Hawaii69: You are right. Building muscle can affect the scale. In Refuse to Regain the author calls your weight that you refuse to get above, the Scream weight.
Tisado: good for you..staying in your range. Thank goodness P1/2 works.

Canadjineh: There are simply times when you coast along and take things easier. I was staying at the top end of my range for awhile and finally got myself motivated to get back down.
I like the Indian paintbrush also. We have them in our mountains. I hope the weather is good for your vacation and that you get lots of hiking in.
That article was funny about the sense of smell and asparagus.

DRD: Good luck on that surgery. I would stay off the scale afterwards also.

RuthAnn: I made that roasted cabbage and liked it. I am a spice person and added the caraway seeds. Thanks for the recipe. I hope you get your surgeru scheduled and that it goes well.

Dak1lls: One year of maintenance is an accomplishment. Congratulations! You sound happy and positive.

Bubbleblower: It was good to hear from you. I hope your recovery is going well from your surgeries. I am glad you will be able to get back to exercise next week. Continuing to fit size 4 is great.

I am looking forward to the long weekend. Time to work on the yard.

Sounds like everyone is doing well! Makes me feel more secure except that today I was just tired of planning, cooking, etc., etc. Just one of those days. I didn't do bad, just not as careful and organized as I usually am.

Just hope the funk doesn't continue - I really don't like feeling like I could eat everything in the house and not really care. If you know what I mean.

I hear you Ruth Ann! I have the same type of days! I don't know if its on days that I'm tired, or its hormones or just my mood. But, that is life sometimes! I was just thinking the other day that maintenance is all about work and planning still, we all know that. But, following the diet was easier sometimes in the sense we could white knuckle it through, but I was telling myself that I will have those same 'white knuckle' days in maintenance too. But, we deal with each day that comes and do the best we can!

Maille: Thanks for your thoughts. You are always so positive and have great advice and I appreciate your words of wisdom. You are a good example to follow!

Thanks Hawaii! Good to know I'm not just weird. I thought getting the weight off would be the hard work - boy was it a surprise to find I have to truly think more carefully in maintenance. I suppose once I've been on for a longer period it will get more routine and easier.

The good news is that my scale is staying exactly the same for the most part - sometimes a pound up, sometimes a pound down. So I count that as a victory!

And I second your thanks to Maile - such a good example. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Ah maile! I miss you and your generous posts!

I've had my baby...I didn't know what I was having and am thrilled to have a daughter! Heidi Catherine Iris was born 23 May 14 7lbs 8.5 oz 19 inches long and at 420 pm. She was born via emergency c-section but she wasn't in distress thankfulky. I'm in love!! I absolutely love watching my VIP fall in love with her....she's got him wrapped around her finger already! Sucker! Haha!

Happy to see that my GD is gone, had a breakfast with a banana that would have spiked me and it did nothing of the sort...whoop whoop!

Can't wait to be back to eating the way I want...not getting on the scale for a month! !

Heidi Catherine Iris, and Congratulations to you Ishbel & VIP! I'm so thrilled to hear your news!!!

Congratulations Ishbel!! How wonderful! I've missed your posts and look forward to hearing your experiences as a new mother!!

Congrats Ishbel! That is wonderful news!

A baby girl!'
So happy for you!

Congrats, Ishbel...so glad GD is gone! Probably because you were taking such good care of yourself during this time. Welcome to the 'new chick-let.'

Liana

Ishbel: I am so happy for you! Welcome Heidi Catherine Iris! How exciting to have a lovely baby daughter! I am glad your c-section went well and that your GD is gone! I miss you also but know that you will love this precious time with your newborn. Please post a picture when your life quiets down. Hugs.

That's a really good idea! I was shocked when I first got on the scale, and even though I knew it was the IV and the swelling, it still got me concerned.

That was me! I also eventually need to have one of my knees replaced but I'll be putting that off as long as I possibly can. I've seen enough doctors in the last year to last me for the next ten! I'm anxious to get back into exercising and probably will start with some pool work tomorrow. I'm supposed to go diving in early June and will probably be able to do that as long as I put my gear on and take it off in the water.

Thanks so much!! I really miss everyone here. I'm still not able to sit at the computer for long stretches, and in some ways that has been a good thing.

Thanks, Maile! I always look forward to reading your posts. There's so much good info and always a balanced view of things. And yes, I'm thrilled about still being in the same size shorts. That's my true test, more than any number on a scale.

And thanks to everyone else for the well wishes. I'm still tender at the incision sites but doing better each day. I just want to get back to my new normal, enjoying being healthy and fit.

And last, but not least, CONGRATS Ishbel!! That's wonderful news!

bubbleblower: Glad to hear you are doing well and healing nicely!

Quick question - had my first real "fun" meal last night. Didn't go overboard (had a brat on a bun and 1/2 a cup of potato salad and an ice cream sandwich) but today my scale is reading exactly the same and I have no bloating, etc. I'm still planning a low carb day but is it really necessary if it causes no change? Too early to text my coach (she's a doll and all but 5 a.m. texts are a little much in my opinion!).

Don't plan on doing it often but just a little confused (so what else is new?).

When it's like that for me, I just do a P1 breakfast and lunch and reg maint dinner. Seems to work OK so far - I don't usually do a whole day of "Fun", since I'm usually satisfied with just a specific meal that I have been wanting that isn't smart for maintenance.
Tell us what you decided and how it goes...

Yeah, I think a fun day would be too much for me! That's why I limited it to dinner. Although next weekend we're going to the ballgame with friends we haven't seen in a year and dh was listing all the food I could have at the stadium that I wasn't eating last year - I told him I'd get very, very sick if I ate all that, how about he gets it all and I'll just taste his?

So what I decided to do today is drop my carbs down to below 35 net (kind of an arbitrary number) but I didn't like how the protein came out so I added some protein (had PT this morning and always take extra protein after that). A hard boiled egg, 4 oz of meat and a carb-master yogurt. So kind of a hybrid.