WELL I survived the holiday season and only gain about three pounds, which for me is a record over Christmas so I'M HAPPY. Now I just have to get back on the horse and ride on! Hopefuly I can get the next 30 lbs off this year!

Most of my weight gain was after I had knee surgery in March. I realized today that I am 2lbs away from my pre-surgery weight. I am so happy to be here finally. The steady loss is definitely motivating.

I think this has been mentioned before, but is anyone else freezing? I am cold, literally, all the time. And I don't live in a cold climate!

Right now, the water method might be the best way to measure it... I don't know how accurate the little handheld electrical conductivity thing might not work too well on this diet. The principle is that your muscle contains a certain amount of water, which conducts the current, whereas fat does not... so it measures the resistance from one hand to the other. While our muscles do contain a lot of water, still, they don't have all the glycogen in them which has even more water... could someone who goes into a clinic ask the doctor about that?

I think Torchlaker's Dr. was measuring her via this device. We should ask her when she returns from the wild.

Yes, we are all cold (with the exception of those having hot flashes). A few reasons: 1) Losing insulation. Fat helps keep you warm. 2) Lower metabolism. When your body goes into ketosis, it lowers your resting metabolism, so your body doesn't produce as much heat. This is another reason why it's important to gradually add carbohydrates back, to let your metabolism speed up before you're taking in all those calories. 3) Potential iron deficit. If you're not getting enough iron, you're prone to cold intolerance.

By the way, Atlanta is not a very cold city... but for the next week, it's going to be below freezing more than above it. :-( And to make matters worse, the heaters aren't working in the grocery store I work in, and our pharmacy has a drive-thru window that's poorly insulated. Brr!

Day One of Ideal Protein Diet
 

Hello Everyone!
It's my first official day on the IP diet. I made it! I drank all the water and ate everything I was suppose to...but I am "hungry". I am excited to see you all here and I will be sending you all a few blast along my way. We are all here for the same reason....we can do it!!!!

Yay you made it!! I am now on my 4th day and I will tell you, the hunger pains are slowly starting to become fewer and far between! The first couple of days were really hard for me (I had every symptom in the book) but today I have felt much better and have had much more energy! 5lbs down :) Go us!

I was told that in the first week ONLY, that I could have 4 IP a day. I never used that many, I just told myself that I am shrinking my stomach & this is all a good thing. It went away by day 3-4...you are almost there...keep going!

I was freezing all the time BEFORE I started IP....so I am going to be even MORE COLD????!!!??? I don't think I could take it.

I already wore my winter coat all day at work and it was day 1 of the IP.

Hmm....what else could this be? I have enough "insulation" right now :)

Since we are on the subject of cold, is anyone else cold but sweating? Sounds crazy I know, the first week is the hardest, but you can do it, the payoff is brilliant!!!!

Official
 

Well, I went to the information session last night and officially signed up. I got my first week of foods, and my info package. I am so glad that I had this site to research prior to the meeting. I felt so informed going in. The people that run my program were fantastic, and I came out feeling very positive that I will succeed on this program! My 2 sisters also signed up, so we will have each other to keep us motivated and share pitfalls with. I will begin the plan tomorrow so I have today to plan my menu and prepare some fresh veggies. I will keep you posted on my progess.

Welcome all the new people. Congrats on starting your journey to a new you. I am getting so very excited for my trip to Mexico I leave Monday. Speaking of being cold it is really cold here in Montana and we just got a TON of snow and I do mean a TON, I have learned that I love layers and I am gettng thin enough that I can wear them. I have on 3shirts and a sweatshirt today. BRRRRRRRRRRR. Sunny weather here I come.

down 3.2 lbs over Christmas Holidays - yah! I ate what I wanted for Christmas day, boxing day and New Years. And then got right back into IP.

For all of you who are feeling cold - if it's any consolation, the weather here is -40 with the windchill. Yes, -40! I'm jealous of the people going on warm sunny vacations.

Geez, -40. Well, is it even safe to go outside for any period of time?

Thanks, Ottowa and Lilita for answering some of the questions I had about night sweats, etc. I haven't had anything like those few days since Monday night(knock on wood).
For whatever reason, I think at this time in my life I'm very sensitive to any amount of soy(I've hardly eaten it before this diet). So I'm going to be very careful going into maintenance to eat all the packets they recommend. Maybe a slow weaning off of it would be better for my hormones, instead of the straight dropping it and eating just everything else like I did on vacation. In any case, I ordered Black Cohosh and DHA(I think)in case I have gone into perimenopause.

Welcome to all of you that are new to IP. It's a really positive experience. You won't be sorry! I weighed in today and didn't lose any, but I didn't gain anything either, so I'm excited about that! Now, it's down to business. No more cheating or holiday excuses! I've lost 20 lbs and can't wait to lose 20 more!!:)