Hi scorbett,

Please share any recipes you come up with. You and Lizrr are so good at creating recipes for life beyond P1. I need all the creativity and variety I can get.

Maintenance is going well for me. I lost 2.8# since I started the phase off a little over a month ago and I am staying with in a half pound or so. Still worry all the time that it will change and I'll balloon up. Sure hope I've figured our the rest of my life. LOL.

Molly

Wingnutandme: Your maintenance is going very well..even 2.8 pounds down. I can remember those fears that you will somehow gain all of your weight back overnight!

Kitkat: I liked that quote. There is no doubt that change brings discomfort at first. Then you get used to it, until the next unexpected thing happens. You then need to form a new plan and be uncomfortable again until you find success.

Scorbette: I admire you for finding new flex breads to eat at lunch. I cheat and get the St.Joseph' oat flex pits.

Evepet: I sure liked the music and the dances, but could not keep up either.
Momto2cs: Maybe I should try a live zumba class and see if I can work into it. Yours sounds great.

Evepet: Your Phase 3 is working.

I ran across the National Weight Control Registry data on maintenance. It is interesting to reflect on.


National Weight Control Registry team member J. Graham Thomas (interviewed recently by our own Russ Lane) published “Maintenance of Long-Term Weight Loss” in February 2009′s Medicine and Health Rhode Island, the official member newsletter of Rhode Island Medical Society. In this paper, Thomas and co-author Rena R. Wing outlined the strategies that are most statistically associated with weight management.

Here are the best predictors of keeping weight off:

Longer duration of weight loss maintenance (more than 2 years)
Dietary consistency
Less fast food consumption
Less TV viewing
More frequent breakfast consumption
Lower levels of depressive symptoms and dis-inhibited eating
Key behaviors associated with weight maintenance are:

Activity levels of over 200 minutes per week (at least for women in the cited study)
High levels of dietary restraint, such as:
Deliberately taking small helpings
Avoiding certain foods
Counting calories
Having lower levels of depressive symptomology
Controlling overeating
Yes, this means that it’s important to continue logging and/or controlling eating. It’s important to keep exercising. A lot. If you want to keep the weight off, these behaviors need to continue.

One of the more interesting behaviors listed was controlling depression. This means getting help in the form of therapy and/or antidepressants, if necessary. It is not a factor one usually hears about in terms of controlling weight, but it makes sense: how is a person going to make rational, healthy decisions while suffering from mental illness?

Along with summarizing the strategies taken by successful maintainers, the article discusses how to teach these strategies. One of the most important factors associated with weight management was frequent weighing and using that information to regulate behavior.

Thus, as with any feedback system, the best control is achieved by:

Frequent monitoring
Immediate correction


I think the immediate correction is the key. It is all too easy to get complaisant and say to yourself I am happy with the way I am. I do not want to change things.

I also find it interesting that they do not mention positive factors: like having a support group or giving yourself small rewards .

Molly: you are such a good example of maintenance and being able to still lose weight.

Maile: my doctor has been very insistent that depression played a part in my weight gain. He words "depression was a thief that robbed you and caused you to eat more". So I have now found a way to control "the thief". This wasn't a problem that he has treated with anti-depressants since those have their own complications but he has recommended that I find more ways to celebrate life and how to make myself happy. To him, the food options were less of a component in weight problems but when I think about it, gluten (and fast digesting carbs) were making me sick and causing me to feel bad so therefore it fed a physical depression. I think the food choices and depressive feelings go together.

I'm not sure if I'm making sense so I better stop there. Tomorrow is my last official day of P3 and then on to maintenance. I am thinking about making a slow cooker beef roast for the first time in my life on the weekend and realized with a crazy laugh that I could add onions and carrots! I will probably have cauliflower mash on the side with broccoli or spinach to include some green. I feel like I'll be living P4 on the wild side!

Maile
I think those seem like pretty good guidelines. The pn program says 5 hours of exercise to stay lean, and continuously monitoring food intake and weight.

Unless you are very lucky and have never had to lose weight, constant vigilance and control will be required. But worth the effort.

Day 10 on Phase 3. Chuggin' along. Still staying at the same weight, so that is good.

Maile I like that info from the National Weight Control Registry re success on maintenance. I know that daily food logging will be essential for me, as will weigh-ins at least 3-4 times/wk to monitor myself closely and as you say, correct it immediately. I intend to eat as much as possible low on the glycemic index, with the exception of Fun Days. I'm pretty much going to continue banning processed sugar from my eating too... I prefer to make a healthier muffin or dessert treat at home on occasion, using stevia as the sweetener.

KitKat I'm on P3 until Monday, but I know exactly how you feel. It feels decidedly 'odd' to think that all the restricted foods are open to me again, come next week. It's going to take some getting used to. BTW - I like and totally agree with that quote by Arnold Bennett.

scorbett & Molly Just fyi - the flax meal wrap that I made a couple of days ago for my P3 breakfast egg wrap came from the Wheat Belly book. It's just 3 tbsp flax seed meal, 1 egg, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp water, and spices (used garlic & onion powder, celery salt & paprika). Can be either spread onto a microwavable pie plate and cooked in the microwave, or on the stove-top like a pancake. For purposes of P3 I substituted oat bran for part of the flax seed meal (otherwise not enough carbs, as the fibre cancels out the carbs when it's 'pure' flaxmeal... and I used only a scant 1/2 tbsp of c/oil, then used egg whites for my scrambled rather than another whole egg in order to minimize the fat level) but I'll definitely try it again using 100% flaxmeal, once I'm officially off Phase 3. I'm with you - nice to be aware of some handy lc bread alternatives.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Maile, thanks for posting that. I'm still on Phase I, but looking ahead at how I will manage maintenance. You are all so inspirational.

KitKat, I am jealous of your veggies! I think I slowed my weight loss by being a little too fast and loose with the eyeballed veggie servings. I just like veggies too much! This week I am back to measuring and trying to be conscious of my portions. I am looking forward to maintenance where I can eat as much spinach as I want!

Also, re: gluten. That is the reason I gained weight in the first place. I had a unrecognized gluten intolerance which resulted in a deep depression. Apparently if your guts are messed up it impedes your ability to absorb serotonin....something like that. There is a link there even if I'm not explaining it properly. I was a mess and I felt full and uncomfortable all the time so I had no physical sensation for when I should stop eating. So I overate. And I was sad, so I soothed with comforting carb heaving foods and sugary things. Then I switched to gluten free...but poor gluten free choices containing white rice flour and other high glycemic flours. It's good that you know that gluten is an issue for you.

Can I ask how you managed your Phase 3 breakfasts while avoiding gluten? It has been on my mind even though I won't be phasing out for another 3 months or so.

I'm just curious how many successful maintainers follow the IP guidelines for food combining to maintain, and how many have set their own maintenance plan and found success? What works for you?

I'm going into maintenance this weekend, and I'm a little nervous to be "striking out on my own".

I'm not KitKat, but thought I'd respond, as I've been trying to avoid wheat in my P3 breakfasts as much as possible too. I've been concentrating on organic oatmeal, oat bran, and quinoa. I also have a gluten-free cereal that I've used for a couple of breakfasts. I've allowed a small amount of wheat a couple of times, by having 1/2 a whole wheat english muffin. And I've improvised a home-mixed flour mix that combines about 1 tbsp/serving of soy flour with equal portions of a gluten-free flour mix, oat bran, coconut flour, and almond meal. So I'm not 'completely' wheat-free, but have really minimized it, as I'll continue to do in maintenance. This combo has worked for me, but then I think I'm only 'borderline' sensitive to wheat gluten.

...it's a 'me' post sorry! Quick question...

My gf let me use this book http://www.amazon.ca/Workouts-Muscle...4414671&sr=1-1

So I'm going to buy it and give hers back...anyone else have some good weight training books they recommend that I can purchase from amazon? Figured I'd ask before I put in an order.

Honestly, I would just buy men's health ant try some of their circuit style work outs. Simple is better. Change it up every month or so, but find something that challenges you and fits you schedule.
A home gym with resistance bands, a stability ball and a few dumbells can take you far!

Maile - I absolutely love that info. I think the "Immediate Correction" is SO important - I definitely got fat because I wasn't watching my body trends and did nothing to correct along the way until it was out of hand.

I'm a month into maintenance and still holding within the same 3-4lb range. I am on a somewhat blended maintenance plan - I do try to avoid carbs at lunchtime, and go low fat at dinnertime. I still do a P3 breakfast every day, by the book. My snacks tend to look more like a weight watchers snack, I don't separate fats and carbs as diligently for snacks but it's also a much smaller portion than dinner.

I find that tracking my calories has been the real "key" for me.

Coconut Flour, Almond Flour, Flax, Oatmeal, Rice flour....lots of GF options! GF granola is a great option (one of my favorite fast breakfasts is granola and fruit on greek yogurt, eggs and canadian bacon), and there are lots of GF bread options available now.

This is the one that was recommended to me:
http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Train...ning+for+women

Ishbel, what is the status of Operation: Wedding Flats?

Evepet, thanks for your info! Scorbett, too! I guess I am just getting nervous because oatmeal is out for me (even GF oats have given me issues) and so I know I will have to be making my own creations (I did cook with almond and coconut flour pre-IP) or relying on Udi's bread for P3. I've never tracked calories before, and the mental hurdle to start doing that is scary to me. I have set up a myfitnesspal account and need to start adding IP foods and tracking while in P1 just to get in the habit of it. It just seems like a pain in the tush to get started adding all the stuff I eat into a personal library. I need to stop making excuses and just do it.

I am grateful for Maile's post about succeeding in maintenance. It reinforces that tracking your intake is crucial. I know I gave half hearted attempts in the past to track and I am grateful that my IP coach requires tracking and bringing in a food journal. It is good to build those habits so that in maintenance I can continue to be accountable.

I feel bad for posting in here since I'm still in P1, but you all are what gives me hope that this is not just a short term solution and that it can really be a jumping off point for a new relationship with food.

GreatLakes - you don't have to add all the IP foods, MFP has a BIG database of foods including all of the IP (and alternative) products. Definitely start using it every day now, that was probably the one thing I started in P1 that has saved my butt in maintenance

Thanks, scorbett. Yeah, I just meant that until I get a base of my "go-to" IP stuff into the my frequent food list, I will have to search and add them. I am that lazy. It would be so nice if you could select multiple items and add them all at the same time to a personal food library.

Betsy Johnson has a "blue" line that has some flats, too. http://www.betseyjohnson.com/Item.aspx?id=98532&np=984 they just got these in at Nordys. They are sparkly and the bottoms of the shoes are baby blue in color.