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The Maintainers Vol 5
Hey there ladies!!!....I noticed that y'all Vol 4 was up to 546 post so I figured I would start a new one for y'all before the other one gets closed without notice!!
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Thanks Wuv!!
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Thanks WUV.
Today is going to be spent trying on spring clothes and figuring out what to wear..if it ever warms up. I am ready to put winter clothes away. I have a whole new /used wardrobe and am going to get rid of clothes that are too big. Have a great day everyone. |
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I love the change of seasons! Goodbye wool sweaters, hello flip flops!
Although in northern Alberta we will probably see a few more blizzards! |
Question for maintainers. I'm now in Phase 4 (for various reasons) even though I haven't reached my goal yet. I might go back on Phase 1 in another 6 weeks or so, but for now I'm going to try to maintain the weight I'm at.
Anyway, there is not a lot of information about meal ideas for maintenance. I'm pretty good with breakfast, but lunch and dinner are difficult. I am so used to having grains & fat together (pasta w/cheese, enchiladas, bread & butter, grilled cheese, etc.). Could anyone give me some ideas for lunches and dinners? Today I had a salad w/grilled chicken and some sour cream & cheese for lunch. For dinner I had sweet potatoes, toast, peas and red pepper slices. Lunch was good, dinner was...random. :) I'd like to have some good recipe ideas up my sleeve. I know I won't be able to maintain unless I can plan my meals ahead of time. Thanks! |
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For lunch I ate salad with meat/cheese/dressing/avocados The cheat days are when you get the cheesey starchy food |
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Pat |
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Hi everyone. I've been MIA for a while... I'm trying a new approach to maintenance, because my old one was literally driving me crazy. I will update with my progress in a few days. The jury is still out.
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Juicing
As I am approaching maintainence, in a month or so, I am brainstorming on my maintainance diet. I did some research on Chia seeds and Hemp protein and I am thinking I should add these to fruit/vegi smoothies for breakfast. Does anyone use these in maintenance?
Also, does anyone juice their fruits and vegis? Will that work for IP phase 4? Thanks |
Hello all! I have been on P1 for 7 days now, and I lost the 3# from the cruise plus an additional 1.8#. Hurrah! I still want to lose 2 more so I can get back to 132, which is where I feel my best.
Can I just say that I forgot how badly P1 s*cks on weekends?!?!?! I have been on maintenance for too long! I really struggled this weekend staying on P1. Other than that, just been plugging along trying to lose the vacation weight and get back to my comfort spot. :) As for maintenance meals, I keep lunch exactly the same as P2/P3 but add a little bit of cheese or something to my salad for my fat. Most days, I keep dinner exactly the same as P2/P3. Sometimes I will add in a sweet potato or beans, but most times not. One of my favorite P4 dinners is chili. It has protein and complex carbs, plus some veggies. I usually have a salad with it as well. But usually I just stick with the basics of P2/P3. As most of you know, my maintenance routine is usually a pretty strict P3 during the week and a little freedom on the weekends. I usually do not do a cheat day, unless it is a special occasion or vacation. This method keeps me in my happy range (132-134) and under my ceiling # (135). As long as I stay under 135, I do not do a P1 day. Now that I am on maintenance, P1 is a real struggle, so I try to keep my diet clean enough to not have to do them on a regular basis. I will tell you (new maintainers) this, maintenace is all trial and error. I don't know if there are any 2 of us who follow the same maintenance. We all have found / finding what works for us. It is extremely individual. Some people have found (like myself) that they are pretty carb sensitive and cannot really handle a lot of carbs. I have also found that I cannot handle wheat, which practically eliminates a ton of carb options. When I do eat wheat, I gain at least 3# immediately and it takes 2-3 days to work itself out of my system. You will just have to try different things and see how your body reacts and what you can and cannot eat and not gain weight. |
My maintenance is similar to Jenny's. I mainly eat phase 3, with a little fat added to lunch and usually don't add the grains to dinner. I will sometimes add a sweet potato. I don't care for beans, but will add corn or peas to dinner, but not every night. I still have a cheat day followed with a phase 1 day. My cheat days started out with a bang, but I don't go overboard nearly as bad these days. You definitely have to find out what works for you. I am one of those that is sensitive to carbs. Good luck!
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I'm still above my range, and totally frustrated with everything IP at the moment. I decided over the weekend that I couldn't deal with all of my negative feelings about food ALL THE TIME. I was sick of feeling guilty about every single thing that I was putting in my mouth. I was feeling completely deprived... So, I'm going to try something slightly different and see what happens. I'm eating a balanced diet and going to exercise more. If I gain too much weight, I will cross that bridge then. |
Pixl: Good luck with your new regime..I say try whatever you need to feel more positive. Experimenting is good. Ip is only approach to life. More important is that you feel good about yourself and what you are doing.
Desperate: I have not added hemp..but did buy chia seeds...have not added them yet. I eat similar to Paint Lady and Jenny..very few carbs at night if any! Add a fat for lunch..avocado or salad dressing..cheese once in a while. As I went through all of my clothes, I realized that I really have an entirely new wardorobe for spring. I buy things on the sale racks or get used from friends or thrift. I am loving the spring colors of yellow and orange..or purple and red. So I decided to be ruthless and only keep clothes in my closet that are in 6/8 and that fit..not the loose ones. Here is the problem..I could not take the stack of 10 pants to the thrift..Somewhere inside me, I thought well if I gain 10 pounds I could need those pants. So here is my solution..put them all in the basement and at my one year maintenance anniversary..then get rid of them! So we can all freeze and wear spring clothes, because it is supposed to be spring!!!!!! People at work are wearing cotton dresses! What I found interesting about clothes is that I have emotional memories of those clothes. ..ie..get rid of that, it was when I was fat..or remembering buying it as I was gaining weight and not being happy. It is such fun to have clothes in my closet that I am happy with and not using to hide my body! |
Maile- when I went through my closet and bought all new clothes, I kept (1) pair of jeans and (1) pair of pants that are one size up. I got rid of everything else. I wanted to get rid of of the clothes that were too big, but still needed a safety net in case I gained a little weight. I figured it would give me a couple of things to wear so I didn't have to buy anything, but knowing that if I ever had to bust out those pants, I would need to crack the whip.
Pxl- good luck. I think it is good to try and just find balance. Isn't that what we are all trying to achieve anyway? To find balance in our lives, with our food choices and our health? Before we went on our little vacation, I was trying to do the same thing. Trying not to weigh myself every day and just go by how I felt and using my clothes as my guideline. Because really, if I weigh 132 or 135, does it truly matter as long as all of my new clothes in my new size still fit? Isn't that what is important? That is the true meaning of maintenance. I don't know many naturally thin people who weigh themselves every day. They just try to be healthy and eat well majority of the time, workout most days of the week etc... And if they do have a meal where they eat poorly, they make up for it the rest of the day or for a day or 2 afterwards. This is where I would like to eventually be. Unfortunately, I have quite a few things coming up that are going to keep me on the "poor weekend eating" / "Phase 1" cycle for pretty much the month of April. Also unfortunately, it is "that time" and I am not doing too well today on P1. I am so hungry and of course, looking for the chocolate :) I have already caved, so I guess today is not a strict P1 day for me. C'est la vie. One thing I do have to say for P1 is that I always "feel" thinner. Maybe it is that hollow feeling or no carb = no bloating feeling. Today I weighed in at 134 which is definitely a comfortable weight for me, but I feel so much thinner at 134 on P1 than P3/P4. Weird. Possibly all in my head :dizzy: Regardless, I am going to try to stick to P1 (as closely as possible ;) ) until the weekend. We are off to Philly this weekend to celebrate Easter with my husbands family. Lots of good eats there, so I will be back on P1 on Monday. That is part of the reason I am trying to back to 133-132, so I can be in a small deficit before I go, so there is less to lose when I get home ;) |
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The other thing was that I kept tracking and looking at the 600-700 calorie "deficit" every day in fatsecret. So, I was feeling deprived AND not eating enough. I won't freak out and eat grilled cheese everyday, but I do need to see what else might work for my body. This diet always taught me that LOSING weight was totally differnet than maintaining weight. But, I've been doing almost the same thing to maintain than I was to lose, and that's not right either. Sorry if my negative feelings aren't good for others to hear. I might just need a week off the bandwagon before I get back on, but I really need to do this for myself right now. |
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Thought I should take the time to expand upon my very brief post...
pxlkitty- I know where you're at. I did a week of Phase 1 a couple of weeks ago as I decided I needed to go to war with my two pounds. I continued my exercise regime of free weights 2x week/ cardio 3x. Never did that on phase 1. And can't say in retrospect that I think it was a good idea for me. I'm pretty content on Phase 1 provided I don't have to exercise but when that gets added in the mix I'm a cranky starving lady. I wasn't willing to part with the exercise though it had become too ingrained (and it's the only time I get to talk with adults who aren't my husband ;)). Day seven hit I moved into what I thought was going to be a Phase 3/4 day and ended up more free day-esque. There are times when I'm tracking that I eat 40% of my RDI and it almost never went over 60%. With my stats and exercise taken into account I'm 'supposed' to be able to eat 2000-2500 calories but was finding that I was intaking closer to 1400 on a daily basis except for the free day where I'd pretty much eat all the calories I'd 'banked' over the course of the week and then follow that with a Phase 1 day. This doesn't seem all that sensible to me. As it has led to a bit of a binge cycle that I really don't like being caught up in and by no means do I want it to be my 'life plan'. With all the birthdays and cake last week it worked out that one night would be a heavier dinner & dessert and the next day I would do Phase 1 to balance it. Hard, hard, hard on the belly. It is a much happier belly when it is fed healthfully that is one thing I know for darn sure. The thing I'm finding I really need to work on is my mentality... to not be so all or nothing. I love the feeling of making good food choices but probably the biggest lesson I'm working on is that it's okay to make a small slip it doesn't need to turn into a landslide. And thankfully, my weight remained within a pound of where it was the week previous. That is my one other change. Weigh in once a week. If there is an upward trend for two weeks make an adjustment to my diet. Maile- I love your idea of storing the clothes until you have reached your one year maintenance and then parting ways with them. It gives you time to come to terms with parting with them and also something so symbolic to look forward to on your anniversary... letting go. Jenny- wow! Congrats on the losses and being in your maintenance window! You totally deserve it though- you've been a very level headed maintainer. Mom2cs & pat- that blizzard was the oddest thing... I was wearing flip flops the night before and then wake up in the morning and it's December again then by afternoon it was back to being April... desperatetolose- I bought chia seeds but haven't used them yet... bigpassport- you rock!!! thank you for showing me it CAN be done. How is 130?? It's funny that even while we know we're thinner many of our 'parts' still seem big. I do think it improves with time and toning :carrot::carrot: Jelly- you look freakin awesome!!!!! |
Pxlkitty
I hope you come up with a comfortable solution. I feel similar. Even in maintenance I never really added back many high carb foods, and any time I even considered to people would question me. I really like low carb, but I also like an occasional fry! Now back in phase 1 I feel like I need to sneak food, and seriously struggle with thoughts to lose more. I am supporting dh in phase 1, but he eats a lots of extras and is still doing well. I feel guilt. And can see a future of extreme strict eating alternating with binging. I don't like that idea. |
Hi everyone, I have a quick question.
My dh was doing IP alternative (for diabetics) and did very well. Started phase 2 at 190.4 and now, after phase 2, phase 3 and is now a few days into phase 4, he's still going down and is now 184.6. He has phase 3 breakfasts, phase 2/3 lunches (with cheese, etc) and phase 2/3 dinners (with starchy veggies, bread, pasta, fruits). He has cheese strings for snack in the morning and luncheon meats for pm snack. He still has a before bed snack of a shake (he likes it, lol). So will it stabilize eventually or he's missing something? Also, can he stop taking the vitamins since he's getting everything now? Thank you and looking forward to joining you eventually! |
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If you jump to burgers fries and cake I can guarantee you will gain back the weight in shocking speed!
I think all the foods eliminated in phases 1 and 2 need to be considered in moderation for most people who have struggled to lose weight in the past, but found success through ip. Ip may help with insulin resistance, but what I read indicates that once you were insulin resistant you never "fix it". For me, one cheat day requires 2 or 3 days of phase 1 to compensate. Still maintaining, but not as easily as I would like... |
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Have DH track his food for a week or so to see how many calories he is getting. There are several free on-line sites such as "my fitness pal" or "fat secret". You will be able to figure out approximately how many calories he needs a day to maintain his weight based on size, activity level, etc. It sounds like he is eating foods in the correct combinations. Because he is diabetic, you should probably also check with his primary care provider for a suggested calorie level, especially if DH takes any medications for his diabetes. Good Luck and congratulations to both of you!! We can't wait until you join us either! Lynn |
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The past few months I stalked more than posted after spending a year posted many times a day. I have read your post and feel your pain, but about 3 months ahead of it. I reached maintenance about 3 months before you and have gone through all the stages and grief you have. here is my conclusion: Don't beat yourself up. This may work...that may work...who knows. But the point is you will never go back to the weight you were before because you are aware of it! I am on a 2 week reboot...the longest I have given it a run since September when I did 13 days. I am on day 10 and I 2 more in phase 1 and then I am slowly going to get out of ketosis for 3 more days so that I can go away next Monday. I avoided the scale over those 2 weeks so that I don't obsess....but my tummy is nice a flat and my clothes fit awesome...can't wait to weigh in on Friday. YOu have done awesome.....ARE doing awesome....no worries |
For the past 2 days, I've had the urge to eat things that I've "given up" since IP. I've spent almost the entire day on my hands and knees scrubbing the little nooks and crannies in my kitchen floor with a scrubber sponge. I'm trying to distract myself however possible. I don't know what's come over me; I just hope it goes away really fast. The good news is that my floor looks sparkly. The better news is that I've avoided pizza, a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit, and pour over butter movie theater popcorn.... so far. My kids are home this week for spring break. I want to eat constantly. I bought these things as treats for them to spread out over the week. I want to eat them all today and I don't know why. Throughout this whole diet process, I've made many things that haven't tempted me. I got through birthdays, parties, Thanksgiving, all sorts of things with NO problem. Why am I struggling these last 2 days? The whole time I was scrubbing the floor, I was thinking about making choc chip cookie dough so I could eat it raw. *shame* Oh yeah, and posting here... another way to distract me and keep me honest.
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Hormones? Stress?
Sounds like cleaning is a good outlet! Maybe you need to look at your food plan and work some in. In maintenance you can s,ways have an English breakfast! |
paintlady- I hear you!! There are some weeks where the free day just can't seem to come fast enough... and now, with trying to edit out the free day and incorporate 'indulgences' now and again, yes it does make life interesting. Sometimes having 'just a bite' of whatever it is will satiate you. It can feel almost like a curiosity factor "Is it really as good as I think?" and then you're dying to know but won't let yourself even try a bit and that is when the whole deprivation cycle sets in. Amazingly sometimes when you do have 'just a bite' and that curiosity is satisfied you realize that it was not all that your mind was building it up to be. I've done it both ways, not letting myself have the bite at all (this usually sets me up for a humdinger of a free day) or having the bite (usually not as good as I was building it up to be).
The thing with maintenance is there is nothing that is not allowed and yet there is the feeling that indulgence will lead to weight gain. I think the trick is that it is over indulgence that leads to weight gain. Coming to realize that I have to want healthy foods it has to feel like it is a choice that I am making because it is what I want to do and not what I have to do. And if occasionally I want something that is unhealthy that is okay I just have to enjoy it (this means no guilt!!) savor the flavor and get on with life. If all I need is a bite- great, if it's more that's got to be okay too. It just doesn't need to get ugly after I have one unhealthy item and escalate. And at eight months into maintenance I am finally starting to get it. Thank goodness I have this site and all of you! Read an interesting site that talked about how women who write their thoughts and feelings do much better with weight loss... I will have to see if I can track it down... |
PS Darbs- You've done awesome- so happy for you that you and your pants are in a good place! And I can't wait to find out the scale results (although the pants fitting is probably a much better way to measure success cause that's what it's all about anyway).
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I wish I had your energy to clean! Maybe you can swing by my place...my kitchen floor could use some sparklin'. ;) |
LL Bean has a daily deal and today they had white jeans for 4.99 (originally 49.99)!!! Problem is they only had sizes 12 and up! It was the first time I was bummed about not being at least a 12!!! LOL...But that passed quickly 'cause yesterday I order a pair of skinny jeans from them (of course on sale) in a size 8 and a size 10...I'll return the larger ones... :)
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We had t-ball practice this evening, so I've had distractions to keep my mind occupied. I've had dinner and now I'm about to indulge in an Atkins choc chip cookie dough bar. I sure hope that satisfies my craving. I may have popcorn for breakfast tomorrow.... maybe. I'm not usually this strict and have been having little bites of things here and there, but the last 2 days have been different. I wasn't even hungry when I wanted to eat that stuff. I wanted to eat it just to eat it. Maybe it's stress or hormones. Thanks for listening to me today.
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JellyMae, you are looking fantastic! Rock those shorts!
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darbs..I am glad your reboot is going well. 10 days is great.
What I find that really helps me with cravings is to eat things that I really really like..When I want pizza I make a low carb version. Unfortunately that also means that I am still using WF syrup for pancakes. I tend to indulge my cravings in some low carb fashion. If I really want something I find a way to eat it. Paintlady and New EnglanderL you guys are strong cleaning house and distracting yourself to avoid cravings. The odd part is that the cravings are so emotional and so intense..and is the food really as good as we crave or think? Cap..you are right about finding the overindulgence verses indulgence limits. I don't do free days either. Momto2cs: are people used to seeing you eat low carb and would not want to see you eating a fry? Jellymae you do look thin and wonderful! Busymom: Your husband sounds like he is doing fine..I use my own vitamins.I found that I had to add more food back as I kept losing in Phase 4. |
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I think the guilt came mostly because I was having a cheat day and I really shouldn't have been given that I am outside my weight range... And then the vicious cycle starts again... Quote:
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Now that i've been kicking things around in my head for a few days, here is what I have come up with... everyone, please forgive me if this seems like a rant, I am "in therapy" here with you guys so feel like I can open up. I hope that is ok!? IP is a means to an end. When we are on the program, there is a hypocrisy in that we say that we are eating "healthy" food. If you look at the real food in the protein meal, then yes, I agree. It is healthy food. But, seriously, people read the packets. Splenda... Acesulfame potassium. These are not things that I want to eat for the rest of my life. When I first considered the diet, I thought it was dangerous b/c I looked at all the ingredients and really didn't agree that they were something that I wanted to eat. But, I was desperate, so I told myself that I could do it "while on the diet" and then go back to eating real food. So, here I am... 6.5 months into maintenance. I have been buying Nashua food rather than IP, and still using up old IP packets that I still have. I've been buying Atkins bars and shakes... and professing to the world how healthy I am. I am a total hyprocite! The exact things that I told myself were a "means to an end" became, quite simply, a crutch. So, where am I now?? For breakfast, I still enjoy greek yogurt and berries and granola. Today I even had toast (for the first time in a very long time). I do eat eggs, but still have a mental block in terms of fat so very, very rarely do I eat bacon. Lunch -- I am ok with the carb-free lunch. I really like salad, and most of the time that is my go-to option for lunch. Over the weekend, though, I had a tiny plate of homemade enchiladas... Is it going to kill me? No... Then why did I feel such guilt and shame when I put that plate of leftovers in the microwave? Dinner -- most of the time, I am ok with the Phase1-ish dinner. However, there are days when I really want to make enchiladas with a little bit of cheese on top, eat tortilla chips with my salsa, and have a glass of wine. Snacks -- here is the biggest problem for me... The "snack" thing has to change. I have bars and drinks and shakes and crap galore... I has protein, but it also has artificial sweeteners and ingredients that I can't pronounce. I really want to tell people that I follow a very healthy lifestyle, but until I stop using these things as a crutch, I think I have to stop. I need to eat greek yogurt, nuts, cheese... things with protein that are also REAL food. When I have accomplished that and I'm maintaining my weight, then I have succeeded. So, this week I decided to do the following: - I ate a piece of toast in the afternoon. OMG. I'm a rebel. - I ate two mini dove dark chocolate easter eggs. And I'm still alive. - I chose greek yogurt over an IP-type product for my after dinner snack. - I ate blueberries at night when I wanted something sweet. I split a whole pint with my son. (Hey, at least it wasn't a pint of ice cream). - I ate a frozen yogurt popsicle just because I wanted it. - I made corn-based enchiladas totally from scratch. They were delicious. - I made green tomatillo salsa and served it on chicken and ate it with tortilla chips and grilled vegetables. - I ate cake and french bread at my cooking club. They both had wheat flour! - I ate a mini Belgian chocolate ice cream bar because I had worked in the garden for half the day and I deserved it. - I ate a few french fries off my husband's plate! These things are all ok, and yet I felt terrible when I did them all. After all that? What do I have to show on the scale??? I'm still within 1.5 lbs of when I started eating differently and, more importantly, my pants still fit. Now if only I can do these things without feeling guilty or like I'm going to spin out of control... I'm still on this journey. I don't know if it will ever end. IP taught us that losing weight was VERY different than maintaining weight... I'm still figuring out where I might end up, but I am going to continue to experiment. Thanks to everyone for listening. |
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I love having your honesty on this thread! I have been faithfully lurking on Maintainers, as I realize the REAL battle will be there. We are all facing difficult emotional issues that have been intertwined with food for various reasons. When I am honest with myself, I figure at 56 this will realistically always be a struggle for me, so wish it wasn't but, hey, people in **** want ice water! Know your struggle is oh so familiar with all of us here, and many thanks again for all your honesty! |
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I think a low carb diet is great to get the weight off, BUT to maintain seems unrealistic and to me- miserable. There are exceptions of course to those who have gluten allergies and choose to avoid most wheat. I've seen a lot of blogs and articles on the importance of whole foods, organic foods, and raw foods. As long as you have a balanced diet, meaning correct proportions and right food groups, along with being active, you're healthy! I'm not saying go out and eat whatever your heart desires because for most of us carbs are what got us here in the first place, but why cut them all out? I believe we can maintain and still add them back in moderation. I've had people ask me "How are you getting healthy by eating processed, artificial food?" And it's actually embarrasing when I dont know how to answer besides the causual "It's only to get the weight off" I'm extremely thankful for IP, however do not want to lean on it my whole life. Even Dr. Tran says in his book to maintain, eat a balanced diet with the right food combinations for best possible digestion. Stop feeling guilty for having something completely normal! Use healthier alternatives and try to avoid using processed and packaged foods with ingredients you can't pronounce! :) |
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We are potty training and it is easily the most stressful mommyhood experience I've had. I read all your posts and appreciate that we have this forum to share our thoughts and experiences. Pxl I really feel or you. Now that I am back in maintenance, I am having a difficult time figuring out what I can eat that is satisfying that won't cause the scale to move. We've had full-on cheat days the past two Saturdays and I realize doing that is just ridiculous. I need to find a way to not feel deprived during the week so I won't overdo it on the weekend. And I agree with you on the bars and shakes, they are fake food, I'd like to get away from them as a staple. Because I am recently coming off the reboot, my obsession with the scale is not healthy. So many things to work on. Thank you all for being here and sharing.
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I'm glad that I'm not alone. Try not to obsess and keep everything in perspective. I had toast AND granola this morning. Feeling rebelious again... :) |
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