I don't know the answer to this but I know that Dr. Chanh's book recommends going on phase 1 for a week each year as a "refresh" and I have never heard it put in the context of then needing to phase off. I'm on phase 1 now (dropping some pounds I picked up traveling) and have been since Saturday. I wanted to drop 3 pounds, which I figure will take a week, and then I'm going to "pop" back to phase 4, so I'll let you know if I get any side effects. I follow the logic model that the first long phase off was to reset my pancreas after a long rest, but I don't need that process at this point...hope I'm right!:D

Yes, please let us know how you are doing with your phase 1 test.

I am trying fat free greek yogurt as my protein snack at night. Its low carb (6) high protein (15) and only 80 calories. It seems comparable to an IP packet, which is what they are recommending. Plus it is creamy and delicious. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Hi Clarice41, I've not tried the Lindora, but I have switched my snacks to Pure Protein - bars and shakes. Way cheaper and you can buy then at Topps and Target. I'm not as full eating a bar or shake as I am with say the IP omelet, but it's easier and way less expensive. I think that the protein isolate in IP food absorbs into your system faster....I don't know if this makes you more full or not though....:shrug:

Thanks for the response. I have gained a little from just living. I think I need to make some adjustments on my phase 4 days. I'm just not sure exactly what I need to do. I know I have drunk less water lately. I have no problem adding carbs. to dinner, but I am unsure of what I should eat for lunch. Let us know how your phase 1 to phase 4 goes.

Oh yes, I should mention, I have not had an IP food at bedtime lately. Some nights I have eaten a piece of fruit(that I didn't have at dinner).

Ugh - I miss phase 1...
 

I have been maintaining for a few months now. I find it hard. VERY hard. I find myself often having cheats and then feeling guilty and doing a phase one for a day or two, then cheating again, and I just found phase one was so easy. It was easy being in ketosis. I wasn't hungry and I was good with always saying no.

I'm also really struggling with the no fats at supper, but still adding in a carb. I need ideas! Anyone else out there on phase 4 that can offer advice?

Hi Amanda,

I am only on my second week of Phase 4, so I don't have a lot of personal insight to share. I am cutting and pasting a post from Novak from a prior 'Life After' thread. I hope it helps:

Phase 4 info
________________________________________
Before Thursday night, I’d studied all the materials, read all the posts… but somehow I wasn’t getting the big picture. I thought my success was the sum of my weight and measurements and blood work and how I look and how my clothes fit. That was all great, but I wasn’t quite grasping the practical aspects of how this would change the way I manage my weight for the rest of my life.

I don’t want to go back to where I was, but I don’t want to have to constantly count and measure and make trades and sacrifice my enjoyment of food.

Now I know that I don’t have to.

I’m going to paraphrase much of what was shared at the Phase 4 Workshop I attended, led by Dr. Z, a chiropractor/nutritionist/IP regional rep. She is a Type II diabetic, and like me, does not eat meat. She has also lost a great deal of weight on IP, and looks fantastic. Like us!

It’s tough to get out of diet mode, particularly after the rigidity of Phases 1 and 2. Phase 3 is still quite specific, and, incidentally, is an extremely critical part of the program—it is important to do it right, particularly if you are diabetic. (I will post more about Phase 3 separately.) Phase 4 is, by design, much more general. The whole point is that you should eat healthy foods and follow a few general principles that will allow your body to retain the benefits of resetting the pancreas to function more efficiently.

I’ve posted a Phase 4 protocol, but don’t get hung up on the measurements or the food lists. Dr. Z said if you ask for those things, she can give them to you, but it’s time to go ahead and live your life, which happens to include eating normally. The overarching guideline is to eat healthy. So if your previous version of “eating normally” was not particularly healthy, don’t go back to doing that!

The Phase 4 sheet outlines a healthy diet, if you need some guidance. The key points NOT to ignore are to include protein with every meal and snack before bed, eat your carbs at dinner rather than lunch, and minimize the fat you have with your dinner. Following these guidelines will help your body mimic the way naturally slender people process food: “eat it and burn it” rather than “eat it and store it.”

Beyond that, just make healthy choices. Eat vegetables and fruit. Choose multigrain alternatives. Eat when you are hungry, but in quantities that satisfy you rather than leave you feeling stuffed. These things are easy to remember.

That said, go ahead and enjoy life in your new body. If you miss a meal or eat a sandwich at lunch, your world will not fall apart. But keep some protein foods or drinks on hand if you don’t always have time to eat. And if you can’t live life without sandwiches, try to have them at dinner or on your cheat day.

The only metrics you need to keep track of are your weight (check 2-3 times a week), and your measurements. If your weight goes up, check your measurements (are your pants getting tight?) to see if you are actually gaining fat. If you are, cut back on the carbs for a few days, and get yourself back on track.

Decide on a weight that tells you it’s time to do something more serious. If you hit that number, go back on Phase 1 until you drop down to your ideal weight. Maybe it takes 3 days, maybe 2 weeks. Then do Phase 3 again. If you want, just plan to do 2 weeks of Phase 1 annually; Dr. Z reserves the 2 weeks every year after the holidays to get back with the program.

Cheat days need not be a major production, nor do they have to be an entire day. Consider following Dr. Z’s lead. Her “cheat day” is actually Friday, Saturday and Sunday after 3:00 PM. She eats a healthy breakfast and lunch each day, then has her evening out with friends on Friday, goes to the Saturday cookout, and prepares a nice Sunday dinner at home. Every Monday it’s a no-carb day—either with IP products or without—so her body can’t store the fat.

The point here is that you need to find a routine that works for you. If it’s not, “good during the week and bad on the weekend,” then choose another approach. Use your cheat day if you have a special event coming up. What’s important is that you know how to keep your body from storing the fat, and because your body has been retrained through the IP phases, it is more than happy to oblige.

For me, this is actually the key to the whole IP protocol. This is how I can manage my weight, determine what changes I might need to make in how I eat, and recover if I find that my body isn’t burning fat as efficiently as I’d like it to. This is why IP is billed as the last diet you’ll ever need... not because it’s a magic bullet and you’ll never gain weight again, but because it is now a weapon in your weight management arsenal. IP has to be an unbalanced diet because the human body is not built to lose weight. Quite the opposite: it is built to store fat.

I read all this over and over before and during the diet, but I guess it’s like learning a foreign language: if you don’t use it, you’re really not going to get it into your head in any meaningful way. Now that I’m back to living a normal life, I see how this can work for me. I’m no longer focused on quantities and weights and trying to remember to eat everything I’m supposed to, when I’m supposed to eat it.

I can easily implement the “cheat approach” –it’s a French diet, says Dr. Z, and the French love their food and wine... no way would they expect people to make such a sacrifice! I can remember to have my carbs for dinner, with minimal fat. I can remember to eat fruits and vegetables and to not stuff myself. I can use IP or not to supplement my protein options—a premade shake before bed or a handful of nuts will do just fine. Do what works for you.

Thanks!!
 

I am on week 3 of Phase 4...I needed this!! Phase 4 is hard and I think I put too much thinking into it and just need to live and make the good choices I know I am capable of. My body craves fruit/veggies/lean meats now instead of the garbage I used to eat. I think all I need to do is cut back on portion size a bit. Thanks for the good read! ;)

170/139/137

I feel the same way! I have been doing more traveling than usual this month-which does not help matters much! I do fine if I am on phase 1, but maintenance is a chore some days. I feel that I am eating too much fruit, nuts and oats, but I CRAVE them! Also, my cheat days have been too much, which I am working on getting control of. I usually do phase 1 at least 2-3 days a week. Maybe this is my routine. I guess if it works. I am also trying to only weigh myself once a week (I obsess over the numbers if not).

I wind up doing phase 1 for a few days too. I've still been maintaining, but struggle with phase 4 eating. The whole no fat at supper gets me, and I find I cheat too often. I don't know. I guess it's going okay - I just wish there were more guidelines.

If you're in phase 3 or 4 and are CRAVING sweets, try not eating wheat and other grains for a week or two and see what happens. The wheat we eat today is not the same as 100 years ago. It has been engineered to have higher yields per acre, much higher gluten, and much higher sugar than ever previously existed.

You can get your carbs from potatoes, sweet potatoes, root veggies, berries (wild berries if you can get them). For many -- perhaps not all -- wheat is *the* gateway carb. ;)

Thanks! I am going to try it. There are certain foods that seem to just set me off.

Oh Noooo!!!
 

Hubby and I got back from New York last week, I immediately went back to phase 1 until I got down to 154. I did maintenance on Saturday and Sunday. Had a bad day on Sunday so went back to phase 1 on Monday. I weighed myself this morning and now I'm 160!!!! ARRRGGGGG!!!s!! I do not understand what is going on! I have been exercising everyday. It seems like my clothes got tight overnight. The worst part is I have to go to NC this weekend. I will be glad when all this traveling is over with and I can get back to my old routine! So far I get an "F" in maintenance. I mentioned earlier, but I guess I'm eating too many fruits and oats (I make a concoction (on maintenance days) of sliced apples, walden farms syrup, raw oats and cinnamon for my snacks during the day. I thought it was better than something "bad"). It seems that I will not be able to relax-even in maintenance. This is what happens when I do!
Not a happy camper this morning:stress:

Try not to stress out too much Clarice. We're not going to do maintenance perfectly even the first few months. It's a time of learning curves. How many carbs can your body handle. Are fruit carbs your friends? Are oats, beans, lentils, bread etc... So you'll find out what works and what doesn't and you'll start to understand what kind of foods your body likes and which are only right in very small quantities. I still can't eat too much pasta. It still sticks in my body and goes nowhere. I only have fruit in the morning. I"m very careful with the protein bars and so on. My body is OK with 1 piece of toast and no more, but boy, that one piece is heaven. ON my "free" day" vodka is way better for me than red wine, so it's my indulgence of choice.I'm still learning, so lets keep each other in the loop and share whats working and whats not till we get it right. Don't give up. You can and will find your way. I travel a lot myself and it's a constant balance. How many chicken caesars can I have in a week? Sometime 5 or 6!!!! But I know it works and w/o the croutons, dressing on the side and extra lemon, I make it work my way and know I got thru midday with the right protocol. Anyhoo...I'm routing for you and know you'll be fine :0)

I"m with you on the wheat and grains, Svelting. I'm finding lentils and yams to be fine at dinner, but not pasta and most grains as I was telling Clarice. I have hot oat bran as opposed to oatmeal for breakfast and that works better for me as well. There are triggers for sure. I think wheat/gluten are the nemesis for a lot of us. Thanks for mentioning it.