I'm not sure what to do. Last week I decided I was going to stay on phase 1 for 2 more weeks, then phase off (I won't have met my goal but will be close, and I'm happy with my weight right now; with an average loss of 2 lb/wk it's too expensive to stay on another 3-4 weeks).

BUT in the past week I have been doing so many small cheats that I know I am sabotaging myself and wasting money. I mostly cheat between lunch and dinner because I tend to get hungry. And as much as I'd like to say I will get back on track, I know I won't if it's only for one more week.

So I'm wondering, should I go on phase 2 a week early? I think it might help my hunger if I can eat meat at lunch and make me less likely to cheat, but at the same time I don't want to be a quitter. I'm just very torn, and looking for opinions.

A Modern Girl...

This is just my opinion and only you can answer that question. But I think if you phase off now, your selling yourself short. Your so close to your goal that I would hate to see you phase off now. A lot of dieters will say they will go back in 2 to 5 months to finish the rest of the weight loss, but ya know, once they do that, most say it's very hard to stay on plan.

You can buy alternative products so you can continue your journey. Lindora, Netrition, Nashua, they have a lot of the same products as IP. Maybe just incorporate those products in with your IP. But honestly if you are gonna continue to cheat, it may not be worth it. You need to decide what your gonna do. I know what a hard decision your faced with, as I too was in the same boat about a month ago. I wasn't cheating but I was so anxious to finally get 5 pounds past my goal, that I couldn't stand it! LOL.

I wish you the best whatever you decide.

P.S. If you go the alternative route, you need to really check the carb and calorie ratio. Nothing over 110 calories and nothing over 7 carbs. Best of luck.

You'll definitely still lose weight on Phase 2, I'm not sure if that's what you're worried about. My coach said that it may be a little slower, since meat has more fat in it than the IP packets. Just make sure you use very lean meats, and NO MORE SMALL CHEATS. Even the small ones can make a huge difference on the speed of weightloss (and kicking us out of ketosis). In my unprofessional opinion, though, I don't think there should be a problem with you going on to Phase 2. You don't have to be on it for just 2 weeks, it can be longer without harming you if you prefer to be at a lower weight.

I say go for it! Try to stick to leaner meats at lunch time, maybe add a couple egg whites and a few ounces of boars head lunch meat to a salad (if you r a salad person). This is the route I will take in 4 more lbs. I love my lunchtime salad and will mix up the boars head buffalo chicken/tuna/pink salmon so I have variety. I love my 2:30 1/2 IPchoc pudd/ 1/2 whey protein isolate/iced coffee drink so I will likely keep that the same and drop my evening snack which is usually s/v ridges durring the work week and nothing or a repeat of my 1/2 choc pud 1/2 whey protein isolate/iced coffee on weekends since I tend to get more protein at dinner and have a few onces of vodka with propel zero since camping season has started. It's all about how to tweak the lifestyle to work for you!

Thank you for the opinions!

I decided last week that I would only continue with phase 1 for 2 more weeks because I can't really afford it, and I don't really want to go the alternate route because it's still extra money, and I'd like to eat natural foods to best simulate a normal diet so I'm less likely to regain once I'm on maintenance.

Yesterday I decided that since I won't have met my goal when I phase off that once I'm done with IP I will do the Dukan Diet to get the last 5-7 pounds off. It's very similar to IP (4 phases, low carb, low calorie, low fat diet) but there are no packaged foods.

I don't think I'll be selling myself short because I will continue to lose with the Dukan Diet.

I don't know. I'm leaning toward phasing off, but could still change my mind. I see my coach tomorrow and will have to discuss with him then, but I kind of want to have made a decision by the time I see him.

You've got a diet that's working for you. Why change horses in the middle of the race? 2 weeks is a really short time. It will fly by. And then you'll be happily at your goal weight with no regrets!