I have never had any problem with wheat or gluten before. Mainly I have been having Bear Naked granola in the morning on my greek yogurt and fresh blackberries.

It has been quite awhile since I have posted on here, but I have still been reading the posts and it is so great and inspirational to see all of you that are now on maintenance or getting ever so much closer.
I have been on maintenance since August and did really well until AFTER the holidays when I think I just got too complacent and let the evil demon sugar creep back into my diet. I managed to stay within 3 lbs of my goal until 2 weeks ago and then kind of went nuts, so now I am doing a mini re-boot to get myself back on track and get the sugar cravings out of my system.
The blessing in all of this is that instead of needing to lose 95 lbs I only need to lose 5 or 6!
Maile and Ishbel...thanks for making it seem like the process of maintenance, while always a work in progress does seem to get easier. 6 months into it and I still feel like I have to be "obsessed" with what I eat or it will get out of hand quickly.
Congratulations to all of you who are new to maintenance or are preparing to get here. It's an awesome feeling and so worth the effort!

Lori:I know the feeling. I would much rather work on 3-5 pounds up rather than one hundred! You have done so well losing 95 pounds. Maintenance is a process. It is learning what works. As I approach one and one half years, it does seem to get easier and I am calmer. Yet as you say, food is a big part of my life..and I spend lots of time planning and cooking. Sugar is a trigger for me and I stay away from it.

Beck81: Are you eating artificial sweetners? Sometimes I get a reaction to that. Yogurt might help.

Thanks to everyone for posting all of the information on the Phases. It is good to review.

I have been a little too busy at work. I sent a paragraph into the National Weight Loss Registry. We will see if I get any response.

Hello everyone! I have not posted here in ages. But, I want to thank you all for posting. I have spent much of my morning going through this thread. It was nice seeing that you are doing grandly!!!!! I have been in maintenance since October. This weekend, after not weighing in at the clinic for three weeks, I was up 3.5 lbs...that is 3 lbs above my Zone. I am trying to remain calm and go about my business. With the exception of going out of my Zone over the holidays...I have had no trouble maintaining until now. I have strayed. We have had soooo much snow here in the Northeast, this has caused many disruptions in my schedule...lots of days off, and just snow! I have discovered that snow sends me into a snack mode !! I was up a % of fat this week and 2 lbs of muscle mass...which could be glycogen stores? My coach, who is also a nutritionist, wants me to stay on P4 and not do P1. I guess that unless there is a substational gain, they want us to work through the gain in P4.....because then you are learning by eating and not by not eating? I told her that P1 would be quicker and she said that it might be, but would I be learning for life that way. I would love your feedback. Reading your posts this morning helped get me in a really good place. So very inspirational!

Hi-I'm hoping ya'll can answer a question for me. If you lost hair on IP, how long did it take before the loss stopped, and what phase were you in when it stopped? I've been losing a lot of hair. I decided to move through phase 2 and on to phase 3 for 2 reasons, a vacation which I just returned from (did phase 3 on it), and in an effort to slow my rapid hair loss (didn't work!) I have 2 days left in my 2 weeks of phase 3. Because my hair loss is extreme, I'm thinking about moving on to maintenance for now to see if it helps. I started taking Biotin about a month ago but it hasn't helped yet. I have gained almost 3 lbs in phase 3 but my pants are still as loose and my body fat % is a bit less as when I started Phase 3. I'd appreciate any thoughts or info you can share. Thanks!

Newpath: stay calm. You will work off those up pounds. Everyone goes through periods where you have up pounds to work off. If you stay in P4 as your coach wants, could you eat the lower fat, lower carb end of things? Like berries for a fruit? When I am working off up pounds I cut back on things like avocados, and eat an omelette for breakfast.
The weather can be depressing. I wish Spring would hurry up.

Nowlawhodatchick: I did not lose much hair. I have heard that it grows back after you stop losing. I do take the Hair and Nails supplement from Costco.

Chloe: It was good to hear from you.

It seems like the registry will accept my paragraph. We will see.

Thanks Maile. I usually keep my P4 VERY low in carbs. I am very carb sensitive, so yes, I will be doing a low carb, no frills P4. It was the frills and extended fun meals that packed on the pounds.

Ooops . . . posting has passed the magic limit of 500.

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