Awesome and fantastic explanation....thank you so much. I agree we have only seen it in the past year here, but now it seems the is almost no non-greek yougurt...weird...

As sour cream??? Are you telling me I cant have the good ole Dairlyland white and green tin sour cream in maintenance??? Oh no...I might not make it LOL...What do you put on Cheemos then LOL

Honestly, thanks for the explanation, makes a lot more sense now.

You could have fat free sour cream, only full fat on a potato during a fun day (carbs and fat seperate)....I just think it tastes very similar to full fat sour cream (but then again I never had full fat sour cream, always had the 0 fat)...also dig how much protein is in it. :)

Again thanks everyone for your support!

I have been drinking like a FIEND and am down to 160 by the middle of the day. I am putting the scale away til next week.

Im quite a ways away yet, but its gonna be a whole new set of foods for me in maint. Obviously what I was doing before wasnt working LOL

Im still having trouble wrapping my head around the whole keeping the carbs and fats separate as that was how I always ate the carbs...it sounds so easy, but every time I try to work out a menu of things I truly love, im breaking one rule or another LOL...Its gonna be a challenge for sure, but I cant wait to get there...

There was an old song, "what goes up must come down" or something like that. :goodscale

Ishbel, I like your plan. Just a bit more of items you may control during the week. Brilliant.

I also need to drink more water. Bleh. Just not feelin' it.

Oh and I love Greek yogurt. My favorite is Chobani. Creamy, thick, like custard. So comforting in the morning. But, for my pancakes, I'll ditch it.

Times like these it's nice to have the back up of this board or comforting food items. Could be impending TOM or new routines but I just downed the CSP shake and yum oh yum.

Family stuff. Don't know what to say. But, I feel like I could just sit with a glass of wine or something but I don't want to. Just kinda have that feeling.

These life stressors will come on from time to time. That and TOM which is a whole other ballgame but it's nice to have new resources and options. I don't really want to drink wine. I just want to chill. So, I guess I am going to have to learn new ways. And that's not a bad thing.

Food tends to take up a lot of space in our lives in ways in which we may not fully understand until we remove it. But, that's okay. It's there largely for nutrition, energy and enjoyment. It does not have to be there for everything.

This is a learning process.

Stacey glad the scale is being nicer to you....sometimes it's always nice to give it the finger too though! :D

Purple.....times like that I think..."I deserve to be comforted, but it doesn't have to come from food.". :hug:

I was just spending some time here while DH is getting the kids to bed. :D

You guys seriously NEED to make your own Greek yogurt. I make 1-2 batches every week for my kids, and I control what goes in it. Here's what I do:

In my 8 cup glass pampered chef batter bowl, pour in 8 cups milk. I use 1%

Nuke in microwave for 18 mins or how ever long gets it heated to 180 C. Use a candy thermometer for this and whisk before taking temp as microwaves heat uneven.

At 180 C the proteins have unwrapped. Let cool and occasionally whisk until thermometer gets to about 45 C, then add 1-2 tsp of plain yogurt. The first time I made this I used OIKOIS brand plain Greek yogurt as my starter, now I just use a heaping teaspoon of homemade as my starter.

Turn on the oven for only a minute. Just to take the cold off. Turn off. Turn on the oven light.

Put a plate over the top of the bowl, put the bowl in the oven - turned off - and wrap a beach towel around the whole thing. Leave overnight. In the morning you should have yogurt!!

I strain with cheesecloth double layered in a colander and leave for work. At noon, spill out the collected whey in the bowl underneath the colander and whisk the yogurt. You can add back some whey or fresh milk to your desired thickness. I add torani 0/0/0 syrup. My kids love French vanilla with extra vanilla extract added. They add their own berries, granola, etc but they usually eat this as is. It stores for a couple weeks, but I always run out! Make sure you save a tsp for starter for your next batch!

Soooo easy, cheap, fresh, tastier than store bought. I make the milk up at supper time and leave it overnight. Super easy to strain it and mix up over my noon break. End of day is just thicker as its been strained longer.

Have fun!!!

Stacy- for the first four months it took 2-3 days of Phase 1 for my weight to return to normal. Happy for you that you're back to a good place!

Ishbel- sounds like your BBQ was a lot of fun... I like your free day style... A little of this, a little of that, not too much but the ease of being unstructured. Seems very healthy!

PurpleSky- I am feeling some synergy with you... I was just looking at articles about how to deal with stress besides upping caloric intake. Working out, walking, meditating, gardening & cleaning seemed to be the most popular responses. Journal long has been proven to help as well... I tend to use this board for my journaling (sorry everyone- know that makes it a bit long winded at times ;)). And I have found it to really help keep me centered.
Mompattie- thank you for the recipe! I am attempting this tonight- fingers crossed!
Something bit me in my sleep last night and now my ankle has a couple spots that are oozing and it feels like my ankle is in a vise. I love summer BUT I hate BUGS!!!!!

I love Greek yogurt also..especially the Chobani brand. I use it in place of sour cream..in curries, in sauces with tahini, raita, or tsatkis..Odd as it may sound I like yogurt and strawberries on top of my pancakes.
Dakin: Good luck on the stressful family trip.

Cap: The coconut cauliflower was wonderful. I love it.
I was at a party and all 3 of us women said we follow recipes to the tee and measure. While the males said they don't measure and just eyeball it. I tend to double or triple spices though.
Yes, following IP is easier than the intuitive experimenting that comes with maintenance. I tend to stick to eating much of the same things on a daily basis..just adding a few new things here and there.

PurpleSky: That Kale salad looks yummy with the avocado in the dressing. I am leery of the honey also..and might try truvia. I can handle a tsp or so of sugar..but 1/2 honey is scary..but probably tastes wonderful. I like the baby kale from Costco.
Thanks for the whey protein site and the pancake recipe. I will hunt down coconut flour.

Stacey: glad the scale is cooperating. It is scary when it goes up!

Ishbel and Longhorn: You can have fat and carbs in the morning on Phase 4. That is why I sometimes have pita bread with ricotta cheese and pasta sauce in the morning. you could have a potato and sourcream in the P4 morning.
Someone correct me if I am wrong..

Not turning to food during stress is an ongoing part of life. I find I handle stress better if I have exercised..or do so after. I agree with cap..journaling, logging on here..really do help.


Mompattie: That recipe looks good. Greek Yogurt is not cheap!

Do any of you use myfitnesspal as a resource during maintenance?

Dakin - Love your quote.

capricious- Sometimes when you have a more developed right brain, expression or release of some kind can be more important. It, whatever it is you are going through, has to come out. And that's tricky because we just can't go allover the world or our homes expressing. Someone else is about to be unhappy.

I think some of the us turn to other things to sublimate, divert that attn. For many it used to be food (mac and cheese, choc. cake, wine, beer, nachos, fries, etc. etc.) So now, I think it becomes more of a challenge (but in no way impossible) to figure out how to deal or cope directly or to divert energy in a healthy way, many of which you mentioned.

And that comes down to personal interest and comfort. At least that is what I think. For some journaling works, but for some sitting down and being still is just too challenging. For some exercise works because that releases those endorphin things.

So, I guess it is a matter of figuring out what works and having that option readily available because in times of stress we don't always have time to think of the best most rational response or reaction, we just grab go for our quick go to.

When I was younger I used to journal. You know, old school, like with a pen and paper. I used to sit in my rocking chair and journal. Then I went for a walk. I think I did this everyday.

maile your right, you could all food groups are allowed (sorry if I caused anyone confusion), I just choose fruit/bread/milk/peanut butter so far (not bored and kinda systematic in the morning so I have my go to breakfast that won't change for a LONG time)...in fact I sometimes will clap my hands as I walk towards the counter...:)

mompattie that would make A LOT of yogurt for just little 'ol me...I'll keep the recipe and try it when I'm not so busy. Thanks though, I'll be sharing it with other friends who are addicted to greek yogurt! :)

stacy I downloaded 'my net diary' based a recommendation from KatMarie in the photo goal album, she's lost over 175 using the ap...I like it and it shows treads. It was 10 bucks to down load and I've not looked back (started out using fatsecret.com)

Ran again last night - my plan is twice a week for a while. I find I'm very tired so I need to give my body that rest. Might try the death mill (a step mill) to see the difference I feel between 300 lbs and now...just for the heck of it :D.

Might try running on a Phase 1 day in the next one or two months. I'm going to work with my fitness guru friend to make a strengthening plan to start within the next month. Not to worried about implementing it just yet, one step at a time.

Later skaters!

Cap-the bugs here are horrible too. I did a ladies golf clinic in the broiling sun yesterday and have 2 horsefly bites and a bunch of little black fly bites. They love me :(

I used to track my days on the daily burn, but I eventually slacked off. My weeks are pretty similar. The scale tells me everything. Up as usual yesterday. Almost back to normal this morning, although I expect some is dehydration as yesterday I did and hour of Zumba, and hour on the driving range and an hour weights class. I was beyond exhausted last night....

My dh is loving ip. He is almost back into pants he put away many years ago. I am impressed with him!

Enjoying my chicken a la king soup. I just can't find a good and easy replacement for lunch....