Congrats and welcome to P4! I've been doing P4 since April of this year and continually feel like I'm gaining more and more control. It's a learning process... You're going to love it!!! WOO HOO!!!

It's all good!

Thanks, mom. What do you do to take off any gain. Go back on phase 1 for a few days?

Thought I'd ask here about hair loss.
I've been maintaining for over 2 1/2 months and am still losing the same amount of hair that I did while I was losing. I'm wondering what others experience has been. I know it will grow back, just wondering when I will stop losing so much hair...

Barbara

I have not had a lot of hair loss, but people here have said it stopped after a number of months. Good luck with that.

Ishbel: It was a school picture. The books were telling. Too bad about the balloon.

Locopollo: it is hard to sit in a bar and stay healthy. Good luck. I love to watch football.

Have a good Monday maintainers.

I watched football in a bar last weekend--I know what you mean! I watched my sister and her husband devour nachos, potato skins, & cheese sticks. However I ordered myself a NY Strip Steak with mushrooms and a salad and that was yummy, too! Sort of took my mind off drooling over their food! Lol! And our team won, too!

I am curious about the IP clinics policies towards people on maintenance. Are you able to continue to consult your coach? If so, how often? Is there a fee or a minimum amount of products that you need to purchase? I'm getting close to goal and starting to think about it, although I'm considering readjusting the goal slightly lower. It seems like it is easier being on program than on maintenance. I don't look forward to beginning the struggle to fight cravings, etc. I think I will have more questions for you as the time draws near.

Happy Monday! It sure is fun to see the before and after pics of those of you who have posted them. I avoided getting pictures taken if at all possible before, but the ones I do have just confirm why I am working so hard at keeping this weight off this time.
I have been on maintenance since the end of July and have just recently had some issues with hair loss. Not a lot, but I am adding in a little more olive oil to see if that may help. In the past, when I did WW I have lost more than I have this time.

glomor- at the clinic I go to I can see my coach anytime from here on in. She said some people come in every couple weeks to check in and get their body fat comp checked. I have been in about once a month. I also email her frequently with questions. Maintenance is hard, but from what others on this site say, it will get easier. I really haven't had any issues with cravings, but I have opted to stay away from sugar for the most part since that has been my biggest nemesis! I never gained in P3, so I think it isn't a given that you will.
It is fun to have some freedom with what we eat, but it is also a learning process and I am hoping, like so many others that it will get easier.

Congrats Maile on going into your 2nd year of maintenance. I hope I can say that I am still successful in a year.

Have a great week!

I do use phase 1 to lose any added pounds.
I continue to go to my coach for free. I still buy food as I use ip foods most weekdays out of laziness. And my dh is doing ip without a coach.

Howdy everyone! I am back from my 20th reunion weekend and had an amazing time! I do confess to indulging in several glasses of wine and some appetizers, but I was a "good girl" during the day and think I hit a nice balance over the weekend. I was pleased to weigh in this morning at the exact same as last week (and the week before).

I had bought a dress a few weeks ago for the reunion when I hit goal weight and it fit me bigger when I tried it on again for the weekend, even though the scale is the same number. Amazing how the body continues to shift & shape into maintenance.

I think I have figured out my own little Maintenance plan of sticking close to Phase 3 during the week and weekend days, with a more lenient 'cheat meal' on the weekends (probably closer to the actual Phase 4 sheet). I was just stressing myself out too much with the food combos and my body did NOT like the carbs. I won't bother you with the TMI, but I think the gut-bloat is something most folks are familiar with.

My clinic lets us have WIs as often as we'd like in Phase 4 with no added cost and we don't need to buy food. However, after the first month of Phase 4 the BCA costs $20/visit (you still get counseled & weighed & measured & logged for free). I bought a $60 Omron scale to measure & track the trend in body fat since I am too cheap to pay $20 for a body composition analysis.

We do have a minimum Phase 4 meeting schedule she sets: 1st month of Phase 4 - weekly WI, 2nd month - every 2 week WI, 3rd through 12th month - monthly WI, afterwards - annual WI/reboot as needed. And like I said, we can continue to meet weekly for life if we choose, at no extra cost or mandatory food buys.

I also had to jump back on the Phase 1 train a few times my first 2 weeks of Phase 4 trying to balance out my fluctuations - goodness, nothing works like Phase 1!!!! I am also lazy and used IP products my entire Phase 1-3 course, but now my cheapness is kicking in and I am moving jobs and won't be able to meet with my coach every week to purchase food (I work 5 minutes from the clinic, soon to be 30 minutes) so am going to stock up on some 'identical alternatives' to save some money and time.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...-products.html

Hi everyone,

Liz - Glad you had a good reunion and you look fantastic. Glad you're finding being in maintenance easier. We all have to find what works for us.

Ishbel - Hope you had a fun balloon ride!

So..still in phase 1 for today, doing phase 2 tomorrow and wed and phase 3 thursday and friday and will have first day of phase 4 as a cheat day...not ideal but we're going away for the week-end for a wedding and i want to enjoy it. will get back to phase 1 on monday and tuesday and back to maintenance for the week as the following week is thanksgiving and i want to enjoy that too. After that, i'll see where i'm at and go back on phase 1 for a little bit if i need to..there's nothing until christmas so i should be more in control of maintenance by then.

Was really hoping to be at goal by now (actually was hoping to be below) but as of this morning, i'm 0.8lbs short! Still happy to have lost 11.8 out of the 12.6 i gained in one week but still not at my lowest.

We went apple picking yesterday, kids had lot of fun! Made an apple pie with my daughter later..smelled so good. Made sure i put cinnamon in it as i don't like that and knew i wouldn't want to try it that way, lol.

Everyone seems to have such a good handle on maintenance and i guess i did too until i went "free for all" during my 3 weeks vacations. Now i feel like i didn't do a good job of making smart choices, which i know i didn't. I just hate my body taking over with cravings during cheat days vs using my head to make good choices. Hopefully with time... I guess a food addiction is like any other addiction, it never goes away..you need to work at controling yourself.

Have a great day everyone

TORTILLA CHIPS ARE THE DEVIL FOR ME I learned the hard way this weekend that I can not have them in my house. I could not stay away from them!!! I thought my weakness would be cookies or sugary things (which I am avoiding) but I think the tortilla chips might be worse. I should never have let myself have any.

glomor The initial consultation fee at our clinic covers you for life. So if you need to go in and get a pep talk or a kick in the butt...it's 'free' LOL

MaMaZu It took a few months for my hair to fall out and I remember it taking a few for it to 'stop'. It did stop while I was on Phase 1 though and started growing back. So maybe you haven't hit that wall yet. I feel your pain though...it was NOT something I enjoyed. The last time I went to my hair dresser she said it felt and looked thicker to her...so there is hope

glomor/loco WOOHOO for football (I watch CFL not NFL though), nothing better then you're own team winning!!!

busymom Ok missy! .8 is a pee...just go pee. Try not to be so 'perfect'...look at how great you did and are doing. !!!!

LoriT My before and after's are SO important to me...it was VERY hard for me to put them up. But once they were up it was 'ok' and to get "thanks" from people on the forum and via pm really makes me feel that I did 'right' by sharing. I have to admit they were important to me personally...I smushed them together in a 5X7 and they are in my bathroom above my scale...and a smaller picture is on my desk sorta hidden so it's 'right there' but unless you know they are there...no one sees them.

So we had professional pictures taken while we were in Scotland...I arranged for them before we left as I wanted some nice pictures when I hit goal and what better place to make sure we had great pictures then during a dream trip. He hadn't asked me when we took them (he asked me after) so now I can call them my engagement photos. Everyone always looks good in professional photos lol

My team lost. But I survived, and I stayed OP.

I don't know what happened, but after much heel dragging, I suddenly feel ready for Phase 3. Which means I need to do Phase 2 properly.... So I am starting Phase 2 on Saturday. I am 5 pounds from goal weight.

My team lost too-darn Saskatchewan (sorry ishbel)!!!

And my nfl picks sucked. Plus, tortilla chips are evil at my house too!

Oh Monday, you always bring a chance for a fresh start