There are some sodas with Stevia I believe. I have not tried them. They seem pricey. I think one brand is called something like Zevia. But, every now and then I want a soda.

I also think wine is recommended over beer. It could be for the same or similar reason why so many of us don't do well with bread. I seem to bloat a smidge with bread. It does make me tired so it is no longer fun.

I have tried the CSP shake. Thank you very much for the suggestion. I did not have all the items on hand the first time and got a little too creative. I do think this works best with a creamy type protein shake. I used 1/2c coconut water for my water and chocolate almond milk since I was using my chocolate protein shake (not whey) and it was okay but i think I over experimented. The next day I made it with the Jay Robb whey and did not use the coconut water. My chia seeds don't form into a thick gel, it's more like tapioca. So, it was actually fun to drink. It gave me an idea and the next time I might put miracle rice in it to create something similar to bubble tea.

Maile. Glad to hear you are doing okay despite challenging circumstances. Soon you will be home. Hope your family is doing okay.
I think it is all the spices in Indian food that keeps the weight from sticking. Food moves through you. Doesn't stick around. Just sayin'. Also makes you feel good.

Ishbel. I love reading how you are transitioning and learning and discovering.

New Englander. Glad to hear you are off treatments.

Yesterday I had some IP soy balls. I do believe this was the first time in a long while that I had a sweet IP restricted snack the normal way. No addiction. No cravings. No overuse.

Has anyone ever mixed tea with their protein shakes? All this talk about Indian food has me thinking Chai and I wonder how that might mix with a shake.

I have never been a big pop drinker so it isn't a big issue for me.
I am super carb sensitive so no way I would handle a real coke. I have been maintaining since the end of Feb and this only the second one I had. It was more about having something with the alcohol which was also the second drink I have had since beginning IP and going into maintenance. But you all are right about it being full of crap which is probably when it didn't feel great to be drinking it. From now on on the rare occasion I have a drink I will stick to white wine and only a glass.

What I am having the most difficulty monitoring myself with is fruit. I could eat it by the bushel full but can't handle the carbs in it.
So learning everyday what will work in the long run.

Pat

Yes it is wonderful to lean on P1! In the past I would have kept ballooning...now I can nip it in the butt (so mine doesn't get too big!!!).

Good morning maintainers. I'm still having trouble believing I belong here!

Had an uber busy weekend with the ACS Relay for Life. I knew there would be an abundance of unhealthy foods, so I brought my blender and a bag of spinach to make shakes. I also purchased two extra salads from the cafeteria on Thursday and made one lunch each day of the event. I'm not saying I was perfect, but I was much better than I normally am at Relay.
I'm still having a hard time allowing myself mentally to vary from P2 protocol - even tho I'm P4 now.
I did P2 yesterday and will again today, and have avoided the scale until tomorrow morning. I hope (((pray))) that when I step on I won't be disappointed.

Like Patn and many others, my job is really time consuming and I have yet to figure out time to exercise regularly. I hope to start walking and hiking more next week when school ends for the year.

Do y'all do a P3 day to "phase" out of your P1 reboots? or is that just part of going "back to normal" in maintenance?
Wishing you all a great OP day!!!

Purple, glad someone's watching me, besides me! LOL

I've had the stevia pop (not bad for a change), I just like my sugar free syrup in club soda. I have post nasel drip (ew sorry!) so having a pop once or twice a week really is nice and I will NEVER have full sugar pop. For lack of a better description, it cleans out the back of my throat. So my choice is club soda with raspberry syrup. OR, right now, splenda ginger ale.

I don't like beer or and I'm allergic to the sulfates in red wine and never really found a white wine I liked. I think on reflection I'm just not the boose hound I used to be...I think I choose food.

OOO - forgot to add (edit) - I used the vanilla shake with chai decaf tea as my snack sometimes in the evening (during Ph1) - it worked for me!

I'm weighing daily, not ready to give that up. BUT, I don't think I could use my clothes as an indication of how I'm doing. I think stretchy jeans weren't helpful when I was 300 lbs so they probably wouldn't be now. I have decided and discovered that my rings are better when I'm 159-163 and there is a marked difference any higher. So I might try to pay attention to them more...but who am I kidding. I'm a numbers gal, I'll weigh in daily.

Funny because fruit is one of the carbs that do not bother me at all. Any grain and sugar are lethal to me. I am sure if I drank a soda it would blow me up. When I do have a drink I tend to do a fruit juice mix. I know it is sweet and sugary, but I don't drink wine, beer is too much grains/barley/hops and I don't like to use soda as a mixer since I don't drink it. So, that really narrows things down,

So I tried the CSP shake for bfast this morning- YUM!!! I am definitely going to try it with chocolate protein powder. I also used the Jay Robb brand. Over the years I have tried many different protein powders and his are definitely the best tasting.

Has anyone taken the time to figure out the nutritional info on this shake? I meant to do it this morning, but was running really short on time, so I didn't get a chance yet.

Sorry I was MIA yesterday- I tried posting twice yesterday and both of them got wiped out as I was submitting them... So decided to wait for a new day rather than go thru the frustration of losing another one!

NewEnglander- That sucks you have to watch the scale rocket like that especially thru no fault of your own! Happy for you that you have Phase 1 to help out but boy you're a strong lady to fight thru that!

Patns- I totally get what you mean about feeling guilty when you eat something that was 'restricted' during phase 1... I think part of it is that we know many of the things that were restricted aren't that good for us and the subconscious is questioning the choice we are making... One of the hardest things seems to be not attaching emotional judgement to foods. If we eat something 'bad' it doesn't make us 'bad' but it sure can feel like it! Those pathways have been set since we first started dieting and overcoming them is soooo hard. This has been my biggest fight... Just because I eat or drink something 'bad' doesn't mean I'm doomed so I may as well totally blow the rest of my day... Still working on that one ... I managed to keep it to free days and then the mentality started to broaden. So... I don't think having a diet soda once in a blue moon is that big of a deal. Yes, there are better choices out there, but if that's what you had and what you wanted then you are entitled to it as an indulgence. Do you do a free day/ free meal? Not sure if you ever attempted that cause I know you're fairly sensitive to many things... And in the eventuality that you're not partaking in those well then you're doubly entitled to the odd indulgence right ?? And vodka is one of the lowest carb alcohols out there...
In regards to mix... I tried something yesterday that I can hardly wait to use as my summer drink mix... MIO in sparkling water... Very very tasty!

PurpleSky- thank you for the different recommendations for movement exercises... And I had to laugh at your story of the bubble tea shake... Please let me know how the bubble tea works out- I love it but haven't let myself have it in ages!

Dakin- good for you for pre planning and doing such a good job of holding to your eating plan in the face of an all day event like that! You'll get more relaxed in maintenance as time goes on... And unfortunately that'll be when you'll really need your guard up... But if you set healthy boundaries for yourself starting out ( which you are- your experience with the relay proves this) then it will be much easier to keep yourself within those boundaries over time...

Ishbel- have to agree with you about the scale vs. jeans in terms of accountability. The scale doesn't let things get out of hand... I can tell if I'm retaining water by the fit of my rings... Some days my ring will be so loose it's almost falling off and the next day it'll be wedged on there (those are the days I really want to avoid the scale )

We were posting at the same time! That shake is super yummy. I've had it with isofemme vanilla powder and protein plus chocolate and I liked the vanilla far better but I think that may be because that brand of powder is sweeter... Which of course I'm inclined toward

Well...slowly but surely...I've started to take off the excess weight. My Dr. scale had me at 134 1/2 with clothing, so on my digital scale I'll add 2 1/2 lbs for the clothing and I'll say my home WI came in at 130 1/2. So 4 lbs lost is way better than another 4lbs gained! Man...I've got to say, its very hard to turn it around when it starts going up. The body just craves weight gain rather than loss. It's so deep in the DNA. But it CAN be done!

Keep pluggin away and thanks everyone for your encouragement and for sharing all the great new recipes, shake and bars discoveries you all are making! It's really helpful to have healthy alternatives to the old bars and so on.

I didn't have any almond milk so I made the whole thing with water and it was still really good. You can always throw a packet of stevia in to make the chocolate one sweeter.

Jennydoodle- great idea on the Stevia! I always completely forget about it for some reason and I have a ton of it...

Sunnymae- Yay!!!!!!! 4 pounds down is awesome! I know that when in weight loss mode the mentality is to want it all gone right now... I'm definitely feeling that pain but it is very true that hard as it may be we are headed in the right direction and it does feel a heck of a lot better than watching the scale go higher... So if you added 2.5 pounds for clothes then you must be at 128? That must feel good! So, so close to goal... Keep up the great work Sunnymae- you're a maintenance inspiration!

So, I went to my clinic to do my WI/ meeting yesterday. It is a bit frustrating for me to be doing my reboot with a different coach. I really, really miss my old one but she's away on mat leave . My coach tends to treat me like this is my first time on the program... A part of me regrets agreeing to go through the clinic for the reboot because I always leave feeling mildly insulted. I will admit that my last three months havn't been perfect IP and there was the one week where I totally lost the plot... But I maintained on strict Phase 4 for 7 months and feel pretty well versed in what a Phase 3 breakfast is supposed to be (she doubted that I had been counting the nutrients properly and wanted me to log a 'variety of breakfasts that fit with my lifestyle' so that they can depict them and see if indeed I am meeting my nutrient values... Seriously?????... Does she think weight magically stayed off of me for ten months??? Because as all of you know losing weight is one thing but keeping it off is another!! Sorry to vent but I didn't gain because I don't know what a phase 3 breakfast is... I gained by not paying close enough attention to the scale... and dealing with even small increases (A pound a month doesn't seem like much but over the course of the year that's 12 pounds which most definitely is a lot!) Won't make that mistake again though... Good old school of hard knocks

Dakin, I'll be going back to phase 3 for at least a week. But after a cheat day p1 I go right back into maintenance the next day.

Cap, you got this! You know what you need to do to get back on track and you can do it. You inspire me and I have faith you'll get back to goal weight in no time!

Alcoholic beverages is something I'm really going to be watching. I know most of my weight gain during vacation was because of wayy too many Mike's Hard Lemonades/Limades/Margaritas. It blows me up. Going to stay away. Like others have said, I like to eat my calories!

Scale said 121 this morning so I'm hoping by Friday I'll be at 119ish and ready to phase out again. This reboot journey has been a lot longer than expected but lesson learned.. don't cheat. TOM didn't help that but I think I'm over the hump and smooth sailing now. I was supposed to have WI tonight but there was some miscommunication between me and my coach so we've rescheduled it for Friday. That gives me more time anyways. She wants to talk to me more about maintenance anyways. That will be good because she's lost 60lbs and has kept it off for 2 years. She's done amazingly well.

Thanks Cassi for the props!! I am very happy that I'm back within 5 of where I want to be. You've done so well at sating on track during this mini reboot and so good about posting... It's been great knowing that I am not alone in my Phase 1 reboot... Having you & Sunnymae & Determined suffer with me makes it seem that much less like suffering and more camaraderie
That's great that your coach is such a good role model... It would be great to have a coach that has successfully maintained as they can shed so much light on maintenance...

My bad influence 2 cents is that alive coolers have no carbs and taste pretty good, if sweet...