I sometimes mix full fat dressing with WF dressing....it works well for me!
OHHH!! This is a good idea. I don't particularly like the WF dressings as they're weirdly sweet and a little ick, imo. But like the idea of cutting the full fat with the WF to help balance out.
KAPLODS!! I remember you - you were posting around the time I was on the program - great to see you here!!!!
What is TSD? Never heard of it. . .
TSD is my shorthand for "The Simple Diet," from the book (of the same name) by Dr. James Anderson and dietician, Nancy Gustafson. The plan is modeled after HMR products and program (except you buy your own products from the grocery store).
HMR (Health Management Resources) is THE leading provider of weight loss products and programs used by medical institutions such as hospitals, medical schools, clinics, and weight loss research programs.
The basic, first phase of the plan is 3 "shakes" (or equivalent meal replacements) + 2 "entrees" + 5 or more servings of veggies + a goal of an estimated 2000 calories per week burned in exercise.
I lost 60 lbs between April '12 to April '13 following what I'll describe as a 'slightly basterdized' version of IP.
I joined through an IP clinic in my town, but stayed with them for only 1 week... finished the remainder of the time (and as you can see it took me a year) basically following the IP protocol, but using alternative products.
Being in Canada - and deciding to avoid the customs & shipping fees on orders from Nashua Nutrition and the other American'packet suppliers' that I'd heard of here - I searched for Canadian Cos that would have suitable products; and while I found some, the variety was limited. So I sometimes substituted with things that were 'as good as possible'... but perhaps not totally 100% perfect matches.
It's hard to know whether my weight loss would have been faster if I'd stayed 100% IP-compliant, with 'perfect' packets. My weight loss was pretty slow. Except for the first 2 weeks, I lost about 1 lb/week for most of the time. There were a few weeks in there with a 0 weight loss. But I'm also 62, menopausal, and have yo-yo'd so much over the past 30 years that I didn't anticipate a quick weight loss. For me, allowing myself that little 'wiggle room' of flexibility to use what some here call 'packet hacks'... or other low carb items that weren't 100% ... kept me going and helped me achieve my final goal. I stayed low carb all the way through though, so as far as I'm aware I didn't ever knock myself out of ketosis.
And I also logged all my food/drink daily into www.fatsecret.com. This really helped give me a daily overview of how my day was shaping up in terms of % of protein/fat/carbs, etc. And how my sodium intake was from day to day. I tried to keep my day's worth of food/drink as close as possible to at least 45% from protein, no more than 30% from fat, and the remainder from carbs. And I checked consistently to ensure my carb intake didn't go over 50g. My daily calorie count was most always between 800-1000.
I'm back for a Re-start, and things are going well. Thankfully, I got myself back under control before I did too much damage with regain, and I intend to stick with my 'roughly equivalent to P1' program until Christmas.
While in maintenance though, I did realize that I can never return to eating carbs or sugars the way I used to. They are a siren song for me, just tempting me to 'more and more'. Ditto ice cream. I think it's important to know what our food triggers are, and if we realize we can't control them then just eliminate them from our eating program. For example, today I bought myself 1 ISO Femme protein bar - just 1 - because I know that they are just too &(#$&! tempting for me to have more of them in my cupboard. Part of me feels foolish and childish for having that weakness - but another part of me feels adult enough to accept that this is the way I am and just acknowledge that for me it's important to just not have more than 1 of them available to me at a time. So I buy one at a time as a treat - and log it into fatsecret.com, checking to see how it's nutrient breakdown affects the overall state of my day's eating plan. (Actually, I'd already done that today, before buying it)
Anyway - sorry this is so long - I like the idea of this thread. And I'll definitely hang out here. Cheers to everyone.
P.S. - Some of you may be interested in my blog - the link is in my signature below. It's focus is on helping those who chose to use alternative products. As I said, I tried to be as close as possible. But I never posted in the 100% thread, because I didn't consider myself 100% IP-compliant.
Wow!! You're almost at goal. I admire all of you guys that are so close to goal. It reminds me that it can be done. Bravo!!
My ultimate goal is 150 lbs, but being so far from goal was killing me, so I'm setting intermediary goals. When I hit 275 I will revise my goal to 225 or 250.
Knowing I can revise my goal at any time and that "not gaining" must always be my top priority really helps keeps me motivated and helps prevent backsliding.
@ evepet - I just want to thank you for sharing so much. Your blog is actually the first place I found IP info, and this was the second. So thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
TSD is my shorthand for "The Simple Diet," from the book (of the same name) by Dr. James Anderson and dietician, Nancy Gustafson. The plan is modeled after HMR products and program (except you buy your own products from the grocery store).
HMR (Health Management Resources) is THE leading provider of weight loss products and programs used by medical institutions such as hospitals, medical schools, clinics, and weight loss research programs.
The basic, first phase of the plan is 3 "shakes" (or equivalent meal replacements) + 2 "entrees" + 5 or more servings of veggies + a goal of an estimated 2000 calories per week burned in exercise.
I did HMR back in 2005. I lost 52 lbs on that program. Over the course of the next 7 years, I gained about 30 of it back. I went up and down 15lbs in between there, using HMR products the whole time (for the down part). Not too bad over 7 years, but when I started to get out of that 15lb range, I didn't want the shakes/entrees again. Needed something new. I had a friend who did Ideal Protein and quickly lost 30 lbs. Seemed like a good place to start. I've done pretty well here, but like many of you, I'm not always 100% compliant. There are a couple of things that I find much easier on Ideal Protein. 1) The fact that one meal a day is "normal" where on HMR, it's always a prepackaged thing. So on IP you can still have a social life with a controlled restaurant dinner. And 2) my food cravings are basically gone. On HMR, it was a constant battle to stay away from desired foods. On Ideal Protein, I just don't struggle as much as a result of the ketosis, I guess. So, I'm down 49.7 lbs now, lower than I ever had been on HMR. It's pretty cool. I'm telling you all of this in case you wanted to try Ideal Protein rather than the HMR-like diets. I think it's easier.
OHHH!! This is a good idea. I don't particularly like the WF dressings as they're weirdly sweet and a little ick, imo. But like the idea of cutting the full fat with the WF to help balance out.
You might also try adding organic apple cider vinegar to the WF salad dressings. I've been avoiding the full fat dressings, but I've sometimes mixed equal parts of the Paul Newman Light Oil & Vinegar with the WF Italian dressing. That wasn't a bad mixture.
For me, a good standby is a combo of extra virgin olive oil, organic apple cider vinegar, crushed garlic, dried basil, & fresh ground black pepper. I often add just a drop or two of liquid stevia to cut the vinegary flavor.
@ evepet - I just want to thank you for sharing so much. Your blog is actually the first place I found IP info, and this was the second. So thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thanks ktgrrl.... it's nice to know that my blog helped you.
You might also try adding organic apple cider vinegar to the WF salad dressings. I've been avoiding the full fat dressings, but I've sometimes mixed equal parts of the Paul Newman Light Oil & Vinegar with the WF Italian dressing. That wasn't a bad mixture.
For me, a good standby is a combo of extra virgin olive oil, organic apple cider vinegar, crushed garlic, dried basil, & fresh ground black pepper. I often add just a drop or two of liquid stevia to cut the vinegary flavor.
I sometimes have olive oil with a little soy sauce mixed in. It's surprisingly tasty.
I did HMR back in 2005. I lost 52 lbs on that program. Over the course of the next 7 years, I gained about 30 of it back. I went up and down 15lbs in between there, using HMR products the whole time (for the down part). Not too bad over 7 years, but when I started to get out of that 15lb range, I didn't want the shakes/entrees again. Needed something new. I had a friend who did Ideal Protein and quickly lost 30 lbs. Seemed like a good place to start. I've done pretty well here, but like many of you, I'm not always 100% compliant. There are a couple of things that I find much easier on Ideal Protein. 1) The fact that one meal a day is "normal" where on HMR, it's always a prepackaged thing. So on IP you can still have a social life with a controlled restaurant dinner. And 2) my food cravings are basically gone. On HMR, it was a constant battle to stay away from desired foods. On Ideal Protein, I just don't struggle as much as a result of the ketosis, I guess. So, I'm down 49.7 lbs now, lower than I ever had been on HMR. It's pretty cool. I'm telling you all of this in case you wanted to try Ideal Protein rather than the HMR-like diets. I think it's easier.
This is why the Simple Diet is so great, it can really accomodate both or either protocol (and it literally can fit virtually EVERY budget).
I started my low-carb journey on Atkins. I couldn't tolerate Induction (I'm diabetic and have other issues that make life uncomfortable enough).
I switched to moderately low-carb paleo, which worked great, but was both very labor intensive and very expensive (relatively). I did well on good days, but on bad days when my stamina and strength were poor or at the end of the month when funds ran low, I reached too easily for crap.
The IP type protocol was less work, but still was problematic when I was too sick to cook or go out .
I find an HMR/IP Alternative hybrid ideal. Technically, I can be both HMR and IP compliant under "The Simple Diet," just by being careful with my meal and meal replacement choices.
A "lean and green" meal easily be made to fit the guidelines for "Entrees" (140-300 calories, 10-26g protein and less than 9g of fat).
For example 5-9 oz (raw weight) of lean meat such as chicken breast fits the entree guidelines, and all I have add some salad or veggies from my freggie alottment for the day (which I have to add to my entrees anyway to get in my 5 serving minimum).
When I feel good enough to cook or eat out, my menu looks more like an IP. On days that I don't feel so great, it looks more like HMR.
I love the flexibility of "The Simple Diet" because the food guidelines are flexible enough to accomodate both. And is flexible enough to include and adjust for exercise.
Oh yay thanks for this thread! I finally have a home on this site. I felt truly terrible on the strict IP plan - 4 weeks of headaches and nausea and dizziness - plus I was only losing less than a pound a week! I had to modify it some with the help of a friend's coach - mine refused to work with me. And now I feel so much better and am losing 2-3 pounds a week.
Oh yay thanks for this thread! I finally have a home on this site. I felt truly terrible on the strict IP plan - 4 weeks of headaches and nausea and dizziness - plus I was only losing less than a pound a week! I had to modify it some with the help of a friend's coach - mine refused to work with me. And now I feel so much better and am losing 2-3 pounds a week.
Where in TX are you? I am using a coach in Houston
