Vacation Report (long post)
 

Hey everyone!
I am back from my vacation and wanted to give you all an update on how everything went. First off, the trip was amazing and we really had the most incredible time. And just a word of warning, this is going to be quite long. But do not fret; if you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, I will give you all the dirty details first ;)

For the background information, 2 weeks prior to my departure, I phased off in accordance to Ideal Protein’s recommendation. I did (1) week at Phase 2 and then (1) week at Phase 3. I did not lose any weight these (2) weeks, and that left me a little bit frustrated, but my coach told me to stick with it, and this was what IP recommends for vacations.

We were gone for (10) days, from September 22-October 1, and let me tell you, I did not in any way shape or form stick to anything close to IP. I pretty much ate what I wanted and drank plenty of beer (we were in Germany where a bottle of beer is cheaper than a bottle of water!). We were also walking around a lot every day, probably anywhere from 6-8 miles every single day, which I am sure helped.

Now for the dirty details (as promised!)… at my official weigh in this morning, I stayed EXACTLY THE SAME!!! I started back up on Phase 1 on Sunday October 2. On Sunday morning I weighed myself at home and was up 5.4 pounds. After 3 days of being back on Phase 1, I am right back to even. This is extremely encouraging for the future, and I truly believe that phasing off properly before I left was a huge factor in this, even though it messed with my head a little bit before I left.

I really do believe that any weight gain I had on vacation was purely water weight and glycogen stores because even though my scale showed a 5.4# gain, my clothes did not feel any tighter or any different at all. Plus to be able to drop it all like that in just 3 days must mean that it was not fat, just a whole lot of water and water retention. Not to mention that whenever I fly, I always retain water.

I also wanted to point out that I truly believe that this diet changes our body’s chemistry; I believe this now more than ever. I sort of believed it (but, not really) when I was told about it at my initial consultation, but after experiencing the past 2 weeks I am a firm believer. In the past, whenever I would go on vacation or stray from whatever eating plan I was on, I would get crazy cravings for carbs and sweets and would have to just keep eating and eating them. I was never satisfied. Plus, when I would get back from vacation, I would always say “I’ll start back on Monday” and then I would blow it on Monday and then before you know it, the whole week would be gone and I would be back to Saturday saying “I might as well wait to start back on Monday and enjoy the weekend”. And you know what? Sometimes Monday never came!

Well, these past 2 weeks, I have experienced NONE of that! When I tell you that I ate what I wanted, it is no exaggeration. I ate potatoes, rice, pasta, pastries, gelato, chocolate, chips, bread, crackers and cheese, pretzels, etc… I also drank plenty of beer and cappuccino’s (with whole milk and sugar). One thing that I did not drink was soda, but I have had that cut from my diet for a long time. I would literally eat my meal or snack or dessert and be COMPLETELY SATISFIED! That has never happened to me before. I have never been able to just get a dessert, eat it and feel good afterwards. I would always want more. Not just want more, crave more. And it would haunt me until I finally gave into the craving.

Here is a great example of why I am fully on board the IP train: One day, we were looking for a place to eat lunch when we walked past a gelato shop. It looked and smelled so good, and it was calling my name. So I said to my husband, after lunch I want to stop back in there and get a gelato for dessert. Well, after we ate an amazing lunch, my husband said “did you want to go get that gelato” and I didn’t, I was completely full from lunch, so I said no, I am full. Well, after a couple more hours of walking around and sightseeing, I was ready for that gelato. So I stopped at a different shop, got a small (1 scoop) and enjoyed every bite. But here is the kicker, it was ENOUGH. Usually, for me, a dessert is never enough. And here is the other amazing thing, it was the only one I ate the whole trip. In the past, I would have had to get one every single day because that one serving would have me craving more and more.

And on a final note, getting back onto Phase 1 has been no problem. Sunday morning I woke up and consciously made the decision to get back onto P1 and I haven’t looked back. I did not say that I would wait until Monday or after my weigh in, I just did it. I enjoyed my time off, but now it is time to get back to business and finish this up once and for all. And the thing of it is, I have not had any cravings. I had the typical headaches and sluggish feelings of the carbs leaving my system, but no cravings. I believe that I am over the hump (day 4) because I am feeling much better today. I am fully ready to finish this once and for all and get to my goal and be able to maintain that and live a life of normal eating. And now I know, if I get off track every now and again or when we go on vacation, a week or 2 at Phase 1 will get me right back to where I need to be to maintain my goal weight for the rest of my life. I am now fully on board with the tag line “Your last diet”, because after what I have experienced this past month (including the phase off), I really do believe that if you do this diet properly and phase off properly, it will be the last diet for all of us.

Thank you so much for posting your experiences here! I have been loosely talking with my coach about doing the same thing (although we'll be gone for a month) simply because while I know I could stick to it and resist temptation (we're traveling home, not abroad like you did), I won't have near as much control of my food, and don't want to be a pest to those who are having us stay with them. Hubby and I are also going to try to go on a "pre-deployment honeymoon" and really who wants to be eating out of packets then? Your post gives me confidance that if I choose to go that route I will be able to start again and maintain my results. Thanks!!

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I know you were very nervous about the whole thing for a while so this is excellent news!

Glad it worked out well for you. Sounds like a great vacation.

This is awesome Jenny, thanks so much for sharing it with us.

WELCOME BACK! :)

Thanks!
 

Thanks for the post! This helps so much as i plan my winter vacation!

Welcome Back Jenny!! I was wondering what had happened to you!!

Nice to see you back Jenny! I'm so glad to hear what good results you've experienced on/after vacation. Thanks for sharing!

Nice seeing you back, so glad to hear that you vacation was amazing.

Reading your post gave me hope, plenty of it, that this time I am on the right program, it is not just a diet that I will finish and go back to being the fat old Sandra, no this time, I will succeed and continue succeeding after my diet.

Thank you very much for sharing.

Welcome back Jenny you were missed!!

I'm so happy you posted that! I was extremely worried about our first family trip to Orlando in Feb, now that I know when can do it right and get right back on with success is wonderful. Thanks Jennydoodle:)

Congratulations Jenny and welcome back. It is so great to hear about your experience. I know how worried you were and I'm so glad it all worked out for you. Sounds like you had an awesome vacation.

Props to all who read the whole post ;)

But in all seriousness, I know a lot of us get nervous about vacations and spending any time off plan during phase 1. I know I did. And I am so glad that I could share such a positive experience with you guys and that everything worked out so well. I hope this will help give us all a little more peace of mind for what the future holds for us and how we can really all maintain our goal weights.

Jennydoodle,

I missed you so much! I am so happy that you had such a wonderful vacation. Your post is so encouraging, as I know I am nervous about "gaining" back what I lose on this program. I think alot of people are, because that is what has happened to us in the past. We lose and then gain back. I am esp. happy that you didn't get the cravings, because that is what used to happen to me. Yeah!

I switched to alternatives last week and I am doing really well, I think I will have one of my biggest losses this week. I think for me, the IP was a stressor, because of the money. For my budget $400/month was alot, so now I am more comfortable. Thanks for all your good info, love your posts.

Jennydoodle,

I missed you so much! I am so happy that you had such a wonderful vacation. Your post is so encouraging, as I know I am nervous about "gaining" back what I lose on this program. I think alot of people are, because that is what has happened to us in the past. We lose and then gain back. I am esp. happy that you didn't get the cravings, because that is what used to happen to me. Yeah!

I switched to alternatives last week and I am doing really well, I think I will have one of my biggest losses this week. I think for me, the IP was a stressor, because of the money. For my budget $400/month was alot, so now I am more comfortable. Thanks for all your good info, love your posts.

Thanks so much for sharing! IP WORKS!

Thanks so much sharing your experience. I'm headed towards goal and am so encouraged by your story. Glad you had a great time!

Hi - welcome back! I'm so happy that you enjoyed every bit of your vacation and THRILLED to hear that you're back on track. I also think you are strong willed, which definitely helps. I don't think I've ever read a post by you that included excuses.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing how you do in the coming weeks.

Hi! Welcome back!!!! You were missed. I bet you had an amazing time and you deserved it! I am so glad IP treated you right during your time away!
Thanks for taking the time to write the details out for us. I know everyone's body is different, but it did help to know that it didn't set you back. :)
Proud of you! woohoo!

welcome back Jenny, thanks for sharing it really does give us hope doesn't it?

Welcome back from vacation Jenny- what a great & positive story you have to share of your experience! It made me feel good to read it- thank you for that!

Bumping

Yes an awesome post! This IS my LAST diet too. I believe!!! :)

Wow good for you! It's really encouraging to hear that as I am going on a week long vacation over Christmas to Mexico. I will be talking to my coach about phasing off before I go. I am so close to goal and don't want to undo all my progress. Hopefully I can have as much success as you! Thanks for the post!

Awesome, awesome post. Thank you so much. I feel very encouraged!
(and I LOLed about the beer being cheaper than the water- its the same way in France with wine!)

IP diet
 

Congrats on getting back on your diet. How do I find out about the IP diet ?

Jenny - My boyfriend and I are planning a trip in January to the Caribbean and i am so worried about it. I keep trying to put it off, but he really wants to go. I havent talked to my coach about it yet, because i am still really scared about going off phase 1. I read your post but i am still so worried my body wont react the same.

That sounds like an amazing vacation. Glad that you posted this as I have been worried about how hard it would be to go on vacation and get right back on once home. Thank you for being an inspiration.

Jenny, I am so thankful for your post! I am (according to my scale this morning) within 14ish pounds of my goal and I will be honest...I am SCARED to go off Phase 1. It isn't that I ate terrible before but there is a fear that what if I add carbs back in and my body is like...oh no you don't!!! I have had dreams about being thin one day and waking up the next morning and looking in the mirror and being big again.

One of the things that some don't like about P1 is the restrictiveness, I on the other hand love it and think that is exactly why I am succeeding with this plan. I love not having to "think" about what I am going to eat...I have a few options and thats it.

Anyway, I do have a friend who has completed all the phases and has not gained any of her weight back. She doesn't load up on carbs ever but doesn't shy away from a piece of bread or a glass of wine either! I do think that there is something to the fact that this diet changes your body...and I am thankful!!! :)

I am so glad that you had a wonderful time on your trip!!! Isn't Europe amazing!?!?!?

That's very helpful info! Thanks for sharing!

THANK YOU THANK YOU, I am going on vacation out of the country for the Christmas holiday and have been worried about what to do. I have asked my coach several times and he kind of jokes about wanting to go with me or he should just go in my place. When I go for my WI today I will tell him that I plan on phasing off for the vacation and will use your guidelines. I know my body may not react the same way as yours, but I am still going to give it a try. I have to say this site has been way more help to me than my coach has. Congrats on your successful vacation and way to get right back on plan!

I just returned from my Thanksgiving cruise (I was one of the people this post was bumped for!) and I actually lost a pound! I really ate whatever I wanted, but I ran every day. I also simply cannot eat as much as I used to! Now to plow through the holidays!!

This was so encouraging! I have a couple of big trips planned for next year and I would hate to be unable to enjoy all the things the places I'm visiting have to offer because of IP. Great to see that it can work in the "real world." Great job and thanks for posting!

Am I correct in assuming you did the phase of just like Jenny?

Bumping for SCPNME

Just wanted to join in and thank you for this post! Enjoyed the read! :)

*Bump* for Dana

Thank you for posting your vacation experience! That's exactly what I wanted to hear as it's what I'm truly hoping to experience on my one or two weeks of complete fun / year! I'm committed to this diet and can't wait to experience what you have!!! WTG!!

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm only just starting IP, but this really gives me hope. I too was never satisfied with one single dessert or one single anything on vacation. It's great to know that you can get yourself back on track. I want this to be my last diet ever. I'm sure I'll screw up somewhere along the way, but the knowing a person can get right back in it and back to goal makes me happy!

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