I have only told other friends I know that are on the diet as well... just as a local support... I feel as though I have researched it enough and my doctor didn't say anything when I told her I was on this diet.... oh well... like they say opinions are like buttholes,everyone's got one LOL
I just don't know anyone that has gone through all the stages and is living "normally" so to say without gaining all the weight back... hopefully that is what this diet is all about and will help us all make better choices for ourselves so we can keep the weight off...

I'm still on phase 1, but it's already clear to me that maintenance is just about continuing to make better choices and managing the slip-ups.

I think that people don't really understand how this diet works. Most of them are just jelous because we are commited to losing the weight and keeping it off. My DH has been on phase 4 for about 3 weeks and he is still losing about 1/2 lb a week. He is also one of the lucky one that lost on phase 3. He wants to lose about 5 more lbs but we have vacation next week then after that we will both be on 1.

both back on Phase 1? is everyone that goes off this diet reverting back to phase 1 to lose extra pounds they gained on Phase 4? wow if this is the case... that is going to be really expensive

No, I think some people are phasing off before they get to goals (holidays, need a break from phase 1) so then they would go back to phase 1 to continue to their goal. Once in maintenace you do one day of phase 1 after your cheat day but you dont have to use the IP products if you dont want too. It is really important to phase off correctly, trust me, I messed up phase 3 and had to do a bit of a redo as this is probably the most important phase- resetting the pendulum, I probably could have gotten away with just going to phase 4 but I really wanted to do it correctly, to get the max benefits. Going back to phase one with or without the packets is just a way of keeping any slip ups- big or small under control once your done and it is natural to gain weight as we age unfortunately thats why they also recommend a yearly round of phase 1 to take care of any small gains. Easier to deal with a couple pounds than 30 or 70 in my case ;)

ok I hear ya! good to know....

It should be perfectly clear from reading the threads here that there are plenty of cost effective ways of having a phase 1 day after a cheat day, without using IP packets, if you want to follow the phase 1 protocol to the letter. But, according to Dr. Chanh:

"The instructions are simple: the day after the event, avoid all simple
and complex carbohydrates. Just for one day.

There is no need to make up for your excesses for an entire week or
even for two or three days. One carb-free day will suffice."

great... this is a good thing to do every so often I am sure... just to get rid of that excess sugars and stuff... thanks for all the words of wisdom!