IP Daily Chat
 

:welcome2:
Welcome back to the Daily Chat thread - post your plans for today, share what's been happening, ask questions!

Some forum lingo:
NSV = Non-scale victory
TOM = time of the month
WI = Weigh-in
WF = Walden Farms
OP = on plan

Bookmarking:
Ideal Protein Sub-forum Home page
Consider making it a bookmark or a favorite in your browser so you can come back easily to get your RDA of Ideal Protein information.

Information for newbies:
Check the sticky page (top of forum, above all the topics) for lots of good information and please read here before asking what might be a frequently asked question: Information on Ideal Protein phases (1-4), IP Ultimate List Recipes, FAQ, Newbie Guide, Exercise, and other Important Threads,
and here are the most recent Ideal Protein Protocol sheets

And before you cheat, read this thread:
The Real Cost of Cheating on Ideal Protein

Before starting new threads: spend some time reading the forum. Most new threads are duplicates, triplicates, quadruplicates. Folks who are the most successful, make time for research/reading.

More Recipes Here Mix'n in the kitchen...Recipes from the Rainbow
MiX'N' iN THE KiTCH'N.... Recipes from the Rainbow Volume 2
Fun with Ideal Protein Packets
Fun with Veggie Purees!
Ideal Protein Diet Recipes #4
Tips and Recipes from the Incredible Weight Loss Center

For those looking for alternative products
Here is a thread with tons of info. Spend some time in it. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...phase-1-a.html
And here is a link to a chart to help you choose appropriate products

Tickers and Signatures:
There are 2 requirements to have access to signatures and tickers. You must have been a member of 3fatchicks for 20 days AND posted at least 20 messages anywhere on the 3fatchicks forum. When you've met those requirements check The Ultimate Signature and Ticker Thread for more information and instructions.

Quoting:
The best quoting tip - EVER!! Thanks Rosie, aka 6710.

Searching:
If you can't find what you're looking for in this forum using the website search function, try using the "double search" using Google.

1) Go to Google.com. Search 3fatchicks by using the term site:3fatchicks.com at the end of your Google search.

For example, if you want to look for "big mac in a bowl", type "big mac in a bowl site:3fatchicks.com" in Google search. No need to include the quotation marks when you type.

2) This will bring up the page that you are looking for, now hit Ctrl+F to search on that page. Type "big mac in a bowl" and all instances of that search term will be highlighted.

Progress photos
Mini-Goal Photo Album.

Other helpful links related to the Ideal Protein Dr. Chanh Tran Tien's website

Lisa,
Thank you for answering my questions from yesterday. I tried to thank you there but realized the thread was closed. oopsy. I was wondering if it might be medication too. I'm on medication for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and anxiety. I'm wondering if my BP is coming down with the weight loss, so the meds would bring it down even further. I should get the BP cuff out and double check that. I will double check my sodium intake too, just to make sure that's spot on.

My Quest bars came in yesterday and I heated up the cinnamon roll ba this morning for breakfast. It was the BEST thing EVER! I double checked the label to make sure they were okay to have. Definately will make them an early day (once every so often) type treat. But what a nice treat to have. I think they will fix my sweet tooth.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

Happy Wednesday! Halfway to the weekend!

Good morning! I'm excited about staying 100% OP today. LOVING roasted cabbage. What a treat!

I love Wednesdays! Well especially THIS wednesday because tomorrow is my "Friday". It's nice to have a 3 day weekend every other week.

Someone brought in Dunkin Doughnuts this morning. Fortunately, I was not the least bit interested since I had a yummy Quest cinnamon roll bar this morning. Sweet tooth has been taken care of for the day! Hoot!

Good morning everyone!!! I was on IP in 2012 and lost some weight but I fell off. I started again a week ago and am down 14lbs!!! So glad to be back. Have a great day everyone!!!!!

I LOVE the cinnamon roll Quest bars, they too are my go to treat. I hated every IP bar I tried so very excited about these. I've tried other flavors, but the CB is my all time favorite!. I just made deviled eggs with WF Caesar salad dressing, salt and curry OMG!! Very happy this am!!

I also had a Cinnamon Roll quest bar this morning with my coffee! So good and so filling. I feel full for hours. I usually don't need to eat my lunch packet until 2!

Roasted cabbage
 

I LOVE the roasted cabbage, too. I cannot believe how something I thought was icky and bland becomes one of my favorites.

Last night, I finished dinner but all day I had been dealing with mental hunger, just had not been able to deal with it.

As I sat down, I did a "I could've had a V8" moment when I realized my dinner would have been much more satisfying if I had the roasted cabbage! I contemplated getting up and making some but I had already had my veggies, so I did not - but I sure wanted to!

Too funny...I was dealing with mental hunger yesterday, and had cabbage for dinner. All these great minds are thinking alike here!

Rough morning/day ahead at the office. Makes me want to go have a glass of wine with friends tonight. Sigh. I miss my after work drinks with friends.

I had roasted cauliflower last night for the first time - so good and crunchy! I think it will be a new go-to.

Made the rest of the family a crab chowder in the slow cooker. Chock full of zucchini, celery, peppers but I couldn't have it because it's a cream broth. My kids (ages 14 & 11) say that they're happy I'm doing this diet because now my cooking is way better. And it is! I'm just so much more mindful of what I'm feeding them. We're a very busy family, the kids are into lots of sports so every weeknight is go go go - before I started this program I would have likely run us all through the Mcdonalds drivethrough last night - not anymore.

I love roasted cabbage! I also like to sauté it with a little grapeseed oil and a dash of red pepper flakes. Yum! I make chicken soup a lot and now I always add chopped cabbage. I agree, it is funny how we love foods now that would have never crossed our radar before. One thing I love about IP is that it is making me a better cook, because I am always trying new ways to make old recipes that are healthier and IP compliant.

Happy Wednesday! Bitter cold here today. Minus 25 temps with projected winds of 50 mph. I don't even want to know what that wind chill calculates as! Stay warm and safe everyone.

I know what you mean...... I don't hate the IP bars (actually I buy ProtiDiet products) but they all have that protein powder taste. The Quest wasn't like that at all. It melted in my mouth....... yummmy! Lunch will be a salad loaded with 2 cups of mixed veggies and I decided to have hot chocolate for a change. (After all the temps are dropping out there. ) Hope this choice will be a good one, I usually have soup.

Since I've started IP, my daughter has realized that raw zuchinni is much better than cooked zuchinni. I added it to a salad with cucumbers and by the time she realized that they weren't cucumbers, she told me, "mom, I think I like raw zuchinni." What a WIN!!

With those temps and winds, I won't DARE complain about my weather conditions. :hug: Stay warm!!

Good morning everyone,

I roast my cabbage with a bit of olive oil and caraway seed. Delish! I also throw it into chicken, ginger, and mushroom soup. Lately I have been sautéing red cabbage and finishing it with apple cider vinegar. Reminds me of my Mom's pickled cabbage minus the bacon.

Ems- I miss happy hour too. Have gone and had water but it is not the same. Really missed a glass of wine in front of the fire (after finding out it was a snow day today), had chai tea instead. Although I am wistful about it, I know that it is worth not having it :)

Gettinghealthynow, it is wonderful that the changes in your life are having a positive impact on your family. I really admire the parents on this board, I think the challenge of staying OP is more difficult with additional cooking and food in the house.

Well, it's time for me to get back to somewhat of a "normal" routine. My husband travels for work...usually gone 4 days a week and home on the weekends. He's been working from home for the past 10 weeks or so, but is back on the road as of this week. It'll be an adjustment again...he was getting up to do the morning routine, picking kids up from school, doing a lot of the driving, etc. He liked the extra time with the kids that he had missed out on for so long. BUT...it also made me a bit lazy in that I was sleeping in more, not being as active. Another change will be that I'll be cooking less (he likes homemade dinners after eating so much at restaurants), but will still need to cook for the kids, plus myself. I don't know...just lots of adjustments and extra planning to make sure that the kids are eating right and I'm also staying on plan.

On the plus side...he did give me 6 gift certificates for massages for Christmas. My first one is today. Not a bad way to start off the transition. It's all going to be alright.

Good morning everyone! Had weigh-in #3 this morning and I'm pretty disappointed with the loss (see signature). I had great losses the last two weeks, so I did expect this week's loss to be a little lower. The only difference between this past week and the 2 before that is that I added in Quest bars this last week. I treated them as a restricted. The first two weeks, I had no restricted items and had EAS or Premier Protein shakes for every IP "packet." I hope they don't affect my losses every week, as they're the one thing I really look forward to every day to eat.

Other than the smaller loss, I feel great. I'm doing alternatives this time around, so I have no idea of inches, but people are starting to say they notice it in my face.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

You've lost nearly 15 pounds in three weeks - that's better than 4 pounds a week! You should be really proud of yourself - that is a great loss.

The scale is a fickle thing - some weeks will show better than others, hang in there!

Your weigh-ins are almost exactly what I've been at. 9 pounds week 1, 4 pounds week 2 and then 1.6 week 3. VERY normal to taper off after some big losses the first few weeks. Just remember...you are still losing. It may not feel like a lot, but you are losing and you need to take pride in that. You are benefiting your health by staying on plan. (By telling you this, I'm telling myself the same thing :) ) I'm hoping for bigger losses some weeks, but as long as I'm losing, I'm okay with that. Of course we all want to lose 9 pounds a week (wouldn't that be amazing), but it's just not going to happen. You didn't put all the weight on in a couple of weeks, and it's not all going to come off that fast. Keep going!!

slipfree, you're right...it's not worth having it. I know that. I never feel tempted to actually go off plan but every once in a while I really miss the emotions that tie into certain foods. Yeah, I'll go grab drinks with friends and end up with a club soda and dash of mio. I usually leave feeling great about my decision but don't feel like I got the same 'experience'. I don't know. Guess it's just the nostalgia.....i may just be rambling.....:dizzy:

I have been thinking about my goal weight and have decided to change it. I am already in a size 6, so I really do not feel that dropping 20 pounds more will do anything for me, so I think I will go 10 more pounds and then start phase 2. Most of my size 6 are lose now, so I think this is a good decision. It was hard when I started to decide what a good weight would be. In the past I have gotten to 145 and then just stopped because I was tired of it, not because it was were I felt I should be. What is hard is 138 is still pretty heavy of a weight in my mind, and I need to get past that.

Do you know what your % of body fat & muscle is? At this point in your journey, that's probably more important. I bought the same Omron HBF-514C Full Body Composition Sensing Monitor and Scale from Amazon ($74.99) that they use at my clinic. It's really helpful to look at something besides the scale. I think the viseral fat, muscle & fat % and BMI are more important as you get close to your goal weight. Also, if you're a small or medium frame, I would think another 10 lbs would be the max you'd want to lose.

I have realized with IP that I am a smaller size at a heavier weight, than in the past. I am sure it is because I lost more fat on IP. I am still surprised my size 6 pants are loose on me! I see we are close in height, so I imagine our size is quite similar. I had a goal of 135 and figured I would still want to go lower once I hit that. I anticipated I would be in a size 8 or 10 at that weight. Wow, size 6!? Crazy! I have had to change my way of thinking regarding weight and go by how I feel and look instead. I have heard this from others as well.

I second ecdslim. Calculate your BMI. I use this calculator online...
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/...MI/bmicalc.htm

Funny you should say that. I have an Omron on its way. It should arrive tomorrow. It is a handheld one, which is what they use at my clinic. Another number they say is important is hip to waist ratio. It should be no more than .75 and mine is at .78.

I agree. I look more muscular than I have ever before when I did weight watchers. Especially in my legs and arms and even my abs are getting more cut. I bought a couple of size 6's in December because they were on sale and even though they were tight I thought I would be able to wear them later. I have lost less than 10 pounds since I bought them and they are roomy. Lately my inch loss is out doing my pound loss, so I did not want to frustrate myself by not being able to lose more.

Currently BMI is 25.4(that is using the clinic weight which is 4 pounds more than my morning weight). 138 would put me at 23.7 and morning weight would be less than that. I was between 135-140 when I got married almost 32 years ago, but I had not started weight lifting then. I think weight lifting makes a huge difference.

Weight lifting makes a HUGE difference. The last time I weighed what I weigh now, I was in size 10's - now I'm comfortable in 6's, some of them are a little loose even. I've been weight lifting for 20+ years and after the 1st 3 weeks on IP, I was in the gym at least 2x a week, sometimes 3 weight lifting. I can see muscles (and also some crepey skin I'm sad to say) now. In fact, my trainer this morning even said, wow, your legs are really cut, you can really see serious definition. So play with your new scale, see what your stats are, that should help with your decision.

I used to feel that way about brussels sprouts...just kinda bland/okay.
Until I started using fresh ones and roasting.
A whole new taste sensation!

The first week or two you lose the most because you're losing all the excess water weight, as well. After those weeks, losses tend to diminish but more of the weight lost will actually be fat!
Low carb is GREAT at reducing inflammation, which shows on the scale as water weight. After the first couple weeks, you just don't have as much inflammation anymore (healthier!)
You are doing GREAT! and the plan calculates a restricted in every day.

Snow day here. Had lots of energy to go out and play with the kids in the snow. So much more fun than watching from the window. Yippee!

Great day, weighed in and down 3.00lbs (week 11 (IP). I am thrilled. I leave on my vacation to Dreams Villamagna this coming Monday, so my coach and I discussed ways to enjoy my holiday that don't revolve around food. I plan to make responsible choices and indulge responsibly for me. I watched the "Biggest Loser" last night and was inspired, some of those folk have lost 70-110 lbs in 13 weeks, mind you they have left their families, exercise continually and have a chef preparing meals. I still am inspired and proud of anyone that makes that decision to go for it and change, and lose the weight. Very Cold up here in Manitoba, Canada today.

Forgot to tell you all, that when I weighed in today, my coach said that the UNRESTRICTED garlic and herb chips that have been backordered forever...are coming back in February!

Wow! That's awesome!

Hello:
I just calculated my BMI when I started it was at 45%, right now at 210, (OH YES I JUST HIT 210) it is 37.2 I'm still obese, so if I calculated right I have to get down to 140 to have a 24.8 BMI....
I don't know but we will see what the goal will be...I have lost 43 pounds and I'm thrilled. I just started training to run a 10k in May and watch out.....
Take care and have a great week...

I have a girls night out tomorrow night going to 50 shades of grey parody...I'm going to stick to drinking water and take a snack with me and having a chicken salad for dinner.

Good job everyone and what a great life we can have by using IP...

so for example I stepped on the scale today, about 2 days after my normal weigh in just to check, and I was up about a lb, that even if its a slow loss, maybe .5 lbs, that its fat and thats still good? I'm sad I went up a whole pound though.

Finale i think the calculator is a good estimator. If you're really worried about your goal, maybe consult your gyno (mine has been very influential) or your general MD. Or even your coach. I don't have an amazing relationship with my coach, so that's why I haven't consulted her. She actually didn't even ask me about my goal...just sells the products! I set my goal based off this calculator but I also don't remember being below 190 in my life so I may stop before I get to 160!

Goal reflections
 

A few thoughts about this: I did consult with my Family Practitioner and he felt that my goal of 160 was reasonable - on the border of not being the best BMI but certainly acceptable given my previous weight and current age.
Your are 3 inches taller than me so I cannot see why that mean you would have to go even lower.

Secondly, I get your point about not having been below a certain level in your life and knowing that was probably an OK weight for you. I understand that one, too. I have not been below 165 in my adult life so anything approaching that will probably be fine.

Last, I think when we and our bodies get anywhere near those weights, we and our bodies will give us indications of how it feels and we can judge from there. If I get to 160 and my rear end still bugs me and I have boundless energy, I might go for another 10 or so. I can wait until I get closet to my goal before I worry about that!

Weight fluctuates quite a bit, which is why weekly WIs are recommended.

Amylew I haven't tried roasting yet but want to. Love sautéed! Love it. Fun with veggies should be our motto on IP :)

I know the feeling ems. Wine/a drink w/friends is possibly the thing I miss the very most. Good day or bad day. I am looking forward to (moderately) adding that back.

More love for cabbage and cooking...woot woot! Totally agree dak1lls :D

Me too drd. Today I changed mine - lowered it. Still not "sure" but unlike most of you, while I weigh less than I remember weighing as an adult, my size hasn't really followed. I have a belly :( and not a defined waist...waist and hips are generally close in size even when I'm normal weight. I've picked 155 and for my height, I think that will be "just" in normal bmi. 155 is a really low weight for me though - I'm worried about maintaining it. Will see :)

I had my week 22.5 weigh in today and lost 2.6 lbs. It's a 1.5 week number -- I'm very happy with it especially since I was traveling, had a cold, and an extended tom visiting. Woo Hoo. 150s crazy!

Happy almost Thursday! IP POWER to you!

Hi, all! Second snow day in a row...looking forward to getting back into the classroom tomorrow, even with a two-hour delay. As stressful as it can be, and has been this year, those kids and I need a routine. And I DEFINITELY don't want to add days to the end of the year!

Best of luck to all who are pondering and adjusting goals! The advice of a medical professional is definitely something to consider.

Okay, so I am hearing all about roasted cabbage and cannot wait to try it! Please share your specifics on doing this. Do you quarter the cabbage or separate the leaves entirely? What temp and how long? Thanks! Roasted broc and cauli are two of my favs, so I can't wait to taste the cabbage!

Thanks!

Renee