Hey Sheeshie, trying to figurer out whether or not the quotation applies to me. Well, I know it does in some instances. And I'm glad to realize that it doesn't here. By d__m, I'm giving this my best. But it sure is a provocative idea, isn't it?

And Jane, I do hope you'll come back.

If it helps, I'm struggling, a lot, too. I didn't get the order for my whey protein until 4 days after I was out and substitutes didn't work because I've gained weight. Literally, starting over and trying to get into ketosis. (The notice for the package was put in my son's mailbox and my daughter-in-law got it and forgot about it. To put some perspective on that -- she's working full time, taking care of a family that includes a VERY active 3-year old, and is due to deliver in 9 days. I think she can be totally absolved from guilt.)

The one bright spot? I made blackened catfish for dinner a few nights ago and it was heavenly. The only modifications I made were to eliminate the salt, use a nonstick pan, and just 2 teaspoons of oil. Ok, ok, so I used ghee because I was out of olive oil, but ghee is pure oil -- and it was lovely. Jane, even for someone who hates to cook, this is as easy as falling off a log and takes no time at all.

[QUOTE=Aunt Sheshie;4087102]Oh my, Iowa, strep throat!.. I'm glad you're taking care of yourself... I'll be praying for your speedy recovery...

This last go-around, I was hoping to reach goal by Thanksgiving (US), but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen... maybe Christmas... I don't really have a particular weight in mind (even though I have one specified on my ticker), I'd just like to be in that general vicinity & be able to look at myself in the mirror & not see any rolls of fat... so, I guess my goal is mostly in the eye of the beholder & might change from day to day... in that respect, perhaps I'm not setting myself up for disappointment, but neither am I pushing myself as much as maybe I should...

Hi Sheshie - I know what you mean about using the mirror to decide your goal. I haven't been this size (6-8) in over 17 years so things look different. Ava Gabor once said, in French, "A woman of a certain age has to choose between her face and her fanny." I so get it. Last Christmas, before IP, old friends kept saying, "I can't believe how young you look." They didn't say I looked good - just young. Now that I'm 37 pounds lighter things are drooping. The bat wings are getting better though. I've been massaging them. At my age it takes the skin a little longer to shrink. But my eyelids. Really droopy. Now I know that happens in our fifties but I don't like it! The other women my age that I know either have never had to lose weight, or haven't lost it yet. (i do know one who has admitted to having her eyes "done.") And the stretchy skinny jeans and leggings that I was convinced to buy - they looked great to dh and sales woman - I think have a bit of that "camel toe" look unless I wear Spanx. So, how much more weight to lose? I'm going to try for about 3 - 4 more pounds and see if the "camel toe" goes away. And wear more eye makeup!


I have a small victory to report... I was in WallyWorld this morning & with the rainy cold weather I was very tempted to buy some comfort food... I even had a frozen sausage pizza in my buggie at one time, but after a few minutes I realized how dumb that was & put it back in its shelf... I came home with only on-protocol foods & feel a bit triumphant, if not comforted...

Good job! I've been up and down about 8 pounds this summer. I've lost it at the moment but it is hard.

[QUOTE=deelee10;4090084]It took me two weeks of being on this plan (after being off for 8 months), to lose anything, but I did lose 11 pounds this week. Yea!
I have been walking, but I count miles instead of steps because I cannot find a pedometer that works accurately. What brand do you use?

I had a cheat day after I lost 120 pounds and never got back on track for 8 months. Gained a lot of weight and I am back now, mad at myself because I have to lose some of the weight over again. It was not worth it to me.

It took me awhile to get my energy back this time. I have it now and it had been 3 weeks. Stay with it - it will come.

You are so right - darn it - you are right!

The miracle of this site is that we are all doing the same thing, we all have the same challenges, and we all handle them the best we can. Trust yourself and hold steady with what you are doing - it will all fall into place.

Listen to everyone who had fallen off the wagon and has had a miserable time getting back on program. Unless you're in maintenance and have phased off properly, I don't recommend it. This is a very special time. It's intense, gratifying and a journey with a beginning a middle and an end. It's full of life lessons and it's a gift from you to yourself. You don't need a cheat day now. You'll have that later when you phase off. I went thru Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years AND a trip to Paris all on phase 1. I'm not bragging, I'm just telling you that for once in my life, my commitment to myself was stronger than pleasing others, or caving in to social situations. Use the IP recipe threads for all kinds of holiday treats that you can bring to the office. Drink fizzy water and limes. Use the chocolate pancake mix and the vanilla pudding to make a roll up cake for yourself. Add apple pie spice to your RTD vanilla shake for your eggnog. You can do this. Just make up your mind that that's the way it's going to be and you'll be extremely empowered by that decision. Good luck.
PS. We're all human and there's no judgement here. Should you find that you just have to go there, make the next available "YOU" turn and come back to program quick and hard.

Hi all, sorry I'm so late catching up.

Rosemary, my pedometer is a Sportline 4202 that I bought in 2007 and is probably the best (longest lasting) one I've ever had but I can't find one similar on their website. I may have bought it at a Kaiser Permanente clinic. Right now it has 18,191 steps on it, what I walked yesterday and most of the reason why I wasn't on the computer. And 11 pounds. O my stars! Was that worth waiting for or not?

Iowa, Marion, feeling a little better each day? I think you both are doing really well under the circumstances.

Sunnymae. NICE.

Well, cheers all. I hope you woke up to sunshine.

Eeeek!!! I'm SO excited to find this thread!!! I was doing wonderfully on IP earlier this year, then because of a bunch of reasons (lack of money, a new job with long hours, no time to see my coach, travel, etc) I went off and gained alllllllllllll the weight plus a little back Gosh, I could kick myself so hard for letting other things become a priority and not taking care of myself!!!! I should be well into maintenance by now!! Okay, pity party over. Now I'm starting again today and need to refocus my efforts on doing this again. I love how many of you on this thread mentioned how you miss how you FELT more than the numbers on the scale, and I really do feel that way as well. I miss how good I felt and I can't wait to have that back! Wearing the jeans I was fitting into before would be wonderful as well. I look forward to catching up on this thread and I'd love to support those of you who need it. I sure need it myself!!

Support is good. Still, it looks as though you're doing wonderfully so far and I sure hope it lasts and lasts. I think another thing we've all learned is to go through all the phases regardless of the circumstances. Hope that helps.

Good morning! I can relate to everything you said. I am starting to get the feeling back and enjoying that. I want to get into my jeans soooo bad. I figure another 15 pounds and I will be into them. I am trying not to punish myself for this. I think that there is a lesson (or many) for me to learn. One of them is that we have to phase off and that includes me. The plan is there and all we have to do is follow it and the weight will take care of itself. We have done this and we can do it again. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Thanks Linden - You are great!

TatiN We're all happy you found us too! Together we can do this!

Linden You are doing great! What an inspiration to all of us! Back when I first came on 3FC's, I always read your posts and looked forward to when you posted and now again I'm always glad to see your posts. That goes for a lot of you others too! It's like a mini reunion Only thing better is if we were all chatting in the maintance thread. We'll get there!

My strep is gone but now I have a nasty chest cold. Coughing all the time and it is just rattling in my chest. Lovely. I sound like an old man who has smoked his entire life. Not pretty I assure you. Yesterday I once again started 100 percent OP. I am now focused once again.....yeah!!! Back to walking the dogs but now I have a foot that is killing me to walk on it. I think my plantar fascitis is coming back from years ago. Dang it. Back to soaking my foot in ice water every evening. Did I mention I am falling apart? "

Mariom, how are you? Hope you're feeling better!

SunnyMae look at you! Awesome job! Your words are so true! Can I ask how long it took you to reach goal? You're another inspiration to all of us!

Crumbs, IWM, we're all falling apart. But must you (and Marion) do it so aggressively?

The sound of your voices keeps me coming back.

Rosemary, I just looked at your progess photos.....all I can say is, "WOW!"
You GO GIRL! You look great!

I'm turning in for the night. The frig is talking to me clear across the house so I think the only safe place for me to be is asleep in bed. Let's hope I don't sleep walk and wake up standing in front of the frig searching.

I am starting to do better. I've got another follow up appointment Friday where they will make some adjustments to the partial which should get rid of the spots causing the sores. It just takes time and I'm not very patient.

I never do anything half-way~! I have a couple of doctor appointments including a thyroid check over the next couple of weeks which might yield some answers. I'm debating on whether I'm going to see someone for my ankle that really hasn't recovered since my fall---but it's already such a mess in there that I'm not sure I want to hear what they might have to say.

The good news is that I had a pretty long day (7+ hours) yesterday followed by a dance lesson and I wasn't in a brain fog and I had some energy for dance. The bad news is I have a longer day (12+ hours) followed by more dancing tonight. We will see how things go!

Time to go pack some meals! Have an awesome day and thanks for the concern. I just keep thinking of how much better I'll feel with more weight off!

Congrats to everyone who keeps comin' back and workin' their program! Life can get in the way and we have to navigate thru it and find our balance. It's not always an easy ride, but so worth it. You will all find your way, I know it. to answer your question about how long it took me. It was about 3 1/2 months to most of my goal ( was a slow loser and had to be ok with that) but I was one of those people who kept losing while phasing off, even to phase 3. I don't believe in pushing ph. 1 mercilessly if you're not losing. The body will give you a sign when it's had enough of ph.1. Don't be scared, just move on to ph. 2 and let your body guide you. There's a cry for more food throughout this program and we have to listen within program rules and add packets, or phase out. When the body relaxes knowing there's more food coming in, you can actually start losing weight again.
Don't know why I just wrote all that but maybe someone out there needed to hear that.
Stay with it everyone. We are a tight community and we are all in this together for sure!