Welcome back to the Daily Chat thread - post your plans for today, share what's been happening, ask questions!

Some forum lingo:
NSV = Non-scale victory
TOM = time of the month
WI = Weigh-in
WF = Walden Farms
OP = on plan

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and here are the most recent Ideal Protein Protocol sheets

And before you cheat, read this thread:
The Real Cost of Cheating on Ideal Protein

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Recipes Here
Ideal Protein Diet Recipes #4 -current thread open for posting
Recipe thread #3
Tips and Recipes from the Incredible Weight Loss Center
Fun with Ideal Protein Packets
Fun with Veggie Purees!
Mix'n in the kitchen...Recipes from the Rainbow
MiX'N' iN THE KiTCH'N.... Recipes from the Rainbow Volume 2

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Progress photos
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Other helpful links related to the Ideal Protein Dr. Chanh Tran Tien's website

Good Morning Everyone...

pish~ Great photo...you look fantastic!

So I am also in panic mode about getting rid of my larger sizes...On vacation I wore a pair of shorts that were so big my husband and son refered to them as my hobo pants LOL...Since we had a washer/dryer in our room we only packed for 4 days and washed in between so I would wear them often and they laughed at me as I walked and held them up LOL. Guess it is truly time to retire my size 20's. But some of them still fit! I have not checked out my fall wardrobe yet but I am assuming I will need to thin the heard ...

My issue is that I have a walk in closet where i feel I can store multiple sizes LOL...

Off to post vacation WI today and to refill my IP food supply. I will post results later....

I'm glad I don't have enough room to store a lot of clothes (although we're working on adding a closet for me)! Seriously, I got rid of my larger clothes the minute they became unwearable (or close to it). I didn't want them around to taunt me with "doesn't matter if you gain weight, you still have clothes." Except shoes. It took me forever to give up the shoes that got too large.

Good luck on your weigh in! Although you did so great on your vacation you don't really need luck!

I'm wearing capris that I have to hold up. They are a size 22. I tried on some jeans I had in my drawers that were a size 18 and they fit. They are snug but they zip easily. So, I guess it is time to get rid of my 22s and buy some 18s. Even if they are snug now, I will fit into them soon...and then they will be too big. My problem is that I don't want to spend a fortune on new clothes as I drop sizes so I have been holding on for dear life to the clothes I have. haha.

It must have been SO annoying to have to hold them up the whole time you were at Disney! I get annoyed just going around the house in mine.

Thanks everyone for the lovely pic comments! I was reading them this morning in bed laughing to myself and getting a little teary. My boyfriend thinks I'm a loon.

Yes super annoying lol.

Pish- I can't wait to look like that..be proud!

Ok screwed up my WI time today. Thought it was 10:30. My but my calendar has it at 12:30. I vaguely remember doing it later for some reason...oh well. More time to get some work done.

morning,

Beautiful picture Pishposh!

It is a beautiful day out. I am loving the great weather during the day and the cool weather at night.
I have been reading the Beck Diet Solution and am curious what positive self talk other's are doing when faced with temptations?

LOVE me some Beck! I think it's such a great idea that you are reading this book as you enter (with me!) phasing off!!! A couple things I tell myself:

1) I ask why I'm feeling like eating _____. Often for me, it's an emotional reaction. If that's the case, I remind myself that stuffing my emotions is going to make me feel the exact OPPOSITE way that I want to feel!

2) "I don't need that." OR "I don't eat that anymore."

3) "Wait awhile and see if you still want ______."

4) For me, often just knowing that I'm going to have an on-plan "treat" helps me avoid my sweet-tooth cravings. So I'll tell myself, "You'll be having your Quest Bar/Peanut Butter puffs/Choc Shake later!"

Good Morning All! I have my 11 week WI tomorrow. I can't believe I have been following this protocol for almost 3 months and it's been SO EASY to stay on plan!!! I was shooting to hit 160 by September 1st but am okay with hitting my halfway mark and I know if I follow plan I'll be under 160 soon enough. I'm not expecting a 'woosh' day tomorrow.

Thank you! In addition to the things evemomma posted, sometimes for me it comes down to me to saying "I WILL NOT strengthen that giving in muscle. If I give in now, what's going to stop me from giving in every time after this." Usually the temptation passes in a few minutes after that and I feel proud for not giving in, where I would have felt horrible if I gave in.

after 2 WIs in the 1lb range - finally got my whoosh! Down 6.6 lbs and 2 inches (one of which I attribute to a new bra.) 63 gone so far! Just the motivation I need to stay 100% OP and continue pounding the water.

Just in regard to giving away the bigger sizes... I believe it was Maile who had the idea of keeping them stored until she reached her one year in maintenance mark. It was treated as a reward to be able to give them away at that point...

My daughter left an opened bottle of wine at my house, after looking at it for days I caved and poured a small glass last night- but then I immediately poured it and the rest of the bottle down the drain!!! I didn't take a sip. Phew!!!

I felt good knowing that I overcame!

Flex that resistance muscle, Kelly!!!

OK, just typed a HUGE response and it got erased......

Anway, I am sitting here with a FULL, FULL stomach from my (drum roll) VERY FIRST phase 3 breakfast...... It was excellent, and I'm really glad that I have been prepping my stomach with a big breakfast (I split my P2 lunch up in to breakfast) because I think my stomach might've burst if I was used to just eating shakes! So far, my stomach has settled a lot better than I worried it might. I do "feel" the sugar in my system (kind of like extra coffee) but don't feel ill or shaky the way I used to feel pre-IP).

So I had an epiphany last night after getting NO GUIDANCE from my coach on P# breakfast ideas. I was thinking (and still do) that Ideal Protein should make an APP that you could easily manipulate to make breakfast meals. But I am a very tactile person and like to be able to reach out and move things around when I am creating/learning/planning. SO....I decided to use notecards to help me plan my breakfast menus. It worked REALLY well, so I thought I would share it here (and I'll share it on the P3 breakfast thread since that is a more long-term thread).

I used a sharpie marker and labeled cards into separate groups: Protein, Grains, Fruit, Dairy, Fat/Other (butter, WF syrup, etc, splenda, etc). Then I listed the specific food on the card with the applicable nutrition information:

Protein
1 Medium egg = 60 calories
4 g fat
6g protein

I used MyFitnessPal or my food labeling packages to get my info. Once I had several foods in each category, I just starting building meals according to what sounded good (like French Toast) and filled accordingly. I found I could use my non-fat Greek yogurt or extra egg whites when my meals were getting too high in fat. It was fun once I got the hang of it!

Once I had a meal that I thought looked good, I took a pic of the cards on my phone and typed out a text label (using a photo app) to quickly describe them so I didn't have to read each little card (Like Peanut Butter Toast and Strawberry/Cottage Cheese or Breakfast Burrito, Banana and Cereal/Milk). You could just have a type list also, but this worked for me!

So, you can call me Richard Simmons if you like (since he invented this idea in, circa, 1984 with "Deal-a-Meal"), but now I'm dating myself!

Hope this helps others.....I now know how I can plan my maintenance meals. I guess you could say I'm a CARD (oh, sheeesh, that's SUPER dated).