Hello to all! It's been a while since I've been on here, and since then I've started phase 4. But I'm a little confused with this "fun day". My cousin who is my coach told me that fun day was when I could have like one thing like a piece of pie, or a glass of wine (I don't drink, so that's not an option) and that's it. However, the sheet says that "the dieter eats whatever they want" for that one day.

I need some feedback on this. What have you done on your "fun day"? What did you eat?

This is a direct quote from the IP Phase 4 sheet updated in June (posted in the FAQ sticky thread at the top of the forum):

The Indulgence Day!
What is the Indulgence Day? The Indulgence Day is an important and mandatory part of our Maintenance Phase and is essential for long-term success. It is a day when dieters can enjoy any type of food they feel like eating. Dieters who have struggled with their weight and believe that they can never enjoy certain foods again will understand, with the Indulgence Day, that this is simply not true. The notion of pleasure is a vital part of the Ideal Protein Weight Loss Method and in Phase 4, the dieters will learn to eat for pleasure and not from compulsion and/or emotion.

Note that it says it is a DAY when you can eat more freely...some choose to indulge all day, some just for one meal...everyone figures out what works for them. But it's not meant to be restricted to one ITEM, unless YOU decide that's what works best for you.

My fun days became so fun that it took 3 days of P1 to get back to baseline. Moreover I hated the sudden shift back to P1 after that loose day of no limits. Eventually my fun days became spaced closer and closer and suddenly i had 12 lbs to get off.

My approach is to be mindful of what I'm really wanting to enjoy, instead of eating every single rich food item that comes within range of view. I have read many maintainers trying out different things. Some of us are easily triggered back to the WOE that got us overweight to begin with, incl. yours truly . I'm actually happier without a planned fun day and will use a social occasion to fulfill it--saves that angst about going to a party, etc. Imho, IP is trying to address the issue of having forbidden foods that may set maintainers up for cravings & binges. And maybe it's a design to give our metabolism a boost each week.

I think there is room for variation to find what works, just like the rest of the P4 protocol.

Ah, ok... so now I don't feel as bad for having the ice cream and slice of pizza on Sunday. The way my cousin explained it, made it seem like I was only limited to one item for that day. Not that I would go overboard... Thanx so much!

Most of us on the maintainers threads end up doing just a fun meal instead of a whole day pig out. You might find that you no longer feel the need to 'pig out' and a couple of drinks while lunching with a friend or having a dessert one night may just be enough of a funday for you... the trick like Mars735 said, is to not get carried away with doing it more than once a week otherwise we do get into our old way of eating like we did every day before IP. I think the trick is in the planning of a funday too, and not the randomness. Look ahead for the week and decide when your funday will be, stick to that, and DO P1 or P2 the next day faithfully. If it turns out that there isn't really anything tasty enough that you want on that occasion just make it a normal P4 day and move on. Don't put something in your mouth that you really don't seriously want - funday should be about pleasure, so have the real French pastry instead of the handful of Oreos just because they are there, for instance.
I'm sure you will get the hang of it, just be mindful of how your body feels (sometimes all the extra starchy/sugary carbs can make a headache and an upset stomach) and what results you are getting. Remember you have the tools to fix things again if you start to go off the rails. Don't wait too long if you can see that happening. Easier to lose the 5 up pounds than the 25 or 50.

Post your meals on the Maintainers what are you eating? thread and we'll all help out, lol. Lecture or applause - whichever you need.

Liana

Thank you all for your advice! I used to be the "pig out" type before IP, but that has lessen a lot since I started this diet. The pizza and ice cream were enough for me on Sunday for the week, and I didn't eat those out of compulsion. Those were things I wanted and waited for throughout the entire diet (I just had to make sure I had a Lactaid pill with me, since I'm LI). Being on IP has taught me a lot, and those habits have stuck with me throughout this week, which is awesome. I have even stayed away from the chocolate in my manager's office, and that's huge since I'm a chocolaholic....

Scottysgirl:
Also note the ONE DAY, as Scorbett mentioned.
When one makes it a month or more, one ends up rebooting, having not learned how to continue to eat a new way

I am a newbie so no where near understanding Phase 2-4 but seeing that in the horizon I would have a "fun day" is nice to look forward to.... the fun day concept reminds me a bit of the "Carbyhodrate Addicts" diet which I did many years ago. It worked for me while on it and they had a "fun meal" I think it might have been daily but then you were regimented the other meals (separating carbs and protein I think). Anyway, you had to limit the meal to 1 hour. So in that hour you could have whatever you wanted. I have no idea if that applies here but might be a rule of thumb to think about if you want rules on your fun day. I remember really have fun in that hour!

The IP maintenance plan doesn't include a fun meal whenever you want, but one fun day per week, that is then followed by a Phase 1 day. On your fun day, you can choose to just have a fun meal, or let the reins loose for the whole day - some can't do a full day without really experiencing gains, others can....maintenance is a LOT of paying attention to how your individual body reacts to foods, and adjusting as needed to manage your new weight

Welcome to the IP family! stick with this board and you'll have plenty of help navigating all of the phases and beyond

I'm a new maintainer and am doing a fun day every Sunday (this week makes #3). I actually enjoy the P1 day afterward because I find P1 extremely easy to follow really am not all that hungry the day after more calorie-rich foods anyway.

Setting aside a particular day for my indulgences really helps me delay gratification for just once a week. I don't seek to cram as much as humanly possible in my mouth at all. But I enjoy not having to follow the carb/fat separation rules so srtictly. I keep track of every calorie I eat on my fun day - mostly because I think it's very motivating to realize why I shouldn't eat that way EVERY day. I also keep up my water and protein intake on my fun days and refuse to eat/drink what I feel are my trigger foods (coke, fast food, french fries, full fat Starbucks).

Today, I made homemade oat flour banana choc chip muffins. Sure, I could've eaten a full fat one from a bakery (for 500-800 calories....what?), but I much more enjoyed the kind I made whether it's my free day or not.

But, I'm brand new to all this. I will be the first to come back in a month (or more) and report if the fun day concept does not work for me. I do hope it does, though, since I feel it helps me stay motivated the rest of the week to stick to the program!

This may seem obvious to everyone but the separation of carbs and fats rule is a calorie control mechanism as is the fun day follow by a P1 day.

Calories matter so if you want to follow phase 4 you have to realize that no matter how strict you are with the rules it is easy to over do it on a fun day calorie wise if you are not aware of how many calories certain foods have. Thus one should always be "calorie aware" even if one is not counting calories.

In my personal experience I had no idea how many calories a costco hot dog and costco slice of combo pizza had.

Oh sheesh, let's not talk about my lack of understanding what I used to eat!

I have to say that I have done quite a bit of reading and self-education with your intermittent posts on the IP forum, and I thank you for motivating me to be as aware as I can be of my body and how I choose to treat it.

From what I read, there is much debated and sketchy science related to the fat vs. carb separation idea when we examine it metabolically.

You explain it as calorie control, and I would call that an "eating strategy". Many of the foods that "taste like more" to me are high in both fat and carbohydrates. Maybe a big portion of that is that most foods high in both of these are highly processed.

I am extremely thankful for tools like MyFitnessPal that help me to be aware of what is really in my food. My Fun Day still PALES in comparison to a regular day before I started losing weight. I aim to never live in denial of what I put in body again.

You said it girl. WAAAY back when I first started using MFP I couldn't believe how quickly some of the stuff I was eating added up....I used to be ADDICTED to Coffeemate creamers, until I saw what they did to my calorie count (and what they were MADE of!! Really not much more than flavored oil!!). And I think it's safe to say that MANY fun "days" really just end up being fun "meals" or a couple of off-track choices over the course of the whole day. Pigging out for the whole day isn't worth the BLAH feeling the next day!

Too true!

I'm with you evemomma & scorbett! The food I used to eat I don't even want to think about any more - yikes! I love knowing the nutritional value of what I'm eating and seeing how it works into my day and helps me meet my nutritional goals.

And of course separating fats & carbs and the P1 day following a fun day is a way to control the calories we're eating. A pretty effective way too from my experience. And paying attention to the fats/carbs is really a good tool to keep being aware of what we're eating.

I figure I finally found a way of eating that works for me and a lot of other people - it's all good!