The veggie burgers are all so different. The carb content was not bad so I am assuming it's fine. They must stick the grains in there to bulk it up or make it filling or something.

How many burgers to you eat. I had 2 yesterday. Was hungry. Also, how do you prepare them. I like them for lunch. I often have omelets for lunch and the veggie burgers seem nice as well. I don't always want meat at lunch.

Vacation was good. Will be back with another e-mail in a bit.

Glad to hear vacation was good. I normally have 2 of the boca burger patties (All American Classic with non-gmo soy) because they are each 15g of protein. It ends up being the 30g of protein, similar to what a chicken breast would be. They have 6 carbs and 6 fiber so essentially 0 net carbs, but I find that hard to believe. They are yummy. I make them in the microwave at work and eat them plain because they have cheese added right into them. It's not super noticable though.

I had a good time while away. Just what the doctor ordered. Throughout this diet I rarely ate out and rarely took chances. Being away from home and my kitchen pushed me to try new things.

I would say I did a loose version of P4 and ate the restricted liberally. They helped when I was hungry so I would not make poor choices. Plus, my sweet cravings are up.

I drank a lot of Iced Venti Americano's with half and half. (might also be called Breve) added Stevia to everything. I don't know the calorie or carb amount for them. And I discovered some interesting Mediterranean salads. They had ingredients like nuts, feta, raisins and tabbouleh which has cracked wheat in it. These were large and filling and seemed to fit well with maintenance. Each day I tried something new. Because I have such a sensitive stomach I knew it was unwise to go crazy especially away from home and a bathroom. I tried carrots and parsnips my first day in addition to the half and half iced coffees. Oh, I also tried something with like coconut milk and a nut crust. I am going to have to look up the info on coconut milk. May be high in fat. Dunno.

We were able to do P3 breakfast for a few days because we had a kitchenette. This was comfortable and familiar. The next place offered free breakfast and I thought well this is your time to try things. So, I had pancakes. One day I tried a piece of pita bread. The next I tried a slice of pizza. I basically added things slowly and always took my digestive enzymes.

It was not hard to find good salads to eat. It was a little hard to find the right amt of veggies. But, I seem to do better with American fare or Mediterranean. I never sampled alcohol or items with much sugar in them. And I tried, to the extent possible, to have the carbs in the morning and evening. There is something to that P4 rule. It seemed to work.

I did well with all my familiar foods and addition of other veggies and nuts and some cheese but things like pizza and fried wontons and breakfast potatoes did not feel right. No harm no foul.

Now, I think I might do a modified P3. DH will be going back to P1 and I might continue P1 dinners with him. I don't want to let go of my P3 breakfasts. I will kind of have to play with things. I thought I would go back on P1 upon return but I really don't want to go back into ketosis.

Weight seems to be holding steady but we'll see. Seems to be going up and down a bit depending on when I weigh. Oh, bathroom time was surprisingly good while away. I did take my slippery elm with me but blew off other supplements.

I noticed that after certain meals I feel great. Love the P3 breakfasts. Did not feel as great after I had those potatoes that one morning. Veggie patties or the salads worked well for lunch. I was actually comfortable with some carbs at dinner did not feel so hot after a small bit of pizza. I think it was the amt of cheese.

So eventually I am going to have to move beyond my bars and to P4 snacks but I have not quite decided yet. DH was more adventurous than me. He had pizza several nights and pancakes and some sandwiches and some wine but he ate in moderation and did not experience much of a gain. He knew he was heading back to P1 next week.

It was sorta good to get thrust into a vacation because it forced me to try things, things I would not have tried had I stayed at home. I had this weird fear of food or something for no reason. Some food just immediately does not taste or feel right the moment you put it in your mouth. Some hits later with a fatigue type feeling or something.

Your vacation was great and sounded like you did well! I hope to say the same come next week after my vacation is over :)
Please keep us updated!
I have last p3 WI tomorrow morning and then am going to have my "free" day before my family shows up early next week. I may have to do a p1 when I get back, but looks like I will be leaning towards another plan similar to IP's maintenance but not quite. More small meals with vegetables and proteins in each one. We'll see. It focuses more on clean eating with exercise tied in.

Okay, I have chosen to stay on a Phase 3 like deal. It's easiest for me and DH is back on P1. So, I will have my breakfast and we can eat P1 dinners. I need to wean myself off the bars though. It's habit and I grab for them. They are not cost effective long term. I don't know if I am doing this to support DH or if I am afraid to leave my cacoon. Vacation and being away forced me to try new things but even then I was pretty timid considering what is on most menus.

Update.. So I was able to dump that 1.5 lbs from last week and am holding steady, yay! Vacation starts in 5 days and I know there will be some booze involved, lol. Hope I can manage the jolt and get back on track when I return.

And I'm with you Purple Sky, those bars need to go away. Those 150 calories worth of yum will not bring me down...literally and figuratively!!

Things are starting to become semi-routine which is good...I do my best with boundaries and knowledge in place.

1st real day of maintenance. The official first day I had my cheat day and then yesterday was doing p1.
So anyways, I had a p3 breakfast, but a bit smaller. Around 390 cals.
As a snack I did apple chips.. I know they said stay away from dried fruit but this brand I found literally had only apples and cinnamon in the ingredients list. One serving is only 29 calories.
For lunch I had a small slice of Eggplant Parmesan. It was small but really filling and yummy. I hope it was within the guidlines. Don't think I'll be having it again anytime soon though. Since the eggplant parm didn't have protein I had a greek yogurt. Hope that was OK too.
I have 1oz of almonds in my purse in case I get hungry again before dinner.
For dinner I'm just going to have my normal 4 oz tempeh and roasted zucchini. I will probably allow myself more zucchini now. I always wanted more before!
I think an after dinner/before bed snack is going to be a banana. I really really want to stay away from the bars! They are a slippery slope!

I logged my food on a calorie count site and says I'm at nearly 1400 calories! I'm not sure how much the eggplant parm but is I'm assuming between 250-300 calories? About how many calories are you maintainers having each day? I didn't even add in carbs for dinner..yet...

2Poles1Girl
Please keep us posted after your vacation. My situation eneded up being easier than I thought and the small amt I lost a few days after was quite nice. I overworried about it when where was no need to.

CassiR
I've been meaning to ask. Are you a vegetarian? I don't usually eat meat at lunch and almost never at breakfast. I am going to post my favorite quinoia recipe in here. Such a comforting dish. I have no idea what the nutritional information is. When I made it I made it with Red Quinoia so it was real pretty.

Historically I plumped up but felt good when I would eat vegetarian so I have to play with it a little as I now realize I went carb heavy. I will post a link for a site I found on this site. Some nice clean vegetarian stuff but no nutritional information. I guess if it looks like trouble we stay away.

Purple, No, I'm not vegetarian but DH is vegan so I adapt really well to whatever he has. It is very easy to slip into a diet of rice and grains.. I remember having multiple onion bagels with vegan butter in one day! wow. That man can eat anything and everything and not gain a pound. He kept up with me on Saturday for my cheat day and then yesterday as I was doing p1, he ate all the leftovers. lol
He is normally pretty healthy, or healthier, when I'm trying to be though. I feel good not eating many animal products. Like I'm helping or something! :D
Plus I really don't mind the meat substitutes. I'm trying to reduce my soy intake though.. especialy the GMO soy products. I love my tempeh though. I need to find a Non-GMO soy tempeh and I'll be happy.

Anyways, I really need to figure out a time to meet with my coach about this p4 business after my vacation. I'm very overwhelmed about the snacks and meals. When I log my food it shows a high amount of calories being consumed and that leads me to think there will be weight gain.

oh and please share the quinoa recipe! I love quinoa!

Sorry, I am replying out of order. I just had a chance to get through this whole thread.

Aha, I like that idea. I have a bar problem that I want to cut out. I will try that for an evening snack. Might help. Lately, I have been doing my Iced Decaf Venti Americano's in the evening. They make me want to eat the bars with them. Vacation habit. Long term, this may not be a good idea. But since TOM is approaching I might wait to make a change. I already do a container of berries and yogurt every morning. Starbucks and an IP bar are not helping with reducing the cost of no longer being on IP. I've got clothes to buy. LOL!

I did order The Simply Bar per suggestion on this board. Slightly cheaper and they seem to be picky about the ingredients they put in their bars so we will see if they pass the taste and muchie craving tests.

Speaking of cravings, I could not handle MIO when in P1. Gave me insane cravings around TOM. Now, not an issue. It confused me back then because I used to drink Crystal Light. As well, I can tolerate bars now. I almost never ate them on P1. Had a reaction to them. I am soy sensitive yet I do 1 or 2 (shhh...sometimes 3 a day).

Nice, I have not yet added pasta back but this will help. It's not something I am craving. I have wanted potatoes recently so I might start there.

Thank you. These look yummy.

Recipes
 

Here is the blog I found on this site.
http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/

She makes very clean food. No nutritional info.
http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2012/...ubergines.html
This eggplant dish looks like something we can eat.

This is my favorite quinoa dish.
I added garbanzo beans and then cilantro and green onions, at the end, because that is what I like. I think roasted zucchini or anything could go in there. Black beans?? Anything you like. I will say this, the parsnip/carrot combo was lovely. Yum. They go beautifully together and I think the sweet potato would have added something very nice. I think I used less olive oil too and made it to taste. DH loved this and ate it as a side dish. It is hearty enough. I ate it as a meal. I found it to be comforting. Works cold or hot.

http://www.oprah.com/own-cristinas-b...-Quinoa-Recipe

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa
From: Mind, Body and Soul
Recipe courtesy of Cristina Ferrare

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa
Servings: Serves 4–6
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

3 parsnips , peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped (optional)
6-8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (optional)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed

Dressing

3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. honey or agave nectar
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400° for vegetables.

To roast vegetables: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt, thyme and pepper. Arrange vegetables in a single layer and bake for 40 minutes. Stir vegetables once and turn baking sheet halfway through cooking.

To prepare the quinoa: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 12 to 14 minutes until fully cooked. Fluff with a fork.

To make dressing: Whisk together all the ingredients in a medium-size bowl.

To assemble, mix the dressing and the quinoa, then add vegetables and toss to combine.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 0 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

This recipe may appear slightly modified from what you've seen on television.
Published on January 26, 2011

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/own-cristinas-b...#ixzz1vY2HUtSp

Purple, I love mynewroots!! I think you posted this a few months ago and since then i've made a lot of stuff from her blog. DH loves the leek pesto. I haven't tried it yet. I'm actually making the cashew cake this weekend when my mom comes for vacation. Excited!! I've been wanting to try the eggplant recipe! It looks great!

I'm defiantly going to make this quinoa recipe. I love roasted veggies so I'm sure I'll love this. Thanks so much!!

I also really want to try GoodEat's mushroom cap "pizza"!

I planned out my meals for tomorrow so I hope it will be a better p4 day. I made egg salad with full fat vegan mayo for lunch. I love egg salad so I'm sure I'll enjoy this. I have my spinning class tomorrow and normally those day's I'm extra hungry. It's better to be prepared.

Thanks for this link. I'll have to go thru her recipes...the food has very tempting photos! and thanks for the Quinoa recipe. Looks delish!

I found a new favorite for my fat meal. The taste is so pleasing but beware, it is very filling!! That's a good thing but if you try to eat a normal serving size you're likely to bust! I got these ideas from that website I mentioned before - http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/

Out of the possibilities she's posted, I tried her healthy grilled cheese-tomato style (slightly altered version below):
(1 serving)
2 thick slices of a large tomato (this will be the 'bread')
3 tbsp almond meal/flour
grated parmigiano reggiano (approx. 1.5 tbsp)
1 egg white
seasonings (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano)
1 slice of cheddar, goat or other cheese (approx. 1oz)
coconut oil, macadamia nut oil, olive oil or butter for frying

While oil is heating in a pan on medium heat, combine almond meal/flour, parmigiano reggiano and seasonings on a salad plate and put the egg white on another salad plate. Dip the tomato slices in the egg and then the dry mixture. Make sure it is well coated (I patted the dry ingredients onto the tomato slices). Then grill your tomato for about 3-5 minutes. Flip to other side and top the cooked side with the cheddar (or other cheese) slice. You're suppose to then make a sandwich with the two slices but I left them open-faced and topped both sides with cheese slices using thinner slices.

OMG, this was so good! With your meal, in my case, my giant salad with protein (chicken, beef, or whatever) it was very filling! I calc'd out the nutrition value and got the approximately the following for the grilled cheese tomato: Calories 225, carb 2.25g, protein 15g, fat 16g

My clinic's guidelines for the fat meal is to keep the fat around 10-20g; done!

Her other options for this (eggwhite then almond/cheese coating) is to make 'fries' using portobello mushrooms, eggplant or turnips. Then they are baked:
portobello mushroom fries - baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes;
eggplant fries - baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes;
turnip fries - baked at 425 degrees for 20 minutes;

Luvin' all these recipes.

Here is a another blog I like. But, warning, she does not count calories so for those of you who are creative and can figure the nutritional info yourself or who feel comfortable altering recipes to reduce, fat and carb content, you might like her.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/
This is Elena's Pantry and she has Celiac so everything on her site is gluten free. Now, as others have learned, we don't always do well with all items even if they are healthy. I remember pudging out a little on her recipes like I did with vegetarian foods sometimes.

I am sharing this because her recipes are really clean and simple. She appears to use almond or coconut flour in almost everything which gives people who are wheat and grain sensitive a chance at a baked good. DH liked some items I made as they were dense and weighty. I guess things like Almond and Coconut flour will do that.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/silver-dollar-pancakes/
These look good. Don't know what the calorie/carb count is for this but certainly fine for the free day. I love breakfast. I think it was my downfall back in the day. Can eat it all day.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-breakfast-bread/
Forgot to add these. Apparently, these are very light. Could be high in calories and fat because of the amt of almond butter (1/2 cup) but would also be high in protein.
There is a video of her making these.

I guess it is just going to be a matter of playing with things or just using them on the free day.

Thanks for the recommendation! Luckily, I seem to be okay with high protein and fat foods...not so good with starchy carbs, so her recipes will work well with me! Especially those with almond and coconut flours. Like you said, they are really dense so you don't need a whole lot and they stay with you for a long time, as far as keeping you full!

Leek pesto sounds good. I will look it up. Yes, those Mushroom cap pizzas are talking to me. Not sure if I am going to try that or the tomato "grilled cheese" first. Just picked up some quinoia. I think I will try your porridge. Just have to remember where i saw your recipe.

Oh good, her recipes are very clean but could be high in calories. I don't know. It is interesting learning what we can and can't eat. Sometime this week I will try quinoia to see if that works for me. I tried Yogurt and berries last night in lieu of the bars. Not sure if I liked that. Felt different in the evening. So, I will have to find other snack options. I eat 1-2 bars in a sitting.

Do you guys ever eat cereal for lunch? Do you think that is okay?

Yes, I had it for lunch yesterday. I swapped out my carb dinner because I wanted the red meat offered last night, so...it was an All Bran lunch, lol.

Thanx, 2Poles1Girl, because yesterday I was craving it

So, I have been doing mainly P3 . I know I need to graduate soon but it works mostly. It seems to be a comfort zone for me. I want to branch out but I don't seem to be ready. My Simply Bars come next week. Hoping they will wean me off IP bars. I have tried a few other bars and they just don't work.

The IP bars are good, aren't they? To be honest, I've only had the peanut butter crunch bar; because it's so good, it's hard to branch out and try the others. I usually have it with a cup of hot tea...so filling and satisfying! I don't have one everyday. Maybe twice a week but I know I will continue to buy these from IP well into the future. If you like them and they work, why are you switching from IP bars to Simply bars?

Cost.
IP bars run over $4 each. I can get a simply bar for half.

Also, the Simply Bar looks to be a lot cleaner to me. They are picky about their ingredients. I can pronounce most of their ingredients and I recognize a lot of them. They use Non GMO soy. And the bars don't have Splenda. They also don't have sugar alcohols which I think some have trouble with.

I don't yet know what my issues are. But, of all the bars I looked at these labels were the easiest to read.

But, will they pass the taste test? With so much removed it will give me a chance to see what I am sensitive too as I was with the bars but ate them anyway. Soy? Splenda? Something else? Who knows?

Oh and I forgot to mention, I was consuming 1.5 to 3 a day sometimes. Kind of became a problem. Okay for short term or travel but not a good long term option.

Back from vacation!
 

Hey all! I'm back from vacation. It was amazing and I'm sad that all my family is gone again. Anyways, I think I gained a few pounds before even going on vacation as I was struggling with beginning phase 4. The scale is way up from vacation so I started phase 1 today. I'll probably do it for at least more than a week.

I decided since I'm going back to phase 1 that I'll do it until I fit into a size 4 comfortably. I could fit into a 4 when I met my goal but they were uncomfortably tight. It feels good to be back in the simplicity of phase 1.

I'm meeting with my coach before I phase out again to talk about p4. I think adding in exercise as phasing out made it too complicated for me and also made me extra hungry. I will stick to my spin class though because it's so much fun.

CassiR, Oh Goodie. So glad you had a good vacation.

My understanding is that the skin reattaches itself if that makes sense. I did not understand at first but it feels like my body has been taking shape more. I definitely noticed a difference in the clothes I was wearing yesterday. I was looking for an explanation for why I was able to get into smaller sizes and that's what I came up with. Because the scale did not necessarily go down.

I am still doing my P3ish deal. Seems to work for me. I like the veggie burgers at lunch. I need to be more daring at dinner and try more carbs. I saw some lo carb tortillas and low calories tortillas. Might try a wrap or something.

Hey everybody,

I'm back from vacation too. I was up 8 pounds!!! I did really good the first 3 days but then decided to indulge- like crazy! Went back on P1 for most of last week but felt so horrible b/c of some lingering vacation stomach issues and cheated this past Friday night w/ popcorn. Anyway, long story short, back on P1 since Sunday, weighed in today and I'm 2 pounds less than before I left for vacation! Yay! I'm going to go for 6 or 7 more pounds (to prepare for the P3 3lb gain) and phase off again.
Glad to see everyone is still doing great!

Thanks purple. I love my veggie burger but sadly I may need to cut them out. Ugh. I'm breaking out severely on my cheeks and after some thinking, it may be a soy reaction. I'm not sure. It's not exactly acne though. It may be stress. But when I went on vacation I was in the sun a lot and I think it irritated it. Now my cheeks have deep redness. I will probably go to the doctor before I try cutting out soy though because it's not acne. I know since starting the diet in Feb my skin has been rough. I thought it'd go away but hasn't.

I'm glad p3 is working for you! I may need to do p3 too before I'm comfortable with adding in carbs again for dinner.
Welcome back too! I was also up 8 lbs but after only one day I'm down 2 of those 8. Went to see my coach today after breakfast (even wore jeans :P) and according to her scale I'm up 6lbs. I started p1 yesterday. It's exciting to see the scale go down again. I'm also trying to go a bit below my goal this time for p3 and p4 gain.

Ah 8 pounds. That means you guys ate well.

I haven't tried the soy veggie burgers yet. I found a black bean chipotle.

Now soy is tricky. I am playing around with it because I just had a simply bar today and it worked wonderfully. I had originally given them to DH because I had a reaction. So I am wondering with me if I have to learn to work with soy. I cannot do soy milk, at all. I know that. But, I have to admit I had one bar in my purse and grabbed it and ate it and felt better and no cravings. With IP, I cannot stop at one bar. With this one I was satiated. No headaches. No weirdness. Now, they also use non-GMO soy. Don't know if that made a difference. The truth is that I think sucralose causes cravings in me. I am still playing around with things. I do believe sugar is a problem for me, possibly over other carbs so that is why I am so focused on it now. Because if it is not the soy and rather the sweeteners that gives me something to work with.

Anyway, glad to hear you guys had fun and will be figuring out your way back. I think it is also really good to do this at the beginning of P4. Then, you come back and start fresh.

Yes, I indulged. My sister and I have been dieting for the past 5 months and we decided we were going to let loose and enjoy our vacation. I'm down 4 lbs in 2 days of p1. I've never seen the scale move so quickly!

My sister went back on her diet of eating healthy and exercising and when I told her that i'd be back to what I was in a week or two she asked me for more info about IP. :D She doesnt have the budget for the IP plan but I gave her a phase 2 sheet and told her about the alternatives she can buy from walmart and nashua. She's started a phase 2 today on EAS shakes and atkins bars!! I'm so excited for her!

I'm thinking of going to see my doctor before cutting out soy. I've never had this problem before. I also havent gone back to the bars yet... dk if i will. I'm doing non-restricteds in p1 as I want to lose all the weight I gained super quick. It might not even make a difference but I dont have the crazy cravings I had when eating the bars. I do an omelet packet for my snack instead and I'm enjoying that.

I find those simply bars delicious and filling. And much easier than trying to figure out different snacks and prepping them to bring to work!

Yayyy for sis. And yayy for you getting closer to a comfortable 4. Let me know what you find out with the soy thing. I am still not 100% that is always an issue for me. I just know for certain with soy milk. It was an issue with some of the bars but not all.

Momto2cs, I don't know if it was you who recommended these but thank you. They took a while for me to get used to because they weren't like the IP bars but they are filling and I don't find myself grabbing for more. They are also not sweet which is ideal for meal time replacement. And they seem like they will be okay in my purse in the summer Just ordered a box of the cinnamon pecan. Did not like the coffee one. And I do like chocolate covered espresso beans. This just tasted like the beans.

After 4 full days of p1, yesterday I was really hungry getting home from work. It was 6:30 and I hadn't eaten since 11:30am. Anyways, I decided to have a bar while I was cooking dinner. Bad idea! I havent had any restricteds and was dropping a lot of what I had gained while on vaca (I was down 4 lbs in 3 days of p1). That one bar turned into two which turned into apple chips. Then on top of that the DH and I decided spontaniously to go to dinner since it was his birthday. I had my favorite dish and pumpkin pie.
To my surprise, I'm only up 0.6lbs this morning. It was a tiny cheat meal.

Oh well. I had to get it off my chest. I'm back in p1 today. I have WI on monday evening so I hope to be back at goal weight by then. If not, that's fine. I'll just keep doing p1. No rush. It's not so bad this time around without the restricteds! They are just too much for me.. I can't have just one! I thought about getting the simply bars but decided I can do without. Budget is tough right now anyways. I need to prepare boiled eggs for days when I'm ravenously hungry or something.

Oh also, update on my sister starting IP on alternatives! She's down 5 lbs in 2 full days. Woo Hoo!! I'm so glad she's sticking to it.

Those bars are tricky. I don't remember having this problem on P1 unless I was more disciplined then.

Simply Bars are better than IP when it comes to the snarfing problem but I still can't get down to 1 bar a day.

And Atkins is just trouble for me. I got into one the other day and cause of the cost (my logic) I ate another. Right? 2 bucks vs. the almost $9 for 2 IP bars. Then for some crazy reason a bit later I ate the Simply Bar thinking it wold stop the problem. 3 bars down and I am like still under $5 so I think I am good. Nope.

There is something called Sugar Alcohols. And while in the past I may have noticed a smidge of gas. You down two of those in 1 sitting and you are in for a rough evening. All kinds of unladylike aromas and sounds were coming out of me, for hours and hours. It was so unpleasant and super funny.

So, back to the drawing board. I think I am doing okay otherwise with my P3ish deal but these bars are a problem. I don't crave nuts. But, I need to try something else.

Yesterday I was like a crackhead searching for them. I called DH at work several times asking him where they were. He told me he took them to work because I told him to do that. Then I thought I could just run to Walmart which I hate to do for one $5 item.

When I put on weight I did not have a problem with binge eating or addictive stuff so this behavior is kind of surprising to me. I was never like this with booze or anything. This is not me. I made poor choices when I ate and I over ate or underate. Both, I guess. But, I could always set a limit. 1 cookie was always enough. Sometimes 2. 1 Slice of cake. Whatever it was.

But, with these bars I am like a crackhead. It also seems to override the good work I am doing with my P1ish lunches and dinners and sticking to a sensible P3 breakfast.

BTW, some of this is carry over from vacation. I leaned on the bars more than normal while traveling to compensate for some of the lower calorie/fat items I was eating for meals. Kept me from being overly hungry or making t choices my tummy might later regret. Also got in the habit of daily Americano's which always has to be accompanied by a bar. Same with afternoon iced coffee. I am working on cutting back the extra coffees thinking that might helped. I used to only drink it in the morning. I need to go back to that.

I really think I have a sugar problem. This also concerns me in terms in the future when I start adding back more carbs. Will I go overboard with those also.

Just seen your reply!
It's been a lot harder sticking to p1 this time around. So far only had that one slip though. Tonight it's really hard though! I'm 1 pound away from pre-vacation weight but need to get below goal so I can settle at goal after phasing out again.

The bars are bad. BAD!! I did have a cran granata bar today and I didn't feel like I wanted another one. Maybe it's just the chocolate ones? Hmm
Thats funny about the sugar alcohols though. I too was never like a crazy person wanting to get food. It was just a lot of bad choices as soon as I moved out on my own. But I was never ravenous about food. Now it's all different. When I'm so restricted it's all I can think about! And on cheat days I go crazy to the point where my stomach hurts.

I don't know but does this mean we have sort of an obsession now? I feel like we're always being restricted now and it makes me want the things I cannot have. Even the things I didn't even want pre-diet. Was I happier as I was gaining weight? I didn't gain the weight overnight but now if I ate (and drank) things that I did before I'd definitely gain rapidly. Not sure where i'm going here and just rambling. I'm in one of those moods because I can't have what i want. Sorry!

You're in my head.

In recent days I have tried a few things that seem to be helping a little.

Cut out/reduced afternoon and evening coffee because they made me want bars. Switched to salty IP snacks. I don't overeat salty. I stopped the IP and Atkins bars and reduced my MIO intake. All trigger crazy cravings. Also tried fruit and yogurt as an evening snack. I am not too crazy about that because I reserve it for breakfast. Doesn't taste as good in the evening. But, eventually I have to move towards 100% real food.

I saw a good number on the scale today so I am hoping things are back to normal. Between some crazy cravings, and excessive flatulence and not good bathroom time, I was starting to grow concerned. Since I never really moved into P4, just a little.

It can be a little scary to have something have control or power over you.. The body can override your sense of reason. But going forward, what else will trigger this? I don't honestly know how to gently re-introduce items back into our lives without possibly going overboard. I see that big white loaf of French bread at the grocery store (you know fresh out of the oven in the evening) and I wonder if I would eat it in one sitting. But would I really do P1 the next day? Lots of trial and error but we will get there just like we helped each other through P3. We will. This just seems to require more feeling bad in the tummy.

Thank you so much!!!!! This was the most helpful document. Not as scripted as Phase One, but goes a long way in making it understandable.

BUMP! So happy I found this! There is a TON of great info on this thread!! Exactly what I was looking for.

Starchy Veggies / protein / Phase 4 questions
 

In Phase 4 are starchy veggies permitted for lunch as well as dinner? I must admit I am confused and frightened about adding these veggies into these meals and how to calculate the carbs.

Q #1: Is there a list somewhere listing carbs for veggies and fruits?

Q #2: Once in Maintenance is there a total carb intake for the entire day one should stay under - a formula would be nice since I plan meals for both myself (130 lbs-not active) and my hubby (191 lbs - active job). I know IP is not the kind of diet plan to count calories but I'm finding this very difficult to incorporate carbs back into dinner without a guideline for our two different bodies!

Q #3: I've seen 2 different handouts; one with protein at both lunch and dinner; and one with the protein only at lunch. In maintenance, my coach told us to split the protein into all 3 meals equally (or as equally as possible) so I'm totally turned around on this part. I know it doesn't matter if you go over protein esp. if its lean (at dinner) but this maintenance is more confusing than I every imagined.

Here is the most recent P4 protocol and some supporting info

To find carbs in veggies/fruits go to http://nutritiondata.self.com/

Everyone will find a different level of carbs/calories that work for them for maintenance so keeping track is key! My Fitness Pal works for me and worked well while I phased off over the summer to boost my thyroid function.

Lisa -

Thank you for the phase 4 meal planner - My clinic did not provide anything like this at their maintenance workshop. It looks like a great way to keep track since the journal they provide is really best suited for phase 1 & 2.

Just thought I would bump this thread.

I am a maintenance newbie and I found some good info on here.

Do many of you split breakfast or do a full phase 3 breakfast? Ive read that some stretch out the big P3 breakfast? Thoughts?