Hey maintainers! I hope to be joining you here soon!

Couple of things - I'm phasing off for a cruise and have questions regarding Phase 3.

I was planning on starting P3 on Thursday and will spend some time over the weekend planning my breakafasts. I was going to use the packets still for my lunch, seeing I still want to lose weight - has anyone done this? Is it ok?

Also, I received the one sheet Phase 3 lisitng of foods, etc from my coach - no date on it. I read the veggies -under "ocassional" it says "pepper rutabega" - on the P1 sheet rutabega's are listed under "select". As I was writing this I noticed that the only "pepper" on the P1 sheet are "hot peppers" - have I been eating green, orange, red & yellow peppers (very often) and they're not on this plan?!? I don't see the sheet in the stickies. Does anyone else have this sheet? Have you noticed this? I dont have it here at work, but can scan it and email it to someone over the weekend if you PM me your email. Plus, maybe it should go in the stickies - it looks valid - like the P1 & P2 sheets.

I just checked out the P2 sheet in the stickies and it says "peppers rutabega" under ocassional too. I guess it's real.

Thanks!

Lynnie63: I don't think it would hurt to have a packet for lunch on P3. On P4 I sometimes have the IP soup for a change. I don't have any sheets. I did not eat the red and yellow peppers until P4..but ate the green. Welcome to maintenance.

Starshine: I was in that decades club of yo-yoing. Good luck on finding new recipes. Zucchini chips: Slice zuchinnis in circles. Dip in reg beater or eggs.
Shake in a plastic bag with pamesean until they are coated. Put on Pam sprayed aluminum foil sheet on baking pan. Bake 375 for 20 or so minutes until they are brown. They are crispy and yummy. I do this with mushrooms also..and sometimes sprinkle spices.
Bubbleblower and Patns: Thanks for your support and for sharing your moms' stories. I was pleased to hear that your moms adjusted and found new friends. That is what I am hoping for.

Bubbleblower" good to be 4 pounds away from goal for your trip. You can do it.

Scorbette: I love Lizr's recipes. She is an amazing cook. You are getting closer to P4! It also felt wierd when I started seeing my coach 2x a month.

Darb7: 22 months of maintenance is impressive. Yes, the people keep changing here. I love the new people, and hope the others who no longer post are doing well. That is how I feel in January..doing the same stuff, but on different days.

Jennydoodle. That was good that the holidays went well and that your maintenance is going well. I like dyour comment about doing the same stuff but on different days. January drags with the cold not helping.

Sonyavainva: I do not know of any sugar addiction group. There are two books that are good. Why people get fat and Suagr the bitter truth. There is also a sugar addiction team on Spark people.com. Yes, portion control is importatn..even if the food is healthy. I do not know why we get these urges to eat more when food tastes especially good.

It is cold and I am having a quiet day. The NWCR registry asked me to do a story. I might write one.

Lynnie - I ate all colors of peppers often through all phases with no problem. I wouldn't worry about it.

Lynnie - I think that is an old sheet. All color peppers are 'approved' - this topic has come up several times before. Phase 3 is just like Phase 2 except for the breakfast...and Phase 2 is just like Phase 1 except for the protein at lunch!

Mailie - please share whatever you submit to the registry! You are such a shining example to all of us and I enjoy each of your posts!

Ishbel - I think I've told you how much I love you right? I still remember when you hit goal (along with Busymom) when I started IP and you were my thinspiration! I hope your behind is getting better...congrats on 9 months!!!

I also had all colors of bell peppers all through P1, as well as Poblano & Jalapeno peppers sometimes. Enjoy your cruise Lynnie!

Went back to the dr to have my knee looked at again. Having pain on/off, and last night it was pretty bad. Took xrays today, but they want to do an MRI. Expecting to have that done later next week. Sooo, cannot do any exercises involving my legs; upper body only - this will cut down on my time at the gym. He thinks it's an injury to the medial meniscus cartiledge. I'm not gonna worry about it until we know for sure.

I've noticed I'm not getting enough veggies in every day, so going to dig up some recipes this weekend. Was so much easier to get the veggies in during summer months. I'm not a big fan of salads in cold weather; this is homemade soup time of year! Maile - I copied your recipe for parmesan zucchini chips. Just so happens I have a zucchini in the fridge that needs to be used up asap Thank you for sharing

Greeniris: That is too bad about your knee. Good luck with the doctor. I hope you like the chips. We make them often. I miss the summer vegetables also..especially tomatoes. Have you tried roasting vegetables in the oven?

Lizzy63: Thanks for your support on my mom. She moves next Friday. Good luck on your big job interview. You are wise to realize that stress can bring back old habbits.

Lizr: I will definitely share any article when I get around to sending it.
I was re-reading the info on that site. I still am amazed that 90 percent of maintainers exercise an hour each day. They also watch less than 10 hours of tv a week. There go my football games..LOL.

Maile - I do roast some veggies in the oven; just did cauliflower the other day. Love roasted asparagas too, but it's so darn expensive this time of year.

Lizzy63 - I forgot to wish you good luck on your upcoming interview, so GOOD LUCK! Is it with the company you currently work for?

If you find any good 'winter soup' recipes please share. Like you these cold, snowy days make me want a hot bowl of soup or stew. As I said in the 'Fab at 50+ Thread' I hope your knee situation is soon resolved, and you're able to enjoy that gym membership.

Maille - I copied your Parmesan Zucchini Chip recipe too. Really looking forward to it in maintenance.

And speaking of Maintenance - I may do my 'Phase Out Round 2' and hit Maintenance again a bit sooner than expected. I found out today that I fit into a pair of slim fitting jeans that I last wore about 10 years ago. I was so excited to fit into them that I took my picture and came out of hiding. I'm wearing them in the picture. In my mind, being able to wear these slim-fitting jeans has always equated with my reaching my goal. So I've now decided to re-think my goal weight (Again!) and evaluate things when I hit 150lbs. That will give me a bit more room for a cushion, and my absolute 'ceiling' would then be 155lbs. I believe losing an additional 4 lbs, plus overall toning will produce the result I want.

BTW, I've been doing vibracize and already feel firmer. Anyone else here doing vibracize?

Cheers everyone. Hope you're all having a great Saturday.

You can shred that zucchini and freeze. I do it all the time. I chop & freeze bell peppers before they go bad to use in omelets & veggie stir-fries.

RE knee: sending good vibes that it is something easy to fix with some PT, most of which can be done at home (you and I could schedule our PT exercises and "do together," 500 miles apart!). Until they figure it out, ice is your friend (she says from LOTs of experience!)

Hi maintainers

I just wanted to say hi! I got back from Vegas on Thursday night and am settling back into a phase 2 kind of diet. I am up 4 pounds from my normal high, or about 8 from my usual.

I have also joined the precision nutrition lean eating program. I'm hoping to have a more food based diet by the end of the year, and to lose a little more fat and gain some muscle. I like ip, but feel I should find away to eat without packets!

Hope everyone is doing well post holidays!

Evepet,
I've been doing a vibracize for the past year, was doing it 3 times a week from Jan 2012-September 2012 and twice a week since then. My version is called Power Plate and I have a personal trainer who directs me and DH through many exercises 2 X/week. (And then a second trainer who does strength training with us 2X/week.) Power Plate has really helped lean out my arms and mid section as well as inner thighs, special exercises for all those areas. Doing that with weight training and 5 mile dog walks 3-4 times/week is our exercise regime. Many NFL teams and other US athletes use Power Plate. Many celebrities do too - its highly effective and fun.

Thx Chloe, glad to hear that it's working for you. It's great to hear from somebody that's been using it for that long, and has first hand experience with good results. I did quite a lot of research about it, and it sounded almost too good to be true. But curiosity got the better of me. I'll go for anything that allows me to get the equivalent of 45mins of exercise in 15minutes! BTW - I think your ski trip must be approaching soon - have a good time.

Hi maintainers, I've been posting in the reboot thread since the new year...I was up to 190.8 and am currently at 176.4. I'm comfy at 165 and my ultimate goal is 160. I'm going on vacation 3/6 and want to be as low as I can be for that trip!

Well, sorry my post was all "I, I, I"...

Hope you're all doing fabulous and can't wait to rejoin you all and stay here hopefully for a long, long time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The original ideal protein protocol- the one that allowed only 5 ounces of meat a day, did not allow " colored" ( other than green) peppers. The newest version of phase 1 allows 8 ounces of meat for evening meal and any pepper, any color, I eat the yellow and red ones all the time- sometimes a full cup twice a day with another cupnof cucumbers- hasn't slowed my losses at all.

Hey Maintainers,

Just thought I'd pop in here and say hi, since I've been hanging out on the re-boot thread, down 4 lbs with 11 to go. It feels good and one day at a time, i'm feeling back in "the zone"
So glad to hear from the new ladies and even some of my fellow oldies! Glad we're all hanging out together. Now you all have me curious about this vibracize???? I don't even know what it is, but you can bet I'll be on google in about 2 seconds :0)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend
Sunny :0)