I am on day 2 of IP and thought I had everything figured out. WRONG! To start, I feel horrible. Headache, fatigue, hunger, nausea- really hoping it goes away soon. I am struggling with food ideas and what to eat and when. I am a teacher, so I can eat breakfast (6:30), snack (10:00), lunch 12:00, and then dinner (6:00) maybe a snack afterschool around 4ish. I want to make sure I am eating enough, but would love suggestions on the best way to plan.
Also, does anyone have any good recipes for carb-like foods- muffins, breads, etc? Or anything crunchy? I know there are a ton of recipe threads but right now it seems very overwhelming!
I am so excited about this program but hoping I can stick with it. Really craving carbs right now and the drinks aren't cutting it for me yet. 25 pounds to lose sounds like a whole lot right now! This is a great community and can't wait to learn more about IP and everyone's success stories!

Hello and welcome!
I'm a teacher too, and this is the routine I follow:
6:30 bkfst - chocolate drink in coffee, or cappuccino drink in coffee w/ 1 tsp WF caramel syrup. I use my extra large tervis mug and drink during my commute - by the time I get to school (25 - 30 min) I'm satisfied.

9:30 - class goes to specials, I take out celery w 1 tbsp WF peanut butter spread (put into the very corner of a small sandwich bag, cut the corner and squeeze a bit onto each stalk.)

12:00 - lunch large garden salad. Sometimes I'll put 1 oz turkey or chicken breast in it. I use either lemon/evoo/vinegar dressing (w/ herbs) or one of the WF's (which I don't really care for)

3:00 - heading home - I have an IP restricted on my drive. (SW soy puffs or a protein bar) it really holds me over until dinner.

5:30 - 6:00 Dinner: 6-7 oz of meat (If I've had 1 oz at lunch) with fresh veggies. Something like chicken with asparagus, or turkey burger with broccoli... normal stuff. 2 cups of veggies really fills me up.

7:30 My version of Chai Tea - vanilla drink in Celestial Sleepy Time Vanilla tea (no caffeine) with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Very relaxing way to end the day.

By day 4 I no longer craved carbs, so have never tried any of the soups made into breads recipes. Hope my ideas help you.

What grade do you teach? And where? I'm MS - ELA in Mass.

Welcome!! I am new and a teacher as well! I have a RTD drink on my way to school at about 7:00. Then at my lunch (10:55) I have something, usually a choc peanut butter bar, love those things. I will try to save my 2 cups of veggies till 2:30, so I am not STARVING by dinner time. I try to eat dinner at about 5, and then my bed time snack around 8. I also keep a hard boiled egg at school in case I need to eat the whites. day 2 way really hard for me, being hungry, as is today (day 5). Yesterday and today I have been extremely tired, I even took a 3 hour nap yesterday which I NEVER nap.

25 pounds, ha, I wish that was all I had...I have 90 to drop and could probably stand to go even lower than that.

This is an awesome place, and if you come here enough you will get the motivation you need not to quit!

Dur... just noticed you're in Chicago suburbs... lol

Jakery,
Welcome! Yes, the first week is tough and it gets better fast, but to get these wonderful losses, we have to all suffer through the first week. You are already on day 2, typically the worst is over by day 4-5, so think optimistically, you only realistically have another 2 days and with work, you'll be busy, distracted, and the time will fly. Preparation is key.
I would advise you to read through the "stickies" on the IP community home page. They are meant for newbies, will answer so many of your questions in no time flat. Then watch:
http://www.idealcoaching.tv/video-samples.html
Stay on the program and the you will be down 25 pounds by summer! Be sure to drink all your water, get all your salt in (it will help with headaches) and don't cheat. If you do, you are only cheating yourself and prolonging your misery.

You'll find recipes in the stickies and you'll be able to fly through them and see what appeals to you.

Welcome ! It's great that we have teachers here who know the stresses of dealing with that kind of schedule.

You might also check out the IP snacks - the various chips and puffs are crunchy, some savory, some sweet. You can always pace them out over the day so you don't eat the whole thing at once. Same with the bars.

The first week is the roughest, and forming your new patterns and habits. Once you get it down, you can experiment with the recipe threads. I agree, there are tons of them and it can be overwhelming, but it really unleashes your creativity too!

Good luck!

Hello Jakery,

Im also on day 2 of IP and so far so good. I think what has helped is pacing myself. I had thoughts of carbs all day yesterday but didnt touch them. Also I sat down this morning and planned my meals for the week due to my son and his sports kinda leaves no time during the week to get much thought progress going. Good Luck and hang in there. I also made my pudding and put it in the freezer that will be my after dinner "ice cream" so I wont feel left out when everyone else has ice cream and cake.

I am on my 4th week (so I guess not a true newbie) but I'm a teacher too.
I get up a little early & start drinking my water , have my coffee & either combine the chocholate RTD with that or grab a bar on the run. Lunch: I make the chili a lot for lunch and add peppers and mushrooms - if I have time in the am or bring a steam bag of broccoli & have broccoli & cheese soup or a IP drink with
a salad.
Snack @ 4 - usually pickles or restricted soy chips
Dinner@ 6-7
I find drinking all the water the hardest since my room is sooo far from the nearest teacher's bathroom!

So glad to hear that many of you are teachers and understand the stresses of eating on the job I am hopeful that this journey will get easier- I already feel much better after having heard your stories!
Some people mention eating egg whites? Doesn't that take care of your dinner protein? If I eat 2 egg whites, will I still be able to eat meat with dinner?
For lunch today I made the poppyseed dressing- it was SO good on top of baby spinach. I also just made the capuccino with cinnamon and instant coffee. YUM! What are some of your favorite concoctions?

I’m not a teacher but a social worker and my hours are crazy, but I know how to plan my food out as some days I’m awake for 24 hours due to working a night shift. I have RM drink in the am, 1c veggies for a snack (normally celery as I like the crunch), bar and salad for lunch (lots of lettuce and ½ c veggies), normal dinner with 2c veggies, snack is always pudding and ½ c veggies. Its all about planning your day out. The first 2 weeks I felt gross! It does get better! Herbal tea is also great to help keep you full feeling.

Is anyone else having a hard time eating 4cups of veggies a day?

I have a hard time with 4cups! I didn't get to my size being a veggie lover!
I' trying the recipes - just made the "fried rice" last night -- not bad, I it is getting better - but very time consuming.

Hi, Have you tried to add your veges into your food. Such as I add my spinach into my morning omlette / eggs

also I add bellpeppers, mushrooms and also spinach to the soup I make too, that way it feels that ive consumed it without much effort ... It has helped, as I am not one to eat so many cups of veges per day!

Hi,

I know exactly how you feel. My first day on this diet was on Friday 20th April! I have never dieted before, but due to my bad eating habits and huge weight gains, I have decided to go on this plan. It was very hard first 3 days. I was struggling. But what I have done is that I keep only what I need in my fridge, everythin else that is not part of this place is gone. Also I am always looking for sugggestions too, as right now I feel as if im always hungry and although im sticking to the plan, the food, the protein packs and veges, It feels like my weight is the same... but its only been 4 days... So I am not sure how to really monitor my progress. Good luck! You will do grea t:-)

Thank you for sharing your blog! Wow your day seems great and so creative with the food. I am so new to this diet, that not only am I not feeling my best, But I feel that I am breathing a bit better now. Asearlier, I just would eat too much and then have breathing problems.

I like your idea of celery and PB. Sounds great. Also the idea of the chai you have in the evenings. Thanks for the tips!