I think it will just take time for us to see. I will transmit every bit of knowledge I get from every Butt video or book I get. Everyone else will share, too.

Toomanycats..it is never too late. Just be safe.

I have to admit, this extraovulation talk has made me a wee bit nervous.

hormones
 

SO, we know what this diet does to females - you guys out there, any side effects?:spin:

hi there,

i had got busy over the weekend and had forgotten to post the alternative plan until i read the post above..

the title on the top of the handout reads as follows:

ALTERNATIVE PLAN - PHASE 1 - TO BE FOLLOWED UNTIL 90% OF YOUR WIEGHT GOAL IS ACHIEVED.

breakfast

1 IP packet
plus one group choice ( will list groups below)
plus coffee/tea with 1 oz skim milk
sweetener allowed

lunch

1 IP packet
plus 1 group choice
plus
2 cups select veggies and unlimited lettuce

dinner

7 oz fish or 5 oz meat from select choice
plus 1 group choice
plus 2 cups select veggies

snack

1 IP packet

Compulsory

64 oz water

1-2 teaspoon olive or grape seed oil

regular IP supplements

IMPORTANT: only one choice from each GROUP is permitted per day. ALL THREE GROUPS MUST be consumed per day.

GROUP 1

2 slices toast ( whole grain, pumpernickel, rye, multigrain,sourdough, stone ground whole wheat, oat bran, sprouted grain)
150 grams whole wheat pasta
150 grams brown rice ( not instant)
1 sweet potato, or small boiled potato
60 grams oatmeal ( non instant)
150 gram - 200 grams couscous
50 grams unsweetened cereal (bran, oat, whole grain or barley)
150 grams cooked legumes (chick peas, lentils, green peas, kidney beans)
150 gram corn


Group 2

fresh fruit ( example: 1 grapefruit, 1 apple, 2 kiwis, 150 g pineapple, 1 banana,200 g strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries.
fruit is allowed, but optional, and must not be replaced with another food group.

group 3

1 sugar free yogurt
1 - 60 oz glass milk (2% M.F or less)
30 gram cheese (about 20% M.F)
120 g cottage cheese
60 g feta cheese


Meat, veggie, seasoning choices are the same as regular phase 1.

My coach told me that the IP people told her that some people prefer to go on this diet right from the beginning, as there is not as many restrictions. she also said something about some people with medical reasons, having to go on this diet as well. ( eg, people suffering from diabetes).

this info was given to me, once i said i was seriously considering moving to the WW food regimen, as i was getting very tired, frustrated, and having anxiety about reintroducing food back into my diet. i was struggling with issues about not being able to have an apple, orange etc, and was starting to question what was going to happen once i did start eating healthy foods again. i also explained that my energy levels seem low, suffer from more headaches than ever before ( never had headaches really) and also seem moodier. (comes from my hubby! lol). so i was starting to question things a bit.

as i mentioned in earlier post, i have taken the info, but have not started it yet. may choose to though. she said people do lose weight on ths as well, and really in my opinion, it is still very lo cal, you still take 3 packets per day, and it is still quite restricted, with just a few more options. but i kinda think that when you have some normal foods in there, and still lose weight slowly ( i am losing slower now anyways as i get closer to goal) it seems a little more realistic that you will not gain it back right away. whereas i was thinking that drinking a glass milk, or eating apple before would be harmful.

so i am really considering this phase.

I was asked several times to post the alternative phase, and am not trying to suggest to anyone that this is the better diet. just putting the info out there to those who requested.

have a great holiday season everyone!!

RE: Alternative diet. I am the poster who has 4 middle-aged siblings plus several nieces and nephews that are also on IP.

One of my sisters is a diabetic and has been on the IP alternative plan since she started in Sept. 09 and has lost 38 pounds. She did "plateau" at 30 pounds and was stuck there for 2 or 3 weeks.

In case you are reading about my family's success on IP for the first time here is a rundown:

Younger brother: 90 pounds since April 09
His wife: 50 pounds since April 09
They have now been in maintenance for 6 months without a wt. gain.

Older brother: 35 pounds since Sept. 09
His son and daughter-in-law are also losing (I have seen their pics on Facebook) but I don't have their numbers.

Older sister: 38 pounds since Sept 09 on alternative plan
her daughter (age 30): 45 pounds since Sept. 09

Younger sister: 30 pounds since Sept. 09 (she's close to goal)

Myself (middle sister): I have lost 25 pounds since Oct.14. I am "stuck" there because of "holiday slips" for the past 3 weeks (which are really minor compared to the way I used to eat during the holidays LOL.

Hope this gives you the confirmation that you need: this diet works and works fast!

I have been on the regular phase 1 of the diet since end of sept and have now lost 47 lbs... and that is with occasional slip ups!! i am now considering moving to the alternative phase 1 to reintroduce a few more options in normal foods.

Lilita - you mention your sister has been on the alternative phase since oct and lost 38 lbs? that is awesome weight loss. good to hear. i have looked at that alternative phase lots since my coach gave it to me last week and cant see why one would not lose weight as you are stll eating very healthy food choices, in very limited and restricted amounts. my hope is that i would have a bit more energy to exercise, therefore make up for the little bit extra cal intake.

sounds like you and your family are all doing very well!

Well, Guys, this is probably my last post until next Monday. Tomorrow my son and I are off to Grandma's house(his). He's taking his laptop, but I sincerely doubt we'll find wifi for most of the time we'll be there. Have a great Holiday, and congrats in advance to you all for keeping a rein on it! Here's to strength and wonderful new lives in the new year!

someone was asking about headaches a couple pages back (sorry can't remember who). if you look back in previous monthly chats, you'll find that lots of us experienced the same thing. apparently it has to do with the sea salt - it's important to use your sea salt everyday. there are a variety of "fixes" all the way from putting a bit in your hand and having a lick to putting some in your water and drinking it down. If you experience headaches later in the diet, it can be a sign of dehydration, increase your water intake.

I checked one of my initial handout pages to see what was said about fatigue - as lots of us have experienced that side effect too. I'm going to pick some of the sentences off the handout - hope it clarifies.

there are three primary reasons why a dieter may experience fatigue on the Ideal Protein Protocol: low blood pressure (hypo tension), low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and an imbalance in blood electrolytes (magnesium, sodium and potassium). All of these issues can be quickly corrected.

Low Blood Pressure: when we lower the insulin level, the kidneys now function normally and much excess sodium and water are rapidly eliminated. this can cause a drop in blood pressure and a feeling of fatigue can result. this is particularly pronounced if the dieter is taking a prescription diuretic (water pill). Should you experience this, make sure to use the sea-salt liberally and increase the amount of water taken daily.

Low Blood Sugar: in the beginning, when we reduce the amounts of carbs we consume, our body's first source of energy is suddenly decreased. consequently if our blood sugar suddenly becomes lower than what our system is used to, we feel tired. so it says in the first week only, you can consume up to 5 packets of the product. After the first week if one feels fatigued, it is usually because they are consuming too many carbs...prompting an insulin spike which will then cause "reactive hypoglycemia" (low blood sugar). says to review your food diary with your coach.
Electrolyte Imbalance: two most common problems here are low sodium and low potassium If the first two issues have been addressed and fatigue still persists, the dieter should increase their potassium to 2 tablets per day for a couple of days and again, use the sea-salt liberally.

i guess our salt, water and potassium levels are really important.

Mom 22: thanks for the info, I often forget my salt so I will have to be better at it.
Sandrab: thanks for the info re the alternative plan. Is there a phase 2 and phase 3 for the alernative plan?

Meany Lilita, we just received 1 1/2 feet of snow in one day. UGH. I need to move to a warm state again. :(

Sherry, my lowest weight was back in 93 when I hit a major depression, lost all kinds of weight in a month because I couldn't eat, literally. If I ate I threw up...not purposely. I weighed 119 when friends and family said that they would send me to the hospital if I didn't start eating. Well, the depression passed and I started eating again slowly, was able to enter a bikini contest at !23 lbs and was in a friend's wedding at the same weight. Everyone said how good I looked being so thin. So of course I want to get there again, but am not allowed because it is "too thin" for my build/height. Self image is a tough one. Pehaps start by being proud of who you are, with or without weight that doesn't change, you ARE a WONDERFUL person! Are you doing this diet for yourself, or so you get compliements from others that you've lost weight? Although compliements are nice, REALLY NICE, you should be in this for yourself!! And remember, you are a wonderful person....no matter what your weight, it doesn't change who you are on the inside, that person will always be there!!!

Okay, now I'm going to be humming "All I want for Christmas is a full course meal, a full course meail..." for the rest of the day. Thanks Mom22! ;)

You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :carrot:

Sandrab, thanks for posting that alternative plan.

Everyone, I posted it under the Phases area for easy reference.

Well, I cheated bad on for my birthday dinner with my family. I went to On the Border and had a shrimp (yay, on the diet) chimichanga (boo, not on the diet), and followed it with a couple of spoonfuls of this delicious hot brownie with vanilla ice cream. I can say I don't regret it a bit. After all, this was for my birthday. And, I am proud to say that I was able to skip the rice, and although I had some beans I didn't eat all of them, and couldnt' eat all of the chimi. So, although I cheated, I didn't cheat as bad as I could have.

As for Xmas (holiday) food everyone. This year my family isn't doing the traditional xmas dinner because of the number of families involved and the distance everyone just doesn't want to drive. My main dinner is seafood on Xmas eve. I may, MAY, bake my FF to be healthier like Lilita mentioned (I think it was Lilita, sorry if it wasn't) just to follow the plan a little closer. Anyway, the point of this was going to be that if y'all would like lower-carb recipes for some of your normal dinner foods just let me know, y'all know I love finding new recipes. I do have some thanksgiving low-carb recipes posted amongst the recipes in there somewhere for stuffing, gravy and bourbon sweek potatoes....all recipes rock btw. If you can't follow the diet, don't beat yourselves up, remember, food comes with this time of year. Be proud of yourself, and notice that you still are making healtier choices than you did before (ie. less dessert, if any). And that we can start right back on Phase 1 like we are supposed to the morning after!!!!

Body Image
 

I've been reading the posts about body image and thought I'd share my experience. Almost 7 years ago I lost about 155 pounds, going from a size 24W to a size 4/6. It took about a year for my mind to catch up to my new body. Every time I'd go shopping I'd instintively head for the plus sizes. I'd start going through the racks, only to have it dawn on me that I was in the wrong department. I'm sure the sales people thought I'd lost my mind! Also, people would often describe me as "tiny", because of my smallish bone structure, which sounded so bizarre to me. I eventually got used to it, for the most part. I must say it is a great feeling to not be the largest person in the room! My point is, give it time. You will eventually start to see what others see.

I am using the IP plan to lose 20 pounds that I've gained back in recent years. I never want to go back from where I came. My loss is slow, but I am told it's because I don't have much to lose. So I'll just keep plugging away and hope for the results that I desire.

I've only lost 6.5 pounds in two weeks, which was frustrating me. But I've also lost a total of 10 inches. That seems like a lot! Of course, it's 1" here and 1/2" here... But I'll take it!

LuveMyMarine, congrats on your weight loss and image boost!! You aren't losing slow, you are actually still losing the average 3 - 3/5 pound per week, which is incredible!! Hang in there.

Denise, you can find my pics on page 18 from December chat. Can't wait to see yours! In my mind, I don't look that different from before but this dress helps a lot to realise how much I lost! (the "goal" dress I was thinking about when I was baking my meatpies...) As said early by Luvmymarine, now time is all we need to modify our perception of ourselves! Also had problems recently with ordering checks... guess it is a common problem!

Gained back some water in the last few days; scale shows +3 pounds but my clothes seem looser... Also, I started training last week. Only 30 min. cardiovascular for now but weights to come soon!

To those of you on the east coast, please drive safely! 2 weeks ago we had some 25cm of snow up here in Montreal but that is only about half of what fell in DC! :hug:

so frustrated. had my weigh in today (one day early). I only lost 1.6 lbs, same as last week. Not constipated, no period, didn't cheat at all, no restricted packs, nothing. sorry, venting a bit but I plan on this next week being not great for weight loss and was hoping to do better last week.

Everyone is doing so great! I have to admit that I had a about decided to take two weeks off the diet so I could relax and enjoy Christmas, but I did for two day for a birthday party and a family dinner and got deathly ill afterward. that should give me incentive to be a lot more careful! My weight loss has really slowed down to maybe 1/2 to 1 lb a week and I'm afraid I'm loosing my enthusiasm. Any words of advise? I have lost 30 lbs since mid October but would really like to lose another 20 or so and I need some new motivation.

valleygirl - I would usually tell you to drink more water, maybe it's that time of your cycle, maybe you're constipated, cut out the restricted packs to get things going but I'm having the same struggles for the last couple of weeks too. It's sure hard when you are trying so hard and not even cheating. it's hard when others are losing big amounts. And the cost - don't get me started. anyway, I'm determined to hang in there - i've seen good results in the past and I don't want to give up when I've been working so diligently. I added up my stats and even though it's only 3.2 lbs in the last 2 weeks - overall, I've still lost 3lbs/week in the 8 weeks I've been on the diet. you're not alone in feeling discouraged - does that help at all??

ValleyGirl -
WOW, 30 lbs since October is about 15lbs/month! That is awesome. Many have written to say that their avg is ~ 3lbs/wk but yours is almost 4lbs! That is great! I hope this is incentive for you to keep going.
I'm jealous, it took me that long to lose 20 lbs. KEEP GOING!! :cp:

can't wait
 

In a previous post I said I was on hold until 2010 because of all the holiday baking I was doing....but I have to say I think my Martha Stewart days are almost over for the year :stir:....so I am looking forward to starting back on IP after Christmas, not New Year's. It will take me that week between the two to take off the lbs put on, but then I can 'pick up where I left off' :cheers:

New Here
 

Hello all, I am new to this forum but have been on IP since October 1. I have lost 29.4lbs :cb::cb:
I have been reading everyone's posts for a while now and decided I should post as well. I live in Billings, MT. I am thankfull for all of your wonderfull comments on this forum and am happy to be here.
Can anyone tell me how to get the counter at the bottom?

starting to snow here, icy tomorrow, and maybe 12" of snow by Friday. so....Christmas plans are on hold, not sure what the traveling forecast is. What will i do with all of this ham and the twiced baked potatoes I was planning on making for everyone else? h
someone posted about hot cocoa with soy or almond milk? Where does this fit on plan and can soy milk really taste good?
I agree with someone else that posted (sorry, I'm really bad with remembering who posted what), that said the sweets don't taste that good anymore. I still like the chips and crackers, but my cravings for chocolate aren't very strong. I also keep telling myself i don't really like them anymore or they don't taste good. Mind over matter.

Once you've been on the forum for 20 days and made some posts, an option to "Edit Signature" will come up in the User CP. It should take you through designing a tracker, and then you just copy and paste the link it gives you into your signature box.

I had a planned cheat on Saturday for a Christmas party. I had no carbs all day so I could eat a minimal amount of 'forbidden' foods and still be fairly okay - I did much better than I thought I might because I too was disappointed with the taste of much of the party food. I hope this is will last.

I almost went off the program for the week because I had a couple of frustrating slips and was thinking it is the holidays I can always get back on it again afterwards but I decided to stick with it with renewed ambition and am so glad I did. The amount of potential ground I will lose plus I know I would regret it after. I honestly feel better on IP. Yes, a lot of it is mental, but my body does feels better too. I am truly hoping to keep my new resolve over the next week!

Good luck everyone with whatever you decide to do and keep in mind tomorrow is always another day!

Don't give up, you are doing fantastic. Think of all you've gone through to get to this point. I know my weight loss had slowed for a couple of weeks and I was told to have another protein so I'm having pudding mid afternoon. Should know by my weigh in on January 2nd if it's helped or not. Doing this is such a short time in your life time to get to a healthier happier you. You are worth it.

So 8 weeks in and down 34.2 lbs. I've had 3 lower weeks and was advised to add another protein in because I was over the 200lbs. So trying that and we'll see how it goes. No weigh in now until Jan 2nd.
I do not plan to cheat once through Christmas. I've made it through a buffet Christmas party for my husband, numerous office pot lucks and still going strong.
Anyone finding it hard just remember you are worth this. It's only food. It's not going anywhere, and will always be there.
And nothing tastes as good as thin feels.
Keep up the good work everyone

That is very interesting info. I had noticed that during my periods I'm not getting the night sweats anymore. But I also notice that for about 2 weeks my weight loss drops off during that time. Gotta love those hormones

Congratulations to everyone on their weight loss and continued efforts.
I sometimes think of the song "she's not pretty she just looks that way" when I think of desserts etc. and remind myself that they look better than they taste!!!

I am now 3 pounds from my goal and should actually be on Phase II but had decided to stick with Phase I till after the holidays as I know I will have a few drinks (and only a few as I know that they are going to hit me fast after so long with no alcohol) and a few of the foods that I have not been having. I also wanted to give myself some leeway for the eventual few pounds that I thought I would gain back when I went off the diet. So Monday will be Phase II for one week and then Phase III for one week after that for me.

Some weeks have been frustrating but all in all it has been the best diet I have every tried and I think it will be a life style that I can stick to afterwards!!
Best of luck to everyone during the holidays whatever your eating plans are, Season's Greetings and All the Best in the New Year!!!!

Thank you to everyone for all their help, motivation and information!!! It has really made a difference for me while on this plan!!!!

[QUOTE=Pleased;3055790]I had a planned cheat on Saturday for a Christmas party. I had no carbs all day so I could eat a minimal amount of 'forbidden' foods and still be fairly okay - I did much better than I thought I might because I too was disappointed with the taste of much of the party food. I hope this is will last.
QUOTE]

Pleased, I too have been disappointed with the tastes of certain foods I remember being oh so good. The diet is working I guess!!??

I don't have anything super important to say, just came on so that I could FINALLY change my current weight. After a miserable week or two, it's finally moving in the right direction again. Still only about 8lbs since Nov. 30th, but I'll take it. It strengthens my resolve not to cheat over the holidays.

Maia, don't beat yourself up if you cheat. Some of us are going to try to follow the "alternative" Phase 1 Plan. I've posted it in the Phases area. It adds a bit more flexibility with some weight loss.

Like Maia, I've been losing at a snail's pace. Talk about frustrating! So, in honor of the situation, I chose a snail as my weight loss tracker. They say "slow and steady wins the race..."

I am struggling with clothing sizes. I went to the mall the other day and I am still in between sizes. I am swimming in my old clothes and scared to buy new ones. I am going to Mexico the middle of January and can't find summer clothes in Montana. AAARRRRGGGGG. I hope by the time I leave I will be past the in between.

Try your local thrift shop or Goodwill!!

I'm going to Mexico in March. I actually decided to pack really light and buy down there. There is walmart/sam's club in Cabo so I figured buy it and then donate it to less fortunate before coming back. Just a thought. :dancer:

For those of you that are have low weight loss weeks, I had a sluggish couple weeks too but even though I was frustrated and almost quit I continued and ended up with a larger than usually weight loss period that followed. So hang in there, you may be surprised with a sudden sizable drop. Sometimes it takes longer for our body to adjust than other times.

I just wanted to thank you all for your words of encouragement. It really helps to have the support I find here. You are right, I am worth it! I find it helpfull to know that there are so many floating around in the same leaky boat as me. Everyone have a great Christmas and may you all find peace and happiness over the holidays.

Thanks everyone for the idea's on clothing. I am going on this Leadership Retriet for my business I own and am staying in an all inclusive resort so I am not sure about shopping or how much I will get done but I will be looking at my local thrift stores to see what kind of cool maybe even retro duds I can find.

WHat sizes do you need? We use the same clinic & I am out of quite a few work clothes & could hand them on to you, if you could use them! Let me know!