Hoorah for you! Remember this:

No one is more important that YOU! Do this for YOU and don't let anyone or anything get in the way of your goal. Live your life one day at a time. If things go bad one day-- and they will-- that's the nature of life-- things will get better. If you didn't have the bad days, how would you know what the good days are?

I'm proud of you. Remember that we're all in this together.

I haven't had an official WI in over two weeks due to a couple of horrible weeks at work but I stepped on my scale at home this morning and was at 202 - down a total of 51 lbs! (12 weeks OP) Made for a great start to the day. Also, so close to ONDERLAND - can almost taste it!LOL!
Its funny that I have just started to get comments from people that I see every day. One of the guys I work with told me I was looking great yesterday - it made me smile the rest of the day. My kids ages 8, 9, 9 & 10 were telling me last night that they thought I had lost enough weight and should go off my diet. They even said that they were saving some of their Easter candy for me!!
We are off to a local Little League fun day today. Hope everyone has a great OP weekend!

I think I've decided to do this with alternatives instead. It's just too expensive for us! There are so many things I'd rather do with that money. The wonderful part to me is that I just don't think getting to 150 will be enough but I couldn't afford to keep going. So this way I an easily afford to go lower. While I'm not sure yet to what, at least I don't have to worry about the money. I've been looking at what to do but would appreciate any tips!

Have a great weekend and happy Mothers day to all you Moms!

I had my 7th WI this morning, down another 4.4#, which brings the total to 25# gone FOREVER, and 20 inches also gone forever!!! I couldn't believe it. TOM is with me once again, and I still lost that weight, and 3.5 inches!

I talked to my coach about the burning of fat, and soy products, effecting estrogen levels. She said first of all, there are lots of misunderstandings about soy because scientific discoveries are made all the time. She said for people who are worried about estrogen levels and thyroid issues (like me), don't worry about the soy, it's very good for you.

She also said that burning fat is the source of all us women's problems with TOM (even if you're post-menopausal, apparently!), and hot flashes, etc. She also mentioned that a lot of the toxins that your body stores is stored in the fat - for example, nicotene (for you smokers or ex-smokers out there). If you've quit, and are on this diet, you may feel some effects of nicotene, as it was stored in fat and is now being released. My coach also said that people's moods are different, since burning fat is releasing all sorts of hormones. You may find that you're in a great mood for some time, and in a really bad mood for some time (that explains MY mood swings, thank goodness!! haha).

I thought this was wonderful information to know. It puts lots of things in perspective for me. All the things that your fat stores - you're detoxifying your body by getting rid of a lot of it.

According to IP protocol, you can have 1 oz skim milk in the morning. I'm not a coach, but I think if you want to substitute almond milk with it, that might be ok, but because of the 2g carb, I wouldn't overuse it. I'd probably keep it to 1oz/day, simply because of the carbs it has in it, and I don't know about the Cal and fat content. The diet is very specifically calculated between carbs, fat, protein, calories, electrolytes, etc., so whatever you add to it, changes the measurements, and will change results - for some people moreso than others.

Also, it says on the bottom of the program sheets, "Anything that is not included on this sheet must be zero carb, zero fat and zero sugar."

And I hope someone smarter can add (or subtract?) to this!

CONGRATS ON THE JOB OFFER AND THE FREE WEEKEND!! I'm so happy for you!

First off, great job staying focused on the positive!! Good for you, that's so hard to do in your situation, I know. I've dealt with similar. Whether they are trying to make you feel worse, or trying to get you back, the "big mutha *** chunks of gnarly sea salt" still taste the same. It's too bad this guy didn't realize how lucky he'd been while he was with you. Stay strong and focused, just as you're doing. You seem like a very sweet person, and your healthy way of life is revealing your great figure, you'll feel more self-confident, you'll attract people all around you, and many other doors will open for you (if they haven't already!).

Honey, they will notice a difference. It's been a whole year! How much weight have you lost since you last saw everyone? You may or may not still feel like the "heaviest" one, even if you're clearly not, just because when you're used to being a certain size for so long, your brain takes a long time to get out of that mindset. Keep reminding yourself how much weight you've lost, how much easier it'll be to dance without that weight, and remember that you're looking GREAT. Those mirrors, whether some are funny or not, will always show you what you WANT to see. If you feel heavy, you're going to look at them and see a heavy person. If you feel healthy, and remember how you looked last year, you will see someone who's made some great decisions for herself.

I need your help with this...

I decided to let my facebook friends know that I have lost weight, and told them.."I have lost 30lbs in 6 weeks, my energy is high and I feel wonderful. if you want to know my secret msg me" I had someone ask me (not in a msg, but as a reply to my status) how long it would taken them to lose 20 lbs. I replied that everyone is different. On average you can expect to lose 3-4lbs a week. She then asked me how it was possible I lost 30lbs in 6 weeks I said my first week I lost 11lbs. then my wall got bombarded by people telling me that it is "very unhealthy" to lose that much weight in 1 week.

How do I respond to this? My purpose of telling them about IP was because my coach is a friend and she is having an open house so I wanted people who were interested to learn about it.

Suga, I'm so sorry for the pain you're experiencing. I've never been through a divorce, but have a child going through it now. Such sadness & loss! You've shown such strength, and as was already said, if you can make it through this without numbing with food, you can make it through anything!

BTW, love the quote!

Facebook can be useful at times, but back stabbing at others. Why not, rather than tell people about the weight you've lost (by the way CONGRATS!), invite them to an informational session ie: the open house for free information. Just a suggestion, then they can see for themselves how great IP is

My personal solution to this would be to delete the post and all the comments with it. I've had people tell me how my fast weight loss is unhealthy, I can't train my pancreas, internal organs don't work that way, my doctor is horrible because he's falling for a diet fad, I'm damaging my liver and kidneys, etc. I have only been telling 3 people (aside from all of you great people) about the diet and the numbers, and I'm sticking to that.

It's sad, though, because I know you feel proud of yourself (as you should!), and you want to share your excitement with others. I've been tempted to write about mine on facebook, too. It's unfortunate that not everyone wants to share it with us in return.

Thank you.
I did want to share it with people. It was a family member who actually said that to me, and it hurt. I knew I wanted people to come to the open house for my clinic to find out about it, but I didn't want to msg the overweight people, because I didn't want to offend them.

I didn't delete it, but I did write...

"I look at it like this, my 2L/day dr. pepper or coke habit, love of fried food, lack of veggies and sugar addiction was a lot more unhealthy. my blood pressure is normal, I have a ton of energy, my skin ...looks great and my muscles are starting to become defined. being a size 18/20 was A LOT more unhealthy than what I am doing now, eating veggies (some I never heard of before) drinking water and my dinner now doesn't consist of fast food, or fried foods. I probably would have ended up with diabetes if I continued going down the path I was on, yet you never once told me that I was unhealthy.

didn't mean to sound like a bi***, but why is it that when we finally do something good for ourselves, other people want to bring us down? AGhhh

Sandra, I agree with Treena - just delete it all. If anyone is truly interested in information, they will message you as you suggested. It hurts to get such negative reactions from people (I know; I've experienced it), but those responses are rooted in their own issues, not really about you. You know you're doing something wonderful for yourself, and we're all celebrating with you!!

I agree with everyone else on here who told you to delete the posts. Trust me, it will make you feel better. From now on, maybe you need to keep your weight loss to yourself. It has been my experience that there are always those for whatever reason, who like to rain on your parade. The important thing is YOUR health. If your doctor approves it, if your bloodwork is coming in great, if your blood pressure is good and you're not experiencing any problems, then I say, go for it.

Let them be surprised when they don't recognize you. Then... don't tell them what you did! That's the best revenge!

I think you handled it very well! It is very hard to ignore negative comments. You are losing weight, becoming healthier for you, and no-one understands how that makes you feel except you. I was 190 pounds when I was 19, and went on the Atkins program. I lost 45 pounds and some may call that an un-healthy program, but boy without the short-term diet I don't know where I would be! I gained soooo much confidence in myself, felt empowered that I could overcome any obstacle and led a much healthier lifestyle after the weight was gone. It is sooo easy to gain weight, but boy losing it is such a struggle and takes real will-power. If you find a short-term diet plan like phase one of IP, and it helps you become healthier, who cares what anyone thinks but you! Keep truckin' along!

I deleted everything. Thanks everyone.

It a pretty big shame though that the world is like this. When I was heavier no one ever told me I was unhealthy. Now that I am losing the weight people are getting *****y. it's a messed up world out there.

Thank you, rulemom, for mentioning this... yesterday, I had hot flashes all day long & was trying to figure out why... I'm long past those change-of-life power surges (never had them much anyway), so having such an overabundance of them all in one day was a little annoying... this my second round of IP protocol*, & if I had hot flashes the first time, I don't remember it... anyway, it's a relief to think, as you said, my hormones are getting rebalanced...

* I started almost a year ago, did it perfectly 'til Thanksgiving, then it all went to pieces... lost about 65 lbs. in those first 6 months... I've been trying to get my head back into it since then & finally got going again about 10 days ago & have lost 5 lbs. so far... for anybody considering cheating, take it from me, it ain't worth it... there's too much of a possibility that it'll screw up your mindset like it did mine... hopefully, it wouldn't take anybody else 6 more months to get their head back in the game...

hugs

^Even though you didn't delete the post and the responses, this is a good response, and the same one I gave to the people who had a problem with my diet. I basically said, "What's so bad about a diet that's forcing me to eat vegetables and not eat junk food??" Lol.

Don't worry you don't sound like one!

It's really just people's general concern - a fast weightloss, for those who are losing weight unhealthily, IS a bad thing. Also, most diets don't have so much scientific information to back them up. Successful, fast weightloss is alien to people who don't have the same knowledge and education that we have received from IP.

In addition, a good friend of mine was criticizing me pretty harshly for falling for a "fad diet," and for having a doctor who "fell" for it too. In his defense, he was incorrectly diagnosed with celiac's disease for several years (when it first became well-known and popularized). He spent all that time, all that money, avoiding wheat and malt products and ordering most of his food online so it was all gluten-free. I can understand his concerned and protective point of view. People do fall for fads, no matter how intelligent and educated. I wouldn't compare IP to a fad though, as I've never heard of it before, no one I know has heard of it, information and books about it are not readily available everywhere else like other popular diets - all of these things kinda make me think it's not quite a fad. Not to mention our amazing blood pressure, cholesterol levels, bmi's, energy, and blood sugar are physical proof that we're eating exactly what we should be to maintain healthy bodies!

Others, I think, are simply just jealous, even though they may not realize it themselves.