Maintainers Vol 11
 

This is from the Beck Diet Solution....she's related it to dieting but it's also called "DISTORTED THINKING" (if you google it you'll find copious amounts of examples). I found it years and years ago and have been working on the specific ones I need to work on for years (it's a daily struggle sometimes).


Common Thinking Errors
People who have difficulties in losing weight or keeping it off display a pattern of thinking errors that are associated with overeating. We always tell our dieters: Just because you think something doesn't mean it's true. Some common thinking errors (and helpful responses to them) include:

All-or-Nothing Thinking (when dieters see things as completely one way or the other when there is really a broad range in between)

Sabotaging Thought: Either I'm completely perfect on my diet or I've completely failed.

Helpful Response: No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. It doesn't make sense to let one mistake derail me completely. I just need to refocus, recover immediately, and then I'll be right back on track.

Self-Deluding Thinking (when dieters rationalize eating something they know they shouldn't)

Sabotaging Thought: It won't count if I eat this because nobody is watching.

Helpful Response: Of course it counts. Whenever I take in calories it counts. My body doesn't know or care whether or not I'm eating alone or in front of 100 people; it processes food the same way.

Discounting the Positive (when dieters unreasonably discount their positive actions or qualities and do not give themselves credit)

Sabotaging Thought: It doesn't matter that I'm now instituting positive eating behaviors; I should have been using these techniques all along.

Helpful Response: I couldn't have done these things; I didn't know how before. I deserve credit for every positive eating behavior, and giving myself the credit I deserve is crucially important in building up my confidence and sense of self-efficacy.


Negative Fortune-Telling (when dieters make a negative prediction without recognizing that it is not the only possible outcome)

Sabotaging Thought: I won't be able to resist eating desserts at the party so I might as well not even try.

Helpful Response: No one will force me to eat. I've stayed in control at other parties and I can do the same for this one if I prepare myself in advance, including using the skills I learned and planning to have a reasonable amount of dessert.

Positive Fortune-Telling (dieters are overly optimistic about the most likely outcome)

Sabotaging Thought: I can get the larger bag of potato chips because I'll be able to have one serving, stop, and feel satisfied.

Helpful Response: History has shown me that stopping at one serving can be very difficult and I almost always want more. To save myself the mental struggle, it's worth it to get the smaller bag with only one serving.

Jumping to Conclusions (when dieters take one observation and assume it only has one possible implication)

Sabotaging Thought: Because I didn't lose weight this week, it must mean that this program isn't working for me.

Helpful Response: People just don't lose weight every single week, even if their eating has been exactly the same. There are a lot of physiological reasons why this is so. I need a lot more data in order to see whether or not my weight loss has plateaued, and even if it has, there are things I can do to start making it go down again.

Mind Reading (when dieters are sure they know what others are thinking, even in the absence of compelling data)

Sabotaging Thought: Everyone will think negatively of me if I eat differently.

Helpful Response: It's actually likely that some people will be proud of me for losing weight and eating more healthfully. It's also likely that a lot of people won't even notice my eating at all, or if they do, they won't think about it one way or the other. Losing weight is more important to me than trying to make sure that no one is critical.

Irrelevance (dieters link two unrelated concepts)

Sabotaging Thought: It's okay to eat this because I'm really upset.

Helpful Response: Just because I'm upset, it does not mean I need to eat. Yes, I do deserve to calm down and be comforted but I don't deserve to eat off track, feel bad about myself, and possibly gain weight. People without a weight problem manage to calm themselves down without turning to food and I can learn to do the same thing.


__________

Also, can't find the article she wrote about all or nothing thinking but what stood out for me was:

“if you fell down two sets of stairs, would you throw yourself down the entire stair case?” or “if you ran a red light, got stopped by the cops and given a ticket, would you throw your hands up and say “well, I guess I’ll just run all the red lights today, I’ve already got one ticket”…

That is excellent. I keep seeing references to that book. I am going to read it this weekend.

I am just finishing self compassion and can see some common ideas.

Great post Ishbel!

I agree great post!! I'm going to look for the book and start reading it asap....only 2 more weeks before I get to officially join the 'maintainers'

That was great Ishbel! I think you should post in a new thread so all the others can read. There seems to be alot of people struggling and this is really good information.

I really like the Beck Diet Solution, it doesn't matter which diet you're on her advice works. I think I liked it because I knew cognitive behaviour 'therapy' works for me. I've been trying to 'reframe' how I think about things since I was in my 20s and didn't know that's what I was doing. Then I found out about 'distorted thinking' and REALLY identified some areas of me that needed to grow. So finding the Beck Diet Solution was like a 'godsend'. I knew KNEW it was exactly what I needed. I downloaded her book and listened to it for almost two weekends while I painted a fence during my Phase 1...she just really makes sense to me.

Yesterday's post via facebook was:

Wednesday Sabotage: I’m just going to eat this because I don’t feel like thinking about it. Response: Even if I decide to eat and ‘not think about it,’ I’ll definitely still think about it when I get on the scale, when my clothes don't fit, and when I’m feeling angry with myself because I'm stuck at a higher weight. No matter what I’m going to think about it, either now (by making healthy choices) or later when I’m facing the consequences.

I said "WHOA" when I read it and VIP said "what?" so I read it to him and he said "did you say that to someone!??!!" and I said "no, that was the beck diet solution..love it" LOL

If you find her on facebook you just keep liking her stuff she'll show up in your newsfeed. It's a good quick little daily reminder to stay focused.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/BeckDietSolution

They aren't all as stark as yesterdays lol!

Hmm... The Beck Diet Solution. I've seen references to this book here before, and it sounds like it's definitely worth a read. Thanks Ishbel for all the great info.

I'm chuggin' along... nothing drastic to report one way or another. Guess that's why I've been fairly quiet this week. This morning's check on the scales has me 1 lb higher than when I started maintenance on Monday. I've set 150 as my upper limit, so as long as I fluctuate somewhere between 147-149ish, then I'm not bothered about it. I had the highest calorie day so far yesterday though, and the sodium intake was pretty high, so it's probably just water retention. I also got into the natural almonds yesterday and ate more of them than I should have... I can see that I'm going to have to be careful with almonds. :( I buy them whole and throw them into the food processor to make my own almond meal - I'd best do that with most of the rest of what I bought yesterday, so they're not sitting around to tempt me. Maybe leave a handful for a treat today - and the rest get zapped into almond meal!!

Just wanted to say 'Hi'. Hope everyone is having a good day.

I love the Beck Diet Solution book. I'm not finished it yet because I'm trying to give myself to work through each day's activities and thoughts before I rush on to the next page.

Evepet: one of the solutions I've done for myself to prevent the over-eating of snacks like almonds is to pre-separate the desired amount for one sitting into small snack baggies at a time when I'm in control and not eating them. Then when it is time to snack, I grab one and walk away to sit and thoughtfully eat. If I think I want more, then it is a conscience thought to get up and walk to grab a second container. That has been sufficient time to talk myself out of taking too many. (This is a concept I developed from the Beck book.)

I'm doing okay but have been quiet this week because of so much going on. I'll do a bigger update this weekend. I'm stressed but mostly not reacting to it because my allergies are hitting me full on and I'm just too physically worn out to react. I know we are at risk for flooding around my province but I really could use a good hard rain to clear up the snow mold and winter dust.

Anyone try or use Isopure whey protein powder? My coach gave me that name as well as syntax Nectar to use while on maintenence. The isopure powder has 1 g fat, 210 calls, 0 carb, 50 gm protein. That seems like a lot, doesn't it?

Good idea about separating the almonds into serving sized baggies. I think I'm safer though to turn most of them into almond meal!! Then if I'm tempted to buy anymore (until I need to make meal again), I'll just buy the small packet size. :) Can't lead myself astray so much with that size, and I'll save myself the temptation.

Sorry to hear about your allergies - hope you get some relief soon. I remember watching the news about the major flooding of the Assiniboine & Red River in the past ... hope it isn't like that this spring - once we FINALLY get spring!

I used both in P1 and have used them in recipes now in maintenance. I picked up a low-carb cookbook (Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine by Sharron Long) at a yard sale (great recipes) and a lot of the recipes call for the plain protein powder and I have the Isopure and use it.

To me, it's an adjustment from P1 label reading to maintenance label reading. We're so "brain washed" to look for no fat, no carbs. Maintenance is a change.

Molly

I also liked the Beck Diet Solution. I got the tapes and would listen to them on my way to work. Her workbook is helpful. She is excellent at identifying self sabatoging thoughts and offer good solutions!

Thanks Ishbel. That was very helpful.

Momto2cs: Thanks for sharing your 2 year success story. The all or nothing feeling is hard. I find the irrelevant decision one that I have to work on..ie i am anxious so I deserve to eat something good.

Gazelle: Thanks for the exercise information. I know I need to step up my cardio and change..just dragging on doing the change. I easily increase my weights.

It is quiet week here also. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I am trying new Asian recipes.

I can change my marker to one year and 6 months. Hooray.

Thanks Ishbel, now I have one more book to buy :)

Just reading volek and phinney's guide to low carb eating for athletes. Hoping this helps me do Jillian michals workouts

I have always been low on energy, better now, but I know I can be the energizer bunny!

Last week on the cruise I realized carbs suck me in a vortex of over eating

I am thinking about low carbing for maintenance. Still trying to figure out maintenance.

Have ordered a blood glucose monitoring system to measure ketones, want to lose a few more pounds.

Just wanted to share something that's on my mind a bit this morning, since sharing the Easter weekend with my family. I've noticed others in maintenance reporting on similiar experiences, and can see how I'll have to watch for this too. Even though I spent Easter with family members who've been 150% supportive of my dieting efforts - are thrilled at my success, and certainly want to see me be successful in maintaining - I still got a few 'pokes and prods' to 'take a taste' and 'not worry so much' about sampling the wide array of calorie and sugar/carb laden foods that were available. While they knew I was actively dieting, they didn't do this... but now that they know I've reached my goal, there was occasionally that encouragement to loosen the restraint and indulge. Thinking about it this morning, has just made me really aware that now I'm at goal and 'look normal' people somehow expect me to 'eat normally' again. And I think there's an inclination for them to fear that I've gotten neurotic about weight maintenance, if I don't 'indulge' with them occasionally. I'm not sure if I'm expressing myself clearly, but does this make sense to you others in this situation?

Evepet, that makes absolute sense to me. I'm sure now that we look "normal" people think we can just eat anything and stay this way. I even notice myself feeling that I can ease up a bit. But I know I really can't.

I always go back to Ishbel's quote: if we go back to eating the way we ate, we'll look the same.

I KNOW that we are different now. I think the special gift of IP is twofold:

1) We have learned to reframe our relationship to food. I want this new relationship to last for the rest of my life. I want to continue to value people's company more than the food we are eating when we are sitting together. I want food to be pleasant sustenance for my body, but not the center of my life and definitely not my reason for living, my comfort for stress, etc. I want it to remain in the right perspective. AND

2) We have learned how to prepare healthy, delicious food! I love the way that I now cook my meat, fish, and poultry protein! I love my new vegetables and the way it's so easy to grill and roast veggies! I love the way roasted vegetables and salads taste!

The other gift is that we have had the time to accustom ourselves to this new way of thinking and eating. For me, it's been 9 months of readjusting my relationship with food - and my new body. I want to stay here for the rest of my life and not go back!

So, can we "ease up a bit?" I've yet to find out. Perhaps we can order the salad without saying "hold the carrots," but I'm still not sure how I'd do with pizza and sweets.

I guess the question is how can we give the impression that we are "easing up" but remain true to our new way of living?

Sonyainva: yep, I understand the vortex of carbs on a cruise. I phased off temporarily for a cruise in the fall and for me it was a combination of carbs, vacation and knowing it was temporary that made me go all out. I can see myself easily getting into this bad trend for other vacations. Is it okay to do this if I am strict enough to go back to P1 afterwards? Maybe I'm just setting myself on a tougher course. I've been thinking about this because I have a vacation in June. A tour to Russia and the Baltic States. I have no idea what kind of food I will get but I'm hoping that I can do lots of walking to help cope too.

Evepet: I think your reasoning makes sense. It's the same thing that I have seen with some of the early IPers in the daily thread thinking that diet means temporary and they just have to get the weight off fast so they can go back to eating what they want. So why wouldn't the other people around us think the same way? I am glad I took more time to lose my weight and that during the weight loss phase I could see that this is a lifestyle change forever. Here's my tip for dealing with this: when I went gluten free, I would go out or just be eating around people and would make a big deal about what I could or couldn't eat. After a while, I realized that this was making everyone a little less tolerant of it. When I relaxed and just went about my meals, then everyone else seemed to relax. So now that part is no big deal and I hope in future, saying no to foods on the table even while not "dieting" is no big deal too.

Tonight is going to be my first fun meal. I am going out with a girlfriend and the restaurant is part of Chocolate month celebrations so I know there will be a chocolate dessert in my future. Before going out, I'm going to pre-prep my phase 2 day for tomorrow. I'm going to be doing a lot of lifting and walking tomorrow so my coach and I decided P2 would give me a little more protein energy than P1 but still be the low carb I need to recovery from tonight.

This is a long post already but it is time to come clean about what is happening in my life. I am about to accept a new job offer that has been in the works for the last two months. It is for a competitor to the company I'm working for right now so I have kept it hush hush in fear of the wrong people finding out. Only a friend and my mother knew what was going on. The job will move me from to the Toronto area so in anticipation, I've been doing lots of cleaning and decluttering. This week I'm working on the final offer details, met with realtors to sell, meeting with my banker about a new mortgage and planning how to give my resignation to my current employer of 19 years on Monday. At tonight's dinner, I'll tell my girlfriend what is hapepning as the first of many that will be shocked by this turn of events. I'm stressed, nervous, scared, excited, happy all at the same time. It's been a bumpy ride during this decision period but it is now going to be a whole lot busier in future.

Thx for your insights. Like many of us, it took me a long time to lose this weight - almost exactly a year - so I've definitely learned different patterns of behaviour when it comes to eating. Most of the time I have no interest in going back to my former bad habits. But I do have to admit that I'm curious to taste a slice of pizza again, a nice serving of ice cream, etc. But that will be for Fun Day. :) It just suddenly struck me this am for some reason, that if these particular relatives who are so supportive of me fell into that habit of 'prompting' me to 'allow' myself a taste, nibble, etc. etc. that I probably can expect much worse behavour from others who aren't aware of my dieting journey. As KitKat says though, maybe it's mostly in my head... and if I just merrily do my own thing, no one will think much of it. I guess time will tell.

Kitkat - From how you describe your itinary, I think my sister & BIL did that same Baltic cruise a couple of years ago. Really enjoyed it.

I think you're right in that if I'm not preoccupied with my eating, and don't make an issue of it, then others are much more apt to not even notice what I do or don't put on my plate. The situation I was thinking about from the weekend involved a special dessert my sister had made, and that everybody had thoroughly enjoyed the day before I arrived. There were only 2 servings left, and my niece-in-law was raving about how I should sample it before it was gone. This was mid-afternoon. I didn't really even care that much whether I ate it or not... but found myself feeling like I'd somehow be insulting my sister if I didn't at least sample a small portion of this dessert. So I succumbed and agreed that I'd have just 1/2 a slice. It was good - but it wasn't *that good*!!! LOL. I think the diet has drastically altered my taste buds. For some reason this was on my mind this morning, as a sample of the type of situation that I have to be aware of and sensitive to in the future.

BTW - Congratulations on the new job! I've lived on and off in Toronto for several years and think you'll enjoy it there. I think you're in the insurance business? So you're probably going to be working in the downtown core somewhere? I recall your posts a few weeks ago when you made a trip to Toronto... I somehow got the impression back then that a new job offering was in the wind. Glad that things have worked out. You'll do great. :hug:

WOW, big changes are ahead for you, Kitkat!! A new body, new job, new town! How very exciting! I know how hard it will be to tell your good friends that you are moving. I did it 6 years ago when I moved from Houston to Louisiana for a job. It's very exciting to be on a new adventure. I'm 4 hours from Houston, so I get back fairly often. But if your planning a trip to Russia and the Baltic, you must love adventures as much as I do! What a wonderful trip! Keep us posted.

I agree with you and Kitkat; we just have to be aware of this. Right now, for me at least, the big topic of conversation is "how great you look, how did you do it, etc." This will change as they see that this body is my normal body now and it's time for me to be "regular." (whatever that is)

Have a great day!

Good morning maintainers - This is a 'me' post, and I apologize ahead of time.
I have been spiraling out of control and too embarrassed about it to post for quite some time. I have been depressed as well, probably due to feeling out of control. Have made a few half-hearted attempts to get back into ketosis, but never made it. Think I'm up about 15 lbs from when I began P4. Most of it was the chocolate addiction, which I had posted about & gotten some great feedback from all of you. I think I'm making progress there, but haven't completely kicked it. I want to try again to go back to P1 with a sincere effort, but not using packets. My savings account took a huge hit last year between IP and paying for foot surgery, and I just can't afford the packets, even alternatives. Also, am beginning to think all the soy in my diet may be the cause of the increased hot flashes/night sweats I've had.
So my question is...what foods do you recommend for breakfast during P1/P2? I can have eggs/egg whites fairly often, but will need a bit of variety. Lunch & dinner will be lean protein & the veggies, like P2. The various protein drink powders/mixes I've tried really upset my stomach, so those are out, but I can drink the EAS CarbadvantEdge RTDs. Not sure there is enough protein in one of those to be a complete breakfast though. Any suggestions? I am going to see my coach on Tuesday and ask her these same questions. Hopefully she will have some ideas, but am worried what she'll say/do when I tell her I can't purchase the product.
I know I am my own worst enemy sometimes...too hard on & unforgiving with myself. It is very hard to share all this, but I know now I can't do it on my own. Those of you that talk about how this is a daily struggle, and still succeed with maintenance - You are my heroes! It takes a lot of mental & emotional strength to get where you are, and I so admire you!

Hi GreenIris. I'd just been thinking about you earlier this morning, thinking that we hadn't heard from you in a while. Sorry to hear that you're having a struggle. :hug: A couple of suggestions for breakfast. How about lean ground beef meat patties? Or tuna or salmon patties? Or a couple of slices of a salmon loaf, but keeping the carbs down to an absolute minimum? Or how about a P1-version of chili, with extra lean ground beef and lots of celery, green peppers, mushrooms, a bit of onion, and diced tomatoes. I've done that in the past and played around on fatsecret.com with the ingredients to hold the carb content down as much as possible. I've also made a version that has finely shredded napa cabbage in it, which sounds a bit odd but which I enjoy. Another thing I make sometimes is an individual-sized egg custard - you'd have to 'fudge' a little and use about 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk, but I take a 1 cup size pyrex measuring cup and add 1 egg and enough egg white to fill it to 1/4 full, whip the egg/egg white, then pour in enough unsweetened almond milk to bring it to 1/2 cup full. Add dash of vanilla and some Splenda or stevia + nutmeg, and microwave at #2 heat control for about 35 minutes. I top with a couple of tbsp of WF pancake syrup and it's a nice treat. Don't know about you, but I could eat it for breakfast. :) It has about 125 cals, 6.8g fat, 1.8g carbs, 0 fibre, 0.8g sugar, 13.4g protein.

Also, if you buy a box of a pre-made low carb pancake mix like New Hope Mills or Big Train from netrition.com, it's pretty reasonably priced as you get several servings/box. I used them quite often while on P1, but I generally did add a little unflavored protein powder to it. But check at netrition.com and see what you think. They carry boxed low carb cereals too, that are more cost effective than buying them in the alternative packet form. One type that I've used and can personally recommend is 'Hi - Lo Cereal' by Nutritious Living. Definitely P1 complaint.

I was just also noting that I have a recipe for a 'Apple Cinnamon Protein Bar' that I made a few months and found quite good, but it includes some unflavored whey protein powder. It's nutritional values per muffin are 80cals, 3.5g carb, 0 fibre, 2g sugar, and 11g protein. I remember thinking at the time that it was compatible enough for P1. If you're interested in this recipe that includes protein powder, let me know and I'll PM it to you. Or I might just do a post about it on my blog, since I didn't before. :) The only reason I didn't make it again is that it's now abundantly clear to me that I don't do well with having multiple servings of sweet things around - even frozen. I kept wanting to eat 'just one more'... sorta like my problem with some protein bars, etc. I'm realizing I'm a one-serving kinda gal, and have to just accept it if I don't want to constantly be fighting the temptation.

Neither the egg custard or apple cinnamon protein bar/muffin have quite enough protein, so you'd have to add a bit there with that meal/snack. Although I'm not sure it's that essential within a gm or two, as long as the protein intake for the day is within the right range.

I just checked the nutritional info for EAS CarbAdvantage RTDs and 1 container has 17g, so you're fine there. Most IP products we used on P1 have somewhere between 15 - 18g protein per serving.

Also, I've been making my own protein soups the last while and you might find that info useful.... have a look at my last blog post - link below.

Don't be a stranger. We're all struggling in our own ways, and here to help and support each other. I feel a little like I'll run off the rails if I indulge in some pizza, or ice cream, etc. But part of me is also curious to see how I feel/react to it, so I think I'm going to have some small indulgences tomorrow and see how it goes.

Great discussion in this thread.

I have just started Phase 4. I definitely feel some of the peer pressure to "eat normally" that Evepet and Joysh have been describing. The price of success, I guess.

@greeniris. The EAS Advantage Carb control shakes have 17g of protein. I don't know how much you need, but that has to be a pretty good start, I would think. I used them a couple of times (I was traveling during phase 2 and got caught short of packets) along with a boiled egg. Good luck getting things back on track. I am sure you will. The fact that you are taking action now - before 15 becomes twice that - is a great sign that you will have it under control.

I have been busy and need to catch up here and in the 100% thread, but I read this article (hopefully it lets me post the link) and I thought of several of you ladies who are limiting or eliminating gluten. I think it also applies to maintenance eating in general. I am lucky to have supportive friends and family while I am in P1 and I know they will be wonderful once I am in maintenance. Anyways, hope this article is interesting/enlightening.

Happy Friday!!!!

http://www.examiner.com/article/givi...irst-few-weeks

I had forgotten the EAS drinks have that much protein (was thinking they were around 12/13) - certainly sufficient for breakfast. Thank you Evepet & Shawsy for looking it up. And Evepet, you have some great suggestions... guess I was thinking more traditional breakfast foods, but going "outside the box" is a good idea. Evepet, your egg custard sounds good too. I'll do some experimenting this weekend. Am going to look up your protein soups as well. Thank you!

Hey green iris
This is what I would (and have) done...

B make an egg casserole with 12 eggs and a bag of low carb frozen veggies. Bake and cut into 6 servings. Done for the week.

Lunch-salad with vinaigrette. 3 oz protein and at least 1 cup veggies

Snack- 3 oz protein or 1/2 c cottage cheese ( not ip but a real food way to get the protein)

Dinner-usual ip dinner, maybe reducing your protein to 5 or 6 oz, but don't let yourself starve

Snack-protein shake. But a big tub and drink it. It might not be delicious, but it will work.

Keep it simple and try it for a couple weeks and see if it is working.

You can do it!

Anne

Thank you, Ishbel, for the wonderful post.

KIT-KAT!!! Wow! Big life changes! Very happy for you and understand you must be having a rollercoaster of emotions. Wishing you the very very best and so proud of you! Any change takes courage, even good change, and it sounds like you are doing so great.

Greeniris-many, many hugs! It's temporary, you won't go back to where you were. I was thinking the other day about whether I would keep the weight off and what was different to allow that. Here's what's different for me, in the past, if I gained a pound or two back, I'd panic, the fear and anxiety would lead to more eating and I'd spiral slowly out of control. It was all fed by fear and avoidance. Now I know it is normal to gain back some weight at some point, it's a sign that I'm veering off course. We are all in it together with you and here for you!

On that note, I'm going back to a more rigid IP schedule for a few weeks. I'm up 2 lbs but I'm pretty sure a lot of it is water weight as I overdid soy this week big time. I'd love to lose 5 more lbs right now, so I'm going to go phase 1ish for a month and see what happens. One other reason I'm doing it is because I feel I'm getting too lax about some of the rules, like my veggies. For example, I'm substituting too much fruit for veggies and not drinking enough water. I don't like the feeling of being out of control that I'm starting to develop, so I'm rebooting to get help the rules become permanent.

Best to all my IP friends out there!
Sandra

Weird - was in the middle of writing a post and all of a sudden the site took me to 3FCs external link policies. Wasn't even including a link...

Thanks for the hugs & support Sandra...
And Anne - love the egg/veggie cassarole idea. So simple, yet perfect. And I think breaking up the protein into smaller amounts and including it in snacks is going to help. Thank you!

Molly - you're a great friend. Thanks for being there.
Lisa - I know you're lurking, and really appreciate your support too.

I went to the library to get the Beck Diet Solutions book - they don't carry it, so I took out "Skinny *****" & "Flat Belly Diet." The first one I just couldn't resist because of the name! The other seems more serious. Most of the diet books they have are kind of old.

KitKat - The changes you're making are so exciting! This must be a huge opportunity for you to make such a big move. Very happy for you.

Ishbel - love the post...I printed it out.

Cindy, just wanted to let you know that I hear you and support you, too. I haven't been able to get back online since yesterday afternoon.

Hang in there. You did great on this program and you'll do great on it again. You have been an inspiration to me. We're all learning, growing, and changing. It's hard sometimes, but we have great faith in you! :hug::hug:

Skinny b $&@ sucks. I think you need to start out skinny for that diet to work. And the serious lack of protein is scary.

Why we get fat is a great semi diet book. But I think the beck diet solution has what most of us are looking for-skills to understand why we eat and how to keep it under control.

Congratulations to everyone in this forum, successful losers, people looking ahead to maintenance and realizing it's not a race to the finish with a return to former habits, people starting maintenance, all the experienced folks, posters & lurkers!

I start Phase 4 Tuesday. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that I've had so much success on this eating plan. After years of not being able to get below 182, it's fantastic to be at 153, two pounds below goal.

Thank you to all the posters in this thread and all the threads in this forum, especially the regular ones - the 100%, daily thread, and Fabulous at Fifty+. I've learned so much from all of you.

I like the positive post. I love this diet..

Hi all!

It's good to see this thread so active! It's going to take me a while to catch up.

Cindy - sorry to hear that you're struggling. I know you can do this because you've come so far already!

KitKat - congrats on the new job - how exciting for you! No new job for me - after 3 interviews, they offered it to an internal candidate. :mad: Anyhow, I'm lucky I already have a very good job, so I will move on...

Have not posted in a few weeks - 2 weeks of vacation and then catching up at work. Lots of family birthdays (and birthday desserts) end of March. I managed to gain 4+ pounds in 2 weeks. I decided to just go back to my normal routine because (a) I thought some of that was fluid retention, and (b) I figured if I go back to my maintenance routine, I should logically move in the right direction (though maybe not as quickly as if I did a phase 1 stint). After one week, I am down 2.4 pounds and back in the middle of my 3 pound range., so I am happy and will continue this way. So far I have managed to avoid doing any phase 1 days in maintenance - can't bear the thought of missing my big breakfast...

Evepet: The new office will be based in Oakville but there is an office downtown by the Air Canada Centre where I will be commuting to often. I’m planning to move somewhere around Burlington or Stoney Creek area.

Greeniris: I applaud your courage in identifying that you’re struggling and depressed but coming back to post about it. You said it right “you are your own worst enemy”. This is your safe place to post your troubles. I hope you have a good conversation with your coach on how to manage a P1 program without having to purchase their products. I don’t have experience there yet but I’ll post ideas as they come. :hug:

Shawsy and WebRover: Welcome to maintenance! :carrot:

Lizzy63: You are doing so well to be able to lose in maintenance, even if it’s slowly. Well done. Sorry you didn’t get the new job but thankfully you have one that you still like.

I had a good dinner on Friday night, my first fun meal. A salad to start, Lobster poutine and shared two desserts with a friend, S’more cheesecake and Lemon torte. I ate a lighter P3 the rest of the day and no snacks so in the end I didn’t feel I went too far overboard on the fun. I missed having a load of veggies at dinner though. She was excited and yet unhappy about my news of moving but she is very supportive of my choices.

The next morning I gained 1lb then Saturday on a modified P1 and this morning was down 0.8lbs already. My modified P1 was to make up for doing a ton of moving boxes and furniture. I borrowed a friend’s truck for the day and took 2 big loads to the thrift store and 1 big load to her garage for temporary storage. I used the regular IP packets for P1 but then added some extra salmon for protein mid-day. My fitbit tells me that I hit a record high for a non-structured exercise day but that doesn’t include all the weight-lifting.

Today the house-cleaning and clearing continues but I won’t be as physical. I have one bad knee already but the other one started bothering me yesterday and my back is on the verge of having a rough day so I have to take it a little easier. Tomorrow I will resign my old job and I’m very nervous about how they will deal with the news so I probably won’t sleep tonight.

I made my first batch of yogurt overnight using ¾ skim milk and ¼ almond milk. I love greek yogurt but feel I need to cut back on the dairy (I have a milk protein sensitivity). I almost couldn’t believe I had yogurt when I woke up as it was so easy.

Hi everyone! Nice to see so many familiar and not-so-familiar 'faces' here. :)

I'm doing a cross between P1 and P2 today, as I really overdid the sodium yesterday and want to flush it out. Scale was at 149 lbs this am, which is still fine but I feel 'bloaty' today.

Interestingly enough, I feel like I've been eating a LOT this past week, but when I average out my calories/day for the past week it only comes to about 1300/day. Not sure what to make of that, other than I'm just 'weaning' myself away from the dieting mentality and not ready to delve head-first into a lot of heavy carb/sugar foods.

Kitkat - Your plan re settling in the Burlington/Stoney Creek area is sound - lots of options there, and definitely much more affordable than Toronto. And an easy commute to Oakville. Glad to hear your dinner went well last night. And yes - be careful and not overdue the lifting & hauling.

Shawsy & WebRover - Good to see you here! We're all sharing & learning this 'maintenance-business' together. I love the support of this forum!

Lizzy - Good to hear from you again, and glad that things continue to go well with you in maintenance.

Momto2cs - I know making the egg-veggie bake should be pretty straight forward, and have found a few good recipes. I'm just wondering though if you'd share the specifics of what you do? And once it's baked, after you've cut it into the 6 servings, I assume you wrap them in saran wrap.... do they keep ok like that until you've used them all ? Can you freeze them?

Nolawhodatchick - Great to hear from you again! Kudo to you for getting back on the P1 wagon, and working to reinforce those good eating habits. You've got this!

Cheers everyone. Hope you're all having a nice Sunday.

Oh, please share the yogurt recipe. I even have yogurt makers from 40 years ago. I need to make mine instead of buying it all of the time. It's so expensive.

I can relate to weaning away from the dieting mentality. I have seen that over the past weeks I've been on maintenance. I just don't want to get too far off and think I can eat anything. I have enough trouble with "just a little more" and that's with the "good" foods.

I have yet to have a fun day. It scares me. I feel I'd be like a recovering alcoholic who gives in and takes a drink and then it's downhill from there. Guess I need more weaning time. LOL

Molly

Wingnut: Take your time on the fun day or meal, until you feel ready. I find that sugar foods are triggers so I mostly stay away from them, even on a fun meal. You did a great job losing 120 pounds.

Evepet: Century Club Recipes has a low carb breakfast quiche. I made mine with eggbeaters. Also Kaylyn's kitchen blog has good low carb recipes.

Kitkat: How exciting to get a new job and move!!

Lizzy63: I am sorry you did not get the job, but you sound happy in your current one. You are doing a great job of staying in your range!!

Shawsy and Webrover: welcome to maintenance!

Cindy: This is the perfect place to vent. I know you will get back on track on Phase 1 and start losing. Good luck on finding cheaper alternatives.

Nola: I hope Phase 1 is going well for you.

I seriously take frozen veggies, cook them according to bag, drain well, put in 9x13 pan. Pour in 12 beaten eggs and top with a sprinkle of cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Cool, slice into 6 and freeze in ziploc squares.

They are a bit watery after freezing...I sometimes zap them on paper towels. But they are ok fr me.

Otherwise, if you use them daily they should be fine in the fridge.

Thx Mom - I'm going to give this a try.

Thanks Maile - I'll check those sites out. I like the eggbeaters idea too.

Are you using a yogurt machine? If so do you mind sharing what make you've got? I recall someone (I think it's MomPattie on the 100% thread) makes it in her crockpot, leaving it overnight.

Take your time and enjoy your fun day when you feel 'ready'. I really haven't gone 'whole hog' with one as yet. Like you, it scares me.... for some reason the thought of indulging in something like pizza or ice cream makes me worry that I'd be bringing on a mini-binge. (I'm not a binger, but some foods make it difficult for me to be satisfied with just one serving - I want 'more' (or at least I always did pre-diet). Plus, if I eat it - it better be DARN GOOD!! I don't want to bring a whole carton of ice cream - or a whole pizza either - into the house, and I don't know of a local restaurant or take-out place around here that really has the quality that makes me want to go for it. I've got a feeling I'll be disappointed, and kick myself for splurging on something that doesn't taste anywhere near as good as I remember.

I used a combination of Mompattie's method for the yogurt making with a couple variations from a yogurt book I recently picked up. I hope this link to her method works for you.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/79274604/Ho...k%20Yogurt.png

I was using my oven until late in the evening so I used a heating pad on low covering my bowl for the night. I didn't want to buy a yogurt maker while I'm trying to clean out and this method worked well so I don't see why you would need one. I used 6 cups skim milk and 2 cups almond milk as a mix. My yogurt book says to not use only nut milk so I'm trying different concentrations to see how much I can get away with vs. dairy milk.

I have saved the whey liquid that I drained out but I'm not quite sure what to do with it now. It seems a shame to waste it though.

You can use the whey to replace some of the liquid in baking and cooking - it doesn't add anything to the flavor but adds some protein and nutrients!

I've made yogurt in my crockpot for a long time, but never tried it with a blend of regular and nut milks - going to have to give it a try, I am eating a LOT more yogurt these days!

Great! Thanks. I'm eating yogourt every day too, and I find the greek yogourt is pretty expensive around here. So it's great to know how to make it more inexpensively... plus I love the idea of experimenting with some combos of almond milk/skim milk as well. I've got two crock pots - so I'll be giving this a try soon.