[deinekatze]

Originally Posted by pitakitten

Along the lines of TMI, severe constipation here; as in days. My weigh in is on Friday morning and want to deal with this prior.

Are you taking your Magnesium? Make sure you do! maybe add an extra pill if needed ... careful though, it will get you to be very "lose" if you over do it ;-)

[ibdadozer]

Originally Posted by HopefulTricia

Do not get discouraged!! I lost 5 lbs weeks 7-12. In other words, 5 lbs in 6 weeks!! But I have lost 3 lbs this week and my week isn't over yet--- I think focusing on how much better you feel eating this way-- how great it is to feel in control for a change. Don't think of anything more than this one day. Can you stay on the plan for this one day?? Eat some celery or a cucumber with sea salt. Have extra olive oil. Have an extra IP. I have only cheated with food once in the 13 weeks but I have cheated with an extra IP. One day I had 3 IP bars-- kind of a binge on them plus 2 other IP foods. Just do whatever it takes to stay in ketosis. It's also a good idea to think of something besides food. Go for a walk -- play a computer game. Anything that takes your mind off of food.
I love this plan because it is pretty easy to have huge success. Focus on that! Oh and I always told myself that cheating would set me back 3 days. I am way too impatient to do that...

Thanks so much for the support it was MUCH needed!

[chimpchamp]

TO pitakitten Along the lines of TMI, severe constipation here; as in days. My weigh in is on Friday morning and want to deal with this prior.

How about some really strong coffee? It does the trick for me each and every day. Otherwise, check your oil intake? Are you getting 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon daily?

[QueenJumbie]

I wish that the one thing I could have all I want of wasn't lettuce. Maybe nuts or cheese or something a bit more filling! Day three, still on plan.

[pitakitten]

unfortunatley I can't figure out how to multiquote my replies...alas

yes to strong coffee; do not judge me but this morning I had the coffee with couple of smokes and still no results.
and yes to taking the Mag pills.
and yes to oil and also my omega-3 pill.

I am going to drink as much as I can today PLUS I might take extra Mag tonight. If that fails, I'll take couple of Senna and see; never taken it before though so a bit worried.

[HopefulTricia]

Originally Posted by pitakitten

unfortunatley I can't figure out how to multiquote my replies...alas

yes to strong coffee; do not judge me but this morning I had the coffee with couple of smokes and still no results.
and yes to taking the Mag pills.
and yes to oil and also my omega-3 pill.

I am going to drink as much as I can today PLUS I might take extra Mag tonight. If that fails, I'll take couple of Senna and see; never taken it before though so a bit worried.

The office where I get my IP suggests magnesium citrate.
Inexpensive bottle of liquid from drug store. It worked for me. I take 8,000 Vitamin C a day which is supposed to help and chia seed too but the magnesium citrate gets the job done when other things don't seem to be working. Just started back on psyllium capsules too - 5 each evening.

[Calgarygirlie]

Queenjumbie! You will start to notice the difference pretty soon, and by that I mean less hunger and more energy again
You can do it! You said it yourself "day 3 and STILL on plan" you are almost over the hardest part....unless you consider constantly having to find smaller clothes to fit you hard

Pita...ditto on what Hopeful said. The liquid Magnesium Citrate will clear you out completely...completely. Just don't make using it a regular thing as you do not want your body dependant on it. I also use a supplement called FLORALAX, it is supposed to be al natural and not cause dependency.Ingredients are: Psyllium(seed husk), Aloe vera, Prune(powder)...Non-medicinal ingredients are: Magnesium stearate, gelatin.

[The Dalai Mama]

Reading through this thread is better than seeing a shrink! Thank you one and all for holding my hand as I walk through this journey.

I find it interesting that IP coaches have different do's and dont's. I was told NOT to use Splenda. Use those new sweetners such as stivia. No turnips allowed. Recommended staying on Phase I until I'm 90% to my goal weight.

Thank goodness I can come here.

[yelliemom]

Originally Posted by QueenJumbie

I wish that the one thing I could have all I want of wasn't lettuce. Maybe nuts or cheese or something a bit more filling! Day three, still on plan.

Hang in there! You're doing great! Reading your post reminded me that during my first 10 days or so of IP I use to think a lot about what I was going to eat when I was done with this diet. I had a long mental list of everything I missed and wanted to eat. I just realized that I haven't done that in a while. It does get a lot easier. The first week or so can be challenging, but the cravings will go away, and your appetite will decrease. If you're feeling hungry maybe you could have an extra IP packet. That would definitely be more filling.

[chimpchamp]

I, too, am surprised that celery isn't an eat-all-you-want item b/c lettuces have carbs. Are most of you eating Romaine lettuce or Romaine hearts, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, Boston Bibb lettuce, or what? All the goodies in the Spring Mixes seem to be similar in carbs to lettuces so couldn't we just eat the Spring mix?

[mamaerinb]

for all you southern gals,

today i found red diamond brand sweet tea sweetened with splenda!! and....pickled hot okra-way yummier than a boring old dill pickle.

i am expecting most to gag at the thought of the pickled okra, but REALLY! try it, it's yummy

[mamaerinb]

Originally Posted by chimpchamp

I, too, am surprised that celery isn't an eat-all-you-want item b/c lettuces have carbs. Are most of you eating Romaine lettuce or Romaine hearts, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, Boston Bibb lettuce, or what? All the goodies in the Spring Mixes seem to be similar in carbs to lettuces so couldn't we just eat the Spring mix?

i honesty consider celery a free food because it is a "negative calorie" food. the body actually burns more calories than the celery contains while digesting it. i wouldn't eat two bundles of it in a day but having an extra cup as an afternoon snack really shouldn't affect someone i would like to think.

Originally Posted by The Dalai Mama

Reading through this thread is better than seeing a shrink! Thank you one and all for holding my hand as I walk through this journey.

I find it interesting that IP coaches have different do's and dont's. I was told NOT to use Splenda. Use those new sweetners such as stivia. No turnips allowed. Recommended staying on Phase I until I'm 90% to my goal weight.

Thank goodness I can come here.

I was also told not to use ANY sweetners other than Stevia(gross!). I did some research and found that all IP products use sucralose(Splenda) to sweeten puddings, drinks, shakes and bars.

Splenda in packets? Seems to me Splenda is in fact OK!

[Olygirl40]

Hi everyone, getting reading to get on the IP wagon, next week. Really enjoy reading your posts and getting my head in the right frame of mind for diet. What a great group of support here. I am a gastric bypass survivor, and I didn't even have this much support after the surgery. I have unfortunetly put back on few lbs, and am looking to nip it in the bud. My weight gain as before is the infamous and dangerous "belly fat". I hope that the IP diet will help in eliminating this dangerous area, so because that is my target area, I'm wondering if my weight loss will be a quick one or a long slow painful one ( lb a week, kinda thing). Anyway big THANKS for being here.

[penguin0199]

Originally Posted by ibdadozer

Struggling today.... I am hungry and don't feel like I've lost any weight this week.

I am right there with ya!! I've been very hungry today also. I haven't gotten on the scale since Fri and I'm not planning to til this Fri but I don't feel like I've lost any either. Mine however is because I cheated this weekend.
Hang in there! We can make it through this!!

[nitenic]

Originally Posted by yelliemom

Thanks for the reminder about the Oprah show today! The first week on IP is challenging, but the rewards you see on the scale and in your measurements are soooo worth it! I was a major diet Coke junkie before starting IP and I missed it for the first few weeks. I have completely lost any craving for it and I have no desire to drink it. The cravings will pass and you will feel so much better. Good luck with tomorrow's weigh in!

If I don't drink enough water then I start having constipation issues too. The info I got from my coach says that if constipation persists for 2 days to double up on the cal/mag. However, it does say that calcium can also cause constipation in some people, so if that's the case the recommendation is to go back to taking the 4 cal/mag per day but add 1 Tablespoon of Citrate of Magnesia twice per day until relieved. Then you can use a maintenance dose of 1 or 2 teaspoons a day to maintain regularity.

I'm so glad to hear that the soda cravings pass! I don't feel the need to hit anyone over the head for one anymore but it IS in the back of my mind at times. I was very excited to see a commercial involving lots of cheese this morning that actually grossed me out since cheese was one of the things I really wanted to eat earlier in the week.

Originally Posted by Birman

Nitenic, you know that phrase "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" ? Well, that didn't used to motivate me at all, because on traditional diets you don't get the taste OR the thin. It takes FOREVER to get the thin.

That's not true on IP. On IP the weight loss comes so fast! People start noticing quite quickly. YOU start noticing quickly. You find your clothes getting loose, needing to switch to a smaller size, then find your smaller clothes getting loose too. What an incredible feeling!

I am not near my ultimate goal yet. But I have to say that at this point I am actually enjoying the diet -- because when I skip having the "taste" I really do get the "thin". Friends and family are raving about how great I look. And I FEEL great!

After you experience a bit more of how well IP works, I think you will come to love this diet as much as some of the rest of us. I know the diet is hard at the beginning. (I used to call it "****!") However, most of us find that it gets a lot easier over time. Nitenic, that will probably be true for you too.

I used to think of "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" as a WW quote. I was also too impatient to stick and out and see if if worked. You're right about the immediacy of IP being sooo much rewarding! I am actually happy to drink my packets today because I know I will see it reflected on the scale tomorrow. I am borderline PCOS and should've been following low carb a long time ago but didn't so low cal wasn't even very effective anymore. I went through a couple of boxes of clothes that I can't wait to wear again! They're all 1-2 sizes smaller than what I wear now. I gained so much weight so quickly after moving back to Austin that I had to buy a whole new (bigger) wardrobe, which I've hated.

Originally Posted by mamaerinb

I was also told not to use ANY sweetners other than Stevia(gross!). I did some research and found that all IP products use sucralose(Splenda) to sweeten puddings, drinks, shakes and bars.

Splenda in packets? Seems to me Splenda is in fact OK!

LOL, I'm so glad to read that!! I was trying to figure out why you got different instructions than I did.