No one said this was easy!

Hey All!  So, life in Maintenance has been tricky.  Just when you think things are going good, you get comfortable and it all changes.  I guess that's why this is a Life Change, right.  I'm trying to get things all figured out.  I can't eat whatever I want, and that has been hard because this part of the diet is not as strict as the Low Calorie round.  In Phase 2, it was very very clear what you could and couldn't eat in order to maximize your weight loss.  In Phase 3 (or maintenance), you have to calculate your BMR, eat from a long list of foods, and just work at stabilizing.  Your one tool is a steak day.  You do that when you have gained more than two pounds.  Sounds easy, right?  It should be.  But that is where I'm stuck.  I'm in a little bit of a twilight zone right now.  

I know that I don't want to mess up the work I've done.  So the best thing is to get a handle and not let it get away from me.

I'm sitting at 2.3 pounds above my lowest weight.

I should have done a steak day today and I didn't.

So that's where it's at, and I'm trying to get a game plan in place to fix it.

HERE is where I"m going for all my support!  If you are doing this diet, at any Phase, this is where to go for help and answers.  It's the best support I've found!

Keepin it real! - M1D4

I haven't posted in awhile.  I realized that I was needing time to just be for a little bit.  Things in life have been busy at work and home, and I was just pulled in too many places at once.  Now don't go thinkin that I checked out of this diet or anything!  That would just be CRAZY!  No no, I've just mustered up the courage to take the plunge and head into new territory with the Maintenance Phase of this diet, or better referred to as M1.  I stopped taking my drops last Thursday, and had to use my weight from that day as my lowest daily weight for entering into Maintenance.  Why, because that was the last day I took the drops....Eeek.

So life since drops has been good.  I'm getting to eat food again, like Avocados, FRUIT, Salmon and so on.  I calculated my BMR, and for my weight and activity level, I'm supposed to consume 1900 calories a day to 'maintain' this new weight.  That is the trick right now, to keep it even.  Don't go 2 pounds below or above that lowest daily weight.  2.1 in any direction will result in action being taken.  I"m doing a steak day today, which technically wan't necessary, but I just felt I needed it!  I was close, a little to close. 

Getting in the 1900 calories of the things I'm supposed to eat is a little hard.  I'd like to think I can just catch it up with a little chocolate here and there.  A few hundred calories of that, and we should be good to go!

Not so.  Protein is KING right now, along with healthy fruits and veggies.  No STARCH, No SUGAR!

So, it's day 4 and I'm holding steady.  I will start posting some recipe's now that I"m feeling like getting a little creative.  I'll keep in better touch now, I promise.

I've also discovered a pretty good deal on drops that I feel I can share now that I've tried them and think they work.  Head on over to Amazon (woot woot), and check these puppies out!  I used THESE drops for the last part of my round and can't complain.

I'm going to go drink another glass of water now and climb into bed.  More later, I promise.