Oh, and Brummie may I please have the recipe for the quinoa bread as well? Thanks...

Darbs we will do the last 20lbs together.. I finally hit 161 today so am looking forward to the 150s and the 140s.

Welcome back, we missed you. Hope your house survived with no damage.

Well said that is something we all should remember.

Well with visiting friends over the weekend (I was always the fat one) and having my friend stare at me all night like she couldn't believe her eyes. and I found out I wear the same size as her... why then when I look at our pics I see fat arms and that roll around my waist. I think I will always feel fat but I am slowly learning to realize I am so much smaller. Today I bought 2 coats size SMALL holy cow when did that happen... It was a great shopping day I had to curb my I want this and this and this... luckily it was at value village and they were having a 50% off day. Suede coat $10.00 another suede and fake sheepskin coat for 7.50... it was nuts I wanted to buy everything but am counting my pennies. I shopped for the winter as I have no sweats or hoodies to wear and nothing for winter coats so this helped a whole lot.

Have a great night all.

One of my bosses the other day commented on how I was shrinking away to nothing. I told him that I haven't lost any more weight, and I was maintaining where I was for now. I also mentioned that I still feel like I take up the same amount of space as I did before. I have told my husband this, too. I asked him a couple weeks ago at the mall to point out some ladies that look about the same size as me. Some of the ones he pointed out I still don't believe. I am ready for my brain to catch up to where my body is. I hope it happens eventually.

House is fine! Thanks for thinking of me. We had rain/wind here and neighbors checked things since they were minding the cat. We had between 3-4 inches of rain, plus wind... no one knew how much. We lost power for 12 hours. Honestly, that's a regular summer storm for DC area, and we always lose power.

YAY! This is SO exciting. I realized that I have to buy some fall/winter clothes. I had a few things on our trip that fit me and were warm (we were at 4,000 ft), but I had to keep wearing the same things over and over. Here's to virtual shopping trips together now that we are smaller!!


I have this same problem. People tell me now that I am "disappearing" or "shrinking away to nothing" as well... When I was looking at photos of our trip, all I could look at was the little roll of fat that still shows at the top of my pants. I am vowing to tone and strengthen now, and lose the next 5lbs! I think that another 5 lbs of fat plus toning up the muscle will get me right at my goal... I think it's just part of losing weight so quickly that our brains can't catch up with our bodies. My coach told me that it takes 6 months. Let's hope she's right and that it does happen for all of us.

Freaking out a bit today!!! Tomorrow I have my health screen and go look at apartments in Indiana. I'll have to pack a lunch, as last time I went..I was ill prepared as far as veggies go, for protein I just got a chicken breast at mcDonalds.

It's 3.5 hours from where I live now. I look at my kids and I get sad. It's going to be a long few weeks training and not seeing them all the time. Their world is about to get rocked, and it is making me sad.

Time to force feed myself some breakfast.

Pxlkitty- Glad you had a good time Star gazing, that just sounds like a lot of fun! Also glad your house faired ok during the storms. I have a couple friends in New York that are still without power

Have a good day all!

Congratulations! You are not the first person who has reported to continue to lose in phase 4!

I am sorry you are having such worry about the kiddos. I am sure it will be a challenge for them but, kids are resilient and with your preparation and support while your gone you will all come through this very well.

My sister has to do this type of thing about 4 times a year now. The first time was full of uncertainty but, the kids and her talked several times on the trip and, although they were very happy to see her when she got home, they faired very well and had lots of things to share.

I wish you all very well!

to you.

I must have missed something, I knew you got a new job. How long do you have to be away? Where in Indiana? (You can PM me if you want, just wondering cuz I live in Indiana )

Brandam- I'm moving to Elkhart, which is in the top of the state, near South Bend. I will be training for 6-8 weeks, M-F. After training I will be working 12 hour weekend shifts, then going back up to Michigan to take care of my kids the other 4 days. The new joys of Joint custody will soon be mine .

I know right where that is, I live about an hour (give or take) from there.

Showgirl is right... Kids are very resilient. See if your library has this book. I haven't read it, but I've heard great things about it. Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents. My neighbor told me that I'm living the principles of the book right now, and that I should get it to reinforce what I am doing. Basically, you have to take care of yourself first. It's like the saying on the airplane. If the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first.

I wish you well on this new part of your life. It will be an adventure.

For lunches away from home, I've found that chopped bell pepper strips work really well in a ziploc bag. Wrap them in paper towel (or blue shop towel) and then put them in the bag. And the BBQ ridges... yummy.

Let me know when you get an apartment sorted out. I'd like to send you a little housewarming present

Lots of new faces! Stopping in to say hi! Hope all is well! I will try and get back with 3FC! I've got a lot of extra time on my hands as of late! ;-)

SUSAN!!!!

So nice to see you! I am looking forward to your being here. Are you feeling ok?

So glad that you are back. I've been plugging away relentlessly... Missed seeing you on the boards. Welcome back! I am so nervous about getting near the end. I will definitely have to keep the carbs in check once I reintroduce them. I don't think my body wants to stray too far from this eating plan.

I'm with Pxlkitty. I too am kind of frightened to be at the end. I could so easily see myself going overboard on carbs. Definitely going to have to find the best ways to keep me in check. When I'm in Indiana, it shouldn't be too hard, as I'll just never have that stuff in my apartment , up here in Michigan it'll be a little harder as the entire family are carb junkies.

I do definitely feel better without the carb hang overs!

I am with you both, as I continue with phase 2 I am now looking forward to maintenance but am scared, I don't want to go back to my old ways, but the thought of phae 3 breakfast with toast and peanut butter just makes my mouth water... I also love my sandwiches, which I will just have to have with lettuce instead of bread. and just not make all three meals a bread meal... My brother cut back on breads and potatoes a year ago and he says now when he eats them the next day all his joints ache and he isn't feeling well so he definately stays away from those...
I am not sure if it is the cleanse I am doing or Phase 2 but my scale is moving again so that makes me happy
Yesterday was at 158.3 and it is my TOM so something is working here...
I went back to the old stickys of life after phase 1 and found this information in I believe NIkki's posts and found it was good advice. Hope you don't mind me sharing a little bit of it as I made a copy for when I am there.

I’ve posted a Phase 4 protocol, but don’t get hung up on the measurements or the food lists. Dr. Z said if you ask for those things, she can give them to you, but it’s time to go ahead and live your life, which happens to include eating normally. The overarching guideline is to eat healthy. So if your previous version of “eating normally” was not particularly healthy, don’t go back to doing that!

The Phase 4 sheet outlines a healthy diet, if you need some guidance. The key points NOT to ignore are to include protein with every meal and snack before bed, eat your carbs at dinner rather than lunch, and minimize the fat you have with your dinner. Following these guidelines will help your body mimic the way naturally slender people process food: “eat it and burn it” rather than “eat it and store it.”

Beyond that, just make healthy choices. Eat vegetables and fruit. Choose multigrain alternatives. Eat when you are hungry, but in quantities that satisfy you rather than leave you feeling stuffed. These things are easy to remember.

That said, go ahead and enjoy life in your new body. If you miss a meal or eat a sandwich at lunch, your world will not fall apart. But keep some protein foods or drinks on hand if you don’t always have time to eat. And if you can’t live life without sandwiches, try to have them at dinner or on your cheat day.
Everyone have a great Labour day Weekend