Maile- when I went through my closet and bought all new clothes, I kept (1) pair of jeans and (1) pair of pants that are one size up. I got rid of everything else. I wanted to get rid of of the clothes that were too big, but still needed a safety net in case I gained a little weight. I figured it would give me a couple of things to wear so I didn't have to buy anything, but knowing that if I ever had to bust out those pants, I would need to crack the whip.

Pxl- good luck. I think it is good to try and just find balance. Isn't that what we are all trying to achieve anyway? To find balance in our lives, with our food choices and our health?

Before we went on our little vacation, I was trying to do the same thing. Trying not to weigh myself every day and just go by how I felt and using my clothes as my guideline. Because really, if I weigh 132 or 135, does it truly matter as long as all of my new clothes in my new size still fit? Isn't that what is important? That is the true meaning of maintenance.

I don't know many naturally thin people who weigh themselves every day. They just try to be healthy and eat well majority of the time, workout most days of the week etc... And if they do have a meal where they eat poorly, they make up for it the rest of the day or for a day or 2 afterwards. This is where I would like to eventually be. Unfortunately, I have quite a few things coming up that are going to keep me on the "poor weekend eating" / "Phase 1" cycle for pretty much the month of April.

Also unfortunately, it is "that time" and I am not doing too well today on P1. I am so hungry and of course, looking for the chocolate I have already caved, so I guess today is not a strict P1 day for me. C'est la vie.

One thing I do have to say for P1 is that I always "feel" thinner. Maybe it is that hollow feeling or no carb = no bloating feeling. Today I weighed in at 134 which is definitely a comfortable weight for me, but I feel so much thinner at 134 on P1 than P3/P4. Weird. Possibly all in my head

Regardless, I am going to try to stick to P1 (as closely as possible ) until the weekend. We are off to Philly this weekend to celebrate Easter with my husbands family. Lots of good eats there, so I will be back on P1 on Monday. That is part of the reason I am trying to back to 133-132, so I can be in a small deficit before I go, so there is less to lose when I get home

Thanks... I think I have to try this, because was literally going crazy. I realized some of the things that I hadn't eaten in more than a year. What kind of life is that to be SO strict? I will probably find a middle ground somewhere. I am definitely still much healthier than I was a year ago.

The other thing was that I kept tracking and looking at the 600-700 calorie "deficit" every day in fatsecret. So, I was feeling deprived AND not eating enough. I won't freak out and eat grilled cheese everyday, but I do need to see what else might work for my body.

This diet always taught me that LOSING weight was totally differnet than maintaining weight. But, I've been doing almost the same thing to maintain than I was to lose, and that's not right either.

Sorry if my negative feelings aren't good for others to hear. I might just need a week off the bandwagon before I get back on, but I really need to do this for myself right now.

Darn Wuv, You beat me!! I was on a roll Starting this thread!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday. It's nice ans Sunny Here in W. WA...

Thought I should take the time to expand upon my very brief post...
pxlkitty- I know where you're at. I did a week of Phase 1 a couple of weeks ago as I decided I needed to go to war with my two pounds. I continued my exercise regime of free weights 2x week/ cardio 3x. Never did that on phase 1. And can't say in retrospect that I think it was a good idea for me. I'm pretty content on Phase 1 provided I don't have to exercise but when that gets added in the mix I'm a cranky starving lady. I wasn't willing to part with the exercise though it had become too ingrained (and it's the only time I get to talk with adults who aren't my husband ). Day seven hit I moved into what I thought was going to be a Phase 3/4 day and ended up more free day-esque. There are times when I'm tracking that I eat 40% of my RDI and it almost never went over 60%. With my stats and exercise taken into account I'm 'supposed' to be able to eat 2000-2500 calories but was finding that I was intaking closer to 1400 on a daily basis except for the free day where I'd pretty much eat all the calories I'd 'banked' over the course of the week and then follow that with a Phase 1 day. This doesn't seem all that sensible to me. As it has led to a bit of a binge cycle that I really don't like being caught up in and by no means do I want it to be my 'life plan'. With all the birthdays and cake last week it worked out that one night would be a heavier dinner & dessert and the next day I would do Phase 1 to balance it. Hard, hard, hard on the belly. It is a much happier belly when it is fed healthfully that is one thing I know for darn sure. The thing I'm finding I really need to work on is my mentality... to not be so all or nothing. I love the feeling of making good food choices but probably the biggest lesson I'm working on is that it's okay to make a small slip it doesn't need to turn into a landslide. And thankfully, my weight remained within a pound of where it was the week previous. That is my one other change. Weigh in once a week. If there is an upward trend for two weeks make an adjustment to my diet.
Maile- I love your idea of storing the clothes until you have reached your one year maintenance and then parting ways with them. It gives you time to come to terms with parting with them and also something so symbolic to look forward to on your anniversary... letting go.
Jenny- wow! Congrats on the losses and being in your maintenance window! You totally deserve it though- you've been a very level headed maintainer.
Mom2cs & pat- that blizzard was the oddest thing... I was wearing flip flops the night before and then wake up in the morning and it's December again then by afternoon it was back to being April...
desperatetolose- I bought chia seeds but haven't used them yet...
bigpassport- you rock!!! thank you for showing me it CAN be done. How is 130?? It's funny that even while we know we're thinner many of our 'parts' still seem big. I do think it improves with time and toning
Jelly- you look freakin awesome!!!!!

Pxlkitty
I hope you come up with a comfortable solution. I feel similar. Even in maintenance I never really added back many high carb foods, and any time I even considered to people would question me. I really like low carb, but I also like an occasional fry!
Now back in phase 1 I feel like I need to sneak food, and seriously struggle with thoughts to lose more. I am supporting dh in phase 1, but he eats a lots of extras and is still doing well. I feel guilt. And can see a future of extreme strict eating alternating with binging. I don't like that idea.

Hi everyone, I have a quick question.

My dh was doing IP alternative (for diabetics) and did very well. Started phase 2 at 190.4 and now, after phase 2, phase 3 and is now a few days into phase 4, he's still going down and is now 184.6. He has phase 3 breakfasts, phase 2/3 lunches (with cheese, etc) and phase 2/3 dinners (with starchy veggies, bread, pasta, fruits). He has cheese strings for snack in the morning and luncheon meats for pm snack. He still has a before bed snack of a shake (he likes it, lol). So will it stabilize eventually or he's missing something?

Also, can he stop taking the vitamins since he's getting everything now? Thank you and looking forward to joining you eventually!

Actually, what you and others are sharing is very, very helpful for someone like me who will be moving into maintenance next month and was a little nervous about the future. This thread is helping me to have a picture of my future and that is very helpful. I have been looking into diets like Paleo and others with whole foods and minimally processed items to see if I can find some recipes I would like to try. I have had the funniest cravings for things like fruits, nuts and quinoia. Will see if I jump to burger, fries and cake.

If you jump to burgers fries and cake I can guarantee you will gain back the weight in shocking speed!
I think all the foods eliminated in phases 1 and 2 need to be considered in moderation for most people who have struggled to lose weight in the past, but found success through ip. Ip may help with insulin resistance, but what I read indicates that once you were insulin resistant you never "fix it".
For me, one cheat day requires 2 or 3 days of phase 1 to compensate. Still maintaining, but not as easily as I would like...

Busymom,

Have DH track his food for a week or so to see how many calories he is getting. There are several free on-line sites such as "my fitness pal" or "fat secret". You will be able to figure out approximately how many calories he needs a day to maintain his weight based on size, activity level, etc. It sounds like he is eating foods in the correct combinations. Because he is diabetic, you should probably also check with his primary care provider for a suggested calorie level, especially if DH takes any medications for his diabetes.

Good Luck and congratulations to both of you!! We can't wait until you join us either!

Lynn

The past few months I stalked more than posted after spending a year posted many times a day. I have read your post and feel your pain, but about 3 months ahead of it. I reached maintenance about 3 months before you and have gone through all the stages and grief you have. here is my conclusion:

Don't beat yourself up. This may work...that may work...who knows. But the point is you will never go back to the weight you were before because you are aware of it! I am on a 2 week reboot...the longest I have given it a run since September when I did 13 days. I am on day 10 and I 2 more in phase 1 and then I am slowly going to get out of ketosis for 3 more days so that I can go away next Monday. I avoided the scale over those 2 weeks so that I don't obsess....but my tummy is nice a flat and my clothes fit awesome...can't wait to weigh in on Friday.

YOu have done awesome.....ARE doing awesome....no worries

For the past 2 days, I've had the urge to eat things that I've "given up" since IP. I've spent almost the entire day on my hands and knees scrubbing the little nooks and crannies in my kitchen floor with a scrubber sponge. I'm trying to distract myself however possible. I don't know what's come over me; I just hope it goes away really fast. The good news is that my floor looks sparkly. The better news is that I've avoided pizza, a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit, and pour over butter movie theater popcorn.... so far. My kids are home this week for spring break. I want to eat constantly. I bought these things as treats for them to spread out over the week. I want to eat them all today and I don't know why. Throughout this whole diet process, I've made many things that haven't tempted me. I got through birthdays, parties, Thanksgiving, all sorts of things with NO problem. Why am I struggling these last 2 days? The whole time I was scrubbing the floor, I was thinking about making choc chip cookie dough so I could eat it raw. *shame* Oh yeah, and posting here... another way to distract me and keep me honest.

Hormones? Stress?
Sounds like cleaning is a good outlet! Maybe you need to look at your food plan and work some in. In maintenance you can s,ways have an English breakfast!

paintlady- I hear you!! There are some weeks where the free day just can't seem to come fast enough... and now, with trying to edit out the free day and incorporate 'indulgences' now and again, yes it does make life interesting. Sometimes having 'just a bite' of whatever it is will satiate you. It can feel almost like a curiosity factor "Is it really as good as I think?" and then you're dying to know but won't let yourself even try a bit and that is when the whole deprivation cycle sets in. Amazingly sometimes when you do have 'just a bite' and that curiosity is satisfied you realize that it was not all that your mind was building it up to be. I've done it both ways, not letting myself have the bite at all (this usually sets me up for a humdinger of a free day) or having the bite (usually not as good as I was building it up to be).
The thing with maintenance is there is nothing that is not allowed and yet there is the feeling that indulgence will lead to weight gain. I think the trick is that it is over indulgence that leads to weight gain. Coming to realize that I have to want healthy foods it has to feel like it is a choice that I am making because it is what I want to do and not what I have to do. And if occasionally I want something that is unhealthy that is okay I just have to enjoy it (this means no guilt!!) savor the flavor and get on with life. If all I need is a bite- great, if it's more that's got to be okay too. It just doesn't need to get ugly after I have one unhealthy item and escalate. And at eight months into maintenance I am finally starting to get it. Thank goodness I have this site and all of you!
Read an interesting site that talked about how women who write their thoughts and feelings do much better with weight loss... I will have to see if I can track it down...

PS Darbs- You've done awesome- so happy for you that you and your pants are in a good place! And I can't wait to find out the scale results (although the pants fitting is probably a much better way to measure success cause that's what it's all about anyway).

Hi, Ugh..I feel your pain. I took a long nap today to avoid my temptations. I've stayed 110% Op since I began IP and now I'm in P2 and all of a sudden my cravings are going through the roof! I'm not even hungry I just want "stuff"...I think I'm looking forward to my "fun" day too much! (Plus my TOM is closing in on me and I'm sure my hormones have something to do with this current issue of mine.)

I wish I had your energy to clean! Maybe you can swing by my place...my kitchen floor could use some sparklin'.