Thread: Help! I am up 4 lbs since I started p3

Hi Unguyen...
Yip Carbs can be a killer on P3...!!

I will let Leez or Coco respond in more detail with what they suggest...
But never too late to turn it around and stay off carbs..

Cheating in P3 is probably worse than on P2 (not that I condone cheating on P2) because you do not have the safety catch of the HCG in your system...

The importance is to stabilize and lock in your weight and stay off the carbs! Keep a safe pantry... lock away the stuff you cannot eat... stock up with healthy allowable treats and stick to your guns and hang around with people who want to stay true to P3 Protocol.... check in daily ...good or bad... keep yourself accountable!

Hope it helps

If steak days work for you, go ahead and do one ASAP. Then you may want to do a total fast of liquids only the next day if you can stand it. After that, continue on with a couple of high-protein days. If this doesn't work to get you back down under the two lb. range, you may have to raise your LDW by 2-3lbs. to prevent you from trying to constantly get back down to it.

You don't say how much you are over your LIW/LDW. But if it is more than 2 pounds, a steak day is the remedy. Some people will lose during the transition days, so its possible to start out in P3 a couple pounds under your ending weight. Gaining 4 pound from that point would still keep you in the safe zone in P3. Its when you gain over that 2 pounds from LIW that you enter steak day territory. Even gaining right up to 2 pounds does not warrant a steak day. Its amazing how often your body will naturally back down from there on its own. And then you don't have to do a steak day.

If indicated, do the steak day as described in the protocol: Water, coffee & tea all day but one meal in late afternoon consisting of a steak and either an apple or tomato. Eat as much as you can of the steak without stuffing yourself to the point of pain or discomfort. You can melt butter, coconut oil or cook your steak in olive oil if it is not well-marbled.

You should not be restricting your calories on P3. Its best in P3 to eat when you are hungry to satisfaction each time. Ignore calories. As long as you are avoiding sugar and starch, your body will adjust. You may bob up and down within your 4 pound window, but that is normal and expected.

Some follow a steak day with a high protein day, which basically means a keto day---all protein and fat and less than 20grams carb from veggies. The thought is that this "locks in" the result of the steak day. I have never found this technique to have any value for me. The high protein day in the protocol is meant to address protein deficiency. If you have been eating a lot more protein than you did in P2, its unlikely you have protein deficiency. But it won't hurt anything to try it, because it at least keeps calories coming into your system. This is very important in P3, as during the stabilization process, you want to keep those metabolic fires burning.

I don't recommend any kind of fasting during P3.

Coco has learned over time that fasting works for her because of her unique digestive issues. But since you don't have a history of multiple rounds and P3 experiences to judge by, I'm giving you the basic wisdom for most of us on how to deal with weight gain in P3.

I'm afraid you were given bad advice about starting out at 800 calories. This is likely why you started to gain, because in P3, undereating slows your metabolism and you start to gain. Not eating enough in P3 is the biggest reason people gain. I know it sounds counter productive, but that's how it works. You have to eat enough in P3, and you have to have both enough protein and enough fat.

Generally you try to get up to around 1500 calories within the first few days of P3 as a bare minimum. After that, you may find you are able to eat more. It is not unusual to be able to eat 1700-2500 calories, depending on the person. If you are a very small stature (like under 5 feet tall), 1200 might possibly work as a minimum, but certainly not 800.

So since you are already doing your steak day, continue with it and afterward eat according to your hunger cues. Don't miss breakfast, or fast any other meals. Eat what appeals to you until satisfied but not full and include healthy fat and some protein at each meal. After a few days of that, adjust your LIW if needed and continue on. Because you basically starved yourself the first week of P3 you may not be able to keep your LIW. If you gain back a bit after the steak day, just take this as a learning experience. You will still stabilize at a slightly higher number.

Well done!!!!