Beth this morning's commute was terrible! It usually takes me an hour to get to work. It took me 3 hours!!! I had to pee so badly.
mama your screen name says it all! You have been putting mom duties first (I do too when I'm not shrinking heads) and you need to do more for you...which is hypocritical for me to say since I don't do much for me at all.
kalaya I was the same way when I phased off in the summer...I was having a hard time staying motivated. I made it to goal, but I could have made a second, lower goal. I just couldn't do it. But back in June I went to a wedding and I ate cheese...it was my cheat and it didn't take me out of ketosis. I still lost that week too, and it got me through the wedding. I may have had a small glad of wine or champagne to toast the bride and groom too. And I went right back the next day on Phase 1. You can do it, but don't feel too bad for it being difficult right now.
blue Yay for vacation! Did I miss when you are leaving exactly?
smda Have you been taking measurements? I found I got into a couple of weight stalls and still lost inches. I'm not sure how the body does that, but it motivated me through those tough times.

Well thank goodness I took a RTD drink this morning to have during my 3 hours commute. I'm doing fine. I fit into a pair of pants that I couldn't get into only 2 weeks ago. They are a little tight, but that's OK. They won't be tight in a couple more weeks. Wishing everyone well!!!

MiWi YAY for you, it feels so good to get into a new size pants

My vacation isn't for another month yet, I decided since I was so close to goal I would do the full phase off, so 2 weeks for P2 and another 2 weeks for P3. Hoping when I get back, I can do a fairly short P1 to lose whatever I need to get to goal.

Me too

I am going to play it by ear. I have to say that I was extremely satisfied by the time I got to 135 the last time on IP. I was wearing basically size 2/4 (XS), I loved the way I looked in clothes and I felt really good. I did end up losing 2# more in P2 & P3, so by the time I got to maintenance I was at 133. I never regretted that decision for one minute.

Which is why I am just going to "see what happens" this time. I have been taking measurements with a tape measure and I think if I get to the measurements I was at when phased off before I get to a specific scale number, I will likely phase off. I'll see.

Ooh, everyone's doing so well!

blue, good thinking to start figuring out your choices for P3. As you've seen so many of us say, it takes some mental gymnastics to do all the shopping that first time. And I think you and Jenny are very wise to be flexible about your final phase-off point.

mama, speaking as an older woman who had 4 kids.... You're not doing your kids any favors if you're not making them take some responsibility for the chores around the house. You're a working mom - you shouldn't have to do everything at home, too. They live there and can share in the duties to make the house livable for everyone. (Sorry, it's a soapbox issue for me.)

Beth and you other north easterners (and Canadians), I don't envy your cold, snowy weather. I know some people like the snow, but I'm a warm weather girl. I was born and raised in NJ, and I always claim that the stork must have dropped me at the wrong house.
_____________________

So, today I figured out that the downside of buying foul weather running gear is that you no longer have an excuse not to run in rain/cold/wind. UGH. It took me over two hours to work up the gumption to get out there, but once I did, it wasn't bad. I should have worn a buff to protect my face, but otherwise, I was warm. So the investment in a good jacket, hat, and water-& wind-proof gloves was worth it. And I had a really good, fast-paced run.

P2-ish day for me here. Bar for breakfast, homemade veggie + soy sausage soup for lunch, protein + veg for dinner, and probably protein pudding for snack tonight. My short-term goal is to get to 155 or below for the 5K in 10 days. (I was at 156.5 this morning.) It's a well attended race and the competition in my age group will be stiffer than my prior races. The good news is, it looks like the weather will be pleasant. It sure would be nice to run a race in weather that's not windy / freezing / rainy!

Y'all stay safe in that blizzard!

HIS: If only we Canadians were getting cold, snowy weather, lol. Only the NE is, here in the west we are being affected by El Nino in a different way - unseasonably warmer weather and increased precipitation means tons of sleety, yucky snow at a temperature hovering near freezing +/- a degree. It makes for a totally miserable 8 hr drive & foot patrol which would be so much more pleasant if it was lovely dry -8C snow.
The neighbour built a huge snowman at the edge of his driveway and put a big blue umbrella over him as if he was 'holding' it. All the commuters got a laugh at that for a few days.
Looking forward to actual spring, probably starting next month the way things are going.

Liana

Hi all, glad we will miss the snow this time. We are actually suppose to have a nice weekend.

WI today lost 2.6 pounds, but had 1st appointment of day and did not eat/drink prior. I also lost over 2 inches this week (none the previous week).

We went to Red Robin again tonight, love the lettuce wraps this time with chicken and steamed broccoli.

Hi All! I am here at work in DC and the blizzard is supposed to start this afternoon/evening. So I am trying to correctly time when to leave to save leave hours but not get stuck on the way home (33 miles away). I brought an extra packet just in case I am stranded waiting for my husband to save me and I need a snack. Ha! This is going to be a fun weekend.

smda great weigh-in.
HIS Your running gear sounds awesome.
jenny I like your approach to "see what happens." I have this plan to lose more weight for this reboot, but I'll see how I feel as I am nearing the end.
blue You are going to be feeling great for vacation! You are doing the Phase off slowly, so your body will be able to handle the extra carbs just fine.

OK, signing off...let's hope I don't get stuck in the snow!!!

As the wife of a son who had a mother who did everything, I completely agree! Think of your children's future spouses. Every time my husband leaves crap laying around the house or not loading up the dishwasher, I want to wring my MIL's neck.

I will say that FINALLY after 20 years of living together, I have finally gotten him trained into helping out and cleaning up after himself, but let me tell, there were a lot of knock down drag out fights over stupid stuff simply because his mom was his maid growing up.

For the Canadians here - I went to Loblaws yesterday, cauliflower 2 for $5 ...........Bought 4

My day is on hold.... My elderly father is supposed to be at a doctor's appointment this morning. I called them beforehand and asked them to check his blood sugar. He is a non-compliant diabetic (breakfast consists of donuts + grape soda, lunch is a bag of Doritos and more soda!), and his dementia is getting worse. If his blood sugar is high enough, they will admit him to the hospital. My hope is that the doctor will say, "You can't live alone anymore. You HAVE to go to assisted living." My dad is very, very stubborn and willful, so it's been a challenge in his aging years. Anyway, I'm waiting for a call back from the nurse, after the appointment, to find out what's next. (He's in PA, I'm down here in TX.) And all this in the midst of the impending snow storm up there.

On top of that, my daughter who's doing the protocol informed me last night that she's having bloody bowel movements!! She doesn't think it's related to the diet, but I advised her to see a gastroenterologist ASAP. She has an appointment with them on Monday.

Hoping to get a 2-mile run in sometime today. If I have to wait until after lunch, that's okay. It's very windy here again today, with a wind chill around 24 degrees. If necessary, I'll go to the gym for a quick treadmill session.

smda, I love those lettuce wrapped RR burgers. Wish we had a RR in my town.

HIS
Sorry to hear about your Dad. It is tough being so far away. Wonder if he eats like that as he can't think what to make if his dementia is getting worse. If he won't move, any chance he would accept help in the house. Keep us up to date. Hopefully your daughter will be okay too. That would be worrisome. Does she live close?
Things okay in Florida. Lost another 2.2 this week. For some reason this is so much easier this time. Next week will be the test as I am in Calgary playing "granny" while my DD talked a little break.

No, he has always been non-compliant. He's had Type 2 diabetes for 13 years at least. He says things like, "I'm old, and I'm going to eat what I like!" He relies on his meds (Metformin) to keep his blood sugar in moderate control - and by moderate, I mean under 400. He has really been a challenge for his family and doctors. My mom has Alzheimer's disease, and up until last summer, when we moved her into a memory care unit because she could barely walk or use the bathroom, he still expected her to cook and take care of him. It was full-on spousal neglect on his part. He has chronic UTIs because of his blood sugar, wets the bed every night - and refuses to wear Depends. It's almost to the point where we will have to go to court to get a legal declaration that he's incompetent to make his own decisions, and force him into assisted living.

He lives on a campus with progressive elder care. Right now he's in an independent living apartment, although he gets one meal a day in the dining hall, and I hired someone to clean his apartment every week. For assisted living, he could hire in-home help, or move to the nursing care building (probably the cheaper option of the two). He really needs help with meals, medication administration, and bathing/cleaning. He also has a history of falling due to a failed hip replacement! He's a mess.

My daughter lives 10 minutes away from me, and we work at the same hospital. So at least she's nearby and I can help her if it comes to that.

Wow HIS - your dad sounds EXACTLY like mine was...non-compliant diabetic, and an alcoholic to boot unfortunately, we didn't get dad the help he needed as soon as we should have - it was tough b/c up to the last 2 months, his cognitive abilities were ok - I mean, growing up, this was the man who ran out of gas at least 5 times a year because he just didn't pay attention so maybe there were other signs we should have seen, but chalked it up to it 'just being dad'. I will be thinking / praying for your family as you try to make these decisions.
...and your daughters issue...I am sure this has already been asked, but it's not possibly hemorrhoids is it? Mine got SO bad at the end it looked like I was having bloody stool, but...yah ugh & yuk hopefully everything is ok

Leslie - comgrats on the nice loss & enjoy Florida :

Blue - AMEN! All of a sudden, cauliflower is back down to $2.50 a head here too!!!!

MiWi - stay safe & warm! I am having a heck of a time staying away from the fridge...

smda - another good loss! Red Robin is good P1 & maintenance. Glad they cleaned up - the one near us had gone down hill for a couple years but is much nicer now

Hunkered down and watching the blizzard blow. Had a busy afternoon prepping, shoveling, playing - the deck is my main 'chore'. DH & I are going back out one last time around 10p to put a dent in the shoveling. There are some forecasts saying Dulles Int'l Airport (about 30 miles from us) could get almost 3.5 FEET of snow
Today was resistance day / no running - but I still did 15K steps and more to come...but I've also eaten my way through the extra calorie burn I will say, something about cold / snow / knowing I am house-bound for the next 36 - 48 hours makes me a bottomless pit for food. I didn't splurge today though and stayed within my calories / macros - just grazed and am at the top-end of my calories (generally try to stay close to 1,700 and hit 2,000 today - darn nuts!). We'll see how it goes tomorrow - making crock pot beef stew and corn bread

I asked my daughter about hemorrhoids... She said she thinks she had them before starting IP, but she used a topical cream and thought they had gone away. She did say the blood is bright red, so it's coming from low in the digestive tract. She said it's turning the water bright red, so there's a fair amount of it, I guess.

My dad's doctor never did call me back. My dad eventually called, said his blood sugar was "300 and something." (He's also pretty deaf and won't wear his hearing aids.) We didn't talk long because his call waiting thing chimed and he can't bear to miss a call. So no resolution yet on that whole situation.

I was really pretty peeved about waiting for the doc's office to (never) call. I was scheduled to do a 2-mile tempo run, but kept waiting around the house for the call, not wanting to stop in the middle of my run to talk on the phone when they called. So I kept nibbling on this and that, trying to stave off hunger but not eat too much before my run. Finally, around 1 pm, I caved and had some cheese and crackers, then went out to run at 2. I was totally expecting a terrible run, and the first mile felt no bueno, but I actually ran my best mile time EVER. I have to grudgingly admit that those weekly sprint sessions have been helpful.

7 mile run scheduled for tomorrow, my longest long run yet.

HIS. Yes your dad does seem troublesome. I worked with seniors all my career and know you can only do so much. He has managed his life like this for a long time and it will be difficult to change him now. He may be on a self destructive path as he may be missing your mom. All you can do is try but sometimes you have to let the crisis happen and then deal with the fallout. The only thing I would suggest is that he has daily contact with someone in case he has a problem. It sounds like he does where he is living. He needs to struggle to understand that he needs help. The hard part to manage is the dementia. If he really is incompetent then that is the route to go but from what I heard from you is that this is relatively normal behavior for him.
Hopefully your daughter will find what is going on when she sees the doctor. A little blood in the toilet can look like a lot but she needs to find out for sure.

Good luck. Enjoy your run. I used to run and lived it. Someday maybe