Jenny kindly pointed out the last thread went over 500 - here we go everyone - into 2016!

...continued from the Fall thread

Blue - thanks I personally like MFP - I work with spread sheets / numbers all day...it gets mind numbing so I love the easiness of plugging the information into an app that does the calculations for me (and has nice little graphs / pie charts - counts steps, etc..). All IP food is in there...some Nashua stuff is not, but enough is so you can 'fake it to make it'. You can add foods, recipes, etc...I also like it a lot better since they upgraded and have the 'verified foods'.
Congrats on 150!!!!

Jenny - yay! glad the scale keep rolling down-down-down & I am still paying for the cabbage steaks but man it was so good!!!! Glad I did it over the weekend though
Where does everyone keep all these protein powder containers??? lol The bread sounds really good...I'm not much of a cook but maybe a tsp of dijon?

HIS - it was SO good and yes...I can't tell you in words how nice it was having an apple. I am not much of a yogurt eater either but I really believe IP has reset / retrained my brain.
& yes, I've been satiated today - blood sugars stayed normal and I didn't have any cravings. My numbers on MFP scared me though lol Gross carbs +100 today
Congrats on the run!
I need new goals now and with DH doing the 5 - 10K events - and my new Brooks...we'll see if my knee allows it

Jaimie - I am loving them! Congrats on the new decade!!!!

Got my oatmeal in a jar made for tomorrow morning, and that got me so excited, I had to figure out the macros for more breakfasts. I've decided there aren't enough days in the week to have all the breakfast combos I want to have.

Beth, yep, one of the reasons I started C25K was because I knew I would need new goals and challenges after I got into maintenance. If your knee will tolerate it, a lot of 5K events are okay with walkers, so you don't have to be a runner.

Blue (and everyone else), if you use MFP or any other food app, double check those "verified" foods to make sure they're counting fiber. I got freaked out on my carb count a couple of times until I learned that the app failed to count 15 grams of fiber in a Quest bar.

Hi everyone! It's been a bit hectic, so barely enough time to keep up on the threads, let alone check in. Probably not a good habit to get in to- this support is key to my success, I've said it a million times- and it's the truth! So, congrats to everyone in their successes, their achievements, and getting over those hurdles! You all continue to amaze me!!!!!
Beth Thank you for starting a new thread. Hard to believe we're heading in to the holidays. I remember starting out on this journey looking forward to being able to wear some fun things for Summer, and now, I'm on the hunt for Winter sweaters! I've been paying close attention to you and HIS now that you are both have moved on from P1, WOW-you guys are rockin it-
Blue I WISH we could take a picture of the home scale and send it to the coach and use that one-lol- I hit 134 here yesterday- of course its 134.2 this morning-and how ridiculous is it that the 2/10 of a pound p*#s me off??? Yet I know and understand the reality of it. Sometimes I can be such a jerk-lol. Congratulations on your losses!!! Thank you for asking all of your questions, they are very much the same things I am worrying/obsessing over. I'll admit, I have been lax in watching the videos. I need to spend a day catching up on them.
So, I got another order from Nashua, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that you can order the Quest samples- I did that again and got the ProtiDiet bacon.cheese flavored omlette. So, the omelette was pretty good- I think I overcooked it- it didn't find that it was quite as fluffy as the IP, but it was only the 1st time, so I'll play with water ratios and see how that goes-I tried the chocolate fudge cake from PD last night, not bad-I like the IP brownie better, BUT for the $$$ I''ll learn to like it. Besides there are a million different things with the drink mixes (Quest etc) you can do, so it''s probably a moot point. Can I say one thing--Quest Salted Carmel......O.M.G.!! Made that as a shake with lunch yesterday-YUMMMMM. I know that I had been posting this stuff in the alternatives, but we all seem to follow the same threads,, so forgive me for pileing this all in to one post. (Sorry if this comes out looking flukey- my keyboard is acting up for some reason- probably time to charge it)
DBF spent yesterday in bed sick ( he's a retired firefighter with asthma, so any time he gets a cold,, it turns in to bronchitis-I had to force him to stay in bed- he's not one of those whiney sick guys that I hear my girlfriends always talk about) anyhow, I took advantage of the "me time" and continued my closet purging. I have 2 huge piles of things to go,,, yet my walk in closet is still jammed, my guest room closet is also still full and I haven't even gone to the attic....I cannot believe I have allowed myself to accumulate this much stuff. The Northface,, Lilly, Black Dog and things like that I think I will send to ThredUp (an online consignment that I love) I will send a bunch to goodwill and then see of my sister will put some "lots" on ebay for me. The lazy part of my says just donate the whole schlaboom,, but really,, with the holidays coming...I could use the extra dough.
Yesterday morning when I got on my scale at home, I realized that 130 isn't going to be where I want to be either. I think the way my body is going, it''s not ready yet- yesterdays weigh in 136.2- down 3.4 lbs. So, I think it still wants tokeep going.. WHo knows though, I may get to 130 and start feeling wonky and then it will be time. I discussed this with my coach and she said that some people don''t go in to the stall - but from everything that I have seen here, most do. But she was ok with us playing it by ear. I'm not going to tell too many people though, I am getting kind of sick of the "you're too skinny"" thats nonesense, complete and utter b/s.. As I say - sure it looks pretty good in the "wrapping paper" but until I can look in the mirror and be happy (despite the saggy skin, which I know is a totally seperate thing I will deal with, that not withstanding) I am going to keep going. Till I'm happy or I can see the top three ribs-
Well, my dear friends,, it's time to get up and have my breakfast and get my day going. I should get some of my Fall cutback done today too- before I know it, it will be time to decorate for Christmas......
Have a GREAT Sunday one and all!!!!!

Wow, can't believe we've reached part 3 of this thread! We are a chatty group!!

Thanks everyone for prodding me into starting MFP, I signed up yesterday, it look pretty straightforward, now just have to get into the habit of using it.
Not sure why my coach said not necessary, but I think I'll feel more in control this way.

Linda - those piles of clothes look like my spare bed. Seems like over the last few months, there are always a pile of clothes on it ready to go somewhere.
I've started a list for another Nashua order as well, I love that salted caramel too but only got the samples last time. Will have to get more. Not sure if you saw my post about the ice cream, ( Quest powder and IP vanilla RTD), I've tried it with PB, also Protithin strawberry...SO GOOD! I am sure the salted caramel will be even better.

This looks to be a nice quiet day today, I'm going to take advantage of it, since this week is staring to look pretty busy. My TO-DO list seems to keep growing faster than things get crossed off!

Scale is holding steady, so I'm happy about that. Let's see if that continues now that I'm officially in P3, starting this morning! I've been out of ketosis already for several days, and my tummy feels a little more puffy, but measurements aren't changing and my clothes fit the same.

I was in northern Europe a few years ago and fell in love with breakfast muesli there, so I had high hopes for my oatmeal in a jar this morning. It wasn't exactly the same - of course, the real thing is made with honey and whole milk - but it was close! I did eat breakfast earlier than usual, so I hope this holds me over for a good 5 hours. Right now I feel stuffed. It will be interesting to do this new pattern of big breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner, when I get to P4.

Today is my rest day, so no exercise, and I don't even wear my FitBit on Sundays. I might try the foam roller later this afternoon, just to loosen up my muscles. I haven't had many sore days after running, which either means I'm doing something right, or I'm not working hard enough. LOL.

Linda, it's so good to "see" you. Good idea to keep your options open on the goal weight. You'll KNOW when you've reached it.

Destony- the Quest Salted Caramel and the Peanut Butter are my absolute favorites. And they both make really good "cookies".

I am loving the Quest multi-purpose for making "buns". I am completely addicted to making a breakfast sandwich Ro- I added salt to the recipe AND a pinch of stevia. It made all the difference. I was running through bread ingredients in my head when I have made bread in our bread maker and I remembered SUGAR! So I added a little bit of stevia and it was good. I was also thinking that if I was going to make a bun for a burger or a sandwich, a little onion powder and garlic powder would probably be pretty good.

My closet is also in need of a good cleaning out. I love to hit the after Christmas sales and refresh my wardrobe, so I definitely need to do some cleaning out to make some room for some new things!

I completely splurged on a low carb BBQ sauce I found on Amazon. BBQ sauce is one condiment that I really, really miss when on IP. I was looking around at all of the low carb products and found BBQ sauce. It was ridiculously expensive (for BBQ sauce), but hopefully it will be worth every penny. It only has 5 cals and 1g carb per serving (2 T). I am so excited for BBQ chicken

Glad to hear it, Jenny. As I mentioned, I really try to avoid using added sweeteners but the good thing is that if you have the recipe, you can tweak it to suit your tastes/likes.

FYI - as an alternative to the expense, SugarFreeMom.com has 2 recipes to make homemade BBQ sauce (the BBQ sauce recipe links you to a recipe for homemade ketchup). I believe these are P1 compliant (not sure about molasses).

HIS - thanks for posting about the oatmeal in a jar. Glad you had a good first P3 breakfast. How do you feel? I definitely noticed a 'rush' yesterday - you've had a few more carbs (mmm Oreos) but with the running have been burning them off pretty quick.

Linda - hi That is an impressive pile! I am not quite there yet with my sweaters. They are packed away and I've purchased a couple thrift ones (M) and have been going to Kohls / shopping in the 'young adult' section lmao! I have a couple cute things to go into the winter with now. I know I should donate most of my too-big things but I'm having an issue with sentimentalism as a lot of my sweaters came from my mom...I WILL get there - maybe not this year though.

Blue - as HIS pointed out, MFP has its drawbacks (incorrect information) and you DO have to be careful of some of the choices. My rule of thumb is when in doubt, look it up / double check.
Hear ya on the 'to-do' list

Jenny - It is on my to-do to get to GNC and pick up some salted caramel as much as everyone is raving about this flavor I am actually glad I never found WF BBQ as I've found spice combinations now I like SO much better than BBQ's...but in fairness, I've always liked dry rub ribs better than most BBQ sauces.

I believe I am taking to P3 ok - puffed up Saturday morning but down 2 pounds this morning and I am still puffy. Sticking at 145 but I think I will see some positive downward movement in the next day or two.


So, even though I am moving on / phasing out, I am still making & trying new dishes out of Janeva's cookbook. This weekend was from page 11 - Melt in Your Mouth crock pot pork. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! The dijon / soy (used Bragg's aminos) marinade is so freakin' amazing! I altered the recipe a little, adding veggies to the crock pot - I had a TON of chayote (oops lol) so peeled / diced 4 large ones, and added some celery and mushrooms that needed to be used up.
I couldn't help myself last night and ate about 4oz of pork fresh out of the crock pot last night and it was lunch today. This is a definite staple & wish I had made it sooner.

What is this Janeva's cookbook? I have heard it mentioned a few times and it sounds like something I need to take a peek at

http://www.janevasidealrecipes.com/store/p2/Janeva's_Ideal_Recipes.html

I can't say enough wonderful things about this cookbook! Simple, terrific ideas - and since I wasn't using IP products / soy I avoided buying it but finally got it in August. Game changer! And so many recipes that can carry over into maintenance.

I ordered the book this week, and I am waiting for it to come in the mail.
I also got 2 ebooks this week from SugarFreeMom.com. I stumbled upon her site when I was looking for a sugar free tomato sauce and found it there and a bunch of other great ideas. She is not affiliated with IP - she promotes a sugar detox program, but I modified some of her recipes to make them P1 compliant.
I also found great recipes at totalwellcoach.com. Once again, I just stumbled upon that site and found some great ideas. The lady that runs it is a nurse who takes on internet clients as well. She is also a fitness expert so I am contemplating signing up with her. Regardless, I found these sources of info to be quite eye-opening and have really enjoyed experimenting and branching out this week. It is making the time to get off the last 12-15 pounds go faster and more enjoyable and equipping me with that much more knowledge as I get ready to transition properly.

The rest of the blood work came in tonight





Everything looks great - PDoc is "SO PROUD" & already addressed the 2 slightly-higher-than-average numbers:
1 - BUN (kidney) slightly elevated - no worries given the amount of protein I've been eating.
2. Total cholesterol = 209 - my total #'s have slowly been going up since 2011
HDL is up (good!)
LDL is also up, but not as much as HDL (also good)
triglycerides are WAY down!!! dropped almost 20mg/dl

She said the drop in the triglycerides are tell-tale that everything is ok.

Everything else looks perfect!

Going to watch the adjustment to the thyroid meds and as long as I am feeling ok, next full work-up will be next year

Congrats, Beth! I got results yesterday too. Everything is normal!!! My cholesterol dropped 76 points since end of August so it is now 160. It wildly fluctuated this year when I got sick. I had lots of abnormalities in my blood work of which all are now resolved. No need to ultrasound my thyroid! And, like you. no follow-up appointment until next year (Jan).

oh - HIS...fyi - had the hungries tonight - guess I had them last night too - mentioned I got into my crock pot pork tenderloin (at midnight )
I really can't say if the additional hunger is related to the carb increase or exercise (7 miles in 3 days with some jogging). Leaning towards the exercise though as the munchies have hit me in the evening...
Are you tracking calories? Was wondering what you are planning to average? I am staying around 1,350 - and this was about where I was too with the additional fat - now it's carb / different fats.