| enm
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I have been in p3 for about about 2 months or so now and have been maintaining pretty well. :) I was just wondering if anyone else has had the same experience that I have been having. I have increased my intake for the day by adding additional SB friendly snacks- but I have this nagging feeling every day that I have eaten too much. The scale tells me this is not the case (I am a weekly weigher) and on the rare occasion that I add up my calories for the day just to check I am around where I need to be to maintain my goal weight.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get rid of this nagging feeling? I have been in this WOE for about 5 months now. Will it just take time? Is this possibly due to still feeling like I have to be cautious? |
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Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:28 am |
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| RedRox
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Could be. I don't think being cautious is a bad thing. Fear is a great motivator! ;) I don't really ever want to be complacent that I've got this thing licked and wake up one day and find myself back where I started, or worse. So I think an element of being afraid of that scenario coming true is a healthy thing to keep in the back of your mind somewhere. There are times I did more or less consciously test the boundaries to try and find where they existed. I found that in terms of short term off plan excursions, it's really a very flexible boundary for me. Don't know if that would apply to you or not though. I do think the longer you do maintain and experiment with boundaries, the more comfortable you get with it to a certain extent. But I'm still always "making choices" and evaluationg things every day. I'm never not mindful about what I put in my mouth and body. I may mindfully choose a lovely piece of cheesecake or some coldstone ice cream of course! But for the most part, they are still active choices.
good luck. I think P3 is different for everyone. A lot of it is mental. You'll figure out what it means for you as you go along. |
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Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:49 am |
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| AleciaBneedstobefreed
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| I had a woman at the YMCA ask me how many calories I maintain at. I told her I've officially been in maintenance about 6 months now and I still haven't figured out exactly what my body is doing most of the time. When I was losing I didn't know what it was doing either. it was always a roller coaster but thankfully with a downward trend. I think it's just trial and error. I'm scared to death too and I agree that it keeps me motivated. When you get this thing figured out call me. :lol: I need all the help I can get. |
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Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:45 pm |
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| enm
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| Thanks for normalizing how I have been feeling! :) I gues this is just a feeling to get used to instead of get rid of. Its amazing that actually being conscious of making choices feels so different than when everything was just a free for all. |
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Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:43 pm |
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| RedRox
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hehehe.... I guess I'll take that "consciousness" and a healthy weight rather than being blissfully ignorant and obese according to the BMI! ;) A lot of it is much more routine than it used to be. I just know what "works" for me now. I know I can deviate a little bit here and there and be fine. I am pretty darned sure if I go back to the way I ate before, I will gain and likely become a T2 diabetic. I just don't want to test that theory. Nor do most of those "bad" foods hold much appeal for me taste wise anymore. I really enjoy the way I eat now. I don't feel like I'm dieting or feel like I'm giving anything up just to stay in maintenance. I enjoy some off plan foods on occasion and eat beachy the rest of the time. Life goes on! :)
The hardest part for me about maintenance is that it is all just so anti-climactic. Poured all this energy and mental capital into losing the weight and then you get there and it's like, "so this is all there is?" I know it was worth it to lose the weight and worth it to keep it off. It just isn't as fun or exciting as the process of losing. I sooo understand why most "losers" fail at "maintaining". I just try to remind myself that I have to be as determined to beat those odds as I was determined to beat the odds of losing it in the first place. Some days that's easier than others. |
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Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:33 pm |
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| zynr
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enm wrote: I have been in p3 for about about 2 months or so now and have been maintaining pretty well. :) I was just wondering if anyone else has had the same experience that I have been having. I have increased my intake for the day by adding additional SB friendly snacks- but I have this nagging feeling every day that I have eaten too much. The scale tells me this is not the case (I am a weekly weigher) and on the rare occasion that I add up my calories for the day just to check I am around where I need to be to maintain my goal weight.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get rid of this nagging feeling? I have been in this WOE for about 5 months now. Will it just take time? Is this possibly due to still feeling like I have to be cautious? I never actually consider myself in P3. I call it "Phase 2 with benefits". To me it even sounds more fun that way, rather than "maintaining" or "P3", which sound like more of a task than an accomplishment or treat. How I change it up to maintain is by varying the "benefits". Sometimes it'll be a cup of pasta instead of 1/2 cup one day. 2 pcs. of toast one morning instead of one. Or 2 pcs of bread for a sandwich instead of a small pita. A (Trader Joe's) whole wheat hamburger roll for my turkey burger instead of a sm. pita. I happen to use a Pepperidge Farm whole wheat bread that is 25 grams per slice, so my 2 slices at once is still less than 2 servings and still a treat. I LOVE having that "real" sandwich every now and then. But I'd still do the same with some of the other whole grain breads that are more than 30 grams (considered one grain serving) per serving. Some times it's an extra serving of nuts, extra crackers for a cheese and cracker snack, or a larger cereal serving. I generally don't do sweet snacks. I still consider those a treat and am careful about those. The point I'm trying to make is that maybe if you vary how you give yourself the extra servings, you may not have that "nagging feeling". Of course have your extra snack once in a while, but change it up... don't just maintain by doing it with snacks. You may enjoy the whole process more. And you need it to feel like a natural way of eating, NOT maintenance or a process. :) :) So Enjoy! Hope that helps. |
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Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:37 pm |
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| enm
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I agree- 'maintenance' is no-thrills in the sense that stepping on the scale now does not elicit the feedback (i.e. losing) that keeps one excited to keep on the straight and narrow. Instead stepping on the scale now just keeps one honest.
I like the idea of calling it phase 2 and a 1/2. Or 'with benefits' as you say zynr. I also like the thought of enhancing my meals instead of just adding extra snacks- because some of the snacks I add now and then have not been so SB friendly. Sweet snacks are still dangerous to me as well- once I start it's hard to stop.
Thanks for all your support! It is so nice to bouce questions/ideas off of people who have been there and/or are going through what Im going through! |
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Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:16 pm |
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| jaxon
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| That's my main issue with P3. I've been maintaining for almost 2 mos, after about 5 months on P2. I wouldn't mind losing 10 more pounds, but first I want to make sure I can maintain. And so P3 is basically, as you say P2 plus... so maybe I actually have a carb serving each meal - cereal, whole wheat wrap at lunch and my usual wine and chocolate for dinner... more than I did on P2. But it's still a diet. How do you stop thinking of it as a diet? I know, I'm just better at choosing now, but still, when I go to a friend's I still have to be on a diet in their view... Do people ever go back to not worrying about it but still somehow maintaining? :?: |
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Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:33 pm |
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