Thank you...balance is the key. I am enjoying a few olives and a few slices of cheddar with a glass of wine and other than that the rest of the day will be phase one. It has been two weeks since I indulged at all, but I am a high school science teacher and I am on my second snow day in a row and being shut up...it called my name. I feel in control and able to do this and have proven it to myself over and over. I no longer see the all or nothing. Just moderation, thoughtful planning, and strategies. I can't believe I was facing 35 pounds (of the 80 I lost) just 9.5 weeks ago and now only facing 8 of those and I have enjoyed higher fat meats, cheese, sauces, and wine on occasion and in moderation.

Jump I board...I welcome the company.:carrot:

ok ladies due to many many holiday events....my plan is to lose 1-2 pounds between now and January 3rd (last event). I plan to do phase 1 (100%) as many days as possible but about 8 of those days I will allow myself wine and higher fat (still low-carb) treats. Hopefully on January 3rd, I weigh 2 pounds less than this morning (183).

then January 3rd to January 25th I hope to lose 10 pounds and phase off

Awesome that you have a plan - you've got this :)

I am allowing myself an off-plan meal this weekend, hubby and I are going to Foxwoods to see Jim Gaffigan as a combo anniversary/Christmas/his birthday present. I have the same idea as you - keep it low carb but will allow myself a glass of wine (or two) and not worry as much about the fats. Christmas will probably be handled much like Thanksgiving was, and we never do anything for New Years (I usually ring in the new year with 2 sleepy kids on the couch!). If things stay on track we should be phasing off right around the same time!

OMG....we are going to Foxwoods next weekend...too bad, we could have met up for a drink. I am spending 3 nights at Foxwoods and 2 at Mohegan...we have family in the area and have events to attend (only paying for Saturday the 20th, the rest are free). We are also hitting up some of our favorite wineries, comedy club, bowling, etc. We have to stick around until 25th as we are picking up our granddaughter from her father and brining her home to our daughter (he has visitation every other week for a week)

That's crazy! Too bad the timing didn't work out better....but if you have plans in that area down the road, we are only about an hour and a half from the casinos so if my husband has the night off we can always get a sitter :)

We go to Foxwoods about every 3-5 weeks...we were just there 3 weeks ago. But January we won't go at all and February is our cruise month. We will be there again the 3rd week in March.

Hi Darbs! I must admit I was surprised to see you back on this thread too!
I guess I lost a couple cuz the 12s aren't so tight but Iweighed myself and it was worse than I thought!

Guess what happened - my first grandchild, a girl was born 12 days early on 12/3/14! She's pretty small, 5lb 10oz. I have sons (who left me in the dust) so A girl has been fun. I have to say I haven't been 100 per cent OP. I did have 1 binge. I have a little trouble with DIL. She only want a husband - not an extra family. (She's a passive aggressive, um, I think I'll leave it at that. So one afternoon with her and son had me home crying and had a binge of the evil stuff. But then last night I opened some canned goods left over cuz I didn't use them for Thanksgiving. Tonight is party for DIL. I'm bringing champagne. Her mom doing the usual bday stuff.

So I'm having a planned, day off, just the champagne. It's gotten sooo expensive! Good to hear from you all!

Being aware is better than not. After 10 weeks I am down 28 pounds. I plan to just maintain but stay in ketosis for the next 2 and a half weeks. Will start back at 100 phase 1 again on the 3rd of January and then phasing off on the 25th fingers crossed at my goal weight another 7 pounds!

I had my first grandchild (a little girl 6 pounds 4 ounces, she was born day after due date) last fall (IT IS AWESOME!) our second is due next month (a little boy)

Where is everyone at? Is everyone still trying, phase 1?

I am doing phase 2/Atkins starting Saturday and going for 2 weeks. The goal is to not gain during that time

I'm here! Still plugging away at my Phase 3 Reboot. It's going well! I was down 17.8 lbs in just under 8 weeks. Pretty awesome! I have my final weigh in before Christmas on Friday. I am planning to relax a bit over Christmas holidays and then back on the wagon January 5. I'll do my best to maintain over the holidays but I'm okay with a few up lbs knowing they will come off easily once I resume my Phase 3 plan. I have a cruise on January 20 so I will happily get back on track quickly! I hope you are all doing well with your reboots!

On plans our similar...I am sure the scale will go up a few pounds over my 2 week break (I am a high school science teacher) when I am doing phase2/Atkins/wine included. I will never know as I will be super strict for the following three days and hopefully back where I was when I do my final weigh-in Saturday morning.

Enjoy the holidays...I will be back at it again on January 5th. Going for 20 perfect phase 1 days, then phasing off on January 25th.

You will be on the cruise then, my cruise is the 14th of February

I'm still hanging around too! I lost 3 lbs in my first week of reboot, which isn't too bad considering I fell off the wagon last weekend. I'll take it!

We have my hubby's company Xmas party tonight. I know I'll drink some wine but hopefully there will be food that I can eat OP. I'll bring a bag of IP friendly chips/crisps just in case.

You ladies sound like you both have great plans! I love how you are working IP and still living life!

I'm still here too Lol!! ;)

Been slow weight loss lately but I'm ok with that!!:carrot: I'm more in "Holiday maintenance" right now :D.....hoping to stay on plan 90% of the time and enjoy a good meal here and there. Learning not to overindulge is what I want for Christmas this year!! :present:

Best Wishes to all!!:hohoho::elf:

"Holiday Maintenance" - that's a perfect explanation of how I am viewing the next week or so. I am planning to be mostly on plan, but I'm trying to be realistic. I figure if I go into it knowing I might have a little bit of this or that, it's better than eating off plan, feeling guilty and then going overboard!

Honestly, I've probably been in holiday maintenance for the last two weeks. Just too many temptations this time of year!

I have gained back a bunch of my weight. I am still down over 70#'s but I am frustrated with myself. I have OA pretty bad in both knees, The pain is back again, it felt so much better when I was down 155#'s. So I need to get my *** in gear and get it done again and keep going.

My wife (of 16 years) is closing on our house today and I should be closing on mine on the 30th. We are getting divorced. Being OP will help me with tough times. I need the structure.
:)

(((vet)))

That stinks, but it's great that you have given yourself something positive to focus on. You did it before, you can do it again!

Thanks :dizzy:

I agree 100% with scorbett! I went through a divorce a couple of years ago and the routine of IP does help - almost like something to look forward to. And a small side benefit - seeing the look on my ex's face when he sees me in skinny jeans :D

And yes, we all did it once - we can definitely do it again :)

Jo

Hey! I am back as well. Sorry to hear about your divorce. You are right about the structure! I am needing structure as well to keep my insane life in control. If we are in control of ourselves, everything is sure to get easier right? :) Stay strong and focus on you.

Good Morning familiar faces! :D

I am also back. It's nice to see you all again, just wish it wasn't in THIS thread.. lol

I was trying to say how nice it is to "see" everyone again too but not under these circumstances. :) This will be the last time we all chat on THIS thread. :)

I look upon it as part of the journey, whether we have gained back 20 to 30 pounds or whatever. I know for me although I suffered a setback, I have learned from it about some of my weaknesses, and hopefully how to treat them.

And I am still nearly 100 pounds less than when I started, and nearly 70 while on IP. I am lighter, happier, healthier and still FIGHTING. What more could I want at this point? I will still get back up if I falter because I am human and I did not get where I was by knowing myself and my body.

While packing things up for a move in several months, I came across a rare photo of me with my four sibs when we were visiting our now deceased parents. I was beaming, totally unaware of how large I had gotten.

Looking back at the photo, I cannot recognize myself. I was clueless! A big round red face atop a huge neck and chest - thank goodness the camera went not much further down!

So I relish the fact that I can SEE what that weight looked like and remember what it felt like. Now I know why I was often 'invisible' to people because I was HUGE. I know I am well beyond that now and so I will tackle my extra regained pounds knowing I can and will do it, however many times it takes.

Amen!! Well said!!!:hug:

I'm totally in awe of the maintainers who keep it all off.

I'm starting a planned reboot after my Hawaiian vacation. The good news is that I didn't create myself stomach upset on this vacation that I had done in the past (better overall choices). Boy-oh-boy, I cannot eat things I used to eat! It is almost as if I've had weight loss surgery, although I have not. But I surely have a sensitive gut!

I weigh-in tomorrow, after some of the biggest vacation/travel bloat is gone (mostly from adult bevs). And I'm thinking of joining a January 1 Diet Bet for further monitoring (I did best when I was going to a weekly clinic WI)

Hope to see some of you in the 100% thread. This is the only way I could ever shed the weight. Otherwise, I just make too many excuses/exceptions.

I agree Hgamroth this is the LAST time. lets do this

It's so important to avoid that nasty "final phase" of almost any diet. I admit that I fell prey to that ... but I am bound and determined to have ultimate success this time around!

https://mindstar.com/scratch/DietCar...inal_phase.jpg

Wishing everyone here good vibes on getting it off and keeping it off!

Lisa, what's a january 1 diet bet? Sounds intriguing!

Hi all!! Haven't checked in as much as I should, it's been a bit of a bumpy road the last week and a half. I made some allowances for myself over the holiday, and DID NOT overindulge...but I did go off plan here and there. Been watching the scale, and I am maintaining at my current weight, no extra gains over the holidays, so I'll take that as a small victory!

Hope you have all enjoyed your holidays..though maybe not TOO much!! :)

I wouldn't take maintaining over the holidays a small victory, I would say it is a large victory. That is the goal of all this to lose the weight and then live life and not gain it all back. Congratulations. It will be all over soon! :carrot

I have yet to see one. Most can keep it off for a year or even two (I was one of those), but boy can it sneak up on you. I have two Facebook groups I am part of from ladies I met on 3FatChicks. The first group is my original group from 2010 (about 15 of us) all from the maintenance thread...every single person gained it all and some (except me) and at this point, there is zero conversation and everyone is frustrated.

The second group is from while I was on maintenance in 2011 and that group is a little more active. Everyone in that group has gained, but not all of it (most have gained as much as half back), but I would say that we are trying.

I just had my "holiday maintenance" period...stayed in ketosis but indulged in champagne and steaks and lobster with butter. I have 3 more weeks until I phase off on January 24th. I have 7 more pounds and I am back at my goal weight...hoping to hit it by the 24th.

I did actually get 7 pounds below my goal weight and I will attempt to do that and maybe another 5-6 sometime mid-April. I have a lot of travels from February to April so going to try to follow phase 4 faithfully.

This is so interesting, esp in terms of the time involved.

I do know that some have been able to keep it off -- I have seen a number on this board -- although I don't know what the success rate is like over multiple years. Maintaining is hard -- that's always been a troublesome area for me.

But congrats on your great effort Darbs -- you are my hero!

When I initially chose to "try" IP, it was my last resort prior to WL surgery. But the maintenance track record for any of the numerous procedures available isn't any better than losing on a WL diet plan. The thing that gets everyone is trying to go back to a former lifestyle. It only took me a short while of not monitoring to move into the next size up :o

From my reading (thanks to Maile) on the maintainers thread, it seems the fomerly overweight who are most successful are ever-diligent. Even if they "slack" for a couple weeks for a holiday or vacation, or whatever, most of the time they are monitoring weight and intake, or they gain.

As much as we (the collective "we") don't want this to be the case, it is. :p
One thing that has helped me is that many "foods" I used to overeat now give me horrible stomach aches. Particularly junky starches and sugary items (really, edible non-foods). And, I seem to only be able to handle 2 drinks before my stomach revolts. I don't "get sick" but I sure wish I would when I feel like that!

People I know who have had WL procedures tend to experience the same thing. And I didn't even need to go under the knife for it!

Maintaining Large Weight Loss vs Regaining
 

i am back on IP again...after losing 113 pounds before and gaining a large portion of that back.

i see there are many of my previous friends from the IP threads....also facing the same issues...albeit with lower weight issues than myself.

there are also friends from the IP threads that have lost and managed to successfully maintain their losses...

my question is: what is it that makes one successful over another in maintaining weight loss?? or face regain?

i found this study online

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...901/so....here

...quite hard to read through...but in the conclusion it says...

"In conclusion, we found that increases in two behaviors (frequency of self-weighing and physical activity) along with increases in dietary restraint and decreases in disinhibition, hunger, and depressive symptomatology were associated with improved weight loss maintenance."

Disinhibition is the tendency to overeat in response to different stimuli, and can occur in a variety of circumstances such as when an individual is presented with an array of palatable foods or is under emotional distress.

Restraint is the conscious restriction of food intake to prevent weight gain or promote weight loss, and hunger is the susceptibility to eat in response to perceived physiological symptoms that signal the need for food

the more weight i gained back, the less active i was...that is true. and the more weight i gained, the more i hid from the scales, not wanting to face the reality. that is true...

so all of you wonderful maintainers, who are having success...what do you think is YOUR best successful advice for me and others...because i want this time to be the time i learn to maintain for the long term.

thanks for your advice and support :)

Hi Rainbow,
Happy and healthy 2015 to you! Glad to see you are back. I'm still in the process of working to goal so I don't have any input on your question. That said, I am hoping that I can be a successful maintainer by educating myself in advance to pitfalls so your post was very helpful " food for thought".So thanks for it and also thanks for all the recipes- you have been a big player in my success to date because I had such delish dishes!

This is a great question that I'm sure many of us are wondering about. I too had great success on the program and then found myself regaining - have caught myself before I undid it all but it is frustrating a little heartbreaking. I found myself feeling pretty defeatist and then decided it was time to reboot. So here I am.

I've been reading a lot about emotional eating and know that has been my life's challenge. I went to see a therapist to start the conversation but the one I went to was not supportive of continuing on a diet of any kind. I would love to be an intuitive eater but not at the weight that I am.

Looking forward to hearing advice about what works after a fall that was full of what doesn't.

Best wishes for 2015 all of you!

One of the maintainers suggested the book, "Refuse to Regain". I havent started it yet but it's next in my list

Hi Rainbow,
I spent a lot of time reading many of the old threads, a few things seem to be a common trend in keeping the weight off:
self weighing even when you feel like you are off program.
continuing to post on the threads.
having a range and scream weight.

I think the key is that we can not lose focus and that it is a lifelong/ daily commitment. I am working on letting go of perfection and accepting a slip without giving into shame and defeat. A vigilant effort to break the cycle.

It is hard work, but we can do it. Thanks for all those great recipes!

Slipfree, I completely agree.

1.For me, self-weighing was really important, even when it was hard.
2. Posting on the maintenance thread and giving support on the other threads also increases accountability.
3. Continuing to eat as though I was on P3 or P4. When I stuck to my "routine" eating, I was fine. I found I could deviate once or twice a week, but not more. I also have the 1-2-3 days, that worked well for me. If I had "up" pounds I did a day of P1, a day of P2 and a day of P3 and that usually took care of it. It was a "fast reset" and got me back on track.
4. Physical movement and exercise are also good, although I've only been successful in the summers when I could swim.

I bought and read the book Refuse to Regain while on maintenance. It's a good one.

I also realize that this is a lifelong thing for me. I have to allow myself to relax and go "off-program" occasionally during certain times of the year. It HAS to be ok with me as long as I understand that I will return to my normal (P4) way of eating if I hit my ceiling weight. I think I've been kinder to myself this past year. I don't feel that I'm punishing myself for transgressions by going back OP. On the contrary, I feel in control. I have to admit that I enjoyed gaining those 20 pounds, although I would not have enjoyed gaining more. Now I'm enjoying being back OP and I'm feeling a lot better.

But I agree, Rainbow, it would be best NOT to have to do this again. Some people can eat anything they want and not gain a pound. I just don't think I'll ever be that way. Oh well. At least we know how to get it off.

As soon as I figure this "maintaining" part out, I will post something more emphatic. But for now, my feeling is I will just stay on some form of the IP diet for the rest of my life. It's actually pretty healthy as I've never eaten so many vegetables. In other words, I have given up the ghost on my old "diet/no-diet" strategy ... but I am thinking about it more as a lifestyle change now. We all know the drill ... exercise, eat well, watch carbs.

I think a major part of it is stepping on the scale. When I avoid the scale I gain (I am in sense living in denial).

I lost the 80 pounds in 2010 on IP...maintained okay until 2013 holiday season. I would put on 10 or even 15 but take it off quickly.

I stopped stepping on scale and wore stretchy clothes starting in January of 1014...it was a rough year (my daughter split with husband and an ugly ugly custody battle followed, my cousin killed himself, and I had surgery to remove lung tumors...not a smoker and never have been...weird endrocrine disease).

When I had surgery in September I stepped on scale and was up 39 of the 80 pounds...I was floored...now still down half my weight, but so disappointed after years of maintenance.

Now, 4 months later, 7 more and I am back to my goal weight! This time though I did not do the crazy 100% phase 1. I believe the all or nothing mentally gets us in trouble. If I had a bite of cheese or extra fat...I didn't feel like I blew anything. I just keep plugging. It has been slower, but so worth it.

So, for me

1. Support...this site, Facebook groups of women from this site, and my husband
2. Stepping on scale
3. Getting rid of all or nothing mentality

Welcome back and good luck.