[mamarenee]

I wanted to get your opinion on something since I know u are so knowledgable about I.P. first off some quick history on me. I started I.P sept 6 and as of today I have lost 85 pounds. My current weight is 181. Shhhh! ;0). Anyhow, when I first started I could not click with my coach. She was a jerk. I switched to a different place and all has been good. Today, my coach was ill so that old coach whom I can't stand was filling in. I remembered why I couldn't stand her as soon as she spoke!! Long story short, she told me something that is freaking me out. Basically, we were talking briefly about when I phase off of phase 1. She uses scare tactics but I agree that if you don't phase off correctly you can gain. I get that but in talking I asked a hypothetical question that I have been curious about. I asked, " say I sopped I.P today and just started eating healthy on my own, could I maintain?". By healthy I have this example. 2 eggs for breakfast with fruit, veggies and protein for lunch and dinner and a healthy snack at night......she said I would still gain back a lot of the weight EVEN if I ate ALL healthy foods. This FREAKED me out! She said all our body wants to do after we lose weight is to gain it all back and it fights like **** to do that. I was discouraged by this and wondered what your thoughts were on it. It has me pretty bummed
! I appreciate any feedback you could offer.
Thanks, Renee

[LizRR]

My coach held a Phase 3/4 workshop recently, this is my 3rd hand info as she explained the importance of phasing off properly - btw, no wonder you switched coaches - your old one sounds AWFUL! The goal of the phases is to gradually get your body adjusted to the higher calories so you don't jump straight from a 900 calorie/day famine to storing the 2000 calorie/day feast. Also, gently increasing the insulin levels your pancreas creates is a focus, as the worry is if you go from 0-60 in terms of insulin production you can restart the carb craving swings that got many of us into Phase 1 to begin with. My coach does NOT use scare tactics, but she does believe very much in the program having successfully gone through it herself and truly cares about all of her clients and wants us to succeed.

The Phase 1 to 100% goal is focused on weight loss at ~900 calories/day. The low carb gets you into ketosis, you start turning fat into ketones->which in turn get turned into glucose, lowers insulin which reduces cravings, rests the pancreas, etc. The protein is set at a sustainable level to maintain current lean mass, and the fat is kept low so that the body burns your body fat to create the ketones, not the dietary fat.

The Phase 2 at 2 weeks is designed to gradually get your body used to increased calories at ~1100 calories/day. 'Real protein' has more calories per absorbable protein than an IP packet. People typically still lose a few lb during this time as an IP packet is replaced with 'real protein'.

The Phase 3 at 2 weeks is designed to continue to get your body used to increased calories at ~1500 calories/day and also introduce carbs & healthy fats as the pancreas is 'gradually awakened'. People typically gain a few lb during this time as the glucose reserves are rebuilt in the blood stream, balancing out the Phase 2 losses (so you should still be maintaining your Phase 1 goal weight). High intensity exercise can be done now!

Phase 4 is for life as you maintain your goal weight at ~2000-2600 calories/day (depending on each person). Our clinic has a schedule where in Phase 4 we meet weekly in month 1, 2x/week in month 2, then every month for the rest of the first year, then meet yearly thereafter (more if we need/want to). She said it is totally normal to gain a few lb over a year as life goes on and we try to adjust, so the reboot accountability is recommended.

[Momto2cs]

If you phase off and return to your old diet you will gain.

Maintains is different for everyone, regardless of how you phase off.

Check out the maintainers thread to see.

[DenverGal]

LizRR -- that was the best explanation of IP that I have heard, thank you. I was wondering why we couldn't have nuts and cheese since they fit the low-carb profile, the fat thing makes sense now. Your clinic and coach sound great, thanks for passing on all the info.

[Ishbel]

Liz, I love your clinic! You're a very lucky gal (not just another pretty face you )

I absolutely agree with her post and if you stop without phasing properly your body will grab onto all those calories and they will stick like glue.

Too bad about her approach with you...half the battle in this 'journey' or 'mission' of weight loss is the relationship you have with your coach (if you have one).

I say if you've put this much time and energy into it then stick with it for the month it takes to phase off! If you don't you'll always think "what if"...most people I know or have heard of that didn't phase off properly did gain most of it back.

Good luck!

[Longhorn Energy]

Lizrr...I went last week to the same workshop at my clinic, and bravo girl! Excellent explanation, and I agree with everything you have said 100%

If I could just add one more tidbit that I picked up it was the carbs...

In P3 we are in the 50-60g per day carb range, and recommended for maintenance is BETWEEN 60g and 225g. The way they explained it, WE as the dieter must figure out on our own what our ideal number will be. For me it might be 220g of carbs where someone like you that does far more excercise your number may be higher like 240g, or based on your body and how it handles carbs your number could be in the 175g range. They really stressed the importance of still tracking your food/cal/carb intake as the only way to really nail down this number.

It did make me feel so much better though to know that we always have P1 as a back up if we get off track. I have talked to many in our clinic about maintenance as we have a bunch that are 1yr+ and most have had no issues. Trial and error...

Great explanation though keener...someone was taking notes LOL

[Ishbel]

TOTALLY AGREE longhorn! I sit between 135-170 (I was 169 yesterday, on Tuesday I was 139) in carb intake but I also track my calories and I KNOW I would gain between 2000-2600 I sit between 1300-1800 (generally hang out around 1600)

Cap - in the maintenance thread, once posted some numbers that were interesting (she kept track of what people were finding).

Agree that you need to track (some people don't that's good for them) for me I need to see what I ate to compare it to my fluctuations. It also helps you learn how much food your caloric intake is. Just like measuring your veggies when you first started you now need to know what 1600 (or whatever you choose) feels like!

[mamarenee]

LizRR. Thank you for the great explanation!! I appreciate all the feedback you guys offered. I plan to phase off the right way. I will definitely attend one of the maintainable meetings! Also, I feel all of you are the best teachers

[sunshinemom]

Newbie to all this..sorry! I am confused about beginning Stage 4. The info. says No Carbs for lunch and No fats for dinner. Is this my "forever plan""
Also, how do black beans/whole beans fit into the "mix"?