Wow! What an explosion of posts since I was last on! That's really great to see! Forgive me for not quoting and referencing each comment to the right person, though I truly admire those of you who take the time to do that. So here's my hodgepodge:
I LOVE peanut butter too. The IP vanilla/peanut bar helps me with that craving. 2 T of peanuts is about 3.5 carbs I think, so better to sprinkle that over your dinner and satisfy the craving ~ In the past, I found that if I didn't, then I would end up eating other things that didn't satisfy and I would overeat.
Sweeteners~ I do not like artificial sweeteners either. And there are studies that show that they lead to obesity. I believe IP uses splenda b/c it is so far the safest option (until proven otherwise!) and Stevia, while lower glycemic, does have carbs depending on how it's processed. I will go back to using stevia and naturally sweet foods on maintenance.
Dressings~ basically a mix of oil and acid~ the french use a 3 to 1 ratio, but for IP I use 1t of olive oil, and 3t of either raw apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice, or fresh lime juice. I add a little water to make it go further. Other ingredients include salt and pepper, maybe fresh garlic or shallot, and dried herbs like mint & oregano or an italian seasoning blend. I use fresh herbs in my salads for more flavor~ cilantro, basil, mint ~ they help a lot! Sometimes I add a little dijon mustard~ a little goes a long way for flavor.
Lettuce~ someone mentioned that we eat lettuce for more than just hunger, but for the fiber. Yes! that is why it's so important. You will lose more if you eat a lot of it. Besides salads at lunch, I will often serve my dinner (whatever it may be) over a bed of lettuce.
Setting a goal weight~ please don't let yourself get stuck on a number. Look at your lowest weight in your adult life, post children. That's likely a good ballpark. And as you approach it, see how you feel in your new body. Let that be your guide. I read on here where someone lost a bunch then maintained a year and then decided to go back on and lose 10 more pounds. Sounds sensible!
Headaches~ the salt water has worked for me every time, however I have taken motrin for inflammation while doing IP and it hasn't affected my weight loss.
Which brings me to my understanding of headaches etc. Most of us regard unpleasant symptoms as proof of our bodies doing something wrong. But the body isn't designed to be sick or healthy, it is designed to survive. Everything it does is in response to survival. We make choices in our daily lives about what we eat & drink, how we rest, exercise, & breathe, and how we think. Our body responds physically to every choice we make in these areas. Now this might sound strange to some of you, but when I get a headache, I will do things to make it better (i..e. salt water, more water, rest, meds, etc) but first I close my eyes and say "thank you." Because I know that my body is responding perfectly. I trust it. I then try to figure out what made this headache necessary and check my recent choices in each of those six areas I mentioned.
And for those of you who have felt discouraged recently because of slow loss or even gain at the scale, understand that our thoughts truly create our reality. While it's wonderful to have a support community here online, we must also be mindful of our conscious mind and what we allow it to dwell on. When I lost a lot in my first week, my coach told me not to expect much loss the second week. I thought to myself, no thank you. I know that my thoughts create my reality. I had a big loss the second week too.
If you have a bad week, I would encourage you to look at that list I mentioned and check the choices you've been making. I know that if you take two people who both follow the diet exactly, and one is thinking positive thoughts all week and one is thinking negative ones, the one who is positive will have more weight loss than the negative thinker. So feed yourself positive thoughts. "I am thankful and grateful for my slender body." "I love my body which is getting sexier and thinner every day." "I fuel my beautiful body with healthy delicious food." (if anyone wants the science behind this, let me know and I will ramble more!)
Most of us think we are positive thinkers. Pay attention to your thoughts and how they FEEL. What I tell my kids is, "Be your own best cheerleader!" Talk to yourself with love, compassion, and encouragement.
Someone mentioned their coach is no longer coaching. If you just follow the plan as written, you will lose weight. I would encourage anyone in this situation to read everything on Dr. Tien's website, and spend some time reading these threads again and again.
Thank you for letting me ramble! I hope you all find something useful to glean~
peace
Hi Everyone....I have been off the forum since somewhere around the 6-8th of Jan. I went out of town that weekend...didn't take my packets, couldn't get anything low carb ( I was a guest) and completely blew my promise to myself that I wouln't cheat again for months!!! I've been really discouraged.
When I weighed in on the 6th, I stayed the same as the week before( 192), and then when I went on the 15th, I only lost 2.5 lbs. But since then, I'm back to 192 again ( at home). Anyway, it's not all horrible, I just don't want to continue a downward spiral, like I've done so often on diets. Thank God I'm catching up on the posts from all of you that inspire and encourage me so much! I don't know why I stayed away...guilty conscience? I don't know...but I'm back and already feel so much better. I know I can do this and I am not going to let a couple of weeks of bad choices make a difference.
I don't know if I've ever shared that my goal right now is my 40th high school reunion in April. So I've lost 21 lbs. But need to lose lots more before then.
Thanks again for being here!
OgDog13 & torchlaker- Thank you. I will look up some recipes!
PRINCASS- Thanks for the advice.. I just had the chicken soup and was not very fond of it at all... but I liked some other things.... Are you "allowed" to use any type of mustard?
Hello!
I didn't like the chicken soup very much when I started either! I like it much more now but it is because I doctor it with herbs and spices. I add salt, white pepper (you can use black but the white is more mild), paprika, garlic, poultry seasoning, and sage. (Kind of think what you would add to a sage turkey stuffing; it was my "inspiration"). I add all the spices to the water and mix and shake it well before cooking slowly of low to med low heat and I stir VERY frequently. I have found I can microwave it at 50 - 60 percent power for about 1 min 45 seconds without boiling over or burning. (the time might need to be adjusted for your microwave)
The actually measurements of the spices vary based on my mood and taste of course. In general I use:
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 + tsp of garlic... I usually use more because I like garlic alot
a dash of onion powder
1/4 tsp of sage I LOVE sage flavor... but you can use less. or leave it out
1/8 tsp of poultry seasoning
You could mix up the spices and use oregano, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, or basil instead of the sage. I like the poultry seasoning by Spice Hunters because it is sugar and salt free and is a well balanced spice blend.
I also use extra water because I don't like the thickness. Then I add veggies. I add anything that suits my mood. I.E. cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, mushroom (grilled or pan sauted), fennel, asparagus, zucchinni, sauted basil, sauted spinach, sauted celery, parsley, anything that you are allowed. I can't have any occasional foods until I have reached 90% of my weight loss per my coach so, I haven't tried adding any root veggies, tomatoes, or other items.
OgDog13 & torchlaker- Thank you. I will look up some recipes!
PRINCASS- Thanks for the advice.. I just had the chicken soup and was not very fond of it at all... but I liked some other things.... Are you "allowed" to use any type of mustard?
OH I forgot! For the mustard you might try to find Westbrae naturals mustard. It is a sugar free, salt free, gluten free mustard. Kind of a spicy brown style. If you like one of the other mustards you could make your own. OR, there are a few very good spices and mustards on this site! primosgourmetfood.com
You might try this recipe:
Almost French's Classic Yellow Mustard
4 TBSP dry ground mustard
1/4 cup water
3 TBSP white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon tumeric
pinch garlic powder
pinch paprika
Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat and whisk until smooth.
When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes stirring often.
Remove from pan from heat leave uncovered for 1 minute, then cover pan with lid until cool.
Chill and store in covered container.
Makes 1/4 cup. should keep about 1 month in a fridge.
NOTE: do not let any aluminum or teflon contact the mustard while making as it will go much more bitter than you would want. In fact, bitterness is created when metal comes in contact with mustard so use as little metal in the process, outside of the pan, as you can. keeping in glass or plastic is best for storage.
I do have other types of recipes: horseradish, spicy brown, chinese mustard, hot and spicy, dill mustard, ground mustard seed, and dijon style if those are of interest. They do not use any salt and they use splenda or stevia if they have a sweetner. The more sweetner the less "spicy hot" the mixture.
Last edited by showgirlaz; 01-19-2010 at 05:58 PM.
Reason: recipe option added
hi girls ,
im a bit on a down now , been back and motivated to be on the program to lose my last 20 pounds .
Just remembered how busy i get on the weekend , with parties, and diner with friends , that slow down the weigth lose .
this weekend i have my mum's 60th, do diner at the cottage ( I will be doing the diner , so i will be able to be ok for diner... and the next morning breakky at the restaurant )
the worst for me is the breaky at the restaurant ... what do i order : 2 eggs .. thats all ?
should i have a proteine before leaving?
hi girls ,
im a bit on a down now , been back and motivated to be on the program to lose my last 20 pounds .
Just remembered how busy i get on the weekend , with parties, and diner with friends , that slow down the weigth lose .
this weekend i have my mum's 60th, do diner at the cottage ( I will be doing the diner , so i will be able to be ok for diner... and the next morning breakky at the restaurant )
the worst for me is the breaky at the restaurant ... what do i order : 2 eggs .. thats all ?
should i have a proteine before leaving?
I LOVE Breakfast out!! YUM! Call ahead if you know the restaurant and ask if the kitchen can prepare steamed veggies without any added butter, they may be able to use olive oil or spray pam if you like sauteed veggies. Have them make you 2 eggs with 2 egg whites, scrambled or omelette style. They can put in any sauted or steamed veggies.. I use green or red bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, NO ONION unless steamed or raw, asparagus, get a side salad if you are there for brunch or get another side of steamed vegetables. I usually turns out very filling!
I have also gone to brunch buffets and they have had grilled veggies like zucchini, yellow summer squash, asparagus, grilled bell peppers, grilled mushrooms. Chilled cooked shrimp, smoked salmon, grilled chicken ( ask how they make and if the marinade includes ANY kind of sugar). ON that day I had the chilled seafood with grilled veggies.
Just remember, if you are still only allowed one meal a day and use it at breakfast to shift your breakfast and lunch, to lunch and dinner. I use breakfast as lunch and then make the IP eggs, salad and veggies for my dinner. It keeps me feeling full that way.
Good luck and don't worry to much. The restaurant will be very willing to help if you tell them you are coming in with a family event and you are following a medically managed program to take care of "food intolerances". they don't need to know all the details
Last edited by showgirlaz; 01-19-2010 at 05:57 PM.
Reason: got so excited I created typos!
Hello Everyone! I am working on my profile and reading old posts and recipes. Please forgive me if I am repeating what has already been said or offered; there is SOOO much great information on here to read!
I had my weigh in! YEAH!! I am exactly 8 weeks in. I have dropped 38.5 pounds on plan and 40.25 inches. I LOVE this program !! I have done similar programs in the past but nothing is like this. The quality of the packets of food is great! I love that I get a variety of bioavailable proteins and collagen in the packets to help my muscle quality and skin.
I am really looking forward to knowing everyone. I love to cook and have been finding and creating alot of phase one recipes. I am willing to share if anyone is interested!
I am looking forward to all the support and tips from those who have been doing this for awhile AND for all that enthusiastic energy any other newbies can share with me!
MONTANA IPers could you please share the name of your office with me, feel free to email it to me. I am concerned about my current office & may want to switch.
Also, what is a website online to purchase IP products if I go that route???
Hello everyone, I had a great time in Mexico but am glad to be home and back on IP. I did not make the best choices and had a little to much to drink while I was gone but holy cow did I have fun and I looked great doing it. I was so excited when I got home to find out that I earned my incentive trip through Scentsy to Hawaii in June not just for one but for two people. Yay!!!!I can't even imagine how I will look come June. I weighed in on Monday after two weeks and only gained three pounds. I don't think that is to bad at all.
for whomever is struggling with peanut butter i feel your pain. I am having a love affair with it. I have not had any since yesterday and am doing my best to stay away from the pantry cubbord. If I can get through a few days without it I will be ok. Great to see so many posts on here. Welcome all the new people
MeghanO don't stress you are doing great!!!
I got to see some of the new spring summer catalog for Scentsy while I was in Mexico and OMG they have some great new stuff coming out. I am telling you ladies from Canada (or anywhere else) if you want to start your own successfull business and be on the ground floor (since it is brand new to canada) contact me. This is such a great company and the compensation plan is amazing, not to mention the trips. Hawaii here I come!!!
Torchlaker -- My boyfriend LOVES Consumer Reports, and the most recent one had a review on the best bathroom scales. I believe the top ones were digital scales, and were actually not terribly expensive (we don't have the magazine anymore, but you can find it at any bookstore and probably grocery store, maybe even online). I know that cnet.com does product reviews as well. We have a digital scale that I bought for $25 dollars at Walmart. My boyfriend says that it's only a few tenths of a pound off of his general practitioner's scale. I'm going to check with our clinic's scale when we weigh in tomorrow. I do wish my scale was a few pounds above, it would make for a nice weigh-in tomorrow!!
Well my second week is over and I lost another 3.75 lbs! That's a total of 12.5 in 2 weeks .
This forum is great I really enjoy reading all the tips and recipes.
So I'm going to share a recipe Thai Curry Cauliflower
2 tsp olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
sprinkling of garlic&herb Mrs Dash
Red Thai Curry paste (to taste - I like mine spicy)
splash of low sodium soy sauce
~2cups cauliflower broken into really small pieces
Saute everything over medium heat for about 6 minutes
Enjoy!
Meghan, I hear you. I've been stuck since I came back on the 28th(a lot of it's my fault, though. I'll talk about that in another post).
This is something I'm reluctant to discuss here, because I don't think everyone should all go try it, or even really consider it since this plan seems to be working out for so many of us anyway. But those of us who have been on Atkins before, and have read his first (and maybe 2nd)book over and over, will remember his fat fast for breaking plateaus. Basically, what he advises is eating low carb, but using densely fat choices for protien. I'll go back and copy here the suggested menu, but it's REALLY fatty stuff for 2 days only.
He even sites a study where people ate the same amount of calories divided into 4 groups: protien only; carbs only; carbs and protien only; and protien and fat only. They were fastidiously weighed underwater to get correct fat % and body weight. After, I think 2 weeks, the people who lost the most amount of body fat and weight were the people eating only fat and protien. Now, nobody get crazy and start altering the I.P. diet, because like I said, it works amazingly for all of us almost all the time, and it is even faster than Atkins. But when you mentioned the small additions of bacon and cheese, I remembered this fat fast of his. And no, bacon and that amount of cheese have virtually no carbs, so you would not have been pulled out of ketosis in any event. If your bootcamp doesn't work, and Cole stays stuck, maybe it'll be worth a try. IT"S ONLY FOR 2 or 3 DAYS, THOUGH!!!! And since there are no more than 20 carbs, you won't get out of ketosis and won't have to go through the bad part of the first 3 days of I.P. again when you resume like normal. Let me know what you think. It seems counterintuitive, but trust me, it works!
Hey Meghan -
I ran into this problem about 2 weeks ago. Didn't you say you were starting to work out again? I had actually gained 1 lb 2 weeks ago but lost 3 inches and was working out 2 hours a day. My coach told me to add another packet and to slow down on the working out. The following week I worked out 1 hour/day and ate a protein bar before workout and drank peach mango immediately following. Last week I lost another 3 lbs so I knew it was working. You may be going into starvation. They also mentioned sometime you need to shock the body and have a total carb day and then strictly start again the next day. This week I am having some major cravings for crunchy carbs like cereal or crackers and some sweets. How has everyone been doing with the gymneva?? What did you mean by it releasing insulin? Good LUck!
showgirlaz: I do have other types of recipes: horseradish, spicy brown, chinese mustard, hot and spicy, dill mustard, ground mustard seed, and dijon style if those are of interest. They do not use any salt and they use splenda or stevia if they have a sweetner. The more sweetner the less "spicy hot" the mixture.
I am also in Arizona and would love some of your other recipes...Thanks for all the posts...I have enjoyed reading yours!
I really like the drinks. The peach/mango if you are having a low blood sugar issue (read that in the book) is excellent. Because I travel so much I stick to just drinks and bars so that I don't have to attempt to cook anything.
Forgive me for not quoting and referencing each comment to the right person, though I truly admire those of you who take the time to do that. So here's my hodgepodge:
