Hi Everyone!

Liana: At least you were able to see the data in MFP and now you know. Hormones are horrible. But this won't last forever. Hugs. :hug:

Mimi: I too am a nut butter addict. I have two jars on my counter right now, a dark roasted peanut butter and a maple almond butter. Because I know that I have a problem with it I measure it out in a 2 TBSP measuring spoon and dip my celery in the spoon and when it's gone, no more. I only allow myself one serving a day. If that doesn't work for me I mix up some PB2. Not the same but not nearly as many calories/fat. I have one that is like Nutella as well.

Jenny: Yay for bike riding. So glad you got a bike and are out there enjoying it. Glad to hear the family is on the mend.

Grateful: I switch back and forth between the nuts and the nut butters, but I agree with Liana, the macadamia nuts are my favs.

My appetite is finally coming back as evidenced by the two up lbs yesterday. I have been eating less than my usual 1700 cal in MFP(still faithfully recording every day, regardless of what I am eating) but the last few days have had a lot of restaurant type meals (catered in at work for lunch). Last night I was putting together my favorite blue cheese/walnut/raisin/chicken salad and when I opened the blue cheese there was this runny yellow liquid stuff in it and smelled worse than it should. Not eating that and its going back to the store. The salad is not the same without it.

My daughter is home for a couple of weeks before she starts her internship at a hedge fund in Manhattan. We will have the holiday weekend together and there will be Tex-Mex and BBQ since she can't get that kind of food in Portland. I'll be as good as I can.

Waaaah, Andrea, I feel your pain... Blue cheese is a highlight in this salad.
"Last night I was putting together my favorite blue cheese/walnut/raisin/chicken salad and when I opened the blue cheese there was this runny yellow liquid stuff in it and smelled worse than it should. Not eating that and its going back to the store. The salad is not the same without it."

Sounds like the correct mold died in your package :( and now it's just spoilage. Ugh!

Liana

This maintenance stuff is maddening. I had some fun this weekend and was up 3 pounds. Not surprising but really frustrating because other then a huge meal on Friday and some cake (well, I did have 2 1/2 pieces) I didn't go super crazy the rest of the time. Stuck to salads, lean protein. Anyway, it took me 3 days in P1 to get back down. Then yesterday, I went back to a sort of hybrid P1/P4 day. Salads, a bunch of protein bars, but a P4 dinner with sweet potato and I had 2 very small cookies. AND UP 3 POUNDS OVERNIGHT. Now, partly it might be that I didn't eat enough and then added in those carbs. But, jeez louise, this seems so unfair. I know the 3 pounds can't be real. I debated doing P1 again but I decided I need to get this figured out and stop yo yoing.

Shasta I don't have much smart to offer, other than I feel your pain:) Maintenance is tricky business.

I've been shuffling around my high end of weight, got it back down, then saw it go up again, and then on Tuesday popped back up 159, close to scream for me, got on the scale yesterday - 2 days later -hoping not to see 160, and it was 151. I had to get on and off a few times just to make sure the scale was working. I guess my hormones have been fluctuating and causing water weight change, and then also I stayed home from work that day and slept about 14 hours (the last 6 weeks has been bananas for me). I've seen this happen before, where I get a lot of rest on the weekend and I'll see a big drop. I think when my body feels the stress is leaving, it feels it can release something it's been holding.

Ah well, I'll take it:) regardless of why.... a nice surprise for me though. Back up to 153 today but I'm still happy with that. After this weekend my life stress will ease up slightly, and I can get back into more regular exercise again - it's been pretty haphazard lately compared to my usual routing.

Thanks for taking a ride with me of all the details - it just helps me to write these things down and share them with people who have the same mindset.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Hahaha -- love this, Jenny!

Just catching up, everyone -- have been away for a few days. Thanks for all the nut butter views. Andrea, the two types on your counter right now are way fancier (and healthier) than the creamy Jif I've been having everyday! And Amber, I'm also a dipper and mix with yogurt to get more bang for my tablespoon. I've never tried PB2 -- does anyone know if that's something that can be incorporated into smoothies?

Shasta, it's all part of experimenting, isn't it? I am up/down about 3 pounds almost everyday. I've noticed a strong relationship to how much water I've had the day before, almost regardless of what I've eaten. DUH, right?!!

Gonna have to get on this chicken, bleu cheese, walnut bandwagon this week....

Hope everyone's having a relaxing Memorial Day!

I have a jar of PB2, it's pretty good to add to smoothies and works well when mixed with my Udo's oil for a fat (kills 2 birds with one stone - for hot flashes instead of doubling up on my fat) and made into Indonesian food (satay sauce) YUMM! It's not quite the same as real ground up nuts, lol, but works pretty well when you want that flavour without the fat. I like it mixed in Greek yogourt with berries for a rich PB&J flavour.
Being Italian, I am a HUGE fan of Nutella, but know that the stuff is crap, being mostly sugar. So, I don't even go for the Chocolate PB2 in case it sets off a craving, lol.
http://globalnews.ca/news/874931/how...zelnut-spread/

Cover your eyes, it's VERY SCARY!! :eek::eek::eek:

Liana

Thanks, Liana -- am going to add it to my next amazon order! That PB&J flavor is what I crave every morning for breakfast, hence my typical muesli/Greek yogurt/ berries/PB (or almond butter) bowl :)

Andrea - have a lovely visit with your daughter. How long is her internship in Manhattan for? I hope you can get there for a visit and some fun. Glad your feeling better. The bike has been awesome, only gone for 3 rides and the longest was 26km.

Amber - that is a great wooosh you had! My mom will experience something like that when she feels the stress leaving her body. Enjoy getting back into your regular exercise routine this week I know you've been missing it.

Liana - a friend of mine at the gym has been struggling with menopause and has gained 18lbs. She has lost 50 before all this started. I mentioned your oils and suggested a naturalpath. Did you consult with one or do all the research on your own?

Shasta - your right to remember that it's not 3lbs of fat but it could be the added salt and the shockproof to your body going off reg eating routine. Just get your water in any maybe stick to clean eating p3 and the up lbs will come off.

I'm still up 2lb and have TOM. Tried on the dress I got for my sister's wedding which is this Saturday, it was already tight to do up across the bra line at the back and DH had to really work hard to get to close. Hoping once TOM goes it will be easier and doing P1 to really work to get 2 maybe 3 off.
Signed up for my first triathalon August 9:)

Happy Tuesday Maintainers!

What a wonderful weekend I had. Spent Friday afternoon thru Monday afternoon with my daughter. We have such a good time together. I would hang out with her even if we weren't related! We went to a Memorial Day concert put on by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in our world famous Myerson Symphony Center on Saturday night. They played Bolero by Ravel. One of my absolute favorites. I got goosebumps. Afterwards we went out for Thai food and dancing. It was such fun. I'll see her again on Friday night and then take her to the airport on Sat. morning.

Food choices were not the greatest this weekend but I'm only up about 1.5 and I think most of it is water retention. There was Thai food, donuts, BBQ, pancakes, but also lots of salads. I thought of my Canadian friends here when we visited a specialty donut shop and one of the choices was called "Canadian Healthcare". It was a maple bar with a piece of bacon on top. Of the four different donuts we tried, we all agreed that one was the best.

Jenny: She is going to be in Manhattan at Vontobel (hedge fund) for about 10 weeks. She's an econ major. She really wants me to come visit her at the end of her internship in August so we can do some fun stuff. I'm going to try real hard to do that.

Hello Liana, Mimi, Grateful, Shasta and everyone else.

Hello fellow Maintainers!

Andrea, sounds like you had a great weekend with your daughter, I hope your August trip works out. Hope you are all healed up and back to normal.

Jenny, I hope the dress works out for you and that you have a great time. And awesome about the triathalon much respect!

I love my PB too, Mimi I'm a kraft creamy girl, I just can't bring myself to eat the real stuff :) That's what my sister gets and the kids love when I visit because she buys me the kraft stuff :)

It's been two months now that I've been in maintenance and I had an initial up of 5lbs it seems and I've been holding steady at a day to day flux of 1-2lbs.

I have been thinking that I would like to lose a bit more, not that the 5 up lbs made a noticeable difference to how I see myself or how my clothes fit. I just find that while I am happy with fitting into a 5-6 I feel flabby so what I'd like to do is tone up and lose inches more so than worry about a scale number.

I thought about going back to P1, but that's not going to help me tone up, so I'm thinking of doing the 21-day fix to help jump start an exercise program. I've never done a "workout" program/video/class so I am hoping that by doing this through a coach it will be like a personal trainer I am accountable to, plus I know the coach so it's more personal. I'm very uncoordinated, so I'm not comfortable going to a local class yet :) and the only gym here is on the base and it's very restricted to outside use.

It's so great to read all the useful information in this thread, I need to post more often, but it probably wont be useful :)

Thanks IPeeps :)

Hahaha, all you Kraft Creamy, Jif, and Skippy gals.... you do realize that they are full of starch & sugar, right? ;) That's why it's so much more attractive than just ground nuts, heheheheh.

Woot woot Jenny, looking forward to hear about your first tri-experience!!! We want to see you looking triumphant at the finish line. Get someone to take a photo!!

I agree about the stress pounds... I decided to not focus so intently on this uppage of mine the past few days and I must say I feel a bit more relieved about it... AND I weighed this morning (I hadn't for about a week) and I am down to 135.5. So there we go - stress=cortisol=weight up. I have to get myself some more Udo's oil as I only have a couple spoons left. I didn't consult a naturopath as such, but did a bit of research on my own about herbs for menopause and discussed it with the owner of the health food store I frequent. He has his staff take Nutritional Consultant courses and get registered with the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants.
I have been going there for years and the staff know me and my goals and health issues pretty well. I never get the feeling that they are just trying to upsell me. They usually suggest a couple of things to try - starting with the simplest and cheapest.

I haven't been to a symphony for a few years, it seems that I always have something else scheduled that can't be missed on the days they perform here during symphony season. :/ One day it will happen again... I love hearing the power and grace of the musicians.

Liana

Liana - I need to keep your wise mind in my crazy head :dizzy:. I'm up 4lb today. I know it's not real weight, I ate IP yesterday!! I can't get my rings off and feel swollen in the ankles so know that I'm holding water. I went for a self tan to deal with multiple tan lines in chest as the dress I'm trying fit into shows a lot of my chest. It feels like the harder I try to get the lbs off they come back x2.

Ok... Now I breathe and think about your comment about stress + cortisol = weight and to keep calm and know staying the course will work. Ahh feeling better already.

Hello all you lovelies!

A weird thing is happening. I haven't been eating by IP standards now since my surgery. I lost about 4 lbs afterwards because I had no appetite. Then my daughter came and we are eating out a lot. I'm still making smart choices, well maybe not last night, there was frozen custard involved. But my weight is not all over the place like it was when being so strict. True, I am at 140.4 and that is 2 lbs over my beginning maint. weight, but I truly don't understand what's going on. Maybe this is the same thing that evemomma discovered. Keeping within the calorie range and making smart choices can maintain the weight as well as the 3:1 ratio. I just don't know. What I do know is that when I was very strict and then deviated a bit a big change would show up on the scale the next day. Now, not really. This is exciting in a way because it shows there is more than one way to do this maintenance thing and frankly the idea of recording every morsel in MFP for the rest of my life is daunting. My daughter leaves on Sat. so I will get back to my norm, which is home cooked meals. Then I'll see what happens.

Jenny: Hope that dress is getting closer to fitting! I know you'll look gorgeous. We need pics!

I was just thinking about some of the gals yesterday... missing evemomma, RuthAnne, Maile, etc. I hope things are going well in their lives. I do get it that people move on to other interests & activities... just hoping all is good for them.

Don't forget you also have less stress now that medical issues are fixed, and relaxing with your daughter is a joyful thing, Andrea. Perhaps that helps too. If nothing else, we have learned to be mindful and make good choices generally. That can't hurt either. :angel:

Practice your Zen breathing, Jenny, lol. Calming thoughts are being sent to you.
Keep us posted on your 21 day fix, DD! Good plan!
Hello to the rest of the gals. :wave:
Liana

Hi everyone… I’ve been reading every day or so but haven’t been able to post much…. so helpful to check in and hear how everyone is doing.

I’ll write more tomorrow but here to say this Maintenance business is not for the faint of heart…. grrrr…. so many challenges the last two weeks. But hanging in there.

I’m Zen breathing with Jenny….:)

And - I get to go to hot yoga again tomorrow …. finally…. that will be very nice for my poor body… it’s been through a lot lately.