This is totally true. I was at goal at the end of April. I am 12 pounds up after summer and Christmas. I am back on phase 1 until I get back to goal but in looking back I realized that these 3 things were where I went wrong. I was really focusing on what I needed to cut down on (carbs) not what I needed to make sure I got in.
Once I hit maintenance again I will make sure water, veggies and lean protein will be targeted every day.

Pat

My personal trainer said the rules have recently changed for people over 50 - we should 1.5 times our lean body weight in grams of protein.

You go girl! You have been at this awhile and know what it takes.

Thanks! I know what it takes but now to do it once and for all. I am adding some light exercise this time around on my elliptical so will see if that is a plus or a minus.

I thought I had read that about protein somewhere Fishette. That should keep me out of trouble. At least half my waking hours will be spent preparing and eating protein!
I actually think this becomes even more crucial as we continue to age. I am finding trying to get rid of the fat around the middle harder and harder as I progress in my 60s.
I know just what everyone wants to hear!

Here's another thing they spoke about p4 gaining a few pounds every 6 months is normal, they suggested doing a couple of weeks of p1 as part of p4. If you lose 50 pounds and gain 7 in 7 months you are not failing. Their words.

Thanks Fishette, I think will follow that, I can see i am very carb sensitive.

Ok tummy fat, my nemesis. I may declare in the next few days that I won the war. Doing boot camp. 5 to 6 ip packets. On day 5, since yesterday cut out restricteds. Abs are almost gone, lot to do with salt intake significantly reduced.

Visceral fat is the worst, I am glad I am getting some of it to go.

A little later will post a few more things from the p4 seminar

Sonya: Thanks so much for posting info from your P4 seminar. Those pitfalls are a good reminder. The giant salads with 2 cs of lettuce and 2 cups of vegetables are what shock people at work. I did go down a cup size and also a few band sizes. I am surprised they consider an avocado a carb.I know it is high in fat..but it is moderately low carb. This may be crazy, could you have that quinoa avocado meal for breakfast?

Ishbel: I love your posts and your sense of humor! You must be freezing up there. I am glad your shot went well.No exercise and no yoga is rough. I really hope that hip feels better. I am going to try the Lizr"s cranberry custard recipe today. Did you find the pumpkin?

Lizzy63: I lost inches in the band also..I am happier being smaller.

Mooselover: Losing 3.5 is a good reboot. Good luck on getting under goal.

Chloe: I am glad you liked the blog. I thought she was pretty realistic and also smart to integrate maintenance into losing.

Determined: Thanks for your sweet support. I am feeling under control.I spent a year losing and now am in my second year of maintenance. I have not binged in over two years. At times I jump into irrational fears that i will gain all of it back,but 90 percent of the time I am confident and happy in my new life. I am a zealot about that 3 pound range..and not quite so calm when I need to work off up pounds. LOL.

Patns: I focused on the pitfalls also. It is all too easy to ease up on the water intake. I hope you are enjoying your elliptical. It was hard to make myself go to the gym when it was 20 degrees. You are lucky to have it in your home.

Fishette: That was interesting about people over 50 needing 1.5 protein. I may gave to calculate my grams.

I am off to get cranberries, pumpkin and ricotta cheese,. I like the idea of premade breakfasts during the workweek.

Thank you for sharing that, Fishette! I am most often at around 150 grams of protein daily, but always over 100. I was a little worried I was getting too much protein and it would hurt my kidneys, but now it looks like I am in a good place.

I am learning so much from you!! Today I realized that I haven't been eating my veggies and salads often enough!! I'm still drinking tons of water, trying to flush out this cruddy cold I've had since New Year's!!

It rained off and on yesterday and last night I was about 8 miles from home when it all decided to freeze on the road. I slid sideways down one curvey hill only to discover at the bottom that there were 2 semis and 3 cars that couldn't make it up the next hill. Thankfully I could turn off onto a gravel road that led to a friends house. They offered me some pizza, at first I said no but but by 8:30 I decided pizza would be perfect! So much for not mixing my carbs and fats on a non-cheat day!

Day 5 of phase 3 and it is going well. I've lost another pound and I love the breakfasts!! I feel my belly is a little bigger but I am doing Jillian 30 day shred so hopefully she can help me with that! Keep posting on here ladies, I really need this thread. Thanks!

How do we calculate our lean body weight? Wondering what that actually includes.

Thanks,
Chloe

I have got to bite the bullet and do this. So hard not to have my restricted but easier to start this on the weekend. Got lots of spinach for my shakes so will give it a shot today.

You are getting excellent info from your clinic about maintenance, that is unusual. Thanks so much for sharing.

Pat

Yes I did restricted till day 3, hard to give that up, but added two extra packets and dropped 8 ozs of meat I would normally prepare.

I still lost a lot of weight if you go by my history. But most of my meat was store bought and all my veggies are loaded with salt.

Maile - Great idea, will do, funny you thought of breakfast. yes breakfast all three together is allowed, fat carbs and proteins. because you have enough time to flush any excess insulin out.

a few minor slip ups are ok, but too many fun days, followed by p1 and now you are kinda having an eating disorder.

He said if you gain less than 4 pounds, you dont do all four phases. but anything more you do all 4 phases. please dont add the 4 pounds you are going to add as soon as you go into p4 due to the excess glycogen to the equation.

I think the big thing I heard was PORTION control. I had mistakenly thought if I ate the right combinations I can eat large quantities of food, like I did before. Guess that is going to be my challenge.

he also said hot vegetables are soothing to our nerves.

To calculate lean body mass weight, you need subtract your fat pounds from your total weight. You can estimate your fat pounds one of at least three ways:

1. Electronic gizmo uses electric impulses with calculate resistance to estimate your fat percentage. My fitness center has one that you stand on barefoot and you hold paddles in your hands. It is said to be about +/- 1% accurate. I'm 5'5" and was at 138 pounds when I got measured. I had 100 pounds of "non-fat" or lean body mass. The gizmo recommended that even at my age I should loose 7 pounds, which would put me at 23% body fat - same 100 lbs of non-fat and 31 lbs of fat. I've lost most of that already (yea, IP) and will go back for another measure at the end of the month when I get to Phase 3. But even at 100 lbs that means 150 grams of protein - even more than I'm getting now. I read that too much protein that can lead to kidneys stones is in the 200+ range.

2. A personal trainer at a gym can use calipers to measure the fat in your skin folds in several places. They use a chart to get a fat percentage. (My readings were always low by this method because my body's favorite places to store fat are not the places they typically measure.)

3. You can get in a bod pod - don't know much about them but I hear they are expensive.

4. You can be weighed underwater. Hard to find a place that does this except maybe a university.

I think the electronic gizmos may be more inaccurate than +/- 1%. My scale at home always measures about 3% higher on body fat than the one at my clinic. Not a big deal to me as long as the number is not going up in either place...

Thank you so much for that!