Sarahbean- stress is a huge factor in weight. When stressed say hello to cortisol and nasty side kick grehlin. Grehlin will make you want and want and want what you don't need. Cortisol is actually the most dominant hormone we have. Can override all the rest. It is the boss. And it will do a whole slough of things from getting you to eat to storing it around your middle to making you depressed so that you will eat more. It is one big nasty cycle. It will hold onto water (probably what you have going on). It is unfortunate that you are so stressed about public speaking- is it because you are nervous to talk in front of so many? Try not to focus on your nervousness (easier said than done I know) but rather on your preparation. Repeating the speech over and over and over and over to yourself to your friends to your husband. And focus on your success in presenting a well thought out and rehearsed speech- you deserve that success so consider it yours! I wish you the best of luck with it...
Once this speech is done at least you know you'll be ridding yourself of a very large stressor and your hormones should return to normal.
GoodEats&Wine- I hear ya! I've read Atkins site and bought the cookbook (it was a bit higher in calories than I felt was necessarily warranted), walked on the Paleo side of life a bit and even went exploring in the raw zone (this one led to my unfortunate run in with dried fruit), mixed in the clean eating all the way through. IP is a great program that works extremely well for weight loss but I do think that it's maintenance program should be a bit more defined. But there isn't a program out there that is one size fits all. Some will do alright with having carbs for breakfast... some will crash & burn. Some will be able to have pasta in the evenings... some would gain 3 pounds for having done so. There's a lot of carbs out there and they are not created equal and then this again has to translate over to the individual. Better for each of us to discover our carb tolerances and intolerances.
I also think the 'free for all day' is setting many up for failure. Because if you ended up overweight in the first place you have issues with food such as overeating or late night eating or binge eating. The free day allows all of these behaviors that we have modified out of ourselves while dieting to make a cameo appearance once a week. It isn't long before they root in and take over. Better to take the new fresh you that has just lost a bunch of weight and shed a bunch of bad habits and keep yourself that way for as long as possible. A treat meal once a week is proven to be good for both body & mind. A day of behaving badly only leads to more and more and more of those days...
Maile & Mom2cs- Thank you both for your support about the cookie. This is a lifestyle. The further I progress the more I feel I'm able to set boundaries for myself and stick to them. Still really dislike feeling socially awkward but some part of me feels that if it is the right choice for me I am warranted in my refusal. It does seem like society is coming around slowly. More and more emphasis is being placed on bringing healthy snacks for the kids. And when I spoke more at length with my daughter about the cookie issue and explained to her that treats will always be readily available so we need to be choosy about what we partake in rather than accepting everything. I try to explain this in terms of health rather than weight. And to explain some of the health issues that arise from not properly nourishing our bodies. Because really, the amount of disease that is associated with improper nutrition is astronomical. You are at more risk for pretty much everything. Diabetes, cancer, autoimmune issues. It's not worth the cookie.
Mom2cs- the almond butter tastes fantastic in the shake- if you're having it for breakfast throw some chia seeds in there too... they're a great tasting thickener that will keep you regular
Maile- I hope you like the book. You've done so well with your maintenance- congrats on month 7 by the way!!- this book will probably just be interesting reading for the hormonal aspect. But I do like the in depth understanding of what hormone is coming into play- rather than just feeling it and having no idea where it's coming from (re: cravings).
I read something interesting in a fitness mag yesterday. A study has apparently proven that while a calorie is a calorie when subjects were tested for how many calories the body used to process a whole, clean meal (whole wheat bread with real cheese) vs. process a refined processed meal (white bread with processed cheese) the subjects used almost double the amount of calories (137) to process the whole meal vs. the processed one (74)...