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Isn't that odd? Is it phases of the moon? I had trouble sleeping on Wed and Thurs nights, too! And....I was hungry on Thurs and Fri, also! I slept pretty good last night, so I'll see if the hungry's keep quiet today.

After my last pitiful weigh-in, I doubled-down on the water - sort of - and I'm feeling "light" again. My home scale is moving down steadily.

And.....my favorite jeans are going to become my housework/yardwork jeans. I've got a saggy butt thing going on with them now.

Stay strong this weekend, all! Make it a "strong-end"!

Good Morning IPers,
Here hoping everyone has a great weekend staying on the program. Today I am invited to a housewarming. I was asked to bring a dessert, but I think I will bring a veggie platter instead. This way I won't be tempted and I can stay on protocol. Wish me luck.

Have a great weekend.

Hello all!

I am down another pound today, according to home scale... yeah! I look forward to weighing myself every morning, when not too long ago, I looked forward to eating! I am happy happy!

I hope everyone has a great weekend... and congrats in advance for all NSV's and will power coming our way!

Take care
Candace

morning, all. I just took "before" photos of myself so I have them to post when I have some progress photos to share. I don't own a digital camera, but my MacBook has a camera installed, so I figured out how to use it. Yeah, tech-challenged me!

I used my hand blender to whip up the wildberry yogurt drink this am. So much creamier that the shaker. Yum.

I took some "before" photos of my messy kitchen, too, and now look forward to making that look better a little more immediately. So, rubber gloves, broom and great tunes on the radio and time to get to work! It is S-O easy for me to spend all day on this board or reading other things online. I think it is a little bit of an addiction (to avoid the housework I dislike), so I will be back later to read how your weekends are going, but I need to use it as a reward for some focused work. For me (not pointing fingers at anyone else), lack of discipline in house work and mindless eating of too much food go together. Today is a new day.

Good Morning everyone. I got on the scale this morning and was down a pound too, I am so excited!! I also upped my water yesterday and read through the recipe's and am ready to go for it to the end. I am really looking forward to those wonderful breakfasts everyone talks about. My kitchen is messy today too and after I clean it up I am going to go buy a magic bullet. I read on a bunch of posts yesterday of people using them to whip up more creamy drinks that sound yummy. Good luck to all at their weekend challenges and I agree on the sleep hungry thing it totally makes sense to me.

A Saturday (still, but barely) morning recap

• amylew and makeitmatter declared membership in the "too small for their britches" club; prescription: retail therapy and some happy
• JessicaCourez, or as I think of her "JC", had some recommendations for having IP cereal at its best, and filled us in on one of her may successful business trips on IP including some surprising "service"
• Rae2010 shared her week 1 results: - 4.2 lbs and 3.5 inches Rae! with Week 2!
• Tminus80 added her voice to the "If you don't like a packet now, try it later" chorus
• Linden posed a question for entomologists -- amateur and professional -- about a lame brain fruit fly

And when I logged in just now, there were 5 posts -- five -- and 73 views! Hey you lurkers, come on in and post.

I've had my Bullet for more than 5 years...in fact, I'm on my second one and have had about 5 friends buy one on my recommendation....everyone has just loved it...hope you do too! In fact I use mine to grind my coffee beans in the small cup with the flat grinder.

Marilyn

P.S. You're not alone with the kitchen...I cleaned my microwave and my toaster oven this a.m....what a mess!

I never realized how great it would be to give away all my big, baggy jeans. My boss has been losing weight too and kept joking with me that I should just give her my baggy jeans (she is a size or 2 bigger than I am) so she could toss hers. I woke up yesterday and decided I was going to toss the baggy jeans. I tried on several pairs of jeans looking for a pair that wasn't baggy in either the abs or the butt. I started IP in size 12s that were really tight. I've kept a stack of my old jeans that I've grown out of determined to get back into them....I end up only having 1 pair I couldn't fit it and only 2 that really fit...and they were 8s and 9s...and I have a feeling I'll be out of them soon enough too. It was really refreshing to wake up this morning realizing that I have achieved what seemed like the impossible 2 months ago. Side Note: Boss got a good laugh when I sat a stack of jeans on her desk yesterday.

Well IP friends, I think I have a bit of a dilemma -- I think I've decided, but I'd like some feedback on what you think of my plan.

I didn't weigh in last week, but was stuck at 137 for two weeks. My first goal was 135. Until recently, tho, my plan was to get to 125 come **** or high water before I phased off. For once, I was going to do things right and get all the way through the diet before 'quitting.'

Then two things happened:

First, I found out this week that the first week of November I'm going on a BIG business trip -- now, I've done IP quite successfully on trips with no problem. However, this is 4 cities in 4 days road show, high pressure, with very little time or ability to be choosy about food. Also, I'll have very little control over my surroundings in terms of rental car, and I won't be able to pack enough veggies/protien to just tough it out with everything else I need to pack. I started to think that no matter what, I was going to start the phasing off process October 1 so that by Nov. 1 (when the trip starts) I was just starting in Phase 4. If I wasn't happy with my weight, I'd do the January Phase 1 until I got to where I wanted.

Second, this morning I GOT INTO MY GOAL PANTS WITH ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM!! Two weeks ago they didn't zip. You know, the pants that I said when I get here, I'm going to be happy with my weight!!

So -- after the weigh in Thursday, I'll decide if I just go immediately into phase 2 or wait untill October 1 just like I'd planned. I'm still not happy with a few things (hello, thighs, are you listening to me? Pretty please, body, burn from there instead of my arms or chest...don't MAKE ME write you another letter) so I'd think I'd like to go a week or two longer on phase 1.

Life after Phase 1 friends & Big Breakfasts, here I come!

Thoughts? Do the folks in Phase 4 think that it would be a problem starting that phase while out of town?

Hi Ladies,
Day 5 for me here. Woke up with a screaming headache ( I am prone to migraines) Took my T3's and gravol and a bunch of water, licked some salt off my hand and slept longer. The headache is tolerable now.

DH noticed today that even though I am feeling a bit cruddy I am still more productive on IP than off. I made homemade pizza and 2 dozen cinnamon buns yesterday (for the family not me) It is crazy, I am finding cooking food for other people almost therapeutic..I am not temped at all. I tried a new recipe pizza crust and wanted to know how it compared to the ones I used to make. I took a small bite, just crust, got the taste to see what it was like and spit it out. That is huge for me.

I tried searching the forums, could not find the answer very clearly. How do you all know when you are in ketosis?

I am making pizza again tonight for the fam. DH bought me some kitchen scales to weigh my meats so I don't go over.

My weight scales say I am down, but I want to wait until weigh in on Monday to see where I am at.

EatAnts: Way to go with the jeans! Way to repurpose.

Have a great Saturday all.

Cie

Well hello again everyone, I've not been around for a while. I had a super busy but very amazing weekend last week and a house guest and was too busy to read or post. I know I can't catch up with all the posts I missed, but I'm here today. I fell (stepped off) the IP wagon earlier this week, but I'm back on now.

I actually have a question and I was wondering if someone might have an answer for me. So far I haven't been one to calculate all the food that I'm eating as far as carbs etc. I just follow the sheet that I was given. I don't usually have any restricted veggies, but do have up to one restricted IP packet a day. This usually works well for me. For those of you who keep track of all the numbers I was wondering if I could run a product by you to see how it stacks up? I'm missing my lattes a bit and found an almond milk that seems like it might be a low enough carb option for the occasional latte here's the info:

for 1 cup (240ml):
calories 40
fat 3g
carbs 2g
fiber 1g
sugar 1g
protein 1g

I'm not looking for it to be an everyday thing, but maybe 1-3 times a week. And I don't want to cheat either, so if you have the time and knowledge I'd be happy for a straight-up answer (don't tell me it's okay if it isn't). Thanks in advance for anyone who answers!

1) If you're only using 1 oz a day, while it's not on the program, it shouldn't have a drastic effect.

2) But why not do it on plan? Take one pudding (Vanilla,Chocolate, Butterscotch, or Capuccino Drink). Put 8 oz cold water in your shaker. Add the packet and 1/2 - 2 teaspoons decaf or regular expresso or plain coffee. Shake well; pour into a 3 cup mug; refill shaker with another 6-8 oz water; shake; pour into the cup.

Now you can just drink it (delicious) or heat it about 1 minute or less on defrost. You don't want to cook the protein.

So, on the goal pants!
About the goal weight, I know Novak mentioned that she lost lbs in Phase 2 and lots of inches in the last weeks. And for sure Carla lost a lot of inches and few lbs over the summer.

Jessica's thighs, LISTEN UP Release the fat!
Your family should be lying prostrate in gratitude! My word, baking pizza and cinnamon buns while on this program -- you, my dear lady, are a veritable IP saint! And the kitchen scale while supportive -- Cie's husband -- ain't compensation enough for your efforts, in my opinion.

About ketosis, commonly observed symptoms are no cravings, little to no hunger, metallic taste in your mouth, funny smelling urine (I've never had this symptom so I can't tell you what it smells like). If you're satisfied on the food and losing pounds and inches, don't worry about ketosis, you're in it! If you're following the program and not losing pounds and inches, it might be something to check.
Welcome back on the IP wagon, Becca! Responses to off-program foods vary from person to person. If you really want to try it, I'd recommend having it once during a week and have nothing else off program. Notice if you get hungry sooner than usual or have cravings after having the almond milk. See how it affects your weight loss. It's not a perfect test, but it will give you information about how your body responds.

Edit -- another thought: can you get the vanilla RTD from your coach/clinic? If you have a powerful stick blender, you could probably whip that up. The liquid needs to be really cold as does the bowl/container you use to whip it. I've done this with skim milk and got something similar to foamed milk. You might even be able to foam the vanilla RTD.
If no RTD available, you could experiment with a decent plain or flavored whey powder mixed with water. Note the word experiment -- I've never done this with my plain protein powders.

Hey Jessica! CONGRATULATIONS!! That is so AWESOME you made it into you goal pants !

I can't address the phase 4 transition issues. So, I will leave that part of the post to another.

Regarding stopping, if you are happy where you are I see no reason to not phase off. Keep the success you have achieved. Focus on maintaining through the holidays. January is a perfect time to tackle more loss if you still want it.

You may find, as Novak often mentions, you will still lose some in phase 2 and 3.

I found, even though I stopped losing this summer, I have only been maintaining but, I still dropped 2 sizes in pants and have kept it.

I don't think the weight on a scale is the only thing we should aim for. I think if you are happy with how you feel, like how you look, and have reached the goal you set for yourself then, you do yourself no disservice in maintaining that which you have achieved until you can appropriately tackle it again. In my opinion, it might be worse to believe you can keep on track and then deal with the cheats you might make during a stressful, whilrlwind trip.

Good luck with your decision! And, again, I am so happy for your success!