[DakotaClyde]

I see that many of you are on your second journey on IP. I am also on my second round (part duex), and I wanted to share my experience.

I started IP last year, and was successful for many months. I was even successful when traveling to what I would call food paradises like San Fran, LA, NYC, Hawaii, and Chicago. It was an empowering feeling.

I made the mistake when I visited South Dakota's Black Hills in late winter. I was confident the restaurants would work with me, and I could stay OP like before. Unfortunately, being off season, there was nothing green on the menu besides Jalapeno Poppers. After a successful few months, I decided to go off program for week, and eat incredibly fried foods in small portions. Voila, after a week, I still lost 2 pounds. I lost 2 pounds the week after that.

I became embolden and went off program. This did not cause me to gain weight in itself. However, a strange thing happened. OP I didn't think about food, but when I went off program, I found myself pinning every recipe from butter to baguettes. I become obsessed with recipes, and I even stayed up nights looking for the next banquette I could serve friends.

After awhile the pounds crept back. Thankfully, I started on program again, and after 3 days I don't even think about Pinterest and my well curated recipe boards.

I don't consider myself the Keith Richards of carbs, but I do know they impact how I think about food. I keep that in mind any time I want to cheat. Thankfully, that hasn't happened.

[JenRem]

DakotaClyde - Thanks for sharing. I am a newbie and am already thinking ahead (after goal) on how to be successful in maintenance. I know many of us are a little scared and hoping we can do it! We all have fears though - how do I NOT gain the weight back like I always have on previous diets???
Do you mind answering some questions regarding your experience?

How much weight did you lose/how close to goal when you started eating food off plan in North Dakota?
What discussions did you have with yourself mentally regarding not getting OP as soon as you were home from North Dakota?
Did you weigh yourself during the time period that you were gaining the weight back or did you stay away from the scale because you didn't want to know what it would say?
Did you still have your larger sized clothes or had you gotten rid of them and had to buy new clothes?
If you could go back and were just arriving home from North Dakota, what would you do differently?
After you lose weight and reach goal, what will you do in maintenance to keep from repeating some of the mistakes?
How will you change your relationship with Pinterest and finding all the neat ideas/recipes, etc?
Do you plan to continue to host banquettes for your friends after you are in maintenance? How will you handle the carbs, etc?

Again, only answer if you don't mind. I'm really hoping to gain insight from you and your experience and maybe/hopefully develop a strong mindset so I don't make some of the same mistakes on my own journey.
Thanks so much ahead of time, Jen

[DakotaClyde]

Hi JenRem,
I wear 'Not Your Mom's' jeans which are a blessing, and a curse. They stretch enough so I didn't have to buy any new cloths. But they are tight. I was not close to goal when I went off the program, but I was happy with myself. I still am happy regardless of my size. I just recognized that when I did not balance my diet, I became more obsessed with food which is a worse feeling than gaining any weight.

If I could go back, I would have planned for that week with supplies. However, if I had to 'cheat' because of the food available, I would have cheated. I didn't gain weight. What I should have done was go back on the plan. But in my head I felt like I had failed.

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill. I should have picked myself back up right then instead of waiting.

I would not worry about when you lose the weight if you will gain it back. If you have a balanced diet you won't. What I learned is if I lean in to too many carbs, then I think about food all the time, and that is more a handicap than being fat.

I will still cook for everyone. I just won't indulge like before.