Lisa-that is a wonderful accomplishment, you continue to inspire! Congrats! (I wish I was still in FL, too!)

Congratulations! Great job
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Happy morning, everyone! Winter stinks. We really should do that cruise one day!

So I'm in maintenance as of a few days ago, after doing a proper phase-off. It's temporary to help slow the hair loss til biotin and iron kick in Always been slightly anemic, and tho the daily multis have iron, I've bumped up with an iron supplement after reading lack of iron can cause hair loss. Was taking an additional iron supplement for the first several months of IP, but didn't refill when it ran out as I was taking the multi-vitamins. That's about when the hair loss started. Back on iron for about a week; just the last day or two, the hair loss seems to be slowing! Maybe the iron? or maybe don't have much hair left to lose! Either way, hope it lasts, then I will go back to phase II or I.

Entered Phase III at 145.6 lbs, then gained +2.6 towards the middle of week 2 but thought it was water retention as was eating out a lot on vacation, less control of sodium. Plus I walked b*tt off at Disney for 9 days. Entered maintenance at 145.8, so loss the phase III "gain" (water?), This morning I'm 144.8, and TOM is about to hit, so very happy. Halted my ticker for now, but will restart it soon and lose the last 6 lbs before I'm done!

Thanks Starshine & Jen! I'm so honored and excited, especially because our family is huge...I was totally shocked that they chose me

AWESOME!!!!! Great job girl!!!!

Awesome Nola!! You got this! Are you coming back to P1 or are you done?

Monica - I couldnt' see the pictures while I was at work yesterday, but I LOOOOOOVE those shoes!!!! Definitely sexy soxy!

Monica who would have thought the pics of your cute new shoes would have set off a storm of posts! Thanks for that, it has been a little quiet here this week.

Diane- Although the bedazzeler would make a great hostess gift, I like mompatties idea of a cabana boy.

Sounds so heavenly





Congrats on the 70 lbs loss. Those milestones really feel great.

We are supposed to get that storm starting at 9pm tonight. My commute is about 50-60 minutes in normal weather conditions, but when we add in some ice and snow, it turns into a 2-3 hour nightmare. There is no way I'm getting in my car tomorrow morning.

Nice!!

Hey all...I have to get to the store so I can make a pot of chili on my "snow" day. An ice storm is on the way. My chili will be sans beans, extra meat and LOTS of veggies (leeks, bell peppers, celery, and maybe some spinach, in addition to the tomato base)

My back is KILLING ME! I've really been focusing on rehabbing it and I know things often get worse before they get better but geez....I'm in the WORSE stage! One would THINK losing 65 lbs would have helped at least a little! I am determined the pain will not deter me. So far, I haven't used any anti-inflammatories or pain meds (muscle relaxers) but I may cave on that. I will continue with my stretches and PT exercises because I want to end up pain-free. If I can be pain-free by the time I'm at goal, then it will all be worth it.

I sure am glad for IP and that I don't feel compelled to do a bunch of strenuous exercise that will only make matters worse.

End of rant. Thanks for being there and lifting me up on a daily basis!

Oh yeah, on a more positive note...I may have gotten some "movement"
Down 2.2 today

I had a nice big multi post going after reading through what people had put on the thread but somehow I erased it and now I am too tired to redo it so instead here is my favorite Ron White funny. It's now off to bed for this girl. Ttyal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gxKStPXyn8

So sorry about your back. I cannot use anti inflammatory medicine as it is PAINFUL to my stomach. Not sure if ginger is allowed on IP, but I make ginger tea and drink it 3 times a day. It really helps me. Good luck and that chili sounds great!

HOOBOY.

Just did my first Crossfit-style class today at the Y - I hurt in places I didn't even know I had nerves.

I LOVE IT!!!

Definitely going to have to adjust my weekly exercise schedule so that I have some muscle recovery time but this is one class I will be looking forward to!

Awesome job!!!!

Chilli sounds good, can I come for dinner? Sounds like you are doing well at tackling your back problem even though it seems like it is at a low point. I am very half-hearted in dealing with my back but at least I can report that losing over 100lbs has helped it. Stress has made it worse over the last couple of weeks though as I tend to hold the stress mid-back. I broke down and took an anti-inflammatory this morning. I hope the spa treatment tonight will help relax it then the chiro in the morning can get it all popped back together the way it should be. Maybe I'll take your inspiration and do some strengthening exercises over the weekend.

Ginger is allowed in tea or for spicing food. I am not fond of the tea myself but I do drink it or mint tea when my stomach needs settling. It definitely helps.

I'm just checking in over lunch with my "It's not easy being green mousse" (tofu, spinach and rhubarb). I am splitting my dinner protein between lunch and an early dinner with my lunch protein pack sandwiched somewhere in the middle of the afternoon. This is so I won't be overly full when I head to the spa and laying down for the massage. I have another snack planned for afterwards but I probably won't be home until after 9pm to eat that.

I'm sitting at my desk with my heater pointed directly at me. I can't seem to get warm today and may need to heat up a bean bag for my feet.

Boy do I miss alot when I'm away!! Anyway, I just happened to be at the ski store on the mountain (in BC since we don't have mountains in Sask) and they have...you guessed it! Drum roll please... Plaid red one piece undies!! Should I pick up some for anyone. They even have traction on the foot pieces trap doors and yes they are in adult sizes!!!

Hi everyone! Freezing today! Went skiing for a few runs this morning and felt great! 30 pounds gone and loving life!

Weirdly my body "cracks" more than usual lately. Assuming it's IP related, but it happens all the time, in places that I don't think have ever cracked. Anyone else cracking?

Hi Ladies: looks like everyone has been kicking butt and taking names! I've been MIA for a while but still going strong.

I've sort of modified the plan for me as I felt like the past couple of months found me very hungry all the time (real hunger, too) and I felt like I sort of hit a wall with my weightlifting. After getting back into recording everything in My Fitness Pal, I realized that I really needed to either up my calories to continue to lift (and to start Crossfit) or ease up on the lifting and other activity. I get a lot of pleasure out of exercise (not to mention all the other benefits - stress relief, stronger bones, toning, etc.), so I decided to move to a modified paleo/IP approach. Right now I'm doing 1-2 packets a day, with the rest of my 1300 or so calories coming from real food.

I did a lot of research on this, since I'm eating plenty of protein and I can't supplement with carbs, I really needed to add calories through healthy fats. I was concerned that adding in the healthy fats would cause me not lose fat, but there are a lot of great resources out there that convinced me to give it a go. I'm staying in ketosis as I am keeping my carbs around 40 grams total a day (most of which come from the 4 cups of veggies), but I am adding healthy fats (more olive oil, coconut oil, almond butter, macadamia nuts, egg yolks, etc.) to get me to about 1300 calories a day. So far I feel great, my sleep is even better and my performance is better as well. I started this modified plan on February 4th at 240 pounds and today I weighed in at 230 pounds. I will continue to experiment and chart my progress. I've still got at least 55 pounds to lose, so I'll keep plugging away.

I also had a great NSV victory today - a lot of my size 16 dress pants fit! And several size L tops as well. I love shopping in my closet.