Below is a typical Sunday breakfast for me...which I did already have today. During the week I alternate between 3-egg white omlettes with vegetables and 2 TBS mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese with berries and prob 1X a week I end up doing a steamed latte with an EAS protein shake on the run.

Lunch and dinner tend to be like P2. Salad and 2-3 oz protein.
Lunch Protein = Left overs, tuna, or frozen shrimp. Today it will be shrimp.

Dinner tonight will be roasted asparagus and a salad again plus we had grilled venison tenderloin with sauteed mushrooms last night and I still have about 6-8 oz left over for my dinner. (dh is getting the chicken Parmesan with my homemade tomato mushroom sauce...and NO breadcrumbs...LOL...GF prevails around here..it is left over from Friday night.)


Snack will be either a handful of mixed almonds and walnuts or some GOOOD cheese, about 1 oz sliced REAL thin. Also I have cut peppers, celery and cukes for munching that can be dipped in mustard vinaigrette...or not.


This is pretty much typical for me when eating at home. Keeping it simple and the only time I vary much is when we go out. I might order something we don't normally have like lamb or duck at a good restaurant.

Do not eat any white carbos, even when out. No GF products at home as subs for bread/pasta. The GI is simply too high for me.

Do only a taste of brown or wild rice or a higher GI veggie at a restaurant...but never have a whole serving of anything that is more than 30 on the GI index.

Since New Year's had wine on Valentines Day, and Easter weekend, and had 1 cocktail made with vodka.

This is easy for me...I keep it simple and don't count or talley everyday. I know the serving sizes, and the category of foods to eat. It is like IP for me, but loosened for maintenance.

I also exercise daily. Now I even go on Sunday because I added walking outdoors to my routine.


I only occasionally plug a meal into MFP...more as a check on myself to confirm that I am still within guidelines to keep calories at or below approx 1100/day.

"Normal" eating for me is plain and simple: very low carb.

Sunday, April 27, 2014
Breakfast Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
Jumbo - Egg*, 1 egg 90 0 6 8 90 0

Salad Greens - Spring Mix, 85 g 20 3 0 2 50 0

Peppers - Sweet, green, raw, 0.25 cup, chopped 7 2 0 0 1 1

Cottage cheese - Lowfat, 2% milkfat, 0.3 cup (not packed) 61 2 1 9 275 0

Strawberries - Raw, 0.5 cup, halves 24 6 0 1 1 4

Generic - Pork Cutlet, 3 oz 120 0 0 17 263 0

Bell Pepper Raw - Red, 0.25 med pepper (approx 2-3/4" long, 2-1/2" dia) 8 2 0 0 1 1

Cucumber - With peel, raw, 0.13 cup slices 2 0 0 0 0 0

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332 15 7 37 681 6

Stick with it for sure! I did not phase off properly and the weight came back very quickly. I know this works so I'm trying again and bound and determined to phase off properly. Follow the program

Thanks to you all who have shared your repeat journeys. You are full of wisdom...if we follow your heed. Thanks for the honesty.

Being honest with myself is the ONLY check that really matters. Owning up to what my size and age will allow me on a daily basis means if I eat "off the plan" that I have derived for myself...I better figure out how to subtract something...because it goes back ON faster than it comes OFF! And I don't feel like I really get all that much volume during my typical day...so if I do crave empty low volume calories...I know I am going to have to be OK with being hungry later if I "cave to the crave."..which I am NOT OK with!!!

I have found snack at 4-4:30 helps. We don't have dinner til close to 7 most nights. So if I wait...I'm starving...and really...don't want or need a later evening snack. We wake up before 5...so its a much longer day than evening at our house.

Sunday P4

Breakfast
7 oz 2% plain Greek yogurt + 2 oz 0% plain Greek yogurt
1/8 c slivered almonds
1/3 c Ola natural vanilla almond granola
1/2 c blueberries
1/2 c strawberries
15 g fat, 39 g net carbs, 34 g protein, 433 cal

Lunch
Salad:Nordstrom cilantro lime chicken w/dressing (no bread)

Dinner
7 oz grilled chicken tenders with lemon pepper
1.5 c frozen pepper/onion mix
1 c fresh express shredded cabbage (called coleslaw mix but no dressing)
Bragg's + grapeseed oil
(Sautéed peppers/onions/cabbage in oil & bragg's with ginger/salt/pepper, added cooked chicken)

Snacks
IP Lemon Wafers
1 tbsp almond butter (no sugar added)

Exercise: walk 1 hour

TOTAL
Fat 73g
Carbs (net) 80
Protein 125
Calories 1578 (my calorie goal is roughly 1600 or so a day)

I received my results back and according to the blood tests I have no food intolerances. I know I should be thankful, but I almost wish I had something so I'd have an answer to explain my digestive and bloating issues.

I did some reading this weekend and because I don't want to give up my workout regime, I can feel how much stronger I'm getting and I've finally reached the point where I enjoy going to the gym, I decided I should focus on clean eating rather than cutting my calories any lower.

IP taught me a ton and I eat WAY more fresh produce than I ever did before, but I need to focus on all the extras that are included in my diet. I really don't think there's that much to alter, but salad dressings and condiments are a big thing for me - I need to find a few recipes that I enjoy and make my own dressings. I'm bad for buying "salad kits" and need to just dedicate an evening or two a week to prepping my veggies and making clean dressings so I bring those for lunch or have those as a side salad with my dinner rather than the premixed stuff that is probably sprayed with lots of chemicals and where I add dried cranberries and then use the included dressing.

knm, I see you are another small person, and as such the reality of maintenance has been very sobering for me. Not sure of your age...but typically, I assume every one is both taller and younger than me on this forum! Most of what the rest of the members do is going to be too much for me. The BMR that is needed for me to maintain is actually just about 1100 calories a day..!!

That is starvation for the rest of the ladies (and men for sure) who read here. The extras for someone our size...even if you are 20 years younger than me..(that barely adds 100 additional calories ....if you are 45...) will blow your calorie day up faster than anything. I have found things like dried fruit might taste good...they are not anything I should use if I want to maintain my weight. Same for any commercial salad dressings. By the time I get in my necessary food groups along with adequate protein and good fats...there is about nothing left that I can add with out exceeding my caloric needs. I try really hard not to snack on anything except cut veggies most of the time, and do exercise daily...recently have added 3-4 hours of walking a week on top of what I have been doing for the last year. At our height, we don't get the bang or calorie burn for the same amount of time being active or exercising as a taller person. I'm amazed the diet worked as well for me as it did. (under 8 months) ..and I'm not complaining at all.

But...

In maintenance, coming to terms with all of this is critical. It's not fun...but it is my reality, and anyone else who is smaller than "average" needs to really crank the numbers and pay attention to how quickly they see weight come back...and make personal decisions on how to go forward.

For me, I have made sure to investigate how to season and flavor with out adding calories...fresh lemon, lime, garlic and dress salads with limited oil and a no cal other liquid like vinegar or lemon. I avoid dried fruit and any natural sugar these days when possible, except for fresh berries. Dried fruit and fresh fruits were a big part of a "healthy" diet for me in the past. I am much more aware not that those are the last things I need to add to my calorie budget for the day. When I am out for dinner I still eat a lot like IP and order my food broiled or grilled...no sauces, and no extra cheese, starch or anything that is instinctively NOT a lo cal/lo carb option.

It gets easier to wrap your head around...and now it's more important to me to be healthy and at a healthy weight than to jeopardize that after almost a year and a half of eating and living this way. Why would I go back?? I have said we need a short ladies thread... there are things that are hazards for anyone who is smaller than average, that are not even a blink on everyone else's radar. When I begin to read some of the "What are you eating..." posts in the maintainers ...the first thing I do is check the height of the person posting...and realize if they are over 5'2" they are also probably at least allowed 500 calories above my BMR...and stop reading.

65x65: grilled venison tenderloin, *DROOL* lol

vachinyc: I see we eat at pretty much the same level for calories - 1600-1800 keeps me on track and whatever fat grams & carb grams that may be, as long as I separate em....
your dinner sounded delicious and totally up my alley. I'll post my meal plan from today a little later - I am typing this as my buffalo burgers (Mexican style with avocado, cheese, and red pepper/onion (fried together) are BBQing. No bread for me (except the GF ends I mix in with the meat & an egg )(I don't want to waste my gluten free bread on a burger, besides that would add too many carbs to my fat emphasized dinner... I will have raw marinated broccoli though, with a bit of dressing and spices.

BREAKFAST Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber Sugar
Vega One - Protein Smoothie - Tropical Tango, 1 scoop 90 4 0 15 1 2 
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90 4 0 15 1 2

LUNCH (at a restaurant with a friend)
Strawberries - Raw Strawberries (Fresh) 100 g, 50 g 16 4 0 0 1 2 
Fresh Gourmet - Sliced Almonds Toasted, 1 Tbsp. 40 1 4 2 1 0 
Fresh - Large White Mushrooms, 4 mushroom 20 4 0 4 0 0 
Raw Spinach - Fresh Spinach Leaves, 2 cup 20 2 0 2 2 0 
Lilydale - Turkey Breasts (Oven Roasted, Seasoned, Carved), 0.25 container (27 strips (50g) ea.) 158 2 3 32 0 2 
Kraft - Raspberry Vinegrette Dressing, 2 tbsp 15ml 60 6 4 0 0 6 
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314 19 11 40 4 10

DINNER
Generic - Bell Peppers-mixed (Yellow, Orange, Red), 0.33 cup 6 1 0 0 1 1 
Generic - Buffalo, Ground 90% Lean, 6 oz 285 0 17 30 0 0 
Generic - Egg Large- Hardboiled, 0.5 egg 39 0 3 3 0 0 
Gort's - Extra Aged Raw Milk Gouda, 45 g or 1 oz 180 3 15 11 0 0 
Irene's - Cheese & Onion Bread - gluten free, 1 slice 120 18 5 6 5 3 
Saporito - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 0.5 tsp (10 ml) 20 0 2 0 0 0 
Veggie - Broccoli (Raw), 1 Cup (91g) chopped 30 6 0 3 2 2 
Avocado, Raw - Avocado, No Skin or Seed, 0.5 fruit 161 9 15 2 7 1 
Onions - Raw, 3 tbsp chopped 13 3 0 0 0 1 
Huy Fong Foods - Chili Garlic Sauce , 5 g (1 tsp) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Kraft (Canada - Calorie Wise Greek Feta & Oregano Dressing, 2 Tbsp (15ml) 60 2 6 0 0 0 
Maille - Dijon Originale - Traditional Dijon Mustard, 1.25 tsp (5 g) 13 1 1 0 0 0 
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927 43 64 55 15 8

SNACKS
Cottage cheese - Lowfat, 2% milkfat, 0.25 cup (not packed) 51 2 1 8 0 0 
Garden of Life Raw Protein-cacao Kiss - Protein Powder, 26 grams 90 5 1 18 4 1 
Gort's - Extra Aged Raw Milk Gouda, 15 g or 1 oz 60 1 5 4 0 0 
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201 8 7 30 4 1

Totals 1,532 74 82 140 24 21
Your Daily Goal 1,886 236 63 95 30 71
Remaining 354 162 -19 -45 6 50

Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber Sugar

Thanks 65 for the great post! Although not as short as you are, I'm short enough. Your posts on the challenge of staying healthy and the realities of being smaller than average have been enlightening for me!

65x65 - this is the exact post I needed to read. Thank you! By no means have I been perfect in maintenance, I've had a few days where I eat WAY too many calories, but the majority of the time I eat less than 1200 calories a day. I figure that by eating that few calories most of the time it should make up for the odd time I do splurge, but for me that clearly isn't the case.

I just need to accept that my body doesn't require as many calories as others and I need to be extra cautious about adding extras to my meals that will put me over my caloric budget.

canadjineh... on the venison...!! You are cordially invited for dinner anytime...!! My freezer is FULL of venison. We have not bought ground beef in over 20 years!!! Love it! It is soooo lean...and we use it to make chili, stuffed peppers and taco salads. The tenderloins, chops and steaks are unbelievable on the grill...and when the weather is obnoxious...we have found the sear function on the Cuisinart griddler elite is AMAZINGLY close to outdoor grilling. Takes not much more than 2 min and sears from both upper and lower plate simultaneously! My kids don't live close and they always request venison when they come home.....and we always oblige!

knm and Ruth Ann - the struggles of maintaining for shorties are usually NEVER mentioned...and it is truly an issue for anyone under 5'3'' . Understanding how BMR figures into maintenance needs to be mentioned to everyone for successful maintenance...but it is sobering if you're small. And it is good to determine what you want to weigh...not go by some "statistical" ideal. What is reasonable and sustainable and realistic for each of us is not on any chart...anywhere. The charts make a nice starting point...but then there is reality ...and what we should eat everyday to be healthy...and that reality is sometimes over the BMR of a short person! By just cutting servings to 3/4 or 2/3 of some of the recommended amount. (1/3 C cottage cheese instead of 1/2.....1/2 C berries instead of 1C) I can get the nutrients...but not blow my day up....or just give up and eat over what my body needs..

Had to tell dh to quit cutting the larger steaks and pieces of fish we grill in half....he gets the bigger piece...Quit splitting things down the middle...he is taller weighs more and ...LOL...has testosterone which among other things.... revs and boosts his metabolism with exercise more than my system does...!!!


I'm glad you all found what I have learned helpful, and not annoying. Using a template for meals much as the IP protocol...(I was already trained after P1-2 anyway...)has helped me tremendously to stay within the lines. Like knm...I shoot a little lower most days...and that gives me a few extra calories to play with on the weekend. .

Getting older has certainly NOT helped this effort!!! I recognize from reading the posts of others of similar stature...this is not something that is automatically considered as they embark to a "regular/normal" diet and off the processed IP food. Another thing to consider which has been in the news a lot recently is that as we age ..we do not absorb protein as well. So in that respect...keeping the level of protein at most meals and occasionally for snacks is a prudent practice. Probably not ensuring one is getting enough protein ...combined with decreasing bone density as one ages is why so many seniors look frail. That is not how I want to look or function in the coming years. In fact...it is off to the indoor treadmill for me now...since it is 42 degrees and raining..cold nasty and windy outside. No outdoor walk today.


BUT I DID BUY 3 NEW BATHING SUITS for vacation this afternoon! Last summer's editions are W-A-Y too big...and I donated them to the Breast Cancer Coalition's resale shop last week!

They were hardly worn!

They were smaller than the ones from summer of 2012...but too big for summer 2014!!!YEA!!!!!

That made me laugh 65! My dh is over 6'2" and tends to lose weight easily. Even pre-IP he always got the lion's share of whatever we were eating. At restaurants he actually orders less than he knows he will eat because he knows he's getting part of my dinner.

I figure maintenance (which is coming in less than a week!) will take some fiddling for me to figure out exactly what will work for me. I do know I like the P3 breakfasts I'm eating, P2 lunches work well and I'm pretty happy with the P1 dinners. So I suspect my eating plan will just add a few things but not be that far from what I'm doing now, just with whole foods rather than packets.

65x65 - Thanks for addressing the shortie issue. How did you determine your BMR? My coach goes by my BCA reading - it lists my BMR at 1372. I also average about 10k steps/day with my activity tracker. You would think I could maintain with 1800 calories but at 5'2 I think that's too much for a regular day. I have been trying to stay around 1550 which seems okay. I need to get the number of fun days under control. Too many "special" occasions lately...

65x65 You guys must be awesome hunters... I've had a few bad experiences with people who didn't shoot well and the adrenalin in the animal ruins the meat!! Generally though, I love all kinds of wild meat except bear & beaver - they are too much like fatty pork for my tastes. My faves are the cats (cougar & bobcat - legally shot nuisance animals lurking around residential areas) - the 'other white meats" lol. I try any local meat where ever we travel - snake, caribou, muskox, gator, just missed out on dog (bred for the table, not strays) in the northern Philippines one year - restaurant was closed that day. I do like ostrich and emu, but they are farmed here... still yummy. Not overly enamoured of game birds though - generally too gamey tasting for me. Looking forward to trying guinea pig one day in South America...

Liana

I guess it's time to pull the fun bathing suits out & see how they fit - stuffed in the back of the drawer since they hadn't fit for a few years... At least I bought myself a new Nike 1 piece for Aquacize a couple months ago.

Steph...glad another shortie is taking notice of the unique challenge...I have used several calculators, and if you google BMR calculator you get a few sites. You plug in your current weight,height and age. The number of calories you get is your level to maintain. If you want to weigh less...change that number and the appropriate reduction in daily intake is calculated. The Web MD one also gives an opportunity to add activity level (?? too much chance for error is guessing that one for me.) and there is yet another site that gives not only BMR but a RMR..resting metabolic rate! It is all a bit over whelming, but after reading through a number of them, opted for myself, to just go with the straight BMR to set my daily rate...It is the lowest calorie intake, and I am not over estimating my exercise. Instead, anything as far as activity or exercise gives me a "bonus calorie account" and helps with some extra wiggle for things I can't control...like travel, which we do a lot, plus vacations and social settings and events.

I probably go a bit over my 1100 a few days a week...but if I set my bar higher...that would probably STILL happen...so THAT was what made me decide to shoot for the most simple and lowest calculation for daily calories. knm seems to do a similar thing to keep herself in check. I am religious about the exercise...it is my ace in the hole...but still..that does not give shorties the biggest bang for the time and effort as it does a larger person. Another reason I don't trust that "calculation"...what these sites use for a standard activity or exercise adjustment...is based on an average sized person ...who is for sure.... way taller than us!

65 - are you still taking vitamins as well? One thing IP is doing for me is making me realize the nutritional things I was missing with my old way of eating.