Hello ladies! It has been a while, but be assured that even tho I don't always post, I do check in frequently for support....doesn't appear that anyone has noticed that I have been gone!! LOL
Anyway, I am hanging in there, but I feel like I am on slippery slope lately. I push until I am close to my WI and then I reel it all in and seem to be maintaining fine. I don't think this is the habit I should be getting into tho...Makes me rely too heavily on the weekly WI and if it weren't there, as someday it won't be, will my willpower alone be enough to keep me focused I know that in my head I tell myself everyday that I will never alloow myself to go back...but those few pounds that creep on do begin to add up and then I am freaking out wondering how I let that happen.
Anyway...the journey continues. I have decided that in the fall..I want to go back on the Green menu for a time...even though I LOVE maintenance Too much of a good thing is really not always that good, you know?! LOL Anyway, I continue to hover around my "red flag" weight, and that is making me nuts. My counselor agrees that losing a few will give me a bit of a cushion...and at that time, the holidays will be approaching, as well as a week long vacation the end of December...and I really don't want to bring in the New Year with regret of having to face losing weight.
I don't know...I may be like Patzi and just stay signed up for Maintenance. They run specials for $59 that cover a whole year, and I think that might be what continues to help me. That accountability truly is priceless.
By the way...I LOVE that Arctic Zero...but it has been recalled! I look forward to its return! Yummy treat!!
Thank you all for continuing to post and be here...
Tami,actually I had wondered what became of you! So don't think no one noticed, ok??? There are so many new people on the monthly thread that I am missing some of the older, wiser, people like you.
First of all, I got a different flavor of Artic Ice and liked it a lot more than the first, but a couple days ago went back for more and the shelf was completely swept bare -WTF, I said to self! They didnt have a sign sAying there was a recAll.
in the meantime, you could try this: whiz frozen berries in the food processor till finely powdered. Toss in a scoop of your favorite flavor Syntrax Nectar and a tablespoon ff,sf instant pudding. Process, adding a small amount of water, till it gets creamy. You could freeze it a while, but I just eat it right away.
It's interesting to see how people manage maintenance. I dont think there is any weakens sin being dependent on the WIs for a while. It's a big learning curve and not a sign of weakness to look for help.
I have this idea that when I am finally there I will weigh myself on Fridays to give me a sense of how much flexibility I have for the coming weekend, then on Mondays to tell me how strict I wil need to be for damage control in the coming week.
Keep posting, Tami- how do we know you are still out there if you are only reading??
Tami...
You mentioned maybe taking off a few more pounds.. For me, it is a lifesaver, as if I gain 2 pounds, I know I am still 3 under goal, and when I lose the two, it is 5 under.. Gives me some freedom, but then again that is me. I need maintenace once a week, especially if I gain for no reason.. It makes me manage the weight a lot easier... I am sure you will find the way that is good for you. It is a challenge at times, but I know I will never let myself gain back the weight.. Good luck to you and it was great hearing from you. You are talking about it and that is a good place to be, which means you will act on your thoughts.
Artic Zero update! Guess what! I got a recorded message from my grocery store saying their records showed I had purchased it on July ___. They said the problem was in the labeling and it does have lactose dispite what the label said. Something like that. Anyway,it is only a problem for people who can't digest milk. My carton was long gone by the time I got the call.
I think I will wait a while to get it again even if it does come back soon. I have been telling people not to make so many substitutions, and here I am doing the same thing!
@Tami-I'm hearing ya! I too hover around the higher end of my comfortable weight a bit too much this summer. I go back on green a while to get back down...wanting to get to below. Thus far I get to my low #, but no lower. Then I get complacent and go up a couple of pounds. Summer is a lot of socializing and traveling for me...and the water retention doesn't help. But I'm going to continue to fight to not gain, then come fall really hit it hard to lose a few. I know if I set my mind to it and stay strictly OP for 2 weeks (like I did for FIVE MONTHS before) I will get there. I just let way too many this and that's keep me stagnent...but my counselor reminds me I am on maintenance. When I'm really ready to lose the last 2 I'll do it. For now it's learning how to enjoy yet spend most of the time eating healthy.
And I'm realizing how much changes to my schedule-and lack of sleep-make it easier for me to make excuses to eat something I shouldn't AND that I can't even say I really want. Tonight I knew I hadn't eaten perfect today so really shouldn't have my fro yo...lately I would have given in just because "it was a hard day" or "a little extra wont' matter..." but I said outloud "I want it, but I'm not going to have it." Reminding myself that I, not my circumstances, are in control.
I wanted to tell you guys about a product I found called PB2. I got it on Amazon. It is powered peanuts with 85% of the fat removed. Don't ask me how.... 2T has 45 calories. I put it in the blender with milk and vanilla nectar powder. Unbelievably good! Like a peanut butter shake.
I wanted to tell you guys about a product I found called PB2. I got it on Amazon. It is powered peanuts with 85% of the fat removed. Don't ask me how.... 2T has 45 calories. I put it in the blender with milk and vanilla nectar powder. Unbelievably good! Like a peanut butter shake.
i'll def. have to order that - yum! would mix well w/ my vanilla bean torte and choc. truffle :-) is there any protein?
Some health-food stores also carry PB2. I know my No-Name Nutrition place does, but I haven't checked whole foods or anything.
I've just been trucking along, mostly maintaining. I lose a couple pounds, and then gain a pound or two, then lose. I've been staying between 156 and 160, which is fine with me, as long as I don't go back over 160.
Stay cool out there! I don't know about anyone else, but it's been a struggle to stay hydrated and find enjoyable ways to exercise with temps as high as 107 here in Nebraska!
We went up to the in-laws' cabin last weekend--it had to be completely gutted and practically rebuilt from the flood last year, and it is finally finished! Yay!
Anyway, I found myself constantly eating/snacking. My husband and his parents eat completely differently than I do now--they eat 3 small meals, and then snack throughout the day. Technically, I realize that's the better way to eat, for your blood sugars anyway, but I need to eat 3 scheduled meals with few if any snacks or else I lose track of how much I'm eating (because I don't record everything throughout the day, just after meals--plus, I don't always carefully weigh/measure my snacks like I do my meals). They mostly had healthy snacks available, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Still, I felt like I was eating all the time, and I was worried I would gain considerably.
I made sure I still went for my runs and did yoga, even if I didn't push myself as much as I usually do, though. They also let me plan and prepare the 2 dinners we had, and we all kind of did our own thing for breakfasts/lunches. I got home and weighed myself and saw I was only up about 2 lbs. I've been careful since then, and I've already dropped back down to where I was. Yay!
One last "yay" for today: I stopped into my favorite consignment shop today to see if they had any new inventory. I found a beautiful size 8 Armani suit WHICH FIT PERFECTLY (I'm actually in a tight size 10 right now, but I've been told that high-end designers tend to run a little larger in their sizes)!!! I googled Armani suits when I got home and saw that they run $1,200 to $3,000. This suit was priced at $200 at the store, AND WAS MARKED DOWN ON SALE for $90!! I am now the proud new owner of a beautiful Armani suit! I attached a picture that I took in the dressing room, so everyone can be jealous of my suit.
Rest assured, I will not be accessorizing it with the dairy-girl bandanna in the future.
Sweet find!! Congrats! And congrats on doing your best and getting back on track.
I leave tomorrow for a 10 day vacation to my family and then camping. Going to try to eat according to the preconditioning menu while I'm gone. I've been having horrible cravings.
Go, Teacherlady! Fabulous suit to complement your fabulous weight loss! Nice!
I had a question for you maintainers out there... I started the official maintenance menu on Saturday and I'm finding it a bit overwhelming with the calorie counting and such... maybe it's just me being used to my menus and such, but did anyone else struggle with this? If so, what did you do?
Also, do any of you do the HNSs on maintenance? How many? I seem to feel better with 2 or 3 per day but the stabilization documents mentioned 0-1 and I don't know if it's a big deal that I'm doing more.
Anyway, I'm just doing my green comfortable menu for a bit to get off some vacation pounds (doing great so far!) but I wanted to see how most people handle the maintenance menu now that I'm closer to that...
Go, Teacherlady! Fabulous suit to complement your fabulous weight loss! Nice!
I had a question for you maintainers out there... I started the official maintenance menu on Saturday and I'm finding it a bit overwhelming with the calorie counting and such... maybe it's just me being used to my menus and such, but did anyone else struggle with this? If so, what did you do?
Also, do any of you do the HNSs on maintenance? How many? I seem to feel better with 2 or 3 per day but the stabilization documents mentioned 0-1 and I don't know if it's a big deal that I'm doing more.
Anyway, I'm just doing my green comfortable menu for a bit to get off some vacation pounds (doing great so far!) but I wanted to see how most people handle the maintenance menu now that I'm closer to that...
Hi Rachel--
Stabilization and especially maintenance were really overwhelming for me. I have found it easiest to just stick with my green menu and then tack on my "extras" that I can have now. I use livestrong.com to generally keep track of my calories, too.
A normal day for me consists of the following:
Breakfast: egg, cheese, toast, coffee with cream, fruit yogurt
Lunch: chicken & salad with crackers or 1/2 roll, or turkey sandwich and veggies with hummus, or leftovers from dinner the night before
Afternoon snack: apple, strawberries, or pineapple (sometimes some cheese, or venison jerkey--my husband makes it--too, if I'm really hungry)
Dinner: some form of chicken/fish/beef/bison, some form of veggie (salad or cooked), and a slice of bread with spray butter, quinoa, rice, pasta, baked potato, or 1/2 dinner roll. (sometimes I'll add in corn or carrots along with my regular veggie)
Evening snack: Cocoa HNS, vanilla yogurt, 2-3 squares ghirardelli dark chocolate
I hope that makes sense. Just counting calories was just too much for me. But if I follow my green menu with the additions from stabilization and keep track of the calories as I go, it seems to make more sense to me. Also, some days I eat a little more, some days I eat a little less--depends on how I'm feeling and what my activity level is for that day, too.
To answer your question on the HNSs-- I usually have a creamy hot cocoa HNS every night still. This (along with my yogurt and a piece of chocolate or fiber one brownie) satisfies my sweet tooth/need for dessert and keeps me from snacking or grazing the rest of the evening. Also, if I don't have time to eat and have to do a bar or shake, I will still do a clear HNS with it if it's one of my high-activity days (a day I run, usually), to make sure I"m getting enough calories and protein. Oh, and I still use the tomato soup to make the MRC chili recipe. My husband and I really like this chili, and we like that it's easy to make for just two people (I double the recipe) and is a really healthy, high-protein chili.
It's not a big deal if you decide to continue using HNSs, as long as you don't become dependent on them, I guess. It's probably better to try to switch to a high-protein, low-cal snack (like nuts or cheese or something), but if it's not causing you to gain and you don't mind spending the money, then what does it matter?
I know that in my head I tell myself everyday that I will never alloow myself to go back...but those few pounds that creep on do begin to add up and then I am freaking out wondering how I let that happen.
Too much of a good thing is really not always that good, you know?! LOL Anyway, I continue to hover around my "red flag" weight, and that is making me nuts. My counselor agrees that losing a few will give me a bit of a cushion...and at that time, the holidays will be approaching, as well as a week long vacation the end of December...and I really don't want to bring in the New Year with regret of having to face losing weight.
