I agree, I think it is all just taste buds. I am addicted to the Salted Caramel and the Peanut Butter. I love the Strawberry and the Banana for post workout shakes (so refreshing!) and I am "meh" about the chocolate. The best thing I have done with the chocolate is add a few drops of peppermint extract for a chocolate mint flavor. It is all personal preference

I plan to be completely off plan for Thanksgiving

OMG, I made Janevas chocolate cookies- but I made it with the Quest Peanut Butter and made 1 giant cookie-lol- 1st of all, its delicious and secondly..I thoroughly enjoyed licking the batter spoon when I was done!!!

Ro - Everyone's tastes are different and I am one of those who's tastes really changed in large part b/c of IP (I believe). Never cared for caramel in the past, but my favorite proti thin pudding was the caramel cafe and the Quest Salted Caramel has a very similar flavor imho.
I would happily work out a deal for your left over salted caramel / banana if you really are just sticking it in the garbage

OOOH - you gave me an idea...might cut up a chayote, roast, puree and blend together with the salted caramel...see if I can come up with a suitable Thanksgiving dessert / creamy pie-like filling

Linda - If I get my 4 miles in today I believe you gave me an idea for dessert tonight - mug cake made with the SC, topped with the WF chocolate dip as an icing...
Let us know if you do the Olive Nation order / how you like the bacon. I've contemplated getting some, even going into maintenance - if it's as good as people say, it would probably be delicious as a flavoring for sauteed kale
We are hosting Thanksgiving for 21 people!!!! 9 of the 21 will be children. We are doing it as a pot luck - as hosts, we are doing the turkey, and I am fixing my 'famous' sweet potato casserole and home made stuffing. Thankfully, while cool (mid-50's), the weather looks like it is holding out for next week.

HIS - ugh sorry to hear about the hungries, but completely empathize!! Yesterday at lunch, I ate pork tenderloin / veggies and went straight into the protein pudding...then had a higher calorie / fat dinner with lamb...and the hunger went away! I even took a Quest Bar to the concert with me last night and left it alone. Never got hungry after dinner.
Other than running errands, I didn't exercise yesterday.
Obviously we are very different but it is interesting we both upped exercise, went into P3, and experienced increases to hunger.
Just wonder if we are still under-compensating caloricly in P3 for the amount of energy we are expending? It might not be much, kwim?

& lol Runner's World for taking the safe route I know for years my body has functioned really well on HF/LC, but wonder if IP 'reset' things...

I know what my deal is though...I am still hoping to drop into the low 140's and am ridiculously / stupidly reluctant to give up. This morning was 145.2 - my body really likes the mid-140's and this might be it - I am still going to work on getting my fat % down. I wasn't able to make an appointment at the gym yet but will before the holiday.

Last day of vacation. The concert last night was amazing! It was an acoustic set in a very small/intimate venue and the band (Red Wanting Blue - check them out on YouTube!!!) were on the top of their game! We really try to avoid week night shows, but even if I'd had to work today, wouldn't have missed last nights performance
Watching movies, playing on the computer, and going for a walk/jog in a bit. & yay! I will get my T-shirt from Sunday's 5K!

I'm still chipping away, 1lb at a time
Down 1.2lb at my WI today. I can't get in next week, so my next WI will be in 2 weeks.
I had originally hoped to be closer to goal by the end of the year, but all these 1lb weeks are killing that hope. I'm not sure there's much I can do to lose any faster, I've been staying pretty much OP.
Still, I know I can keep going for another couple of months so I just have to tell myself to keep plugging along.

This doesn't feel like November. This weather has been amazing up in this part of the country! I was out yesterday with no jacket! Up here, this is definitely a bonus! Hope you're all getting some of the same!
Got the outdoor Christmas lights out yesterday, got them all untangled and this morning, DH put some up on some of the trees in front. We have to replace some strings, going out later today and will get them then. Hope to get them up today or tomorrow before it gets cold again.
Maybe we'll get some spring bulbs to plant before it's too late. I'm trying to have a cutting garden down at the back of the property, I always hate to cut flowers that are in the flower beds.

Tomorrow is supposed to be nice too, at least till mid-aft, which is nice for me, because I have to be out of town for most of the day. Busy day, but I should be home before the rain. Have to think about what food to bring along, since I'll be leaving early.

Another week with a small loss. (0.8) still a loss, but I was hoping for higher numbers with a small loss last week (0.6). I had actually been up a lb and did boot camp the last two days. I was hoping to reach my next goal by 12/1, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Does anyone routinely do a boot camp day or only when losses are slow?

Thinking I need to be more proactive about adding in some exercise. I haven't done any consistently on this round. The last time I did this diet it amped up my losses in pounds and inches.

Mamacita- I do a version of bootcamp. Although is still do the 1 regular protein meal, I have been doing this round without restricted items. I am using alternatives and found that I really do not miss having the restricted bar. I have been making the "cookies", which satisfies my sweet tooth and I have been having the Quest chips as my snack, which satisfies my salty, crunchy cravings.

I started my reboot on a modified plan and then switched to full P1 doing it with non-restricted and the smallest amount I have lost in the 3 weeks is 1.4#. That weigh in was my last one and it was after I had a cheat meal that week.

I would recommend giving boot camp a shot. I know when I was on IP the last time, any time I would see a small stall, I would do boot camp for a few days and it would shake things lose. Then I would go back to eating a restricted item each day, and I would drop again. I think there is something with changing it up a little bit.

This time, I am not doing that, but I have "scheduled" cheats periodically, which I think in the end will accomplish roughly the same thing. Last time, I was SOOOOO strict all the time and in the end, I phased off early because I was burnt out. This time I decided that I would have planned cheats (not a lot) thinking that it would be small breaks and that I could keep going to actually get to 130 this time. We'll see.

Also, it appears that you are towards the end of your weight loss and I know once I got within the last 10#, my losses slowed way down. You may just be at this point. As long as you are losing something and continuing to trend down, it is a good thing.

Beth, I think I agree, I probably need more calories and fat than I've allotted myself. But it's scary to see that number of calories go up and up!

Did well today until about an hour ago. For breakfast I had egg & cheddar cheese on a thin whole wheat roll, plus a Six Star shake with 1/2 banana, and still had plenty of calories/carbs left to use, so I had 1/2 c non-fat yogurt with some WF jam mixed in (DELICIOUS). It was a great meal and I was content.

For lunch, I knew I'd be driving to several stops within the city, so I took 4 oz. of lean ham and a package of protein pretzels, and then I picked up some cut jicama at Trader Joe's. Again, a decent meal, and I was satisfied.

But by the time I got home at 3pm, I was so hungry again! I ended up eating a (relatively) low-cal South Beach diet bar, and then I mixed up two tablespoons of that fake peanut butter and ate it. Topped it off with a cup of tea. I finally feel full. I'll have dinner at 5 before going to work, and I'll have a restricted bar at 10 pm when done with work. It seems like way too much food in a day! Especially on a day when I haven't run and probably won't even get my 10,000 walking steps in.

That powdered peanut butter.... I bought the chocolate/pb flavor. I'm going to experiment with using a little less water and make it into pb balls for a treat at holiday events. It seems like they would store okay in the fridge or freezer. The flavor is satisfying without killing the diet with calories, carbs, and fat.

I've been interested in the LCHF approach...I think mainly because I would get to eat CHEESE! How I miss cheese. I've pondered if the increase in fat would help me get through my work day sometimes too.

I have a pretty active job that requires me to be out in the Florida sun, hiking miles some days with all sorts of cumbersome equipment and PPE. Like today for example, I was outside for ~5 hours hiking through all sorts of dense, unpleasant forest between 11am - 4pm. Super great time of day to be doing that, lol. Anyway, I started to feel kind of sick and HANGRY around 2pm. After I cooled off a bit it got better though. I had a quest bar in the morning and I allowed myself to have a 2nd when I got home around 4:30pm because I was ravenous. I usually am after getting home, but this was that sort of sick feeling ravenous. Since then, despite still being very hungry, I just don't want to eat anything OP right now. Apparently I would rather eat nothing than the meat/veggies I already have prepared in the fridge. Idk, it's really frustrating when this happens - usually after a long day in the heat. All I think about is just something easy/comforting. Anything else I just don't have an appetite. So on days like this I either force myself to eat OP and feel kind of sick, or I don't eat enough and wake up feeling sick the next morning. I don't know if these feelings are just from habit of eating easy/comforting stuff on these days, or if my body really is wanting something it's not getting. It has been like this since i've started alt IP even at my higher weight. Fortunately it has never resulted in what I'd consider a 'true cheat'. I'll let myself have an extra quest bar/animal protein on strenuous days, since I probably worked off half of our little allotment of IP calories anyway. TBH I was concerned with this diet regarding my job to begin with. I can feel it sometimes, but mostly I think my body has been doing pretty well with it and the high heat/activity.

Wow, sorry! Didn't think this would turn into a long-winded thing just from the mention of LCHF. Definitely would appreciate any feedback though. Now i'm off to try and force myself to eat something that's not another quest bar!

Btw - looking for some advice for Sunday's 5K. The race starts at 8:45 and I know I shouldn't have a full meal.
My plan is to hydrate Saturday night, have a little water in the morning - enough to take my thyroid med then split a combat bar with DH around 8:00. My bladder sucks so I am afraid to drink much...then 1/2 a premier protein drink after - it is only 3.1 miles Sound like a plan? Anything I'm not thinking of?

Fwiw - I did 12 minute miles today!!! My best was 11:41 - I am a bit sore

Beth - No need to work out a deal. I'll happily send them to you.

Kalaya - I used alt-products but for the 9 months of weight loss phase (P1), did not deviate from protocol with additional fats. I had an extra 'packet' or Quest bar from time to time but didn't start the fats / extra calories until I started having severe blood sugar issues - and by that point I was almost to goal (147) and ready to go to P2. I also work a sedentary job - the only exercise I was getting were my walks (approx 2 miles).
I wonder if the alternative P1 program would be a better fit for the amount of exercise it sounds like you do every week.

Just returning from vacation with a busy day ahead

I did end up getting hungry last night after evening snack (salted caramel mug cake w/ WF marshmallow 'icing') and made 2T of the pbFit (65 k/cal) to dip some celery into. Calories were equal to an egg with less fat
This is actually a MASSIVE win for me - I wasn't craving sweets!!! My body just wanted more energy and this really hit the spot.

Scale bounced up a little this morning, but given that it felt like I had rocks in my thighs (as they repair from yesterdays jog) I just *might* be retaining a little water


Interesting note...DD10 has always been my healthy eater - loves all kinds of fruits, veggies, lean proteins. She still likes her beef soft tacos / happy meal, but isn't pressed for them and WILL choose homemade chicken breast / veggie over Taco Bell
Anyway, she's gotten even healthier since I started IP. A couple weeks ago she asked I not put lettuce in her salads / cut back on the dressing and then last night, requested her 'salad' of mixed colored peppers, cucumbers, and tomato be plain - no dressing or cheese...and she ate EVERY bite

Beth The oatmeal in a jar looks wonderful!! I can't wait to try it- That's awesome that your DD is such a healthy eater. Happy first day back at work.
I thought the scale might tick up a hair this morning, I had a Quest apple pie bar (old recipe) for snack and a cookie I made from Quest Peanut butter powder at lunch- but 3 days steady at 134 on the nose. Tomorrow will probably go up- I am trying Protidiet Vegetarian Joe with zoodles for lunch and a Syntrax Double Stuff Cookie "cookie" that I made for snack. I have hula hoop class tonight- thats an hour and a pretty good workout- so we shall see.
Tomorrow, I can't wait- I am having a massage- the first one since I started this- can't wait!!!
Happy midweek everyone!!

I think you need to do one of two things: 1) switch to the Alternative Plan for Athletes/Diabetics, OR 2) eat at least one additional packet during your five hour period of heavy work. With the heat, you are at risk for heat exhaustion, especially on such a low-calorie diet. Are you getting all your water? You could be low on electrolytes, too, with the heat.

You could experiment with adding some fat to your diet during your workday, and see how it makes you feel and whether it affects your weight loss.

Yes, I stopped in a Vitamin Shoppe yesterday (first time I'd been in one - lots more stuff than GNC!), and found organic powdered pb. It's just a wee bit lower in calories and fat than PB2. I think I will have some today on celery like you did, as an afternoon snack, and see how that works for hunger management.

I like the oatmeal in a jar, but I was surprised at how much MORE I liked the egg and cheese on a roll. It definitely felt like a big meal. I'm not sure what today's breakfast will be. I'll have a small shake/banana before my run, and then maybe french toast and yogurt after.

The running experts all say that you don't have to worry too much about too little pre-run food unless you're going out for more than 4 miles or more than an hour. But the general guideline for carbs is half your body weight x the number of hours before the run.
So if you weight 140, and you're eating one hour before the run,
140 / 2 = 70 g carbs
70 g x 1 = 70 g

If you were eating two hours before the run, you'd have to consume 140 g of carbs.

For a 5K, you don't really have to worry about carb consumption during the run, unless you think your blood sugar will give you problems. Do drink a little water while you're on the course. Then make sure you're getting some carbs and protein within 30 minutes of finishing. It wouldn't hurt to have the whole PP drink.

Thanks HIS

Eta - omg I hope I'm not jinxing myself but I stayed comfortable today - I had 1/2 a quest bar before doing a 1/2 hour of weights at the gym, but wasn't thinking about chewing my arm off in the afternoon and will be going to bed sans snack tonight