I asked a question about the book stating that if you get off track for a length of time you should go back to Phase 1 (bc I was getting scared of not doing well on Phase 2) and this was the reply (this was a quote from the official SB member site)

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Member Question: Is it OK to revert back to Phase I after you have been on Phase 2 for a while?

Margaret: The purpose of Phase 1 is to banish cravings. There's no weight-loss benefit from going back to Phase 1. This may lead to a 'yo-yo' weight-loss cycle and hamper further weight-loss efforts. A slow weight loss of ½ to 2 pounds a week is recommended. Slow, steady weight loss will result in better maintenance of your new weight. Phase 2 is designed specifically for this slow weight loss, and to provide a balanced healthy meal plan that you can live with.
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If you've gone back to Phase 1, did you find it less effective the 2nd, 3rd, etc time around? Was it harder to transition back to Phase 2?

(I just like to be prepared)

That's interesting, Jess.
Yes, I have a heck of a time going back to Phase I.
I'm thinking of starting again next week, but I'm considering just doing Phase II. I know that anything is better than the way I'm eating at present.

Yup, that would be me.

I have repeated phase 1 about 4 times this past year. The only reason I do it is to get the sugar/carb toxins out of my system. I've tried to just be a strict phase 2, but that doesn't get rid of the cravings like phase 1 does. The very first time I did phase 1 18 months ago I lost 11 pounds in the two weeks. The second time I did it was about 8 months ago and only lost 6, but it did get rid of the cravings. Last month I phase 1'd again and lost 11 pounds. I was happy about the loss, but again, I do it to get rid of the cravings. If I would only be smart and not put the M&M's into my mouth in the first place I would be SOOOO much better off!

I agree with the way RNMOM does this. I know last time I did SBD my cravings went during P1 - I still blew it but thats another story!

This time, my cravings are gone. I get a brief thought come into my head about chocolate or bread or alcohol, but then it goes. Whereas I've spent more than half my life battling DAILY cravings and sugar/carb binges.

I will move to P2 at the end of my 2 weeks - but will certainly use P1 again whenever I feel the cravings coming back, if I slip badly off the programme, or after, say a vacation.

P1 facilitates P2 by shifting those cravings. If I just went straight to P2 it wouldnt work for me because I would still be having cravings and bingeing (sp). I've tried it and it didnt work for me.

Its taken me, as I said, more than half my life, having been dieting since I was 17 to find something that causes me a)to stop bingeing and b) allows me to lose weight.

Its different for everyone. I've been reading an excellent book called "Thin For Life" and it really shows that each of us has to discover for what works for us as individuals and then take it from there.



Ok I just went to get my copy of the book here I quote verbatim from P12 of the most recent British edition :

"One beauty of the three-phase structure of the South Beach Diet is that you can move easily from one stage to another. If, while in Phase 2, you go on vacation and overindulge in sweets, its easy to switch back to Phase 1 for a week, lose the weight those desserts
put on and then return to where you left off in Phase 2."

So the book is contradicting the official website? Perhaps the question is ambiguous. I agree that if a person is strictly OP during Phase 2, then moving back to P1 probably is not a good idea. But if a person has slipped and had a relapse, moving back to P1 makes sense to me.

The point of phase 1 is to get rid of the cravings. So I think what you read in the book about for example if you go on a vacation, you probably ate a lot of things that aren't allowed and have the sugar/carb toxin in your system again. In this case you should go back to phase 1, not to loose the extra weight but to make sure you get rid of whatever cravings may be still there from what you ate on vacation....does that make sense? They are saying you overindulged, so you need to get rid of the cravings again, hence going back to phase1.

I went back on Phase one for 4 days a lil while ago. I had noticed I was again having out of control cravings, this icky feeling that I associate with 'needing a sugar fix' again...and, the scale was bouncing between gaining 1-2 pounds and not going lower than my lowest point. So, I switched back to phase 1 and broke through...only stuck to it as long as I felt I needed to, in order to sorta re-'detox'...and, I did lose about 3/4 pounds also.

Yes, it was difficult going back to phase one after having more 'freedom' of phase 2. No, it DEFINITELY was not hard switching back to phase 2 after redoing phase 1 for a time...ahhhhh, sweet freedom, .

My personal belief though is, as long as the cravings are under control, keep at phase 2. I weigh myself every day and I can tell you, some days I'm up a bit, some days way down...back up, stay the same, down...but I tend to average one pound a week. But there are weeks that I don't lose anything, sometimes several weeks in a row...then bam, I drop three pounds at once. IMO, the main thing is listening to your body, following its cues and sticking w/the program!

Jess, great question! Just like the SBD person said, the only reason I've found to go back to Phase 1 is to get the sugars out of my system. That said, I did do it once after nearly three months on a plateau, hoping that it would shake things up enough to get me started again. It did. But that could be because there was some sugar in my system messing things up.

I lost 13 pounds a week on Phase 1 the first time. Since then, the most I've ever lost by going back to Phase 1 is five pounds.