Hey girls-
I talked to my coach today about the plan for my upcoming vacation and what she recommended was (1) week at P2 then (1) week at P3 and then try to follow "maintenance" as closely as possibe on vacation (which I do not think I will have a problem doing) with a few more cheats. She also said I could go all out, but I am not too sure what I am going to do.

JennyLauren- if it were me, I would follow P2 for the next couple of days, then transition in P3 for 6 or so days before you leave. I think it is much less detrimental to do P3 to slowly wake up your pancreas. My coach also said that this way is probably the way to gain the least amount of weight.

Please keep us posted on what you decide to do and how it all works out for you in the end.

Oh- and I have heard from several people that they continued to lose weight while on P3, although more slowly. I think you will feel more bloated and uncomfortable on vacation if you DON'T phase off and go through phase 2 &3, even if it is only for a few days each. Personally, I think going from P1 to all out is a baaaaaaaaad idea. But that is just my opinion.

Thanks a lot Jenny Doodle! I think you are right. I have my WI tomorrow and I'm going to be honest with my coach and tell her I don't think my body will react well if I don't move to phases 2 & 3 beforehand. I'll let you know how it goes!

Ok, so I talked to my coach again today. I told her that I've done a lot of research and I don't feel comfortable going directly from phase 1 to eating normally. I told her I know my body, and I think I won't feel well. She was super nice and told me that it was my decision and she would support whatever I wanted, as long as I would return to phase 1 after my vacation. She also said that she needs to give me all of the information and her advice, but ultimately it was up to me.

Thank you to everyone for your advice!!

You've had nice losses so far. I did ask my friend and am awaiting a response, but it isn't going to help you so close to your vacation date.

For what it is worth, I LOVE phase 3 and found it to be a happy spot. I could eat like that almost every day of my life and not feel like I"m on any diet, or sacrificing what I like. My body still lost weight on phase 3, too. I am going to go back to phase 1 when I get home but I plan on being REAL faithful to it, get rid of the last pounds, so I can get back on phase 3. Phase 4 is probably nice too, I guess realistically having a "cheat" day works well for life in general.

Let us know how you do!!

I'm in the swing of vacation, and I"m eating one day phase 1, one day relaxed having what I want. It's going ok. Haven't gained much, am exercising, feeling ok so far. I have not felt great on the days I cheat, get the feeling after that it wasn't all that great afterall. It makes it alot easier to stick closer to the plan and just let loose on small things like salad dressings. Remember, I am not trying to stay OP right now just do damage control while having a good time, and using my new skills in choice making.

Good luck...

So, I thought I would give an update on my vacation experience. I went to the Dominican for 1 week, on an all inclusive. My coach told me to stay in phase 1 until I left. I was really concerned about bloating and feeling sick on vacation so I decided to move into phase 3 about 6 days before I left. Except, I was too scared because I didn't want to lose the progress for that week so I stayed in phase 1 until I left.

My intention on vacation was to eat mostly according to phase 4, but to include alcohol. Well, as soon as I got there, I completely blew it!! I ate like a pig all week, eating a ton of desserts and everything I could get my hands on. I didn't have that much alcohol, but inhaled all food in sight.

So, for the good news. . . I didn't feel sick at all on vacation. I didn't feel bloated, or have any bathroom issues. I noticed that my belly was a little more "round" but overall, my body handled it very well.

Now for the bad news. . .when I got home, I was up 7 lbs! I knew most of that was not fat but it was still shocking. I went right back to phase 1 the next day. I had my WI yesterday, and officially I was up only 4 lbs (so I lost 3 of those lbs in 4 days). I was honest with my coach, and she told me not to worry and I probably only really gained maybe a pound or two, and most of it was stored glycogen. I am down another pound this morning, and hopefully the rest will come off quickly. My coach told me to not feel guilty and look at it as a learning experience.

Before the vacation, I was 100% OP for 6 weeks, and I plan to be 100% OP going forward until I reach my goal. I don't feel guilty for what I did because I know that will not be my everyday lifestyle. I am confident that I will stay on track, and am more motivated than before to lose the extra weight. I actually think the experience was good for me, because when I returned, I was actually sick of eating junk food and couldn't wait to restart phase 1.

By no means am I recommending for anyone to cheat or lose control, but I wanted to share my experience to maybe let some people know not to beat themselves up over a minor (or major) cheat. If you have the right mindset, you can recover from it, and move past it. Also, in my experience, a vacation really isn't your everyday life, so it can be a time to indulge and let loose, as long as you go into it knowing that you will return home and continue making healthy choices.

Thanks JennyL for sharing your experience. It is really good to hear that both you and Purrfect have been able to jump right back on the P1 wagon upon returning. I am starting Phase 2 today in preparation for phasing off for my vacation. It will be interesting to see the difference in our experiences since I am phasing off and you didn't.

I also know that I tend to go a little crazy on vacation because, it is vacation, afterall. My day to day eating (before IP) is fairly disiplined, so I am not too worried that I will go nuts on P4.

Welcome home and welcome back to IP!

Thanks to everyone for these encouraging posts. I will be going on a cruise with my HS alumni on October, and had not really thought about what to do leading up to embarking.