Newpath-

Thanks, I feel like I do know you, I read the archives a lot

I am coachless, doing IP by myself, but under the care of drs-PCP and cardiologist (no heart problems, but I had a full cardio workup not long before starting IP.) I can also see from archives how many folks have taken breaks and never returned to IP. I might try the alternative protocol for a few weeks and see how it goes...I just wish more folks here were on the alternative protocol to give me their perspective.

Good Morning all,

Well, my daughter has been home from Cali and alls she wanted was snow, well I guess she got it, we have about a foot. lol. Now she is hoping it doesn't delay her flight home tomorrow. tee hee.

for the bic "C" the senna tea is the best.

have a great day

I agree with you that the plan is hard on my body too. I feel great most of the time but it is easy to run out of energy for sure! And I do think ketosis in shorter bursts once we are at goal weight is preferable. My body likes to adapt to whatever I throw at it. I can tell from reading the boards that going off and on P1 can become a bigger challenge, seems like the first time is the easiest for most. BUT like you when I stall I will definitely change things and consider a return to P1. You are doing a GREAT job!
Jan

Kay,
AMAZING!!!!!! WTG!!!!!! You must feel like a million bucks!!! Congrats!!!!

You don't actually go into ketosis on the alternative plan, it is really just reduced calories. You might want to add just one of the 3 additional items and see if you feel better. Sort of a hybrid of the regular phase one and alternative.

Nola, You are going about this systematically, reading up on eveything, that is awesome. I really thrive on the weekly weigh-in, kudos for you being able to go it alone!
One thing that really works for me for energy and blood sugar issues...is, red pepper slices. My first two months on plan were really tough. I was REALLY hungry, my blood work showed that I was just points away from diabetes. (My numbers are all normal now.) Red pepper slices helped me with the fatigue and EXTREME, stop you in your tracks, hunger. I was getting those hunger bouts about an hour after my lunch. VERY weird. But, the red pepper slices along with another, extra packet...did the trick. Then magically, for no unknown reason, the insulin spikes or drops...whatever they were, went away...and have never come back. I was very concerned about how my pancreas would react to in maintainance.....I am happy to say, my pancreas is just fine. I do obviously stay away from high carb stuff, but IP did reset my pancreas. On fun days, I feel good. The day after, I feel good.
At some point my coach discovered that I was going to long between snacks/meals. Not sure if this was the issue all along...but, to this day...I am busy snacking at least every 3 hours. I have as many packets as I want. Yup. Though usually any extra packets are blue/cran, pina, or orange drink....all low in carbs and sugar, and high in protein. Oh, and I also discovered that my bod does not do to well with the artificial sweetners.....MIO just about sent me over the edge. Good luck, my friend. You are doing so, so very well! Jules

Today is Day 2 of being back on the program. I noticed it's a little harder to hop back on after cheating but I am determined Had a small cheat but it's difficult to get back cold turkey I guess. Today I have a slight headache so my body is adjusting again I will be back to losing in NO TIME!!

You've gotten lots of suggestions. If P1 makes you feel that bad, I'd say there is no reason to suffer. Have you tried P2? My mom did it when she had about 12 lbs to go and her WL slowdown was negligible (she's 72 btw). I'd experiment til I found something that didnt make me so miserable...

If you need an extra, make it a 4th (or 5th) packet. You'll still lose and won't be cheating. You CAN do this. How do I know? If I can, ANYONE can!

Ragdoll. If I did only 1 of the items, I'm guessing I would probably stay in ketosis, then wouldn't that just be like adding more calories? If so, then wouldn't an additional packet (or 1/2 packet) give the same advantage?

Jules,

Thanks for the feedback. I considered alternative protocol early on because of hypoglycemia/anemia but didn't do it because I read hypoglycemia improves for many folks on IP. Not me, though, evidently there is a difference in hereditary versus diet induced hypoglycemia. I'm VERY happy I have stayed on regular phase 1for 12 weeks because of the pancreas reset issue. I only dieted once before IP to lose 15lbs...it was a high protein/low cal/low carb diet, similar to IP alternative, and it was successful for me then. Sometime after, I gained a lot of weight from being on a med. which altered my metabolism, so I went back to that low carb, low cal. diet and nothing, no weight loss! So I tried IP, because of the promise of the pancreas reset. I think it has worked but it's been hard, I've made several adjustments thanks to advice I got here which helped, dividing my packets and food and spreading them more evenly across the day, plus adding an iron supplement. I've a few new things to think about today, good advice. I'm afraid to go out of ketosis, but I need to do something different, says my body, to get the energy I need to get through the day and the rest of my weight loss. I know several people "in real life" who have done IP with coaches, and they all say their energy issues were much more minor, so I know it's a real issue, not just in my head. The body says it's time for another tweak, I just have to decide what/how. The good part about tweaking is if it doesn't work, you can go back to what you were doing.

Ha ha Lisa! I told myself I was going to start P2 last week to deal with my issues, and I tried it for 1 day, then "chickened out!" I am so afraid of slowing my weight loss. But it is time to try something else.

You can try going with the lowest carb & calorie option that makes you feel better. You can try experimenting over the next couple of weeks.

You can also check to see what kind of proteins are in the alternatives you use. Casein is a slower digesting protein, so it helps to keep your blood sugar levels steady. Whey is a quickly digested protein. From what I have read, it's best to have a combination of both.

I had been wondering what would be suggested for me to add in terms of modifying the diet for the increased calories burned. Today I added one packet overall and timed everything so I had a shake at my normal breakfast time, an IP bar after the first dive and a shake after dive 2. Then I had IP soup with veggies. I feel a whole lot better than I did yesterday! Later I'll have chicken and veggies. Sound reasonable? I'm also increasing my water intake. Each dive was about an hour and the water temps are 79-80. I was getting pretty chilled by the end of the second dive. No strong currents but a fair amount of swimming.

Can anyone tell me how to determine the milk fat percentage of cheese? I googled for guidelines or a list but didn't find anything I understood. IP Alternative Protocol says you are allowed:

30g cheese (about 20% M.F.)

I looked at a few cheeses in our fridge and can't figure out how to tell the MF %. Thanks in advance

Happy to! Will do later on when I'm back on the computer. (On the iPad right now.)

NOLA - I know that you are struggling with this decision. For medical reasons, just had major surgery, I was told that I had to go off IP for 3 weeks. I have had to add things in like milk and more fiber/grains and have been very careful as to what I have added and how I added it. It's very hard to tell where my weight loss is right now because my knee is so swollen but the scale says I am losing so I am happy with that. I am anxious for 1/1/13 to get here because I plan to go back OP 100% again.