You look great! It is fabulous to see your smile! Congrats on a job well done!

THANKS! So glad that you could find something to smile about. I know you've been through a lot these past months. I admire your strength and determination. You have truly been true to yourself through very tough times, and if you can handle this, you can handle anything.

I am also considering doing only one week of Phase 2, especially since I'm not going to switch to Phase 2 until I'm at my goal.

Thank you so much Shows, I was trying to see if there was anything other than the protein difference at lunch and went back to that thread and went hey I don't remember anyone talking about that.

I am so proud of you and pxlkitty, you all have done so great. I look forward to joining you soon. May just continue with phase 2 after this 1 week kick start.. who knows...
Thanks for all your support.

Do you like peanut butter? Or almond butter? Use either one on your toast in lieu of the butter and it will count as a protein and knock out the need for either the bacon or the eggs (and if you're getting too full- you should probably knock out the eggs as they're soooo much more filling than the bacon). And if you like granola or muesli add that to the yogurt and berries and take out one piece of toast. This is one of my favorite brekkies...
Greek Yogurt with raspberries mushed in & granola added
2 pieces bacon
1 WW bread with 1 T natural peanut butter
hope this helps...

Hello All,
Well it feels like forever since I've been on here as I've been so busy this past week preparing for the weekend and then of course I was off and away to the mountains with my girlfriends. I've been friends with the same group of four girls since high school- which is 16 years ago now- but as I moved about three hours away they hadn't seen me for a bit and were absolutely shocked when I got out of the car. Said they couldn't believe it was me and for those that had seen me last month said it was unreal even the difference six weeks had made. It is true that those last 10 pounds are the most noteworthy. I had prepared food as we were staying in a condo and I wanted to avoid eating out ALL weekend if I possibly could. With a couple of items that were intended for a 'cheat day' and some for the 'lean day' to follow. I had planned to have my cheat day on Saturday as this was our only full day there but the drinks came out and were being pushed on Friday and to celebrate being together I partook, probably a little TOO much, actually not probably but definitely, as I ended my evening with my body pressing the eject button. Maybe TMI but after four months with absolutely no alcohol and then a bunch of drinks in short order (of course followed by pizza because this is always a brilliant solution to too many drinks) it was everything out. And so the next day all of the wonderful food I had made for my cheat day I got to watch everyone else eat but I stuck to my guns and didn't cave to pressure that day. It helped that my stomach was most definitely in line with having a lean day it wanted NO PART of anything rich or alcoholic. And we went on a 14 km walk that day which helped revitalize me a bit. But, boy, did I ever catch a lot of flak for not following in line with what everyone else was eating. When you decide to do IP you decide to march to the beat of your own drummer and that can definitely upset the sync that you have with others. So be it though, food & drinks is not the only way to socialize and it may take others a while to come around but I'm patient...
Pxlkitty- Congrats on the great test results and on being SOOO close to goal
Brummie- Glad to hear that you found a denim skirt to love too!! They are so wonderfully versatile (and being from Calgary originally- I think I still have a little bit of 'western' influence in me ).
MINew- Congrats on the job and having come so far and recommitting so totally to yourself. You have untold strength in staying the course through everything and I'm sure that strength will see you through to a better place
2Ride- I love your new avatar- they're so cute! And congrats on having made it down another size! Oh, and I've been meaning to ask for your recipe for the liver biscuits for the dogs if you wouldn't mind sharing...

People are very strange about food and alcohol. I get pressure all the time to drink wine. I think they think that all mothers of toddlers are SUPPOSED to drink wine everyday. Its like the lady who wrote "Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay" and then had to come out that she was actually an alcoholic.

I like socializing with people, but the pressures of the food sometimes get too much. I'm sorry that you got sick, but probably best given the circumstances since your body really didn't want to digest all that stuff. I'm proud of you!

We start our vacation today. Home appraiser comes at 9:30 for refi (thank goodness we only have a few cracks here and there after the earthquake yesterday), then we get the mini-RV. I should have been packing and doing laundry yesterday, but I sat for most of the night in stunned shock that we had experienced an earthquake. I abandoned my laptop on the 11th floor of my office, and I really don't care.

There was white plaster dust all over the lobby once we got there, and people had reported seeing cracks in the hallways. I haven't gotten any emails as to whether or not the building is even open today, so I'm just going to drop it and go into vacation mode. What's weird is that I was in the process of having calls and meetings to "wrap everything up" before I went away. I feel like I didn't finish anything, and I'm just getting ripped away.

Anyway, I started the daily thread. People don't really seem to read it anymore. Either they start a new thread or have a mini-thread going within the daily thread. So... let's see if anyone starts it while I'm away or if it's even missed. Who knows!@?

Take care my experienced IP friends. I am packing up my products so that I am good while I'm gone. I might do a little Phase 2 here and there and have a little wine. That seems to be my thing when on vacation. I'll be back next Tuesday... hopefully my house will still be here after Hurricane Irene has blown through late Sunday. Updating: Irene is starting to look really ugly. Will need to chat with neighbor about watching house. LOVELY!

I go to the daily thread everyday, but I think that people are just really busy as summer comes to a close.

Had my WI today and down another pound. After my big drop last week, I wasn't expecting too much, but a girl can always hope, right? At least I still had a loss. I was a little emotional yesterday about not losing more, but I had a little pep talk with myself and am in a much better frame of mind today! I am really, really close to 25# and I know I am going to get there by next WI.

Hopefully someone will start the daily thread while you are gone PXL.

that is what I am most afraid of introducing things I use to love and just throwing them back up.... take it slow and easy is the best I would say.

Okay Liver treats Kind of gross to do and smell up your house big time:
1 package of liver (my recipe says $1.50 worth but I think the price has gone up) 1 egg shell and all, 1 cup flour 1 1/2 cup cornmeal, 2 tsp oil, 2 - 3 garlic cloves
I cut up the liver into strips and throw it in my magic bullet, you can use a blender as well, to puree..(real gross) I throw the egg in, cracked but shell and everything go in, also add oil and cloves to grind them up (I make double batches so I do it in two batches as I have burnt out 2 blenders so far) then I pour the puree into a bowl and add the flour and cornmeal. Put in a cookie sheet with sides, to spread the best way is with wet hands, to spread the dough out. Cook at 400 (will check my recipe for sure) for 45 min, bring out cut up and put back in shut off oven to dry out. Freeze when cool. My dogs and cats sit in front of the oven when it is cooking.

Have a great trip and you will be missed. I am kind of addicted to the forum but on weekends have way too much to do. Like catching up at the end of the night. I think people are on vaca right now and that is why it could be slow.

Have a great day all. Day 2 for phase 2, and started my 30 day cleanse today as well, hopefully everything comes out alright... sorry just had to say it...

I hope you enjoy your star gazing party! You will definitely be missed while you are gone.

I understand your being shook up! Earthquakes are very unnerving. I did finally hear from my sister, all is well and they took only a few bits of damage.

I am sure you laptop will be fine! Probably a coworker will relocate it back to your desk for you if it isn't already there.

Don't worry about the daily thread, it will be started, even if it isn't started in the normal format, it will be started!

Wishing you all the best in regards to your home and the hurricane.

YUMM!! I have to try those treats for my dogs! They love liver.

I did the cleansesmart cleanse before. It was pretty good. I felt very tired and a bit queasy sometimes. Not too mention, I had a special relationship with my bathroom by the time it was done. Good luck to you!

pxlkitty - have a great vacay! Glad to hear you and your family are OK!

Capri - thank you for the breakfast ideas. I'm going to pick up some granola today - any suggestions as far as type of brand? I make homemade granola for my guys, but they like honey, brown sugar and coconut in it. I'm just wandering if I can make a low carb/fat type for myself...so any recipes would be greatly appreciated!

2Ride - thanks for the liver treat recipe...I am going to give that a try - I think our dogs will love it. Have you tried any raw foods for your pups? We are dog sitting my inlaws Collie til next summer. He is such a good dog, but he stinks to high heaven! We've tried everything as far as grooming and washing goes - he eats the same food as our beagle (who doesn't stink), we buy the natural type of food (name escapes me right now). I've been hearing more and more that a raw food diet might help with the stink issue for the Collie. Have you heard anything about this? My sister owns a butchers and has offered us chicken carcasses for the dogs, but I have no idea what to do with them (neither does she!!)

Is that your beagle? so cute. I have all sorts of dog recipes, tuna fudge and there are two bisquit recipes they love.

Raw diet - some people swear by it, I have never tried it but can tell you what happened to 2 of my friends dogs: my one friend would feed her dogs raw chicken with bones and cow or deer hooves. One of her dog's ended up with a chicken bone puncturing his intestine, he was never the same after that and died a short time afterward. My other friend did the raw diet with whatever I think she had people that supplied her with deer and such and her 2 jack russells did great on it, but her sheltie, ended up at the Saskatchewan University training hospital for about a month. It was touch and go, the doctors finally told her they couldn't do anymore and to make a decision, then next day she went back with her decision and the dog had finally started recovering so he eventually got completely better but was so scary.
I have a friend that feeds her great dane's the raw food and they are both healthy. I think it just depends... for bad smelling, is it an older dog? Usually if they smell bad it is their teeth, what do they look like?

Thanks 2Ride! Yes, that's Buddy in the avatar!
I don't know why I typed Collie...Tiki is actually a sheltie! (brainfarts!). I just spoke to a great customer of ours who is going to send me some information and samples...he is from Vancouver and has dedicated his life to helping sick animals, a true advocate against the crap that is in commercial dog food. I will let you know how it goes. Tiki is only 5 years old, but it's funny that you should mention the rotting teeth - in march I had to fork out $600+ to get 2 of the poor little fella's teeth extracted! The vet told me that Shelties are prone to this, but she was quick to let me know that the breeder that mom and dad got Tiki from is not well respected within local breeding circles and that the pups from her litters often have both teeth and hip problems.
As a side note...the vet was extremely happy with his weight loss when I took him in for a follow up last week....we've been walking him 2 or 3 times a day (mom and dad took him out once a day) - she noticed my weight loss too! So I got up on the dog scale and showed her how much I actually weigh (something I would never have done in public before!!). Just goes to show that even our animals are positively effected when we start taking care of ourselves!

Oh isn't that the truth... my friend actually lives in Victoria, it was fun to visit her, we went to the grocery store and they had great big pork roast on for like 50 cents a pound... you don't get those good prices here where pork is raised... and she was talking to me about roadkill and where she got her food from for her dogs...

This is my 3rd WI today 1st..-4.8,2nd WI..-2.6,3rd WI-2.12