I've finished the book! I purchased it tonight, too.

Please forgive me in advance for this annoying question. The way the doctor speaks, it's as if exercising and eating within a reasonable calorie range after phase 3 can cause weight gain. Or am I over-interpreting? I mean, I see myself progressing through each of the phases. But I plan to introduce burgers and sushi back into my diet, in moderation of course. Even when I'm not on any diet, having the occasional dessert wouldn't make me gain. I gain when I binge on tubs of peanut butter before bedtime...or something along those lines. Do I sound like I'm going around in circles?

GAAAHHH I'm so confused!!! I've tried Atkins in the past with some negative effects in my metabolism so I'm permanently scarred. Help!

Please let us know the page number for that information.

I'd like to know which page, too. It's true that exercising can eventually cause weight gain as you replace fat with muscle (muscle weighs more than fat), but that's the only thing that comes to my mind....

Well, he doesn't say so himself. I apologize. But just reading some of the threads here, straying for a week seems to put on several pounds. So I figured, how could eating the extra instant noodles in place of a steak every now and then cause so much weight gain?

Missy, the book explains what happens when you eat things with a high glycemic index. Your body responds in a rapid (and crazy) way and stores the extra sugar as fat. In addition, you often end up with some water gain. Your fat cells never go away, they just shrink down. They love to fill up with water at any given chance. On SBD, you can gain rapidly during a planned treat, but you lose it just as quickly once you detox again. Drinking lots of water will help mitigate this effect.

I wouldn't let this deter you from the plan. I haven't heard of anyone having trouble with weight gain in Phase 3 unless they overate or went off plan for a long time.