When you say you add 1 starchy-type thing per day, does that mean Saturday you have a wheat tortilla, Sunday a wheat tortilla and a piece of fruit, and so on? Or do you just have one a day and make it something different daily? I do NOT want to gain weight on this Phase! I've been holding tight where I'm at long enough, and I may just give in to the beer monster if I gain any weight.
Another question....something I thought of that I wonder if it'd be okay. I thought I could take a wheat tortilla, spritz it with water or oil, and sprinkle it with seasoning (whichever I feel like at the time,) cut it into 8 triangles, and bake them, making tortilla chips. It'd be something to snack on or dip into salsa for a snack. Would that be okay? And would I have to limit myself to just 1 tortilla? I just don't know. It sounds so good.....I miss chips.....
Incidentally, it does work as I have done it before for a Pampered Chef recipe. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.
Introduce these foods slowly. Start by adding one thing, say a piece of fruit once a day for a week, then one starch a day in addition to that piece of fruit for a week. You will figure out how much you can add while still losing weight.
Weezle, when I started Phase II, I added one small slice of flax bread plus some berries per day. I continued to lose two pounds a week (until I "lost it" ), but everyone does it differently.
Be careful with those tortillas... I'd limit it to one for the time being. Watch the scale, hon.
Definitely only one tortilla, Weezle...and yes, you can totally make it into chips. You can even mist it with Olive oil rather than water! Remember, Dr. A says that fats slow down the absorbtion of carbs, so the oil would actually be better than the water!
Well, don't keep adding a new carb each day on top of the ones you already added, or you'll be up to 7 extra carb items by the end of the week!
Pick a healthy carb that you miss - for me it was berries (Yum!) and add one serving back. I started very slowly, just having the berries every other day. Once I saw I was still losing I had berries every day. Again, since I was still losing I added a slice of whole grain bread occasionally, like maybe once or twice a week.
And be realistic - if you think you will have a tendancy to overeat the "chips", then don't make them - add something else instead that won't trigger a binge. I could eat a loaf of bread at one sitting if I allowed myself, so I limited my bread to just having one slice, or maybe a sandwich, occasionally as a treat.
I started Phase 2 by adding a starch or fruit every other day. As I increased to 1 serving every day I found that I was not losing any weight (not gaining, but not losing). For me, this will be a good maintenance phase, but not a weight loss phase.
I have experimented with eating starch/fruit every other day and eating on phase 2 for 2 weeks, then phase 1 for a week. I lost on both of those regimens, but I simply cannot handle starches/fruits every day while trying to lose weight.
As others have mentioned, everybody reacts differently when adding carbs back, so watch the scale to determine what your personal tolerance will be.
I added 1/2 cup serving of oat groats a day for about a week. I was a really afraid to go into phase 2, then I slowly added a fruit the next week to the oat groats. At first I was adding it in addition to my eggs or beans for breakfast but quickly stalled, duh...you'd think I would have figured out that if you add something, you should take away some calories somewhere else.
So, once I switched to eating only oats and a little fruit in the morning I started losing again.
You won't necessarily gain weight just by adding a carb to your phase 1 diet - it all depends on the total you're taking in and burning. You will, of course, lose more slowly though.
Did anyone add the fruit/carb in ADDITION to adding back 1 or 2 glasses red wine with meals or did you do one or the other? I too am terrified to go into Phase 2 since I am doing so well losing on Phase 1.
Today was my first day of Phase 2. I had a tiny bit of oatmeal for breakfast (hated it, made me feel sick!) and an apple. Then I had scrambled eggs with low fat cheese and another apple for Lunch. I haven't had dinner yet. Is this okay...? I mean I know I went a bit mad with the apples, but I don't plan to do that again, I just missed my apples hehe. From now on I'm only going to have one serving carbs and a peice of low GI fruit. Will this keep the scales level, and slowly keep them dropping? I've also got more energy to exercise, so I'll be doing more of that.
cobalt, Just FYI, the book says to avoid fruit for breakfast cause the sugar can trigger cravings.
The only real way to know how much carbs you can add back is to try it and monitor your weight carefully. Personally, I wouldn't start out by adding back a grain and a fruit, I'd start with one or the other and see how it goes. But look, this is different for everybody and you just have to try stuff and see how it goes.
starting phase 2 today and tring not to over do the carbs.
so far good for the day
but im thinking of using a starch at dinner
well best of luck to everyone
DD and I start Phase II Wed and I've been looking over the menues in the book. I'm curious why everyone here seems to suggest adding 1 carb (fruit or starch) each day or every other day but the menues have as many as 3 or 4 each day (strawberries, couscous, canalope, more strawberries, etc)? Anyone go by the menues exactly and want to share your experience, or know why the difference on this?
People who have gone by the menus have reported gaining weight or stalling. That is why we have suggested starting with fewer added starches and then adding gradually as you see what you can eat and continue to lose the 1-2 pounds a week.
Starting Ph2 on Saturday
), but everyone does it differently. 
Watch the scale, hon.
