'muzzle mechanism' made me laugh out loud this morning! Actually, there have been times I should have had one my mouth too!

Thank you all for your wonderful encouragement and support. Makes me eager and happy to login here everyday.

Hi darbs7, I saw you ask cap about flank steak and we make it a lot in our home. We buy it really inexpensively at Price Rite...like 3.99/lb. DH just throws it on the grill until medium/rare...Then we let it sit and when I need it I cut it very thinly and sear it (to make it well done...I'm not a fan of red meat) in a non stick hot pan with no oil (set the stove to med/hot) and when it's almost all well done I add a one tbsp of soy sauce (sometimes I make a soy sauce mixture with garlic, ginger and a sweetner)...It comes out like teriyaki... I'll be having it for lunch and dinner today. (On P3)...

Thank you all for the support. I feel better and am going to wear that jacket..
Patns: That muzzle mechanism had me laughing also. My husband can be very blunt. The rest of the story is that he also mentioned that wearing that jacket made me look like I was trying to attract a younger man. Now this is absolutely laughable after being married 40 years...I also am studying what other people wear and magazines. I think fashion is fun!

Cap..I liked the way you mentioned trying to be invisible..That is exactly what you do when you feel overweight..You wear dark colors and hope no one will notice your size. My husband is definitely reaction to the change..but for the most part, he is supportive. Your chicken kabobs sound easy and delicious. I put garlic in my humuus also. Are you closer to reaching Phase 4? I roast garlic and sprinkle spices on it after spraying it with olive oil.

I love flank steak also..get it at Costco..I make a carne asada mainade and then thin slice and then eat it with lettuce tortillas. I found a recipe for zuccini tortillas! I am going to try it.

SewMam..I had to throw out old styles of clothes also. My son said the same thing..that at least I was not wearing a mini skirt! I am glad you are enjoying your humuus and cauliflower crackers.

New Englander..That is too funny about putting the candy in the safe. I would do that also..keep it out of sight. I am the one who posted here that made her children choose their favorite xmas goodies so I could get rid of the rest..in order not to keep looking at them.

Mom2cs: How is your low carb eating going? Have you found some good recipes?

Darb7: I am trying to get my act together to actually post a picture! I need tech support from my son to get it posted. We did start at similar weights. Sometimes I look at myself and say I cannot believe that I carried 100 pounds on my body. Going to a size 8 is impressive. I wear 6/8s. I gave 100 pounds of potatoes to the Food Bank at Xmas..as suggested by 2ride...give what you lost. I still picture that shopping cart full of potatoes. I am not adding them back.

Here is my revelation for the morning. I seem to have lost my fear of the scale going up a few pounds. I am keeping my goal of 128..but generally weigh 125-127..This morning I was up two pounds..I thought to myself..fine..I am below 128..no problem. This is a change for me..I am not doing Phase 1 breakfast or panicking..I will just keep eating low carb and exercising.

2nd revelation that all of you know. This healthy life style is work. It means exercising almost daily. It means going to the grocery store and getting healthy food. It means cooking ahead and planning so I can eat healthy food! This goes on every weekend.

I read a maintenance comment who said that if you feel deprived, you will want to go off maintenance. So..in order not to feel deprived, I do a lot of cooking of things that I love..but that takes effort! I realized that I would not have had the energy to do all of this 100 pounds ago!

Time to dust off the barbecue and try that flank steak!

Last night I made a dessert out of the fruit allowed for dinner and an IP pudding. I used the IP strawberry pudding and frozen strawberries, a little almond milk, a little ice and water. Oh my! It is not Haagendaz, but it was so good. The food processor added so much volume it felt like a total cheat. I didn't really even need the extra ice.

Am going to try the blueberry pudding with frozen blueberries next. Am also going to try making popsicles with the greek yogurt and frozen berries...no fat, no guilt.

I love berries. That sounds delicious. I am eager for the summer berry season to start so I can have fresh ones!

Maile- had to smile when you mentioned 'the rest of the story'... My dh is experiencing the double edged sword as well... happy & proud of his 'new, slim wife' but very on guard against 'predators'... there are constant inquiries about who I meet, see, talk to at the gym and he is very conscientious when we are out, to the point on a date night a couple weeks ago- he commented that people must be thinking 'what is she doing with him'. Funnily enough this was a night I decided to wear my new denim mini skirt. Amazing that men won't notice when you change the cut or color of your hair but change the clothes and boom! That my weight loss has made him insecure is assured. I, too, wait for him to adjust. It is just a matter of time and consistency I figure (hope)...
My mouth was watering when I was reading about you steak lettuce wraps- this is supper tonight for sure! Thursday was my first day of Phase 3... so probably another week & half and then I'll switch over... probably to a Phase 4- Jackie Warner style maintenance plan. They are incredibly similar. Just no free day, no phase 1 day, eating clean, 2 meals on the weekend can be up to 1500 cals. I am so very happy that my sugar attraction seems to be dwindling. I haven't had any sugar/ sugar alcohols (by far the harder one because I had to give up my cherished IP bars/ protein bars/ gum/ diet pop). I can notice a marked difference in the level of my cravings- they have diminished considerably and this is exactly what I wanted. And Fruit!! Oh wonderful blessed fruit! I have been having it as my snack for mid morning & mid afternoon and it so fulfills my sweet tooth but it doesn't make me search out more. Love, love, love pineapple.
It's been good to 'go back to the basics'. And to search out recipes that will accommodate. Great to be on here and have everyone sharing their meal ideas because it really does help add variety and stave off boredom!
It is wonderful to hear that you are settling into your new weight and trusting that it will keep itself there. That you truly consider 128 to be the ceiling and can be happy anywhere underneath it whether it is 125 or 127 will probably provide you much less stress...
Your other revelation about this maintenance business being work is so very true. The planning of the meals, the energy spent at the gym, the energy needed for muscle recovery and the still all of the regular day to day basics of work & chores... is a lot...
I try to look at it like I do strength training. Even a small amount can be hard to lift when your muscles are untrained but as you do it on a regular basis it becomes easier and in order to progress more weight needs to be lifted and so forth... It's harder but there is pride that is associated with overcoming... I would much rather challenge myself to stay on top of the maintenance ball than challenge myself to lose a significant amount of weight again...
mom2cs and patns- are you moving into phase 3 this week?
New Englander- what was breakfast today? Mine was spinach egg white omelet, yogurt with muesli & berries, couple nuts
darbs- how's it going?? I think I read your Phase 1ing for a bit?
SewMam- Thank you for getting me so excited for those crackers! I will try making the cauliflower crust this week to make myself a 'pizza' and make the crackers when I hit phase 4 again to go with the hummus!

I don't believe in phase 3...I think I need to be low carb forever to maintain, but since dh is doing well with phase 1 we will stick with that!

I'm going to trust this diet into maintenance. I remember being told to trust this diet several times through my P1 journey...it was usually told to someone who was frustrated with a small weekly loss. The idea that this diet really does work when followed. I'm going to eat as they say into maintenance and if I notice something isn't working I'll tweak it.

Cap, I'm still working on my bananas. So this morning was the same...a banana with peanut butter on whole wheat toast and a piece of swiss cheese! I'm a creature of habit (as we all are) and will eat this 'til I get sick of it or run out of ingredients...

Yes! You should! I think the phases do work...

Hi! Are you in maintenance? Have you tried a cheat day yet and rebounded?

I maintain doing a cheat weekend followed by a strict work week. Monday's can be scary, but I am usually back at my wight by Wednesday.
A month (like last December) is not so forgiving!
I try to stay as low carb as possible, but sometimes pizza calls

That sounds like a nice plan! I can't wait to figure out what will work for me...it sounds like a "work hard and play hard" strategy (good all week and fun all weekend) and I like that! I can see myself going lower carb during the week, and being a little more relaxed on the weekends... hmmmmmm...

The important thing is reigning it in when you see things going off track!
The 13 pounds up in january sucked!
I really believe that low carb higher fat is healthier. That helps keep me on track.
Plus, I love bacon and eggs on Sundays!

I was in maintenance very successfully from Memorial Day of last year until Christmas Eve....I took almost every weekend off from Friday around 4pm until Sunday afternoons....I then did phase one for Mondays and Tuesday and then a phase 3 like day on Wednesday and Thursday and until 4 on Fridays.

Then something happened around Christmas that I returned to alot of old habits and packed on about 12 of the 87 I lost. Down about half of those...working on the rest...just took the last week off.

What I like, so far, is knowing what my limits are and what is allowed. My coach said I can have half/half in my coffee now, so I give myself permission to do that. I may do it once/day as a treat, but the other cups I drink black and feel like I'm really doing the 'right' thing by being conservative there. Sort of a little mental game... Same idea with the frequency of tomatoes or other high-glycemic vegees. Of course, the proof will be on the scale tomorrow whether I'm on the right track or out of my gourd....