I'm a lurker who appreciates all those that do post on a regular basis. Has anyone in maintenance had issues with their tailbone after losing all the weight. There isn't a lot of cushion where there was before, so if I sit for too long, my tailbone really hurts. Anyone else?
I'm staying within my range since I started maintenance in September. Phase 1 will always be a part of my life, but it allows for that indulgence every now and then.
For those that will be drinking, keep tabs on it. At least for me, the alcohol does a number on me a lot quicker now that I've lost the weight.
I'm still going strong on P3, and will be very disciplined until the 28th when I'm having my first fun day at my sister's family get-together. I'll still be moderate, but enjoy a few goodies that day. Then P1 the next day.
My weight has increased by 2 lbs, which I guess is quite to be expected. I'm checking myself everyday, just to keep tabs on what's going on there. I log everything into fatsecret, and have noticed that my sodium intake has been higher these past few days too, so that's likely contributing as well.
My bug is almost gone, and pretty much feeling back to normal. I'm grateful, as there is a 1 yr old grandniece at the get-together on the 28th and I'd really hate to pass anything along to her.
New Englander - good idea with the bars. I think I'll get some too, so that I'm not so tempted by all the sugary treats around right now. I have yet to have any really sugary food re-enter my system, and am actually a little worried about how my body will react on the 28th if/when I enjoy a small portion of dessert.
Ishbel - that's so cool that your VIP has followed you down the IP path. What a sweetie.
Hgamrath - I hear you about it being more easy to get sidetracked right now. So much going on.... I also find it more difficult to ignore cravings, now that I'm no longer in ketosis. But so far so good. Have fun with your dehydrator.
Fishette - ITA, that that split the fats-carbs rule definitely cuts out a lot of the bad choices. I accidentally went over on the fats this am at breakfast... made almond butter yesterday and neglected to check the nutritional values before putting some on my english muffin. Yeow!! Lots of fat in almond butter - I should have known better. I certainly do now, and won't do that again.
Lizzy67 - I read somewhere here of someone who uses a bit of fat-free yogourt on her sweet potato at dinner time. That sounds like something I may try when I finish P3. It might have been you? (Or perhaps GreenIris)
Cheers everyone. Hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season with their friends and family.
Thanks Ishbel, that makes total sense. By the way, you are an inspiration to me. I love that you admit you have "chats" with yourself, very relatable to me. Thanks again!
Well, Hubs said he'd be home by 1:30 and grill moose burgers for lunch. It's 2:15 and I decided to have some almonds, which he ate last night... grabbed 1/4 cup of pecans instead, ate them, entered them on MFP and discovered I just had a TON of fat! Trying to do a phase 2 day but it's not working so well! Hopefully he'll be home soon and I can get some lunch!!
I too am struggling with cravings and staying OP; so much going on, a ton of stress at work, blah blah blah. All excuses I know, but seem to have lost my way the last few days. Will do P1 for a few days between Christmas & New Years, and beginning Jan. 2 plan to give it about a week. Am thinking I'd have been better off staying on P1 or P2 until after the holidays. Tomorrow is my extended family dinner where there likely won't be anything healthy. So I made a fruit salad (no dressing or added sugar) and a broccoli salad to take. Will also take my own sweet potato (plain) so the mashed potatoes will be easier to pass up. And will avoid the dessert table. Can't wait until life gets back to 'normal'! Think I'm going to have to stick with P3 most of the time until I know I can control my cravings better.
Evepet - it wasn't me that mentioned yogurt on sweet potato, though I may try it tomorrow. Have sweet potatoes in the cupboard now. And, glad you're feeling better.
Momat40 - glad you've come out of 'lurkdom'! Can't say I've heard of anyone else having trouble with their tailbone after losing weight. Hope the problem resolves itself for you soon.
LoriKay - giving up nuts is one of the hardest things for me! Ranks right up there with giving up chocolate I will probably still have 10-12 raw almonds on occasion as a snack, but the other kinds will have to be limited to free days.
I've been having a harder time if it today. Not sure if it's because holiday mode has kicked in or that I'm back at a weight I'm comfortable with. Still want to keep my eating orderly though... So... Will stick to the 'little bit' vs hog wild route for tomorrow, allow myself a glass of wine on my anniversary... And probably do a week of phase 1 between New Year and school starting. Then as my exercise classes are back in session I will have to decide between P3 or alternative. So, so similar. But both make me feel a bit more comfortable when exercising than Phase 1 as I have run into cramping issues.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Eve!
Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement. Spent a few days travelling, which prevented a timely response.
momat40: yes, i have the sore tailbone thing! I think of it as an odd NSV, like having a lap with a gap. What IP didn't take, gravity moved to a less than helpful position. Pay attention to how you sit (sit up straight so your tailbone is not touching the seat), and spend less time in hard chairs. : )
Cap: something to consider on p3 or p1alt: when do you exercise? If you do it after school, I think I would pick p1alt so that you could have a carb at dinner after you exercise or as part of a snack after you exercise. you might also be able to arrange p1alt to more mimic p4 (except for the fat). Maybe it makes a smoother transition.
Last edited by infoplease; 12-25-2012 at 01:02 AM.
Momat40: I do not have tailbone problems, but definitely am bonier without much padding....except around my stomach. I agree with you that at a lower weight and in eating low carb, alcohol can affect you quicker.
Evepet: Glad you are feeling better. Your P3 seems to be going well.
LoriKay: Nuts are high in fats, but low in carbs. Hopefully you won't have much damage.
Ishbel: That is wonderful that your VIP lost 49 pounds and reached goal
weight. You two can maintain together.
Cap: The holidays are stressful..no matter how we plan and prepare. I like your "little bit" vs "going hog wild" idea.
GreenIris: One of the hard things about social events is not being in control of time. ..eating later than you usually do. I found that eating a cup of vegetables before heading to an event that I know will be long and late, helped me. Good luck with the holidays.
Holly: I love zucchini chips, but have to bake mine. That dehydrator sounds great.
Fitgirl: enjoy your first fun day.
So I spent the afternoon making an elaborate moussaka recipe. My son did not like it, but my husband and I did. However, I am cooked out and plan to see a movie today and eat leftovers. I am also going for an xmas walk!
Greetings to all! I have not been on the boards here for several months. Yesterday, when i was thinking about my amazing year, I thought of many of you who got me where I am today....MAINTENANCE!!!!! I have been living a easy maintenance life since the end of October. I quickly scanned through Vol. 8 then this volume..I plan to read up on you all later! I was shocked at how beautiful you all look! Congratulations to you all. I have not been able to make the monthly maintenance meeting at our clinic yet. But I do continue to go to weekly weigh-ins. I never would have thought last April that I would be where I am! I have not weighed 130 since my wedding in 1990. IP has saved my life. I am a petite size 4 these days, and even a size 2 in some things. I am incredibly healthy, though out with pneumonia right now. My next goal is to start running. I used to run between 10 and 12 miles a day. So, well, it is nice being back here! I hope that you have all been well. It will take me some time to catch up. Hugs!! -Jules
I will update my photo soon. (This pic was taken in October.)
NewPath - Welcome back! I'm so happy to hear that you are doing well, I just started phase 4 and I'm struggling a bit. Too much freedom at a bad time of year!!
NewPath - Welcome back! I'm so happy to hear that you are doing well, I just started phase 4 and I'm struggling a bit. Too much freedom at a bad time of year!!
LoriKay,
I find that this is a particularly tough time of year. We are all rushed, trying to please everyone, trying to keep up with all of the holiday hype, and even fighting colds and flu. Do not fear maintenance. I remember, I did too though. There is nothing to fear. It is really about experimenting to see what you now like and which agrees with you. Once you do this, then you fall into a routine of buying and eating the foods that make you feel and look good. I do not count calories, or measure my protein. I learned everything that I need to know in the other 3 phases. I do not eat a lot of carbs, in general, they make me tired and sluggish. The carbs that I do eat are in veges, fruit, and rice products and nuts. It is weird, i just kinda try to eat what my body craves. I am looking forward to attending the maintenance meeting offered at our clinic. I heard that it is a great place to get tips from fellow maintainers. I absolutely love my fun meals. I carefully plan them all week long. I really think about what food it is that I really want. This keeps me honest during the week. My fun meal is usually on Saturday. After a fun meal, I am satiated and really do not crave anything until the end of the next week. I like fun meal to be fun, so strangely enough I do not necessarily plan it around social outings...like business meetings or parties...because selfishly, i do not want to waste my meal on food that probably is not what I really want!
Good afternoon! I hope that everyone survived Christmas!!
Greeniris - I'm going to be doing some P1 days from now until after the first of the year, too. I agree with you...I'd have been better off staying on P1 or P2 until after the holidays, too!
Capricious - I hope that things are going well for you. Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby!
NewPath - Welcome back!! Congrats on being a successful maintainer... you'll have to share your secrets with some of us newbies! Good luck with the running!
LoriKay - I am struggling just a bit, too...we kind of phased off during a bad time of year! We can do this!!
Sonyainva - towards the end of phase 1 I lost around 1 - 2 lbs a week. It seemed as though my weight loss went a little faster when I gave up my caffenated tea & drank more water. I did stick with P1 until I lost 100% of the weight that I wanted to lose. I did do 2 weeks of phase 2 (although others seemed to successfully skip that phase) and 2 weeks of phase 3. I started to workout 2 days after I started phase 3. I am very happy having followed these steps. The only thing that I would have done differently...is to have waited to phase off of phases 1 & 2 until after the holidays! At any rate, I have flat abs (with good muscle tone) even after having a couple of kids!!
Christmas Day was my first cheat day. I had a phase 3 breakfast, and then had a nice lunch with my husband's family. It didn't stop there...I just wanted to test out this cheat day theory. So...I continued to munch into the afternoon on all of the holiday baked goods, then proceeded to have my ham & cheesy potatoes and cherry cheesecake for supper. I felt stuffed, and very yucky.
So yesterday, after weighing in & seeing that I did gain 2.6 lbs, I did a perfect phase 1 day...with 1 hour & 50 minutes of intense working out (kickboxing & then walking at 5, 6, 7, & 10% inclines at 4.6 mph). I had energy to burn...but also felt a little "hung over" even though I consumed no alcohol.
I weighed myself this morning...and didn't lose a single ounce of my gain!! So I was bummed & ate a lot more cheat items. So...lessoned learned. My cheat days will be called "1 relaxed meal" now that I know how my body will handle it. It looks like I'll be doing phase 1 days for about a week now to get this weight off.
One question...when doing phase 1 for one entire week...do you workout or do we skip the workouts until we add back the phase 2 or 3 days?
At any rate, I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. I can't believe that 2013 is just around the corner! Cheers to all!!
Christmas Day was my first cheat day. I had a phase 3 breakfast, and then had a nice lunch with my husband's family. It didn't stop there...I just wanted to test out this cheat day theory. So...I continued to munch into the afternoon on all of the holiday baked goods, then proceeded to have my ham & cheesy potatoes and cherry cheesecake for supper. I felt stuffed, and very yucky.
So yesterday, after weighing in & seeing that I did gain 2.6 lbs, I did a perfect phase 1 day...with 1 hour & 50 minutes of intense working out (kickboxing & then walking at 5, 6, 7, & 10% inclines at 4.6 mph). I had energy to burn...but also felt a little "hung over" even though I consumed no alcohol.
I weighed myself this morning...and didn't lose a single ounce of my gain!! So I was bummed & ate a lot more cheat items. So...lessoned learned. My cheat days will be called "1 relaxed meal" now that I know how my body will handle it. It looks like I'll be doing phase 1 days for about a week now to get this weight off.
[B]One question...when doing phase 1 for one entire week...do you workout or do we skip the workouts until we add back the phase 2 or 3 days?
At any rate, I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. I can't believe that 2013 is just around the corner! Cheers to all!!
FitGirl,
I found that a fun meal...or even several fun mini meals in one day work out great for me. No weight gain, or feeling yucky the next day. But, like over the Holidays, I gave myself permission to slack for several days. I did gain 3 lbs....but, I am still within my maintenance range...as I lost weight last week due to illness. With that said, my life on P1 these past 2 days has been...VERY difficult...I have yet to experience the withdrawal and hunger from eating "fun" over several days. I will not do that again...except maybe for next Christmas. I am in ketosis, as of a few hours ago, and my plan is to get back down to 130 by Monday...so I can have my weekly fun meal. I do plan on going on runs, once my pneumonia clears completely. I have not run since starting IP, I am a runner at heart and cannot wait!!!! I think that because I am in ketosis, I will not run until I have my cheat meal on New Year's Eve and thus am out of ketosis. After reading through the thread on Maintainers who have gained...I learned vicariously through them...not to let a day become a week or a month. So, I am back on plan until I get to my low goal weight. I bet you will see a big loss over the next few days as your body adjusts to P1. Good luck!
Oh, and at my clinic, they clearly tell us that it should be one fun meal...not a day. However, with that said, if I want Buffalo Wild Wings, I refuse to sit down and eat them all in one sitting....I no longer like the feeling of being overly full and I when I am full, things just do not taste the same. I know this sounds crazy but, what I have been doing is having small little meals out of my cheat/fun meal.....it makes it 10 X more fun, and it just seems healthier. I have never gained from this and my body has never suffered the next day.
I will probably still have 10-12 raw almonds on occasion as a snack, but the other kinds will have to be limited to free days. 
So...lessoned learned. My cheat days will be called "1 relaxed meal" now that I know how my body will handle it. It looks like I'll be doing phase 1 days for about a week now to get this weight off. 
