Thanks, gals --

Liana -- Thanks, I will do that. It will be a bit like "hidden pictures" from when we were kids. "Can you spot the GOOD thing in this picture?" "Hmmm . . ." while looking really hard, knitted brow, may have to ask someone with fresh eyes for help. LOL I really will do it, though. I'm so sorry to hear your jaw is still giving you trouble. Do you catch yourself clenching your jaw? I know I do that when I am stressed. Sometimes I have to put my tongue between my teeth when my jaw is at rest to break that habit. Hang in there.

Eve -- There you are! Thanks for the quick pep talk. It sounds like you've had a fun weekend. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

I stuck to my game plan for the day. No drastic cuts. Supper was yummy (reuben sandwich). Focusing on the positive. :dizzy: While I am thinking clearly, I think I will plan this week's meals . . . provide structure and heading off any temptation to "react" to the pictures.

Slyviesgirl - Focus on all the positive changes you have made and take in all the great things that your lovely DH is saying about you. We tend to be our biggest critics. You have done awesome and stick to your plan of one day at a time and just being. you can do it. :hug:

Liana - sounds like your life is very busy right now with stuff with your mom, work and your own health. On top of all that you are planning great P4 meals and eating on your plan. You are a great mentor. Take care of you.

Eve - hope you are having a great road trip, can't wait to hear about it.

2timeIP - Welcome, congratulations on your success.

Ruth ann- Hope this week is calmer at work for you. Glad you are back in the wt range you like and did a great job waiting patiently for your body to let go post surgery when it was ready.

How is it that Friday never seems to get here and Sunday night arrives way too soon? I shouldn't complain tho, I had two naps this weekend. The cold is still lingering. Ended up doing the full 19km run on Sat. morning averaging 5.44min a km. My Florida lbs are off and back to my lowest of 157. We are pulling the kids from school tomorrow to go to Great Wolf Lodge over night, it feels like we didn't do anything all summer as a family so we are all looking forward to this. Another family will come with us which will be fun.

Good for you Jenny, nice run, with a cold, especially! Is Great Wolf Lodge in Montana, or am I thinking of something else...?

SylviesGirl, I've always been a chewer... when I was little I used to chew on my nails, chew the ends of my hair, chew on the corners of playing cards when we were having a game, pencils, pens, you name it and I've always been a cruncher of hard candies and ice, not one to suck on stuff slowly. My dentist loves me, :^: Kinda OCD-ish, I know. I do find myself clenching but that is mainly when I wake in the middle of the night. I will feel my jaw is in a weird position, like pushed toward the pillow side to 'lift' my face away from the pillow when I lay on my side for instance. I don't seem to be able to control the unconscious movements and clenching of my muscles in the night - I'm just sometimes aware of it when I wake in those positions. It is part of fibromyalgia too - lack of Delta sleep, too much active Alpha wave sleep and prolonged muscle contractions almost like seizures. Hopefully a jaw splint will at least keep my jaw in a healthy position.

Liana

Congrats Jenny on your run! I don't run (well, unless someone is chasing me with an axe!) but I so admire those who do - takes a lot of mental willpower.

Liana - Ouch on jaw issues, those suck. I really think mouth pain is the worst. You're doing great handling maintenance, especially considering everything you have going on.

Sylviesgirl - I too tend to focus on what I perceive as the "bad spots" when I see photos or look in the mirror. I think it's natural - we lost all that weight, shouldn't we be perfect now? :rofl: I find it helpful if I'm being too critical to go pull out some older photos - cheers me right up!

And it's so hard to be patient and let your body do its' thing. Surgery weight combined with a few days of not so stellar eating while recovering made me want to do something drastic but I knew 1) that would not be healthy for me while in recovery and 2) if I ate reasonably but without panicking it would all be okay. So I worked on getting enough water and protein and keeping my carbs low, etc. and yesterday morning was right back where I wanted to be. And then promptly made some errors in judgment yesterday (darn halloween candy!) and am back at it today. Weekends are always harder for me, weekdays I have planned out but I kind freestyle it on weekends. But even with a couple of not so good choices yesterday, the scale stayed the same and I will just continue on.

You are doing so well identifying your behaviors and I think that's key - getting to know yourself, your triggers, what makes you panic and finding solutions bodes well for you to maintain long term.

Morning, Pals & Welcome to a new week ~~

Jenny -- Great going on the run! Enjoy Great Wolf Lodge. We took our son once and we all had a great time. (I'd have even more fun now since I would not be as self-conscious in my bathing suit!) Go get 'em!

Liana -- Great Wolf Lodge is a chain of indoor water park/hotels. There are several scattered here and there. I'm glad you're going to have your splint made by an orthodontist. I had mine made by a general dentist and I think he only focused on sparing my teeth from further wear. When I put it in for more than 5 minutes, my jaw joints start going nuts. Not good. :(

Ruth Ann -- Congrats on getting where you wanted to go! Sorry about the Halloween candy snagging you. That stuff is evil. I'm not bringing any into my house until the day of trick-or-treat and even then it will be something like Dum-Dums. :D Is it wrong that I am thrilled that my son is finally old enough to skip trick-or-treat? He would have candy sitting around here for months! Back at it today, just like you said. You're very good at that. You keep the course pretty well. Thanks for the encouragement.

I'm hitting the ground running this week, heading off any detours. I've been out for my walk, had my OP "queen's breakfast," and am now going to dress cute and hit the thrift store and treat myself to 1 good find. This time of year, they put the winter coats out -- I love to look at the vintage coats. Maybe find a great one from the 40s or 50s. That puts gas in my tank to keep be OP and feeling positive about where I am. ;)

Let's make it a great, healthy week! :carrot:

Good Morning Maintainers!!!!!!!!

Chilly morning here....whew! I am happily waking up today in my own lovely bed after a short trip to Nashville to spend some time with my parents (who traveled up from Florida) and my sister and family who live near Memphis. We were there to watch my niece in a Marching Band competition. Their band took grand prize! Double win since my sister is in charge of the colorgaurd and show concept/visual general effect.

I decided to a eat a little more loosely this weekend paying most attention to keeping veggies in, keeping protein up and not overeating. Good news is I weighed 127.6 today - so only a 1.5 up from my lowest. Weird! I think my recent drop in weight may be that I have not been exercising as well as before since I've been struggling with a chest cold (and I'm asthmatic). I suspect I have lost a little muscle (frown).

Weirdest of all is that I woke up on Saturday night feeling VERY ill, my stomach just in tight knots. I ended up being sick several times (ugh....awful to have that happen at a hotel) but felt fine on Sunday morning. I have no idea what happened. I don't think it was stomach flu since I would have been sick longer or had other symptoms like chills/body aches. I don't think it was food poisoning since that lasts longer than a night. Something I ate just DIDN'T agree with me. I didn't eat anything that was super greasy - who knows? Anyway, I was very happy to be back to myself on Sunday morning but ate very cautiously until lunchtime.

But, back on the wagon today. Even though my weight is not up a lot, I am still going to do a P1 day to get myself back on track. I feel like Mondays are a mental reset for me and I have NO intention to make eating loose a permanent WOE. But I can't deny it was PLENTY good to travel with a little freedom since the last time I traveled I was on P1.

Liana....I hope that the jaw positioner helps you. I know change of seasons can often trigger increased symptoms in those with chronic pain also.

Jenny.....Have fun at the Lodge! We have had a lot of friends who have visited the one near Kansas City. We have yet to do it because our long weekends are usually spent traveling to see family. We stayed at a hotel with a pool this past weekend...and my kids were in HEAVEN (they don't know about what they're missing, lol!). I am so impressed that you ran even with being sick. I haven't been exercising with my cold as it's moved into my chest. I think today I need to at least do some stretching since that won't bother my breathing! Have a BLAST sporting your new bathing suit. Funny, I had to wear my old bathing suit this weekend - and I was feeling a bit silly with it sagging all over the place!

SylviesGirl....You have a great plan to start this week this week. Hope your own band had a great contest!

RuthAnn.....Oh Halloween candy! Don't I know the dangers!!!!! It's the chocolate that always gets me. I need to build in a little dark chocolate into my plan whilst the house is in candy-mode and remind myself I get my own treat once daily and NO more!

Have a great day all! I need to get moving!!!!

Evemomma -- Wow, what a packed weekend for you. How nice that you could all be there for the band competition and HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to your sister and your niece for the grand prize! That's awesome. I wonder upset your stomach so much Saturday night.

Our band didn't do so well, 4th out of 5. Some people were griping about the judging. I don't know enough to say anything, but I do know that the kids are improving with each week. They have a brand new band director -- like, last year he was still in college "new," and they graduated 1/3 of their band last year and brought on a freshman class of almost 1/3, so it is more or less a building year. All I know is that my son is having the time of his life, and I couldn't be happier. ;)

Scored a couple great vintage coats this morning and that will keep me going and inspired. As luck would have it, a woman struck up a conversation with me about how, if you dig through the junk, you can find some wonderful, quality things. She was an older woman and on the larger side. She looked me up and down and said, "Especially gals as tiny as you are." That was such an amazing thing for her to say since you all know how I have been struggling with body image lately. I'm going to carry that with me like a little acorn. :cloud9:

Lost my post. If it shows up twice, I apologize.

A question for you long time maintainers: Dr. Wilkinson says that it takes the skin 6-8 months to "shrink" back down. Has that been your experience?

My bat wings are driving me crazy!

I must confess. My first P4 long weekend was far from perfect. I had brought some veggies to the hotel but meal options were limited and I have to say I was feeling a bit rebellious. A little scary to see how easy it was to allow myself to eat off plan. So from Thursday dinner to Sunday dinner I didn't focus on fat carb separation as much as I should but I don't feel I was over eating. Up 2.5 this morning so have done a P1 day today. I am picking carrots out of my ready made coleslaw as I type.

I like sizing in the US much better! I even bought some 10's. (I am in a 14 most of the time here) I went to Athleta without embarrassment and asked for help and opinions on the fit of the pants. Wishing I had more time to shop but we were there for a tournament.

So P4 officially starts for me this week. I'm hoping I can get it right!

Hooray for cute coats Sylviesgirl! I need to do that this weekend, maybe.

Wow evemomma - that was miserable when you were traveling. If I'm going to be sick I want to be home!

catlady - my coach and then my plastic surgeon both told me to give the excess skin a year at least to "bounce back" if it's going to. Unfortunately, I suspect mine never will completely. I hear you on the "bat wings" but I've just decided to keep up with some strength training and see what happens. My tummy and thighs are problem areas too, but I figure I'm past my bikini wearing days and I'd really rather have some extra skin than extra weight.

ChipnDip - a lot of the up pounds are probably sodium if you were eating out a lot, restaurant food has lots of sodium usually. But good for you for catching it! Drink lots of extra water too, it really does help.

Going to be a busy day today, I can just feel it (well and I made the mistake of looking at my calendar before I had my coffee too!). And I think fall has really arrived and I'm so not prepared - need to go clothes shopping very soon but kind of waiting for the rest of the swelling to go down before I do.

Have a great Tuesday all!

Good morning Maintainers;

My week on P1 went very well and not as hard as I thought. I was so tired of it by the time I phased off and very ready to be done. So, I thought it'd be challenging but honestly it has been good. I'm down 6lbs and my measurements are down about 3 inches. I'm very pleased! I am enjoying feeling better, my digestion has improved too. I did get some of the 'flu' for a couple days but it wasn't too bad. One more week then phasing off with a week of both P2 and P3 and then maintenance once again.

I've been enjoying reading all of your posts. Maintenance as Slip says, isn't about perfection but continuing to live life and deal with stress without making wrong food choices that are unhealthy. Weekends will always be hard for me but I need to not panic, enjoy life and remember not to go back to the way I used to eat. I just can't do that and expect the lbs to stay off.

You are a great support group. Thanks for the positive and real thoughts and comments and suggestions. It helps to know that we all have those struggles and continue to work hard at changing. Have a great week~!

ChipnDip -- It IS rather easy to eat off plan, trust me, I know. Ruth Ann gave you good advice and to that I would only add to try to see it as a small variance and keep moving forward normally. Don't overreact (like I do), just stay the course. You'll do fine.

Ruth Ann -- It is very heartening to hear what your plastic surgeon said about the extra skin. I must admit, sometimes I am alarmed by the look of my thighs, though I would not trade extra skin for extra fat, that's for sure. You are going to have so much fun when you finally do shop for new clothes!

CatLady -- Such a good question, and I like Ruth Ann's answer; how 'bout you?

Hawaii -- Way to go on the P1 week! 6lbs is fantastic! A return to a happy digestive track is a great thing, too.

Feeling hungrier today due to having exercised 2 days in a row. I have budgeted more food (protein) and hope to find out just how much I need to feel satisfied and not get overly hungry.

Hey All!

RuthAnn....thanks for advice on extra skin. I definitely have some on my arms and in my thigh/hip area. I never liked myself in a bikini anyway...so don't have to stress about that! It will be so exciting for you to get some new tops! I'm wearing a fitted sz 4/6 top today and could pinch myself!

Hawaii. ..You're doing great! You'll be enjoying p3 breakfasts in no time!

SyviesGirl....good for you for the exercising and FEEDING your body want it needs in return!

I have a short break at work...my stomach is somewhat unsettled today - I think possibly due to extra mucus in my system from this darn cold. Started back on my preventive inhaler. I was down pounds again today to 125...I'm either quickly losing muscle or maybe thyroid is wacky since I ate up calories all weekend. I have Hashimotos which has been stable since my weight loss. I have to get some liver levels checked this week, so i'm going to ask for another thyroid panel.

I planned my whole day today and am SO glad I did. I upped my calories to 1600 this week...hoping to get back to exercise if my asthma would settle down.

Hope everyone has a great afternoon and evening!!!!

Oops...missed a few on here...

Catlady....welcome to phasing off soon! My sister has been losing weight and said she may try wraps to help her arms. I'll post what her experience is.

ChipnDip. ...Yeah, my weekend was a bit challenging too. I planned so carefully on p1 and need to take the same care on p4. I did choose places to eat where I could build my own salads...but then lacked good protein. Getting in all my protein is hard when traveling! Yay for size 10 pants!!!!!

Originally Posted by SylviesGirl:
Ruth Ann -- It is very heartening to hear what your plastic surgeon said about the extra skin. I must admit, sometimes I am alarmed by the look of my thighs, though I would not trade extra skin for extra fat, that's for sure. You are going to have so much fun when you finally do shop for new clothes!

CatLady -- Such a good question, and I like Ruth Ann's answer; how 'bout you?

Sylviesgirl: It's good to know that it does shrink back but I suspect the older you are, the less elasticity the skin will have so there will be some droopage (is that word?) that will always be there.

Originally Posted by evemomma:
Oops...missed a few on here...

Catlady....welcome to phasing off soon! My sister has been losing weight and said she may try wraps to help her arms. I'll post what her experience is.

evemomma: I would be very interested in this arm wrapping that you speak of! I am so ready to phase off and begin maintenance. It will come soon enough and I'm ready. Thanks for the welcome.

RuthAnn: Thanks for posting that. I too am WAY past bikini wearing. I just don't want so many jiggly bits when I wear shorts and sleeveless tops, which I am really looking forward to for next spring/summer. Fortunately it's getting cooler here so hopefully by the time spring comes around I will have less cottage cheese thighs and bat wings. And I agree with you, strength training is the way to go. Planks, pushups(wall type to begin with) and squats are in my future. But I wouldn't trade the pounds lost for not having saggy skin under any circumstances.