Good Morning IPeeps!

I'm very excited, back in November I wrote about how my mother was going to try IP, unfortunately she didn't make it past two days. I am happy to write that she has started again and is almost two weeks in. That is a big thing for my mother. So far she's lost 15lbs, went out of town to a smaller northern community, dominated with her will power to resist her favourite treat that was offered there (bakeapple pie), stayed OP and feels good about it! I really hope she can stick with it and improve her health and quality of life. I know she struggles with depression and self worth, and I really hope this brings back some happiness in her life.

Have a great OP day everyone

That is great! You should feel great about inspiring this in her as I'm sure your results are what precipitated her trying it and re-trying - best gift you could have given to both yourself and your Mom!

Woke up to a dreary day, but at least there was no snow. Couldn't say the same thing when I left for work- it started sleeting, and they're expecting 5-8 inches!

Day 4, and I found my solution to disliking hearty packets and soup packets! I had 8oz of ground turkey in two turkey burgers last night, and boy were they filling! Decided to split my dinner protein between lunch and dinner going forward, and use my lunch packet as an extra snack throughout the day.

Heading home soon to beat the weather. Going to make a 2 egg omelet with zucchini for lunch, and have a 4oz turkey burger with broccoli for dinner. Yum!

You're absolutely right about that! And thanks!

Thank you for the kind words. So many here have been an inspiration to me even if I don't always respond to their posts. We are all in this thing together.
I have mine and am really finding it helpful. Thanks for suggesting it!
I had my left meniscus repaired a few years back and it never fully got back to normal but now I don't feel like I'm going to tilt over or have my knee give out on me. I still have not tried stairs; that is going to be the real test of how much my mobility has increased. The dr kept telling me losing weight would help my osteoarthritic knees but I just didn't think I could do it. I had resigned myself to being fat and getting fatter. I figured when I had a heart attack I'd lose weight then, if I lived through it (that's what my mom did, not intentionally but yeah...).
I'm happy your mom is giving it another try. I'm sure you are a great inspiration for her.
I mix it up some, too. Saving my "lunch" packet until 230 or 3 helps me get through those mid afternoon munchies.

Hope everyone has a great OP day!

DD - so happy your mom is trying again and having success!!

Frawniemae - great victories for you yesterday, on the scale and off!! Glad you are feeling better and your health is improving -- keep going!

Overnight "ice" concerns lead the schools and several city offices to close today, so we are home staying warm. I don't think it will get very warm today but the sun just came out a little bit ago.

That's wonderful! You are a great role model and its nice to have a companion to work the program with! to you both!!

wow I have been having a hard time... my afternoons are the worse. I can't get out of the frame of mind to stop eating that off plan food. It is hard being in a house where not everyone is eating the same thing. Or when non op foods are around and easily accessible. I haven't been able to get on here recently because my laptop crashed about 3 weeks ago. I have to get myself back on track unfortunately I already started the day off track. Lunch and dinner will be on plan but man the afternoon....

Hi Kialya
Diet success is all about mindset. If we set our minds to do something, we won't fail. I've learned just because I "want" something, doesn't mean I've created the mindset for it.

If you're struggling, I'd suggest getting the book "The Beck Diet Solution". There are activities to walk us through preparing for a diet and sticking to a diet. It is a 6-week program & the first two weeks are all about preparation. After I went through it the first time, I've revisited sections frequently, especially if I struggle with those areas.

Keep at it! Don't give up!

try doing a different activity than eating to take your mind off it - get out the house and go for a walk, shopping, etc. When I have those moments, that is what I do and when I come back, it is dinner time! You could look up a special recipe and plan that for dinner and then do the activities like shopping, chopping, etc to prepare for a well anticipated dinner rather than spoiling it with deviations from the program. I actually took my own advice yesterday in regards to that - I knew I was going to make a recipe that called for me to use my snack as part of dinner so I was having a bit of trouble between lunch and dinner (as I usually have my snack then) so I focused my mind on having a new dinner that I was really anxious to try so in the afternoon I searched for the recipe, shopped for it and then prepared it. I would up having dinner about an hour earlier than I typically do which was no problem to take me through to the morning. And, I enjoyed the dinner so much, I am having it again today!

This also triggered me to put a recipe booklet together so I have doing some research on that today.

If this is a permanent struggle time for you, rearrange your "snack" packet time to have it then. Use something like the chocolate soy puffs packet, split it into two, have half at your weak point of the day and half at suppertime to get you over the pre-bed munchies.

In time this craving will pass, but do what you have to and reduce the opportunity to binge by being smart with organised food times.

You CAN do this. In the early days it's about planning, but as you get further down the program it is about willpower and focusing on whether you want to lose the weight or enjoy the off plan food.

Yes, I'm pretty sure you can. It's ok to have fewer restricted items, just not more restricted items. That's the way I understand it!

It helps me to know that if I cheat I mess up the ketosis. A one day cheat (depending on how big it is) can take you 1 to 3 days to correct and get back into ketosis. To me it's not worth losing the better part of a week for one cheat.

This is a saying I made up for myself. I want to figure out how to post it as a quote that shows up each time I post. "A cheat is not a treat for myself, A cheat is how I defeat myself." It has been helpful to me during difficult moments! Maybe it can help......?

You are right about the time it takes to get back into ketosis. For me, it is 2 days. I don't feel well, retain water....I can tell I am back in ketosis when I start losing the bloat.

I love your quote. You would put it in your signature. On the top left of the page click "User CP", then look down the left side of the page for the option to edit your signature.

Shinyjo- I love that quote and it is so true! when I have cheated in the past, it makes me feel totally defeated! At times, its hard to get back on track after the cheat as well.

I had my weigh in today and was down 1.8. I am suprisingly very happy with that result. I have not been losing very high numbers each week but it is good to see it all add up over time. I think I have really started to adapt to the thought that this is a lifestyle and not just a get skinny quick type of plan.

Correct - you can only have 1 restricted per day max, but you don't have to have a restricted every day, you can do 3 unrestricted