If that were true, calorie restriction would be entirely unnecessary. You could eat 30,000 calories of fat and protein and never gain an ounce, so long as you ate every 3-4 hours.

Lordy, wouldn't that be awesome!

Sadly, it isn't true, at least not for most of us. I have stalled and even gained on ketogenic diets because I ate too many calories (and not because I ate too infrequently to keep me from "starvation mode").

If you take in more calories than you burn, odds are that a good portion of the extra will be stored as fat regardless of where the excess comes from. Carbs though are the most easily and efficiently turned to fat. This means to lose the same amount of weight, you can probably eat more protein and fat than carbs, but you can still store fat if you eat enough calories.

Just an FYI, the Premier Protein shakes com in an 18g of protein serving. They can be difficult to find, but I believe you can,order them directly from the company. I love the vanilla. I blend it with a little crushed ice in my Magic Bullet and it tastes like a vanilla milk shake. Once, I was unable to have my protein at lunch time so I broke up one of my bars and added to the shake when I had my snack in the evening. It was my own DQ Blizzard for dessert!

Perhaps I am still doing ok because the shakes are only 40 cals more than a typical IP packet, so that's only an extra 80 cal a day, and as a massage therapist, I guess my job is somewhat physically demanding, so I am sure I am burning off the excess?

And your weight is over 200. As you get under that, you may need to watch those cals/protein requirements more closely. (Based on my starting weight, my coach should have started me on 5 packs/day)

I've said all along, we all have different metabolisms. My job doesn't have the physical demands of others. My body isn't as big (tall) as others so the BMR isn't as high (lower caloric requirements to start with) PLUS we all have different health "stuff" to deal with (me: inflammation in my back, thyroid & adrenal stress). Some journeys are quick, some are slower but we'll all get there.

This is why it is extremely important to be sure we make sure everyone knows what the IP products contain. So they can make easy comparisons & not go too far off the track.

Assuming it will take roughly 3500 calories to make a pound - at worst, if you continue with the extra 80 calories, in 6 weeks, you can expect to have lost one less pound than if you hadn't had those extra calories.

Metabolic math isn't exact, especially with ketogenic diets, but with any plan, you can safely assume that 3500 extra calories to make a pound is a worst case scenario for gains and a 3500 calorie shortage to make a pound is a best case scenario for loss.

Thanks for all the input. Perhaps next time I am in Costco I will ask about the "snack size" shakes for when I am under 200 lbs. Hopefully they are available in Canada.

And one pound every six weeks doesn't bother me much. Though I would love to wake up tomorrow and be at my goal, I am really trying not to look at this as a race. Like Lisa said, we will all get there. I couldn't have said it better myself.

The shake I was GOING to use is called Lean Pro Matrix (Bananas & Cream) from Nutrition Zone. I have attached the nutrition info.
The protein bar I was GOING to use is Oh Yeah. They have many different kinds that taste pretty good. I have attached nutrition info as well.
After everyone’s discussions, I will be looking for other shakes and bars. I'm thinking Herbalife is pretty affordable and tasty so I may head in that direction for the shakes. For the protein bars, not sure what I will get that’s tasty that falls into the “doable” range.

you & me both, sista!

If you haven't checked Nashua Nutrition or dietdirect.com, you should. They have great prices compared to IP a a nice variety. Just use the alternative guidelines and watch for aspartame.

Although it has been only 4 months, I remember thinking it would take so long to get "there", and now it seems like I just started, the time has gone by so quickly. Sigh....as it seems to, the older I get. I think you will find that as you get nearer to goal you will feel some hesitation in phasing off. I am almost there and have some anxiety about not being on IP.

its not so scary.
I was PETRIFIED.
But I phased off for a few weeks this summer for health reasons & now know each phase is just another stepping stone. IP doesn't give you more than you can handle at once. Day 1 of P2, I started researching P3 breakfasts so when I got to P3 (or maybe it was before), I had 4 well-planned breakfasts to alternate.
P4 is just another sheet to follow with some more additions.
And P4 is Phase For Life so you'll ALWAYS be on IP if you're maintaining well.
There. Not so scary, right?

Agreed. Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel, use the alternative thread and use the products others have already used for success!
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...phase-1-a.html

I am guessing the higher calories on the drink must be from the higher protein e cause everything else about it looks good!

The bars are clearly way high on fat - you are looking for less than 1/3 of the calories to come from fat (multiply cals from fat by 3 and the result should be less than total calories. 90 x 3 = 270 ) and as already pointed out the 19 carbs is above restricted max!.

Once you read thru the alternative threads and take the IP acceptable nutrition stat to compare with something you are considering buying, you should be armed w/good tools to select alternatives.

Did you get the nutrition data you should be using from one of these threads?

I did get the nutrition data to use so I know NOW how and what to compare (Thanks to everyone for helping). Thank you

AWESOME! You are on your way!