No, I didn't. I actually lost about 4 lbs. My coach was shocked too! I imagine it will catch up with me but this is the end of week two and so far so good.

Oh Yum!

I love the Torani syrups, but they're hard to find locally except in a few very basic flavors.

The lime is one of my favorites (added to diet lemonlime soda, it reminds me of Green River, one of my favorite sodas.

I am going to do probably a post that is too lengthy but I hope it's a helpful one. NOT THAT I AM AN EXPERT, and I want to emphasize that but, I have made lots of notes, read lots of recipes, comments etc. and I have a few things that I would like to share to help anyone that thinks these things may be useful. Like I said, I am no expert and I tend to take the easy route in choosing foods on IP. I follow my one page bible, no counting, I do measure and weigh foods but I am not into calculating carbs etc. If you follow the guide you receive from your coach you don't need to count anything. I use restricted foods no more than once a day but I never had a period of time where that made a difference. But here are a few things I have learned.

1. I use WF chocolate and carmel syrup for a sweet fix. I use plastic medicine cups and freeze a layer of chocolate, then add a layer of carmel and freeze and then add another layer of chocolate. It's only about 1 1/2 tbl. total but oh so yummy.

2. Flavoured olive oil is my saving grace. I use butter flavour, garlic flavour and an lemon pepper flavour (for salad dressings especially)

3. I have learned to LOVE oil and vinegar as opposed to WF dressins. They are oh so yucky!

4. Taco salads when dining out. Skip the cheese and tortillas and add salsa. You can dine with friends and not feel deprived.

5. Roasted asparagus with garlic olive oil...yummy.

6. Make the potato puree puffs. I use them as a hamburger bun or for a sandwich. Not exactly bread but the idea of having a sandwich is awesome.

7. I make a potato salad with cauliflower and use the WF mayo and regular mustard for the dressing. Even my non-IP friends loved it. Combine that with a burger and potato puff bun and you can bbq with the best of them.

8. I mix spinach in with my IP shakes. Great way to get those veggies in and you can't taste it at all. I also add a bit of extract like Almond or Orange to jazz it up a little. Chocolate almond shakes??? so good.

9. When everyone else is having a cocktail, I use a club soda with MIO. I get the fizz of a real drink.

10. I will have an occasional Xevia Pop which is sweetened with Stevia. I add rum flavoured extract to this and it tasted like a spiced rum drink. Everyone chuckles when I come with my little tiny bottle of extract. I save this for treats when everyone else is having drinks. That way it doesn't get boring and I had something to look forward to.

11. The IP omelets were great when you add your veggies, and ham and a little egg white to it. They were very filling.

12. I also made the rhubarb crisp but to avoid the restricted package, I omitted it. I would rather save the restricted for a snack. I added WF strawberry syrup to the basic IP rhubarb crisp recipe. It was like having fruit and not a vegetable. All of these recipes are on the recipe link or google them. I'm not great at posting links....lol

13. Rutabaga fries are great. I roast them in garlic flavoured olive oil and even add a little vinegar and ketchup for dipping. (Only the Canadians will get the vinegar on fries thing!) Am I right?

So, those are my tips for now. If I think of others I will post them.

Hope this is a tip for some who need a little change up!

I totally get what you're saying about the cost. My DH and I started in a clinic and switched to alternatives right away. We use the premiere protein drinks from Costco, and bars from Costco.

I can't believe the savings we've had switching to Alternatives and we are still having fantastic results. I'm so happy to be on this journey and that it is affordable and not stressful.

I just put together an order on Nashua thanks Nalaroo! 28 days worth of products for $59 plus $6 shipping. That's almost a month! That plus two big packs of the EAS drinks will just be over $100. Big difference than $85 a week. I'm going to be sad to tell my coach bt I've got to save some money!

I think between his coaching and this forum I've gotta pretty decent grasp on the program.

Nolasmurf: Nashua Nutrition has a Lifetime Dieter's Club that you can join. Just make a note in the comments for your order before submitting. There is a one time charge....I seem to remember it is $30, but you get a 10% percent discount off your orders. I have heard people will call the 800 number and ask about it and they can apply the discount to the order you just placed. I have found that their customer service is really good.

I placed an order yesterday, excited to try out some stuff ;)

Let us know what your coach says about alternatives. I wrote "quest bar" in my food journal and when she saw it she asked, very accusingly...what is a quest bar....ok lets only eat IP approved foods and buy some IP bars for when you need them.

And now I lie on my sheet!:devil:

You are an absolute doll for taking the time to share this with all of us. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!
Some of the stuff I already make and the rest of it I will!
Perfect post. Just perfect
And again... Congrats on your amazing losses! You are truly an inspiration!

My yummy for the day.... Added pumpkin pie spice to my vanilla shake. My new favourite!
Was hard to find the spice but I have the goods now. Loooove it!

Psssst....*whispering* update your ticker to reflect your 5lb loss...

I really hope I don't gain either!!

The Half Way inbetween sizes
 

Ok I wear an 18 sweet heart jean from Old Navy and I can slide them off and on so easily. BUT a 16 is too snug. This is the frustrating part abt losing weight, walk around with baggy saggy pants or squeeze into ones that just don't fit quiet yet and feel mooshed. **sigh**

How did you tackle this issue? I am going to wait it out before I get new jeans.

On IP I find there is a cycle and its pretty fast sometimes. Pants go baggy one week, too baggy the next week. Then onto the new pair which is tight one week, fits for a week, baggy the next week....and so on and so forth

Then I just said &*%# it and lived in dresses with tights underneath because pants were so much of a pain. They were baggy the majority of the time.

I'm doing another round of IP to get rid of the pounds I gained over summer. I already have to retire 2 pair of dress pants this week. I have a few in storage to go to, then its going to be dresses and fleece lined tights time for winter.

Awesome idea. I think I may have to switch to this for work. Of course, just in time for the cold weather LOL!:D

I am afraid to wear a dress............... SCARY