Glory, how are you doing with those pants? I'm always in awe of your menus when post on Whole Foods. It always seems so disciplined and mature to me, a good example.

Well, I've got two good phrases today, 'hyper aware' and having a mature relationship with the box of chocolate.

I don't have a lot of great ideas for Sarah and Tara on increasing calories. I sort of did it backwards. After an intial period of unbelievable discipline, I changed my calories to roughly what I was willing to eat, and my weight loss sort of stopped when my body got to what those calories could support. Now I'm more like Helen, and my calorie level goes up and down with my running/training load. I moderate it somewhat, since something in my brain still wants me to eat about 4000 calories a day, but basically I listen to my body and eat what I seem to need. I track my calories but don't restrict them too much unless things are getting out of hand.

Anne

Karynlee, I just looked at your fun milestone and you look absolutely fabulous! I'm glad you put the link there--I almost never go to that section of the forum. I think having fuzzy goals helped me get to where I am and I sort of have trouble relating outside of Maintainers.

Anne

Hey Anne, pants fit better today Thanks for the nice words about my menu, I wish I were more disciplined about working out! I don't have much problem with food on a day to day basis but I sure am LAZY. I also wanted to say that I definitely don't have a mature relationship with boxes of chocolate, I might be okay with a single square of chocolate or a single serving of dessert split at a restaurant, but no way would I want a box of chocolate or cookies or tub of ice cream in the house. I do pretty well at saying NO completely but if I have just one taste, it's WAMMO, I have to finish it. Ugh! I long for a mature relationship with treats. Not that much of a good example, heh

I had a **** of a time trusting myself to increase calories when I started maintaining. I raised my daily calorie limit, very slowly, over a period of months, accompanied by a lot of angst, guilt, back pedaling to lower calorie days and trepidation when I got on the scale once a week.

It all worked out beautifully (after about 6 months of self-caused mental anguish) and it was eventually very freeing and wonderful to have MORE calories during the day to eat MORE super foods. Instead of choosing between yogurt or almonds, I could have yogurt AND almonds. I was just really careful to increase calories with more of the same type of food I was eating. Except for the occasional decadent treat of a 120 calorie biscotti with my non fat latte, my typical daily menus are made up of exactly the same kinds of foods I ate when I was losing weight, just 200-300 more calories a day.

I had a little surprise yesterday. I was going outside to rake leaves and decided to wear some of my looser jeans. (size 7). I put them on and they wouldn't stay up on my hips. So, I grabbed for my belt collection and started putting on belts, my belts are now too big even on the tightest loop hole. So, I had to change jeans, to keep the plumber thing from happening while I did yard work.

When I was only 13 lbs. left to goal, I had bought 3 very nice pairs of (size 7) jeans. I didn't think my size would change much with so little left to lose. But, it did. I'm thinking of taking them to an alteration shop to have some darts put in the back of the waist. I hate to give them away as they were some of my newer clothes. Do others of you have clothes that are only about 1 size too big and what did you do with them?

Yesterday my daughter said to me that she thinks it's easier to get more exercise and eat healthier foods in the summer because there aren't very many holidays and we have very few houseguests during those months. That got me thinking. I don't think it is the array of goodies (Christmas cookies, gifts of chocolate, eggnog, pies, etc, etc) that make this time of year more difficult for me. I think it is the interruption to my routine. I want to KNOW that I can stay in the security of my routine day after day. If I know something is coming that may interrupt my routine of healthy food and exercise, I tend to give up on my routine early . How ridiculous is that? But recognizing the problem is the first step, right?

Right now I KNOW that my MIL coming, my DDs birthday, Christmas parties, and Christmas day pose threats to my routine. But I am not going to let those events dictate what I eat or when I exercise. If I feel insecure weighing my food in front of my MIL, I'm just going to think of you gals here at 3FC and know I am NORMAL. At parties, I will just avoid food or stick with the veggie tray. At restaurants I will plan in advance. I'm just going to maintain my routine through all of this to the extent that I can.

That's the plan, anyway !

Lily,

I had a very nice barely worn pair of lined wool slacks. I had them altered because the alteration was less expensive than buying a new pair.

Funny... if I hadn't had them altered, they'd fit me now! Oh well, I'll get back into them!!

Lindy

Thanks, Anne! I discovered all those great progress photos by following Lily's link! The comparison pics between my two black dresses are really helping me stay focused this month.

Lindy, I've had a very similar realization about my routine and how easily I can get knocked off track when it is interrupted. It's helped SO much putting my workout at the top of the list. I get it done, and then focus on all the extra stuff (and parties and visits) that come this time a year. Good luck with your MIL visit and your parties!!

I have two pair of slacks that I really, really like. I had them altered last spring because I knew I'd need them in the spring and summer. I wore each pair once, and now they need to be altered again! At this point, I haven't decided to take them back for altering or just buy new pairs. They are dressy, and I don't wear them often at all, but they are such nice slacks. One pair is plain black but they are so nice, the others are a cropped, black and white windowpane check from Talbots. I can't do the alteration myself for two reasons--the cropped slacks are fully lined and the black ones are just too darn expensive for me to try. Better to leave it to the professionals!! I am, however, wearing one of two pair of jeans that I inserted darts into myself. It sure helped them from sliding off my hips!

I hate to be a cheap but I think altering them would be less expensive than buying new ones. I hate to keep one size too big and think that I always have them to fall back on if I gain weight. They fit nice in the legs. But the way they fit right now makes me look like my butt is flat as a board. LOL

Gotta go, I think my dog is in labor.

Hi everyone! I'm a little behind on replying but here goes.

Helen -- Hi! Congrats on your marathon. I just wanted to say hi since I used to read a lot of your posts but haven't seen many lately since I have been pretty much exclusively reading this forum's chat threads.

Re: upping calories for maintenance . . . I had kind of a weird experience with it. I basically changed nothing when I hit my goal weight, but over the following months I continued to lose weight. I made a conscious effort to add back some things, especially fats (since those add calories fast). When I was losing I almost never cooked with oil or butter, just cooking spray and a nonstick pan, but adding back olive and canola oil was an easy way for me to gradually up my calories. Now, after a year, I am still sensitive to the calorie levels of what I'm eating, but I don't worry about them as much.

I don't usually journal and I couldn't say exactly how many calories I eat on a given day, but what I do exactly the same as when I was losing is that I plan out all my meals for the week in advance. Every Sunday I pick out three recipes from Cooking Light for the week (since there are only two of us, usually we have leftovers a couple times and pasta and salad on the remaining night), and a healthy lunch option. Then we go to the grocery store, and I am allowed to buy at most one "junk" item every 2-3 weeks, where a "junk" item is something like tapioca pudding cups or Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. I live by routine really. I eat the same breakfast every day (raisin bran), and the same three snacks throughout the day (banana, apple, yogurt), and sometimes even the same lunch every day. The only thing that really changes is dinner and all my recipes are from Cooking Light. Then Saturday night is my cheat night (just like when I was losing) and I don't even think about how many calories I eat, I just eat whatever I want.

I'm not as disciplined about exercising now as I was before, but that has more to do with a job change (and therefore a schedule change) and relocation than anything else.

Anyway, remember how I was upset because the scale at the gym was reading 138? Well, it was down to 136.5 on Monday evening, and my home scale is weighing me in at 129 in the mornings. I feel better already. Now the only problem is that after Monday's workout, I felt motivated to do some walking lunges . . . and did one too many! Ouch! Normally I'd do a stationary bike after an incident like this but all three bikes at our apartment complex gym are broken. I guess it's a tossup between the elliptical and the stairmaster.

Is anyone else traveling for the holidays? I'm flying home to Los Angeles next Friday and I am really excited about it. I haven't been home since last Christmas, which is the longest I've ever been away. It's going to be a **** week for maintenance though, since my favorite thing about LA is the food. We have a list of restaurants we want to go to. I'm telling myself it's only one week, so I can't do too much damage, and I'll be definitely back on track for the new year! But as much as I know it is bad for me, I will not give up going to eat my favorite foods during my once chance a year to do so!

I was sitting at the computer at work when my OWN doctor came around the corner. "What would your fat chicks think of that?" He asked, sticking his finger in my ice cream cone.

Susan, an ice cream cone? At work? My, oh, my. Maybe it isn't salt that's bothering you today! LOL

The night before last my grandkids were here and I made cookies. I didn't have any packaged ones. Me and my oldest step-daughter were sitting in the floor playing cards and we set a plate of cookies there to share. I went and took cookies to my DD that was in her room doing homework and Samantha went and started a load of laundry. When we came back to our card game, my labrador was sitting there licking her mouth and had eaten the cookies. LOL, I didn't need them anyway. I'm sure cookies aren't good for a hugely pregnant dog either. She didn't get sick from them.

No it's ridiculous mindless face stuffing!

Maybe that dog should have come and grabbed my cone.

LOL, she would have eaten that cone if she could get it.