Regarding avocados - when I went to the Maintenance workshop the counselor said that avocados are both a carb and a fat and therefore you should tread carefully when eating them.
I was sad - they are a favorite and I was looking forward to eating them. I guess I'll have to settle for 1/4 at a time.
Boo!! I love avocado, and it's one of the foods I've been missing.
If you look through the Maintainers' "what are you eating" you will see they are doing avocados. My coach said they were more than fine, they were actually advisable. I sometimes eat 1/2 a day, and if I want to use that many calories and I'm hungry, I'll do a whole. The main thing for me is I try to stay in a calorie range, and avocados pack a calorie punch, so if I want something else that day with lunch that is higher cal I might leave out the avo. Some of the literature also says to avoid nuts for the same reason but nuts totally work for me and I really like them. I lean toward vegetarian, I just don't like meat that much, so nuts are a really great snack for me and/or add on to a salad or yogurt.
I think maintenance and what to eat and not eat really is a trial and error situation - my coach's usual answer is "well try it, and see if the scale goes up, or if it triggers too many cravings". We all react differently to different foods, and we all have "priorities". For example, it's more satisfying to me to have things like cheese, avo, and nuts, so I gravitate toward those and not the more traditional carbs like potato. Fats never trigger cravings for me - in fact, quite the opposite, they make me feel full - but sugars and refined carbs definitely can cause an insulin spike that will make me want to eat something to correct it.
Last edited by Grateful4Health; 06-29-2015 at 12:01 PM.
Avocados are actually perfect for maintenance because you can add healthy fats without having to make it a protein like cheese, or greek yogourt, etc. They are very high in fiber: 200 grams of avocado (according to nutritiondata.self.com - 1 average avocado) has 322 calories, 29g fat, 4g protein, and 17g carb but 13 of those are fiber so only 4 net for a whole avocado. That is half your goal for fiber per day... It's the calories you gotta be careful of, lol.
But that is for later, eh, ladies?
Amber and Liana, Great info you added! Probably like most things, moderation is key. A small amt wont hurt -- just watch the calories, fats and carbs. Gosh it's going to be FUN when I am in official maintenance.
Amber and Liana, Great info you added! Probably like most things, moderation is key. A small amt wont hurt -- just watch the calories, fats and carbs. Gosh it's going to be FUN when I am in official maintenance.
Yes, you'll find your way and have fun (hopefully) figuring out what works. Like life, I have good days that feel fun and really nourishing, and other days that are just rougher.
For me I seem to digest better if I don't have a bunch of things going on. So I try to keep to simpler choices. Like if I have avocado,, I don't add many other things - maybe a little cheese. So I'll do veggies, protein, and fat. I might do that for both lunch and dinner. Or if I use a carbier thing at dinner, I don't do much fat. I seem to just digest better that way.
For the first two months I religiously separated the fat and carb meals, but now I don't go quite as black and white, but I do lean the macros more toward one or the other. Like if I decide to have some potato, I only have it once in the day, and I might put a little butter (tsp or less) with that meal, but not other heavier stuff at that meal like avo and cheese.
It's just easier for me.
I only eat out a few times a month, and if it's something nice, I relax the macro mixing.
I haven't learned all my "dos and don'ts" yet, I'm letting myself have the first two years of maintenance to sort through it all, and allow the trial and error. I guess my don't is mostly high glycemic things because my blood sugar isn't so great. The one thing I did that I'm really glad I did, is I really did add one thing after the other, one at a time. That way I really could see how it affected me. For example watermelon seems to do OK if eaten alone, but canteloupe just really bothers me. Other fruits are fine. Sugar in any form causes a spike that not worth it to me. I've only had really tiny bites and still it doesn't work. But I think that is something very specific to my body. You will have your own things I'm sure.
Last edited by Grateful4Health; 06-29-2015 at 06:42 PM.
Hi Ladies! Hope everyone is well! So glad to see Brieal back at em'! You got this.
JJTX - I am so excited for you to start phasing off! It is such an accomplishment. Good for you for hitting your weight and BF% numbers. It was an adjustment for me to lose those easy go to packets. There is definitely a lot of planning that goes into P2-P4. But I know you are going to do great.
Avalon - Your charts but, more importantly, your successes continue to impress and motivate me. Your attention to details and numbers will bode you well as you continue on this journey.
One - Glad to see you here and so glad to read about your dancing. I think you would make a fantastic dance teacher and love that you could be setting yourself up to follow your passion into retirement. Such a great idea!!
G4H - I continue to appreciate your words of wisdom and for sharing your maintenance journey. I am absorbing everything you say. AND I started reading Refuse to Regain. I can see my mentality justifying certain foods because I "earned it". I think this book is really going to help me.
Sue - thinking about you and your DH. Let us know how you guys are doing. You are managing a very stressful time with kindness and grace. Your DH is lucky to have you!!
I apologize for being so absent lately. Work has been a bear and I've been making an extra effort to focus and be a rockstar which has meant working late and through lunches...making me grumpy and antisocial. I had 2 people leave my dept in the last few weeks. Great opportunities for them and I am happy for their successes but certainly makes for more stressful days. And my kids have kept me hopping. DS started a job at Sonic (carhop!) and still doesn't have his license. The motivation to get this kid driving has kicked into high gear. And my DD has had one basketball tournament after another. My week days are filled with work and my evenings with playing cabbie to my kids.
Phasing off has continued to be a challenge for me. Still staying within sight of my goal weight (mostly under even) but staying OP has not been as easy as I thought. My inner brat has been getting her way more often than I'd like to admit...and she's stamping her foot too!
My coach encouraged me to move to P4 as soon as I'm ready. Already planning a cheat day on the 4th if that gives you any idea. But I am committed to the plan and seeing my coach every Mon. The book G4H recommended, "Refuse to Regain", couldn't come at a better time. Looking at moving to P4 Wed or Thurs depending when I have time to plan out my meals and snacks.
Also met with a trainer at my gym for the first time tonight. Somebody shoot me to stop the pain! Although I am now thin, I have no strength. It was downright embarrassing. My only saving grace is that I was not overweight AND out of shape. I was that for too many years.
Hi, All. I've been doing IP (no cheating) since December 1, and I'm still not at goal. Getting really tired of this. Sometimes I feel like I could do this forever, and then the next day, I just want to throw in the towel. Do NOT want to gain the weight back and am terrified of doing just that. Couple of trips coming up (1 during the 3rd week of July and vacation August 10) and I was thinking I would be finished with phase 1 by then. I feel like I'll still be on phase 1 when teachers go back Aug. 17. Sorry....just feeling depressed and needing to vent a bit.
MizBeadz, Sorry to hear of your frustration. But on the bright side, you have lost 53 pounds, which is a huge victory! You have dropped out of the morbidly obese category into a just a slightly overweight category. You have reduced your chances for having a heart attack or stroke or developing diabetes. I am sure you look and feel a lot better than you did in December. Even if you do nothing but maintain this fantastic loss that you have accomplished so far, you are in a much better place health wise. I have always heard that the last few pounds are the hardest so I get your frustration. Have you considered upping your exercise a bit? Maybe taking some brisk multi-mile walks in your neighborhood every day? Sometimes our bodies get used to what we are doing and adjusts to it and we need to do something different to shake things up a bit. Hang in there! I am rooting for you!!
Amber, I love hearing about your maintenance. You always have such good ideas to share and I have learned so much from your experiences. I will be incorporating some of things that you are doing in my maintenance when I get there.
CenTxChk, you are a rockstar with your losses. You have been such an inspiration to me. Continue to share your experiences about phasing off. We all learn so much from each other. Never underestimate the value of your stories to others!
Last edited by Avalon1957; 06-30-2015 at 06:16 AM.
So I started the JULY thread a few hours early, as I can't wait to get rollover to a new month! I also tweaked the title to be even more inclusive of anyone that started in 2014 and earlier.
