Welcome! The more the merrier!

Most of us moved to Phase 2 at 90% or more of our goal. I stayed on and extra week for personal reasons, which put me at ~96% of goal... and that also allowed a cushion for a one time regain for glycogen stores. Phase 2 is still weight loss, and you will still be in ketosis. That will end in Phase 3, though most of us continued to lose some both in stabilization and maintenance. And in those later phases, it seems to be a common experience that the body will continue to "reconfigure" even when actual weigh loss stops.

Whatever you decide, make sure you allow two full weeks for Phase 3, and follow the protocol carefully. Ideally, you would have enough time to back up from your vacation date and complete Phase 3 before you leave. If there is time to get in two weeks of Phase 2 beforehand, you should strive for that, as well. But if you opt to stay on Phase 1 for another week and cut Phase 2 back to 7-10 days, that should be okay... that is essentially what happened in my case, and I hit my goal 10 days into Phase 2, then lost another six pounds in Phase 3 and 4.

Thanks Novak. That is really helpful. It is interesting that a lot of you have lost weight in Phases 3 and 4. My coach was adamant that does not happen, but it makes sense given that Phase 3 is similar to a lot of other diets out there, still keeping calories relatively low. I'm thinking I will do Phase 2 for a full 2 weeks and maybe still lose a few more pounds. If not, I guess I can always go back to Phase 1 for a bit after my vacation to lose the last few. I'm amazed at how different my body is at this weight (135) compared to when I was at this weight before I gained. I fit into a very comfortable size 6 now, which I have NEVER been in my adult life. I always struggled to stay in a size 10 in the past. So, that's why I'm feeling good, even though my original goal was 130. That's why IP is so great, right?!

Its official, I am DONNNNNEEEEEEE, hoorrraayyyy, I did it finally completed all the phases I am so happy ..... I think I pee'd alittle....... no just joking I had a dog that used to do that... anyway.... I am gonna get myself a nice bottle of red wine to go with my bbq steak and my garden potatoes (no butter) tonight with dinner. I had a really cool experience yesterday, we were getting gas and my husband says to me hey look there is a lady with your haircut and same build, I looked over and thought hey she is really tiny... I dont think I look like that but yes yes I do..... and I feel fantastic.
Oh and another NSV, I was giving my son a snack of grapes, yogurt, protein bars that I make and someone else brought cheesies so I thought ahhh well he might like them.. wouldnt even touch them ate everything else, that to me was worth every red cent I have spent on IP and more....
Welcome Coloheather- we love having more joiners on this thread means more people are succeeding with IP and getting to their goals.... I stayed on Phase 1 till I reached goal, I have gone below goal but have pretty much leveled out right where I should be, I am still however losing inches as the close are still getting bigger and I have introduced exercise into my lazy world

Hey Wannabe (you might have to rethink the name because you're definitely not a Wannabe anymore . That's an awesome NSV about your son. I have a 14 month old and try really hard to only feed him healthy nourishing foods. He loves Greek yogurt, which I think is very cool.

How long did you stay on Phase 2 if you reached your goal while on Phase 1? I'm also thinking that regular exercise is probably critical for maintenance and 'reshaping'. I still have some stubborn cellulite on the backside and think that exercise is probably going to be the only thing to tighten things up 'back there.'

Way to go, my friend!! So proud of you I am.

Enjoy your wine and drink a toast to your skinny little self!

Excellent point!

Think fruit if all things might be the death if me BUT I love all the local berries. Btw trainer at gym told me scale at gym is one pound off as in I am actually 125. However I haven't lost anything in 10 days. Not sad but I had figured all the working out would do something. Maybe my metabolism us stuck in low?

Maybe you're gaining muscle?

Is there any way you can get accurate measurements of your body composition instead of total weight? The strength training you're doing is going to affect the body fat-lean body mass ratio more than total weight, as long as you're eating sufficient protein.

Has anyone heard from Jordanna lately? I was wondering how she was doing.

that is a good point because the muscle in my arms and legs are rather obvious now and before I had none. Unfortunately, I go to the gym at work and there is no fancy scales ONLY the ones that you have to move the weight from left to right on top. Basically no I don't have a way of knowing my body composition and even if I did, I don't know what it was before. I am certain though that my body is changing.

Thanks friend... means alot to me Yoda Master I am such a hoser... I forgot to open the dang wine.... oh well we ended up having fish so the bbq will be tonight and I actually got a Argentinian Malbec (spelling?) apparently a different kind of grape, cant wait, I love a glass of a good wine. I dont think I can change my name?
Ok so here maybe a stupid question but is low fat cottage cheese a protein or a fat? I say protein as it is like 16 gr and only 1.5 fat but it is cheese??? So really it should be a fat??? Right I HATE THE UNCERTAINTY...... so I just didnt have any... I am such a wusssy.

A protein for Phase 4, surely. But fat isn't the issue, I think. Look at the carbs and sugar. Here are the stats for 4 ounces nofat small curd cottage cheese -- as low as you can get unless it is much more processed.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcom...st_nut_edit.pl

I would count it like I do Greek yogurt... as my protein. I'm just not that obsessed in Phase 4... I'm learning to live with the "uncertainty."

Think had my first cheat day yesterday, so will be doing phase 1 today. I do have training tonight so my question is for those who have been through this: did you feel lack of energy etc when you went through this?

Definitely. Because you're starving your body since you're not in ketosis for that one day, but you're having half your normal calories (or less).