Ideal Protein Phase 4

If you have been following the Ideal Protein diet faithfully, you must be looking forward to enjoying the freedom that comes with Phase 4. There is nothing quite like being able to choose what to eat and what to drink while maintaining your enviable new body.

Phase 4 of the Ideal Protein diet is also known as the maintenance phase or lifestyle living. It’s all about keeping the rewards you have already gained. Only a few principles remain by which you must live.

About Phase 4

This last stage sets the pace for how you need to eat to maintain your weight. You get back to eating carbs, fats, and even to have a ‘cheat’ day once a week where you can eat from the restricted foods list.

This freedom phase lasts 12 months. While you incorporate carbs back into your diet, you will also maintain high protein levels in your diet to protect your muscle. That is because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

The basic principle behind Phase 4 is simple: don’t eat a meal high in fats and carbs at the same time. It calls these two important nutrients ‘troublesome students’ that must be separated.

It makes sense, too, because once you have your body used to burning excess fat instead of storing it, loading it with extra carbs and fat will force it to go right back to storage mode.

Both of these are good and healthy, but separating them is the key to remaining healthy. However, that is easier said than done. Most high-carb meals also come with a high amount of fat in them.

If you like to dine out, you might have a hard time making the right choices. That is why, during the maintenance phase, you should also work hard toward building up an ingrained mindset of healthy food choices.

Ideal Protein Phase 4 Foods

On a typical day, you aim to consume healthy amounts of all three major food groups, recommended supplements, and enough protein. Adult men and women should consume at least half their body weight in grams of protein. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, then you should eat at least 75 grams of protein daily.

Below is a basic example. It is only a guide; you may eat anything in the same food groups so long as you maintain the same principles.

Breakfast

• Eat all three food groups: carbs, fats, and protein.
• Coffee and tea.
• Whole-grain bread, lightly buttered or spread with jam.
• Whole-grain cereal.
• Fruit and dairy.
• An egg, a slice of ham, or a piece of hard cheese.

Lunch

• Any lean meat or fish.
• Unlimited vegetables.
• 1 tablespoon of oil or sauce.
• One serving of yogurt or a piece of cheese.

Dinner

• Unlimited vegetables in a soup. These can be steamed or eaten raw.
• Carbs such as rice, pasta, lentils, quinoa, dried beans, or potatoes.
• Limit yourself to one teaspoon of oil or sauce.
• Fresh meat, poultry, or seafood.

Snacks

• You can take fruits, nuts, an Ideal Protein envelope, or a bar.

You can have three healthy snacks throughout the day while making sure to keep the portions light. Also, make sure to drink lots of water throughout the phase. It is recommended that you keep up the supplements with 2 multivitamins (Natura Multi-Vita) with food. You should also take antioxidants, omega-3 supplements, and enzymes every day.

What If You Slip Up in Phase 4

Phase 4 is where most people tend to slip. If you went out and just couldn’t keep to the right path, there are ways to manage it.

If you slip up during one meal and go all out, the next day should be an Ideal Protein Phase 1 day. That means you leave out all the carbs and fats to give your body time to deal with the excess glycogen and regulate insulin production.

For a small slip up, maybe a starchy dessert or a glass of wine, that is alright if you don’t make it a habit. It’s all about eating for pleasure.

To reinforce the same idea, Phase comes with a mandatory Fun Day every week. This is where you can eat whatever you feel like without feeling guilty. This gives you the motivation and mindset to enjoy food and not to feel guilty about it.

Pleasure is integral to the long term success of the Ideal Protein diet. After all the struggle and pain of dieting to lose weight, it is a rewarding experience not to eat out of compulsion.

Benefits of Phase 4

As the maintenance phase, Phase 4 of the Ideal Protein diet is simply an example of how you are supposed to eat. If you keep at it for one year, you will enjoy your life and your food without gaining back the weight lost.

1. It gives you freedom and discipline of choice. You have an almost unlimited range of foods to choose from, but you learn to choose only what is healthy.
2. It brings back the enjoyment of culinary delights. Fun Day is an incredibly pleasurable experience that helps to ingrain discipline.
3. It forges a template for lifelong healthy eating.
4. It weans you off Ideal Protein food envelopes for good, unless you want to keep eating them for snacks.

Conclusion

The Ideal Protein diet is the ideal way to lose weight. Phase 4 is the last stage of the diet, and it helps you get back to healthy eating and maintenance of the current weight.

The rules of Phase 4, and all healthy eating, by extension, are that you don’t eat carbs and fats in one meal. Stick to the principles of the Ideal Protein diet, and you will always be happy with your weight. On to the future!