Friends, I have been on IP since december 18th. I really like a lot of aspects of the diet, but am consistently falling off the wagon, around 1 or 2 weeks in. The binges are worse than ever - it feels like my body wants to make up for all of the carbs it's been deprived of over the days that preceded it. I am wondering - has anyone else had this kind of dynamic? I want to stay on the plan - I find day 4 the hardest, that's usually when the IP headache kicks in, and I feel my body wanting to thwart all my efforts so badly on this day. If I can make it over the hump I'm usually doing pretty good. But so far I haven't been able to more than once or twice.
I don't have much weight left to lose at all. Maybe 5 lbs total.
Can someone tell me if the crazy-carb binges are something they have experienced, and, if so, any tips for how to overcome this challenge? Thanks in advance for any help & support you can provide!
IP is definitely worth sticking to, but it really is not a diet with wiggle room, so cheating almost always puts you back to square one!
Also with such a very little amount to lose, you seriously may want to re-evaluate if IP is the right way to go for you. Most people who get within 10 or so pounds find losses slow down quite a lot anyway... Though for most of them, they are well into a long stretch if IP and far into ketosis, so sticking it out is a bit easier.
Maybe you don't have to go this utterly low carb and would be able to drop those 5 lbs with a calorie limit and low carb with a little more flex than IP... Just a thought!
Friends, I have been on IP since december 18th. I really like a lot of aspects of the diet, but am consistently falling off the wagon, around 1 or 2 weeks in. The binges are worse than ever - it feels like my body wants to make up for all of the carbs it's been deprived of over the days that preceded it. I am wondering - has anyone else had this kind of dynamic? I want to stay on the plan - I find day 4 the hardest, that's usually when the IP headache kicks in, and I feel my body wanting to thwart all my efforts so badly on this day. If I can make it over the hump I'm usually doing pretty good. But so far I haven't been able to more than once or twice.
I don't have much weight left to lose at all. Maybe 5 lbs total.
Can someone tell me if the crazy-carb binges are something they have experienced, and, if so, any tips for how to overcome this challenge? Thanks in advance for any help & support you can provide!
I found Brain Over Binge by Kathryn Hansen helpful in explaining this phenomenon and also in describing a method to overcome it. I noticed the tendency to binge after I finished IP and then tried to shed some holiday weight. Restrictive diets like IP seem to make some of us more vulnerable to binge-eating.
Friends, I have been on IP since december 18th. I really like a lot of aspects of the diet, but am consistently falling off the wagon, around 1 or 2 weeks in. The binges are worse than ever - it feels like my body wants to make up for all of the carbs it's been deprived of over the days that preceded it. I am wondering - has anyone else had this kind of dynamic? I want to stay on the plan - I find day 4 the hardest, that's usually when the IP headache kicks in, and I feel my body wanting to thwart all my efforts so badly on this day. If I can make it over the hump I'm usually doing pretty good. But so far I haven't been able to more than once or twice.
I don't have much weight left to lose at all. Maybe 5 lbs total.
Can someone tell me if the crazy-carb binges are something they have experienced, and, if so, any tips for how to overcome this challenge? Thanks in advance for any help & support you can provide!
Friends, I have been on IP since december 18th. I really like a lot of aspects of the diet, but am consistently falling off the wagon, around 1 or 2 weeks in. The binges are worse than ever - it feels like my body wants to make up for all of the carbs it's been deprived of over the days that preceded it. I am wondering - has anyone else had this kind of dynamic? I want to stay on the plan - I find day 4 the hardest, that's usually when the IP headache kicks in, and I feel my body wanting to thwart all my efforts so badly on this day. If I can make it over the hump I'm usually doing pretty good. But so far I haven't been able to more than once or twice.
I don't have much weight left to lose at all. Maybe 5 lbs total.
Can someone tell me if the crazy-carb binges are something they have experienced, and, if so, any tips for how to overcome this challenge? Thanks in advance for any help & support you can provide!
Also, have daily mini victory points.. I have a scheduled weigh in @ the same time every day. And yesterday, the girls and I had gone out for shopping and here I am surrounded by all kinds of fried snacks, cakes, pastries and I was walking the aisles... thinking about how good they will taste.. and I almost picked a couple.. but then sanity prevailed when I looked at why I am doing IP...and the victory was when I weighed in @ the regular time this morning,I had a 2lb drop.. which is such a motivating factor...
I did some reading yesterday on the low carb thing. I wonder if anyone here thinks much about what its doing to your kidneys. I think they said that no long term studies had been done on it but no one really knows but there is a concern about it.
But what they do know is that low carb replaced with high protein and fats seem to put special stress on the kidneys.
Now i don't know if once you get over the 2 week loop your kidneys will be ok but repeatedly doing the 2 week thing as the OP is doing could be a concern.
Why don't you consider doing the SBD instead or a diet which starts off by forbidding or keeping low the foods you binge on and high in protein.
personally, i find quitting sweets while eating all the other good things is enough to squash my binge desires but not if i'm starving hungry and not if i'm depressed still when i try to start. I need to have my mood in a fairly positive place to start a diet. And its a key factor in keeping myself on track. I am prone to binges.
I have a vague recall that i read about the carb binge thing on the insulin article i read the other day. I can't remember for sure but if you read this one and the one on seratonin and leptin, you might find some other clues as to your difficulties.
Also I was wondering about these headaches as a few people have mentioned them. I wonder if the diet causes people's electrolytes to get out of whack and or if you could be getting dehydrated as a consequence. Dehydration causes headaches.
I did some reading yesterday on the low carb thing. I wonder if anyone here thinks much about what its doing to your kidneys. I think they said that no long term studies had been done on it but no one really knows but there is a concern about it.
But what they do know is that low carb replaced with high protein and fats seem to put special stress on the kidneys.
Since IP is not high fat nor is it high protein, why would you even bring this up?
Because its low carb and if its low carb, that makes it high protein isn't it? Or am i wrong about the low carb thing.
the IP way is low carb but it is also low fat. We maintain 12-15 grams of protein and ensure our cal intake and fat intake do not exceed the protocol. The SBD and Atkins are HIGH protein and HIGH fats which makes those diets restricted in the length of phases. This diet does not as when you are in the 1st phase you are on this to 100% of weight is lost to goal, then you eventually move through the phases till you are maintaining.
There is alot of info on this site that pertains to the protocol and plenty of novice folks who have lived this diet and succeeded with it.
Now regarding the headaches... what i have done is taken a pinch of salt and ate it or just suck on it till it is gone. You are suppose to get 1/4 tsp of salt in your diet daily. Keep pushing yourself through those cravings.. eventually those will go away.
Friends, I have been on IP since december 18th. I really like a lot of aspects of the diet, but am consistently falling off the wagon, around 1 or 2 weeks in. The binges are worse than ever - it feels like my body wants to make up for all of the carbs it's been deprived of over the days that preceded it. I am wondering - has anyone else had this kind of dynamic? I want to stay on the plan - I find day 4 the hardest, that's usually when the IP headache kicks in, and I feel my body wanting to thwart all my efforts so badly on this day. If I can make it over the hump I'm usually doing pretty good. But so far I haven't been able to more than once or twice.
I don't have much weight left to lose at all. Maybe 5 lbs total.
Can someone tell me if the crazy-carb binges are something they have experienced, and, if so, any tips for how to overcome this challenge? Thanks in advance for any help & support you can provide!
I found this book extremely helpful: Brain Over Binge by Kathryn Hansen. It's been recommended over & over on 3FC. Also Beck Diet Solution. Both of them have effective methods to help understand and get control of cravings and urges to binge. It gets easier!
I noticed a tendency to binge that began AFTER IP (as opposed to my baseline compulsive overeating). Hansen has a great explanation of this phenomenon. Did I read correctly that you just have 5 lbs to lose? That last little bit seems to be the most difficult, as if our body has to search really hard to find the fat to burn when there isn't much left. Hang in there!
As for your kidneys, I don't have answers but will add this info from urologists, who teach patients how to help prevent kidney stone from recurring:
1. drinking water without going overboard is essential [and for some reason helps weight loss too. It's a twofer]! passing at least 2 liters/day of urine is optimal [but who measures]? 2) divide your animal protein into small portions through out the day rather than one big meal--sorry I don't know the specific amounts. 3) don't overdo the sodium. This is obviously geared to people NOT on IP. On IP, adding salt is apparently necessary to avoid a state of deficiency. I personally use this advice to stay away from Cheetohs, lol).
the IP way is low carb but it is also low fat. We maintain 12-15 grams of protein and ensure our cal intake and fat intake do not exceed the protocol. The SBD and Atkins are HIGH protein and HIGH fats which makes those diets restricted in the length of phases. This diet does not as when you are in the 1st phase you are on this to 100% of weight is lost to goal, then you eventually move through the phases till you are maintaining.
There is alot of info on this site that pertains to the protocol and plenty of novice folks who have lived this diet and succeeded with it.
Thanks danilynn! Very good explanation! People who aren't on IP and don't know the basic principals often write it off as an Atkins or SBD type program without understanding the difference. They hear "low carb" and just make assumptions as to what IP is.
People who aren't on IP and don't know the basic principals often write it off as an Atkins or SBD type program without understanding the difference. They hear "low carb" and just make assumptions as to what IP is.
You are right about that Ruth Ann... the IP diet is different than Atkins or the SBD. I did the Curves diet program (which is much like Atkins) about 5 years ago, and while I did lose weight while I was on it, I didn't feel very "healthy". I feel so much healthier on IP, and I'm losing weight just as well. That's a win-win in my book!
Stephyank - why do you feel you must follow the IP diet. You have only 4-5 lbs to lose so you should be focused on how you're going to live the rest of your life and maintain your weight. Regardless of what you have been told to believe calories dictate fat loss or gain. Figuring out a way you can restrict calories without kicking in your binge mentality is something you'll need to work on because it's a life time ahead,
Help!
That's a win-win in my book! 
