Question Re Starting Over
 

I notice a lot of post re starting over. Do you restart Phase 1 each time you mess up? For instance, I pretty well know that I will be eating "illegally" in another month because of the menu. It's not even negotiable.

My question is, will I have to restart Phase 1? I have been on this since March 12 and have not cheated. I really dread the idea of having to redo 1.

Roz, it's a totally personal decision. You have to remember that the "point" of this diet is controlling your blood sugar so as to give you the best opportunity to make good choices in what you eat. The worst that can happen if you "cheat" is that you may have to face the ugly little faces of the craving monsters. Some people choose to redo Phase 1 for the full fourteen days to make sure they get their blood sugar back in check and give themselves clear heads for getting back on track. Some people feel that a couple days or a week of Phase 1 can get them back in control. Some people can go off plan for a day and then have a set, written plan for the very next meal or day and just jump back into Phase 2.

You'll have to see what works for you. For me, I have to be VERY strict with myself in the meals and days following a special event because otherwise I snowball out of control. I've redone Phase 1 once, about six months after I did it the first time. The reason I chose to redo Phase 1 was that I realized I had made a bad choice here and had a slip there that had just accumulated and piled up on each other and I was justifying making poor choices by saying, "Just this once..." when really it was quite more often than ONCE. It worked for me and got me back on track.

What's your special event???

Kara

I think Kara's advice is very logical. Nobody wants to have to restart a diet just because they slipped up once.

I was off the diet for a few days while my mom was in town. She left today, and I jumped right back to P2. I haven't had any cravings so far, and we'll see how they do for the next few days. If I find I have cravings, I'll do P1 for a few days or maybe a week to get them under control.

From the books prospective, I believe you restart P1 if you're gaining weight back and you aren't controlling it anymore...
You have the special event coming up.. you can plan for. Have an idea of before, during and after. Have it down that after the event, get right back on track. Even if that means dropping some of the ww's and what not a little bit.. but don't necessarily have to go back to p1...
I started p1 about 3 weeks ago. DH and I goofed off during the first try and then my grandma died. Since we never made it out of p1, we just restarted it... but that's different than if we'd goofed a little bit and then been off for a few days with the family and then jumped back into p2...
its everybody's body and circumstances.. :)

I have added Ph1 to my imaginary box of "tools". I can pull it out whenever I feel I need it, but I'm never obligated to go on Ph1 if I don't want to. Ph1 can be really helpful if things have gotten way out of control or you are having cravings again for bad things. I used to dread being on Ph1 but now I'm happy to know I can go to it when I need to. But sometimes just going back to a really clean Ph2 can do the trick too.

I have redone phase 1 twice. I have considered redoing it 2 other times but the cravings were not bad and i toughed it out.

ONE night of bad food does not mean restarting in my opinion.... it's when you wake up and realize that your treating and cheating day after day and out of control food wise....

I did P1 again because I had gained about 5lbs back and was eating like a madwoman for 1 week. I could tell that cravings were back and I was eat anything white (bread, rice, etc.) I could get my hands on!!! I have since lost about 6lbs and feel better in just 7 days!

Thanks! Kandra, the event is a casual get-together that will include a sit-down meal. The meal will be fried catfish and all the trimmings. (I'm in the south and we like our sushi fried. Hahah)

I'm restarting phase 1. Although I haven't gained weight back since my lowest, I feel the C-R-A-V-I-N-G-S are returning. They are awful right now!

I think everyone else is right... a slip here and there doesn't necessarily mean you need to restart.

Fried sushi! That's funny!

You know, this is all about the lifestyle you want to create for yourself. Will one day off plan kill you? No. But you might feel awful that night or the next day and realize it might have been easier to eat a Beachy meal before you went and then either have picked at your food at the dinner or just passed on the meal completely. You have to strike the balance between fitting in at social functions and doing what you need to for your body. It's a personal decision for everyone!

Have fun!

Kara