Happy Monday everyone, hope you all had a great weekend.

We went to see Heart in concert - small hall, great seats!! Won them in a contest a few months ago

We stayed over the weekend, went to the Casino for a wee bit of gambling... now, I'm not a gambler, I only play the slots and usually only a few dollars.... so went in with $40 and came out an hour later with $80
Of course my DH did the same thing...except he went in with $40 and came out with 0
Nice weekend though, we always enjoy getting away for a few days. Dinner was a huge buffet, lots of legal choices, but OH MY! the temptations
Had more protein than I should (shrimp and roast beef) but skipped a packet.
DID NOT even go look at the dessert area
Checked my weight when I got home, of course, and a bit down, so all is good. My WI is tomorrow, I'm hoping for a better week than last week.

Busy few weeks ahead, my sister and her husband are coming up from Florida for a visit. Weather is co-operating nicely, beautiful summer days, mid70s and cooler at night (they'll be able to sleep with the windows open!!!! Huge treat for them!
We're going to take a few days to go up north to visit another brother and sister. Can't remember the last time we all got together at the same time. Trying to plan meals, they all know I'm on IP, and we'll probably grill a lot, so it should be easy to stay on course.

I ended up pressure cooking the roast with just a cup of chicken broth, and it turned out GREAT. Very flavorful.

My WI was this morning; I lost 3.5 pounds, which is just over my weekly average, so I'm happy. I have a mini-goal of reaching the 170's in two weeks.

I've been wearing my FitBit for the last few days and find that it really motivates me to walk a bit more. I usually end my day with a 2+ mile walk to reach my 10,000 steps. It's great for my mental health.

blue - congrats on avoiding the temptations, the winnings! and oh, to have windows open in August in NoVa lol!

HIS - fantastic loss! & glad you found a good way to make the pot roast...my mom loved her pressure cooker...it's one of the few kitchen items I have yet to get a handle on

Ugh - more stress, but it's self imposed this time.
Our vehicles are all up-there in age - we haven't had a car payment in about 18 months, which has been nice, but car issues are starting to add up and you have to think about the tipping point where it isn't worth it anymore...
So we've decided to refi & take the money out of the house - tons of paperwork and an appraisal So much to do, so little time...and with vacation coming up.
The kicker is I have to do everything...DH is no help when it comes to the finances / paperwork - except signing his name at the end
It really shouldn't be that big of a deal but I have a tendency to get anxious until all the ducks are in a row.

I'm so proud of you!!! I look for updates from you all the time!!!! I just hit size 14. I"m pretty short and chubby!!! I keep reminding myself.....That's a 14, not a 14W, not a 16W...NO W behind the number. That's never happened in my adult life!!!!

blue-glad you had fun! We saw the Who at the Hard Rock Café in Vegas. So much fun!!!

HIS-Yay!

frawnie- Woo hoo.

asmuir- I remember when I no longer needed the W. It happened really fast. I couldn't believe it...but it feels good to shop in the regular section from NOW...and FOREVER!!!

hysteria- good luck with the paperwork stuff. KUP about the new car!!!

I started Phase 3 on Saturday and it's going well. I went to my weigh-in yesterday and I am down another pound! Yay! I am still worried about maintenance...I've been reading the maintenance boards (even old ones) for inspiration every day. I hope everyone continues to have a fabulous week!!!

blueskies I'm jealous of your concert! Saw them a lifetime ago and was one of the best concerts i've ever been to! Glad you got to go!
asmuir Isn't that a great feeling..to have just numbers on that tag? Love it!
MiwiStay strong! You're going to rock P4!
Another 4.2 pounds gone! These past few weeks have been incredible with my numbers going down! Really not doing much different as far as eating goes...maybe an extra half packet on days when I walk on treadmill or do some water workouts (no classes - just me in my pool, swimming some, doing stuff I've seen on pinterest) It's time to start firming this chick up!! Been faithfully doing nothing and it's time for a change.

Hope everyone else has a great OP week!

I am 5' 6.5" but have always carried most of my weight in my hips / upper thighs / rear (definite pear-shape), so even in the mid-160's, am just starting to fit 12's.

FRAWNIE!!!!! You got this lady! Wow!

So as usual, I was worrying about stuff I shouldn't have been - everything with the bank is already rolling...and although DH isn't a paperwork person (I'm an accountant for goodness sakes & shouldn't complain) he worked most of the evening cleaning up a years worth of accumulated junk out of the "hoarding" room, put it all away, and dug out the titles to the vehicles we are selling to make way for the new one.
There are still some odds & ends that need to be taken care of over the next week before the house is appraised, but he is motivated & that takes a lot of the stress off.
I SLEPT yesterday evening! I am not normally a napper but last night I was tired / cranky / & EXTREMELY hungry! I had a good dinner, forced myself to wait a bit and had my evening snack (8:30) - but was still so hungry! I stretched out on the couch and next thing I knew DH was waking me about 10:45 for bed! I went right back to sleep too - guess I needed it

The scale was nice to me too and the 2 pounds I puffed up over the weekend dropped off (back to 166.6)...still didn't make (-10) for the month (see my signature line).

I am dealing with / facing the fact that I've hit the inevitable weight loss slow down and will probably have to push through my birthday (November) before goal (another -21 from here...) / phasing off.

Just read this and wanted to say, "Me too!" I am definitely pear shape, carrying my weight in my hips, thighs, and butt. I've always worn a size smaller top than I wear bottom, and tend to prefer A-line dresses to account for the difference. I didn't wear a size 12 until I was 170 lbs.

We all have different body types, but no matter what we are all looking great!!! Again, it's just a joy to see so many of us being successful after all these months.

I'm hoping to land in a size 10 when I'm down to my goal weight, but maybe that's unrealistic at this age (50+) and after having children. I've always been pretty hourglass shaped, leaning toward pear-shaped, but as I've gotten older, my waistline is less defined. I can squeeze into some size 12 jeans now, and they fit in the thighs and hips, but the waistband is tight. I'm definitely losing inches faster in my butt than in my waist. But who knows - I still have 30 pounds to lose and maybe my poochy tummy will eventually disappear.

at 158 I'm still not close to my 12's...
w/i day for me. Hope I did well. Especially since I made brownies for my mow guys and didn't even have a scridge of the batter-
Bethso glad that things are working out, and yes, you must have needed the sleep!!
Serious case of hangries today....eating spinach, green peppers and onions with a bit of good seasons and franks red hot sauce and garlic and herb crisps

I loved reading everyone's NSVs - very inspiring.

Hi All, So many great victories lately for so many people on here!!! I have been reading through them all this morning and getting caught up . Been super busy at work lately and haven't had time to post or even read through what everyone has been up to. Along with the busy times for me comes times where it is harder to stick to plan, but for the most part i have amazed myself and been really good.

I do feel that i need to confess that yesterday was not as good. It was a big family reunion for us all weekend, and i stuck to plan with the exception of a couple coolers, but even they were "light" no carb, no surgar coolers, so it was just the alcohol aspect of a cheat there. But then yesterday we got stuck in traffic on the way home and i was starving, so broke down and ate some potato chips. And then when we finally got home i just did not feel like cooking dinner so we went out, and did not make the best ordering choice.

But today is a new day, and i will face the music when i go to WI tonight, and am moving on from it. Confessing seems like it makes it easier to move on, start fresh and not stress about the cheats.

Hope everyone has a great week!!!!!

Asmuir, Wow, 14! That’s great. That’s where I am now, and I can hardly believe it either. I know exactly what you mean about NO “W”, I got rid of the last of those a few weeks ago…it felt SO GOOD!

MiWi – Congratulations on reaching Phase 3 – I can hardly wait till I’m there (nervous about it! ), it’s so nice to see your success!

Frawnie - You are on such a roll lately, girl… I sure wish you could figure out what you’re doing and SHARE.
I’m looking into my crystal ball and seeing an amazing birthday celebration coming up for you

Beth, good luck with the refinancing paperwork. Must admit, I sympathize, we’re going to need new cars soon, my DH is looking this fall, I think I can wait another year. But it’ll be such fun shopping for them.
Don’t fret about the losses slowing down, it’s probably only temporary, and who knows - Frawnie’s great losses might just rub off on the rest of us

HereIStand – I’ve wondered too what size I’ll end up with. Another pear shaped girl here.
I remember being a 10, but not much smaller (maybe an occasional 8). But right now, I’m in 14, just barely squeezing into 12, but probably in a few weeks?? I still have another 30 or so lb to go, so who knows?? I can’t wait to find out.


Not a bad WI this morning, down 2.6, and some Inches too!!
Bit of a challenging couple of weeks with company here, and some travelling, but I KNOW I can stay OP, thanks to everything I've learned from all of you here

Off to the airport to pick up my sis!!

Good Wednesday Morning Everyone!
So, yesterday was w/i day. I've mentioned that the coach I have now is the wife of the owner, not the woman that I had been seeing most of the time- summer schedules and all- I had to change to Tuesday nights, and shortly after, my regular one had to give up that day- Anyways, I've adjusted to this one for the most part. I understand, sometimes the babysitter calls out sick and you have to bring your kids to work (most of the time)- they are sweet little ones-but huge distractions. Yesterday was no different- worst yet. Anyhow, I'm on the fence about seeing how I can change up my schedule to get back with my regular coach-but I don't want to hurt her feelings. The thing that kind of got to me yesterday was that I "only" lost a pound. (A pound is a pound and ANY loss is a good one-plus a quarter off my chest, 3/4 off my waist and 1/2 on my hips or thighs-can't remember, but it's written down on my log) anyways- she says to me-"how come? what happened? what did you eat?" REALLY??? I have not cheated once, not so much as once on this diet- the ONLY "issues" I have come across were when I was away 4th of July weekend and I suspect that the veggie I ate at dinner may have been sauteed in butter...But as far as my dedication to this plan- it has been 100%-it kind of pissed me-no it pissed me off. It shouldn't have, probably, but she knows this- I have been completely honest with her. Just because she doesn't follow it, and seems to find every reason not to stay on point, doesn't mean everyone is the same way. (Thank you for letting me vent) Anyways, I bring my sad *** home- kind of funked because I let those words get to me...I decided to go to the upper shelves in my closet and bring down some of the "12's" and "14s that were cut on the small side" jeans and shorts and skorts that weren't "ready" yet- HOLY SMOKES!!! For those of us lamenting that we couldn'
t get in to 12's yet- maybe you ought to try some of the stuff on!!! Holy Smokes, I say again!!! The pile that went back up was so much smaller- probably about 10 things, and about 25 things stayed down!!!!!! Then I started trying some other stuff on, and had to put things in to the "go away pile" ...I even pulled on some pants without unbuttoning them!!! I just can't believe it!!! So, then I decided to get together my outfit for the rehearsal dinner- That was fun
So, in re-reading my vent session, I think I will call today and see if my old coach works Monday or Wednesday and just let my boss know that I have changed over and scoot out and come back to work. You know, another thing that bothers me is that the coach I love, she's a maintainer, and has a vast amount of knowledge. The current lady is the owners wife, has done the program but she now weighs what I weighed when I started. There but by the grace of God go I- but I look to the coach as my positive role model. Most all of what I get from her is her complaining about how tough things are in her life, her struggles and how she keeps cheating- I end up trying to encourage her and -oh I don't know- I have gone on long enough.
MiwiCongrats on the next step!! Looking forward to hearing about your continues success!
FrawnieI'll put money on you making your birthday goal- YOU are amazing!!
Acidtoday is a new day- you got this- make the most of it!!:

Destony, absolutely, change today.
You have spent too much time, effort and money to settle for a coach that doesn't work for you. I moved over an hour away from my clinic, and there were coaches nearer to me, but I stayed with my coach because she is a Nurse Practioner in my doctor's office, and she successfully did IP and is maintaining. I look at it as if I had a serious disease, wouldn't I want to go to the best professional I could find? And I do have serious medical problems, and losing a large amount of weight is serious. It's hard on the body and the mind, and I don't think you can even do it without some kind of support team around you.

So good for you for trusting yourself, hooray.