My weight does stay the same, thankfully. If I drink two days in a row though (I know, I know, that's technically two cheat days in a row, but it happens), even if it's just one cocktail or glass of wine, that my weight will go up a couple lbs, but after a day of Phase 1, it levels back out. Lots of great wineries in WA and OR...kinda glad I'm such a lightweight, or I might be more tempted by them. :)

Not sure what you mean by " is this typical"?if you mean when you go to phase 3, I did not experience this nor has anyone that I know who have gone to phase 3. Actually it was quite the opposite for me- I felt full and bloated all day. Wonder if you are just having a "hungry day" which I have every couple of weeks where I need extra food and maybe you are coming down with something. If the problem, persists, I would advise you to see a health care professional because also could be an underlying blood sugar issue and the reintroduction of carbs ( sugar) is triggering symptoms.

Thanks. I don't think I'm getting anything except maybe an allergy to fog. :( But I also wondered about blood sugar. I had 68 grams of carbs yesterday; 13 g sugar.

We will be in San Francisco in the end of December and someone told me we HAVE to go there. I'm a freak about Ghiradelli's chocolate/caramel squares so maybe I shouldn't. :dizzy:

How are you feeling today?

Oh man, you wouldn't want to pass up the opportunity to share that experience with your children. You are doing so well and have lost so much, enjoy life whether you will indulge in some chocolate or not ( I would probably swan dive into a river of chocolate and overdose on it). :smug:

Normal, thank you.

Hi Linden..Thank you. Maile is my middle name. My dad was sweet and got me maile leis for my birthdays when I grew up. My family is part Hawaiian and we were born and raised there. I was reading your other thread and discovered that you have a new grandchild. That is wonderful. One of my favorite names is Kanoe..which means heavenly mist..my daughter's middle name. Remember your house is waiting for you.

As to being hungry after the Phase 3 breakfast..I did not go through that shaky hungry all day feeling. Things felt the same as Phase 2.. are you getting a reaction to the carbs? Do you feel better now?

That is good that there is no effect on one day..plus you can go to Phase 1 if there is. Yes..Oregon has wonderful wineries also..We just need to stay away from them! It is getting cold in the Northwest.

I agree with Determined. That factory is worth seeing!

I posted for the challenge. My main obstacle was not accounting for days of eating when traveling.
One possible new rule for me in maintenance might be, not only not 2 cheat days in a row..but make your fun day a PLANNED day. Last night I almost indulged in a desert at a friend's house. I told myself that I could just have a cheat day early...which was an excuse to indulge in a craving..I did not do it.

This is great advice.

I'm struggling now with Thanksgiving this week. I'm going to make that my free day, and my friend is bringing a nice dessert to celebrate my birthday early. I will eat cake on Thursday, and following maintenance on Saturday (my birthday). We leave on a cruise on Sunday... That way, I can have another free day in the middle of the cruise, then back on maintenance the rest of the time.

Somuch thinking and planning... They had better have fat-free frozen yogurt on the cruise so that I can have something sweet with my low-fat meals.

Yikes-the cold weather here was a killer this weekend as far a difficulty staying on plan. I ate extra cheese and nuts but did fairly well. The hot tea just didn't cut it. Hopefully I find a way to deal with that prehibernation instinct or it will be a long winter!

The cold weather here is a killer too (although not near as cold as most of you are probably getting!). I have succumbed to a chest cold and find that I cannot get outside to exercise. Huffing that cold air into my lungs was making it worse.

My normal plan after my "free" day has been an hour run the next morning and phase 1 all day. This week I find I'm having to do 2 phase 1 days because I can't exercise. It could be a long winter! I'd better moderate on Thanksgiving or I'll end up on phase 1 for a week!

Hope everybody is doing well! I had my 4th cheat day - 4th Sat at the movies. There's something magical about a plan that allows you to eat a large double butter popcorn and not gain weight :). I also had my first subway sandwich in 3 months. I did learn a lesson though, last week I was up 3 pounds and it took 2 days to come off, but this time I drank TONS of water and didn't gain.

I have been mainly calorie counting and that seems to be working for me, it actually surprises me how much food you can eat when you're eating lots of veggies and still stay within a reasonable calorie range. I track using Myfitnesspal on my iPhone and have it set up that I get reminders from the app if I haven't entered anything in 4 or so hours.

The one challenge is that I am FREEZING! I can't seem to get warm, I travel a lot and I am an absolute icicle on the planes, to the point that I wore long underwear this am because I have 4 flights in one day :(.

Have a fabulous day fellow maintainers!

I found an article in the newspaper today very interesting. The information is taken from the Journal of the American Diabetic Association. It is about a study at Marywood University in Penn.

They followed 250 people for a year. They were in three groups; one group were people who were overweight to obese; another group were people of normal weight, and the third group were normal weight people who had lost at least 30 pound and kept it off for more than 5 years.

The tracked the eating patterns and the physical activity of each group.The groups of normal weight people and the maintainers averaged three meals and two snacks a day. The overweight group averaged three meals and one snack a day.

The overweight group went a longer time without eating which the researchers say leads to greater hunger and eating larger meals. The maintainers ate the fewest calories, about 1800 a day. The normal weight people ate 1900 calories and the overweight 2000+.

The maintainers were the most physically active burning off about 3000 calories a week through physical activity, the normal weight people burned off 2000 calories a week and the overweight people 800 calories a week.

So the key to successfully keeping the weight off seems to eat smaller amounts more frequently and to be physically active.

Pat

Determined & BCgirl- I hear you about being s-s-s-s-sooooo cold! My hubby has been really good about buying me fleece lined shirts for some reason. I guess when he sees them he thinks of me ;) But I sure do appreciate the extra warmth right now.
Pauley- Is an exercise dvd a possibility? Or a class? Can't imagine giving up exercise for the whole winter. Winter lasts about 7-8 months here :(
And I find my mood is so improved by exercise, I go from grouchy to happy in the space of 30 minutes...
Maile- the babies in the picture aren't mine- they're my sister's... my youngest little guy is 1 at this point. He sleeps thru the night but gets up bright and early. I know to go to bed early so that I can be up early... but sometimes have a hard time making myself do it because I cherish the alone time in the evenings...
I had my free day on Saturday this past weekend. It was planned that would be the day because we were going to a Santa Claus breakfast and a community event in the evening. For the first time since before I began IP I hit up the Saturday step class. And did that ever make a difference in how I treated my free day. Because I was weighing everything I wanted to eat against how much effort I'd put into that class- it really reigned me in. I will be making a more concentrated effort in the future to have my free day coincide with strenuous physical activity...

I'm thinking about buying a treadmill so I can exercise at home. I hesitate to join a gym as it takes too much time away from the wee one. Plus I'll be fine outside in the cold once I'm over this virus. Exercise improves my mood tremendously too! It's hard to go a few days without.

4 flights in one day?! You must be a pilot BC. I am always cold on flights too and dress warm.

I added my before/after pic to my signature for a while. I look at this and can't believe it was just a few short months ago that I was so big. It makes me not want to eat!

Wow great comparison pics. Funny how we all seem to look happier in photos where we are thin! You have that cute Drew Barrymore thing going on!:smug:

Pxl got me thinking this morning and I thought I'd come here and ask you ladies to post an example of your grocery list. I'd love to see both phase 3 and phase 4 shopping lists if possible. I'm such a nervous nelly and need all the info I can get....even if it means someone makes my list for me. ;) IF this is too much to ask, I understand, just thought I'd throw it out there. Thanks!

Well if you ladies say so......;)

ItsAboutTime - I buy mainly the same foods as I did in phase 2 except I eat all veggies and more fruit. My phase 3 breakfast has been (almost every day) 3/4 cup no fat greek yogurt, 2 squirts of davinci banana flavor in it, 1 cup thawed blueberries, 3/4 cup kashi go lean crunch cereal - mix it all together.

Pauley - I am not a pilot - I'm a lawyer but I do consulting work with cities and towns here in Canada so end up flying in for meetings. Nothing exotic, mainly little commuter planes :(. The good thing is, although I travel once a week for a day or so, I work out of home the rest of the time so get to do some of the mom stuff for my girls (coaching their teams, pizza lunches etc.). It's hard being away but the trade off works. I'm curious, do others work outside the home? (I know some of you have young kids, in some ways I miss those days, especially after a morning with two teenagers :).

I work full-time for an accounting firm (I'm an economist). I am lucky in that I have a few days each week where I can work from home, and it's flexible. That makes all the difference when you have a stressful job. My son (4) is in full-time daycare.

I work full time at a desk job (export compliance) that involves commuting every day, although not much travel at this time, which I'm thankful for as I have a 3 year old daughter that it pains me to be away from! The structure does help with the diet. It must be really tough on those of you have travel frequently!

My shopping list hasn't changed all that much from Phase 2 either. I'm still having shakes for breakfast (but adding a 100 calorie high fiber bagel with WW cream cheese) and bars for snack. I have added in reduced calorie string cheese, and sometimes eat whole wheat pasta or potatoes with dinner, but not always. Once in a while I'll eat a fruit too, but seldom as I don't much care for fruit.

Hello Maintainer ladies!
I've read this thread on and off as I find you all very inspiring.

I'm nearing the end of my journey, I was set to start phase 3 today, but as it turns out I had to be out of town most of the week and got back in town just last night, so I had to push it back to get ready for it. I would love love love to start tomorrow, and I will be doing as much reading as possible on phase 3 (I have already read some info.. but I feel I could use more). A couple of weeks ago I remember you ladies talking about a link or spreadsheet that someone had put together of different phase 3 breakfasts. Does anyone still have it? Can you share it with me? I would really really appreciate it! I'm so looking forward to finishing this right and then joining you ladies in this lovely thread :)

I I find that Thanksgiving week is stressful also..and I feel like I am struggling with all of the planning. My son is celebrating on Wed with his friends so I am making a cheese platter. Then all of the planning for foods that I will not eat ..but will cook on Thursday. I can feel my stress rising.
I plan on making Thanksgiving my fun day also..but do not intend to eat everything that is available..just too much.

Your Bd celebration sounds fun..and nice of your friend to make you a cake. Where are you going on a cruise? I have never been on one, but hear that the food is fantastic..should have lots of buffets..frozen yogurt????

I came up with that idea as I knew I was actively fighting a craving. For me to feel in control, I need to plan the cheat day..even if I can eat what I want.

Determined, Capricious,Pauley, and BC..I am freezing also. I am layering up and wearing merino wool socks. I had my last batch of conferences until 8pm last night and froze walking in and out of classes.

Pauley..I hope your chest cold is better. I do the same..I exercise especially the next morning after a treat. That is my plan for Friday morning. Do you have those ice running attachments? You look gorgeous and thin in your after picture. You look like a new person compared to your earlier one.

BC..I am also surprised at how much I can eat and not gain. I tend to count calories and carbs. I agree those planes are cold..especialy the night flights.
Are you going to be swamped flying during the holidays?

Capricious..I like the idea of linking exercise to a treat day. Friday is going to be a workout day for me. I really think it helps. Step classes are not easy! Hope you are getting sleep!!!

Pat: That was an interesting article. It does support exercise and small meals being important. What was interesting was that the maintainers ate fewer calories than the normal people..as well as burned off more calories. Could that mean that our metabolisms are slower..despite more exercise?

I am sure you all know that I am a teacher..My commute is 15 minutes through back country roads where I only see coyotes,deer, and mountains.
I have one son at home and 3 others in various parts of the country.

Hi Gika.. That is so exciting to be moving to Phase 3. I may have saved the spreadsheet and will try to PM it to you. It seems like a lot of people in Phase 3 eat no fat greek yogurt, berries, cereal and sometimes peanut butter for breakfast..but I am sure there are many more variations. You are so close to your goal..great. If you track your breakfast on fatsecret, sparkpeople or my fitness pal..you can tell exactly what the counts are for your food. Good luck if you begin tomorrow. Please let us know how you are doing! I began posting here before I reached goal weight..and received lots of support and information.

Itsabouttime: I basically shopped for Phase 2 as usual and just added non fat greek yogurt, frozen berries, low carb high fiber cereal..kashi or special K protein..or low carb bread.
San Francisco is a wonderful city..You will have a wonderful time!

For Phase 3, I bought raspberries, blackberries, bananas and frozen mixed berries and frozen mangos. Cerial - Alpen sugar free musili and 7 grain bread, whipped peanutbutter and whipped butter.. everything else the same as phase 2. Haven't shopped for 4 yet but sticking close to phase 3 menu.

2 ride: I hear that Celestial Seasoning has a good gingerbread spice and sugar plum tea for the holidays in case you are interested.

Linden, Gika, and Itsabouttime: I believe I forwarded you the Phase 3 spreadsheet. Let me know if you did not get it.

Today's goal: calm down, focus and not get overwhelmed. I will be cooking up a storm. I think what happens is that I have strong emotional triggers to these holiday foods. I realize that I cannot remember a Thanksgiving when I did not eat too much. Thus, I think I am very worried about feeling out of control. I want a treat day but not an out of control one. I can create a new tradition..mantra for the day.

Thank you I will look for that, my roommate and I are (I hate to say) need some other flavor other than chai (have double spice, indian spice, chocolate, dark chocolate, green chai) need a variety. I tried the pumpkin spice sf syrup in my ice coffee today... didn't really taste like pumpkin just was sweet...

I am overduing my peanut butter.. man did I miss it... but now I am going to have to have it only a couple time a week as I always want MORE! I also am having a hard time deciding what to eat (thank you Pxlkitty for your shopping list) I have to go shopping hopefully tonight or tomorrow night after work.. I get to baby sit my friends kids tonight and tomorrow Red dog has agility classes, friday getting a bed delivered... and of course saturday is my free day sooo that will be busy... am also on Standby at work until tuesday morning...
I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving week. I know you all will do wonderful and stay firm in your plan.

:hug:

Several days ago, Pxylkitty, you asked us to share our favorite dinner recipies. Here are 2 of mine but they are more ideas than how-tos since I have to juggle things here to accommodate.

First, tunafish "meat"balls. Tons of recipes on the internet. I use 2 small cans, drained well, with the juice of one half lemon, lemon zest, handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped red , and bind with egg. Mush really well with your hands and make 1.5" balls. Saute in 1 teaspoon of coconut oil over medium to medium high heat for 10-15 minutes. You can also simmer in tomato sauce, bake, etc. The beauty of these is that they're simple, fast, and they freeze really well so you can make 2 or more main meal proteins at once.

The other is blackened catfish. Use whoever's seasoning you prefer; heat a nonstick skillet to medium high then quickly swirl in 1 t olive oil, add the fish, lower to medium heat, and turn once. Cooks in about 5-6 minutes, depending on one's stove. Again simple and fast. I like it with spinach. Very French, just not creamed, alas. Hope you like these as much as I do.

You, too. Quiet Thanksgiving here. Of course, one could always go to the hard Rock Cafe in Berlin. Hum.

The two pictures you posted on the new pix site are wonderful. I can barely recognize you from one to the other. :carrot:

Got it, and thanks again. Thanks also to Woolberger.

Thanks! I got it! I know I was kind of over-stressing about this. I know the guidelines, but there's always one thing or another that I'm not sure if I'm doing right or not. For example, I wasn't sure if almond milk is considered dairy.. and that or soy milk is what I drink, also for some reason I wasn't sure if turkey bacon was allowed. Anyway, I read and read threads, and finally came up with some menus, and then reading the ones that you sent me confirmed that I was doing it right. Thanks again!

Thanks for sharing your phase 3 staples! and definitively good luck in phase 4, I'm sure you're going to do great. You've definitively shown you have steel discipline :)

Happy Wednesday, everyone-

So I was shopping at Kohl's this afternoon and I came across some black, fine pinwheel corduroy pants (Chaps by Ralph Lauren) on sale. I have been wanting some black cords, as it happens. Anyway, they did not have a size 8, so I took the size 6 in the dressing room thinking, "Oh, these will never fit but what the heck." Well, I was shocked because they did fit! I haven't bought anything in a size 6 in almost 20 years! So, of course I bought them. ;)

I couldn't be happier about maintenance. So far, it has not been hard. I only weigh once a week (on my "free" day) and my benchmark is 2 lbs. So, if I have gained 2 lbs or more and it does not go away the following week, I do phase 2 for a few days until my weight goes back down. It always seems to work. It is so gratifying to know I have finally learned how to maintain my weight loss after so many years of failing at this.

Karen

I had a great supper tonight. Safeway had freshly made salmon burgers at the butcher case and ate it sandwiched between the lowest fat/cal (2 slices 2g fat/110 cal) that I've ever come across... and it was soooo good! Put a couple spinach leaves and some mustard on too.
This morning was a dead run out of the house as I had to be in town for 8 am (we're about 20 min out of town) and had to have a 6, 2 &1 year old plus the dog in the car ready to go by 7:30. So I ended up buying breakfast on the run. Which I've only ever done once since being on maintenance. And opted for the breakfast sandwich from Tim hortons (ham, egg, cheese, english muffin). Higher sodium that what I would normally have but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the calorie count/ fat count was 300/ 12 which is considerably lower than my average breakfast. Wouldn't do it every day but it's good in a pinch!
As the American Thanksgiving approaches I was thinking about how it might be nice for us maintainers to offer up what we're most thankful for in maintenance so far...
I'm thankful this thread is so alive... thankful for the maintenance challenges... thankful for maintaining my weight for three months!

Don't you just love surprise, they will never fit and they slid right on... I bought my first size 6 pants this week as well and was shocked that they fit, but it isn't surprising as I had some size 8s with me and they didn't fit... all in the designer's decision on what size they are going to call things... but I am proud to wear a size 6.


Things I am thankful for - finding this IP program, having friends online and off that are very supportive, being able to afford to see it through to the end. Thankful I have a house, my dogs and cats and heat and light and all stuff with this. Thankful to live in the country I live in. And thankful I am no longer caring an extra 95 lbs with me every where I go.:hug:

Such a lovely relaxing morning here in wonderful northeast Montana. Relaxing, watching Macey's Thanksgiving day parade and enjoying coffee with half and half, Greek goddess plain yogurt with a cup of fresh blueberries and whole wheat/sunflower/ flax toast with peanut butter! Am going to MIL house so only have to bring a side fish. Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving all!