Thanks for your sweet words, SallyE! I would only eat back my calories if I were to do INTENSE cardio (say 45min or more). But, my exercise intensity just isn't there normally.

Happy Friday

Welcome Hellafat to maintainence :)

Andrea - great exercise routine, love the domestic goddess workout

Sally - I don't usually enter my workouts anymore on MFP I know the calories are hugely exaggerated. I always have a shake, usually lean fit from Cosco or a handful of almonds.

Eve - yikes you've had a busy week. I hope your kids are feeling better. How common is scarlet fever? My son just got a rash on his back tonight but I think it's a food allergy. Good job not stress eating. Now I'm going to google scarlet fever

Hawaii- planning all your workouts can be time consuming and tricky. I find sticking to a pretty set routine helps and then I just plug it into my phone and put on the calendar at home.

Ecdcslim- I hope your feeling better.

Liana- have a great holiday!

Down to very low end of my range which is the lowest I have been since ending P3. Took the day off work to take it easy and feeling a little better. I think the cold is moving to my chest. Going to try to take it easy this weekend. Cancelled the gym on Sunday which was difficult for me.

Right now, in addition to stressing over starting maintenance, I'm having the worst problem with clothes. I shouldn't think of having clothes that are too big as a problem, but I really don't know what to do about it. My 10's are too big, and I'm reluctant to buy much in size 8. I feel like I'm getting my hopes up too high. I know it will keep me more accountable, but it's like charting unknown territory. I guess I'll just have to jump right in and enjoy how I'm looking in clothes that actually fit. When I started, my 14s were tight (I had been as high as 18s about 4 years ago). There really are worse problems to have.

Happy Friday Maintainers!

eve: So sorry about your kiddos being sick. Ya'll just can't catch a break from the bad germs!

hella: Consignment shops and resale are your best friends right now. I was wearing baggy 10's as well and decided to just give an 8 a try. I was really surprised when it fit. It takes a while for the brain to catch up to the body. I have only just recently not headed straight for the plus sizes in a store. I'm transitioning now from 10's to 8. You know how much better you feel when your clothes fit.

Jenny: Congrats on being in your low end! That's awesome. But sorry to hear you still aren't feeling better. Hope you get some rest this weekend and get rid of the germs!

Hawaii: Hi!

Ruth Ann: Where are you?

Have a great weekend everybody!

Hi all,

Very busy week here too. Looking forward to a quiet weekend. We are expecting snow and ice, so I will be hunkering down.

Eve, hope the kids are on the mend soon.

Hella, I am between 8-10s too. Dress pants are the hardest. Have faith in your learning process in maintenance and believe that you are going to be successful- in other words- invest in the 8 s! You've got this.

Andrea, I agree with you about wine. I try to save it for free meal.

Jenny, good for you on the low end! Hope you can catch up on some rest this weekend. Movies with the kids?

Happy Saturday!

I feel like I can finally stop and take a deeeeeep breath....ahhhhhh!

Jenny.....Feel better soon! I think delaying your hard workouts and letting your body recover is a good idea.

Slipfree.....Stay safe with the bad weather. We are having an unusally mild winter compared to last year. SO appreciative of that these days!

CatLady....Woohoo on 8's, girl!

HellaFat.....It is hard to know exactly where you're body will be. You are going to see changes as your skin bounces back some and possibly as you build muscle with working out. But I have found that getting some well-fitting clothes REALLY helps remind me of the progress I have made!

I'm a hard shape also. When I was heavy, I was REALLY hard to fit. I was in 14P pants but practically busting at the seams with them! One of the best inventions they've made since I gained weight (and pretty stopped shopping in stores unless ABSOLUTELY necessary) was better "fit" in pants and jeans. I'm a curvy fit. What I have found is that I can wear a 6P in a curvy fit pants but have to go to an 8P if it's more of a straight or boy/cut fit. We have a nice FB swap n sell site in my area. I have picked up several pair of nice jeans and pants now that I know what I wear. Had a few issues with fit, but for $5 bucks or so, who cares? I have two pair of 6P Anne Taylor LOFT pants that just aren't my cut if anyone wants them!

OK...I am proud of myself that I took my kiddos to an Italian place last night (my hubby had to work late) and I stayed within my goals for yesterday. Phew!

I have switched up my Greek yogurt addiction lately for 1% Cottage Cheese. Still very high in protein and much gentler on my tummy.

Have a great day!

Hello all; I just posted a note to everyone then didn't realize I was in the October Newbies thread! I think I better wake up before I do anything else today!! Grrrr!! hee hee

So, I am gonna say hi to you all. I am doing well. I hope to get the exercise in this weekend, that helps me with the challenge of weekends. And I always feel so much better. Keep posting, I enjoy them all!!

Hello Everyone,

Eve I'm glad you have a chance to relax.

Jenny I hope you feel better and congrats on being on the low end


Slip I hope the weather improves soon

Hella I think you and I are on a similar path right now. I start maintenance next Thursday. I agree with what Catlady and many others have said--great fitting clothes are really important. I've been picking up new pants at the goodwill and value village. In this area, they are organized well and have a lot of selection. I know from visiting other areas that is not the case everywhere! I also stop in at consignment shops. Lately, when I go to the goodwill I can just go to the size 6 pants and pretty much anything will fit which quite frankly I've had a challenge wrapping my brain around...... I really recommend giving it a whirl instead of wearing baggy clothes!!!! I will start setting aside a new clothes budget soon, and go on a big shop sometime this spring to buy new clothes.

In terms of shape, I'm in my late 40s now, and prior to this weight loss have been overweight since 10 th grade. I have always identified with being the woman with the "giganticus butticus" and was wearing talbots curvy pants all the time. Now, my shape has changed, and the talbots curvy pants do not fit correctly in smaller sizes, I have a straighter figure. Also strange to process!!!

I have my first day of maintenance planned out in MFP, and it includes a glass of red wine and a square or two of theo dark chocolate at dinner!!!!! I've decided I will just incorporate treats here and there and see how that goes rather than having free days.

I've been a bit nervous because next weekend DH and I go away to celebrate our anniversary, and I've been afraid I would botch maintenance that weekend. As I get closer to it, I've realized all I need to do is keep tabs on things in MFP and adjust accordingly. We will see how it goes....

Enjoy your weekend!

Morning all,

Hella - I agree with the others, get some clothes that fit, you will be amazed at how you'll feel and how everyone will really notice the new you - such a positive reinforcement!

Great weigh in today, back to my goal and starting P2/P3. My coach suggested 5 days of P2 and 5 days of P3 so that's what I'm planning.

My clinic had the walden farms caramel dip on sale - 1/2 price! so I just cut up a Quest apple pie bar, stuck it in the oven for 5 mins on 400 (I'm roasting my veggies as hubby & I do taxes) and then dipped the pieces in the caramel….OMGGGG so good, total slapped down my sugar craving! I even fed DH a piece and he loved it (6'4, 178 lbs, eats what he wants, sigh).

Have a great weekend guys!!

E

Murrcat it does looks like we are in similar places in our journies. Are you only doing 1 week of Phase 3? I had planned to start maintenance next Saturday after 2 weeks on Phase 3. I stopped going to my clinic after about 3 months in. My coach was very nice, but not too knowledgeable. The only thing I got from her was my weight, measurements (which really didn't offer me any added motivation) and overly expensive products. I switched to alternatiives and got my coaching from the wise women who frequent these boards. I thought the IP protocol calls for 2 weeks on both Phase 2 and 3. Both of those phases have been difficult for me, so if I'm doing it for longer than I should, I'd really like to know.

Hella, I ve done 2 weeks of phase 2, and will complete 2 weeks of phase3 and start maintenance this coming Thursday. I agree it is a challenge. I definitely have diet fatigue and am ready for more flexibility.

Hi Maintainers - I am about 10 pounds away from moving to P2 so I'm researching the phases to make sure I'm prepared. I get Phase 2 but am wondering if I understand the rest of the phases and what is a rule of thumb versus a must do. So, I get that you should have one meal which they say is breakfast where you spike your insulin with carb, fat, protein, But does that really have to be breakfast? Why? What about doing that at lunch with say a sandwich instead?

Shasta, great idea to plan ahead. Congratulations on your success. My coach said that the idea behind the phase 3 style breakfast was to spike your insulin levels and rev your metabolism within a hour of getting up.

Shasta: Slip is right. Dr. Wilkinson (IP videos) recommends a major insulin spike at the beginning of the day. The P3 breakfast thread will give you some great ideas for breakfasts. One thing I found invaluable was the P3 worksheet. Spend some time reading through that thread and you will have a complete understanding of what needs to be done. Fill in the blanks across for each food type, some type of grain product, a fat, a dairy, a fruit. Don't get caught up is yogurt a protein or a fat. It's both. Just make sure that the individual components don't exceed the line item amount. Add up the totals at the bottom to make sure you are getting the right macro amounts. Make up several sheets with different breakfasts and then just repeat them for the two week period.

For P4 a must do is the fat/carb separation. Fat ratio 3:1 at lunch and Carb ratio 3:1 at dinner. My Fitness Pal is must for me in figuring this out.

Hi everyone, new maintainer here! Did 7 days of maintenance before taking a fun day and it went well. MFP is great at working out the macros and I've been doing the fat and carb separation and enjoying the foods I eat. Yesterday was my first fun day. More of a fun meal at a restaurant - enjoyed every bite of dessert! Totaled 2400 cals for the day and was happy to only be up 0.4 lbs this morning! Still at the low end of my range. Let's see how the p1 day works to get it off now!