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

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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

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Progress photos
Mini-Goal Photo Album.

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

Yesterday was a really good day, satiation-wise. I'm wondering if others have had the same experience with starting their day using 1 whole hard boiled egg and 2 hard boiled egg whites? I cannot tell you the difference I felt between that and having a Syntrax drink (not shake).

I'm experimenting this weekend with breakfast choices - today I did the ProtiDiet Maple Brown Sugar with a 1/2 cup boiling water and ate it with a fork - took longer, but I'd have swallowed it in three scoops of a spoon!

Anyone else trying to figure out what foods work best for the am? Any suggestions as to what you have found keeps you going until lunch?

I never monkeyed around with breakfasts, though I do know what you mean about them not feeling like enough many days. I have hot tea or coffee to get me through to lunch -- that and keeping very busy. Good luck with your experimentations and finding what works best for you.

I had a NSV, of sorts, yesterday. About 1:30pm, my precious, sweet little dog started having a seizure. I had never seen anything like that before. I ran out of the house with him -- later realizing that I left the front door wide open -- and rushed him to the vet. I thought he was dying. (Hours and many $$$ later, it seems as if he will be fine. No systemic reason for it, from what they can see. It may be epilepsy or it may have been a one-off, time will tell.) Anyway, when we got back home with him, my son tore into the graham crackers. Being a 13 y/o boy, I couldn't tell whether he was hungry or eating out of emotion. With his current metabolism, it doesn't much matter. I had the same urge -- stuff my face with carbs -- and that is the first time since starting IP that I had that sensation. I didn't. Instead, I went and made myself a huge mug of screaming hot (takes longer to drink that way) coffee with every "fake" addition I had in the house -- sweetener, a bit from my evening shake (for a creamer), sugarless syrup, WF chocolate sauce -- I made the thing into a real, but legal, treat . . . and it satisfied me. Not one extra calorie was taken in. This is a huge lifestyle change for me -- in the past, this would have warranted an entire bag of chips.

I am down 1.4lbs this Am !!!!!!! this is the first significant downward movement in weeks!!!

i have gotten through the first 3 days and only had one headache last night. it still seems daunting though....i am trying to focus on "this is for me"

I found hot foods worked better for me in the morning than cold for some reason. I heated up pudding mixes and added coffee a lot of mornings - came out very creamy and filling. I'd also add a hard boiled egg white mid-morning if I felt I really needed it.

I really hope your dog is okay - that's scary! And good for you for not giving into emotional eating - that's a huge victory! Being able to identify why you want to eat is huge.

I have this mental picture that I sometimes pull out when things are really hard. Not long before starting IP my father died and the next year was very hard on me - I missed him a lot (still do). There were plenty of other major stressors going on in my life at the time. During one of my "blue" moods I remember sitting in the living room eating a huge bowl of ice cream and about half way through I just broke down crying. But I kept eating the ice cream. I look back now and have great sympathy for that woman who was so overwhelmed that she turned to comfort eating and when that didn't work, she kept eating anyway. I never want to go back to those habits again. I have found exercise, cleaning, etc. are much better ways to overcome my stress, sad times, mad times, etc. than trying to eat my feelings (which, by the way, never worked but I'm nothing if not stubborn!).

Do you have migraines? Or is this a new "ache"? Just wondering, as I have a hard time differentiating between one of my "normal" migraines and a hunger headache sometimes, though I prefer the hunger headaches LOL!

I sometimes will do what my coach referred to as a "hot shot" which was a small glass of water with IP salt. It definitely helped if it was a hunger migraine.

IP43 it has great your coach will let you start back at no fee. I think most of us found our way here because we need the accountability and support. I highly recommend it using a coach if he or she is a good one. At my center it is a $350 start up fee and $20 a week for coaching and then of course the packet costs. Not cheap but then neither is the cost of medical care if we get sick from poor diet related ailments. Good luck. Thanks for sharing.

Yikes - $20 a week for coaching? I paid the start up fee (which I think was about $300) and then for packets of course, but the start up fee included coaching forever. Funny how different clinics charge differently - I figured the clinic is making the money on the packets.

Then again, if you have a really good coach it is truly worth the money!

The B to L stretch was the worst for me. However,once I began exercising daily (at about the third month mark) I delayed eating/ drinking a shake until after that. That arrangement of the AM actually worked BETTER for me.

Hot coffe or tea first thing was enough...and I was not hungry immediately after exercise. What I needed then was water.. (And could get 32 ounces down before that IP shake. Drink 16+ oz in the car on the way home from the gym) Wanted my shower next, and THEN relaxed and enjoyed my morning IP shake. By then some respectable time had been used up and the shorter span til the lunch time salad was VERY managable . We eat dinner late. Close to 7 or later most nights so it allowed me to shift my entire eating pattern to times and stretches that worked much better with our life. I ate Protein meals every 4 hrs. Had snack about two or two and a half hrs after dinner and about an hour to an hour and a half before bed. If dinner was going to be terribly late on occasion...I'd do snack before dinner and the dinner meal was last. That usually happened if we had plans that included dinner out.

It's best if snack is last in the day..but in reality that does NOT always work for everyone.. day in and day out. But planning is key if you start mixing it up...so think about what you are doing and try to stick to the IP protocol as close as possible. Your body needs protein overnight to refuel properly and keep insulin levels from spiking beyond what can be burned as glycogen and not just turn to fat. Snack in the AM may be overload ...and later in the day you can get pretty hungry too which could make it hard to tough it out.

Being a little hungry and learning to cope is an important skill....and one normal weight people cope with very well..every day. It comes with the territory.

First, I hope your dog is better. We have an aged beloved puppy who has taken us through some moments and I can appreciate what you have likely been through.

Second - congratulations! That is a HUGE accomplishment. That feeling of wanting to tear into something baaaaad when stressed is hard to shake. I love your description of adding every legal thing you could find! It seems that you have done well learning to manage emotions and that is a real challenge for all of us.

My favorite IP "indulgence" breakfast, which I usually make on Sundays when I'm lazing about, is the crispy cereal pancakes recipe (made w/ lemon extract instead of vanilla...I think there is a nonrestricted alternative pancake out there) & WF blueberry syrup, one or two scrambled eggs if I'm really hungry, turnip hashbrowns and coffee. It's a lot of food and holds me over until late afternoon. Works for me since I tend to get up closer to lunch time on weekends, so I can fit in my veggies and just have a lower carb IP drink for my snack in the afternoon and ~4 oz protein left for dinner.

Weekdays I have a harder time varying it up just because of time constraints but I usually switch between the wildberry drink, a chocolate drink with a cup of spinach blended in (especially for days I know veggie intake will be challenging), and the apple cinnamon soy puffs (I use my 1 oz coffee milk allowance to eat this like cereal). These all hold me over until noon pretty well during the week. Not sure what the alternative equivalents are for those but maybe it'll give you some ideas!

Great news!!!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh this morning! Hooray. I have finally passed into the 180's after struggling for a long time in the 190's.

I am four pounds away from leaving the BMI level for "obese" and moving into mere "overweight". To be under 30% BMI will be very exciting for me as I started high over 50%.

Now I see my signature on here and see 29 pounds to goal and I realize that I am getting closer and closer to being just a normal weight and looking like everyone around who doesn't get pitying or scornful looks in public.

To remember those looks and being treated as if I was stupid ('cause all fat people are stupid, right?) is painful but a valuable reminder of where I do not ever want to go again. Powerful motivation to keep going.....I have more shopping in my closet to go...

Hope everyone has a great weekend. My challenge for the weekend is going to a baseball game today and tomorrow. Not so much the food at the ballpark but having a cold beer. Oh well, I'll just have lots of ice water. Luckily we can take food and drinks with us, so I can bring lots of water, IP product and zucchini chips for a meal while there. I can do this! Go Rangers (even though they are playing terrible right now).