Mars and maile-

Glad you find the hangar steak, skirt steak a palatable option when going Mexican as well!

Still see my work friends a lot...and they're very dear, but for the most part a younger drinking crowd...(Can't believe they still invite this old lady retiree out with them pretty often...but I darn well wasn't going to sit home because they can (or do) eat and drink like I can't!) Finding something to eat when I became gluten free was only daunting the first time or two...now that I want all meals to be low carb ...it is not such a challenge to look at a menu and ask if I can pull elements from several items offered together for my own meal. Which is always better looking when it arrives anyway.... because it gets prepared AFTER I order...LOL!


And I love the idea of eliminating "fun" days....sounds like one of the best secrets to weight control. I'd rather have a low carb meal with a glass of wine once in a while instead and not worry where is the tipping point.

I am interested to know this as well. I am only on my third post fun P1 day so I am still using up my IP leftovers. But I am trying to figure out how a P1 day would look with regular food. I do use a full fat basalmic vinagrette on my salad but otherwise strictly looks like my old P1 days.

My wife and I don't use any of the IP products except, when it's available, the double chocolate brownie. If we're going to do an actual P1 day we just use Quest Bars for all 3 protein items. Of course our idea of a fun day, yesterday, was to have a blueberry muffin in the afternoon. We generally eat P3 style any way with Quest Bars daily.

Thanks M35A2, I'll give them a try. A muffin for fun day--impressive!

According to the scale, I need another post-fun P1 day(s) to get back to baseline. Those "fun" foods that were so compelling on Sat. now seem almost nauseating. Gotta remember that feeling beforehand next time.

I have been lurking lately, rather than posting. Trying to adjust to maintenance. After week one I was up 3 lbs but was not overly concerned. I usually stick to a V-core Vantage frappe every morning for breakfast. For the most part my daily routine is like P2. I have not strictly adhered to a P1 after fun day routine, but my "treats" are intermittent.

After having a beer on Halloween and going out for Chinese (buffet no less) during the week, nibbling corn chips and guacamole one evening, etc...I was expecting to see that I was up more for this mornings weigh in. I am actually down to 130 again! Phew.

Looking forward to trying a few new recipes this week. I made quinoa stuffed peppers last week. Loved them! I have added quinoa to my chicken soup as well and was pleased. I feel so different now about the way I cook. It is gratifying to eat well and feel good after a meal.

Here's to a great day everyone!

Mars, when I do P1 after a "fun" day (and I am not shy at all about eating whatever on my "fun" days), I generally do use the IP products because 1) I still have a lot left and 2) I am a coach so I can easily buy them since I am at the clinic several days a week. I almost always have done more than one P1 day because I think I just tend to retain water after a carby day for more than one day. Not sure if I would go back to "normal" without a couple of P1 days or not. I have seen a description of what a P1 day would look like without the packets and it is pretty much what you would expect - eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, etc. I have kind of made up my own "rules" about P1 days after a fun day - if I do more than 2 days, I do "tomato day" every other day, I drink caffeinated beverages and I chew gum, even though those things would not strictly be allowed on phase 1. But otherwise, my P1 days are the same as my pre-maintenance P1 days. The only things that I have eliminated from my diet "forever" are pasta and potatoes, and I do not eat either even on fun days.

My adventure as a high school band tour chaperone was not good for my phase off. I started Phase 3 and had 4 perfect days prior to tour. But staying on plan ended up being much more difficult than I anticipated, with events going over time, meals being skipped, and access to good food being more limited than I was expecting.

I have now had 4 straight days in which my carbs and fat were too high, resulting in 1600 to 1800 calorie days. I've had to do extra protein packets to tide me over. My breakfasts have not been exactly where they needed to be due to limited options at the hotel and less time to seek other alternatives than I was told to expect. And I've had other carbs later in the day.

I want my body to have a proper phase off and I know phase 3 is key. Am I better off to go back to phase 2 for a little bit so I can do a full and proper phase 3? Or do I just go back to phase 3 for a little longer? I've been spiking my blood sugar more than once a day and I worry about whether my pancreas will burn off the fat the way I need it to in maintenance.

2much2do, Congratulations on getting to P3!!! My coach told me almost everyone he's worked with has phased off in their own way. That said, I'd suggest asking your coach.

AlisonS Thank-you so much. Very helpful!!! I'm still weighing a couple lbs more than I would like after 2 days of "P1.5", so will definitely try a strict P1 if I have that much "fun' again, lol.

Yeah - I will ask my coach. But her interpretation of Phase 3 is a little different than what I read here. She's okay with me starting back on cheese and small servings of grains in my lunch and dinner meals on Phase 3. I would love for that the be accurate, but it seems different than what I read on the protocol sheets.

2muchtodo, Your coach's P3 sounds different. 65x65's comment from a week or so ago might be helpful for you as it was for me--the very last line about whether IP can fix carb sensitivity especially resonates.

2much2do: I thought cheese and grains were for Phase 4. Are you still traveling? I would also talk to your coach. You could stay on Phase 3 and see what happens. If you find after your travels with the food difficulties that you are up, you could do Phase 2 again.

Mars: I am taking calcium supplements. My doctor says the D will not be absorbed without the calcium. But I have heard that you do not want to get too much calcium either! I don't have fun days as I was a binge eater. I eat low carb without packets if I have up pounds. Other people here handle fun days just fine!

Bubbleblower: My first thought when I walk outside is am I warm enough? I am wearing layer upon layer these days.

Workinprogress: I have eaten the hamburger patty plain without the bun. Good choice. It seems like winter can be dehydrating and you need water.

Alison, That is wonderful that you are an IP coach and inspiring others. I have eliminated pasta and potatoes also. Once in a great while I have a sweet potato.

I like this quote:

"Wherever you go, there you are."

This was not written by me, but I liked her ownership. She is not perfect, but realizes that being accountable is so important. I used to also not weigh myself when I went off, which led to me being overweight.

Why this time is different.

This time is really different. This time I have incorporated everything that puts me at goal into my daily life. This time I own it. This time I have a lot more tools in my kit. There's the husband who (one heart attack later) is willing to eat more healthily. There are the face-to-face friends at my WW meeting. There are the Online Friends who are still interested in weight management even though we're at goal - I mean - who else is even INTERESTED in talking about this stuff but a fellow traveler.

But there is something even deeper that has changed this time around. It's an acceptance - an owning of responsibility - it's the giving up on luck that is different this time around. This time, if I am going to stay at goal I am going to have to make that choice every single day. And when I don't, I have to acknowledge it. Yep, it's the acknowledgement of me and the things I do that is different. It's not trying to pretend something didn't happen when it did - wasn't eaten when it was. It's not lying about portion size and bites, licks and tastes. It's the owning of the Cheetos and ice cream this time. owning it, naming it, writing it down and weighing it afterwards that is so different.

Notice - I didn't say I don't eat the Cheetos and ice cream. It's just that I don't deny them. I own it all. It's mine. I ate it. I say it out loud. I don't get so busy I forget. Heck, I never really did forget anyway - I just held my hands over my ears and sang LA LA LA LA LA LA to drown out the truth. And the sooner I admit them - admit the truth of me as a woman who also does eat Cheetos in the car - the sooner I can find out the impact they have on me.

Twice this fall I've been in serious foodie situations when I ate without thinking, mindlessly, all the nutrition-less stuff a person can binge on. The very next week I went back to that WW meeting and weighed in. It wasn't an official weigh in. It didn't "count". I didn't have to pay for the meeting. The weigh in was so that I would know where I was - and how far I had to go before the next official weigh in. Instead if pretending the bad weekend hadn't happened, I acknowledged it and then started working on erasing the damage right then and there. This time I'm stopping my bad eating tricks before they became an avalanche.

So Yes. I've been 8 months at goal. Not every single moment in those 8 months - but at least once each month I've been there - and it feel so good. What's different this time is - it feels like I was at goal, not like I got lucky and bumped into goal. It feels like it's mine and it's something I can have for the rest of my life - and boy, that doesn't feel good. It feels GREAT!

Wishing that same great feeling for each and every one of you.

Wow Maile, that's a great quote. Thanks for sharing it. I'm going to print & memorize it. I especially appreciate your comment about avoiding the big Fun Day. I am also a binge eater and it is like a beckoning hand back to my old habits.

fyi, is there any chance your doc said it the other way round, ie, the calcium won't be absorbed without the D? I took D without calcium for months and brought my D level within normal range. I've heard that calcium from plant sources is supposed to avoid the issues being raised about too much inorganic calcium, e.g. from oyster shell as is commonly used. I don't know if there are evidence-based studies, but I've heard that excess calcium can be deposited in joints, artery walls, & even breast tissue, giving a false positive mammogram. Again, I don't know if this is rumor or fact.

Today my weight is almost back to baseline after Sat's carbopalooza. It's nice to be back!

Hey Hey Everyone,

Lurking again this time without a proper computer, just jumping in on the fun days with my two cents. I do a fun day but I can safely say they are not all and all out eating anything. I plan them and do a Phase 1 day afterward. I've learned that I cannot have specific items (like Allison) ie, pasta. I do not eat pasta EVER and if I want to I use spaghetti squash or shirataki noodles. Generally I prefer to eat the spaghetti squash and if I had the room in my tummy I’d eat the whole squash with a little bit of butter and salt and pepper !

For the first couple of months I can say with some guilt there was binge eating going on trying all the foods I hadn’t eaten for a year. But then eventually I would remember how I feel with those foods. If I want chocolate I plan on chocolate and I will not buy a chocolate bar from the convenience store but rather plan on getting the ‘good stuff’ from purdy’s or rocky mountain fudge factory. I do not need more then one day of Phase 1 and really like the feeling of the ‘fun day’ and ‘phase 1 day’ . I have contemplated getting rid of the fun day but I like the thought of eating what I would ‘like’ that day and not worrying about. So I really think this is the way I will eat and will not apologize for it. I like that I could have MacDonalds (the horror!) if I would like, but choose not too but maybe once a year. I will not apologize by understanding that sometimes I just really want a big mac! LOL The VIP and I really enjoy this way of eating and are ‘ok’ with it. The VIP’s son sees how much veggies we eat on a day and understand that you don’t need to reward yourself with food EVERYDAY but it’s ok to relax the rules and we happen to do that once a week (on a Saturday).

I recently did another speech for TOPS and really stressed that people need to support each other in their weight loss efforts. It doesn't need to be a 'this is the way to do it' but rather there are numerous ways to lose weight, every diet works they just don't always work for everyone. I am eternally grateful that I found Ideal Protein and that the maintenance protocol works for me. In my TOPS chapter we have 5 people following 5 different plans and we support each other in our weight loss and weight maintenance. I love that at TOPS International Recognition Days the last quote I heard was “each person on this stage lost their weight in their own TOPS way”

I'm hoping to be around more often and post more often but my life is really just getting in the way. I think it's important to post as it keeps me 'in the game'.

Later Skaters, stay light!

(PS - anyone interested in some of the professional wedding shots? I don't want to share if you'll just groan "wedding stuff AHGAIN!" LOL)

..Hi Ishbel...always nice to read your posts...

AND YES ...You better share more wedding pics...!!

The little taste you gave us all a few months ago ....was a tease!!!
A beautiful tease!!! Seriously...I'd love to see more!

Best-
kathie