Bc Girl: I like your approach of eating sensibly with little indulgences. Really we are all trying to make maintenance work for our life styles. Also keeping yourself emotionally healthy in relationship to food is so important. I am trying to keep a positive attitude towards food..and as you said..don't let yourself be defined by food.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You learn so much about yourself from the posts here!

Well.my coach gave me Phase 4. I am still losing inches...hooray and .4 pound.
I definitely like the idea of no treat day unless you are back at a certain weight!

My big box of Sf syrups arrived. I am very excited!

I am going to San Francisco for 4 days next week to see my daughter. It will be a totally eat out vacation. I am already thinking I should just stick to Phase 2 again as I cannot see restaurants offering me Chobani yogurt and low carb bread..LOL.
However, I love that city and hopefully will walk up those hills to make up for any eating!

Yay you! Phase 4 is great. If you're visiting family my suggestion is to make a quick grocery stop then all is easy because you can really control your "in home" and the eating out part is way easier (chicken caesar for lunch, pasta for dinner etc. = the big thing I've found eating out is to watch portions, usually sharing an entree is enough food for one .

I was one who has kept losing, even into phase 4. I have been tracking my eating on MyFitnessPal and have upped my intake to 2000 calories a day and I'm staying at one weight now.

I just joined a gym today - had a great workout (it's amazing how losing the fat around our muscles actually makes them show up!)

Aloha Linden. I'm thinking of you !

[QUOTE=woolberger;4095764]Aloha Linden. I'm thinking of you ![/QUOTE]

Mahalo! What a nice thing to read first thing in the morning. I hope you're having an absolutely splendid time. Oops, it's raining in both Hilo and Kailua Kona. It NEVER rains in Kona. Did I mention Hilo is the rainiest city in the United States?

But there's a silver lining. The thunder and lightening storms are spectacular AND they mean there will be snow on Mauna Kea. So you can lie on a beach and see a snow-capped mountain.

Thanks for the travel advice. I swear that caesar salads are one of the safest things to order without cheese or dressing..when traveling. Good idea on picking stuff up on the way to places.
I have not gained on Phase 3 so far either.

Upon reading Phase 4..I do not understand the grouping of cheese and yogurt under fats.
Also..does this mean that I cannot stir fry my vegetables at night?

Aloha nui Woolberger! Even if it is raining it is warm over and you can go swimming! Kona is the sunniest spot on the island and should clear up!
Have a wonderful trip.

maile- in regards to Phase 4 fat in the evening- you can still have it just in a very limited quantity. I still use it for searing vegetables in the evening and haven't run into any troubles with it. So excited for you to have 'officially' reached maintenance- great job!
woolberger- aloha! So good to hear from you- all this talk and thoughts of Hawaii have perma-seared a stupid grin on my face
bcgirl- I know what you mean about the muscle definition. Can actually believe that I have them now that I can see them They were covered in too many layers before. One of the greatest aspects of IP is how much muscle it leaves you with after the diet. Every other diet I've ever been on robbed me quite a bit by the end. So nice to get to goal and still have muscle. Thank you Dr. Tran!
pxlkitty- has the cold & tom passed? Hope you are feeling better for the weekend- no fun to be on days off sick...
granby- I lost in Phase 3 & 4...
I'm going to Calgary this weekend to visit with family. It really does present a bit more challenge when you're away from home as tracking is unavailable (as I'm writing this I'm remembering pxlkitty saying 'there's an ap for that'- will have to download it) and food choices are sometimes less than ideal. Thank you Maile & BCgirl for having already just had this conversation cause now I can use the tips too! Have a great weekend all!

I didn't have TOM this week, not sure how that rumor got started. I'm happily back at 146.0 (1 lb over goal) and unhappily have antibiotics for my sinus infection/ear infection. Hopefully I can rest this weekend.

I am interviewing people all day in 30-minute increments, and it was easier to sit through all the calls than reschedule.

Drive Careful, the roads from Ponoka south are horrible cars and Semis in the ditch everywhere... hopefully it will be gone by the time you get on the road... and my gosh is it cold out here today.... this weekend must get thermo undies socks and a winter coat... I miss not being able to throw on 2 hoodies and a coat and be warm... but I do like being skinnier more...

TOM could have been me... as I whined on Monday about my yo yo life. Glad you are back, I am hoping I will be back there so I can start phase 3 on Tuesday... I also have been having sinus headaches which I hate because nothing really works for them... and been drinking tea like a mad woman... today Pumpkin Spice from Tim Hortons, rather good and is finally warming me up....
get some rest Pxlkitty...

For tracking on my iphone I have the myfitnesspal app and it works really well. It syncs up to the website and my ipad so regardless of where I enter the data it is all kept up to date.

I'm back from DC and caught up on this thread. Interesting discussion on the free day and following day of penance. This really resonates with me too, especially after the gorging I did on Thursday, which was my birthday. I chose it as a free day, but went way overboard and couldn't sleep all night because I was so full of rich food I was quite uncomfortable. I think my free day needs to be kept a little more reasonable and I won't feel guilty the next day, nor sick all night!

The trip was mostly great. Bringing shakes and bars really worked. I only ate one meal "out" at the conference and the one night of excess for the b-day. My boss will be shocked and pleased when he sees my expense report!

The best part was all the compliments from colleages I haven't seen in 50 lbs. I even got a lot of compliments on my thrift store outfits. I was almost the only one there not in a black suit because I don't have a black suit and don't want to invest the money until I decide if I want to stay at this weight or lose a little more.

It is good to be back. I was afraid to step on the scale this morning. Maybe tomorrow. My husband suffered as the single parent all week so I booked a trip to Maui for next summer (has to be summer - he's a teacher) so he'd have something to look forward to as he ran Cupcake to day care and swim lessons.

Hope everyone is having a great IP weekend!

Capricious..That is good to hear as I really do like stir fried vegetables or roasted vegetables with olive oil sprayed lightly. I am going to study Phase 4 in the archives today. Hope your travel is safe this weekend! Let me know if you have any more tips. I am also thinking that I could have a crispy cereal package for Bk a few mornings and then drink coffee while others eat. Also I will be away from my scale!

Pauley..Happy Bd! I hope you went to a nice restaurant in DC. You made me laugh when I read, " with colleagues I have not seen in 50 pounds." That really is how we view time!
I am wearing thrift clothes also..in fact need more sweaters!

My first day of phase III, greek yogurt, 10 cherries, toast and 1 T of peanut butter, yum.... stomach feels a little unsure right now. lol. It felt sooooo good to eat fruit and yogurt, that was the only thing I really missed on this diet, it really helps to keep me regular. It is freezing here too, below zero last night and still a heavy frost, not disappearing too quickly. We bought an Edenpure that arrived yesterday, everyone that has one loves it. It is keeping the family room nice and toasty without having to heat up the entire house. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!