I do a lot of lurking and reading but rarely post. I lost about 25 pounds doing IP "my way." Pretty much followed P1 but without packets due to a crappy clinic/coach and the cost. Fast forward...kept it off for close to a year. Probably didn't ever really follow the phases but seemed to find a way to maintain. I exercised, kept to P1/P2 for the most part, and had my "fun" days...once those "fun" days turned into more than a day, some pounds crept back on. Hmmm?! I seem to have settled to about 10 pounds above the lowest IP P1 weight I got down to...so I can't quite figure out if I just lost too much weight and it is unrealistic to try to maintain that or if I am just making excuses?! Have done WW in the past and had success with that but never got down below the 150's before as an adult...now I am at about 155 which is probably just fine given my age, 54, and my height 5'10" and I am in a size 10 pants and medium tops/dresses/skirts. I do have a pile of size 8's that I no longer feel very comfortable wearing. So, do I accept where I am...155...or do I try to get back down under 150?! Not sure. Have heard people say you can only "trick" your body once...wondering about that. Feel that my digestive system has gotten very sensitive as well. I cannot tolerate WF products much to my dismay, loved them but at some point, they were not for me. How does one decide to truly maintain and be satisfied?! It gets exhausting to be thinking about what I eat all the time as well. I am still way under where I wanted to be when I started IP...I wanted to drop 10 pounds and I did that and then some...now some has come back...and it is a constant struggle to figure it out. Kind of just weary of it all. Sorry for the rambling...

You're not rambling!! What I am posting is just MY opinion. I am still fairly new but it is my understanding that by going through all the phases, you get to figure out what your body can and cannot handle without putting the pounds back on. At least that is what my coach says. I am looking forward to this being my last 'diet' and finally knowing what I can or cannot do to maintain a healthy weight. I have done WW as well but I don't feel they address the real issue of carbs and sugar. I have done done almost all the programs but IP seems to make most sense to me. I love the science behind it. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide.

I'd be curious as to what others think about this as well. I see lots of people that go off IP and keep saying how difficult it is to get back on track...I wonder if this has anything to do with it? That's why I decided not to phase off for the holidays....didn't want to risk what could happen if I couldn't get back on track as strongly as I am now...

It's all mental. For example I ate pizza on Sunday. I just couldn't eat any more chicken I felt like I was clucking! I ate the pizza and enjoyed it. I didn't beat myself up. Monday morning and every day since then I'm 100% and I don't feel bad. I don't have the carb flu or any of the symptoms of going back into ketosis. My scale is showing a loss. Albeit not a huge one but still a loss.

You have to make the decision to do this for yourself. If you go into it saying it's too much work then you probably won't put in the needed time and energy to be successful. Just my Opinion, and the things that I had to work past myself.

I can't speak to what it is like to hit goal and then work through the other phases, or just stop however.

I can say that the little 'detour' I took when my military son visited for three weeks was brutal, not because I ate a lot of bad things, I didn't, but because getting back on IP was truly hard.

Like many, I have been on many diets. For 8 weeks, I was on IP 100% and lost 40 pounds quickly. When I took my break, I was still careful about what I ate and tried to stay low carb.

But the "magic" was gone - I could not get my mind or body around the concept of going back on the program, no matter how much I wanted to. It took me a month.

So I have no scientific knowledge of any of the above but know that when I get to goal, I am going to have some serious work to figure how to go through maintenance in such a way as to be successful in keeping the weight off for good.

Somewhere I read that the statistic is something like 90% of people who lose weight are not able to keep it off. So that adjustment after reaching goal is probably universal, regardless of how the weight was lost.

It is a forever challenge, I am sure. I am preparing myself that this will not be a walk in the park when I reach goal, that I will need to perservere and watch myself every day.

I'm going to derail the thread, my apologies, but this was false statistic. That 90% report was after 30 people participated in a crash fad diet of 2 weeks. Those people gained the weight back, which we all know that in two weeks, you mostly only lost water weight, so of COURSE they gained it back.

The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) is, to the best of knowledge, the largest study of individuals successful at long-term maintenance of weight loss. Despite extensive histories of overweight, the 629 women and 155 men in the registry lost an average of 30 kg and maintained a required minimum weight loss of 13.6 kg for 5 y. A little over one-half of the sample lost weight through formal programs; the remainder lost weight on their own. Both groups reported having used both diet and exercise to lose weight and nearly 77% of the sample reported that a triggering event had preceded their successful weight loss. Surprisingly, 42% of the sample reported that maintaining their weight loss was less difficult than losing weight.

In a seperate study, they found weight, behavior, and psychological information was collected on entry into the study and 1 year later. Thirty-five percent gained weight over the year of follow-up, and 59% maintained their weight losses

Once these successful maintainers have maintained a weight loss for 2-5 years, the chances of longer-term success greatly increase.

Check out NWCR for tons of studies and statistics, you'll be amazed what you thought you knew and how much was wrong due to "false studies" like the 90% gain it back study. Besides, be the statistic YOU want to be, not the one society wants you to believe.

LIKE LIKE LIKE zoesmom!

This is great information. Whenever I hear that 90% statistic, it makes me a little ill...can't bare the thought of only having 10% chance at success.