JennRN
Try asking in the maintainers thread. They're the ones with the experience

Morning everyone
Lisa you are So Right Old Habits Die Hard!!!

I was a Rock Star getting the weight off !
Maintance is a whole other story!!! I was like a recovering addict that was clean for a long period of time and started using again, with short periods of being clean and then free falling back into the old lifestyle

It is easy for people to say oh she did not know or put the work being able to maintein the weight. Well here is what I think the honest truth is The Drink calls you ...and I swear for that brief moment in time I feel like I have been given the Christmas gift as a child that I longed for Santa to put under the Christmas tree.

The Drnk for me is food! So many of my happy memories are attached to certain foods ,when eating them I am transported back to that special feeling.
I think that is why someone you can know may rave about this special food....you taste it and think what's so special or good about that but your brain and memory has not stored a pleasurable memory connection to it IMO!
IP is doing what it is designed to do it can not clear the memory of your hard drive to see certain foods as verboten !
I may know speeding is not a good or safe thing to do ....but I drive 45 miles 1 way to work ....so given the opportunity I do feel the need for speed,
I know people who give themselves cheat days and are able to stay at their goal weight .
I have to learn to take a cheat day and not turn it into a cheat month.
I know I will reintroduce a cheat day back into my life, I will have to gain more control before I give myself the next step.
I have not earned the right to have a cheat day, I will need to prove myself worthy and capable of handling the experience.
I will not give the keys to the Candy Store to my inner child, she will scarf them down have a raging tummy ache!
Roo2

Roo2, so true. I feel maintenance is hard. I have actually had some years of success at maintenance, and then some meds worked against me and I think I got this mental thing that said, well I cannot help it because I eat healthy I gain, so why not eat badly. And that is what got me back to 190 when I had stayed in the 140's for years. So this this time if I have to deal with it, which is a possibility, I will stay the low-carb way because that seems the best process for me.

I know for me, I have begun to clean out my closet, and things I kept for "just in case I gain weight", I am actually donating. Part of my weight issue comes from giving myself permission to gain weight simply by the act of keeping "fat clothes". I'm done with that.

I've also really appreciated my new body - it's the one I had when I married my husband 8.5 years ago. I can get into the "skinny clothes" I had stored in a box. I feel better - I have more energy. I can get into my custom tall boots again! I can take up offers to cap with local hunts in MD and VA! I no longer dread people judging what my weight is doing to a horse's back!

I have gained too much to allow myself to return to the way I allowed myself to become. Some things are just worth fighting for - weight loss is a lifetime goal - it never ends. Some days/weeks/years will be better than others. I accept that I will "fail" from time to time, but I have set a 5 lb weight gain limit. If I gain five pounds, I will do a re-start. I have to do this, or I will not have any clothing to wear - and its illegal to be naked in public, and I have a deep aversion to jail!

zephyr1973 I too am guilty of keeping clothes. I have started a bag in the corner of my room. If I try something on and it is no longer wearable, in to the bag it goes! When the bag is full, I bring it to a consignment store or goodwill.

Our bookkeeper comes in once a week to work and she said something that really hit home "you aren't wearing your big people clothes anymore, your shirts *fit* your body and it's great to see!" I used to wear clothes that draped my body rather than fit, and I want all my clothes to fit! It'll help keep you conscious of your weight!

I agree! I like your comment! As individuals we all have to make choices for ourselves and no one is perfect but we can certainly keep trying and not feel like we are failing if we put on a couple lbs. In one of IPs information sheets it did say that gaining 7lbs in a year is normal. But, you need to stay on it to make sure it doesn't get out of control again. I think 5lbs is a great amount to realize that a person has to get back on track and not let yourself go to where you were. This plan has made me realize how much better feeling great is than feeling tired, and uncomfortable in my own skin. Health is my priority now, not food!

If you look at the protocol, it actually says that you should reboot once a year.

What a great thing this was to read because it resonated so much with me. I know that maintenance, when I get there, will be ever so much more challenging that losing. For people like me, who thrive on control, being given freedom of choice beyond what I am used to on Phase 1 will scare me to death.

Thank you for sharing this so honestly. It makes me feel good to know when I get there, I am not going into uncharted territory.

Inspiring conversions and I agree with all how HARD to maintain and for me it is and will be a forever issue and journey. And, it is very frustrating when other people don't gain like me when I go off the plan. My husband has weighed the same for 21 years. I have friends who also have never had a weight problem. I get it. It just is for them and I think their bodies don't have the tendencies like mine to gain weight. I kinda hate them :-) and understand we all have struggles in life. That is not theirs.

I am rebooting right now, I should hit my goal weight after three weeks. Should I do a full 2 weeks on P2 & p3? I was thinking a week on each would be enough. What have you guys done in the past?

I am rebooting as well and find that Its really slow. I used to loose much faster before. Also I have become so sensitive to anything sweet that even the IP bars when consumed slow down my weight loss and brings it to a grinding halt. I lost 2.8 lbs my first week and about a 1.9 the second and then gained .9 now I am almost in week three it looks like I wont be loosing anything this week. Although I am only on unrestricted and making sure I get my protein in and my water

Hang in there! The weight loss generally goes slower the closer you are to ideal weight, I think. When most of us did it for the first time, we were significantly heavier than rebooting weight so we saw bigger losses.

I'm sure you know this kd, but are you making sure you're getting your oil in too? I find if I skimp on oil or eat only very lean protein my losses are slower. Healthy fats are really important.