Linda – OMG, the French toast sounds a-ma-zing! I saw the pic you put on FB, I just wanted to dive right into the screen. Another week and it’s at the top of my list!
Sure sounds like you’re enjoying P3 and holding the weight too, I’m finding that so encouraging!
Just have to say, I’ve been starting to get some of the foods I’ll need for P3. I’ve been getting just the plain ones so far. But I do love the sound of some of the ones you mentioned - toasted coconut/almond milk… vanilla almond butter… :drool: I may have to venture into flavors, methinks!

mama – glad to hear the good news for your daughter. And I’m so sorry for the loss of your friends.
I hope your father’s treatment goes well… what a week for you :hug:

Largo – Good to hear the trip to Calgary went well, it’s always a challenge to fly anywhere and take food along. How nice of your daughter to have “your” food available, she must have been raised right :lol:
I hear you about Canadian dollars…I just went to get some US$ for our Florida trip in a few weeks, OUCH!!! :eek: And I completely understand the scale anxiety, I won’t have much access to one most of the time we’re away – but my plan is to start P4 the day we leave, so I’ve decided not to worry about it, just do my best, and que sera, will be. Hope you have a nice visit and don’t freeze too much :lol:

Sue – you’re going to have such fun on your cruise, lucky you!! Hope you have a chance to check in here to let us know how it’s going.

HIS and Beth – it’s good to hear that you’re both holding the weight in check and finding your balance in maintenance. With all the running, I would think the lbs might be up a bit, all that new muscle, right? So HIS, getting below 155 may not happen, and if you feel good running, maybe that’s your happy place?

MiWi – good decision on the eggs, that’s always been my go-to when I’m hungry…and how nice that the scale rewarded you.


I had my weigh in this morning, lost 1.2 which puts me at 140. :) So officially 5 lb from goal. My home wt this morning was 136.4, and I’m finding that I’m starting to think of that as my “real” weight.
I’ve been on P2 for almost a week, and it’s going well, not as hard eating all the protein as I thought it would be. And nice to have a loss this week.
Looking forward to P3 in another week, I’ve made some breakfast menus, bought some of the food, so I think it should go well. Just not looking forward to those few lb everyone seems to gain, but I know it's expected, so I'm hoping I wont stress.
We’re planning to leave for Florida on the 20th, which will be my first day of P4. I’m happy with my decision to do my full phase off ahead of vacation, instead of trying to finish to goal. I’m so looking forward to not having to be so restrictive with food when we’re away. I think as long as I eat sensibly I’ll be OK.
We’re going to Toronto for a few days this coming week, my Christmas present :D (Springsteen concert tickets one day, and a play – Gaslight – the next). And dinner out of course. Looking forward to a few days in the big city!

Hey everyone!
I have been MIA this week as I have been in professional development classes and haven't had the time to jump on 3FC. It sounds like everyone is doing well.

Blue- I always consider my "true weight" to be the weight that I am on my scale, when I am naked, first thing in the morning and after I have peed.

Last time I checked (Tues) I was down to 142.4, so down another 0.8#. Slowly inching my way to goal, and we'll see what Sat. brings. I have been OP this, but not completely 100%. I have been in these classes all week and although I have been eating salads with grilled chicken for lunches (all within protocol), it is still not food that I prepared myself so I am never really sure if it will affect me or not.

I pretty much consider myself to be 100% OP only if I am preparing and eating all of my own foods (no restaurant foods). It's weird, but I have certainly found that my best losses are weeks where I do not eat anything that I did not prepare myself.

Happy Thursday from a rainy day in Florida. Have not seen Sun �� since we arrived. Finally had a break in rain and was able to get a 4 mile walk in. I decided to start P2 today. I think it will be easier to do when traveling with others. We board in early afternoon and will try to go to dining room versus the buffet.

Sue

mama, I live in a pretty small, rural town, so don't have a lot of options for other gyms. There's a Crossfit place but I don't think they'd have a dietician on staff. A brand new 24-Hour Fitness just opened up; I could call them but you probably have to be a member to get any services there.

blue - good to hear that P2 is treating you well. I was the same, the extra protein didn't bother me a bit!
smda, gosh, I hope the sun pops out tomorrow! P2 is probably going to work great for you on the ship - more choices for lunchtime.

After I complained about the scale being too high for my liking this morning, I, um, relieved myself of some of that weight, and then went out for a 5-mile run. Afterward, before showering, I weighed myself again: 155. FOUR POUNDS difference, in the space of a couple of hours. Just goes to show how fickle the scale can be. But I'm still committed to going back to more veggies for snacks. Carbs were getting me into trouble.

During my run today, I noticed this weird pain/discomfort in my lady parts region....It hasn't gone away, despite stretching and rest. I'm praying like crazy that it goes away tonight, and am planning to walk or completely rest tomorrow if it hasn't. My fear is another stress fracture in the pelvis, which is kind of common in female runners over 40. UGH. I've been taking extra calcium... I'm going to run on Sunday, regardless.

So just an update on Calgary and caring for my two DGS for the next three days. Dad and Mom left yesterday, by 10 last night I thought I was going to die if I didn't get to bed. The good news is I didn't lose a child or wreck the car. The bad news is I left DGS boots at the dogs agility class (yes , I have soccer practices,school pickup and drop off and dog agility classes, think I am too old for this) and lost my favorite coffee cup. Went to Costco and after standing at checkout of about 15 minutes realized I didn't have my Canadian debit card:o.
Anyway so far stayed OP. Today will be a bit tough as I am meeting a friend for lunch and have 11 family members coming for lunch tomorrow. Lots of cooking to do.
Thank God the weather has been amazing. Well off to a shower, didn't have time yesterday. Everyone have a good day
Oneuh hope you are feeling better but you had a great weight loss.

Just wanted to check in with everybody, but I really need to finish my notes so I can get out of here. Just wishing everyone a fabulous weekend.

Hey ladies - so after a trying week with the snow and deadlines, I'm finally over the hump and see light at then end of the tunnel.
HIS - :D hee hee - yah, before the snow had a couple mornings like that...weight would be 147 - 148 at 5am, post-pee - but after my runs, 145 - 146 was the norm. Love that post-run drop on the scale & looking forward to getting rid of this snow and getting back to my 5am runs
Did you see the FB article on Runners World yesterday or this morning about weight loss / running / building muscle? http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/gain-muscle-lose-fat?cid=soc_Runner's%20World%20-%20RunnersWorld_FBPAGE_Runner’s%20World__Health_Nu trition
Good read - emphasizes the importance of protein
I am also starting to not freak about the # on the scale - my 'uh-oh' jeans are to the point I can pull them down without unzipping them...even though I have been continuously 3 - 4 pounds above goal...my body is shifting and changing again with the additional muscle

Largo - keep staying strong! Sounds like you got your hands full with the GS's!

Blue - congrats on the loss :broc:

I'm over the hump but it meant putting in a full 14 hour work day today - no x-training :( not a lot of movement period and I feel icky. Looking forward to a long run tomorrow...gotta figure out what to do for the addition 35 minutes on the treadmill - hope something good is on TV at 7am lol

Good morning everyone!!!
Blue you can't begin to imagine how amazing the breakfasts are..I thought I could, but until I got here....wowzers is all I can say! That milk is really good! I mixed it with Quest chocolate milkshake as my snack the other afternoon and it was oh.so.good!! I think of something Beth had written a while back about having a swig right out of the container lol- I find myself doing that a couple of times throughout the week-and thinking of her-*chuckle* (just so no one is totally skeeved out- I am the only one who drinks it) I bought some peanut butter and sunflower nut butter too. I can see now where peanut butter could now be a trigger food. (I opened it when I got it home to have a teensy taste) DBF doesn't seem to want to eat any of my stuff- so it's pretty much his and hers lol-my black bean spaghetti, his Prince spaghetti....I hope he wishes up before his medical issues become insurmountable.....Congratulations on the scale this week! I have decided at this point, my weight is what it is in the morning -nekkid (as HIS would say) after my coffee has worked its magic. It seems to bounce between 125 and 127 point something. I can live with that and make my HS number be 130, but my truly scream weight 135-and I (based on what I have interpreted here) will probably have to adjust the numbers once I get myself into a groove with exercise (which I really hope will be running) You must be ready for P3 in the next couple of days. I can't wait to hear how much you loved your 1st breakfast~I'm glad that I didn't use OIAJ as my first - it's good - but the eggs and toast and yougurt- individually - so much more enjoyable .....Have a blast at Springsteen and your mini vaca!!!
Mama I'm so sorry about all of the stressors you've had to face this week. Thinking of you and praying for good results with your DD and dad. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friends too-*hugs*
Jenny Congrats on the scale- you are doing amazing - like you, unless I was in control of what was being cooked, I was hesitant to consider myself 100% OP.
Sue you are on your cruise and I am envious. I hope that everything is wonderful- ahhhhh-relax and have fun!
HIS Good luck with the run tomorrow- I really hope that the pain you are experiencing is nothing serious!! LOVE the four pound thing- as if I wasn't hoping to be able to enjoy running because of how much I see you and Beth do, now I really really want to :)
Largo Sheesh, you really have your hands full. That sounds nothing short of exhausting. Good luck!!!!
Mi Hoping you have a great weekend too!!
Beth Hoping the long run goes well and the TV gods are kind - lol. Glad to hear that you are over the hump. I am trying to keep ahead of things at work, but as I forward things on to the others for comments and revisions, or ask for their updated stuff- they procrastinate and there I am left "holding the proverbial bag" at go time. I am one of those people that likes to get things done!! I hate things hanging. What a feeling it must be for the "uh-ohs" to not even need to be unbuttoned- lol- that's awesome -
So, I thought shopping for P3 was daunting.....last night I started picking up stuff for maintenance. THAT was very unnerving. I kept trying to find people's go to things on here and I was having a dickens of a time... My phone wouldn't cooperate, and I was frustrated because I know I have seen things- this thinking or myself suc*s (slightly tongue in cheek) I picked up some black bean hummus, and some Cedars Tzaziki with the thought that that can be used with celery as a snack? I also got a sweet potato- the smallest one I could find, I think I would consider it to be a medium- but I'll weigh it to be sure. I hope that it will be okay to have with a piece of filet mignon... That's been my weekend steak through this whole thing. That and asparagus on the grill- I also bought some black been spaghetti- again numbers and ingredients looked good- I didn't really buy anything else because I was afraid to- oh a can of organic black beans- don;t know what I am going to do with them though...All the numbers and ingredients looked good (?) to my untrained eye. I have pics in my phone to show my coach today when I go in for my weigh in and get the rest of my P4 paperwork. With what she has given to me over the past 2 weeks, I can't believe there is more stuff to read....I don't mind saying I am really really nervous, slightly scared of maintenance . I know that I have to find my rhythm, get my in my groove- but I'm so freaking scared that I will end up eventually getting frustrated and say wtf and give up. (It's my m/o to eventually not pay attention and wind up back over 200 lbs.-been there, done that and had the closet full of clothes to prove it) 51 years old, will I finally get it right this time?? I've set MFP macros to be 40C,30F and 30P-I'm going to double check with my coach to make sure that's right for me-so much to really learn. My weight has stayed pretty consistent through 2 & 3- I'm happy about that. If I am learning one thing, it's that I like to be a follower-tell me what to do, give me clear instruction to follow and I am in. Everyone always said "Oh, you are a leader, you have that personality" yeah-I'm a bossy beech - but it's about following the rules- lol- I know , probably doesn't make a helluvalotta sense- I bought some flavored sugar free syrups for my coffee- I don't know why-I've ALWAYS been a black coffee drinker-the flavors just looked really good- I figured I could use them as something diferent and a once in a while treat- I added a little mocha flavor this morning - it was good- a little sweet for my liking - should probably not eyeball it -though I have gotten really good with that. Today we are off to the movies to see The Finest Hours in 3D. It happened right here off the coast of the Cape in the 50's. My mom says she remembers it, DBF was also an extra in it. Hoping that he didn't wind up on the cutting room floor -Allrighty, time to have my OIAJ and get my day rolling. I have to pick out something good to wear to clinic too- she wants my after picture. I now wish that I had worn something more fitted for my original picture. Have a great day everyone. Happy Weekend- and Beth NO SNOW!!!! I'm feeling your pain after the winter we had last year :)

Happy weekend everyone!

jenny – you’re doing so amazing on the reboot, you’ll be at goal in no time.

HIS - that’s too funny about the 4 lbs :lol: I worry about snack choices in maintenance too (thinking ahead, I know ) --- before IP, I was always one to grab something carb-y, I am going to have to make a list of better choices, maybe keep some portioned out snacks in the fridge/pantry.

Largo – good to hear the trip was OK. Don’t let those little cuties run you ragged, find a way to get some “me” time. If you can. :D Makes you wonder how you ever managed to do all the “mom” stuff when you were young, doesn’t it? Have a great visit!

Beth – That’s so interesting about the changes you’re noticing with the extra muscle, really underscores the point that exercise is going to be essential in maintenance. Funny about IP, and one of its weaker points is the lack of emphasis on exercise; certainly for those like me, who aren’t gym rats, (and likely will never be) it’s going to be a challenge to find something I enjoy that I can do often. I’m too old to start running that’s for sure! But I know I'll have to find something exercise-y for me to focus on or I’m going to be in big trouble.
I love the idea of your “uh-oh” jeans - I’m going to have to find me some– that sounds like a much better way to judge than the fickle scale. A great idea for me when I’m away, I doubt there will be a scale anywhere, and I don’t think I’ll be much inclined to go looking for one.
I am so looking forward to vacay, but I still have a P2 week, and 2 P3 weeks to do here at home!

Linda – Oh yeah, breakfasts!! I’ve been reading through some old threads, found some great ideas, have been putting them into MFP to get myself ready, but OMG it is making me hungry to get started. One week of P2 behind me, another week of P2, then next Saturday my first breakfast! Everyone says OIAJ is good, but like you, I am so looking forward to toast, PB, fruit!!!! I’ve never tried almond butter, but I am going to look for the vanilla almond you mentioned, sounds yummy. DH has been using coconut milk for a couple of years, I’m going to try the almond milk too. I can hardly wait, I feel like a kid being let loose in a candy store :yes:
Funny that you’re talking about shopping for P4. It’s been so much on my mind for the last few days. As you know,I deliberately planned my phase off for the 4 weeks before vacation, so I could start P4 the day we leave. I would have so much more of a comfort zone to have a few weeks of P4 at home where I have more control; I admit I’m stressing out a bit. I understand the concept of fat/lunch – carbs/dinner .. but I don’t want to blow myself out of the water, and even using MFP while away might be hard, and there’s a part of me that really doesn’t even want to keep track, just do my best to eat right, and just enjoy!

P2 is funny. I haven’t experienced much of the “hangries” all through P1, and you’d think with the extra lunch protein for P2, it wouldn’t be an issue. But yesterday I could have eaten twice as much! Well, it was probably my own doing, though, my schedule was thrown off. I had to go out of town, knew I might not get to have lunch till late, so I had my morning spinach shake, and took along 2 HB eggs to have at lunch time, in case I got back later than planned. So it was about 1:30, and I was pretty hungry of course, and I had the eggs, and half a quest bar, got back home about an hour later, had some veggie soup with leftover chicken. Then about 4 I was really hungry again, had a proti thin bar, then dinner about 7 – pot roast and cauliflower, but I only had 4 oz beef because of the bar, and it was filling, but I still had my evening snack of a Quest shake.

I just have to tell you all, I have the sweetest DH. :cloud9::val3:
Yesterday he came home in the afternoon with a dozen red roses. No occasion. He just said I had been doing so well on the diet, he just thought I should have something special. He’s surprised me a few times along this journey with unexpected flowers. :)

My goodness, I have rambled on here. Laundry day today, I'd better get that looked after.
Have a great weekend, all!

Good morning everyone!
The scale was kind to me and I am now down to 141.6. I wasn't really sure what it would be since last week was a small drop and the last couple of weeks have been challenging, to say the least.

I have modified my goal to 135, as I think this is where I want to phase off. So, with that, I have 7# to go, and I am hoping to get this accomplished in the month of Feb. I am starting to get "diet fatigue". Plus, it doesn't help that I am feeling good and my clothes are looking really good and everyone is telling me how good I look :p But alas, it is taking a mental toll on me that I feel so bound to the diet at this point. I have definitely committed to 4 more weeks, so possibly if I get to a little below 135, I will take it to the end of Feb. and start P2 in March.

I really like the idea of uh-oh jeans too, and will have to go look for a pair. I do believe that monitoring your clothes (or measurements) in maintenance is a superior method over the scale. Yes, you need the scale to keep things in check, but if your clothes are fitting good and not getting tight, the daily fluctuations of a few pounds shouldn't really make a difference. This is NOT a lesson I learned the first time around. I was so driven by the number on the scale that I was constantly ruled by it and was doing too many P1 days to stay at a certain weight. It was a constant battle and a vicious cycle that I do not recommend at all.

I do plan on setting a scream weight, but this time, I am going to go by clothes. We live and learn, right? :)

Oh-oh jeans
 

Just try to make your oh-oh jeans non-stretchy... none of this 30% lycra 'denim.' Get the real Levi's or Wranglers. Works the best if you know there is NO MORE SPACE in there for extra pudge, lol.
http://www.picturesanimations.com/c/...owgirl-gun.gif
I know I've posted this elsewhere, but don't forget if you are feeling overwhelmed to start P4 or just feeling clueless - there is a helpful menus thread... http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...g-today-3.html

Liana

Liana THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Greetings from the Caribbean Sea.

This is our 3rd day on the ship and first day with a little sun. It was racing the first 2 days in FL and a cloudy cool day on Friday when we boarded (I was thinking I should not have left my jeans in my folks van. Yesterday was cloudy but warmer and I did some walking /jogging on the deck, followed by a massage, lunch and a nap. I started today with a walk / jog (I am jogging every other lap on a 1/7 th mile track. I take stairs almost everywhere I go including from the stateroom on 9 to the pool on 17. I would not believe I could do that when in week 1 it was hard to just climb up the basement stairs.

I switched to P2ish on Thursday and have been doing well on the ship(I think ). Hard to measure food. When we came on board lunch in the dining room was beef tenderloin and steamed veggies with a lettuce salad with lemon. The meat came with a sauce and I scraped it off. Dinner was shrimp with lemon appetizer, salad with IP dressing, and fish with steamed veggies. Dessert was cheese :) followed by ip lemon crispier. Yesterday 2 poached eggs with a tiny piece of ham and IP vanilla drink. Lunch was curry chicken in sauce (did not taste sweet) steamed veggies and small salad with lemon. Dinner was a medallion of beef with shrimp and steamed aspergus with salad and Ip dressing, shrimp appetizer. Dessert cheese with a fork tip of strawberry ice cream. Had a Nojito (virgin Mojito) made with lime, lemon, mint, and 1 on of grapefruit juice (normally 2 oz - I asked them to cut in half) and leave out simple syrup ( I sweetened it with stevia). Vanilla crispy square for dessert.

I have been over 15,000 steps each day. I did an initial WI on he gym scale and it shows me down only 1. Pound from my last WI over a week ago... But not same scale and I had the big C problem, in part because I have missed my mess yesterday.

I look at the dessert menu, walk by the desserts and fruit and not tempted much. I have learned that I need to speak up a bit to get what works for me:). Any thoughts or advice?

Jenny - congrats on the loss. I am currently on a time op goal, but I think I will be moving to a BMI goal in the healthy range. For now I will focus on 22 weeks OP. I will likely go off and do maintenance and then do a reboot to the next goal.

Blue - please let me know how your plan works for your switching to maintenance and leaving for vacation at the same time. This is what I am planning on doing for Hawaii although I will not be near my new potential end by then.

Beth - glad to hear that you have made it though the rough patch at work.

Linda - you will do great in maintainence, you are a different person than when you started this journey.

Liana - I am still living in my stretchy jeans, but am looking forward to a time when I to can have that pair of uh-oh non stretchy Jeans

DH is struggling on cruise with discomfort and leg issues. He started some new exercises when he went to PT on Monday. I wonder if that is part of the issue. We are heading to an acupuncture consult in a few minutes.

Bingo! Mine are Levi 505 straight leg size 8 - 99% cotton, 1% spandex. No "curvy" wiggle room in these bad boys ;)

Linda - Welcome to P4 :D I know today didn't go as smoothly as you wanted but hope you enjoyed that sweet potato tonight!

Blue - what a great DH :) Sounds like P2 is going well - sorry about the hangries...I had pretty much stopped playing around with feeling hungry by P2 so if you are truly hungry, try a hard boiled egg

Sue - Glad the weather is breaking and hope it is beautiful the remainder of your cruise. From what I read, you are doing great (food-wise) - keep it up!

I wish we could bump that P4 meal plan thread

Last night was my brothers 50th birthday party and while I knew I was going to have my splurge meal (well, another one when you count the CF cheesecake Wednesday), I got a little carried away...mostly because I kept telling myself "well, you ran 9.2 miles this morning..."
No excuses - but there was food everywhere and I wasn't drinking - but ended up setting myself in front of a bowl of (amazing) crab artichoke dip and Stacy's Pita chips...it was a true love affair lol & that was on top of shrimp, smoked brisket, homemade coleslaw, and a veggie platter
I also had 2 desserts :o I didn't stop nibbling until 1am!!! :eek: :o I am sure that was part of what I saw on the scale at 10am but still... :eek:

Needless to say, I did a true, hard core P1 day - Quest shakes for breakfast and lunch, lean chicken and roasted zucchini for dinner, tea and a Quest bar for evening snack.
We also took the plunge and got a family pass to the rec center, so I went up this afternoon and used an AMT (adaptive motion trainer http://www.livestrong.com/article/51...-vs-treadmill/) - I hadn't heard about these cardio machines before (my gym at work has old equiptment)- really liked it - low impact & had a great workout! It felt good after my super-indulgence ;)

I'll see how the scale looks tomorrow morning before deciding what to do for breakfast. Hoping a lot of the indulgence passes by tomorrow morning ;) Yay probiotics!