NewPath - THANKS SO MUCH for your response! I was feeling pretty down about what I've done. I truly appreciate your input...I may try the mini meal approach, too. Normally, I like to eat 6 mini meals a day (on phase 4). Have you maintained using the phase 4 protocol?

BTW...I love your picture! You look like an actress walking on the red carpet (with the exception that it's blue!) I hope that you are enjoying Christmas break!

Hey hey everyone!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas Day.....mine was a little too full of sugar . I'm paying for it lol...VIP managed very well, twerp LOL.

fitgirl: I usually just enjoy easing the rules and not worrying about the fat/carb combination. I don't general allow myself too much sugar on a fun day and always always make sure I get the same amount of water that I usually do. This past Christmas Day was very unusual for me (Santa brought quite a few sugary snacks and some baileys)

idealproteinnewbie thank you for the comment, that is very sweet of you!

cap congrats on your anniversary!

So after a few weeks of the laser and ice therapy on my hips, there is some improvement....but won't be running just yet but I am wondering if I can go to the gym next Thursday just for a walk. I'm very concerned to push it too far so the jury is still out on that decision. It's been two months off and I'm super scared, even moving in bed brought tears to my eyes! I am aching to run....and I know I can't or I'll ruin the good progress I've made. <sigh>

I'm finishing P3 today, and enjoying my first Fun Day at our extended family get-together tomorrow. Family members were scattered around different continents, and it was impossible to get everyone together until tomorrow. The delay actually worked out better for me as it gave me enough time to finish P3. LOL. I am looking forward to having a Fun Day tomorrow. I'll be home for breakfast & lunch, and will stick to a basic P3 day for both of them, but at dinner tomorrow night (which will be our traditional Christmas dinner) I'll enjoy a small portion of dressing and mashed potatoes, and dessert. And some wine... and maybe a few nuts during the afternoon. Then I'll eat P1 on Saturday - then on to maintenance.

I posted a few days ago here that I find myself in between pant sizes. This may well motivate me to go back to P1 early next year and actively diet again until I fit well into the smaller size.

I'll be away from home starting tomorrow for a couple of days, so just wanted to check in now and say 'Hi!' to everyone.

Hope your Holidays have been healthy and happy, and include lots of love, laughter and good times with your families.

Cheers from snowy central Ontario Canada. (We now have quite a white wonderland here - I'd take a pic, but my camera flash is broken).

Ishbel sending positive vibes your way!

Fit girl thank you, love reading about your flat abs and that you stuck to p1 till you got to goal.

Sonayavaina: I reached my goal weight in October.I remember the last 10 pounds going very slow. Then I kept losing and went down to 128. By March I had changed my goal weight to 128. ..so it was around 5 months. I kept exercising the whole time...but I also exercised the whole time I was on IP!
Good luck on those last 10 pounds and flattening those abs! I do ab crunches for the same reason.

Jules: I like your calm approach to maintenance. I am impressed that your coach has monthly meetings for maintainers. What a great support. I don't like being overly stuffed anymore either.

LoriKay: The holidays are rough. There are so many social events with so much food!

Fitgirl:It is very discouraging when you do a Phase 1 and the weight does not come off initially. That does happen. Hang in there. It does work! My personal reaction is to keep exercising even if you are on Phase 1. Others may not agree. Hope your week goes well.

Ishbel: I am glad there is improvement in your hip. It must be hard not being able to run, when you love running. I hope your walk goes well. I love Bailey's also.

Evepet: Congratulations on finishing Phase 3. Have fun with your family! Then on to maintenance.

I finished my last Xmas celebration last night. Things should calm down until New Year's eve. I am in my range and plan on staying there! My resolution is to be in my range for New Year's day.

Hi all
I am back from a week in Mexico. Must get things in check and phase 1 for a week to get off those margaritas and tacos!

Momto2cs: I bet that was a fun week in warm Mexico. Hope Phase 1 goes well.

I did not go to Mexico but had a Spanish coffee last night which now needs to be worked off! Kahlua definitely has sugar!

I just finished a mini survey for the National Weight Control Registry. The subject was beverages and how I have changed my beverages with weight loss and maintenance. My main change was giving up diet sodas and drinking more water. Spanish coffees were not a part of the change!

LOL on the Spanish coffee! I could do with a week in Mexico - did a very cold 6-mile 25-deg run this morning with the group I would describe as "refreshing". I did have 2 tamales with everyone afterwards (I brought 3 dozen of the ones I made with my mom), but plan on being a good girl the rest of today. Heading out to an indoor bounce house with my niece and son later - so I may need that masa fuel!!! I did drop 2 lb this morning, but am sitting at 146, still on the other side of 'the safe zone'...on the plus side I am feeling much better - my cold has passed, but TOM is due to start in a few days - just when I drop a few!!!

Lizrr at least you are in Texas. When I left here it was - 40. Mexico was heaven.
Struggling to get back on track. Might need to wait until New Year's Day! Mmmmmm

Good evening - it's late (midnight), and about to get ready for bed, but hadn't checked in here yet today. VIP & I had a day of shopping, then he treated me to dinner before heading home. (I rarely do this, but actually got a head start on gifts for next Christmas!)

Had a great Christmas visit with my son & his family yesterday, even though we all missed 'little blondie', my granddaugher who lives in Louisiana. We'll see her when she's in MI on spring break. But enjoyed the time with my newest granddaughter, 8 yr old Hailee.

I'm doing P1 for a couple of days, then beginning Jan. 2 will do P1 for about a week. That should get me back to goal, and hopefully a little below where I need to be. Am going to WI at the clinic for the first time since beginning maintenance next Thurs. I plan to keep doing this about once a month for a while. I obviously need the accountability and support, as I've made a real mess of things so far... :/ The few cravings I had while on P1 didn't bother me too much, but they are kicking my butt now! My biggest regret is that I didn't wait until after Christmas to begin maintenance...
My knee is still bothering me sometimes (sprained it 8 days ago), but I've been given the OK to begin working out (slowly/gently) at the gym after the first of the year.

(Yawn)...time to hit the sack. Have a great Sunday all!

Greeniris: It sounds like a great holiday with your VIP and family. The holidays are very hard with old triggers lurking. Good for you doing P1 for a few days before New Year's. I checked in with my coach for the first year. It helped me stay accountable also.

Momto2cs: Good luck getting back on track. Thank heavens New Year's Eve is tomorrow and the holidays will soon be over. I am working on an up pound also and want it gone! In the last two weeks I have increased my levels and weights on ST..I am getting stronger..I am tempted to go back to my coach and check to see if my muscles are bigger.

Lizr: That run in 25 degrees must have been nippy! How fun that you made tamales with your mother.Homemade are the best. Good for you going down 2 pounds. I am in the up side of my range also and working on getting it down before I leave for HI.

Hi, all! Survived Christmas week up 0.6 pounds. Not too worried about that... Especially since I lost 1.2 last week.

Ishbel - take care of yourself. Those orthopedic injuries can be very painful, and sometimes taking it easy is the best thing.

Can someone experienced with maintenance tell me how much of a range you allow yourself before it's time to go back to phase 1?

My goal was 150. I am now just under 145, and would like to stay around that weight. I am thinking I can manage the small fluctuations just by watching calorie intake. Maybe 147 as a high end?

If I can successfully maintain here for 6 months or so, I may choose to go down another 5 - 10 pounds, but I am concerned about being able to maintain, given that I am 50-ish and likely have a slower metabolism than some younger folks.

Maile - Thank you for your encouragement & support. I can't tell you how much it means to have you and others there for us!

Lizzy - I am so happy for you that you're easily finding your way in maintenance! WTG!

Mom2cs - You can do this! You have done so well and have the inner strength to get back on track quickly. Only 2 more days then life is back to normal.

Evepet - how did you enjoy your first free day? Glad to have you here on P4 with us!

LizRR - running in 25 deg. weather??? Wow! And you too will be back where you want to be sooner than later, I know. You are one tough lady, and nothing stands in your way!

Back to cleaning and putting Christmas decorations away. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Woo-hoo - had my first Fun Day! Had a modest sized portion of all my Christmas dinner favorites, plus 2 glasses of red wine and small portions of two different desserts this past Friday at our family Christmas get-together. Didn't feel stuffed or uncomfortable, just satisfied. The only other sweets I ate were a small handful of some type of caramel popped corn that had chocolate mixed in it. I did have a problem getting my normal amount of water in on Friday - think I only got about 1/2 of my usual amount that day. I can see from just entering (as best I can remember and figure out) on Fatsecret that my sodium intake was pretty high on Friday.

I didn't take any actual P1 packets to my sister's, intending to just follow my fun day with a low carb day. So yesterday I ate very low carb for breakfast (scrambled eggs w. bacon); and just ate leftover roasted turkey at lunch with combination of turnips, green peas, carrots, cranberry sauce and cabbage salad (I'm not sure of the salad dressing used, there probably was some fat in it). Skipped the potatoes, dressing, gravy, etc. Yesterday was the 'eat up the leftovers day', so dinner was much the same as lunch, but did allow myself 2 glasses of red wine again and a small portion of one dessert (a cheesecake). I also drank lots of water with lemon through the day yesterday - probably more than my usual.

My weight on Friday before breakfast was 157. When I weighed myself on my sister's scales yesterday morning before eating breakfast, I was at 159.4. This morning my weight on that same scale was back at 157.2. I'm so relieved and excited to find that I've shed that 2 lbs already, and am back were I was before enjoying all that 'fun stuff'. It really just shows me that this is doable. Everyone was very excited to see what I'd accomplished - my sister (she's a sweetie) actually raised a toast to me at the beginning of Friday's night's dinner as an acknowledgement of my dieting success this past year. And they were interested in seeing how I got back to the pre-fun day weight so quickly, through a combo of low carb yesterday + lots of water.

One of my nieces took some good pictures of me yesterday, as I'd explained I'd like to be able to post an 'after' shot here and my own camera is broken, but for some #&*^! reason they didn't come through properly as attachments to the email she sent me. Hopefully I can still get them, and then I"ll (finally) post some pics. I guess somewhere along the line soon now, I'll get my own camera fixed so I can just do it myself. It seems to be a problem with the internal flash.

Anyway - after having experienced this success in getting back to my first pre-Fun Day weight, I'm feeling very optomistic now that I have the tools to keep my weight stabilized, while still enjoying some treats from time to time.

I'm back home now, and that's the end of the Christmas meals & treats for me. Now on to maintenance.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Holiday Season, and Happy New Year!

Fitgirl,
I am following the maintenance protocol, through my coach, but have not officially attended the maintenance seminar at my clinic. I reached goal/maintenance toward the end of October and my weight has been VERY steady...I have even dropped a few lbs. I do a fun meal...though I know that spreading it out into mini meals is probably not protocol...it does work for me!
HOWEVER, I did let myself slip into more than one fun day during the holidays...I kind of gave myself permission. I was up 3 lbs but still within my 3 lb maintenance weight..as I lost weight the week prior. I think that in maintenance we really have to listen to our bodies and experiment with different foods and eating styles.
Thanks for the compliments on my pic..it was taken before I hit goal....so I should probably get an updated pic!
Jules