[chick_on_the_beach]

Every weekend!!! But I must be doing something right because I lost 55 pounds in 10 months last year and had two months off over December-January and lost another one pound during that time and I cheated like mad. I think its all about eating well 99% of the time and having the occasional treat.

I mostly eat phase one food including tons of vegies and gallons of water. I have the occasional piece of fruit or high fibre starch and eat lots of l/f fruit yogurt. I have the occasional chocolate or ice cream binge but generally with l/f ice cream or dark chocolate. I don't eat baked goods and if I have takeaways its chinese, kebabs or subway. I am sure they are not sb diet legal but I only have them about once a month.

[Bunnababy]

You and me Ellis! Every damn day. In fact, I am off the wagon more than on the wagon. Or should I say on the boardwalk more than on the beach!

[ellis]

Oh, God bless, you, Bunna! I thought I was the only one.

[Bamiegurl]

Well I guess maybe that's why the boardwalk has been so crowded let's grab each other and jump back in the sand!

[beachgal]

I've tried various plans through the years, and as long as I thought of them as a diet, and eating things not allowed as "cheating", I always failed, and failed miserably.

The truth is, when I eat the way I was, I'm not really happy. Those treats don't make me happy, and the result of eating them doesn't make me happy either. I'm actually willing, finally, to forgo them in place of the consistant happiness that being healthy gives me. I'm learning to rely on God, not food. I'm learning to feel good about me...and to feel good in my skin.

I ate some off plan food when we were in Europe. Maintaining the plan became really tough in another country. But I felt horrible. I couldn't wait to get home and get back on plan. It just reinforced for me how little I want to be that person again. I was so irritable and constantly craving a "fix" in the form of carbs and sugar. I like who I am on plan, and I like staying there.

I would think that if your goal is to eat more healthy than you were, staying on plan 80% of the time is probably helpful. But if your goal is to improve your health, lose weight, and break your addiction to carbs and sugar, you need to stay on plan 100% for most of the time. Planned "off plan" times, like Peggy's, as long as you do Phase 1 after to detox, shouldn't hurt as long as they aren't every week.

[Gypsydancer]

I didn't follow Phase I because I'm still nursing, and I use the Phase II food list as a goal, but I'm not strict about it. For me, it was very important that I start living like I'm on maintenance from Day 1, so thinking about it this way works better for me. I strive to only chose foods on the Phase I or II food lists, and usually do, but occasionally have white flour products or "bad" fats (probably 3-4 times a week). The only thing I'm really strict about is not eating sugar, because it's a binge trigger for me. I'm always "on program," just some days I do better than others at achieving my goal.