schenectady: I love it! 65 is right. Very classy

If the inches were dropping it wouldn't be so bad, but they've been stagnate for two weeks also. Don't get me wrong I feel bettre than I've ever felt. I look better than I have in a lot of years. I'm working hard at eating right, changing my mind set, and I'm exercising lightly since that's all I'm allowed. But a large part of the daily motivation is the losses I see, the better way pants fit, all those wonderful things. That is more motivating than anything most days and when it's not happening that motivation is lacking. I have other motivations that help keep me going but being stalled is hard on the will power and the motivation. I plan to keep trucking a long, but trust me the struggle to not eat a potato chip is harder than it is on weeks where I'm losing. When I am tempted I self talk my way through things by saying, "look how much you lost this week, you lost almost 4 lbs and 2 inches or whatever you don't want to eat that and risk that this week you may blow it, you don't want to drink that and have to get back into ketosis" Today I don't have those words, I am using different words and it's not that "Amber look how much you've lost, look how far you've come, wow 33lbs is a lot, it's as much as one of your children, look those size 16's are getting loose," aren't helpful and great but some days at some moments they aren't as helpful as "holy crap you lost 4lbs this week!" lol Does that make sense?

Oh and also THANK YOU ALL for the support! That's why I come here! You guys both distract me and help me look at things in a different light. You guys both understand where I'm coming from, what I am going through, and how to help me past it. This forum is fantastic and I'll say it a million times I'm sure!

Thank you, 65X65 and everyone for the kind words. I was DETERMINED that I was going to pick a dress that was far away from an old lady dress - like the kind I was forced to wear for years because there isn't much in a size 22.

The dress has a bit of spandex so that and the Spanx should do well. I am looking at it all the time to reinforce my 100% OP stance.

Got a great pair of Ann Taylor heels that are a black, cream, and tan snakeskin sort of pattern which I thought went well with the texture of the black lace.

Promise I will post pictures when I wear it.

I love buying clothes!

...and make sure dh has a spiffy tie...and dancing shoes?????

Amber... You know we all DOOO get it here. More than anyone else we understand.

The frustration...and the urgency to get to the end. 2 weeks is not so long. How many weeks did it take you to decide to start this diet? Those were the weeks nothing was happening. ...You know something is going on...it is just not a data point that is measureable and tangeable proof that you are getting healthy. Maybe your blood work is dropping...possibly your visceral fat is decreasing. You know from reading here the fat cells fill with water and the body lets that go last...

It's a process and you are both the passenger and the conductor on this ride. You just don't get to pick which hat you wear on which day. Sometimes you need to reward yourself for staying the course though...Something just for you that says..you are special...and you are sooo doing the right thing. I'm a big fan of that, and no matter how small your budget...New nail polish...a bubble bath soak {even at 10PM after the kiddoes are in bed} with music don't cost much....that new book by your fav author...a new bracelet? Even fresh flowers on your table. That is a reminder of all the stuff you did not put on your table or bring into the kitchen to eat recently....and that you are on track.

Schenectady and Reenhag thanks for the encouraging words. My goal for today is staying 100% OP. I will take it one meal at a time, one day at a time.

Great dress Shenectady! Very classy and not at all those oldlady styles or colours. I always cringed at those 'mother-of-the-bride' type dresses that you see advertised - I've always thought they were more great gramma-of-the-bride dresses.

Get your hubby up & dancing too - great fat burning exercise! happy little cloud dance!!



Amber... don't give up. It is hard when you hit a stall and I know you know this already, but a little reminder never hurts: Your body can only work on one thing at a time - maybe this week you lose weight, maybe next week you lose inches, maybe another week your blood lipids or blood sugars are improving, etc. Not everything happens at once. Try to write down (or stick in your phone notes) one NSV every day - sometimes it will be the same one, but it's still a victory for each day. Writing it down & reading it helps your brain process the reality of it - so that it's not just a 'nice theory' running around in your head.

Also, maybe it's time to focus on what other things are happening in your life not related to weight loss - friends, job, recreation, etc. We can tend to become obsessive about the scale when we are working hard OP. Life is more than our weight . Chin up!

Liana

You guys are correct as always. I'm going to try not to think about it... I have enough on my plate right now with my youngest having behavioral problems and the end of the school year chaos. Time to suck it up and keep trucking.

NSV...kind of. I had a "rough day at the office" today and am in a mental funk (TOM to blame too-- ooooh and all that estrogen coming out of my fat -- wait! Now I'm EXCITED that I'm an emotional mess...)
Anyway, I'm cooking and my chicken is on the BBQ, "nuggets" for the boys in the oven. I started eating one of their nuggets (well I DID finish it) but before I grabbed another I logged in here! I thought that was awesome to have a place I could come and distract my fingers before emotional eating took over.

As for Amber -- you've heard lots of encouragement today. You're monitoring closely what you're eating. Try different alternatives and see. Maybe it IS a reaction to a brand of something. Some alternatives make me feel sick -- that "fake" taste. What was it someone just said recently along the lines of "don't think of a stall or not losing as failure. Think of it as a success of maintaining and not gaining.".... something like that.

NSV for this newbie: I was too busy to even make a cup of coffee before I left this morning and haven't had a caffeine-withdrawal headache all day (and I am a migraine sufferer). Before IP, my biggest vices were sweetened coffees and Coke. I usually had a headache by 9am if I didn't have one. Wondering now if it was the sugar withdrawal that was making me sick and NOT the caffeine? Whichever, it feels awesome to not be owned by any one substance!

It's so great to see how you all encourage each other here. What a great place to be!

What a lovely dress! With 10 weeks to go, you might lose enough that you need to have the dress taken in! Congratulations on your success!

If you can stick with it go for it! For each caffeinatied drink you have, you have to have another glass of water. I felt like I was swimming as it was with all that to drink so I switched to decaf and love my java every day, headache free. I love being able to have a French Vanilla decaf any time of day or night if I need my "treat".

I too suffered from migraines. I had no notion they would improve when I started IP, but mine stopped almost immediately. I really believe they were caused by something in all the processed food I was eating. I try to eliminate refined sugars now in maintenance, but when I have had them I have not had a return of my headaches. I have a cup of coffee each morning, but that is what I always had pretty much before IP anyway. What a great side benefit to getting healthy; no more headaches!

After losing nothing between last Thursday and Tuesday, the school's scale puts me down another 3.5lbs this afternoon. Nope, no water retention here, none at all....

OTOH, I also forgot my lunch today. Left it sitting on the kitchen counter. So I dipped into my emergency packets for the protein, but didn't have the veg until I got home. Presumably, that won't mess things up too much, as long as I get all of the veg in.