Congratulations! Look how far you have come! You will do great on phase II. Glad to have you here with us.

Lynn

I hope everyone had a nice holiday!

I want to share my 'free' day and recovery experience with you 'life after' folks. We had our Easter dinner on Saturday. We had a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I did not go overboard, but I did enjoy dinner. The next day I was up 3.5 pounds, I suspect from water retention, etc. I stuck to the no-carb protocol for the recovery day, and those 3.5 pounds are gone...in one day!

Usually, if I am up a pound or two after a free day, I loose .5 pounds per day without any special effort. This is the first time it was all gone in one day.

So keep the faith, I have been in maintenance for about two months, and maintaining very well.

IP rocks!

Thanks for the encouraging words, JSP. I'm on my first week of Phase 4, and I had my cheat day on Easter also. Brunch after sunrise service with church friends (fresh fruit and a piece of french toast). Then my family's favorite dinner (cheese fondue with steamed veggies and wheat french bread) along with a glass of wine and a little chocolate. Up 2.5 pounds Monday. Had an IP drink for breakfast, phase 3 lunch and dinner. Today down 3 pounds. So the cheat day followed by low carb day really worked.

Thin is gut. ANd thanks for the kind words. I got my 1-year residence visa, hurrah, hurrah, so I'm planning to enjoy spring, summer, and fall in Berlin and other places. Winter? Done that. May go back to Hawai'i. But the opera is better here.

Just wanted to update - started phase 4 last week. It feels kind of strange eating so many different foods that I have avoided for so long! So far, so good. I'm maintaining my current weight! Big test this weekend - my son is getting married, so we have rehearsal dinner, wedding reception, etc.. So I'll probably have a cheat weekend, and do phase 1 one Monday!

There is so much great advice and help on these threads. I am glad to here that the weight comes of so easily after a cheat day. I know when every I have had a cheat day in the past like around Thanksgiving, it took about 3 days. Maybe that was becasue my pancrase wasn't rest. I have one more wek of Phase II and then off to phase III can't wait, for that Big Breakfast, although looking at what ohters have eaten it doesn't really seem like a big breakfast just a good healthy one. Well, I will just have to wait and see next Saterday. :-)

So happy for you and your son. Have a great weekend...And don't forget us. We want to see pictures!

Lynn

Have you girls notice that TOM got back to normal when you went to phase 3, or phase 4? Mine is so mixed up, good thing my bf is in florida right now lol

I am on Phase II now, this is my second week. My first week did not go so well as I was up 2lbs first time in 7 months. Did anyone else experince this? I am hoping that this week goes better. I have dropped the 2 extra lbs and am back at 163, but that still leaves me with 7lbs to lose to get to my goal weight. I am pretty sure I will have to go back to phase one once I get done with my trip to Jamaica at the end of the month. I was hoping to just work out and build some muscle, but I would really like to reach my goal before completely phasing off. Any suggestions or ideas are welcome.

I have officially reached my phase II weight of 125. This morning I was 124. 125 is the goal weight I want to maintain. My coach says before going to phase 3 I should go 3-5 pound below my goal weight, which would be 122-120. I wanted to see if I could get a consensus on how many pounds others went below their "maintanence goal weight" and how many pounds folks gained on average after going to the later phases.

bump!

FYI - I am in Phase 4 - Spent the weekend at wedding festivities - got home up 2lbs. Just got back on phase 1 for Monday & Tuesday, back down. I think I'm learning how to make the adjustments needed for indulgences! I have a cruise coming up next week and I feel confident that I know what to do to keep myself in check while enjoying my cruise. It's the second one I'll have taken since starting IP! One thing I have noticed - I have a scale that gives you, muscle mass, body fat percentage, BMI, etc I only weigh on it once weekly. - I have noticed if I drink alcohol that on my next weigh in - the lbs might be the same, but my body fat percentage is always up and muscle mass is always down. Makes me go hmmmm? Is there a relation to alcohol consumption and fat? It has made me think twice about the glass of wine after dinner or the social drink with friends. I prefer muscle mass to fat - alcohol is not worth it!

I was lucky and continued to loose in PH 2 and 3, about .5 to 1 pound per week. However, I entered PH 2 early, before my goal weight, because I had to stop. I am short, but have a bigger frame. As a result, my clothes were too big. I wear sizes 4 and 6 now, and weigh 129-132 (the higher weight post free-days). If you are not happy with your ending weight, once you reach maintenance you will have the tools to tweak your diet to drop the 2-3 lbs to where you want to be.

Ronda,

Great minds think alike! I came over here thinking I would have to bump this thread and you already did it. Thanks.

Ruby,

Alas...Alcohol is not my friend either. It's not just the calories in the drink itself, but it makes me think it is OK to eat whatever I want. Inhibitions go out the window. I used to be "good" all day with my eating, but after a drink at night, nothing was off-limits. I have chosen not to drink alcohol for the time being while I stabilize my weight. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything that really takes it's place.

Alaska,

Everyone's different. I adjusted my goal weight up from 125 to 130 and started phasing off around 132. I stayed stable through Phases II & III without the dreaded 5 lb gain. Over the last 2 months I have actually lost a little more and tend to be in the 126 - 128 range. Don't be afraid to phase off. It really does work.

Hi Jenny,

Good to hear from you. Sound like you are doing great.

Lynn

Well tomorrow is my last day on phase II, I made it, but it wasn't all that easy. 1) I seemed to gain weight the first week on Phase II, I have lost the weight and an additional 1.4lbs, so that is good. 2) I was never a big eater, and when I started phase I I use to comment that "I really have to eat all of this." It was a lot of food for me to consume through out the day. So Phase II, has been the same way, feeling very full. Now on saterday i get to add another meal. I think I may burst from all the food, even though I am excited about eating breakfast. I just thought I would share.