So *&^% happens, we forget, life gets in the way and sometimes we just want to. For whatever reason we taste a morsel that's not OP...we do. We're human and imperfect and that's ok. Some weeks we are on point some weeks we're not. Life isn't linear just like weight loss isn't either. So here's to the 90%, the B students, the Jr. Varsity team!

You're still on your journey, your road just isn't smooth...it has a few potholes. My pothole was yesterday afternoon when I had a piece of chocolate because I didn't feel right. BTW, it tasted horrible!! All in all out of six weeks on IP I've deviated and had a total of one piece of chocolate, 2oz of full half and half (a splash in my coffee for four days), and a total of 3 strips of bacon (pieces stolen from my DH's breakfast over the past 6 weeks). What was the consequence of these "cheats"? 25lbs down. So can I deal with my faux pas? Yeah, I can. Will I continue? No, not every week because, again, life isn't perfect.

I'm in! I was thinking of starting this thread too! Thank you!!

Wow Teresa, you look great!! You still have the same pretty face :-)

You're almost at your goal? Congrats!!! Well done!!!

Thank you Ali for starting the thread! In my weeks I've had alcohol, a few pieces of cheese and some chocolate. Still down 26 lbs!

I refuse to beat myself up over the slip ups. I applaud those folks who can be 100% all the time but that's just not me.

I have found a home!!!!! Yaaay!
Life is not perfect and neither am I. My goal is to stay 100% but sometimes it doesn't happen.
I lost 30 lbs from Jan-March with only a few cheats. And they were a whiskey or vodka with diet beverage. It was that or Prozac. And I didn't feel the least bit guilty. I felt better! After that it was nose to the grindstone and 100%.
The real harm is not in the one bite or the one drink... It is if you ALLOW to consider that a failure and then not get back on track. Because we all are smart enough to know that we won't reach our goal if we continuously cheat.
Here's to us....

Hey...bottom line, we're all adults. And if we slip we slip. And if we need a place for non-judgemental support, we should have it. The internet is big enough for all, darn it!! *stepping down off my soapbox now*

Oh no! Stand tall on your soapbox our fearless leader!
I think that the minute one person starts to criticize on here, they should be asked to not post again. NOBODY here needs to read the crap that was written on the other thread. I was pretty much slammed in March for mentioning my having an alcoholic beverage and soda. Not cool!
And I don't believe anybody is trying to be a troll by mentioning deviating off the plan.
Support here only!

awesome thread and good for you for posting it!!

Hey Sunflower! I like your goals! Veryreasonable and healthy! Good on you! And look at what you have lost. Great job!

Sometimes I have turkey bacon with my crispy cereal pancake or a slice of cheese or normal salad dressing...the consequences for this? Losing 50 lbs in 10 wks. Maybe it would have been 60 lbs in 10 wks without the cheats, but I did what I needed to do to keep my sanity.

90%ers may also feel welcome in The Simple Diet thread (the "Dr. Anderson's simple diet" thread) or in the new "General Meal Replacement Thread" I started.

I'm following "The Simple Diet" which shares about 80-90% in common with IP (except that exercise is expected and limited sources of extra calories are available to those who need them).

I created the General Meal Replacement Thread out of desperation. The "Dr Anderson's simple diet" thread is small and not incredibly active, so while I still post there (and the hmr thread, because HMR was the model for The Simple Diet), I also have been lurking in ALL of the meal replacement threads for support and ideas, but posting caused friction with 100%ers.

I'm hoping that I'm not the only one who believes that we need a place where all meal replacement users can come together to share tips and support without quibbling over plan specifics.

I think our common interests, goals, needs, and challenges are more important than the differences.

Thank you. I am taking it slow and steady. That makes it more liveable in my opinion. If I have a few slip ups I don't beat myself up for it nor do I use it as an excuse to go off plan for the entire day or the entire weekend.

My cheats are as follows:
almonds (maybe 6 at times)
cheese (1 babybel)
extra egg
and a full cup of almond milk in my shake every morning (30 calories)

so there, I said it!
I feel free

awesome job
I have used full fat dressing from day one
I refuse to use WF, it sucks

Ahhh! This is fabulous! My dream come true for this forum! So excited for us!!! Lets prove to everyone that you can follow IP your own way and be successful...always within reason of course. I think its important to state from the outset that we are not advocating eating McDonalds fries and white rice. We are talking eating the carrots in a bagged salad, using "unapproved" low calorie salad dressing as an alternative to the icky walden farms, using non dairy creamer in our coffee...things that are so small calorie/sugar/carb wise that it has a negligible effect on our losses. We still are on IP! Don't let anyone let us think otherwise!!!

I sneak in a couple chips every few nights lol! Not an entire handful, but a few bites here and there, it has allowed me to keep my sanity I don't care how many people say that alternatives and IP have some things comparable to chips, to me they just aren't lol.

On another topic... I've heard of weird dreams, but my dream on the weekend takes the cake. It's still haunting me today!!
Basically, the cal-mag pills, those giant suckers, they were like parasites. Half of them was sticking out of me everywhere (feet, hands, my arms, even my EARS!). It was painful to remove and they kept coming out of my skin like worms. I woke up and quickly checked myself.

I may be beginning to resent all the pills I'm downing. Now today, because hair loss is starting to happen and just the shirt I'm wearing, pulling a hair out of my shirt was an unwanted flashback ! It's official, I've lost it!