Hey there Maintainers!

Jenny Hope your energy comes back soon.

Slip So sorry about your car! Fingers crossed that it's something that is not too expensive to fix.

RuthAnn Thanks for answering my question in so much detail. I'm getting the P4 videos now and Dr. Wilkinson is saying the Fun Day is mandatory. So I was a bit confused. But I can see that what works for one may not work for others for a variety of reasons. I don't go out to eat that much. There are occasions when my work does lunch so I can save the fun days for that, or if I get together with friends. I don't think I could do a whole day because I would be too worried about the consequences in addition to probably feeling pretty crappy. I do miss my chocolate and wine though. That was an evening ritual for me. Maybe once I get to the top of my caloric intake I can work those in as you have done. With only 2 1/2 weeks of maintaining, I just don't have enough data to make a decision one way or the other.

Joysh Congrats on maintaining over the past 2 years. I just got the video in P4 about the registry. I am looking forward to putting my name on there in December of this year.

eve Thanks for your response yesterday. Dr. Wilkinson has said in the videos that one should subtract the fiber from the carbs to get the net carbs and also suggests the ratio of 3:1 or even 4:1. I think the upshot here is that we all figure out what works best for us and then do that.

We are supposed to get up to 60 degrees here on Saturday. I'm researching hiking trails because I can't wait to get outside. I did some body weight strength training last night, planks, wall pushups, squats, and I was really surprised how much easier it was to do when I didn't have an extra 67 lbs to deal with!

Hi All,

I have the phases four cookbook and find it very confusing too. I do not like the pictures either, because the are art shots of food rather that what the dish should look like when you have finished making it.

I am a maintainer but not really doing P4 my DH is still in P1 and I am too lazy to make two different dinners so we both eat P1 for dinner.

My point is I am so confused or the ratios and fat and carb meals I am mostly lurking around what you people eat.

I am making my own plan till my husband can eat P4 he has only 12 pounds to go but he is messing around. I am a coach but I can not and will not be his food police so I am in limbo.
My tale of woe but I am in such a better place the January 2014. The first time in over 25 years I did not have to make the lose weight New Years resolution.
Maybe when I actually do P4 it will make more sense right now it is an exercise that has no application. So dur it does not make sense.

Thanks for listening.

Debby- I eat mostly P1 for dinner but will add a serving of carb once or twice a week. It seems to work for me. It's great that your DH is also on the program. I think you are wise to not be his food police.

Catlady- the exercise is so much easier being lighter. Looks like your going some good strengthening exercises. Hiking sounds fun. I like heading out in the trails. The fun day can get overwhelming, I tend to do one meal and more snacks (treats) on that day. It's tricky and can easily become a slippery slope.

Joysh- you've done great keeping the majority of your weight off. A huge accomplishment. I think you are smart to get right on top of the up lbs.

Ecdcslim- sorry to hear about your arthritis. I hope surgery can be avoided.

Sally - I saw your link, looks like you've gotten some good advice. It sounds scary what you are going thru. I hope you get a diagnosis and treatment soon.

My WT is coming back into my happier range, 159.9, this morning. I feeling like I just squeaked out that .1 but I'll take it. I have been increasing my protein shakes this week. Not sure if that's helping. It may help me avoid snack on not accounted and unplanned calories.
Does anyone have a recommendation for shake that is low carb low sugar low cal and filling? Am I being unrealistic? The vegan smoothie does not fill me for 3 hrs like it advertises

My WT is coming back into my happier range, 159.9, this morning. I feeling like I just squeaked out that .1 but I'll take it. I have been increasing my protein shakes this week. Not sure if that's helping. It may help me avoid snack on not accounted and unplanned calories.
Does anyone have a recommendation for shake that is low carb low sugar low cal and filling? Am I being unrealistic? The vegan smoothie does not fill me for 3 hrs like it advertises[/QUOTE]

Try skinny gut, 140 cal, 2.5 g fat, 20 g protein 4 net carbs, 0 sugars.

Regarding the fun day, I am rethinking whether that is the best strategy for me as well once I return to maintenance. I found myself eating anything and everything because it was my fun day rather than making a plan and having a few indulgences. By the end of breakfast, I usually was regretting the day already. I might try Ruth Ann's approach of fitting in what I want into my regular days.

What are the P4 videos? Is there a real registry? I though it was theoretical! If it's real, I want to be in it!

I agree that it's best to fit the small indulgence into a regular day. It eliminates the "all or nothing" mentality, which I struggle with also. I never really did the "one fun day a week." However, I also have my 1-2-3 system. When I am on maintenance (and right now I'm not, I'm on P1 to get back to my goal) if I have a few up pounds that I want to shed, I do a 1-2-3. That means one day of P1, one day of P2, and one day of P3, then back on P4. This usually reigns in any tendency to overeat and gets me back on track.

Hey all...quickie check in.

I do fun days one day a week, but I find try to keep my protein up and i keep it under 2100 calories. I think keeping track of everything in MFP helps me stay accountable even on fun days. Some fun days are just my regular 1700 calories but just not keeping to fat/carb rules. P1days help me stay on track. I find i'm not as quick to over indulge the longer i've been in p4 because I like the way I eat even on regular p4 days.

Here's the link for the National Weight Control Registry:
http://www.nwcr.ws/

Re: Funday... I think if you tend to be a person who just goes crazy (pardon the expression) on a Funday, eating everything and anything, maybe fitting in a planned little bit into your macros more often works better for you. I tend to think more of a Funday as a day I don't look at the ratios of fat & carb for a meal or two, rather than a "What 'off the chart' stuff can I eat today?" Meaning for me I will eat my normal foods (with maybe a drink or two or a piece of chocolate) but not worry about whether the macros are divided during the day. Like eating pasta with cheese in one meal, instead of shiritaki noodles with cheese for one meal and pasta for the other.
I think it's mainly the paying attention to what your body feels like and how it reacts to eating certain things at certain times that keeps us in our range. Once we quit paying attention... we go back to old habits every day (instead of 1x/wk if that's your thing).

Liana

I dropped my clinic after 3 months. But...they said they wanted to insure my success whether I used their products or not. They continued to send me the videos all through Phase 1. When I started Phase 2 I contacted the clinic and asked them to change me to Phase 2. Then after two weeks the videos that came were Phase 3 and two weeks after that I got Phase 4. If you still have a relationship with your clinic they should do this for you too.

This is the info that came with the video.

The National Weight Control Registry - Visit the official website. "The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), established in 1994 by Rena Wing, Ph.D. from Brown Medical School, and James O. Hill, Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, is the largest prospective investigation of long-term successful weight loss maintenance. Given the prevailing belief that few individuals succeed at long-term weight loss, the NWCR was developed to identify and investigate the characteristics of individuals who have succeeded at long-term weight loss."

Canadjineh and catlady, thanks for the link! I really thought this was an IP theoretical registry.

catlady After ball crushing cold here we've used the sled two days in a row. She always cries when we come in doors...so far my plan to get her to love the outdoors is working muhahaha! (her dad is not an outdoors kinda guy but I am)

slipfree Let me clarify, I haven't skied with baby although I have seen people do it with a special sled and if I had the extra $$ I would be tempted. We just don't have any snow this year right now so even breaking out my skis isn't in the cards, I don't want to ruin them. Plus being on Phase 1 that's too much for me.

westwillow Nah, unless I get this preggo weight off faster I doubt I'll be skiing anytime this year...maybe if we get a really awesome snow I'll break them out and suck it up.

I find I'm way more relaxed mentally this time in Phase 1. I was a little anxious to start it as I hadn't done a massive reboot since I hit maintenance but it's like riding a bike for me (so far!) and I'm calmer about it. I'm not as 'neurotic' although I'm still following the rules to a 't' it's almost like I trust it this time were in the middle of it I wouldn't trust that I would lose weight and I was anxious to get it over with...I want it over with but mostly because I miss fruit.

When I first started maintenance after a year of being on Phase 1 I most definitely was gorging on food for fun days. I learned quickly not to do that, mostly because I like how I feel physically when I don't. I would keep my total carb count around 125-135 and would have to be careful if I went over 150 (on normal day). I went by total carb and didn't count calories (that's what worked for me though!). I didn't use MFP I used 'My Net Diary" only because if I used MFP or another public tracker too many people on here wanted to be my friend and quite honestly I didn't need people seeing what I ate everyday LOL (its too much of a competition sometimes and some people compare way too much) it was for me and just for me. BUT ALSO! My net diary gave me the dot graph so I could see the swing of my weight over months...I used it until I was pregnant and when I started gaining I had to stop because I had to gain...so I didn't want to see that or I'd stress about not being able to fix it. Once I'm back in maintenance properly I will use it again. If only to help me be confident in my food choices again. I found if I ate something and went up by tracking it and choosing food to off set it the rest of the week it gave me that confidence to not permanently remove that food from my diet. We all like to have those foods once in a while right?

Near the end of a few months I was keeping it to a meal...which is where I'm headed this time so I don't have to have a full day of Phase 1. Which is how I believe maile does it.....but she can 'weigh' in on that when she's back. I hope she is well and I think of her when I do my daily read of this site.

See you all lighter!

Hi Maintainers;

Lots of great posts to read! The topic of a fun day is a good one. I tend to do what Ruth Ann does, not a fun day but a treat here and there. I just don't feel good after a whole day of not eating well. But, a treat here and there is what works.

Jenny; a shake that I always make is a cup of frozen mixed berries, almond milk, a few drops of stevia and a tbsp of peanut butter. Sometimes I add a banana to. Its filling I find. And I always feel best digestive wise with this for breakie.

I am 2lbs over my low range goal weight so am feeling good about that. I find when my portions and calories are in control, that is when I see the scale go down or stay the same. And yes Slip, yet again, remembering that sugar is from the devil. hee hee I had a nice run on the treadmill at the gym yesterday, always feel so great after and its my therapy as I always say.

Have a great Friday Maintainers and keep up the great posts! I enjoy them all!

Thanks all for the feedback on the fun days. I have to admit I am one to "go crazy" as Liana put it when I feel there are no restrictions. And I definitely felt terrible after all of the overindulgence but that didn't seem to sway me. It's part of my relationships with food I'm still working on.

Hi all,

This TOM is kicking my butt scale wise. Yesterday, I was mid range today the scale was 2 pounds up and that made me 1 over my scream weight. Turned down happy hour with my friends this afternoon because of it Bummed because I could have seriously used a glass of wine!!! Maintaining is always about tough choices.

Have a big family dinner at a restaurant that is not very non carb friendly tomorrow. Going to have to do my best. Niece's birthday, so the restaurant is her choice.

fun day, I only do a fun meal but if I am eating out -dessert is part of my plan.

Hawaii, sugar is the devil, lol!

Pishposh, everything in its own time. As Ishbel said, we often adjust our free day routines over time. Be kind to yourself.

Jenny, hope you have a good run this weekend.

Joysh- I really like your positive attitude about maintaining.

Eve, hope you are doing well.

I agree with Slip, posh. I've done the 'eat everything in sight' Funday a couple times - mainly it's coinciding with TOM and mega-stress. Just because you've done it that way doesn't mean it will always be like that. There are adjustments over time as we get to know our body's reaction to how we are eating. You will be fine, just keep in mind how far you have come!

Ishbel, DH was planning on heading out with friends for a x-country ski this morning while I was at work, but believe it or not... it was snowing too hard. It would have been white-out conditions and the whole point of x-country is to enjoy the scenery around you. We had another severe winter weather warning again although not as bad as last week. He went out for a snowshoe close by this afternoon instead. Do you snowshoe too?

Liana