Good news all, maintenance plan still works, lol. I was at 132 this morning - back where I belong!

go Liana!

Maile - I like that article. So heartening to hear that people still question after that long maintaining. Makes me feel better about wondering if I'm doing it right after 10 weeks maintaining!

Liana - Hooray!

I am so sore today. Who decided yesterday that new office needed to have all the furniture rearranged? Oh, yeah that would be me. I made the guys move the heavy stuff but I think I may have overdone (who, me?). Already not sleeping well and really didn't sleep well last night. PT is going to love working with me today.

Ruthann. Hope your PT goes well with those sore muscles. Maintenance is still an effort even after 5 years. It is interesting to see other people's perspectives.

Liana: That 132 is great. You are doing it!

Apo: That is a good comment. I would rather be hungry and be thin as well. At least it is real hunger from eating well.

I am going to order that book that was recommended. Think like a thin person. I am curious.

I am loving all these articles, Maile. It seems they are speaking right to me.

For some reason, it was a revelation to me that hunger is normal on maintenance. I see so many people around here remarking that they aren't hungry, etc. I am hungry a lot. It is taking some getting used to -- part of me pines for ketosis. I need to remember that hunger does not mean that I am not doing this right, and it is nothing to be afraid of.

Slipfree -- I think much of my problem has been over-thinking everything. I have been a bit compulsive -- both in meal planning and in weighing. It created an impossible cycle in me. I am not cut out for weighing every day. I'm just not. Also, this was my first go-round with TOM while on maintenance. Being irregular with TOM is difficult. I always have a spike in appetite and emotion right beforehand, but am never quite sure that is the cause until after the fact. Live and learn -- next time I will hopefully cue in to it quicker. Anyway, I think I had that bad eating episode due, mostly, to just wanting freedom. I have some ideas on how to remedy that and am putting them into action immediately. Hopefully, that, and only weighing once per week, will create some mental space for me. Thanks for your help.

Now I want to go look into that 21-day program for mental toughness . . .

Hi everyone,

Sylvie, there are definitely days when I am hungry. Usually, the hungries follow certain breakfasts. In phase 3, I learned that the French toast left me starving by lunch. I am also hungrier, the day after my free meal. For me-protein is key. I saw on vacation that without it, I was hungry all the time.

Ruth Ann, did the office turn out better after the redesign? Hope you feel better soon.

I have a couple of questions that have come up recently with my SIL as she has just entered maintenance.

She phased off properly and went on vacation for 10 days. She ate a lot of goodies, didn't really follow maintenance guidelines, but said she didn't eat bad all the time. I know she had cakes, cocktails, pastries many times though. When she got home she was up 9 lbs. She thinks she is gaining much faster than she would have prior to IP. Is it true that a person gains faster than before? I assumed it was a lot of inflammation due to refined carbs and that she notices the difference so much more because she hasn't been consuming those in a long time. What are your thoughts everyone?

Also, she is wondering how to deal with it. Should she go to P1 again and lose it and then phase off again? Should she do P2 or P3 or just return to the maintenance plan? She wants to know if she goes into ketosis again by doing P1 or P2, does she have to phase off and for how long?

I appreciate any input any of you may have on this topic.

Yeah, as much as I do love that french toast breakfast, that ricotta/fruit combo sticks in my head for the rest of the day. I am thinking that it could make a nice treat for a dinner sometimes if I used only egg whites and fat free ricotta. That makes it very low fat and high/er carb for a carb-rich meal. Anyone correct me if I am wrong.

I tried something different for breakfast today -- grilled cheese sandwich using coconut spread instead of butter and fresh tomatoes instead of any "fruit." Very good and not hungry or craving anything later. It was a bit light on the protein, but still had 17 grams. A little yogurt on the side could remedy that if need be, but I seemed okay today, so far.

Question: I think I may have been doing a bad thing regarding food combining. I had been enjoying a TB of peanut or almond butter mixed into plain Greek yogurt. However, my yogurt was fat free, unsweetened. Being unsweetened, it still had something like 10 grams carbs just in the plain yogurt. Is that, therefore a bad food combination? I think that would be nearly a tie in carbs & fat. What kind of yogurt are you all using to mix with nut butters???

Dak -- I wish I had the answer, but I am a maintenance newbie and still don't have the hang of when to pull out the big guns (a la long term P1) and when to just dial back with a P1 day and then making lighter choices for a while. I will be reading, with interest, the answers you get for your sister.

Dak, I did the same thing. Met goal, phased off properly and went on vacation. Indulged moderately and gained 10 pounds in a week. I came home, did 3 days of phase 1 and the UP pounds were gone.

Dak;

I'm no expert but I would think if she went to P1 for a few days, that weight will melt off. Travelling and carbs do make us retain water. I would suggest to eat like P1 for a couple days, drink lots of water. I'm sure others have good suggestions too. I hope this may help you out.

thanks for the input ladies. I just wasn't sure what i should tell her.

SylviesGirl: the peanut butter yogurt thing would be fine for breakfast..., but if you want to use it as part of your fat/er meal - I buy Greek Gods 10% fat yogourt to mix it into. 1/2 cup natural plain has 13 g fat and 5 net carbs - don't add fruit or you will be upping the carbs again but use a tiny squirt of berrypom Mio if you like for sweetener. You could also add higher fat nuts like walnuts or macadamias to it. Almonds & hazelnuts have too many carbs for this purpose.

Liana

Sylviesgirl - I totally understand the "over-planning" thing. I still plan out meals days in advance and calculate the carbs/fat ratio. I'm hoping at some point I will be comfortable enough not to need to do that, but for right now I'm just going with it. I'm trying to be flexible if something comes up, but I still worry about it.

I'm with Liana on the yogurt & peanut butter - perfectly fine for breakfast but harder to do for a fat or carb meal. Sometimes I'll add a tablespoon of PB2 which has 3 net carbs & 2 gr of fat for 2 tablespoons to yogurt.

I love your breakfast today! Going to have to try that.

Thanks Slipfree & Maile for the good wishes with my poor muscles. I had to stop PT for a few weeks because of an unrelated condition and getting back to it plus the physical stuff I've been doing has just worn me out! Fortunately the redesign of the office is working out well, everything is now where it's supposed to be and I should be done with that part of it!

Dak - no great insights for you since I haven't been on vacation yet (need to rectify that!) but wanted to say hi!

Hello from my hospital room. Total hip replacement went well and all the hospital staff kept calling me tiny.

Hip, hip, hooray drd! (okay, that was bad, shame on me)

But so glad to hear it went well and you are doing well. Best wishes for a speedy, easy recovery!