droidgigi: I have had 2 poached eggs instead of an IP packet..no problem.
Calypso and Slow Weave: welcome to maintenance. Phase 4 is scary but you soon get used to it. Calypso you might try adding nuts or PB in the morning so you will not feel so hungry. I still get hungry after 4 months of maintenance!
Pauley..that quote made me laugh..sounds like you had a good time in Seattle. I am heading up there in March.
Calypso & Droid- we are all here because NONE of us want to fail on P4. If you have the time, I would suggest going back and reading the earlier volumes of the Maintainers Threads. P4 or Maintenance is basically a guessing game. We ALL have/had to figure out what and how much we could eat while staying at or near our goal weight. Most of us have a "comfort window" that we like to stay in. It allows for daily fluctuation, but as soon as we hit our ceiling number, we do a day or 2 at P1.
For me, my window is 132-134. If I ever see 135, I am right back on P1 until I am at least at 133. Make sense? It is all about finding what works FOR YOU. Some of us can tolerate more carbs than others and still maintain, while some of us live relatively low carb. It just comes down to figuring out what you can eat and still maintain. For me, I spend most of my time eating P3. This allows me to have small indulgences through out the week or on the weekend without ever having a full blown cheat day and it also allows me to avoid doing P1 days (which I absolutely hate doing now). This keeps me totally in control and I don't ever feel deprived. I feel like I eat like a "normal" person. 90% eating the way I should and 10% fun- spread through out the entire week. I don't like the out of control feeling I get on "free days". I don't like the mind set of cramming everything under the sun into one day. First- I don't like that feeling of "out of control-ness" and 2nd- I hate the way I feel the next day.
On that note, for breakfast- ditch the muffin. It is nothing but empty calories and sugar. Unless you made it yourself and know exactly what you put in it, it is glorified cake (like Pxl said). My typical breakfast is:
2 eggs + 1 egg white
Apple + 1 T. Peanut butter
Fage Greek Yogurt + 3/4 cup granola (mixed in)
This keeps me full and satisfied until lunch.
What are some examples of your "small indulgences"? Also, do you make your own granola (if so, will you share recipe?) or have you found a product on the shelf that is satisfactory?
What are some examples of your "small indulgences"? Also, do you make your own granola (if so, will you share recipe?) or have you found a product on the shelf that is satisfactory?
You can also see food diaries of people on fatsecret is you sign up there and "friend" people. My username is the same. I even created some phase 3 breakfasts that I shared... That will help you get on the kinds of food that we are all eating.
Full disclosure, though. I have been terrible about my tracking over the past few months... Others are better, I'm sure.
I haven't read through this thread yet but I just got all the way through one of the "Life After" threads which was very helpful. I'm in P3 as of last Sat (three days ago) and loving it. I just made a yummy breakfast pizza I thought I'd share here in case anyone is interested...total calories 370/carbs 15/fiber 6/protein 52/fat 14.
1 whole joseph's flax/oat bran/whole wheat lavash
1 cup egg whites
garlic
1 oz reduced fat cheddar shredded
3 T hormel real bacon bits (50% less fat)
I mixed about a clove of minced garlic in with the the egg whites and then cooked over low/med heat til set (sprayed nonstick pan with spray EVOO). Placed that on top of lavash and sprinkled cheese and bacon bits on top and put under broiler until it was all melty and delicious. With a cup of raspberries on the side it was really yummy and good for a weekend brunch kind of thing.
Now I'll go back and read this thread!
Welcome, and thanks so much for the recipe....that sounds delicious! Although, I don't know if I'll be able to find the lavash here.
Pixl...thanks for the recommendation on the flavor drops! I got the Cinnamon Danish swirl and the Peanut Butter in my last Nashua order, and they're both wonderful. Can't wait to try them in something other than coffee soon!
As for my reboot, I'm down 6.2lbs in 12 days. Not too shabby! I'll do P1 until Wednesday, then move to phase 2 for a couple of weeks. I miss my P3 breakfasts!
Oh, and Happy Lundi Gras, everyone (that's French for "Fat Monday" or the day before Mardi Gras)!
Pixl...thanks for the recommendation on the flavor drops! I got the Cinnamon Danish swirl and the Peanut Butter in my last Nashua order, and they're both wonderful. Can't wait to try them in something other than coffee soon!
As for my reboot, I'm down 6.2lbs in 12 days. Not too shabby! I'll do P1 until Wednesday, then move to phase 2 for a couple of weeks. I miss my P3 breakfasts!
congrats on your great loss! I really like the flavor drops. Thanks for reminding me to pull them out again. After several days eating like a madwoman, I really have to reign myself in.
Height: 5'-2" - 41 years old - 2015 Reboot: 165.4/136.0/135
Quote:
Originally Posted by MAINTAINisGoal
What are some examples of your "small indulgences"? Also, do you make your own granola (if so, will you share recipe?) or have you found a product on the shelf that is satisfactory?
My small indulgences are typically just bites here and there of things I would not normally eat. Maybe a few french fries off of hubby's plate, a piece of dark chocolate if I am craving something sweet, some chips and salsa- things like that. Or if I am going out with some girl friends and we get bunch of appetizers to share. Nothing crazy. Even before IP, I was a very healthy eater, so I don't really like junk food in general. Sometimes a small indulgence simply means eating a few extra carbs than allotted. I don't eat wheat and I really limit sugar, so that takes out a ton options for cheats
I just try to eat healthy majority of the time, and if I have a craving for something, I will go for it. If I want a scoop of ice cream, and it happens to be a Tuesday evening, I will have it. I am not a big fan of "waiting until Saturday" (or whatever day you have your free day) and then going hog wild and eating the whole container of ice cream, plus pizza for dinner and a starbucks frappachino for an afternoon pick me up. I do much better to just eat small indulgences when the mood strikes. I have much better damage control this way. Plus, if it is something that is planned (girls night out) I will cut back on carbs the rest of the day to help compensate. This is just what works for me.
Unfortunately I do not make my own granola. I have found one that I like from Whole Foods. The brand is Natures Path, and they are wheat free and gluten free. There are a bunch of flavors, but I like the Pomegran Plus.
Unfortunately I do not make my own granola. I have found one that I like from Whole Foods. The brand is Natures Path, and they are wheat free and gluten free. There are a bunch of flavors, but I like the Pomegran Plus.
I love their hemp plus granola and I buy it at TJs. Have you tried their new premium granola?? They have flavors like Dark Chocolate & Red Berries, Aloha Blend, and some others. I haven't tried them yet.. Will probably check out Whole Foods to see if they have them.
You can also see food diaries of people on fatsecret is you sign up there and "friend" people. My username is the same. I even created some phase 3 breakfasts that I shared... That will help you get on the kinds of food that we are all eating.
Full disclosure, though. I have been terrible about my tracking over the past few months... Others are better, I'm sure.
Hey Pxlkitty, finally added you (we talked about it a while back). I played around with fatsecret but not enough. I'm on a mini phase off starting this Thursday for a trip to Mexico. So I thought I'd better get it figured out soon.
Anyone else doing fat secret thats willing to be my buddy? I'm probably not going to keep it completely updated until I'm done done phase 1 but I'm feeling a little intimidated by my mini phase off so I thought I'd jump on there!
As for my reboot, I'm down 6.2lbs in 12 days. Not too shabby! I'll do P1 until Wednesday, then move to phase 2 for a couple of weeks. I miss my P3 breakfasts!
Great job! Isn't it a relief to get a few pounds off?
I'm reporting in on my reboot too. It's taken me 3.5 weeks to lose 6 lbs (on my home scale...which is what really counts for me) but I am now at my previous all time low of 134.6!! Yay!! So now the question I will face Friday morning is whether to do P1 to get my weight a little lower with the goal of 135 as my maintenance weight or whether to start P2 and hope a few more pounds drop off before P4.
Welcome to the new P3 and P4 people. If it makes you feel any better, I'm nervous about gaining and what to eat on P3 and P4 too even though I've BTDT. Unlike most, however, I am not excited about P3 breakfasts. I'm not a breakfast lover so the thought of forcing myself to eat all that food seems like such a waste of carbs and calories. I think I'm going to try recipes for healthy breakfast muffins, maybe even trying almond flour. Jennydoodle is right when She says maintenance is a guessing game. We all have to find what works for us as individuals based on trial and error. I also tracked like crazy when I first went on maintenance. It is indeed much easier to let yourself go if you're not tracking daily. I'm on mfp if anyone wants to send me a pm for my screenname.
Pxl Congrats on the NY eating experiment. Nice to hear that enjoying yourself and maintaining aren't mutually exclusive.
Maile Let us know if any recipes are worth sharing!
Pauley good luck braving the scale!
Cap You must be having a great time in Hawaii! We miss you!
135 at 5'8" sounds great. I would like to get there, but at 148 (on to 145) I am already struggling to eek off the pounds! I am very muscular, and can easily wear a small or a 6. What size are you wearing? I am 40 and just can't imagine I could be a 4....
Unfortunately I do not make my own granola. I have found one that I like from Whole Foods. The brand is Natures Path, and they are wheat free and gluten free. There are a bunch of flavors, but I like the Pomegran Plus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pxlkitty4
I love their hemp plus granola and I buy it at TJs. Have you tried their new premium granola?? They have flavors like Dark Chocolate & Red Berries, Aloha Blend, and some others. I haven't tried them yet.. Will probably check out Whole Foods to see if they have them.
I just wanted to add a little tidbit. First, thanks for the heads up on that brand. I found their pumpkin seed granola at Sam's way back when. Loved it with my plain or vanilla almond milk. I haven't been down the cereal aisle in quite sometime but I'm sure they still have it. I did a quick search on amazon.com and there are a plethora of flavors to be found. Two drawbacks though....you have to buy in bulk (4 to 6 boxes) and they usually don't list any sort of nutritional values. Once you find your "special flavor", it is a great place to buy it cheaper. I use their Subscribe and Save feature on many of my commonly used items.
Have any of you maintainers researched or experimented with the glycemic index? I know some of you make an effort to eat lower glycemic index foods from grains, but what about eating a low glycemic index diet across the board? I found a copy of the South Beach Diet which goes into how the GI of foods affects insulin and it seems like choosing low GI foods would be helpful to the daily regime.
Last edited by bigpassport; 02-21-2012 at 09:46 AM.
OK Maintainers...has your body temperature FINALLY regulated itself? I've about had enough of this constant chill. I'm actually wishing for hot flashes these days.
So... I got Udi's gluten free bread and made toast this morning. I put the butter on and was ready to have a terrible experience. I was so pleasantly surprised! It's actually really good... I'm now going totally wheat free just to see how I feel.
My plan is to do maintenace normally during the week without wheat. If I can lose a little more weight, that's a bonus!
