I am finding Phase 4 is really about what works for each of us. Most of my lunch and dinner meals are the same as Phase 3, but with lunch I can have 'real' salad dressing and some cheese on my salad, and with dinner I can have some pasta with it. The bit about not combining lots of fat with lots of complex carbs has sunk in and become automatic. So far, so good...

Breakfasts are still my favorite though... love that oatmeal and fruit.

Am also finding that because I have 'permission' to have whatever foods I want, I am not as crazed to have them. They can wait. One-by-one, I have tried a few things that I haven't had in over 16 months, and holy moly, were they good. Felt like I got the craving out of my system and now I will have them, every now and then, but basically stick to the plan. I am a real creature of habit, so now that those Phase 4 habits are steady, I feel like I'm doing pretty good.

Food combining?
Is that to aid in digestion or to prevent weight gain?

Hi purple, I just mean the bit about at lunch, you can have fats, but don't have complex carbs. At dinner you can have the complex carbs, but don't have alot of fats. Something about the way the body will use the fat and complex carb to create fat when eaten together - it's part of the Phase 4 info.

Thank you so much for starting this thread Sewmam. I've learned a lot from it and I'm excited to be joining you in the "Maintainers" on Saturday!

Ah, interesting. Some foods don't combine well and cause us problems like gastric distress and challenges with elimination. But, food combing is really tricky. You can have this with this but you can't have this with that. The rules are very hard to remember. For example you can eat veggies with anything but it's generally recommended not to eat carbs (starch) with meat. Which is tricky since most of us are weaned on meat and potatoes.

My understanding is that it is about food combining. Perhaps read a few select chapters of Dr Tran's book for more info or the phase 4 explanation on 3FC (you probably have this). I just tried to upload and couldn't do it. (If you can tell me how to do that, I'll upload the p4 doc).

In short, they say its critical to separate fats and carbs. Have fats at lunch and carbs at dinner. Reason is to stabilize your weight.

I started P3 yesterday.. and the my stomach has not stopped hurting since lol it's not a pain its really hard to explaine.. but its not liking the change so much lol it's like tight, ache, contracting feeling... idk.. it's weird. Anyone else had problesm transitioning. I have even cut my morning meal in half! Well half of the half i was already eating. So really i'm eating just over a quarter of what is "suggested" ... it's just hard to get down all that food, and then i drink water and i feel like i'm going to pop!

What are you having?
A lot of people find that when they add wheat back in it doesnt agree with them. If you're eating toast then cut out the toast for a day and see if it gets better. You may want to try more granola or muesli and yogurt/berries and less wheat. I found that I enjoyed the yogurt with berries and muesli MORE than the toast and totally cut it out. Not that it didnt agree with me, but because I just didnt like it as much. Hope this helps

Some also find that taking a probiotic helps. We are adding a lot of things people are sensitive to in this phase:
Wheat
Grains
Dairy
Sugar

I just got a food enzyme I am thinking of taking.

Try drinking your water before or after your meal. In P1 I used to drink like 24-32 oz of water at lunch. I was so bloated and uncomfortable. I could not eat a full meal. There is only so much space in our stomachs. We have acid in our stomachs to break down the food but adding all that extra water messes with that which is sometimes why we burp or feel bloated.

Tried almond butter on my toast this morning. We bought a box of those packets of Justin's Almond Butter for the DH and I decided to try one this morning. It was amazing on a slice of toast. I also had my yogurt, muesli and berries though. oops. After eating I looked at the label on the almond butter and it's a whopping 200 calories and 17g of fat!! Woah! So I'm about 100 calories over the limit... oopsies! Next time I'll be sure to only have half a package but I won't be having it often.. it's just too good! The toast isn't something I normally have either. It's just not as good anymore.. The almond butter would be fantastic with apple slices though.

I started P3 on Saturday. As much as I love the results I've been getting from this diet, ketosis just does not agree with me (that and I want to start commuting to work on my bike, which is about 30 miles r/t) so I'll be going back to calorie counting and exercise. Sure enough, shortly after eating my first breakfast, I felt amazing. I thought the effects were mental, but my ketostix confirmed I was knocked out the same day.

I've been eating the different variations of this refrigerator oatmeal, linked by a friend. The only adjustment I've made is replacing the honey with stevia. They are so yummy and super easy to make the night before. To get my numbers in the zone, I've been eating this along with a couple of hard boiled eggs and a slice of low-carb bread, or some non-fat vanilla yogurt.

Shepard, thank you for the recipe! Ill definitely be using it.

Chloe and wuv, i know you talked about this in the daily chat yesterday but i fihured this would be tge best place to continue the converaation. I don't believe we are still in ketosis in p3. The reason for the 2-3 lb gain is because our glycogen stores are filled back up with water. My coach told me when I started p3 that I can do a lot of exercise and I do not HAVE to have the extra packet because we are no longer in ketosis. She said that I can have my bar (restricted) as my 1 packet everyday and if I'm hungry after working out I can have a RTD. I know that I am no longer in ketosis and if you are then you may not be getting enough carbs. Usually by the second week we should be out of it.

hmm....mango and oatmeal...never even thought of that! Thanks!

I'm thinking that 'waking up the pancreas' in Phase 3 means we exit ketosis?

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Also, for digestive problems, I used the probiotic and digestive enzymes. I'm still taking them. Maybe it won't be needed after a point, but at first, I think your body is just not used to the things we added, or you are finding that you are gluten/dairy/carb intolerant.

While away I took the enzymes with my meals. They must have worked because I did not have any problems. Forgot to take my probiotic. Actually, I forgot to take nearly everything. But, that's old me. I was never a pill popper.

This whole thread has been fantastic. I read every single post to get ready for my trip to the grocery store tomorrow.

I cant wait to have peanut butter, jelly and bananas back in my diet... I am definitely making a p3 friendly pbj (with almond milk to wash it down) for my first breakfast!

Other ideas I am thinking will work for me are a variation on an egg mcmuffin, w some berries on the side.

I hate yogurt so that's definitely out for me.

Anyone else have meal ideas to share?