Hi ladies, I've missed you all.

Lisa - really rooting for you, what a challenge but if anyone's up for it you are!

RuthAnn - congrats and welcome to maintenance. If it's one thing I've learned, it's that this is when the real journey starts!

I'm hanging in there, still losing hair, but I think it might be slowing down - so strange and freaky. I eat P3 mostly, but sugar has now become my slippery slope - one caramel, one chocolate kiss and I need to physically remove myself from the area! I do a fun day but it's become a fun dinner and then I do P1 the next day… all working for me. But it's a constant process for me.

Some suggestions for snacks:
jerky (esp. turkey) if you don't have to worry too much about sodium.

The tiny 100g tubs of greek yogourt that usually come in a 4 pack. You can just pop them into your purse with a spoon and they will be just fine non-refrigerated til the afternoon.

A hardboiled egg - shell ON - will tuck into a baggie in your purse and be fine all day - do not peel until ready to eat.

Any other kind of nuts especially fresh walnuts or pecans (I don't suggest macadamias unless you are trying to get your fat grams up - they are waaay high) We buy $750 worth of nuts once a year from a special fresh/organic nut sale and keep them in our cool room all year -just portioning them out into a baggie as we need.

Curves also makes protein 'meal bars' that work with our plan, and they are cheaper (in Canada 5 bars/$9) and pretty tasty - Yogourt Berry Bliss and a fudgy chocolate one. NOT the 'snack bars' - not enough protein in those.

A piece of low fat cheddar & celery sticks.

A tiny tub of mixed peanut butter & WF peanut spread with celery sticks. (I have tiny Tupper containers that work well for this & salad dressing single servings.) Or for savoury - a tiny tub of greek yogourt with spices in it for a dip & your celery or jicama, whatever.

All of the above work without a fridge or cold pack during the day as long as you eat it that day. I don't suggest putting the yogourt or egg back in the fridge for another day if you didn't use it, just in case.

Hi All! I'm enjoying all of your comments and enjoy the positive and encouraging advice. It is hard when you start maintenance. I think especially the first month is hard, you are figuring it out and sometimes get too panicky about numbers, I know I did anyway. But, I did start exercising more and it feels good to be toning and moving! And my coach told me to just remember, 'sugar is the devil' and have protein with every meal. I am figuring it out and realizing what works and what doesn't. I had some carbs at a barbeque the other night and right away, my tummy was sore and bloated and gross! I turned to a friend who is still on P1 and said, 'its so not worth having bad carbs!' She laughed and stuck to her plan. She's down close to 60lbs since January! I'm so proud of her, and she looks great. Its all about feeling better and this plan certainly helps in that area! Congratulations maintainers!

Lisa: you've done great, and like you said, 20lbs to lose is much better than over a 100lbs!

It is nice to hear from so many maintainers!
Right now my maintenance is going well. Over the last few months I have stepped it up a notch and feel happier. These changes have helped me.

One I now use my step and activity tracker daily. This has caused me to increase my workouts and physically walk more. I can feel the difference in my energy.

Two I am now doing daily planks! This started with my Physical Therapist...To my surprise I have developed new abdominal core muscles
and have lost two inches on my waist and flattened my stomach. Yes.

Three: I have cut back on my morning low carb bread and cut back on wine.

Four: I have a daily tracker where I post on the day's success on my mini goals..

Five: I have pretty much switched to stevia as a sweetener. At first I found that stevia did not taste sweet at all compared to artificial sweeteners. Now I am used to the taste and have tamed my sweet tooth..to some degree.

All of these steps have led me to be at goal or lower. This is better than being at the high end of my range.

I am feeling positive about maintenance. The next statistic is 5 years means that you have a 75 percent chance of keeping off the weight. 2years is an 20 percent chance of keeping it off.

Joysh: I think you are showing confidence by refusing to get new clothes. The nice thing about support here is that you can share your daily weight battles. I hear you on the end of the year school stress. It is hard.

Eandc: Hello to you and glad that you are doing well.

Dak1lls: You do feel better and more in control when you are back on P1. Glad those 4 pounds went down.

vachinyc: Keeping that protein handy is a good idea. I have to measure almond butter as I love it! Your maintenance is going well.

Ecdslim: Maintenance is a constant process. I like the quote: Wake up determined and go to sleep with satisfaction.

Canadinjeh: I like your snack ideas. That gives me variety also.

65x65: I also cut back on wine. I think it helps me lose up pounds and maintain better.

Hawaii69: The first month is hard. You are still juggling and learning. You are lucky to have an IP friend who has lost 60 pounds! The two women at work who introduced me to IP quit the program.

Lisa: I think your doctor is wise to get this thyroid problem cured in this next year. I hope your new eating plan is making you feel better. Did your doctor mention anything about taking your thyroid medication at least 45 minutes before taking other supplements, especially calcium? That is what my doctor told me.

Good going Maile: You 'plankster', you! Abs of steel! Its amazing how a step tracker/pedometer can make you more aware of movement during the day, too.

Liana

My doctor looked at MRI results and confirmed that my feet are in bad shape. No more treadmill but the elliptical is okay (within reason).

Worst part is that I can't wear nice shoes. Pumps are out. My "ring" toe on left foot hurts like a pinched nerve as soon as try them on. I've been wearing Keen Whisper sandals for couple of years. I have them in 4 colors, good support. Feet don't hurt when wearing them.

I don't have to dress in business attire for work so haven't been in rush to get nice shoes. Now when I want to wear something besides pants, I can either wear sporty sandals or strappy dress sandals. No happy medium.

Ok, done venting for awhile.

Thanks for the snack ideas canadjineh - especially no fridge needed. I definitely need to branch out. I love Greek yogurt. I usually have it for breakfast and just didn't think about packing to go.
Thanks!

Maile: planks...how long have you been doing them? I can't even imagine a plank taking inches of my waist but I may have to give it a try

Have a great weekend everyone!

Vachinyc: I have been doing them daily for 3 months. I do the front plank and then side planks. It may not have been the only factor in losing inches, but I definitely notice more muscles on my stomach. I do three sets for a minute each.

Tisado: That is too bad about no dress shoes. It sounds like you have some nice sandals that work. I think the treadmill is harder on your feet than the floating elliptical.

Canadjineh: My abs are not quite steel..but they certainly are better! The odd part is that I thought I already had ab muscles from the nautilus weight machines. I think I have been missing the core muscles.

Here are success indicators from the National Weight Control Registry. I was wrong..At 2 years of maintenance. you have a 50 percent chance of keeping the weight off.


Here are the best predictors of keeping weight off:

1. Longer duration of weight loss maintenance (more than 2 years)
2. Dietary consistency
3. Less fast food consumption
4. Less TV viewing
5. More frequent breakfast consumption
6. Lower levels of depressive symptoms and dis-inhibited eating

Key behaviors associated with weight maintenance are:

1. Activity levels of over 200 minutes per week (at least for women in the cited study)( average 60-90 minutes a day)
2. High levels of dietary restraint, such as:
Deliberately taking small helpings
Avoiding certain foods
Counting calories
3. Having lower levels of depressive symptomology
4. Controlling overeating

Thanks everyone for the great welcome - you guys are the best!

So much information and wisdom here - I feel a lot more confidence in my ability to keep the weight off.

Maile - great list and something to keep in mind. I printed it out and it now resides on my refrigerator where my P1 sheet used to live.

I'm trying to not get into a rut by eating the same things all the time - dh and I have been working on planning a dinner menu for the week (planning dinner really helps us stay on track and organized) and then I can figure out the rest of my day based on what's for dinner (leaving room for unexpected events, of course, which seems to be the norm for me).

Having dinner tomorrow night to celebrate Mothers Day and 3 birthdays. Not too worried about dinner since sis is hosting and she always has lots of lean protein and veggies on the menu but will probably have cake. Figure I can count that as my first "fun" meal. Now to just get over the nagging voice that says "you'll gain 120 pounds back if you eat cake." My brain is really annoying sometimes.

Love this! Thanks! Good reminders!

Ruth Ann, you are feeling like me! I sometimes go into panic mode thinking the weight I lost is back on. I'll wake up in the morning and feel my tummy sometimes! hee hee But, am realizing that how I feel about food has changed and I am much more conscious of what goes into my mouth. Exercise helps too. And staying away from sugar is huge! Love the suggestions on this board too! Its great to see others maintaining and giving great suggestions.

Went to the farmers market this morning - not a ton of selection this early in the season but I did discover Labneh - I think I'm in love! It's basically a soft cheese made from yogurt and is scrumptious. Just used it as a dip for my lunch veggies. The one I bought is made locally (which I like), all organic and is awesome. For a 1/4 cup it has 68 calories; 5 gm of carbs; 3 gm of fat and 5 gr of protein. A little high in sodium at 615 but worth it. I think adding some dill to it would be awesome. I can see myself using this a lot

There's a great recipe for making your own yogourt Labneh in a cookbook I got out of the library (which is Cooking for Celiac, Crohn's, Colitis, and IBS) and it suggests storing the labneh balls in olive oil infused with spices in your fridge. Even the photo was yummy! They almost looked like pickled eggs....ooooh, as I type this, I'm thinkin' it's time to make a load of pickled eggs which I love, and seriously allowed P1-4.... hmmmmm.... Tomorrow's shopping list - a couple dozen eggs.

Liana

I found a bunch of recipes for it too and may try making my own. I also have Lisa's recipe for yogurt as soon as I get brave enough to try it. I really like the idea of making as many of my own foods as possible so I can control what goes in them. I have an old cookbook that I love "more with less" that has some great recipes. I figure we keep heading in that direction and we'll be fine (good thing dh likes to cook as much as I do!). My problem, as always, is time so I need to get back in the habit of large batches prepared ahead.

Family dinner tonight to celebrate 3 birthdays. Since I know pretty much what's on the menu I pre-logged (subject to adjustment) including the wine and ice cream cake (my first "fun" meal) and then planned the remaining meals for today to make sure I got enough protein and fats. I can't decide if I'm being obsessive or prudent. But I figure until I have things totally figured out, I might as well keep being careful. Note: I also pre-logged my P1 day for tomorrow.

So glad you're doing well Hawaii! And I know the feeling - I wake up and check to see if I can still feel my ribs!

Love the new pic - you look wonderful!

Just made some yogurt yesterday. It is SO EASY!
Put milk in pan
Slowly Heat to 180 F
Cool to 120
Whisk in yogurt starter (I use Siggis - organic, grass fed & not nonfat)
Put somewhere warm for 24 hours (oven with light on)
Save a few tablespoons for the next starter
Strain if you want Greek yogurt.
Put the resulting whey in the garden.