I never hear this expression before...need to remember it!

frawniemae...you were such a motivation for me when I was trying to lose...I kept reading your posts...I know you can do this...I look at your number...300+ and I think...if she can do this so can I!

We got this girl!

Hello everyone,

You can do this! After my surgery, feeling sorry for myself, feeling like I deserved it after going through surgery and dealing with this rehab, I let all but 13 pounds come back.
I had been cycling on and off and tweaking, etc but 4 weeks ago I decided to commit like I did the first time I did IP. I am only using IP foods and I am eating the same dinners I ate the first time. I am doing this very strictly.

I went and talked to my original coach and had a long talk with him. I felt better after that and decided the diet didn't cause the health issues I experienced then.

Today begins month2/ week 5. I just weighed myself and I lost 10.1 pounds the last 2 weeks. I am only 13 pounds away now from where I was pre-surgery when I was feeling pretty good so my estimate of needing 8 weeks to undo damage since surgery is turning out to be accurate.

I am tracking my weight loss against the first time I did this so I am weighing on the same number of weeks (if you recall, I liked to see big losses so I would only weigh every 2 weeks or 4 weeks). So, today was weigh-in and compared to first time. First time I lost 11 pounds and this time 10.1. So, I think this is a good barometer.
Next is Aug 26 which will be 4 weeks from today. The first time I lost 12 pounds so I know I'll be somewhere around there.

Now, what to do after that - that would put me up about 27 pounds from the weight I achieved the first time. I decided to re-commit to that goal this time. So, to do that it seems it will take me into November to achieve that so I'm ready for it. Part of this was I wanted to prove I would get same awesome results as first time vs all the yo-yoing results I have done last 3 years. This is proving to be the case and after 1 month in, I am feeling great to have re-committed like the first time. We all seem to fight that but after 3 years I stopped fighting that and thinking I knew better with a tweak here or there.

Well Ro22...you deserve an award of some kind...the SCALE AWAY AWARD...is yours...I think what you are doing is great...I open my eyes in the morning and almost run to my scale...IT OWNS ME!...lol...

Congrats on your progress. I admire your determination!

What are your favorite IP packets? Do you look at your net carbs?

As I wrote to jennydoodle....I am trying to figure out why I can go two weeks and not be tempted by anything and then there are other days where I can think of nothing else...I cave...I feel sick...I regret it...I derail...

I have a feeling that when I get over a certain number of carbs my body want more and then it's never enough? Is this possible?

Thanks for being a great role model!

Loser13 - Lol...I guess if I was to get an award it would be for elite yo-yo dieting
I do great at losing weight but I am terrible at maintaining so I have to figure long-term maintenance out but now I am in phase 1 and focused on that first.

All I can say is for me it is like a switch gets flipped. I can make terrible choices for weeks and then I feel sluggish and bloated and I just get sick of that feeling and I begin. And, once I begin then I have never had issues with not sticking to the plan. I guess because I am goal-oriented so I set up goals and because I know how damaging cheats can be on a low carb plan. I really do not have temptations when I'm doing this. What triggers going off is either having hit a target and not having a plan for afterwards which is why I always write about particular milestones and goals, etc or hitting my ultimate goal and getting complacent with maintenance.

I think setting the weigh-ins out like I do is a key for me because my goals are spread out and 4 weeks of just focus on hitting that target so I'm on a mission.

My favorite packets are the IP chicken soup and BBQ crisps. I do not worry about net carbs - I used to track it but that was when I was tweaking the program. I did keto for a while and I know the level of ketosis does not translate to more fat loss so I now don't worry about tracking if following IP protocol. However, remember I am only doing green, leafy vegetables so Net Carbs are not an issue. Plus, I consume the leanest meat you could eat so fat is not an issue - I now trust the fat my body is breaking down with the 2 tsp of olive oil is all I need so 99% fat free Jennie-O Extra Lean ground turkey is my dinner protein.
I typically have a pudding thrown in for third packet. I used to do the chocolate drink mix and make a cake out of it. I have only done that a few times in this cycle. I am trying new packets too - I had chocolate soy puffs and peanut bar - I never had used restricted items before but decided to do so last couple of weeks. I actually felt more satisfied without the restricted, just doing either the chocolate drink mix as a cake, chicken soup with 2 cups broccoli and BBQ crisps or chocolatey caramel mug cake eaten as like cookie dough vs cake.
I got the chocolate peanut butter bar and don't care for it.

I think from what you describe you are kind of in between mode - not fully ready to commit but working through the stages to get ready. You can't force it - you'll know when you are fully ready. For now, don't beat yourself up - you are at least keeping things from getting out of control by the good weeks - you'll just know when you are ready to commit longer term to hit your goal. You'll get to that point when ready!

Loser- I don't recall how much weight you are trying to lose on your reboot. I am very much like Ro. It is very hot & cold / on & off for me. When I was rebooting when I needed to re-lose most of my weight, I was "in the zone". I was very focused and although I was hungry much of the time, had seriously intense food dreams, etc... I was able to stay on track. I find that when I have smaller amounts of weight to lose is when I don't have the same kind of focus. I can only get through a couple of weeks at strict P1 before I need to stop. For me, it is likely due to the fact that I don't have much to lose at that point.

I agree with Ro, when you are ready, you will be all in. A friend of mine who also does IP needed to reboot and tried 4 different times over the course of 6 months and just couldn't get it going. Then the last time, it just stuck and she has been on her reboot for 6 weeks, losing steadily and has been 100% OP. I asked her what happened because I knew she had a lot of start and stops, and she couldn't really say. It was just all the sudden, a light switch and off she went. The good news is, the weeks that she did it and then backslid, she still lost some weight and was able to not gain it back, so there is a benefit.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond ladies...this really helps me...I know exactly what you mean by being committed...I want to stay OP all the time...I know I need to keep busy...no more Netflix binging on the couch...

At one time in my life I weighed 251 lbs (I am 5'4) and I lost 100 pounds (50 on my own...and 50 with WW). I stayed at 150lbs for over 10 years but I could not go any lower than 150lbs no matter how hard I worked...until IP. I found this site...read and read...and did it with alternatives...went down to 128 in 2 months...was ecstatic...could not believe how easy it was...then little by little...I let things get out of hand...maybe I lost too fast ...IDK...but fast forward two years and I weigh 180lbs...it bothers me because for 10 years I never had trouble and now I run away from mirrors...

Well today was a great today...one day at a time...one pound at a time...

I completely agree with Jenny. My commitment level is always tied to my weight (my starting weight).

Here's the positive...you are down 80 pounds - 80 damn pounds!!!!!!!!
I say don't avoid the mirror - that may be your flip of the switch to lose the 30-55 pounds. It was for me last year when I saw myself in all the mirrors in Vegas. I started my second day back home from Vegas at end of June and reached goal in November. I was not in any mindset to start phase 1 prior to going to Vegas until I saw myself in those mirrors - not even buying bigger clothes for the trip triggered me to say wtf, get a grip!

I have to admit, I am struggling with staying OP this time around. When I find I have knocked myself out of ketosis, I do the bootcamp thing for a few days - 5 packets a day, no occassional veggies, lower carb packets and no "real" protein (hence the 2 extra packets). I am still dealing with the aftermath of my "have you lost your damn mind" thing from a couple years ago that I posted at the beginning of this thread. I am happy. I am satisfied with life. We have plans to travel and do all the things we hae ever talked and dreamed of dooing. So why do I fall off the wagon? I wish I knew. I have purged my home of everything that is not protocol but living close to town it is too dang easy to run to wallyworld and buy something. I go up and down playing with 4 pounds that just won't stay off. I KNOW that if I'd stick to protocol, I could be rid of those pounds for good. I guess I just need to give myself a good cheweing out....