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Originally Posted by sunnymae
First of all, thanks Rocky for the oatbran suggestion. I"m on ph3 and have been eating it every morning for breakfast. Love it!!
I'm so glad I read thru some posts this morning.
I've been feeling depressed and weird, bad stomach stuff, more dizziness since I've been transitioning and someone mentioned the insulin production AND other hormones that we're not used to, kicking in. I think that's what's been happening to me!
Yesterday was so down for me, kind of how I was before I started ph 1. My menopause symptoms have been back in full force, so something is triggering me.

Thanks for sharing your experience Clarice. That gave me some clarity and hope for things to change pretty soon. I did land up getting some coffee this afternoon...gotta say...when G-d invented coffee beans, it was a good thing!!!

Okay, I have no idea what the heck I'm supposed to do. Everyone seems to know way more about phase 3 and 4 than me and my coach certainly didn't provide me with enough information. I'm on day one of phase three and I'm just hoping I'm doing it okay.

I can't eat eggs more than once a week because of allergies, so I'm struggling with the breakfast protein. It feels weird to eat the ham as they suggest because it's so high in sodium (or doesn't that matter now?). Would it be okay if I had an IP drink as my protien and added in a carb, fat and fruit?

Also - we are still supposed to avoid sugar, right? I would like to make some whole grain flax muffins and am wondering if a touch of sugar or honey would be okay, or if I should be sticking to splenda.

Is there more information/meal ideas available for phase 3? And don't even get me started on phase 4. I'm so confused!

First off....congratulations on your amazing weight loss woohoo!!! You deserve to have all the right information on phasing off and I'm with you on the lack of knowledge from many coaches across the board. (My compliments to the knowledgeable ones...I know you are out there)
On the protein, how 'bout buying some tofu and making tofu scramble for your protein? You can buy some applegate lowfat turkey bacon which is uncured and nitrite free. Also in the states, there's Murrays lowfat, high protein, low carb chicken bacon. Also w/o nitrates. So you could have tofu scramble and healthy choice of bacon. They are also gluten and casein free.

On the muffins...they will be allowed in Phase 4 as a 1-2 times per week treat. You'll be able to have either 4oz (125gms) of Cake/pastry, 2-3 cookies, 1 muffin or 1 real pancake.
On the sweetener, personally I needed to cut down on the artificial sweetener, so I am really enjoying liquid 100% stevia from the hfs, which does not contain dextrose or maltidextrin. It's super concentrated and actually has been shown to have health benefits.
Hope that helps.
Keep asking away...it will get clearer and we must demand to know how to give ourselves the best shot at maintaining our weight loss. You go girl...

Ok, I am back from my final WI. Yay!! For some reason I gained 4lbs back in 2 days. I'm sure it is water since I have stuck to phase 3 religiously. Anyway, I'm afraid I still don't have much insight on phase 4. I asked my coach if I can just eat the way I am now, just add more fruit and nuts and occasional "treat", he said yes. Still not clear on how to determine if something is considered a fat or carb (eg. spaghetti and meatballs was suggested for supper-to me that is fat, carb and protein???) He just kept saying "Look, you know how to eat now, just relax and do it, blah blah blah" Guess this is going to be a trial error type thing. He did tell me that I should eat at least half my body weight in grams of protein. I will be researching protein grams in food for my "homework".

Thanks so much for responding. I need all the advice I can get. I've searched lots, but where do you find out information about what you can and can't eat on phases 3 and 4. I had no idea about the muffins/cookies thing that you had mentioned.

Well, it's official-I am in the midst of my first cheat day. I got up this morning and broke out the kringle that I froze from Christmas (didn't eat any then). I started with a small piece, then ate another, then another. I ended up eating the whole thing! Coach told me I could if I wanted to. I then drank half a cup of coffee with it. (I don't even like coffee, but it went well with the kringle). I am now thiking that my other cheat things(that I have oh so carefully planned and stashed just for this day) just don't sound as good. Not even sure if I'm going to eat the lasgna I had planned for supper. Good Lord, could it really be that my eating habits have changed???? I do have to say that the Kringle was divine. I'm just sitting here waiting for the sugar coma to strike now.

Turkey Ham? I love it!....however, I am still P1 so haven't had it in months....but worth looking into!

I actually found some amazing uncured baked ham that uses vinegar and sea salt as the seasonings. It's perfect!

Still wondering about where to find more info on phases 3 and 4 though, if anyone has any suggestions.

Just read your post, when you read this let me know how the remainder of the day went. Friday will be my first day on phase 4. I am thinking of having my cheat day on the weekends, haven't decided which day I want the first one to be. I have looked at the phase 4 protocol, Looks like the breakfast is the same as phase 3. Have you been told to eat the same items and quanities as phase 3 breakfast? I haven't ask this question yet. Judy

Have you looked at the closed "life after phase 1" thread? Not the one we are posting on, but the older one? it is full of great info. It is a long read, so give yourself some time to devote to it.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...phase-1-a.html

I ate like a pig! I didn't intend to, and thought I wouldn't want to, but Boy did the sweet stuff taste great. I did eat lasgna and sampled some pizza, but they just didn't taste as good-the ice cream on the other hand... Let's just say I am giving this whole "cheat day, phase 1" a true test.

Today has went well, I have been on strict Phase 1 and feel fine. As a matter of fact my stomach feels flatter today than before! It's truely amazing. I guess I'll see in the morning what story the scales tell.

I was just told to be aware of my portion sizes (for phase 4) and try to stay away from processed foods-fresh is always better, but not to worry about it if I occasionally had to eat them. It's going to be a "seek and find" adventure, I guess, to see just what foods work for me.

Good luck and enjoy your cheat day! Let us know how it went. We really need to keep this thread going!

They say if you are going to do something, do it right! Glad you enjoyed your cheat day. I made spaghetti sauce last summer from tomatoes we grew and froze it in 2 serving portions. We plan to have spaghetti tomorrow. Yummy! I'm going to keep reading and asking questions and trying to figure out what I need to do. Thank goodness, I am not stressed. Judy

Got on the scales this morning after REALLY testing the cheat day limits and doing strict phase 1 yesterday-worked like a charm! I am back down. Today is my first maintenance day since I did cheat day first. I ate 1 egg fried in Pam, 2 slices of Hieners 35 bread, 1 slice of fat free cheese and cut up some apples, sprinkled equal, cinnamon, put in microwave for about 2 mins. then put a drop of stevia vanilla creme and about 1/2 handful of raw oats and mixed it all up-YUMmy!!

I went on phase 4 Friday. I want my cheat day to be a weekend day, so I decided to have my first cheat day today. After lunch I took a piece of Texas cake (chocolate) out of the freezer. I froze several pieces in Dec. just for a day such as this. I also ate a peanut butter ball my sister in law made us in Dec. These foods froze wonderfully. I couln't decide what I wanted for an evening meal. I was thinking of going to Sonic for a cheeseburger and a Sonic blast. One minute yes, one minute no. Then I reread Clarice's post about her first cheat day. We are going to go to town and pick up a pizza at Pizza Hut. Call me copy cat! LOL. In Dec. my sister in law also made me a sweet potato casserole and froze it, I'm going to save it for a few more weeks. I'll do phase 1 tomorrow. I still have questions about phase 4, hope I am doing the maintenance days correctly. we'll see. Judy

Sounds like you had a great day! I, too am still wondering if I am doing maintenance correctly as well. I went up a pound since yesterday. If I'm back down tomorrow I'm ok, if not I may need to rethink (after we get back from Jamaica!)