I had the same problem with my birthday, round 2 day 18 phase 2. I decided to cheat and I regret it. I have nothing but problems trying to get back on the wagon. I have wasted almost the whole round and have only lost ten pounds. They are right you can have fun without the drinking and think how good you will feel when you get up the next morning and see that you have lost weight, not gained and stalled for three days messing up everything that you have worked for. Sorry but I am having a hard time with this round because of the cheat and I feel horrible about myself and my stupid choice!
But the choice is all yours, just letting you know that it is not that simple! This is a great diet but it doesn't work if you don't work at it. I feel like I just wasted the last 3 weeks and the money, my own fault of course. Hopefully i will have better luck the next round.
by the way do I have to do phase 3 and 4 for 4 weeks this time?
Incidentally, I had my anniversary in my 3rd round and my birthday in my 4th round. I just waited to celebrate until the round was over and then only ate allowed food. My anniversary will come again and so will my birthday. But like I said, by 3rd and 4th round I'd finally broken bonds with the emotional component of food. Colleen
the first round went so easy for me, but this second round has been really tough. But because I made it tough. Cheating was a mistake and now I have to pay for it and so does my body! I will stick to the shorter rounds next time, this second round is the 40day that is really long!
I've only done long rounds. I'm not sure the short rounds are enough to reset your metabolism. I'm seeing way more unstable weight since so many people have gone to the short rounds. I'm not sure what's causing it but a year ago when I was first on the forum, it was very uncommon for someone to struggle in P3. Now we see it a lot. Is it coincidence that so many are doing short rounds or cycling? I don't know but I wouldn't take the chance. Colleen
During my first round, I was faced with a similar dilemma that you are facing. My anniversary was a couple of weeks into Phase 2. I knew that I would have a drink on that night and was prepared for the consequences...but I didn't gain!! My suggestion would be to have one glass of wine and sip it all evening alternating with sips of water or if you have hard liquor at least mix it with a diet drink and drink plenty of water!
I did the 23 day round for my first round and had no problems stabilizing. I only had to do one steak day in phase 3. I maintained my weight for 3 months after and even lost a few more pounds, so it work really well for me.
Newway - i too just had a birthday and knew that there would be some celebrating involved, regardless of what others options saying, if you decide to have a drink or two, just know that you could possibly be up a few lbs the next day. That's what I did, I chose exactly what I wanted, I had it and enjoyed it and moved on. The next day I ate all lean protein and kept on the protocol and lost a pound the next day.
Do what you want, drink, don't drink, whatever you decide, it's all good.
I'm sorry Kristin, but I must disagree...it isn't "all good" when you go off protocol. You pay a price for it, sometimes it is a gain, sometimes it is a stall. Jenni