I did IP a couple years ago and lost 80lbs in one year. It came off painfully slow. None of this 3-5lbs a week stuff like all my friends. After the first two months I lost about 3lbs a month. It was very discouraging and I spent way too much time thinking about what all i was going to eat when i finally got a cheat day.
Phase 3 and 4 didn't go very well for me. I didn't receive any instruction about what to do, and it turns out i am allergic to wheat, gluten and dairy. So i gained 30lbs in my first two months off of IP while doing phase 3 and 4. I ended up doing phase 1 six days a week with a no holds barred cheat day once a week. This didn't work as I would gain 5lbs on my cheat day and it took a couple weeks to get it back off. I was miserable staying on IP products when all my friends had lost their weight in a couple of months and had gone back to normal life.
I've since seen a few doctors and in addition to multiple food allergies i also have a thyroid problem, and adrenal fatigue. For the past year i have been trying to address these health issues and eat whole foods. Now I'm ready to go back on IP and reach my initial goal. I've gained a total of 50lbs back and I'm so discouraged and depressed. Losing 80lbs was wonderful! Gaining 50 back is beyond humiliating.
Lessons I learned -
While on IP before I was influenced by friends to occasionally cheat with a low carb bar or piece of cheese. They all lost weight while having tiny cheats. I didn't. I also don't lose weight on alternative products. I tried swapping out EAS and Lindora for IP to save money and my weight loss stalled. These things may work for other people but i clearly have some additional challenges and have to stick to the IP protocol 100%.
I will not be able to eat like everyone else in phases 3 and 4. One piece of toast or serving of yogurt swells me up and it takes days to undo the damage.
I have to view IP as my new way of life and not as a quick diet. I read testimonials from people with my health issues about how they found out they were allergic to gluten and never ate it again. This hasn't been me. I've been more the eat the cookie and pop the benadryl type. I need to change my whole life outlook to food.
Focusing on what goodies i will eat on my cheat day only caused me to eat way too much too often and gain the weight back. I should have been re-training myself how to eat healthy and have a healthy attitude towards food.
I am ashamed and humiliated and would appreciate any encouragement possible.