I can't comment from a BTDT perspective. However, your statement on "furtively eating" caught my eye because I'm a closet eater myself, and I've given the whole concept a lot of thought. When I do this, I think I'm deliberately punishing myself or self-sabotaging. I need to get to the bottom of this if I expect to make any lasting change.

It sounds like you're experiencing a lot of anxiety about reaching goal and moving off the program. I think you should forgive yourself this lapse and focus on the background noise that caused it so it doesn't become a pattern. It is absolutely OK not to be perfect; it's how you respond to the occasional mistake that will matter in the long run. You've been so successful; you are completely capable of maintaining and continuing on with your success!

Happy Monday to all!
I'd like to share a quick note of a few Good things that have happened to me since going OP ...

My bras finally fit with out bulging out of them YES!

My husband gave me a hug and I really felt smaller in his arms !!!
Oh baby! That felt soooo good!

I love jicama ! (Works like smooth move tea for me )

In one month I'm going to be a Godmother for my niece' son. Besides being able to be his godmother, I'm so thrilled I started IP in Jan! I'll be looking younger and slimmer in his Christening photos ... Woo Hoo!

Thanks for listening

Hi calee! The hungries should lessen, just hang in there! Days 3 and 4 were the worst for me so hopefully things will settle down for you.

I believe the correct ratio is 50% protein, 30% fat & 20% carbs. But really, there's no need to track if you're only eating what's on the sheet. I do because I like playing with numbers and looking at the nutritional values of the different foods, but if it gives you anxiety remember you don't have to track a thing.

I thought becks diet tip for today was great and can apply to us even when we are in losing weight mode-not just maintenance
the tip:
Monday Motivation: We asked one maintainer about her motivation to keep weight down and she said, “Every time I want to quit I remind myself that there is nothing to quit. This is my life. This is what I’m doing. It’s 100% worth it so I don’t even entertain thoughts of not doing it. There’s nothing to quit!”

Vippysue & eandc2006 - thanks for you love and support - I am trying to focus on the future - that was yesterday. I'm trying to get my brain around the fact that I will have to make decisions like this for the rest of my life if I'm going to stay healthy and keep the weight off. And Vippysue, you're right, only I can decide what goes in my mouth and how I feel about it. Thanks again.

mckaren4:
That is an awesome quote....

Trinny - YES - this is it! Wow. DH and even some of my friends have been on me about being too thin, I've lost too much weight, etc. but DH especially. And I'm looking at going into Phase 4 Sunday with a special Valentines Day restaurant dinner on Sunday night with DH and he'll expect me to drink champagne and eat. So I think I've been struggling with hanging on to myself through this unexpected 'criticism' from people who up to now have been very supportive. (I'm not too thin - BMI is 23, body fat % is 30). I know change is hard for everyone, and they aren't use to seeing me at this weight (most of them, including DH have NEVER seen me at this weight) but it's what I weighed from the time I was 15 - 32 yrs old, so familiar to me. So I'm stressing a bit about all this feedback, coupled with P4 coming up. I am resolved! I'm never going to gain this weight back! Thank you thank you thank you!!

Cut and pasted from the 90% thread ...
I apologize for responding there to RuthAnn . 90% rs need their own posting spot....but I stand by what I posted. My response is being removed from that thread.


From Ruth Ann:
I mean absolutely no disrespect to NolaSmurf who has had great success on this program and has been a great contributor to this board, but I do want to give a different perspective on drinking while on IP.

When I started IP I made a commitment to stay 100% - I decided if I was going to spend this much money (and it does strain our family budget) and effort I wasn’t going to spend one minute longer or one cent more on P1 than absolutely necessary. That meant asking my husband to give up some of our routines – Friday nights were always my 2 martini and teriyaki night. My husband (who is the chef in our house) had to learn IP to cook for me and incorporate my meals into his plans.

He did it without complaining and is very proud of me. But knowing how hard he is trying to help me has been a huge motivation for me to stay 100%. Would 1 martini a week have slowed me down? Probably, but I haven’t been willing to test it – as much as we’ve changed things in our household to accommodate my diet I feel I have a responsibility to do my part and stay on plan. I don’t think it would be fair to ask my household to continue to change things to help me if I’m not going to stay committed.

Do I miss my two martinis a week? Yep, I sure do. But I have had great success getting healthy – I’m down 102 pounds in just over 9 months, I am no longer pre-diabetic, my blood pressure is in the normal range and all my other blood work is so perfect it’s boring.

Everyone makes choices while on IP and I respect whatever choices those are. Giving up some things I enjoy for now so that I can be healthy for the remainder of my life seems like a pretty fair exchange to me.


65
Kudos to you Ruth Ann for your concise and honest answer and perspective. Not only does it "probably" slow things down...it is a taste and some usually overdue practice for the restraint long term success into maintenance will require.

Love reading the NS victories /behavior modification of the long term successful... But I have not seen much that is an endorsement to be loose with eating and drinking off plan during the weight loss phases. Those posts are not nearly as compelling.

After reaching goal...the liberation to not be 100 % on a diet all the time needs to be compared to the women's movement... Yes, You can have it all..just not all at once or all the time. If you "cheat" during the actual weightloss phases... How long will it take for you to eat and drink yourself right back to square one? Are you honest about acknowledging you have to do more than Lose weight. Something has to change...or the loss won't last. Suggest spending time reading the reboot restart threads. Those are some sobering posts...no pun intended
__________________
Goal:2014 = PROUD2BPICKY (= Road 2 LIFETIME Maintenance)
Goal:2013 = Lose 65 pounds by 65th B-day /Reached: 8/19/2013

I love meatballs with zucchini pasta and a little IP friendly marinara. yum! i also found a great cauliflower alfredo sauce recipe. i can't remember where, but you can probably google it.

ecdc...this describes painfully...and with honesty..(Thank-you) the very challenges that are being discussed today. This..or any diet is NOT ENOUGH!

The rest of our lives after "the diet" is going to be governed by a whole new set of rules, and it's absolutely harder to prepare and be successful once those days kick in. The early Phases of the diet and compliance are spittin' easy compared to the challenges faced once there is freedom... and if the behavior modification is not embraced and happened, most of us will go back to what drove us before IP.

It is so important to get your head in the game.. You have a good start on the newest part of your fight now....you see it...identified it....called it out......and are taking action. This time, before you begin to move on to a maintenance plan...I suggest you do some reading. There are a lot of excellent books listed in a number of the threads, on what needs to happen and does happen to people on maintenance. Figuring out how to modify your thought and behavior processes are critical...but now and forever; the battle will be in your head as much as on your plate.

Keep coming on here...some days you need reinforcement. You know it's worth it...Because YOU DESERVE to be in control.

65X65 - thank you, you are always the clear voice of reason for me. I did buy the Beck book, I'll now read it from cover to cover, rather than scan it. I know I have to change the way I think about food and eating now that I'm heading into maintenance but I do plan to keep the weight off.

I will just chime in and give a shout out thanks to 65 X 65 because you are always honest, but with grace, empathy, and support. I appreciate that you always bring it back to a positive. Thank you for that!

I think this is a valid motivational speak and people should indeed carefully and all the time! consider what they eat and drink. But I also think everybody is different. I drink a good glass of wine every single day and I can maintain just fine. I simply keep everything within my calorie range and if I go out and eat more, I do it without feeling bad about it, but I tackle possible gains right away.

I think it may be harder to maintain a weight loss for people who have mainly consumed processed food, sweets and fast food before. Because then one has to learn how to eat in a healthier way and IP may be a preparation, but it is not the end. I may come from a different culture where regular meals with family/friends were routine and meals had a healthy proportion of veggies, fruit and meat. I think there is nothing wrong about learning to enjoy food, savoring it (and wine is part of that), and consuming it in a reasonable amount. Sometimes it sounds to me as if food has to be reduced to calories you need for survival. That is so wrong in my opinion. If food is seen as a joy, one can consume it in smaller portions and not feel deprived. However, if food is seen as something one has to combat every day, life seems a bit colder to me. And it basically invites frustration binges. I can actually get a lot of satisfaction simply by reading recipes or watching youtube videos by Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Gordon Ramsay etc. I do not have to eat the food to feel happy. It is merely the sensuality of preparing food and the passion going into recipes. Maintaining a weight loss has a lot to do with developing a healthy relation to food. If there a known triggers, they are best to be completely avoided, at least when alone with them. But there are also enough alternatives out there that can be enjoyed safely, just not in unlimited amounts. But, please, eating good food and drinking great wine is not cheating. Ask the Italians or the French.

Thanks so much..I do not want to be viewed as negative...but this discussion was in response to a new person's recent questions...and in reality...maintenance is something that needs to be thoughtfully considered and discussed as soon as one gets their feet here and is planted solidly in the mud.

It's 10 X harder for most people to maintain than the the actual diet is.... I try to be honest.... and at least throw it out.

LOL...Food for thought is what is needed more than a piece of chocolate or a glass of wine in most cases!! We don't need to be in the same room to do that!!

Agreed...Once goal is achieved...!! Not such a good idea when trying to lose on a specific protocol which specifically discourages said......you are either on or off with IP.

That doesn't mean you can't do you own variation...but don't call it IP. It is low carb..lo cal..or whatever...it is NOT IP.

Cheers...I'm not against drinking...we actually have our own wine cellar...but I don't much discuss it here...I'm on maintenance...most of my friends here ARE NOT. Some day...they will be and a cyber toast we will have.

BTW...I'm Italian...so is my husband...and many of our family actually make wine. My dad's label was designed by a family member...