Truth!

Ro- I agree! I am glad you are finding a way to shake things up and get the scale moving again.

Hysteria- You are right. Majority of the clinics hold hard and fast to the rules of IP, it is what they know.

I do Crossfit for my exercise, which involves both cardio and weights, and I usually have 2 HB egg whites before my workout. It took a little bit of time to having something in my stomach before working out, but I have found that it is just enough. You may want to try this before your next weight session. And since you are in maintenance (I think!), you could probably add in 1/2 banana too. This is what I was doing prior to being on P1.

Also, I have always found this to be true: I am always either the same or UP after a rest day. I'm not sure why, but in order for me to see drops, I need to have exercised the day before.

Tomorrow is weigh in and I am fully expecting to get into a new decade!

Beth, I'll try to remember to ask tomorrow when I w/i. I am fighting (actually now loosing the battle) of the cold virus that is going around-I think I am going to pause the C25K until I feel better-I don't feel awful but I don't feel myself so I think that the right choice for now is to wait and start it again at a later time and just do stuff inside. The only good thing that seems to be coming from it is the "Kathleen Turner voice"

Linda Feel better!!!

Jenny Good luck on the weigh-in. 140's...here you go...

Beth thanks! Congrats on week 1 of workouts. You mentioned running first - not sure if you did aerobic before weight training but if you did, then a suggestion that you should switch that up if you want to burn more fat which is sounding like you do. The theory is that any glycogen stores you have you will delete through aneorobic exercise such that when you get to aerobic, your entire time, you will be burning fat for energy. Typically, you don't burn fat during aneorobic exercise because you don't elevate your heart rate enough so if you do weight training first, you will get more fat burning time when you do treadmill (this assumes you are working out on an empty stomach, which you would do if you want fat loss. If goal is muscle gain as priority, then you would eat some protein before workout).

Sorry you are struggling a little bit in maintenance. Quite honestly, I never fully bought into the idea that your pancreas gets fixed and is magically like people whose weight doesn't fluctuate from meal to meal - when I finished first time, I gained 19 pounds in 6 days on a medically prescribed anti-inflammatory/metabolic diet and I about had a heart attack. Hang in there through this part as you are learning even more about yourself. And, if you need further inspiration, remember the magnet You will get through this and feel free to vent all you need to

I wanted to share a cool thing that happened tonight. My Dad chose the restaurant we went to for his birthday. It was an Italian restaurant. When I was scanning the menu to see what I could have, I discovered their pasta options included miracle noodles and zucchini pasta!!! How awesome was that?! I chose the zucchini pasta. I added high fat items to make my own dish as it was build your own pasta dish. I won't go into detail as to my selections as I don't think those doing stricter IP would appreciate that. But, I just wanted to add that this was my fifth day doing truly ketogenic (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) and it was the first day that the idea of not counting calories because high fat is so satiating so you won't overeat, fully resonated with me because I experienced it. I was so satisfied by about 1/4 of the dish that I set it aside. I will keep counting calories until I get to goal, but I am beginning to add ideas to my maintenance plan. I am kind of amazed by these new learnings/discoveries after doing IP for almost 2 years.

My deliveries didn't come before I had to leave so I won't get to measure ketone levels until Monday night when I am back home :-(
I am anxious to see the reading. I would like it to show the same type of numbers as it was with higher carbs and more protein because I would like to not be so restricted. But, I won't know until late Monday. I will have to weigh a day later also so won't get to weigh-in until Tuesday morning. I am anxious to get those readings.

And, one last thing, my bracelet keeps falling off me. I found it laying in the restaurant tonight and my accountant found it in his conference room today. I didn't feel it come off either time. I guess that is one heck of a way to know I have lost more inches recently!! This did not happen when I did IP the first time - the only thing I noticed was that I could get it on without having to unclasp it.
When I get to goal, I am going to go back to my old coach and ask him to take measurements. It will be the first and only time I get the measurements this 2nd time around. It seems the way things are going, that would be early Jan. in addition, it looks like I'll be hitting the gym the same time all the new resolution folks do - I hate that time for going to gym - I enjoy it more when the resolution folks don't follow through selfish, I know, but I hate crowds.

Happy Saturday everyone!
Ro - thanks for that insight...I knew in general for weight loss that the conventional wisdom is to work out in the a.m. - didn't know any of the science behind it sorry your keto measuring sticks didn't make it in. It's been a huge weight lifted to keep an eye on my sugars and know I am doing ok - and it does sound like a keto diet might be what works for you! I am still enjoying P3 breakfast too much to go full on low carb again

Linda - hope you recover quickly!! Yuk - I've woke with a scratchy throat the last couple mornings but so far so good. DD10 stayed home with her sister yesterday - nasty head cold

So I guess it will be experimentation, but ugh, it might be the nut butters sadness!
145.6 on the scale this morning - did 4 miles this morning (refreshingly cold!) and unless something odd happened this afternoon probably won't do the P1 day tomorrow.

My WI isn't till Thursday this week, but I'll ask (if I remember)

Oh, yeah, pork ...there is a farm about an hour of here that does great pork - sausages and chops and all that good stuff, no additives, tastes so good. They package, freeze, and vacuum seal them individually, I am so looking forward to putting in an order after I get to goal!

Linda hope you didn't get the cold too badly, get better soon!

Christmas tree is up, the lights are on. We brought all the boxes up, but got too busy yesterday to decorate, but we're going to do it this morning
Got quite a bit of my Christmas shopping done on Friday, it was such a beautiful day (can you believe the weather this Dec??), and so nice to be out without all the slop and slush we usually have this time of year.

DS took us out for dinner on Friday (early birthday dinner since he won't be here for the actual day). I had prime rib, OMG! so good! I know it's NOT a lean cut, but what a treat. Steamed veggies and salad with it, so not too bad. Checked the scale both Sat morning and this morning, and it's down .6 from mid-week. It had been stuck for a bit (up a bit, down a bit, up a bit, down a bit, so annoying!) If you remember I tried a couple of days of boot camp - don't know if that budged it a bit, or the beef, and half a lb isn't much movement, but hopefully by WI day, it'll be a decent loss.

Hope you're all having a great wk/end!

Gosh I have missed y'all! Don't have time to post much - I'm currently feeding my grandson some Cheerios - but the wedding went off without too many problems! On Friday, I got in a record 25,000 steps, so my weight has been okay even though my diet has been pretty random. Yesterday I ate as carefully as I could and my weight is holding steady at 154.

I'll be back later (I hope - the in-laws are still in town) to read everyone's updates.

Blue - this weather is nuts! Loving it though! That prime rib sounds amazing - the change up may have done some good

HIS - glad things went well and your family is still around hope we get to see a MoG picture soon

Crazy busy weekend with family <3 it was wonderful
The tree is up and lights adorn
Christmas cookies look amazing!
Prep for the week is done - hate to brag but it's so wonderful being able to have fruit and licks of things
Pleasantly surprised our big tree fit in the space we made
Finally got a box of combat cinnamon crunch twist - omg!!! Drool!!!! Dangerous! But SO good. 1,000 x's better than the Quest Cinnamon Roll - maybe not Cinnabon but definitely Pillsbury (you know the ones in the can)!
145.2 this a.m. - and this was after going out to Applebee's last night
Today was rest day - 4 miles tomorrow and 5:15a comes early

Hey Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

Frawnie - It's great to hear from you again! I commend you for all that you're going through and still getting back on plan. You are a strong person! I really don't know much about this, but I believe there is an ex spousal social security benefit that you may be able to apply for. I get the impression that it won't be available much longer, so maybe check it out when you can.

Beth - Yeah idk why she would suggest 15% BF as a goal really. I haven't been completely on board with a few of her recommendations tbh. She's definitely not my primary...just my 'diet doctor', lol. On Friday I finally got to see an endocrinologist, totally worth the wait. She was awesome and I definitely feel more on board with her. I would be happy if I could get to the low 20s! Even then I definitely don't think diet alone will let me do that. Once your body declared goal, did you feel like the fat/weight loss did a lot to minimize 'problem areas', or do you feel like only exercise will do that? Obviously exercise is amazing for that and a lot of other reasons! Trying to get a handle on what to expect since (I think) i'm in that last 10-15lb range of loss. You sound like you're doing awesome with your training btw!

Ro - Glad to hear the new approach is doing well for you. I think I may be delving into that direction shortly as well, so I will be all ears for your progress! P.s. i'm totally jealous of your italian restaurant..wish there was one that offered zoodles or miracle noodles around here!

Blue - That prime rib DOES sound great. I tend to feel better on days where i've had some meat with some more fat too.

Destony - Late chime on my part, but I wouldn't worry about the chili all that much. There are far worse things that could constitute as cheating lol.

As I suspected, I didn't see much of a loss this week. Only -0.2. Still taking meds and trying to kick this cold, so I'm hoping that's the only reason why it was a tiny loss. I definitely haven't been drinking enough, so hopefully that will help with a possible whoosh for next week! In other news, I finally had my long awaited appointment with an endocrinologist. She was great and I'm so happy that I went. I do have to get an ultrasound for my thyroid now though. She suspects that I probably have Hashimoto's disease, which I guess shouldn't surprise me since a lot of people who are hypothyroid have it. What does surprise me though, is that of all of the doctors i've seen in my life, not one has ever thought to look into that with my slew of hormonal issues! Didn't go into detail of the 'what if's', but I gather the only thing different to manage it is maybe switching my thyroid med and definitely following through with a healthy life style.

Have a great week everyone!

Hi Everyone! Just checking in. I have been reading everyone's posts- thank you for the "feel better" wishes- the cough right now is the worst part about it- I can deal with the other stuff, it's not horrible- but it's still enough to make me feel crummy. I hope it doesn't get any worse-many have had it much worse than me.
Glad to see that everyone is doing well. Changes are helping, decorations are up, wedding went well, major life changes are moving smoothly along- love catching up with everyone!
W/I on Saturday- - Beth, she didn't really answer my questions specifically- though she did say that the clinics success rate is based on the people who continue to check in- those are the people who succeed- the ones who stop checking in, they tend to be the ones who "fail" in the end. That being said-I really didn't get answers other than what we probably already knew-no different than keeping "alive" here on the forums- helps with continued success.
I was down .4 which puts clinic weight at 135.4 -so the last three weeks my total loss has been .8-so she has me adding 2 oz of lean protein at lunch-I started that on Saturday. We will see what that does- and she (on her own-no prodding from me) said why don't you keep up maintaining phase 1 (we'll see about the 2 oz at next weigh in) until after the holidays and then after the 1st we can discuss when the phasing off will happen- totally works for me. I don't want to phase off yet- not until the scale at the clinic hits 130. NSV this morning- since I am not doing the C25K until I feel better, I found a 30 day challenge for abs- 1st day (today) is 10 sit ups, 10 crunches and 25 squats- so crunches - yeah I have always been able to muddle through them, but anytime there have been situps- I get about half way up- and then back down- so like a really strong crunch-never could make it all the way up- WELL!! What do you know- I sat right up this morning- !!! I couldn't believe it! An actual sit up- just astounded- ok- Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you all have a great day-
PS- Made a giant batch of cauli-fauxtatoes- when you measure them out for what would account to 2 cups (have any of you had to dot his?) how much do you actually do? I feel like I read somewhere a cup and a half to a cup and three quarters-

Hi everyone!
It's official- I am in a new decade! 149 even on my weigh in on Sat. Things have been super crazy, so I haven't had much time to post. Glad to see that everyone is doing well and I am still plugging along.

It's definitely getting more challenging to stay OP as we get closer and closer to the holidays. More invitations for meals out, get togethers, etc... It's fairly easy to stay OP in a restaurant, but it is always a crapshoot as to what you are actually getting.

Argh - had a nice long response typed out - silly internet / work connection

Kay - glad you got to an endo and hopefully you will create a plan with them that works for you! Very lucky my PDoc was well versed on hypothyroid and has always been open to listening to me
Goal / problem areas - my whole body has been a problem area for 35 years...I started gaining a lot of weight when I was very young and I've never been a normal BMI weight in my life, so unfortunately, idk (hope that makes sense). I believe though I ended up losing a lot more weight from areas I didn't really need to, like my chest, as opposed to my stomach and upper thighs. Those are definitely areas I will continue to work on in P4. I've seen some improvement since I started back to daily exercise but still have a lot of loose skin / elephant waddles

Linda - interesting about your coach - that was a bit of a non-answer / generalization. I really wonder what the true statistic are...and whether there is something slightly more ominous that lurks beneath. I am 100% a pessimist / question authority kind of gal...and the more I look at the structure of IP - like the addition of the Ideal Complete to use in P3 / P4 - the more I wonder about the financial motivation, kwim?
I feel like if IP / coaches were really doing this for altruistic reasons, less people who graduate would need to continually come back and restart or buy more product. Graduation should include teaching people how / what to eat in P4, including "alternate" products, not just hocking the latest RTD / meal replacement.
I know there are good coaches out there who actually teach their clients...but more and more, especially reading the facebook page, it doesn't seem to be the norm - and this is where my suspicions / tin foil hat theories kick in
I guess I am trying to say I wonder if there isn't a *dark side* to IP in regards to needing repeat customers - so you get someone to goal but then don't properly phase them off or *really* encourage P4 visits as these take coaches / clinics time and there is no $ involved as you shouldn't need product in P4. Then the vicious cycle starts...client gains 15 - 20 pounds and comes back to reboot, yada, yada...these are probably my own projections too..and who the h@ll am I to say I'm going to be able to maintain after 9 days of P4
Sorry for the ramble - but yet again, I am glad I was able to do this on my own / 3FC and know I have the tools to try and maintain.

...and please don't think I am pooping on the program! You all know better than most that IP has given me a new life! I just feel bad...and a little frustrated when I see how many people aren't being given the proper tools...& / or refuse to do any work to learn how to maintain the weight loss (not talking about you guys!!!)

Year end fun gears up this week with little to no let down until February.

Had my first real indulgence Saturday morning at the Christmas parade...DH & I split a brownie and I really wasn't impressed I would have rather had a serving of really good dark chocolate.
...but since that didn't make lightening come out of the sky and strike me down (or cause any ridiculous cravings), I allowed myself a small treat last night...made a crust less pumpkin pie and allowed myself 3 teaspoons while it was still warm. That was worth it
I want to make it again, but low carb and use stevia instead of 3/4c sugar

Made Christmas cookies with the kids too - not one lick / bite of dough / finished product! Did lick some icing off my finger

So, without doing anything particularly different - and only having 1 serving of nut butter Saturday morning in my OIAJ - the scale popped up to 146 this morning.

Calories in / calories out my patootie! My BMR must be off-the-charts horrible I've lost zilch in the last 30 days, even though, if you look at MFP, I am running almost 3,000 calories a week UNDER my BMR calculated k/cal.
MFP BMR = 1,690 to maintain
Average Net (after exercise) = 1,250
For the sake of argument, lets say its closer to 2,000 because I haven't been measuring veggie portions and it's over compensating for exercise (so net would be around 1,400)...imvho, I should still be seeing some weight loss, right? Unless my BMR should really be around 1,400 *sigh*
I know for some people thats just the way it is...Grant me the serenity...
I haven't given up all hope that I will reach the official -90...it's just too maddeningly CLOSE!

HIS Glad the wedding went well; hope you had a great wk/end with all your family!

Kalaya - good to hear you're getting some answers about your thyroid, hope the news will be good. Lots of colds going around just now, take care of yourself, and don't worry about a small loss this week, priority is to get healthy.

Linda - great NSV on the situps I can't remember the last time I tried any, I will put it on my list!
That slowdown...it sounds like you've hit the last stretch! Makes sense to wait till Jan, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you can get to goal by then. I'll be interested to hear if the extra protein at lunch helps.
Sorry can't help on the cauliflower, only thing I can think of is if you remember did you use a whole head? maybe weigh another one about the same size to see how many cups raw, and estimate that way.

jenny - welcome to the 140s
Looks like me and you and Kalaya are all at about the same place right now, don't know about you but I am so looking forward to losing the last of this! But you're right about this time of year, hard to stay OP. We're out for dinner again tomorrow, dinner isn't too hard...the next few weeks are busy, the hardest ones are the events with all the nibblies. So easy to graze mindlessly! I've decided to stay as OP as I can, but not to expect too much as far as weight loss goes.

Beth - It's no surprise that the IP clinics are driven to at least some extent by the financial motivation. All "health services" are, even though many of them are caring helpful people. Have you ever seen a poor doctor?? It only makes sense for each of us to get as much information as we can about how this process works, and especially for us individually. I don't know how my clinic will be with P4 and onward, but I know I'm going to arm myself with whatever I need to stay on course. After all this work, I don't want to fall back! Anyway, I know I am benefitting from all the great info from everyone here, all the things a lot of you have been trying and figuring out!
Got my fingers crossed for you too, I know you'd really like to be able to claim that "90"


I was out his morning looking for something for DH for Christmas, couldn't find what I wanted here in town, so decided to go to a place about an hour away. Crazy fog this morning!! But success! I found what I wanted, go it ordered and it should be in by the end of the week. Of course I stopped at a few other places, so I was past lunch, i had another of the "old" quest bars, they are so good! I am definitely going to have to go back to get some more if they still have any!

My oldest son and I at the rehearsal.