Hi just popping in with a quick up date on Lisa (WUV) as many of you know her. She had her tummy tuck this morning, it went very well and doc said she is going to be very pleased with the results.

Pat

LOL I have a whole concoction...salt, ACV (for ongoing gut probs), lemon stevia drops...it is a masterpiece

Hey everyone! I am still on maternity leave with little 7-week old Payton attached to my chest...lol! I started running last week, building up and hoping to join my running group soon. I did 4.5-miles yesterday..boy was that hard! getting up...well...being woken up...at 4:30am, gets me to the gym by 6:15am, enough for a good 45-60 minutes.

I am sticking 80% to my eating plan, it's that 20% that is getting me. Yesterday was near perfect, then had a bowl of cereal at night...ugh. I made a fresh jicama-apple-lime slaw to help curb the next snack attack. I have 25lb to lose, but not in a big rush as nursing my baby is more important so i cant exactly jump on the Phase 1 train. I know that my food choices are 90% of the equation, just need to tighten up ship!

Hi Everyone! Just checking in. I completed 3 days of P1 and I'll see tomorrow morning how the scale looks. I just decided to nip those 5 pounds immediately. 3 days of P1, then tomorrow a P2 and then P3 for the weekend. I'm traveling Sat-Monday, so I'll stay on P3 those days. If I need to, I'll repeat this next week. It's really not difficult to do. This is the first time I've done 3 days of P1 since I left P1 back in March, so I think I'm doing ok. But I'm determined in my refusal to regain.

Thanks for the info, Pat. If you're in touch with her, give her my best wishes. I know she's wanted to do this for a long time.

LizRR - I'm so excited for you and your new baby! Enjoy and concentrate on being healthy and making some good milk!

Hope you're feeling better soon, CrystalWolf. Yes, with IP we know what to do!

Maile, so true that we can still be demanding at restaurants when ordering. One I always do is tell them I don't want the bread basket. If I'm with others, I make sure that it's not in front of me. Same thing with the tortilla chips and salsa. I partake, but only for a small taste. And it's enough. But no desserts for me.

I feel that my chocolate zone bar in the mid-afternoon is my allotment of sweets. I savor it and have one almost every afternoon. Because it is high in protein it fills me up and holds me until dinner. It also satisfies my chocolate desires and I really don't want any more. Strange thing, but true.

I haven't tried PB2 yet. Maybe I'll get some this weekend.

Dak, this is my usual breakfast on maintenance - without the pb2 and stevia. I also add 1/4 cup of blueberries in there. If I want something more, I eat one egg or 1/2 oz of cheese for more protein and a little fat. I guess the pb2 would do it, also. Sometimes I have a spoon of almond butter, but not lately.

Ok, back to the grading that I'm avoiding.

Hi Liz-
Sounds like you are doing great...you're only 7 weeks out...from baby AND surgery! Right-O....Lighten up ... on YOU! LOL!!
Our youngest granddaughter is going to be 1 right before T-giving and my daughter also is a runner. Trust me..."running" after TWO little ones now...it is going to be easier than you imagined for the weight to get lost! By spring you will probably be under where you started.
Nice to hear from you. Love the baby's name and glad all is going so well!

Hi, all - back from vacation and checking in. Welcome to cassieleeanne, crystalwolf, cdnmomof2, iolani, and other new maintainers! Congrats on making your goals!

Going to be kind to myself and wait until Sunday to weigh. I always retain water for a while after long flights... Don't feel like I gained though I stopped tracking on MFP for more than 2 weeks, and was not too careful with food choices. Lots of walking, especially in Dublin, seems like the easiest way to get around in the city center. If I need some phase 1 days, I'll get right on it Monday morning - no point to putting it off.

Maile congrats on 2 years of maintenance - I knew you were getting close when I left.

Someone tell me more about PB2, please. Like Maile I am a PB lover - usually Smuckers Natural (only ingredient is peanuts). Have heard about PB2, but did not think I'd care for it... Adding it to a shake sounds like a great idea! Or maybe some homemade ice cream.... (no sugar, of course)

Lizzy63: Your tip sounded great. I loved Dublin. I hope your weigh in goes well. Thanks for your support. The PB2 is a powdered peanut butter. 2 tablespoons has 1.5 g fat, 5 carbs, 5 gm protein, 1g sugar, and 45 calories. You can dump it into shakes or yogurt or oatmeal. However, I just noticed that one of the ingredients is sugar. 1 g of sugar is not too bad. I did not think I would like the taste, but it adds a nice flavor.

Lizzyrr: I think you are doing great staying on 80 percent of the time with a 7 month old baby! You are right, staying healthy to nurse the baby is more important than losing. You will have lots of time to work on that later. I am glad you are running again and that the early morning gym is working well in your schedule.

Joysh: I am grading also which is work. I find that one dose of chocolate almonds also satisfies my needs and I don't want anymore.

Patns: Thanks for the update. I am glad she is doing well after surgery.

Lisa32: Lemon stevia drops sound appealing. What do you use them for.?

Here is a good article on overcoming emotional eating from Psychology Today.

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shrink/201206
/five-strategies-overcoming-emotional-
eating

LizzyR, I am super impressed with you getting to the gym so early in the morning, I suppose it makes sense if you are already up but that takes dedication!

Joysh, I imagine the scale will reward those P1 days, thanks for the good thoughts, I went to the chiropractor this morning and he put all my ribs back where they belong. Amazing how much it helps. I still managed to do some walking and light workouts on my elliptical without using my arms. But will be happy to get back to trying to increase my workouts and weights.

Welcome back Lizzy63.

Maile, I couldn't get the link to work, I will try to search the site for the article. I have been reading the Refuse to Regain webpage articles and plan to pick up the book this weekend if they have it at B&N.

Hi everyone!

Most of you will be familiar with my story - I reached goal in April, was fine for a while, then allowed more sugar/carby things into my eating and the cravings came back... with resulting weight gain. I've re-started several times since July or thereabouts, and have been having a tough time staying committed, despite getting into 10+ days of successful P1 eating a couple of times and being in ketosis. As I reflect back these past few months when I've been actively trying to get re-started, I realize the situations that have tempted me are always related to social events ... not feeling comfortable declining what someone has made for a meal, when they obviously think that they have prepared a good low cal/low fat option, and don't realize it is still carb-laden and not good for my diet. Rather than run the risk of hurting their feelings, I eat a small portion ... and then my disappointment with myself results in my staying off my dieting for a few days - or weeks. And I gain another couple of pounds. I'm realizing that all of the time I was successfully dieting on IP last year/early this year, I didn't have social eating interactions that made me feel awkward...my 'away from home' eating experiences only involved totally supportive family members, colleaques or friends. So strangely enough, I never found myself in that situation, even though I was dieting for the better part of a year.

I'm re-starting again today. And I also have committed in my mind to staying firmly 100% on a P1-style eating program for a minimum of 21 days. I have a business meeting coming up next Tues or Wedn which I will definitely need to plan for ... these are people who just came into my life work-wise this year, and they won't be familiar with my dieting habits. But I'm determined not to succumb to what I now realize has become a pattern that's sabotaging my re-starts.

Hi there - I need some advice. I opted to do maintenance for now even though I want to get off that last 5 pounds but I can live with it for now.

This is only day 3 and I already had a slip up. I had a good Phase 3 type breakfast, but then made myself a grilled cheese sandwich (been craving one for weeks and it was totally worth it, no regrets), but then I received a package in the mail from my brother with a box of my favorite Cheetos - a flavour I can't get where I live).

I had some - maybe the equivalent of a single size bag or a bit more. Just guessing.

So should I just turn this into the "fun day" and do a P1 day tomorrow or try to salvage the rest of the day?

Thanks for any help.

Ooooohhh....I forget I have my jar of PB2 in the pantry! I went PB/nuts crazy after goal, but that settled down eventually. That makes a nice splurge.

I made it to Bodypump for the first time in 8-weeks. The last time was 3-days before I went into labor! I feel pretty good, I missed lifting. I thought I might make an evening class now & then, but Payton doesn't do well away from me (cries when dad holds her for long & doesn't take a bottle well), not that I mind, babies need their mommies, especially at 7-weeks old and I found my 6am workaround! Speaking of...MY mommy is coming to visit next week! Looking forward to some girl time, just me, baby, & grandma!

Lizzy63 - Sounds like a good plan post-vacation. It's nice also to decompress after a trip anyways (vacation from your vacation so to speak)

evepet - good job on getting back in the saddle! I am in the same boat now...identifying the triggers/situations. After the baby was 4 weeks old I started back with focusing on food choices, now I am trying to remove the bored eating triggers & choices.

Crystalwolf, That link I posted doesn't work now for me either and says page not found. I will investigate. I am glad your chiropractor helped you. I ordered the book from Amazon. It sits by my computer to remind me of my goal.

Evepet. It is good that you have idenitified your triggers. Social situations can be very hard. There is definitely pressure as people tend to want you to eat what they have prepared. Have you tried taking a green salad so you have something you can eat? You sound committed and ready for 21 days. I hope your lunch meeting goes well next week. I have even put small amounts on my plate..mashed them..and not eaten them.

Slow to lose: You could make it a fun day and do P1 tomorrow. You might need to do P1 for a few days if the scale is up tomorrow.

Lizrr: Do you get 12 weeks of leave? How fun that Grandma is coming. I definitely miss my weights when I cannot get to them. Taking care of a 7 week old baby is delightful but demanding. I admire your energy!

Next week is Red Ribbon week. We are supposed to wear pajamas one day to school. I am not comfortable wearing pajamas to work. I may wear a tee shirt..but do not know if I will wear my zebra pajama pants.

Maile-

Live on the edge a little! You look absolutely great and are so cute! You are probably in the best shape of your life...so have fun with it! People appreciate someone else letting lose a little, esp if it's not their usual MO... I'm sure you will be viewed positively and gain admiration for your spirit!

Maile
I'm not a pajama-at-work wearer either.
One year I did sweats on pajama day.
One year I wore my slippers.

I've thought about buying something I can wear just for this day. We seem to have more than one per year. I'm not a big costume person either, it just isn't my thing.

Some people really get into dressing up & it is really fun for them. For me it just feels forced. I have more fun with "team spirit", which others don't enjoy as much. We each find our fun in different ways.

Mmmmm... How did I miss PB2 for so long? Picked some up yesterday and had it in a vanilla shake this morning - yum! Going to have to try this in one of my homemade ice cream recipes. There are also some interesting recipes on their website - some look fairly low carb.

Hope you all have a happy Sunday! Last day of vacation before back to work for me.