Congratulations on the losses! I went in today and was down 1/2 pound... still down, so I'm happy. I also think it was higher due to me having steak last night. Hopefully it will be even lower on Saturday's weigh-in.

I did my body comp today and am down from 51.2 % body fat to 41%. Still high, but I'm working on it. Doing more weight lifting and such so I hope to continue to do better. Just since February I've lost 2% body fat, but only 3.5 pounds... but my couselors said that it was good because my water and everything else stayed the same, so I'm only losing the fat. So, I have to retrain my mind to think in terms of body fat.

Btw, I am also well-endowed up top, so I appreciate what you ladies have said about the body fat... interesting.

Galadreal - I laughed about your beating someone with their arm for a slice of cake! I felt like that too... often, it was lack of sleep or stress or not keeping my water up that caused it. But I appreciate that you got the pizza... I personally cannot do that, as it is a major trigger (along with the chocolate meal replacement bars and nuts) for me.

Rachels77 - I am lucky in that respect, as long as I don't feel deprived I am fine. As long as I don't feel like I can't have something I am ok. I just hate being told that something is not possible, and when I am I tend to get stubborn and bullheaded and drive myself up the wall. Or in this case into the arms of the waiting pizza delivery guy (not really, we went and picked it up, but it does not sound nearly so dramatic). But I had it, I am fine now, had my NOT ON PROGRAM food, and now I am back, refreshed and not feeling so restricted. Had leftover "Fried" chicken strips that husband made last night (melba toast, egg, spices, chicken, spray of I-can't-believe-its-not-butter" and bake). The recipe was in the cookbook, very good. That was lunch along with a little leftoever asparigus and some cucumber slices. This morning I made greek yogurt and peach smoothies.

Thankfully my only real trigger food is chocolate. Which is why I am a bit concerned about this weekend. You see part of my Valentines Day gift from Eric was a voucher for a 60 minute deep tissue massage with chocolate oil and hot stone treatment. I set it up for this Friday (off for spring break). Of course, the thought occurs to me afterwards, how dangerous it is for Gail to be driving around town with free run of the car and a credit card, smelling like chocolate while on a diet. I told Eric he might come home and see nothing but a giant pile of Cadbury egg wrappers and me laying behind it in a sugar coma.

Thank y'all for date on body fat, etc.. Much appreciated.

Want to congratulate all those that lost weight.

kegip09...
I am not sure I am answering your questions, but I am a client of MRC, and have made it to maintenance.. I used the Meta Slim Menus while losing weight, as that is what the center put me on. I weighed in twice a week, and now weigh in once a week, my choice.

This week, I am adding a large candy bar to my eating to see how I do on next weigh in. I mean one of those biggies... I gained last time I tried it, but am trying again. And trust me I will relish every last bite. My triggers are chocolate, so want to see if I can handle just the one, and if there are craving frenzys after eating it. My poor husband can never give me a box of candy, as I don't trust myself around it. Could not just eat one and let it go, so never have anything like that around... Sigh....

Wishing you all a great day and great weigh ins.

Patzi

Hi ladies!

Well, I am tickled pink today..3 weeks in a row, the exact same weight to the ounce!! Being on Maintnenance now, that is very good news I THINK I might actually be getting the hang of this..slow but sure. Never will I allow myself to believe "I got it." I remain on guard..knowing my triggers and trying my best to avoid them. One day I will be stronger, but for the time being, I am content with avoiding things I know would be tough to resist.

I think I really like Maintenance now that I have figured out ways to relax on it and just enjoy it without going crazy on it!

Keep up the great work, ladies! It is worth it!

Tami - That's great news. Enjoy it.

Awesome job Tamikl, very congratulations!!

patzi-that sounds wonderful. I hope for your that doesn't cause gain this time I'm one week from maintenance and I don't know what that will look like for me, but I've been looking at the weight watchers ice cream bars and hoping that I can have something like that without gain. Sweets are definitely my downfall. I want to be able to enjoy some without going overboard. But I'll remind myself to be patient. This week I got to add in a fat at supper and none of them were even appealing but I really missed PB, so my counselor has me doing 1 Tbsp PB with my afternoon snack. 3 days in and no gain, so this makes me happy. It really helps me feel full longer in the afternoon, which is great since in the summer we tend to eat later.

tami-that is awesome. Can you share with a maintenance day looks like for you eating wise? I'm a week away and getting curious about exactly what I will be eating...I'm actually really satisfied with this level of food on this week of stabilization...if I could add in 50-100 calories of some kind of chocolate each day, I'd be a happy mama. (The MRC hot cocoa has been a life saver).

1.5 lb to go! (if you look @ my ticker, it looks like I'm there, but I technically have 1.5 to go). Actually 150-155 is the range I want to stay, so 1.5 to get to the low end of my range. And that's with adding PB (and 60 cals of dark chocolate the past 2 days). This has so worked for me. And I think the key in transitioning is slowly adding in the foods to see how I react...both in cravings and weight. Cravings are kinda the biggest. And I haven't added in a variety of starches yet, still stickign with the 35 cal bread, melba toast, pinto beans, and recently did do crackers (40 cals of crackers isn't much). But oh I'm excited!

Congratulations Gina - all this maintenance talk is getting me even more motivated to get these last few pounds off.

Keep up the good work ladies.

Gina...
If I can help you at any time, please feel free to ask.. I had the candy bar, and I will see.. Do you believe it did not taste as good as I was anticipating?
I can't believe I am saying this, but I did not finish it, but I had to throw it away, as I did not want it around. I got on scale after eating it foloowing day and was up one pound, but have until Tuesday to get it off, so not fretting over it. It is just a way of life. . Good luck to you and be proud of yourself, as you deserve it..

Patzi

Congratulations, Gina! You will enjoy Maintenance because it isn't so strict

You asked about my typical day of eating...of course it varies, but most of what I do is very similar to the Green menu...just adding to it more variety.

For example

I have a starch every meal...and keep it at 100 calories or less....no more Melba toast!! LOL
I continue to reach for high protein snacks...but I have added these "Kashi" granola bars that I really like and have one around 3 pm...everyday OR I have a snack at that time..like a vitatop (100 calories), a 40 calorie fudgesicle, a cheesestick, an egg, pickles, or something up to 150 calories max. In the evenings, I still do my "creamy HNS" and have bought a variety of puddings from Diet Direct. There are many flavors and I put a little FF whip topping on and I feel so spoiled!! LOL

At breakfast my favorite is a greek yogurt with a homemade egg mcmuffin. Those used to be a huge favorite of mine...difference now is a 100 calorie english muffin, a turkey sausage patty, and egg beater with tobasco..and I have 1/2 of a kraft single and dip in salsa! YUMMY I also have reintroduced cereal some days...but am choosing high fiber/protein kinds. If those are boring, I discoverd "Kellogs chocolate Krave" cereal Oh my...just sprinkle a few on my cereal and makes the bowl very yummy.

Lunch continues to be salads mostly with a variety of different proteins on them...with a starch and I will have a fruit mid afternoon. A recent favorite is "Ants on a Log" OMGoodness! I LOVE these...I love peanut butter, too. There is my veggie, protein, and fruit all in one!

Dinner continues to be a protein, veggie, and a starch...I am just not as strict with making sure it is totally LEAN every meal. Last week in fact I made smothered burritos and I put mostly meat on mine, and used an 80 calorie wheat tortilla...very good with a large salad. The tortilla was my starch of course. I even smothered some green chili on, just not a lot. This is a rare meal...but I feel like I can justify it occasionally.

I just have more of a variety in moderation now...If the family wants pasta, I will have a little of it as my starch "side" and still have a main protein.

I am not counting calories...just being mindful of what I am putting in my mouth...and it appears to be working so far

Today, my hubby and I want to go split our favorite sandwich at Subway..the "Spicy Italian." NOT a regular part of my menu, but because of it, I will plan a lighter dinner like Tilapia or something...That is what I mean by just being mindful...and planning ahead still helps

I have 2 HNS per day because I like the clear early in the day and my creamy is always a treat at night...

pss..That book "Made to Crave" is awesome...thank you sooo much for recommeding it

Hope this helps!

It is so inspiring reading everyone's successes. Way to go! I just keep plugging away. I am so close to being under 200 pounds I could scream. In fact, I probably will scream when I get there! This morning my scale said 201.2 - down from my all time high of 280. I'm still not sure where I want to end up - time will tell.

I went to weigh in yesterday and found that my center has changed their hours. They are now only open three days a week. I sure hope this doesn't mean they are closing. They didn't say anything about it last week when I weighed in, which I find odd.
Have a great day everyone! It's sunny and nice here in Colorado.

Chickadee

Congrats, Tami!!! That is awesome! Gives me hope.


WI in this morning and dropped a pound from Monday. ONE pound to go!!! Woohoo!!!!!! Also, with all this talk about body fat, I decided to ask what mine was because I never paid attention to it before. Turns out the last time I had my body comp done was on February 17. At that time I weighed 147 pounds and my BF% was 28.8%. So I guess I'm doing pretty good. Unlike others, I'm not as...ahem...well endowed up top. Guess that may explain the lower number. My counselor and I agreed we'll do my next body comp when I reach my goal. So it's looking like next Monday or Thursday will be the big day. I'm so excited.

Jen
That is great, Congratulations!

Tami - I like the way you're food journal looks. I plan to basically keep eating like I am now just adding more variety. Also if I want something for dessert occasionally I will let myself have it. I like desserts as long as they aren't chocolate. I do NOT like chocolate unless it's white chocolate. I know I'm "weird".

Jen - That is GREAT! One more pound to go. I'm excited for you. Congratulations!