I am starting p3 next Monday and planning on starting maintainence on Xmas eve. Have been back on phase 1 since the 25th and am down another 6lbs after phasing off for three days to enjoy thanksgiving and then getting back into phase 1. My question is how long do you do phase 3 for before going back to maintainence again? Do you do your time in phase 1 until you get to goal, two weeks of phase 3, and then onward or do some of you jump back into maintenance right away after phase 1? I am traveling for Xmas and would like to have a balance of eating what I enjoy within moderation and also maybe doing some phase 1 days to keep things in check and maybe even loose a pound or two.

Anytime you spend a length of time in Phase 1, you should phase back into maintenance so you don't shock your system. Phase 2 is negligible, but you really need to go through Phase 3 to increase your caloric intake and replenish your glycogen stores correctly.

Maintenance involves smart eating choices during most of your week (IP teaches that on a "normal" day you should eat a Phase 3 type breakfast, and of your following 2 meals one should be "fat poor" and the other "carb poor" to avoid throwing too much weight gain-prone foods at your body all at once), a "cheat" day (unrestricted day if you want), followed immediately by a Phase 1 day. Rinse, repeat.

If you are in maintenance, you should not be worrying about losing more weight, but MAINTAINING the weight range you are at.