LOVE this, Amanda!!!!

That's awesome JoJo!

Kelly - I absolutely hear you about drinking and stress. It sounds like you know what is holding you back / keeping you from progressing and like you said, 7 months! That's awesome! You can do it again (I would guess you didn't tell your coach?)

magpie - with the weather this weekend, and the fact hubby won free tickets (and CARBON LEAF! lol) I can't miss this. I hear you on the big festival atmosphere though! Last year we paid extra $$ for "VIP" and it's all-u-can-drink (beer) for 5 hours...I'm doing IP, hubby is doing T25 - he'll have a couple drinks and I am DD for us and our friends.

Briael / Ro22- so they are still allowing bags...I hear ya on the "honest" approach, but idk - this is DC lol I went with my 70+ year old, diabetic dad to a Redskins game a couple years ago and they tried to make him throw out a small 20oz bottle of water! (different stadium but same premise) He showed his id bracelet & the only reason they allowed him to take it in was b/c it was unopened (they checked). It's all about the all-mighty $ (well, and stopping idiots from filling water bottles with clear liquor). Probably not much different elsewhere though...and Quest stuff is kinda $$ - I mean, I know I would only lose a couple $'s (I would have to toss it in order to gain entrance) ...I was just going to wrap a bag of chips and probably 2 bars in a sweatshirt...we'll see
& yes Briael - lots & lots of walking and DANCING lol it probably would negate a plain chicken on a stick...I've honestly never tried the corn beef / cabbage from the food truck

So, huge NSV tonight - DD10 had to get new gym shoes and as we were walking back to the car, she wanted to race. We started running and the jeans I was wearing, that on January 31 were like sausage casings, *almost* fell off my hips!!!!!!!! I grabbed them and had to hitch them back up. Another couple weeks and I won't be able to wear them without a belt...and probably won't wear them anyway

I love the image that comes to mind as you race right out of your jeans!!

Somewhere over the holidays or early January I wore a dress to work and had a pair of Skimmy's on underneath... (slipshorts by Jockey) --- they fell down to my knees and it was all I could do to grab em thru my dress and make it the ladies room to let them fall to the floor, step out, and stuff em in my purse! I smiled over the incident like crazy - more because it was real life proof that I was shrinking, than anything else!

haha, thanks!! I think I should've eaten my larger meal earlier today, was pretty hungry because I got up late, but made it through!

Just curious for those that go to clinics, how much interaction do you have with the coaches, etc.? I go in weekly for weigh-ins/measurements and to purchase any IP products if I need them. The clinic always talks about how great I'm doing while I'm there, but I don't hear from anyone during the week. Is this the standard for most IP coaches? I had a coach give me his email and cell this week because I expressed concern about lack of motivation through the week.

Thank goodness for these boards! I'm not a big poster, but I'm an everyday/every thread reader My husband is very supportive, but I haven't told anyone else that I'm doing IP, so it's great to have a forum like this.

Kelly -- At least you are cognizant of what is going on and getting back on track. Alcohol has been a challenge for me as well. But you made it 7 months without -- you know you can do it! You have remarkable willpower and have come so far. Your weight loss is impressive!

For me, I knew that alcohol played a role in putting on the weight in the first place -- therefore if I didn't learn how to deal with stress through other means, I was going to put back on the weight. I'm happy to say that, while I did drink during my 5 months in maintenance, I managed to only do it when I would enjoy it the most -- opening a special bottle with a fabulous meal or attending a party. So it can be part of your life again, when you have achieved your goals.

Hysteria congrats on the NSV, that's too funny and awesome

That's a great way to look at it!! I know I can do this. I bought some sparkling water and Mio and put it in a wine glass last night. It did the trick!

That is a great idea! It gives the feeling of something "special" without the side effects! I don't mind not drinking, I wasn't a huge drinker before, but I would have one or two socially with friends. Since starting IP and not drinking at all, I keep getting asked if I'm pregnant. I gave the excuse that I gave it up for Lent (which is partially true), but I think I'll have to come out with the whole truth when Lent is over and I'm still not drinking. My profession is known for alcoholics, haha, and our office has beer-thirty every Friday.

It's crazy how much people notice when you don't drink! I haven't had anyone ask me if I'm pregnant yet when I say I'm not drinking and that's awesome...but they look at me like I'm insane or something. The people who know I'm on a diet are always asking when I'll be off so I can go out drinking and it just kind of blows my mind how uncomfortable people are being around a sober person. I've told friends many times that I can go out and have fun without drinking (and they can have a DD!). Plus, I don't really want to go out drinking anymore anyway. I like to enjoy a beer here or some wine there, but going out and binge drinking doesn't really appeal to me anymore. It will be interesting when I'm in Bermuda as I'll be with my friend and likely a bunch or her friends from the office (we're all accountants, which tends to be synonimous with drinking!).

I have the same type of friends! I'm not a big drinker, maybe once every few months this one friend will talk me into a night of drinking, and even then I only do it to appease her. I could take it or leave it.

But they are all drinkers, even my husband. He's in a band and so our group is mostly band members and their family and friends and it's Labrador and we are notorious like the Irish for their drinking. He's almost 35 and likes to stay up until 5 in the morning drinking! I usually call it a night at 3 though I would prefer 12

I think they do feel uncomfortable having someone sober who remembers all the dumb stuff they say and do, and yeah, they say and do some dumb stuff

I've already promised my friend who talks me into drinking that as soon as I am in maintenance I will have a night of drinking with her. Thankfully that means about 2 coolers and I'll be drunk I just have to keep away from the shooters! She loves doing jager shots (yuck) I'm actually kinda dreaded it, I like my sleep and waking up feeling good. But that will satisfy her for a few months. I'm a good friend like that lol

Haha, I'm an accountant too and I know EXACTLY what you mean! Networking event tomorrow night with a full dinner and open bar. Sooooo I'm bringing a Quest bar and planning for some sparkling water!

I agree completely, I really do think people are slightly uncomfortable being around a sober person!

I've found that sparkling water in a champagne glass is a great substitute -- and it feels special with a squirt of mio. It definitely helped my with my habit of having a wine glass in my hand as I made dinner each night.

My journey with alcohol was much like my journey with food -- I grew into the philosophy of "why waste calories on something that's not special?" I had a particular hurdle since my husband buys and sells wine for a living. We actually have a wine storage system in our house and, at any given time, there are at least 7 cases in our personal collection sitting around.

I admit that during the first 3 months of P1, I seriously cut back on socializing because I didn't want to be tempted. We went from having dinner parties once or twice a week to none. Of course, that wasn't teaching me anything because I wasn't going to live the rest of my life like that. P1 is a great time to start thinking about how you are going to approach food and drinks in maintenance. Think about the times that you would most enjoy a drink and those where it's just not necessary. I found that I felt pretty comfortable going out for happy hour and having sparkling water. But I really missed partaking in special bottles at dinner parties. P1 is for a limited amount of time -- the alcohol can wait until maintenance. But it's a good time to reflect on your past habits and start thinking about how you want to move forward.

^^ This 100%

I know I had begun using alcohol as a crutch (my dad passing away suddenly, work stress, etc...) - but there was a flip side too that we made friends with a group of people who's lives *almost* completely revolve around the VA craft beer circuit (including my brother). I know 90% of my weight gain was from BEER (craft brews average 150+ calories per 12oz)

We've had a couple nights out w/ our friends since I started IP - and good for those who can maintain their patience - b/c my hubby, who wasn't much of a drinker, has become the social-drinking butterfly (since I am dd). He doesn't drink at home - only when we go out. I was the opposite, more of a home-relaxer (ie, I wouldn't drink more than 2 or 3 beers in public). So on one hand, kinda funny to see him "act up", but otoh, kind of embarrassing 'babysitting'.

So yah - I've talked to one of the friends since we went out and in a round-a-bout way, they said it was "awkward" to be with a completely sober person. We used to talk about 'how could (drinking age) adults could go out without having a social drink'...like we were the experts, lol

Anyway, just coming back around to the fact I've thought about this - a little - and hope I can add a social drink or two back in once in awhile...past habits suggest this would mean like once every 6 months or so though...

I take medication that limits my drinking (and prohibits it for a couple of days each week), so I was sort of used to the weird faces people made when I refused to drink, already. It can be super alienating for a while, but then everybody kind of gets used to it. One trick: a lot of people never notice that you aren't drinking if you order club soda with lime.

My drink of choice is bourbon, which doesn't have a lot of extra calories (beyond the alcohol itself) and really lends itself to sipping/nursing for a long time. So I'm looking forward to having that again, sometimes, post-IP.