my suggestion.

Swap out your IP lunch for your dinner... so that way you are still doing the same amount of packets a day at least

I went on vacation and strayed. I think the question to ask yourself is, will you be able to get back on track if you stray while on vacation? I am committed to losing this excess weight, so I knew I'd get right back in the saddle when I got home. And honestly - by the end of my week of vacation, I was ready for my IP foods because what I was eating was making me feel tired and sluggish. I would probably try not to stray so much if I had it to do over again because the headache I had Sunday and Monday about did me in.

Kelsey I went to Napa Valley for a week's vacation week 2 of this diet.
The IP office tried to get me to wait to start the diet but I am an extremely impatient person. I ate IP cereal for breakfast, veggies, salad and a bar for lunch and veggies and protein for dinner usually. I had a yogurt drink each night. The benefits were that I felt pretty good the whole week and had more energy than I would have had with a wine hangover each morning. I made sure I had special protein for dinner each night since we went to the most spectacular restaurants. It wasn't that hard really.
So, I suggest you go on vacation with the plan to stay on the diet. If you indulge here and there it will be nothing compared to ditching the diet entirely. I had lobster poached in butter one night, for example. I came home having lost weight and feeling great.

Caesar salad is one of my favorite things. I order it now without the cheese, croutons or dressing. Do you know what I am ordering???A big plate of romaine lettuce!!! So now I just say that...

They have several things to choose from. They have a great sirloin and you can get steamed broccoli or you can get the Garlic Herb Chicken with the sauce on the side and steamed broccoli. You can also get a grilled chicken salad and modify it however you want. They are really good at changing your order for you. Enjoy