Hello - I am new around here, been lurking for a few weeks. I was very successful on Phase 1 - highly in thanks to some great recipes from this forum! I lost 11 pounds on the first two weeks of Phase 1. Now I am in my second week of Phase 2 and haven't lost a thing since Phase 1!!! I really haven't changed a lot, just added a low carb tortilla once or twice a week, a low carb energy bar once or twice a week, and real oatmeal a couple mornings a week. Other than that I'm staying pretty much the same as I was in Phase 1, haven't added any fruit at all, I'm afraid I'll go overboard with it. Any advice out there? Anyone have this happen before? Tricks? I'm a pretty good water drinker, close to 64 oz a day minimum. I don't exercise, I know I know, but I do run a day care and preschool out of my home so I'm chasing, lifting, playing all day long with the 7 kids I care for age 2-4. Help!

Karen

Have you tried using fitday? Maybe your calorie intake is too high or too low for your weight and activity level. Are you getting all the vegs you should (4 1/2 cups/day)?

Just a few thoughts. I believe there is a sticky in the FAQ forum - you might check that out and see what it has to say.

I wonder if the added carbs are too many at once. Most folks ease into PhaseII by adding one carb and keeping it at that for a week. Maybe you could switch to fruit (one a day) and see if that helps. "Energy bar"? What are the ingredients?
How about posting some menues?

I have to be very carful with carbs...fruit is usually not my issue for gaining...it is bread or totillas...maybe you should drop back your carbs & start adding back in slowly.. Just my thoughts

I had the same problem and I am still trying to figure out what I can add back in and what I can't. My rule of thumb, and this is just for me only, is that if I think it would taste good (ww bread, ww tortillas, stone ground oatmeal, etc) it will make me stall. I'm basically doing ph1 most of the time and every couple of days I fiddle with adding something.

Hugs! keep fiddling and let us know how things are going!!

Thank you all. I am trying fitday today to see where my usual menu is putting me calorie wise. I am going to cut back on the carbs, and I think I'm going to be right there with ya Sweet Tea, mostly doing Phase 1 with a small addition every few days to start. I find the book to be contradictory with what/how much to add back in. The big book and the little good carb/bad carb book also seem to contradict each other. Whats with that? Here is my typical day.......when I do have a carb like tortilla or oatmeal or Atkins bars, I only have one of those per day

Breakfast - egg/veggie scramble OR cottage cheese with a couple cherry tomatoes OR 1/2 cup real oatmeal with walnuts and cinnamon
Snack - string cheese stick or almonds
Lunch - salad with chicken, beans, veggies, low sugar dressing OR
low carb whole wheat tortilla with beans, veggies, fat free sour cream
OR 1 cup canned vegetarian chili and a small veggie salad
Snack - 1/2 cup plain yogurt with cinnamon OR fat free milk made into cocoa with unsweetened cocoa powder and splenda OR half an Atkins bar
Dinner - some kind of lean meat,chicken or fish with lots of veggies
Eve snack - jello or sugar free fudge pop

I guess I got spoiled with the initial 2 weeks seeming so easy, losing so much so fast was so fun. Now it seems like I'll have to work for it, darn. Ha ha.

Karen, try to fit veggies into your breakfast no matter what you have, and into at least one of your snacks...that will help a lot in keeping you feeling full, okay?

The book is confusing about adding in...but that's probably because they can't really show you how that works with the small number of menus. Just add in one thing...and do it for a week...nothing else but that one thing each day. If you do okay, add a new thing the next week and try it for a whole week. If you don't do okay at any point (wait until the end of the week to figure this out), either try something different or try having that thing at a different time of the day. I figured out that I can't have starches or fruits before lunch or I crave all day. Each person is different.

You may gain a little while figuring this out, but in the end it's fine. I gained about 7 pounds figuring out my Phase 2, but I've lost that 7 and over 105 pounds since then. It does all work out.

Laurie I can't believe your incredible success. You are so awesome and so inspirational. Thanks for the advice, I am going to do exactly that. On Fitday yesterday here is what my day ended up at:

804 calories
39 g fat
75 carbs
55 g protein

That turned out to be 46% fat! And the other 54% pretty evenly split between carbs and protein. Hmmm, I think I'm eating too much fat and not enough calories. I'll have to think about that one.

You definitely need more calories! Be sure your fats are good fats and that you get 20-30 grams per day - more is OK. I strive for a 1/1/1 balance and do hit it sometimes.