Hi all, a non-IPer suggested that Even tho diet coke isn't allowed, perhaps coke zero would be...? Wonder if anyone has insights. Also: sugar free gum. Have people out there been successful chewing a piece or two of trident per day? And finally, walden farms. How much do folks out there average, per day. Do you weigh/measure? I'd love to know how other people approach these important details! Thanks!!

If it's not on the p1 sheet it's not allowed. Only Spry gum is proved as it doesn't use apastarme . No soft drinks at all.

I guess it depends on how hard core you want to be. If you're a 100%er, then any deviation is unacceptable.

For us 90%ers, we just want to lose weight. I broke all kinds of rules, I guess. I lost 37 pounds in 4 months. I drank a Diet Coke once or twice a week, on average. It would be better not to do that. But I did. I chewed sugar-free gum whenever I felt the need to snack. Some days it was a lot, some days very little. It kept me from snacking. I also carried Duo mints in my purse and ate one of those if I needed something in my mouth.

I also ate my restricted item after 9:00 pm most nights. I don't necessarily endorse doing any of those things. But I still lost my weight - and it was fast enough for me. I hit my goal, phased off and now I'm back for round 2 - not because I gained it back, but because I think I can lose even more.

My clinic said not to exceed 5 servings of Walden Farms per day. However, they also said that I should consider each splenda packet as one WF product. I was overeating on the Splenda. So, I have learned to not put Splenda in my Coffee or Tea. I generally use about two servings of WF per day and sometimes 2 packets of splenda - therefore taking me to "4" (when you count the WF and the two packets of splenda)

Hope this helps.

On the diet soda, I saved this little piece from someone's post when I first started just to remind myself why I shouldn't be drinking it!

"WHY IS DIET SODA DISCOURAGED DURING IDEAL PROTEIN DIET?
Very interesting insights from the "Ideal Protein Nova Blog". There is a science behind why this diet works and the things you can do to take best advantage of it.

All diet drinks (i.e. sugar-free, carb-free) are NOT recommended on the diet. The problem that can arise is imbalances in acid/base regulation. The protocol is very alkaline and this is why we do not see complications common to other "protein type diets." Some diet drinks (Crystal Light for example) are mixed with water and these are acceptable. Many others (flavored Aqua-fina, Dasani, etc.) contain a lot of phosphoric acid. This is a very strong acid and will play havoc with the body's bicarbonate buffering system. This goes for diet soda's too, particularly the brown ones."

hope that helps!

I used to use Mio all the time to flavor my water until I read a study about sucralose and how bad it is if consumed in large quantities. I now try to avoid it all costs... and it is used in a lot of products. If you really are wanting something to drink with flavor---and I am not advocating cheating--- try Zevia. It is a soda made with stevia, an all natural sweetener derived from a plant, it is 0/0/0 so technically it fits in to the IP model.

Hello,

I learnt from my business course, in the marketing course that diet coke and coke zero are exactly the same, they went for the "coke zero" name since they noticed that the "diet coke" was not attracting the male population since men usually don't like the term "diet".

I would say if you can please stay away of all kind of sodas, no matter what they are, stick to plain water or use a little bit of Mio.

As for walden farms, use just a little bit of them, after all they are not that great tasting to fancy having a lot of them

Zevia is great! I prefer LaCroix. Sometimes I add a dash, hear me, dash of Mio to it. Like others have said, do not over-do your Mio intake. It will affect you.

On the topic of Zevia and LaCroix, my doctor said that the carbonation does play a negative role in helping with digestion so to limit it to one a day at most. He really meant only a couple times a week. That is his opinion though so take it as you will.

IP removed the statement "anything not listed on this sheet must be 0 carbs, 0 fat, 0 sugar" from the latest protocol sheets.

I believe in following the sheet as laid out for the best results and to train yourself to keep the weight off in maintenance. That said, I do still use 2 egg whites for certain packet hacks and have had great success. The issue is, as Lisa has said in the past, widening the loop hole and stretching it to what got some of us in trouble before.

I do use cinnamon Trident occasionally, especially because I am in close contact with patients every day. I do not use diet soda, because I don't think it is healthy for anybody.

I stick to the serving size of the WF products.

I don't follow the IP protocol. I follow the ITG diet using alternatives which is almost the same thing but they say that you can have one diet pop a day, though not recommended. Sometimes I have one and sometimes I only drink a couple sips. I don't think it has affected me personally or my results.

I've been using flavored water this whole time. I absolutely cannot stand water and the only way I can drink it sometimes is if it's flavored. I don't consider what I'm doing cheating considering it says I can have it on the sheet that I follow, but I guess everyone has to do what is right for them.

Keep up the amazing work!

Just so you know, you can order the same products that ITG uses on nashuanutrition for about half the price, if you're interested.

Hi MustangMolly, Do you recall what is the bad effect from sucralose, or perhaps name of the article? I drink a ton of Mio, use WF, plus the sucralose in IP products x 1 yr. My weight loss has been great and I'm weaning off sucralose products but am curious/concerned about it.

Thanks!

Mars: Can't answer your question but wanted to tell you WOW you really have had great success on IP! Congrats!

Can anyone link to the reports about the dangers of water flavorings?

Hi "newbie" thanks for the information, I don't have the current sheets and have been gone for a while.

Hi Mars,
The study/article I read discussed it's affects on the joints and muscles. It followed a woman who was wheel chair bound and after giving up all diet drinks and anything with sucralose in it she was actually able to walk again and the muscle and joint pain she had went it away. The name sucralose can be misleading because it sounds like glucose...a naturally occurring sugar, but it is actually a chemical derivative and several countries have banned it's use. I don't mean to sound like an alarmist, I actual use Quest bars and some of them have sucralose in them, but I stick to the ones that have less than 2% and don't use them daily.