wuv2bloved:
Thanks for the pep talk! It is what makes you a leader.

This is a great daily chat thread! I am on Day 7 of IP. It always helps me to check in here and read encouraging words!

So far, I am doing fine making my way on the foods and plan. My son loves to cook and he has even felt inspired to help cook and spice my meats and vegetables.

I've been trying the water thing, but a lot of the time I'm actually hungry. I have a hard time between lunch and dinner, today I decided to have a bar around 2:30, after I had about 10 ounces of water. Then I was very hungry after dinner. I drank a cup of tea and a cup of water, but still very hungry, so I decided to have an RTD. I did exercise today - 30 minutes on a bike at about 60 - 70% max heart rate. So I don't feel too guilty about the extra snack.

A typical day looks like this:
Breakfast: RTD + 1-2 boiled egg whites, OR Proti-Diet Oatmeal, OR 3 egg whites + 1 egg, OR Proti-Diet pancake
Lunch: Proti-Diet chicken soup or an RTD, veggies are either a salad (spinach, sprouts, cucumber, peppers) or sometimes roasted broccoli/cauliflower
Dinner: 8 oz meat (usually chicken, pork loin or lean gr. beef), OR sometimes 2 eggs, veggies are usually roasted asparagus + mushrooms OR celeriac fries
Snack: Oh Yeah bar (usually), sometimes a pure protein bar
For condiments I use WF syrup, WF ketchup, WF raspberry jelly, and occasionally (1-2 times/week) I'll use a little Bolthouse farms yogurt dressing. Which, I know, I really shouldn't. Otherwise I'll make my own dressing w/olive oil & vinegar.
I usually have 2 - 3 cups of tea a day, sometimes 1 cup of coffee, plus an ounce of milk and splenda (try to keep the splenda to 3 packets per day)

I'll have to watch my water intake a bit more. I think I'm getting enough, but I'm not really measuring. Maybe I'll fill a 64-ounce jug tomorrow and see how I do with that by the end of the day.

I was VERY hungry today. Don't know what it is. It seemed like I was doing well after the first week or so, no cravings. Now I'm really craving a lot and missing a lot of different foods. I'm sure a lot of it is psychological, but I do think some of it is physical as well. Hmmmm.....but I'm not giving up hope!

One thing that just struck me - my husband was doing this with me, but is now in maintenance, so I don't have my diet partner anymore. Kind of hard to watch him and our 2 kids eat more food than me. This whole diet is just a big adjustment for me.

Also, I was extremely cold today. Is this pretty normal?

About the cold, i have never had the problem of feeling cold but so many people do. Someone posted the other day that their coach suggested taking a vitamin B supplement to help with felling cold. I think that may be true, my doctor has me take a viatmin B complex vitamin. I have been taking them for years but never heard before it helps with feeling cold.
It may be worth a try.

Good morning, Looks like I am going to make a trip back home this weekend. Had a death in the family so I will be going to Lafayette for the weekend then taking my mom and other aunt (her sister) to New Orleans for my Aunt's funeral. She is the one a few of you know about that had the brain cancer, she passed away yesterday. I have to go get an outfit, cuz I have NOTHING to wear. When I called mom this morning she said don't go shopping, we can go shopping in my closet first, then if we can't find anything we can go shopping. It was time for me to make a trip home anyways I haven't been home since Christmas!....I'll come back on Tuesday, OH WAIT!!.....my Birthday is thursday....hmmm....maybe I'll stay....haha....nope gotta come back cuz my WI is on Wed!....hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Sorry for your loss wuv2bloved. Hope you find a dress. At least that will be fun shopping for a smaller size!

Safe travels.

Sorry for your loss Lisa... the forum is going to go crazy while you are gone
Have a safe trip, and know that your family is in my thoughts.

Thoughts and prayers to you and your family Lisa.

Question: I am a BIG fan of pickles. I would eat them every day for my veggie, but I don't so I get a variety. On the days where I eat pickles, should I limit the sea salt? I know pickles are really high in sodium.

makes total sense... for me being under 200 pounds also means not being OBESE. Keep up the good work!

Travel safely Lisa... Had WI today.. only .5lbs which I know is still a positive but bothersome. Was suggested that I do the IDP Bootcamp which is 5 IDPs and not making my own protein and continue 4 cups veggies/salad- for a min of 3 days. Has anyone done this and had success? I have no problem doing something to knock me off the plateau...

Sorry for your loss Lisa. While it is always nice to go home, you always wish it is under happy circumstances.

I had my week 4 weigh in today, I've started weighing in every two weeks to avoid adding travel costs to my expenses. I am happy to say I went down 7.4 lbs in the two weeks! I'm so happy with my progress and am starting to see a difference in the mirror! On top of it all I grabbed a pair of jeans from the closet that I haven't worn in a while and they fit perfect! I can't wait till they are too big now!

Hope everyone has a good night, I'm off to dance practice.