Had dinner with my my doctor :)

Elina, sustainability is always and has always been my driver, whether diet (intake) or activity.

I have no advice on this matter- nor have I given any in this thread, I really try not to give advice often. I am only putting out a viewpoint that periodic extreme restriction to maintain or lose (as tbh, the soup fast only does come into play when you are up in weight, I have never seen it come up due to increased capacity specifically..) is not always the best option for long-term maintenance.

Sometimes a small/slow tweak and a slow and steady increase or decrease in excess lbs etc. is the most sustainable.. either way, it was only discourse, not criticism.. I saw the cycle come around again, and it had been on my mind for several years to open this specific conversation, so I finally did.

You personally may not have any issue (mentally or physically) attempting to lose nearly 7% of your body weight in a month (before next support group) but for some, this would require some fairly unhealthy and unsustainable behaviors.. and yo-yoing up and down tends to eventually lead to burn out and regain. I wish you the best, and I'm really happy that this conversation got started, and went the way it did.. 

No, you are right, I don't have any issues losing the 7% of my weight in a month (as long as it's the top 7%) since most of it, at least 3-4 pounds comes off in just a few days and is mostly water.  The other 3 pounds or so do take a little longer.  You are also right, that I eat my soup when my weight is up, but to me, this is just a sign of increased capacity and too many carbs.  My scale often serves as a wake up call that I am having a bit too much fun with my food. 

My favourite picture of you on your profile is the one in the vintage dress, the purplish and black one. And the one where you are tasting cakes. You most certainly don't look unhealthy in the bikini shot either. The real question here is...what was Dr Cirangle doing at SUBWAY???? The rest of the discussion and to and fro's here just goes to confirm our disordered thinking in all kinds of ways when it comes to weight, food and body issues. You are right to follow your doc's advice!

Darn it Julia, he calls it like he sees it so often that it can really tick me off.  :)  I was perfectly happy (not really) living in my lovely self made cocoon of rationalization.  Now I actually have to make changes.  Darn it, darn it, darn it.  As far as Subway....I do not eat and tell.  :)

By the way, I am 105 in both pictures you mentioned..... back to life style changes.  (Did I say darn it yet???)

Elina you really know how to get good discussion going. you should lead a support group. you are right about the importance of unintended weight gain.  Cemented in my brain is dr C's comment that one should be concerned with a weight change of five pounds in either direction, once goal is reached. that idea has worked pretty well for me as every 6 months i set a goal of staying below 125 and that has worked for nearly 4 years. you do it with soup, i gag down a protein drink for lunch if i am approaching the red zone.  it all works. its all good.   diane

I love a good discussion.  We don't always have to agree, there are a million different ways to do this well.  I am just a bit turned out that I need to rethink my wine tasting.  I might just need to find that spill bucket and put it to good use.  Darn it. :)

lordy i would hate to give up wine.  taste the wine and bring carrots for your own tapas.  wine is health food.  d

If only I could convince Dr. C of your reasoning.  :) 

The problem is that all together, when I am really honest with myself, I probably consume about 5-7 glasses of wine over a week.  This is mostly because we have very good friends that are major wine enthusiasts and so many of our outings include visiting wineries and tasting great wines.  I would say we are out at wine bars, or wineries with friends 2-3 times a week.  Hence the problem...

Well....it was fun for a while, time to come up with a more sustainable solution.  I am thinking to continue to go to the outings, but use the spill bucket and bring more veggies for snacks (rather than cheese and chocolate).  That should probably do it.  Darn it.

+1 for unintended weight gain. I now purposely eat a big salad of kale & baby spinach a day (granted, 2 oz protein and half avocado a day incl within.) Swings one way or another are something to note and address as they come up. Myself, I find salads a slider, which is a good thing as I can pack in a huge amount of greens (not lettuces) and good amount of fats & proteins, and that adjusts my weight to stay within the size I prefer. Maint is def a game of balance. 

Salads are awesome.  They are my go to food in the summer months when I can't get enough veggies.  Soup works better for me in the colder winter months.  I just planted a ton of veggies, can't wait to eat them all summer long.  :)