Talking about reading and not working. I am suppose to be cleaning out my closet for a clothes donation pick up tomorrow..................but instead I watched all 5 segments of the video mentioned above. Thank you thank you thank you I'm Svelting it was an AWESOME video. Thank you for not working

It is too high in carbs to be in phase I, I think. It's got between 9-12 carbs in 1/2 cup.

Maybe I'm wrong, others can help, but I think its something that wasn't 'worth it' for me even if it was legal.

I have almost finished my first week of phase 3. The first few days were a little hard trying to figure out what to eat that fit into the criteria for breakfast. I really enjoyed it all! It was a lot to eat though.

I also lost another 2# in this week. I hope that evens out, as I bought some nice clothes and they are not going to fit if I keep losing. Like some others have mentioned, your body keeps remodeling for a few weeks too. So you really aren't the size you likely will end up for a while.

It gets easier as the days go by and I learn to relax and go with the recommendations. Transitioning from a very strict protocol to a more relaxed one takes some getting used to.

This time last year I was scarfing down the mini chocolate bars by the handful as I was checking my son's Halloween bag. This year I indulged in one Twizzlers stick and one gummy treat. Oh how things have changed...thank you IP!

After gaining 1.6 lbs in my first two weeks of Phase 4, last Wednesday I was down 3 lbs! Not sure what I did differently, but it has taught me not to stress out too much about things. Although I was gaining, I didn't feel it in my clothes...actually they continued to get looser. It appears that my body is still changing. Not sure what this Wednesday's weigh in will bring, but I don't care! As long as I feel good and am behaving, I'm learning to live with it!

Hope you are all doing well!

Not enough hooray in the world for this!

Yippeee....yipppeee...yippppeeee!!! I had my first BIG BREAKFAST this morning and it was simply awesome! I have been a lurker...soaking up all the information EVERY day.....all I can say is THANK YOU!!!!

Hi everyone!

Guess I am still addicted to this forum! I've been stuck in "Groundhog day" for the summer... loosing and gaining back the same stubborn pounds! I was not over my old eating habits - so I am back to phase 1.

Time will tell if lesson learned!
Missed you!

I'm a few days into phase 4 and am enjoying myself. Couple of things...

*I've been 128 exactly for the past week, but I swear, my clothes are still feeling looser as the weeks go on. It still amazes me that my body is 'remodeling' like this. I have a svelte size 6 dress that I'm now regretting I didn't get in a ... wait for it ... 4!

*I'm enjoying the freedom, but its really now that I'm seeing my old habits for what they were. Last night, DH and I went out, I'd already eaten dinner, but we went out to happy hour, late night, post election parties. I had a vodka soda, he ate a burger and fries. I tasted his burger and had a fry, but I would have had my own before. I liked being able to taste it, but felt great having my strawberries when we came home. I could have had a cheat night, but decided it wasn't worth my first cheat! And, I'd worked out so hard earlier that I felt no guilt having the taste.

*I realized that I just can't eat pasta for dinner every night. I know its what's recommended, but it just isn't in me. I made an amazing turkey chili tonight that I'll have for the next few days and maybe even freeze. I'm not sure what others in phase 4 think of this...? Is it totally off course? It's really healthy chili with turkey, veggies, beans, even pumpkin and spices. I'll go back to pasta later in the week, but I needed something different. If it causes a huge problem, I'll cut it out.

*I had a chicken caesar for lunch today, and enjoyed not having to stress about anything other than them leaving the crutons off! Oh, how I'd missed caesar dressing!!

Although I'm enjoying it, nothing seems to be worth a cheat yet. Interesting.

I finished my first week of phase 3 and lost almost another lb. Also still getting a little smaller too. I never did gain my 2-5# back for glucogan, and instead lost. This morning I was up 2#, too many nuts, and today being very careful. I know it will be gone soon.

The big breakfast is great, but almost too much food for me, and it takes so much longer to cook and then eat! Never thought I would be complaining about having to eat so much! I am working on a smoothie recipe that would fit the criteria so I could eat a faster breakfast if I'm in a hurry.

I have also started to do a toning program. I have been walking 2-3 miles about 4 times a week, but not much other exercise.

So far, it's great. I think I can do this. I have set a 2# limit of gain before I have a no-carb day. I am just not going to gain this weight back - ever!!

I've wondered about this, too. I guess the question is can we have a small portion of lentils, or beans, instead of pasta? Same carbs and a little more fiber. Of course, if I had my drothers, I'd have an "English breakfast" with beans instead of bread.

Well, the lurking seems to have paid off. CONGRATULATIONS.

I actually asked about this because I have no desire to return wheat and other grains to my diet as daily or regular items. I will have them occasionally. Jessica, pasta seems particularly unappealing to me. What is it -- flour & water, dried and hardened, then soaked to get soft. No wonder we need spicy or fatty sauces for it! Once I assured my coach and her clinic director I'm not carbohydrate-phobic and that I planned to eat root vegetables, squash, sweet potatoes and fruit, I was told that it was fine. You'll probably be just fine alternating vegetable sources of carbs -- root veggies, squash, and potatoes -- with legumes and grain sources such as rice, corn, pasta, and bread.

I am prepping some breakfast menus in anticipation of the first phase 3 breakfast for DH and myself on Sunday. I have printed out many of the plans shared by others and using the phase 3 protocol package my coach gave me.

For the "All American" (fruit / eggs / bacon / toast / butter) described in the handout - where is the dairy requirement coming from?? This has me stumped

Thanks!
Danielle

It's not a dairy requirement as much as it is a 'fat' requirement ... that requirement is fulfilled by the butter in the All American. It took me a little while to figure that one out, too.

Good luck!

After losing nothing on Phase 2, I lost 2.2 pounds this week on my modified version of Phase 3 (higher fat), so I'm under 200 and about 7 lbs from the the upper limit of my healthy BMI range! Kinda cool ... I thought breaking through the 200 barrier would be a bigger deal to me than it is. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy about the movement and the milestone, but it's a little like an odometer clicking over.

One thing I realized this week is that the way my body is now, is the way I thought it looked when I was 61 lbs heavier. No wonder trying on clothes was so disappointing, the mirror never matched my mental image. I'm more than a little shocked when I look at photos from the last few years. There has been a significant gap between what I "saw" and what was actually there. I imagine adjusting to having dropped the next 25-30 lbs (or whatever my endpoint turns out to be) will require some mental rearrangement and new neural patterns.

The routine of Phase 3 is quite an adjustment; it's not so easy as a salad+veggies+hunk of protein once or twice a day and then filling in with IP packets. I'm hoping the planning and shopping will require less creative thinking and that I can come up with a pattern/routine that works.

FYI, I have had very little bread (1 small piece and 1 pizza slice), no cereal, pasta or other grain products and have been getting my carbs from root veggies, sweet potato and fruit. So if you want to branch out, try it! I'm going to try some buttercup squash this week.