Thanks Jennydoodle,

I started my fitness pal and it seems OK. What is still a mystery to me is what my choleric/carb intake should be. Last night was my first "cheat night" I had 1 small bruschetta with tomatoes and mozzarella, and a BBQ pulled pork sandwich that I ate open face. I felt awful!!!! This AM I was down 3/4 lb on the scale, go figure. I decided to not do phase 1 today as I am doing a trade show and it is long and strenuous. What is the REAL purpose of P1 after a cheat? Why not P2?

thanks in advance,
Allison

DRUM ROLL. I am there. nsv grocery store clerk called me tiny ???? going to continue phase 2 till sat so i have time to figure out how to incorporate 3 as i am up at 2:30 a.m. in order to work out and be to work by 5:00 a.m., yikes. on another note i might be getting a tat today in honor of my dog,s that i have and the ones that have passed on, heart with 6 pawprints going across and 5 star's scattered in honor of five very important people that have passed on. excited and nervous.cannot believe i have lost 117 pounds in 9 months, Wow. see you all later, lise

Patns: That was an insightful post. I agree with you..that I cannot return to my old way of high carb eating. Also, I think you are right, despite maintenance being a constant challenge of monitoring and planning, we are approaching this lifestyle from a much healthier, more energetic, more mentally positive frame of mind.
We have more energy due to generally eating low carb and you are right, due to having lost all of those pounds! We are more positive due our weight loss. Many are exercising more.
I was also a binge eater..but have not done so for over a year. I also believe in free meals..but not the whole day. Like you I tend to stay in Phase 3 with some added carbs once in awhile.
I have no idea if I am in ketosis or not..but have not developed any significant cravings with Phase 3 breakfasts.
Yesterday I made a wonderful tahini sauce..I ate until I was full and then started thinking that I wanted to eat more. I identified that I wanted to keep eating..not because I was hungry, but because it tasted good. It felt wrong to me..and I told myself I am not going to eat with that needy feeling. Progress.
I think you will be very successful in maintenance for all of the reasons you mentioned! I also agree that losing weight was also a lot of work.

I just read a comment that said..don't call it losing the weight, call it removing the weight..so it is gone for good.

Hey. My first day on IP was February 25, 2011. So, yes. My one year anniversary was a few days ago.

I am feeling better today. I did a pretty strict phase 1 day yesterday, although I have to admit that I had a small glass of wine. Result. I'm already down 3.5 lbs. so, that tells me that it was stress and TOM big time. I'm going to stick with this, as I said, for a whole week.

I did watch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead last night. I think there are some interesting points in the movie, although I would never just drink juice for that long. It made me wonder how much giving up wheat or dairy had to do with how much better all those people felt. I do want to see about drinking more green vegetable juices. Apparently kale is really good, and celery and cucumber are also really low carb and have lots of nutrients.

Jenny: It is good thing that we are going to work on mental maintenance! We can do it.

Pixl: That is fascinating about the autism and wheat. I am going to look for that book. I am eating gluten free except for one piece of low carb bread in the am.. I like the way Nashua gives you samples..Enjoy that oatmeal.
are you eating soy patties..with soy beans..any legumes at all?

Calypso: I am not an expert, but if you do not gain weight from a free day,
then I just eat normally phase 3 or 4.

Cap: No I did not find discounted airfare due to the fact that I am planning to go with my sister and work within her time frame..However, I do have miles to pay for half. I am going in June.
I bought some hot fuscia Nike shoes that vibrate with color. They make me laugh each time I wear them..People at my gym like them. If we are going to exercise, we might as well try to be cheerful! There is definitely a sense of loss and mourning that we cannot just go back to eating whatever we want. I keep trying to find substitutes that help..However, yesterday when I was with my friend she had a blueberry cobbler french toast that gave me moments of self pity!

EndlessDieter: Good for you losing those 2 pounds..I hope Phase 1 goes well and you hit 199 soon!

Matolmama: That is so sweet that someone called you tiny. A lady at work asked me if I was a dancer because I looked so petite! That was a shock. Congratulations on your awards and your wonderful loss.

Tracy..am trying the quiche today.

My coach said that phase 2 is fine also. I just find phase 1 easier sometimes so I have a tendency to go that route. Great news about not gaining after indulging- I would have to agree with Maile that if you don't see a gain you're probably good to go with a Phase 3/4 day... Congrats again on maintenance!

Pxlkitty yay!!!! Congrats on the drop- I'm sure that was a huge relief! And having passed your one year anniversary of the beginning of your journey!
Maile- I wish I could go back in June! It is very much the doldrums here right now and I am heartily missing the sunshine & ocean... Where do you go when you're there?
Determined- if you're out there- I just have to say I finally got to try the Emerald Cocoa almonds while we were away and you were right they are absolutely awesome!
Woolberger- you are still here! Love it when you post... Have to keep us updated on your to reboot or not to reboot decision...

I also go through a depression when I leave Hi. Why can't we all live near the ocean and be in the warm sun? My family is on Oahu so that is where I go unless I am going to an outer island for fun. I have been to all of them. Were you on Maui?

I was reflecting what you said about mourning the loss of food. I realized that my purchases of baklava, almond toffee, and creme brulee coffees..and pina colada teas..are definitely signs that I yearn for those old foods! Plus I still use WF syrup with pancakes..Definitely another old love.

Hope you get some sunshine.

Do you know anything about crossing the border into Vancouver, BC from Seattle? My son says there can be 2 1/2 hr delays. I am going up to Vancouver at the end of March.

Gika I hope your sister gets better and stronger with each day!
Pxl... - Glad that some of that weight gain was inflammation and that you've started to see a shift.
I've been in a very sedentary routine because of back and neck injury the last 1 1/2 weeks, so besides being swollen, I haven't been burning much. I weigh in tomorrow and pretty much expecting to be pushing 130...3lbs past my 127 limit. (Which used to be 125) So...I have some more rebooting to do myself.
I don't want to kid myself and let those lbs creep up. At the same time, I've been letting myself practice good judgement, w/o always counting so as to not obsess all the while. I will see tomorrow how that translates and guide myself accordingly. It's the only way I can count some, use my new skills some, and tweak as I go along, even if that means learning by gaining and then re-adjusting.

Ok..signing out. Have a great rest of Sunday fantastic maintainers!!
Sunny

GREAT! Glad you enjoyed the almonds and glad you had a pretty good trip to Hawaii. The being by the ocean part! I went to Kauai twice in 2009 and loved loved loved it. Went with a girlfriend for 12 days and then to a conference there 6 months later. What I loved other than the ocean, awesome fish and fruit was the smells- the air is so fragrant from all of the flowers mmmmmmmm

[QUOTE=Maile;4240552

Do you know anything about crossing the border into Vancouver, BC from Seattle? My son says there can be 2 1/2 hr delays. I am going up to Vancouver at the end of March.[/QUOTE]

Oh no! I plan on going across the opposite way. Hubby and I were planning to go to Seattle on my March break which is last week in March. But now he will likely be having surgery so we will postpone it till after his recovery.He has never been and I want to do the undercity tour with him. Also pay American prices for some new duds too!
Thank you so much for your comments on my post.

What a lot of thoughtful and helpful posts today. I reacted to something in everyone of them and planned responses but ended up with way too many things to say about them. So will just say than you to everyone for being so helpful.
I'm still debating on "officially" going to phase 2. I am doing alternatives so don't have a coach. As one gets older it is best not to go as low as the usual recommended weight for your height as you tend to lose on the face with ages a person.
I still have a spare tire around my middle but think a lot of it is the saggy skin going south.
But I realized today the main reason I am not moving to phase two is because my job is hectic till the end of March due to government deadlines and I appreciate the convenience of phase 1. So I likely will stick it out till end of March.

But I am wondering about any thoughts on adding tomatoes back after phasing off. I have lots of soup and chili recipes I really like. I plan to make big amounts during the weekend for ready made meals during the week. I have discovered that chopped spinach in the chili is just as good as kidney beans so that isn't an issue. I use low sodium canned tomatoes in the recipes. Would eating cooking tomotoes numerous times a week cause an insulin spike do you think?

My post got too long after all but I wanted to add to the wheat discussion. I haven't eaten wheat for years. That was how I got from 200 pounds to 160 pre IP.

The area I live in is a huge wheat producer, big grain trucks are going by all the time.
This past year was a bumper crop. A farmer was telling us the other day that no producer in the area has yet sold a bushel of this bumper wheat crop. The trucks going by are carrying canola, peas and flax. Apparently they can sell as much of these crops as they can produce but not wheat. So they will have to diversify much more next year.
The growers say the wheat market is down because the Chinese seem to be spending much less money and Russia had a huge crop last year. I think it is more likely the writing on the wall for wheat crops. It seems absolutely everyone is reading wheat belly and trying wheat free diets.
It will be interesting to see if this is a passing fad or if people will permemently change thier diets.

Pixle: Congratulations on your one year anniversary on IP! Plus on getting 3.5 pounds. You have been such a source of inspiration here..plus you are very generous about posting helpful health information.

My son likes a fruit shake that has Kale in it.
Let me know if you figure out how to cook it. I know it is good for you..but mine always comes out chewy!

Determined..I love Kauai also..My daughter is over there now visiting.

Pats..I do not think the tomatoes will hurt you on Phase 2..you are allowed them on Phase 1..in restricted. I am eating canned tomatoes now and am not having a problem. I plan on googling to learn about the border crossing..My son said to go before 9 am from the Seattle side. You will love Seattle. I hope your husband's surgery goes well.

Sunnymae..I am sorry about your back and neck injuries..That must be painful. Good luck on your weigh in..I know you will use your calm maintaining skills to figure out what needs to be done!

So... hubby and I (re)watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead yesterday morning and them promptly went out and bought a juicer. We got the Breville Elite and we love, love, love it! We came back and he made fruit juice for him and the kid (I tried it). Then, we made green juice last night with spinach, parsley, celery, cucumber, a little apple, and a kiwi fruit. I know it's more carbs than I'm used to, but I am going to trim back on veggies eaten other ways when I have juice.

This morning I made a small glass of a mixture of spinach, parsley, celery, cucumber, apple, and kiwi... I had one rhubarb stalk that I put in too. I really don't know how to count it in fatsecret, so I'm just putting all the food in and we'll see what happens. It was surprisingly delicious, and I had my Nashua oatmeal with some coconut oil in as well.

Let us know how you do on the scale today. I am still getting lower, but "lower" is still 3 lbs above the top end of my range, so I really need to get back down to the lower end of my range before things get out of hand.

I think tomatoes are fine, as long as you're not eating too many and don't eat them every day. I had them on phase 1 even, and didn't have any issues.

I am also very intrigued if this will be a trend. We went to lunch yesterday and my hubby could get "gluten free" bread at the table. That, and they had a gluten free menu. I definitely think this has the potential to become a real mainstream trend.

I plan to put kale in the juicer... I've heard that it's mild and sweet.