Jenny, you are not alone. I am struggling lately too. We just have to get our heads back in the game. Going to pledge right now to follow my plan strictly until my free day on Fri. How exciting about your new car!

Eve, hope you are feeling better and that the flight went well.

Pishposh, your weekend sounded fun! Did it help you get into the Holiday spirit?

Today, we had beautiful weather! So I finished cleaning up the garden and put up the outside Christmas lights. Should sleep well tonight.

Definitely struggling here too. Not sure where the willpower I had while on IP went. I wasn't tempted by anything and now I can't seem to battle will the voice in my head at all. I'm still paying clues attention to the number on the scale but I am really annoyed at myself. Have a bunch of Christmas lunches this week so I need to be on my game for all my other meals.

Good morning everyone!

I'm with everyone else who is having problems keeping their head in the game. Seems like I do great all week and then the weekends find me slacking off. I think I need to do as much planning for the weekend as I do during the week and especially on a long weekend. I tend to miss veggies, eat way too much sodium, etc. and boy can I tell it on Monday!

Jenny - new cars are always fun!

Not so fat anymore - I'm the same as you - if I overdo on carbs, etc. I really don't feel so good and have the same symptoms as Hawaii. It's all a learning experience so hang in there - those pounds will be gone before you know it!

Slipfree - I'm cold all the time too = and we've been below freezing for two days (unusual for us this time of year). the snow we got Friday night hasn't melted yet (it was less than an inch). I had planned on pulling out the Christmas stuff this weekend but didn't quite get there.

evemomma - Hope you made it home safe and sound! Sounds like an amazing vacation and you did well!

pishposhappelsauce - sounds like a fun shopping trip!

ChipnDip - I get the "oh, once won't hurt" voice too. That's when I try really hard to drown my inner brat with water just to show her who's in charge! Sometimes I even win that battle!

Good morning!

Its nice to read all your honest posts. And to know that my struggle is not alone. Weekends are always my challenge. I try to get my water and exercise in which was gym on Saturday and my long run yesterday so those are positives. But, I am not eating clean each day. So, I'm trying to have my one fun meal during the weekend and then eat as usual the other two days. I count Friday suppers as the weekend as well because we usually order out. This morning my hands and belly are retaining water so I'm determined to have a good week and get the couple of up lbs off. Of course ovulating doesn't help with the retention! Yay hormones!

Ruth Ann; I agree with the planning on the weekends, I need to do that!

Chip: Sounds like a challenging week ahead but planning will be key, you've got this!

Eve: Glad you had fun on your holiday even though your son was sick. I know you are back OP today.

Slip; Its nice to know that you always understand and I have a 'sugar is the devil' buddy!

Jenny: Congrads on the new car, you'll enjoy it. I have a harder time after dinner, my goal is not to eat. Its trying to remind myself how much better I feel when I eat healthy. Feels so much better than how anything could possibly taste. Now to apply! Hard part!!

Pishposh; I hope you have a great week OP even though you are super busy.

Hello My Awesome Maintainers Friends!!!!!!!!!

I am home though exhausted....! Whew, what a long trip! My ears did pretty well on the airplane, thankfully....but yet another surprise: my daughter got sick..... Luckily, she knew she wasn't feeling well, so I could quickly run her off the shuttle to the airport so she could get sick in a trash can. She fevered the rest of the day, but slept on the airplane with no more vomitting. So, now I am home caring for sick kiddo number two....

We had unexpected freezing rain this morning, so it was a dicey trip to get my son to school. I saw two cars spin out in front of me, with one ending up in a ditch! Eeek!

My good news is that I weighed in at 126.2 lbs this AM.....I was 124.0 before my trip (which was my lowest ever). I know some of this weight is water retention. I count 128 as my scream weight....so I'm still in range - YEEHAW!

Bad news is, like a lot of other's on here, I seem to be playing mental games with myself. I am FORCING myself to do a P1 day today. There is one voice in my head saying, "Well, you don't really need to because you're weight is just fine." But I know that the P1 day isn't about losing weight, it's about getting back on track.

I essentially ended up with three days of off-plan eating at the end of my trip. One "real" fun day (the one I mentioned before) and then two travel days which were not terribly high calorically but higher in carbs/fats and not enough veggies/protein. I hear my inner brat saying, "see, a couple days of off plan eating is just fine." But I know that this is a slippery slope.

Back on track today....I will be traveling again for Christmas, and I want to enter that vacation back at my low range so I don't have to stress.

Jenny.....We are needing to upgrade vehicles also. We don't have any car payments right now, so it will be hard to swallow. But, necessary soon for us. Hope you love your new van!

ChipnDip.....sending you lots of willpower! I know from following the "gained it all back" threads that it is pretty common to start feeling tempted after a successful stretch on P1 (or any weight loss plan). What I love about IP is that there is a plan to easily get back on track before things really start to slip out of control. I find that committing to a cheat-free P1 day gets me back on track as I get to flex my "resistance" muscle again. I also find that planning my P4 days (built in with a few treats even) helps me stay on track.

Sending EVERYONE lots of Willpower Dust!

I can totally commiserate, Chip. The inner brat is louder than ever right now and I'm only on week 1 of maintenance. Evemomma also posted something about the 'waste not want not' mentality. I have had that my entire life and I feel it coming back full force now too along with other behaviors. I had a battle last night with leftover pumpkin pie—"If i don't eat it, it will go to waste! I worked so hard to make it, I deserve a piece. No one is watching, I can have a piece and not be judged for it." etc etc.

This stuff has me nervous about maintaining for the long haul. Didn't weigh all weekend so this morning showed me the damage...scale was up past my scream weight this morning so I am doing P1 today and probably P2 tomorrow. I just need to rev up that willpower and do it for real, no cheats at the end of the day. I joined the holiday challenge...put in a -5 goal but I'll be happy if I just stay steady.

I had my annual with my internist today and OMG - she spent the whole time grilling me about IP. She'd not heard of it but was completely surprised by the amount of weight I'd lost since I'd last visited. She wants to suggest it to other patients who need to slim down. So yay - my good deed for the day is done! Added bonus was that I got weighed in the hallway (weird) fully dressed - boots, scarf, etc. - and was still under my goal weight.

Count me in as not having the best clean eating style lately. I will kinda over indulge on non-fun days - like having chocolate instead of good lunch fat or dinner carb but not going over my calories - then following with a semi P1 day (as in all P1 but with an extra bar or a banana). My hair is still falling out so I'm afraid of dipping too low in calories - at least that's what my brat brain keeps telling me.

Tyranny: Lindt 90% dark Chocolate has some pretty good macros for fitting into a fat meal as there is very little sugar in it. Coupled with some good cheese tucked into some celery sticks you could very well have a P4 compliant fat meal... just something to check out if it fits your calories and you don't do it for every fat meal, lol. I believe off the top of my head its 2:1 fat g to carb g for the chocolate - but ONLY the 90%. Macros get unmanageable for the other bars.

Liana

Pishposh - your comment about nobody will see me eat it hit home with me and is what is worrying me because in the first few weeks my fun days were obvious and totally out in the open but lately I've been a little secretive for some of my eating.

Evemomma - your forced P1 day just to reset is a good idea. Your comment about looking at what you got away with is what led to my last four days and one more meal won't hurt mistake.

I wrote this morning before I weighed myself and when I got on the scale I was up more than 2 pounds from yesterday and at my scream weight. And I actually did kind of scream. I did P1 today and will be P2 until I am back to where I started maintenance just like I signed on my pledge shtetl that IP gave me. It says right in there that no matter the event or holiday, if I see that number, I get back in control.

I am seeing this as part of my learning process. Today gave me even more confidence that I can stay in control of this. I thought I could do everything in moderation but I've just shown myself that I can't do moderation on a daily basis. Some things will have to be reserved for once a week.

I'll be sure to drown the brat next time, Ruth Ann.

Tyranny, my hair is STILL failing out also. Boo! I hate that. I may be the odd one here, but I think P4 allows for sensible indulgences. I tend to tag a mini treat (York mini patty, dark choc square, small cookie, etc) to my carb meal because the fat is usually pretty low and doesn't knock off my ratios. I know everyone that's not everyone's idea of healthy eating. I find if I allow these mini indulgences, it keeps my BIG indulgences at bay.

I was doing really well with mini indulgences and then I shopped a bake sale and everything fell apart for days. And sweets are not my thing! I really experienced the refined carb downward spiral. Cravings and complete mindless eating because I wasn't eating anything good for me.

ChipnDip....Good for you for putting that inner brat back in the corner! It is amazing how we can rationalize "just a little..." of this or that. Pre-planning with MFP has been my most effective tool in staying on-plan since I started maintenance in September. I am a rule follower, so if I set my rules for the day, I follow them. But as I mentioned above to Tyranny, I do allow for sensible treats. Now that I have been doing fun days for several months, I find that I don't "store up" for them the way I used to. A week goes by pretty quickly. ONCE a week is very pretty often!!!

Proud of myself because I stuck to my plan today with no cheats (even though I REALLY wanted to have some nuts or greek yogurt). I ended up doing a P2 day mostly because I made a roast turkey tenderloin that was goooooooood. Anyway, hoping my daughter's fever lifts a little so I can go veggie shopping tomorrow. When I started craving little cheats this evening, I went ahead and preplanned my day tomorrow. That definitely helped!

Good night!

Slip - I'm on board the "strict follow your plan" till fun meal with you. More water for me, no extra or should I say added sugar, and no snacking.

Eve- great job coming back from holiday (although not sure how restful it was) being well within your range. Sorry to hear your daughter got sick on the way back. By my count I think your whole family has had it so here's to hoping that's it for the season.

Pishposh, tryanny, chip - I eat well at work but the off plan eating will happen usually on my own and of course I don't put it in MFP. I think this is the real work post diet and in some ways think could be a life long battle after being over weight for years. I know at one point there was an AA type group for over eaters. Sometimes I think I need that to fix the distortions. The books help but not quite the same.

Hawaii - sounds like your keeping up with your runs. Is your leg better?

Liana- i like the suggestion of 90% dark chocalote and then working it in to an occassional fat meal. I don't know if I could stick to just the one.

Hope everyone had a good reset day. I'm doing my P1 day tomorrow. Works out better as I'm rushing around with kids doing Drs appt and stuff.

I think MFP is key. I was logging everything but stopped in the last week and BOOM! Scream weight! Feel so settled after yesterday's P1 and fighting off the urge to snack. Today will be very close to P1 as well even with my lunch out. Didn't get as much water as I should have so that is a mini goal for today too.

Good for you! I agree that MFP is what keeps me accountable. Even when I don't like to see it, I log in EVERYTHING on MFP. I try to look at it as data instead of "weakness" even when things don't look "perfect". If I'm honest in MFP with a few snacks and ratio problems here and there, then I will know if that is contributing to up pounds. If I try to hide those things from myself, I think I am more liable to overreact to up pounds and try to cut back on things drastically. Also, by being honest with myself about little mini treats, I have found that I could realistically up my carb ratio (from 30% to 35% not subtracting net carbs....always try to meet my fiber goal of 25g) and not gain. That makes a HUGE difference in how I enjoy eating.

Today, my "built in" indulgence is actually using REAL BBQ sauce on my turkey for dinner. I LOVE brown sugar BBQ sauce - but of course it's full of sugar! So, today that's my treat.

Today I am feeling HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! I did a non-cheat P2 day yesterday (and man, I was really having emotional carb cravings last night for sure!). Down to 124.8 today AND started my TOM. Makes me think I didn't gain at all on my vacay. Yippee!!!!

I am home this morning with my daughter, who is still sick but looking better, and trying to wrap my brain around getting Christmas preparations done. I seem to have misplaced my kids Elf on the Shelf from last year. Ugh, sometimes I wish my sister had never given one to use with them in the first place! There's a lot of Pinterest pressure out there, lol!

Need to keep myself productive this morning! Take care all!!!!!