Day 8 for me OP and as many of you have mentioned this is a real emotional and mental commitment. I didnt realize this when I started last week.
Keep up the good work every one, be gentle and patient with yourself

Day 11 OP for me. Besides my aforementioned perhaps overuse of tamari - I've been 100% OP. And even the Tamari is allowed. I've only lost .4 this week so far, but who knows, maybe Thursday - Sunday will be the real dropping days and Mon - Wed was invisible weight drop.

Good luck everyone today! Set small goals, keep those goals, be good to yourself, and have fun. Even though I'm not seeing the amount I want coming off of me - I'm proud of my self discipline - it's something that (in regards to food) I typically lack.

PLEASE LET THIS GOOD ATTITUDE BRING ABOUT MORE WEIGHT LOSS.

I'm starting Day 4 today. My energy fizzled yesterday while out walking. Hoping for more energy today. After 3 days I'm down 1.8 pounds which I know is probably water, but since the scale is going down, I'm very happy!

Have a fun OP day everyone!

Wow, I LOVE this analogy. You are so right.

That analogy also makes me thing of - when can we (or should we) start exercising?

Good morning everyone, I hope everyone is doing better this morning.
Well third weigh-in down and 5 pounds lost for both myself and my wife last night.
Lost another inch of my waist, down 4 on my waist now and 3 on my hips.
My leg finally lost a little,about 1/2 inch as well as my arm down a 1/2, chest is down something like 2.
So slowly but surely the weight is melting off.

20 days in now and still strictly OP with no plans to waiver.
I cannot wait to shock my bosses of my second job at our annual banquet in Boise this December. I shouldn't see any of them until then, they have already done most of their northern visits, so I hope to be down about 80 pounds by the time I see them.

I hope ALL of us can stay positive today......Port, give me an update, where are you at now?
I hope you are doing well.
Shoot me your MSN IM address if you have one.

Have a wonderful day everyone!!

It varies what you may here, the general opinion seems to be after 2 weeks.
I started riding my trainer a little bit during the first week, but stepped it up a little the second week.
I was too busy to get on it this week, so hopefully my upcoming week I will be more committed to it.
Of course I have new parts, including cycling shoes and new pedals on the way so that should give me more motivation to ride more when they arrive.
Just don't over due it the first week or 2 of working out.

Oh yeah my coach bumped me up to 10oz of protein last night... yay

In 2004 I was following Atkins diet. The first two week I lost 4 and 3 pounds respectively. Then on the third week I didn’t lose any weight. At that point people on the forum I visited advised me to start exercising, so I started walking 1-2 hours a day, basically my commute to work and back. I am planning to start walking the beginning of my third week. Nothing extraneous just half an hour to 40 minutes slow walk (3 miles per hour speed).

Congratulations to both you and your wife. Great job.
YES, your colleagues are not going to recognize you. They are going to ask themselves who are the very attractive couple just walked in, lol.

Thanks Josey, I do appreciate the support and don't worry, I try not to take comments suggesting I reconsider harshly. I DO get that I am venting on this site a lot these last 2 weeks as to my personal struggles, mentally and with the food. That is exactly why I am on this site and even though I am sure all the 100% OPers (and maybe everyone else) are like "here she goes again", I need to vent to those going through something similar and I like the ability to read different responses/viewpoints! Thanks for offering yours! I do read everything and, despite what it may seem in light of my continued transgressions, I start each day positive, I try to be 100%, I feel good.

Anyway, I am going to continue in Phase I for 1 more week. I am approaching this 1 week at a time. My coach gave me the Phase 3 sheet in case I wanted to, but it will actually require more planning and so I figure I might as well just try for 100% OP week like my week 1 and see how I feel.

As for WI #3, I dropped a little over a pound, lost a little in inches (I think, hard to tell bcz it was a different girl again), and my body fat% and BMI dropped again. I was encouraged by this and am hoping to continue Phase 1 until I am in 21% body fat. But, like I said, 1 day / 1 week at a time!

I found my "coach" today to be interesting. She was not harsh or reproachful when I told her about my cheats, she was more like "yeah the PB is protein and won't kick you out of ketosis in moderation". No lecture (and no advice or suggestions either). I was a bit surprised to get that response. When I told her my dilemma, stay on IP but risk cheating again (obviously not my intention, but reality is that I nevertheless let it recur) and my concerns about what I might be doing to my body or move to Phase 3, she was just like "yeah, the only way you can know if you will have better results is to stay OP 100% for a week or here's the sheet you can go to Phase 3 if you want. Really, you're thin already." While I would love to take that compliment and run, I am not actually thin. I am not overweight, but I am not thin. I have these lovely fatty areas (hips, thighs, waist/love handles) that I am aiming to get rid of. And, I think that is what IP is going to help me do. I just found it interesting that that was her response . . . at least I didn't feel like she was pushing product or the program I guess!!

Well, all that said, I am 100% OP today. Feeling good although hungry. Energy is ok despite less than 5 hours sleep. I get a baysitter and a workout tonight, so I am looking forward to that. The heat/humidity is so horrible that I think I will just take a class at the gym!

Oh, and I bought ketostix . . . just to see. Sometimes more physical reminders of what I am doing can be great motivators =)

Just don't use the ketostix as an experiment of "how much pb can I eat before I'm out of ketosis." The thing about your last problem areas is that they are the most resistant to change. You won't know if they'll go away faster on IP unless you do IP. I do think the faster you lose something the faster it CAN come back - not that it will, but it could. Keep taking your time and exercising, and if you do cheat - cheat with clean foods. You'll get to where you're going - the best part of this is whether IP or not, you're not ever saying I'm going to quit trying - and the ability to continue to try is what will make you successful at the end. GOOD LUCK COLIEP - looking forward to hearing how your week goes.

Oh - and ditched my tamari veggie stir fry in lieu of roasted cauliflower. Take that tamari.

Way to stick with it Coliep... I will be honest and say I was one of those people who would sort of think, here she goes again, I think part of it for me is while there are things you want to change you are not like some of us others here who have so much more to attain.
There are women on this thread who weigh twice as much as you, so for them it's probably strange to see you struggle when your goal is so close.
I am similar, I have a lot left to lose, and I have lost more than you need to achieve your goal in 3 weeks.

I just have to remember this is a lifestyle change for myself and that I NEED to lose this weight, you are looking to tone and sculpt your body and get thinner so I don't think you have the motivation as much as some of us bigger people.

But I applaud you for trying it for another week, remember if you workout too much they suggest taking a 4th packet, see the difference between you and I is I cannot see eating a 4th packet, I am just not that hungry, even after biking.

I think that is why they moved me up to 10oz of protein since I told them I just can't see eating a 4th packet. I know I am in the minority here and I don't mean to come across pompous or anything like that.
I don't have mid-morning snacks, I don't have afternoon snacks.
I eat breakfast at 9 after I get to work, I eat lunch at noon, and I don't eat dinner until about 8-8:30, I will admit I am usually hungry by dinner time.
And then I have to choke down a snack at around 10:30, but overall I am not hungry at all during the day.

Having a spouse who is doing the same thing I am sure makes it much easier then trying to do it solo, but my wife has lost 13 pounds in 3 weeks as well, and I already see the difference in her face and other parts of her body.
She says she can see it in me already, I do think my face looks thinner, but I think it's still pretty minor at this point.

Sorry I don't mean to preach or ramble on, I just want you to know why I don't always comment on your posts as much as others.. it's not because I don't care, it's because I don't really no what to say to drive you to do better.
Maybe I need to go back and read more about you, maybe knowing you better will help me to better understand.

Sorry I think I lost my point....
Stay positive, and we are here.

Way to go coliep. I am rooting for you to have a 100% OP day.

Hey Wayward..im down to 282.8 from my starting weight of 298.8..so im 14 pounds down...darn ! I wanted to hit the 15 pound mark today!.. This is my second try being 100% OP cause i had to restart this past week..so im going on...day 4??? of being back on plan..and ive lost 7 pounds in 4 days...so weight loss is good!!

Glad to hear you are doing so well! Im not quite where your at ..but hey..we are still pretty close in weight...hopefully in a few more days..but of course..your into week 3.. i would only technically be on week 2 ish..and your a guy..so you will lose it faster than i will..but hey.. i feel good about my losses!!