Newbie Needs a little advice.. please

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  • Hello all,

    I have been on the IP diet for about 10 weeks or so and have lost 35 PDS so far. The change in my body composition has been amazing. A few things have been concerning me though and I'm close to stoppign the diet all together... Hopefully some sound advice can steer me in the right direction.

    1) For weeks now I have been having pains in my sides, almost like a cramp when you drink too much water but not that severe. It comes and gos but I notice that when I have had cheat days it goes away. I didnt have this before the diet and my coach has no clue. Anyone expeirence somehting similar or have some advice?

    2) Constipation - It just hasn't been great. My coach recommends warm veggies as I mostly eat salads. The only thing that helps is taking extra milk of magesium.. I started taking probitoitcs and saw some improvment for a few days but then back to sqaure one.

    3) Weight loss has been less than expected over the last 4-5 weeks, avergaigng like 1-2 PDS per week although I'm fairly strict on the diet. Coach says could be sue to constipation.

    4) Snack - I have been having one typicaly around 8PM - is this the wrong time to snack?

    I really appreciate any help that can be offered. I am still in pahse1 but pretty much moving to phase2 this week or next.

    Thanks!!!!!
  • Quote: Hello all,

    I have been on the IP diet for about 10 weeks or so and have lost 35 PDS so far. The change in my body composition has been amazing. A few things have been concerning me though and I'm close to stoppign the diet all together... Hopefully some sound advice can steer me in the right direction.

    1) For weeks now I have been having pains in my sides, almost like a cramp when you drink too much water but not that severe. It comes and gos but I notice that when I have had cheat days it goes away. I didnt have this before the diet and my coach has no clue. Anyone expeirence somehting similar or have some advice?

    2) Constipation - It just hasn't been great. My coach recommends warm veggies as I mostly eat salads. The only thing that helps is taking extra milk of magesium.. I started taking probitoitcs and saw some improvment for a few days but then back to sqaure one.

    3) Weight loss has been less than expected over the last 4-5 weeks, avergaigng like 1-2 PDS per week although I'm fairly strict on the diet. Coach says could be sue to constipation.

    4) Snack - I have been having one typicaly around 8PM - is this the wrong time to snack?

    I really appreciate any help that can be offered. I am still in pahse1 but pretty much moving to phase2 this week or next.

    Thanks!!!!!
    Weight loss will slow closer to your goal. You mentioned cheat days. There are no Phase 1 cheat days. No blaming the diet for our own transgressions.

    Snack is whenever it fits best in your day. Some days for me that is mid-afternoon and some days it is evening.

    Is milk of magnesia what your coach recommends for the constipation? Most coaches suggest other products.

    You said you eat mostly salad. Are you getting 4 c non-lettuce veggies per day?

    I don't know about the pain in your side. What has your doctor said?

    If you stop IP, be sure to phase off properly
  • For #1, my guess would be gallbladder, but please see your doctor. When you are on low calorie diets it is important to get at least enough fat to make your gallbladder contract and empty at least once per day - I learned this when I was on another very low calorie diet under Dr. Arthur Frank, an obesity specialist from GWU. Rapid weight loss is something that is associated with gallbladder problems. But I am not a doctor and you really need to see a good Internal Medicine person and describe what is going on.
  • For the "C" issue, my coach said taking a ducolax or similar product once a day would be fine. IP has it's own product as well, but Ijust use generic ducolax and it definitely helps.

    Congrats on your awesome 35 lb weight-loss!
  • I have heard that some coaches recommend cheat days but that isn't what the program calls for so if you are doing cheat days because of a recommendation you might want to stop those.
    I am now going through the constipation too and trying to address it as best I can. I have been using exlax every so often but dr. recommended ducolax
    the pains and cramps I'd get checked out ASAP
    the 8pm snack is different for everyone. I go to bed around then )I'm up at 4:30-5am) so I moved my snack to late afternoon a few hours before my dinner when my cravings used to be at their worse....huh...just realized as I wrote, Im not having food cravings in late afternoon anymore!
  • As for the C problem I like to go natural so I drink Smooth Move tea. It works great and I'm not putting anymore chemicals in my body. I also some times put flax seed on my food. It has 4 carbs per 2 tbl., but also has 4 grams of fiber so it's net 0 carbs.
  • Thanks for your helpful reply's. My coach certainly does not recommend cheat days. But I am realistic and am okay with a bit slower weight loss if I allow myself a free dinner or free day from time to time. It's been about 1 day every 2.5 weeks.

    Otherwise I am pretty much eating the exact same things everyday.

    1) Morning: Capichinco Mix drink or Mixed berry yogurt drink
    2) Lunch: Chicken all King porrage with lettuce, cucumber, radish, bell peppers - Lemon as dressing
    3) Dinner: 6-8Oz protein with lettuce, cucumber, radish, bell peppers, pickles, onion - Lemon, olive oil, and apple cider vinger as dressing
    4) Snack: Was doing Chocalte puffs, now I alternate between chocalate pudding, lemon pudding, or cheddar chips

    Thats it.. pretty lame variety..

    My main conern is the pain in my sides. The rest I coudl live with, but I expected the 5-7PDS per week not 1-2PDS per week. I figure I can proabbly loose 1-2PDS a week and not eat all the fake food being bought form IP.. Especialy since I am runnign 2-3 miles 2x3 times a week now.
  • Quote: Thanks for your helpful reply's. My coach certainly does not recommend cheat days. But I am realistic and am okay with a bit slower weight loss if I allow myself a free dinner or free day from time to time. It's been about 1 day every 2.5 weeks.

    Otherwise I am pretty much eating the exact same things everyday.

    1) Morning: Capichinco Mix drink or Mixed berry yogurt drink
    2) Lunch: Chicken all King porrage with lettuce, cucumber, radish, bell peppers - Lemon as dressing
    3) Dinner: 6-8Oz protein with lettuce, cucumber, radish, bell peppers, pickles, onion - Lemon, olive oil, and apple cider vinger as dressing
    4) Snack: Was doing Chocalte puffs, now I alternate between chocalate pudding, lemon pudding, or cheddar chips

    Thats it.. pretty lame variety..

    My main conern is the pain in my sides. The rest I coudl live with, but I expected the 5-7PDS per week not 1-2PDS per week. I figure I can proabbly loose 1-2PDS a week and not eat all the fake food being bought form IP.. Especialy since I am runnign 2-3 miles 2x3 times a week now.
    You shouldn't be running that much on IP. You aren't taking in enough calories to support that much activity. That is probably why your losses are so low.

    Did your coach explain to you that you shouldnt be excersing that much without upping your food intake?
  • Yes, do take it easy on the exercise. My weight loss stalled like crazy when I tried to get back into my swimming habit.

    Also keep in mind that weight loss isn't linear. What we did is not necessarily going to show up on the scale *right away*. I know my pattern is a decent loss, then one or two puny losses, and then another decent loss. I don't know why, but it is what it is. Look at the big picture instead of the little details.
  • My coach hasn't mentioned changing food intake given exercise. In fact we havent spoken that mucha about exercise at all. I was mostly walking the first few weeks. But then my energy really picked up and I am planning to do a hiking trip in a month that requires some training. I started walking/running for about 3-4 hours 6-8 miles saturday/sundays.. Is this really why my weight loss is down? I thought exercise meant burning more fat/calories that it could only help not hurt?
  • Quote: My coach hasn't mentioned changing food intake given exercise. In fact we havent spoken that mucha about exercise at all. I was mostly walking the first few weeks. But then my energy really picked up and I am planning to do a hiking trip in a month that requires some training. I started walking/running for about 3-4 hours 6-8 miles saturday/sundays.. Is this really why my weight loss is down? I thought exercise meant burning more fat/calories that it could only help not hurt?
    Talk to your coach about exercise. This is VERY low carb/low fat program. It really doesn't supply the needed fuel for that kind of exercise. If you're gonna do that much, you probably need more packets. I don't know how many. Discuss with your coach.
  • Quote: My coach hasn't mentioned changing food intake given exercise. In fact we havent spoken that mucha about exercise at all. I was mostly walking the first few weeks. But then my energy really picked up and I am planning to do a hiking trip in a month that requires some training. I started walking/running for about 3-4 hours 6-8 miles saturday/sundays.. Is this really why my weight loss is down? I thought exercise meant burning more fat/calories that it could only help not hurt?
    On a conventional diet plan, that's true. On IP, because the diet is super low calorie AND designed to deplete your glycogen stores right up front, exercise does NOT improve your results and (as was mentioned) can actually slow down or stall your losses. Those who add mild,exercise need to ALSO add an extra packet within 1/2 hour of finishing, to give the body fuel to work with in recovery.

    You might actually want to talk to your coach about the Athete's protocol for IP, especially if you need to train for an event. Given the amount of exercise you are doing, that might be the better plan for you.
  • Someone mentioned the same exact side pain a day or so ago. Landed her in the hospital- cant find thread right now but she talked about cutting cal/mag-
    Anyone else read that thread???
  • Wow!! If anyone can help me find that post I would really appreciate it. I made an appointment with my doctor for Friday. But I am really concerned..
  • I found it!! November 12 from Alexa 1921 at10:48 am under supplement questions. She had a wicked bacteria growing in her abdomen. Look it up and see what she says!
    Good luck