I took your advice and tried on the rest of my "skinny" clothes. Stuff I haven't worn since I was about 142 lbs. Only one pair of jeans doesn't fit - and they were always tight. Some of the stuff won't look quite right for another few pounds but it was really exciting to try it all on! Thanks!

sarahbell - congrats on the 3.9 lbs!

drd1961 - congrats on the 5.5 lbs and staying OP at the party!

Welcome LicaC!

And thanks for the tips Ems.......I am going to do this tonight. Good idea.

Hubby and I are going out to brave the malls tonite..have fun all!

Happy Friday everyone,

Love the chat on outgrowing clothes so fast and both the scale and NSV's posted.

Lisa - I haven't thought too much about what IP products I have been choosing but you raise a good point about not getting to used to eating sweet, like bars or brownies.

Had a 3 lbs loss this week and really happy with this program.

Thank you so much

Down 3.4 this week, even with the stress of finals!!

Down 5.5 in week 2-for a total of 6.5 pounds lost on ip
Looking forward to losing more!
We can do this!

Great losses and NSV's, everyone!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend. We are baking and decorating here, and we are supposed to get more snow tomorrow. I am about done with winter (even though it is not even winter yet!) Yuck! Oh, well, at least I can stay home and cuddle by the fire.

Stay warm, everyone!

~Renee

Help oh help, I have great parents but my parents live out of town and now when they come back for a week the majority of time is spent at one siblings house and my family tends to ge the day before they fly back home. There are promises made to my kids and they always get broken...I just got a message that my mother is coming home on the 27 of December for a week. I feel ashamed to say this but it ruined my whole night. I am already freaking out due to the stress that comes with the visiting of my parents. I am trying to find a way to protect my family from the dissapointments that come when my parents come to town. I am finally doing well with my weight, workouts, and self esteem. My sister just had the gastric sleeve procedure done and she has been hard on my daughter and me over our weight for many years. I don;t want to be compared to her, and I don't want to be stressed out over this situation. I am needing help on how to get through this visit of my mother and seeing my sister after her surgery. I know she probably has lost over 60 pounds by now and she wants us all to go out to eat but I don't feel this is a situation that is good for me or my daughter. Help help help....I want to stay OP and not loose my footings in this weightloss battle and change of life I am making for myself.....Suggestions welcome.....

I'm sorry you''re stressing. Maybe you could invite your Mom to your house for an evening that way you control the meal? And then your kids get some QT time w her?

FINALE: HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH AND KNOW THAT NO MATTER WHAT FEELINGS COME UP, FOOD WON'T FIX IT. YOU'VE GOT THIS! YOU'VE GOT THE SUPPORT, YOU ARE ON TRACK, AND YOU ARE FINE. BROKEN PROMISES, WELL, THEY SUCK. BUT IT HAPPENS THROUGH LIFE AGAIN AND AGAIN UNFORTUNATELY. JUST KEEP IT ALL IN PERSPECTIVE (WITHOUT TURNING NEGATIVE) STAY POSITIVE, SURE OF YOURSELF, AND KNOW WE ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU NEED TO SCREAM. YOU ARE TURNING INTO A DIFFERENT PERSON, ATTITUDE, CONFIDENCE, ETC. KNOW THAT YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK. NO NEED TO GET DEFENSIVE WITH THEM IF THEY COMPARE YOU TO YOUR SISTER. THAT IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS. YOUR BUSINESS IS YOU! WRITE YOURSELF AN ENCOURAGING NOTE AND KEEP IT WITH YOU. WHEN EMOTIONS START RISING, EXCUSE YOURSELF, GO TO THE BATHROOM, READ THE NOTE, AND FOCUS. YOU ARE NOT WHAT OTHERS THINK YOU ARE, YOU ARE NOT THE OLD YOU, YOU ARE TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE... YOU'VE GOT THIS!!!!

Oh my gosh...I wasn't looking while typing...didn't mean to shout, the tone is loving and caring, didn't realize I had caps lock on. Guess it's time for bed!

You can be in control. They are coming to visit you right? And you can make the suggestion where to go out to eat. So suggestion a steak house. That is always my going out to eat suggestion because I know that most steak houses have side salads and steamed broccoli to go with the steaks. They also usually have 6 and 8 ounce cuts of steaks to order, and have grilled chicken as well. So you can be on program and go out to eat and not stress. Important though....I tuck a Walden's packet into my purse and order the salad without dressing and take off the croutons. The little bit of carrots they put in these salads are negligible, but you can move around them and leave them at the button. STAY AWAY FROM THE ROLLS. Remember, rolls, and other carbs are plentiful in our world, you do not need to hoard them!