Can anybody tell me why dairy is prohibited in Phase 1? For example, I can make Fat Free Ranch dressing by using FF Mayo and FF Milk. Is that acceptable? There are just a very small amount of carbs in it.

I just cannot eat the WF Ranch!

I am not an expert but Ideal Protein is a low carb, low fat, low calorie diet. Dairy products have natural sugars in them. Even cheese, which might not have carbs, is too high fat for this program. IP works if you follow the rules. Tweeking it will change your results.

That said, check out the thread "Ideal Protein Receipes & Pix from Finland". Find post #111. It is a whole list of dressing recipes, very creative. I'd give you the link but I'm not that computer literate.

Good Luck to you on your weight loss journey. This program really does work!

The short answer is no and I've stewed over why that is for a long time. It finally dawned on me that along with fat and weight loss one of the main objects of the program is to improve many other things, like sugar levels, blood pressure and, in this case I think, colesterol. The prohibition would be most important to vegetarians who eat a lot of eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt, etc. But if you can make the dressing using the tiny bit you're allowed for your morning coffee, then it should be OK.

Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. (according to Wikipedia)

So there is sugar (lactose) in dairy products.

Come on, doesn't anyone remember first year biology and the lecture over simple and complex sugars?

I think the answer is probably yes, but I guess a reminder doesn't hurt. If you are seriously interested in losing weight, but not calorie counting, and because of your interest in the science behind weight loss, I would encourage you to check out this forum

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/ideal-protein-diet-236/

And specifically have a look at the 2 (free) books cited each day in the Daily Chat:

Dr. Tran Tien Chanh's website

Dr. Tran Tien Chanh's book (PDF file): The Unbalanced Diet Approach to a Slimmer You.

If you are still interested and since you're in Germany I'd be glad to share how I'm following the plan since I left the states.

As to why, I'll leave that to Dr. Chanh, based on the book I read I feel he's done the work to show that following the diet works, and I've seen/felt the results.

If you want to be in IP then you need to follow the plan, and that means giving up dairy products while in Phase 1.

You might try the WF Bacon Ranch, I think it's much better then the plain ranch. However, after a couple of weeks my tastes changed and I found I liked/tolerated more of the WF dressings then I did at first.

There is lactose free dairy products too...

If you want, you can take your 1oz of milk from your coffee allowance and add 1tsp vinegar, a splash of lemon juice, herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, marjorum), sea salt, pepper and 1 packet of Splenda or other sweetener to make a very thin ranch-like dressing. (The vinegar/lemon curdles the milk to buttermilk, but its still more of a vinegrette than a thick mayonaise bomb like you are used to.)

If you are desperate, make a vanilla pudding, then scoop out about 2 TB of it, then add the above ingredients with only 1/4 to 1/2 the packet of sweetener (if at all). It will be thicker, but the vanilla might be too weird for your tastebuds expecting a more sour taste. (Although a vanilla black pepper dressing is really good)

I havent tried this one, but if you want THICK, try taking a LEEK SOUP and making it with 1/2 the water, then heating in the microwave (or taking a TB of the soup and adding water til you have a good consistency. Then add in the vinegar/lemon/herbs/pepper/sweetener. It wouldnt taste like a ranch, but I am guessing it would be creamy and thick if thats what you miss.

Good luck

OH, and here's the link for a bunch of other dressing ideas. I do most of the recipes on that tread, but cant take credit for these. The vast majority of those dressing recipes were from other sources (which are listed). Click and scroll down for recipes for dressings

Thank you for all of the ideas! I appreciate the feedback and support.