Hi,

I thought that I will start this thread here on maintenance as most of you go thru ups and downs on the scale and most of you analyze why is it going up and why is it going down.

Start from childhood. I ate my first pineapple when I was a teenager - I guess pineapples were not common in Soviet Union. It was frozen pineapple and both my hubby (fiance than) and I ate frozen one out of the bag when we went on our first trip to St. Petersburg. Well, taste was good, but we learned the map on St. Petersburg based on locations of washrooms. I still remember running into the washroom without paying at the entrance as I just could not hold it anymore. I made it then, I loved the taste of pineapple, and I learned that reaction of my bowels is very fast when pineapple makes it in.

I love pineapples. I buy them all the time, when they are available - ripe, gorgeous... My kids love them too. My observation is that when I eat pineapples, I eliminate more and I loose weight. Recently I went thru a slight gain and all pineapples were green - and I do not like green pineapples. So when finally ripe batch made it in, I bought 2 and sure enough, my weight drops every day. Mind you, two other veggies do the same for me - it is like cleaning of your intestines from heavy luggage... One is red beets - in Ukrainian borsch, and the other one is eggplant in sateed veggies.

I thought I will ask you fellow maintainers if you have similar "cleaning" foods. I feel so good after eating pineapple 0 the feeling is like you have a couple of pebbles in your stomack and all of a sudden they are just gone and sure enough next day scale shows a pounds or two loss.

If you have similar experiences, please share, if you never noticed what some veggies/fruits do to us - learn!

Sandy.

Nope, can't say any food does that to me except sugar alcohols like manitol and sorbitol. A few moments of sugar-free chocolate pleasure translate to a near death experience for me.

Mel

I have kind of a pathetic story to share. When I was in college, my diet was HORRID and mostly I'd fall in love with a food for a while and basically just eat that. When that "food" was nestle quik, I lost like 20-30 lbs but that is all I ever ate so it was basically similar to drinking only slimfast but without the added nutrients.

Anyway, at one point, that food became canned pineapple. For dinner, I would eat a can of pineapple. If I was hungry, open up a can of pineapple. It didn't help me lose weight though.

Luckily, my diet eventually became more diverse.

Grapefruits and oranges seem to make me eliminate more than usual... NOT that I ever have a problem with that......

Hey Sandy --

I can't say that I have that reaction to anything in particular, at least that I've noticed. I pretty much have a cast-iron stomach!

P.S. Cute picture!

Hmmm, I don't have that reaction to any particular food--I eat a very high fiber diet and am just used to it at this point. However, any run longer than 10 miles or so better have a bathroom at the end of it!

Well Sandy, the only food that comes to mind that helps me "eliminate" is McDonald's . I don't think that is going to help me lose much weight. What do think? LOL
I find when I am totally OP and falter abit and eat anything that is greasy, I tend to "go" alot easier.....and quicker..!!! I guess it doesn't hurt to get cleaned out every now and then though does it...
Talk to you soon....
Kim

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This brings me to ask Anne, when you did your marathon, WHAT did you do for bathroom breaks?? Enquiry minds wanna know!?

Never noticed that it helped me eliminate anything, but I love fresh pineapple and I do have it often.

Well, Ilene, there were port-o-potties every couple miles or so. Very convenient! Don't sign up for a marathon without them. I was also VERY careful with my diet for 2 days before--no dairy whatsoever, minimal fat, and somewhat less fiber than normal to minimize the problem.

I think this has just almost passed into the TMI realm!

wunderanne

For me, it's carrots, which is a shame because I LOVE them.

Corn, esp fresh corn on the cob. I love, love, love it, too! If I ever live where I can get it farm fresh, look out! And I agree with Anne, running is great for "regularity."