[Oboegal]

Although I am not technically in maintenance yet, I think this forum is the right place for this post.

I was going to put this paragraph at the end, but I may have put some of you to sleep by then , so I'll say it here. I have so much respect, admiration, and appreciation for both the long-time maintainers and the people who have recently reached goal. It has been so helpful reading people's valuable insights as well as your candid accounts of your struggles. Thank you all for sharing!

Anyway, on to the actual post...

I was happy with today's weight of 146.2--it means that I didn't do too much damage last week. There's an outside chance I might make goal this Monday 12/6; if I don't, I probably won't make it on 12/13 because of TOM, but there's an excellent chance I'll be at 144-145 by 12/20.

I'm cautiously optimistic (probably my favorite emotion ) that I'm in the right frame of mind for transitioning into maintenance because of a couple of recent NSV's.

(1) Last week, I was noticeably off plan Tuesday through Thursday and went a little over on Friday, but I've been completely back on plan since Saturday, staying at 1250-1350 calories per day to pay off my Thanksgiving week calorie debt (which is down to 3300 from about 4200).

I'm still experimenting with what kinds of deviations from plan I can and cannot handle. I now know that I can be moderately "naughty" for several days without going completely off the rails. Is it a good idea? Maybe, maybe not, but the rest of my life is (hopefully) a long time, and there are some foods I hardly ever eat anymore but still really enjoy. If I were a person for whom a splurge would trigger binges or cravings, I'd just decide never to do it. But I appear to be able to indulge occasionally and get right back on plan--which is really good to know.

I considered "writing off" 3500 calories, but the stubborn part of me decided not to do that. It's possible that I might still do that if I still have a noticeable calorie debt after I get to maintenance, but I'm going to try not to.

(2) Yesterday, I had a rough day at work, and it never even occurred to me to drown my sorrows in chocolate or potato chips. Didn't even cross my mind. I just curled up in a blanket and watched TV all night. Today was better, and I was also rewarded with the 146.2 weigh-in.

When I get to goal, I plan to increase from 1400 calories to 1500 for two weeks, then 1600 for two weeks, then probably try to maintain at 1700. My best guesstimate is that my maintenance calories should be around 1750, but I wouldn't mind sliding down to the low 140's.

Fingers crossed, I think I'm ready.

[traveling michele]

How exciting! You definitely deserve to be posting here even if it takes you awhile to meet your official goal.

Learning what works and doesn't work for us personally is critical. I personally can't go off plan too often or I start to derail. I can eat maybe one meal a week or every other week at the most, but they can't be really off plan meals. I have many triggers that I still have to avoid like the plague!