sahmmommy2- You can make just one meal, but add a side dish for the rest of your family. Crockpot meals, roasts, grilled meat are all something you can all have. Just make a side of rice, pasta, etc for the rest of the family.


yaelbelle- that's great that you and your family came up with a plan.

sstw1- Congrats on making it to the halfway mark!

Hi fellow IPers ,
Im trying to upload some pics of my journey on IP,Dec 1 will be 7 months and I have lost 70 pounds! If I can do it anybody can!!! Lets see if this works..

You look fantastic!!! I love seeing people's before and afters. They are so inspiring.

We are the same height, so I'm hoping I look that great when I get to 144.

Congrats to everyone who has posted great losses today - what a great way to start the day!!

Maezy - girl, don't make me come shake some sense in you 2.6lbs is a GREAT loss and I'm sure you have read here more than once that sometimes you will see a drop in pounds not inches, or inches and not pounds. Your body is going to adjust along the way, if it's going to stress you out then don't measure but ALSO remember that the tape measure only tells PART of the story. No tears when your scale is being so kind to you!!

yaellbelle - are you weighing every day? Unless you can separate yourself emotionally from the numbers on a daily basis it is a BAD idea. Your weight is going to fluctuate day to day, as well as over the course of a single day. You may very well see the scale go up from day to day, and then all of a sudden weight will WHOOSH off. Don't stress yourself unnecessarily. WEIGH WEEKLY ONLY!!!!!

Mandy - what Ragdoll said is exactly what I do. We all eat the same meal, but I make an extra side dish for everyone else (or just make my own sides). I'm a big proponent of "if I took the time to make it, you WILL eat it or you will be hungry" Nobody's felt deprived yet

SoSo - amazing pics!!!

So I stepped on the scale today - NO CHANGE. I was going to start hyperanalyzing my food this week, then I realized that TOM is due to visit me this week So I am just going to chalk it up to TOM bloat, flush it out with some extra water, and hope that it has passed by the time my next WI rolls around!

I bet the next week will be a nice drop on the scale.

I'm feeling very bummed today. I had to quit IP today. Any tips for me to stay on track with a less expensive route? I've lost almost 20 lbs in 9 weeks...but that cost me over $1000. I just can't justify another $1000 to lose the other 20+ I want to lose. Why does this have to be soooo expensive?

Having a rough IP week myself--eating is fine but that scale hasn't budged much and it's bringing me down.

So....I took the stairs this morning at work. 4 flights, not too shabby!

Have you checked into alternatives? I switched 8 weeks ago for the same reasons. Check this thread:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...se-1-talk.html

Don't quit altogether, just switch to alternatives. I order from Nashua Nutrition and it is about 1/3-1/2 the cost of IP.

I like the proti-thin and weight loss system products. Just check the alternative threads for some suggestions.

SoSo: You look great!

Ragdoll: You are almost 70% of the way there!

Scorbett: You are absolutely right! am keeping this medical journal thing for my doctor and there is a blank for weight every day. But I started marking body fat out beside it, just for my sanity. As long as I can find progress somewhere, even if in my non-cheating, I am calling the day a success. ... And I am impressed you didn't GAIN if it is that TOM. Wait till next week's WI and I bet you'll get to see two weeks worth of success!

OneofThreeGirls: I am sorry! I know the financial burden is so hard. There is a thread here for Alternative IP that a lot of folks do. Once I get the diet down really well, I plan to start incorporating some myself. Check it out, I know some of the folks don't buy any IP products, but substitutes they have found at Walmart, etc. You will do great! We will be here for you!

Debra: Don't look at that one number! You may have built muscle, or be retaining water, or lost 1/2 a size clothing or more, or so many other healthy things. You've made great progress this far, and this might be a week you are recalibrating to the newer, thinner, you!

Yes! I agree that making separate food can be a lot of work. I will have the same issue because my DH is a veggie and I don't think I'll be able to maintain a veggie lifestyle comfortably on maintenance (at least at first). I plan to continue as I have been--sharing our evening veggie and trying to make a meatless and meat version of the same entree when possible. Then he usually has a bread and wine which I do not. I won't be able to do a 100% same dinner with him very often, but that's ok. I think as long as we have the same salad and veggie sides then prepping separate other things wont be as bad.

This made me laugh! This was my mom's policy growing up--If you don't like what I cook, that's totally fine. Make yourself a pbj. Thanks for the flashback!

Uggh. I can relate. A few weeks ago I was happily heading toward the 180's and then my scale abruptly halted in the 192 range. And then I GAINED .3! I was so annoyed. This gain lasted for about two weeks (dropped a large amount of weight right before my next weigh-in, so on my chart all you see is the middle weigh in with the .3 gain). During that time, however, my clothes got really baggy, so I must have been losing lots of inches. It really bummed me out at first, but I read everyone's comments on here about fluxuations and it made me feel better. I'm crossing my fingers for you that changes are still happening!!!

Thanks everyone ! It feels real good, and I am sooo proud of myself, I havent weighed this in 18 years !!!

i just had my second weigh in lost another 8lbs im soo excited i cant belive how im feeling already 12 days in and 17lbs lighter - my coach got the new pasta in so i was very excited she had it so fast having it for lunch today =)