What did you add in P4?

[garnet10]

I am concerned about attempting P4 (in about 2 weeks), because in the past, when I started introducing flour, I gained quickly. Starchy vegetables and brown rice were okay. I actually have "low carb" (Julian's) bread in my freezer, which I will try in P4 at some point.

How did you guys start P4?

I'm assuming I should go slow, adding one new food per day or so, but I'm wondering what you started with.

I'm thinking I would try hummus first (because I have it on hand), then beans/lentils, then other starchy vegetables, then oatmeal/granola, brown rice, and last, wheat. (I don't eat sugar regularly, so that would just be for a special occasion.)

[Millenia98]

I still don't have flour, breads, cereals or sugars. I won't ever introduce them back b/c I've been LC for many years prior to hcg and plan to stay that way lifestyle-wise.

What I have done okay with is a tiny amount of flour in stews/soups only as thickening agents, sugar alcohols (a.k.a. sugar free), beans, tiny amounts of brown rice (once a month or more), corn, peanuts/all nuts. That's about it.

[C'Marie]

I like my Julian bread or Ezekiel bread for toast in the morning so I start usually with 1/2 slice of that for 2 days and add nothing else new to see how that goes. Then I go to one slice, rinse, repeat. Everything new I start always with 1/2 serving or less, sometimes literally a couple bites.

My first go-to's: oatmeal, high sugar fruits/bananas/pineapple/mangos, regular frozen yogurt (sugar), regular chocolate 85% dark, gluten-free rice crackers, bites of rice, pnb, bits of potato (like in clam chowder), croutons on my salad, regular salad dressings, etc.... then I work up to a meal out where I eat mostly protein, salad, but have a few bites of bread or starch or a few bites of dessert. I REALLY keep it to bites, though. No full servings of anything for weeks. It seems tedious, but in my rounds where I actually did this, I stabilized quite well.

[Millenia98]

Originally Posted by C'Marie

I like my Julian bread or Ezekiel bread for toast in the morning so I start usually with 1/2 slice of that for 2 days and add nothing else new to see how that goes. Then I go to one slice, rinse, repeat. Everything new I start always with 1/2 serving or less, sometimes literally a couple bites.

My first go-to's: oatmeal, high sugar fruits/bananas/pineapple/mangos, regular frozen yogurt (sugar), regular chocolate 85% dark, gluten-free rice crackers, bites of rice, pnb, bits of potato (like in clam chowder), croutons on my salad, regular salad dressings, etc.... then I work up to a meal out where I eat mostly protein, salad, but have a few bites of bread or starch or a few bites of dessert. I REALLY keep it to bites, though. No full servings of anything for weeks. It seems tedious, but in my rounds where I actually did this, I stabilized quite well.

This sounds great. I forgot about my dark chocolate!! I did not introduce it this round but did last round.

I'd love to have some, but I'm eating strictly clean today I will have some tomorrow!

[Emi]

I did P4 for 5 months and stablized well... like Mellina I never added regular flour and sugars back in... kept eating Ezeikel bread, never had cereal, etc... and was also able to add to stews for thickening agent.. the only exception was I would eat a piece of very thin crust pizza every once in a while and be okay. Beside that I was eating everything else... starchy veggies, high sugar fruits, sugar free candy, popcorn, tortilla chips etc..

[Millenia98]

^^^^ I forgot about popcorn. We bought some and I haven't touched it. Nice snack for tomorrow!

[garnet10]

Thanks, ladies! My main problem is that I always start P4 with the best of intentions, and then don't follow through properly. I really have to map out what I'm going to eat.

My very first day of P4 (last year after round 1), we happened to be out at dinner, and I ate mashed potatoes, a piece of bread, and then "tasted" everyone else's dessert! It was a disaster!

I do very well in P2, when everything is measured and I can only eat a certain amount. P3 I'm learning to STOP eating just before my belly feels full, otherwise I'm stuffed. I just hope I can approach P4 very, very cautiously, not like I have in the past.

I kept telling myself, "but Dr. Simeons said you could eat whatever you want!" Which is not quite true for me!

[Millenia98]

Garnet, def not true for me either! just focus and tell yourself truthfully what your body can and cannot accept. If you don't do well with sugar, then never introduce it into your regular diet. Know that when you do splurge, that you'll pay for it. This way, you'll be prepared to make that judgement and the work that comes along with the gain.

So not everything will come back into the diet. Maybe Simeons isn't saying you can NEVER have cake again. Maybe he meant once a year. Lol. Well that's pretty "never" to me. You know what I mean?

As far as other things, if you introduce it and causes a gain, remove it completely. I'm okay with never having a huge plate of rice and pasta in my diet. I've accepted that it's not worth the work when I gain. So I take that mindset with everything. I just tread very softly with low carb- try not to push the envelope too much.

[garnet10]

Originally Posted by Millenia98

Garnet, def not true for me either! just focus and tell yourself truthfully what your body can and cannot accept. If you don't do well with sugar, then never introduce it into your regular diet. Know that when you do splurge, that you'll pay for it. This way, you'll be prepared to make that judgement and the work that comes along with the gain.

So not everything will come back into the diet. Maybe Simeons isn't saying you can NEVER have cake again. Maybe he meant once a year. Lol. Well that's pretty "never" to me. You know what I mean?

As far as other things, if you introduce it and causes a gain, remove it completely. I'm okay with never having a huge plate of rice and pasta in my diet. I've accepted that it's not worth the work when I gain. So I take that mindset with everything. I just tread very softly with low carb- try not to push the envelope too much.

Oh, I hear you! I just hope I can tread softly--I don't have a good track record, but I'm going to work harder at it this time, because I don't want to have to lose more than the 10 I plan to lose in the next round.

Thank you guys so much!!

[heatherwagnon]

i've been in p4 since I think feb? I really have yet to introduce anything in that i didn't eat in p3, rare is the 45 calorie wheat bread with natural pb, and i just had a really small helping of dream fields pasta with my homemade sauce the other night, everything else still scares the bajeezes out of me i'm not ready for the risk of a huge gain kwim? wine and the occasional drunk munchies has done that enough for me lol

[C'Marie]

It's literally about bites - seriously. I always go back to what my great grama used to say - only ONE starch per meal. If there were potatoes, no corn and no bread. People don't do that anymore. We have whole meals that are nothing but starch. So now I do mostly veggies, protein, fruit, and a very very occasional starch. But for me alot of it has to do with inflammation/arthritis so I keep the grains component very very low for that reason alone. So a bite, a true "bite" is enough to get a taste and not make me react if I want something bad.

And then, if I really want to indulge, I do it on a friday when I PLAN a steak day for saturday! No guilt!