that is awesome and so inspiring!!!!!

Hey all. It's been a awhile since I have been on here, and since I have been on a scale for that matter but here I am. I have put on 10lbs since March and its the most weight I have gained while maintaining in a year and a half. I know a few lbs this morning were water weight but the clothes have been telling me to get my butt in gear.

No excuses but the last few weeks have been hard...really hard. A friend's sister tragically passed away, family has been in town like crazy, and work has left little to be desired. You could say I lost some focus. However, back to the toolbox of phase 1 I go. When I stepped on the scale this morning, I didn't panic or have a negative reaction. Rather, I looked at it as so many others have learned to do as information to action. Immediately, my BP went down, I packed my phase 1 lunch and I am looking forward to getting in control and dropping a few lbs before my vacation to Belize in 15 days. I know I can't do much in that time but it will be better than nothing. I am hoping for 6-8lbs so we will see. Depending on where I am when I get back, I may jump back on the wagon. We are doing major backpacking style in Belize and "roughing" it with accommodations so I am not interested in doing phase 1 while there mainly because I feel confident with my ability to kick off a few before I leave and manage to stay reasonable there...after all we will be snorkeling and hiking Mayan ruins everyday. Gonna sweat!

So happy to hear everyone is well and continuing to share their success, support, wisdom and encouragement with one another. I will be catching up on the threads this afternoon but love always reading and hearing how everyone is doing.

Anyone have fun travel plans this summer? Anyone growing a garden?

Great to be back!

Cheers!

Just a quick pop in before (late) bedtime. I have been sleeping in lately and not working out in the morning so I am putting it out here...tomorrow I AM waking up and running! We leave Sunday for a week at the beach (Destin, FL) so I want to get some last minute workouts in!

Anyone know where Liz is this morning ? ? ?

She's out running, THAT'S where she is!!!

Btw, while you were running, I was eating the stuffed french toast recipe from you -- yum!

Let's make it a great OP day, everyone!

ETA: Oops, didn't mean to horn in on the maintenance thread. (Though I do "lurk-to-learn.") I will be back this weekend when I really do step into maintenance, though!

It sounds like you have things in control. Life happens and thats what maintenance is all about. The scale will go up and down. But, its how we deal with it that matters and it sounds like you are getting on it.Your holiday to Belize sounds great! And active too so I'm sure you'll be fine! Have fun!

Totally agree. Life does happen and we now have a tool or two we can count on to deal. It doesn't have to be so scary (though for me it still is somewhat of a fright to see the scale go up much). Good luck eandc and have fun on your trip.

I just wanted to check in. Working from home today and have to say... Peanut Butter is my nemesis. It's just too good. Even the no sugar added natural ones. I don't keep it around often but when I do... oy.... I could eat the jar in a sitting. Almond Butter is a little less tempting but not much. Sad but true. I think i need to find a snack that works in PB or the taste in a limited way.

Happy Thursday all!

Vachinyc: Have you tried the powdered PB? Would a few tablespoons give you the taste of PB? I use those chocolate covered almonds for the taste of chocolate..Hope you find a snack that works. I still measure my PB as I can easily get too generous.

Eandc: Have a great trip. All of that hiking sounds wonderful. Life does get in the way in maintenance. Good for you getting on that scale. I loved the comment..the scale simply tells you what you need to do. There is always P1 to use as a tool.

Sylvie: Enjoy that french toast! Lizrr has the best recipes!

Lizrr: Good idea getting workouts in before your trip. The beach sounds heavenly.

Hawaii69: I do not know if you have been to Hawaii..but I am here visiting my family. I love the warm ocean. I am getting lots of walking in as well as swimming.

I eat totally different from the sister I am staying with..but that is OK..I just keep doing what I need to do to stay on track.

Westwillow: Thanks for your support. I am impressed with your 5k and you
becoming a runner/walker a year ago. I am planning to do some walking events in my future. Maintenance is not easy, but it is so worth it.

In Refuse to Regain:

4.Climber's Fatigue: Losing weight was an exciting, attention getting makeover. Permanence requires a relentless, daily attention to detail that no one but you may notice. This phase will only work if you learn to deeply love the new you and the very process that allows you to stay as you are. Not only can you do this, but it will also be highly rewarding.

I like..learning to love the very process that allows you to stay as you are.

I will be a bit sketchy here as I am staying without internet.

Maile: Luana ko ho'omahana!
"Enjoy your vacation!"

Hi Maille!

I'm so jealous that you are in Hawaii. We have been to Oahu and Maui! Loved both islands and we want to return! As you can see by my name, its one of my favourite places to visit. Love the message on Climbers's Fatigue. Yes, maintenace I'm finding is about those daily choices we make. One day at a time, continuely trying to make healthy and good decisions to continue on this healthy journey. Enjoy the beauty of Hawaii and your sister. And good for you for continuing to make great choices with food no matter what others are doing around you~Mahalo

Wow! Belize sounds great! BTW, I just took off the 12 pounds that I was up. It took about 5 and a half weeks. Slow, but not too difficult. I agree that you should do a little now, then just enjoy your time in Belize.

Yes, maintenance is life.

I just came back from a 6-day camping trip. While on it, I was on P1, then began my phase-off to P2. I'll do about a week on P2, then go to P3 and then back to maintenance. I feel much better and my clothes that I bought last summer are now fitting. I'm much more in control now.

I just opened a "Camping on IP" thread. I went to the Ozarks in Arkansas and it was wonderful! I love to sleep in my tent, hike a bit, swim in mountain lakes, and cook out! And I ate so well! Dinner was chicken, hamburger, or turkey sausage grilled on the open coals, with an assorted of grilled vegetables. My favorite was asparagus, red pepper, and mushrooms, drizzled with olive oil + salt, pepper, and garlic, cooked in an open basket over the coals. People pay much money to get this wonderful thing in a restaurant and I ate it every night, under the stars!

Maille, have a great time in Hawaii! Yes, my sister eats differently than I do, too. But is a process - OUR process. And we can make it work with our relentless attention.

Hi to all of you! Enjoy summer!

Love reading about all the great vacations! I want one in the worst way but it's not going to happen any time soon - once I get this office move over with it's straight into a huge project. I'm thinking maybe September I can take some time off.

Great to see how everyone is managing hectic lives and maintenance. I'm trying really hard to make myself a priority and make sure I take the time to get some exercise in and eat properly. I get some walking and light stretching in every day and the doc says I can go back to PT mid-July - never thought I'd say it, but I'm looking forward to getting back to PT.

Biggest problem I have is not giving into the "I'm tired, I'm stressed, I don't want to think about food I just want to eat a bunch of it" feeling. Having stuff prepped to be able to just grab and go (yeah for dh!) helps a lot - it's a lot easier to make good choices when the veggies are already cut up and there's easy to grab proteins around. Not that I'm always perfect, but when dh made oatmeal cookies the other day I ate one just out of the oven, really enjoyed it and then the snack monsters ate the rest. Huge difference for me between pre-IP and now.

I have the tired/stressed issue too Ruth Ann. This past week especially and I find I'm up a little today. Will need to get that back in check this week. I do notice myself making choices I wouldn't have before IP and that's good. (I had a chinese food dinner with wine and even though afterwards everyone had froyo, I didn't. In the past I would have. I didn't need it, I was full. But I did want that sweet treat everyone else was having)

Loved the post about climber's fatigue Maile. So true. When you are losing you get that constant scale going down 'reward'. Maintaining means i have to find a different reward type scenario. There was also something comfortable to me about the straight forward can/can't eat lists. Choice for me sometimes leads to excess.
I did try powdered PB...didn't like it. I bought almond butter this week -- somewhat less of a tendency to go overboard. I think PB is both delicious and an easy thing to grab when I'm feeling hungry. And the combo of fat/protein takes the edge off pretty quickly. It's just hard to stop at one portion.

Happy Sunday all.

vachinyc - I hear you on the sweet treats! Whenever I am tempted to indulge in something that isn't on my meal plan (ok, I'm a compulsive planner and have my food planned out days in advance) I try to ask myself "do I just want that or am I hungry? Would some cucumbers and celery taste good right now?" Most of the time I just want something and don't really need it. Hard lesson to learn for me, but I'm getting better at it and hope it just becomes a habit that I only eat when I am hungry and not just because it looks good.

I try to look at my daily weigh in the same way I did when I was losing. Scale staying the same? That is a victory! I'm still doing it right!

Good morning, you marvelous maintainers!!

I am now one of you. I started maintenance yesterday. It feels almost unreal to be posting here, on the maintenance thread, as a maintainer. wow.

I plan to weigh every day for a while, just to keep a good eye on reality. Without the reassurance from the scale, I tend to just start assuming I am overeating and gaining . . . I guess because that was the truth for years on end. Weighed this morning and I was actually down 1/2. Like Ruthann said, I am going to try to derive the same excitement satisfaction from the number on the scale being the same as I used to when it was lower.

Have a great, great day, everybody!

Sylviesgirl: Welcome to maintenance! I am happy for you. That is a real accomplishment. I am a daily weigher and use weightgrapher.com to look at trends. You can derive satisfaction from seeing that number stay the same or staying within your desired range.

Ruthann: I read somewhere that said if you are really hungry, you are ok with delaying eating for a time, and will be satisfied with a variety of choices of food. When you are wanting something, you want to eat immediately and often only want specific foods...nothing else will do. Those are good questions to ask yourself. I have to watch the tired moments also when you want food for energy.

Vachinyc: There was something very comforting about the can/cannot lists of IP. I really was uncomfortable about giving up foods that I used to lose weight. Initially the wide world of food was overwhelming, but as time went on I found myself really enjoying my non IP meals..and also realizing that I could maintain. However, as you say, one still has to watch eating to excess, especially with particular foods. I am glad the almond butter is helping.

Joysh: It is good that you are fitting your summer clothes. Nice job! I try to encourage my sister to eat fruits and vegetables, but ultimately it is her choice.

Hawaii69: I am on Oahu and love being here. The islands are home to me and I would love to retire here. I liked that Climber's Fatigue also and agree that it is a day to day daily effort. It certainly is easy here to get lots of exercise in with swimming in the ocean and walking everywhere! Aloha nui.

Canadjineh: Mahalo nui loa. Thanks very much. I am impressed with that Hawaiian sentence you wrote. I am enjoying walks around the park next to Waikiki Beach. There are so many outdoor sessions to watch as I walk. Yesterday I watched a hula troop practicing.

Thanks for all of the vacation wishes. All in all I am doing well in maintenance here. I am getting in lots of exercise. I am eating healthy for the most part. I do indulge in a treat or two such as a mai tai or a Hawaiian pizza. Yesterday we ordered calamari which was heavily breaded and I simply did not like it. I did not eat it. If I am going to indulge in something, it had better be good.