Prepare, Prepare, Prepare.
First of all, set yourself up to succeed. By this I mean buy, wash, and chop your veggies for the week. Premake salads. Plan your meat dishes for the week so you know what you will be cooking before the day comes. Take Ideal Protein extras with you in case you get hungry and are tempted by other things. You can premix the soups, pudding and jello and they will keep nicely in the fridge so it is quick to pack a lunch or grab a snack in a hurry.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, STICK TO THE PLAN. IT WORKS!!
If you have time to review the posts in this forum, you will find a lot of helpful information and answers to a lot of questions.
Good Luck to both of you!

My coaches charge $4 a packet and $28 a box (7per) I need to cut costs....I want to stay on this diet but I have two children (12 & 14) and my husband is on unemployment (for the past year)......needless to say cost IS a concern for me, time will tell if ordering from another place makes a difference....personally, I believe it is just packaging on some of the products. I just have to keep reading the labels. :)
I drink coffee everyday w/ a dash of 1/2 & 1/2 and truvia. Do you all? Drink coffee I mean?
Also, I take a stool softener (when needed) :o called Swiss Kriss (2 am & 2 pm). It is all natural and you get it at a health food store. I can't always eat my salad at night but I make sure I eat cuke sticks.....my coaches say the salad is not as crucial but it helps "keep things moving". Took me 4 days to get regular in the beginning so don't panic! After that :carrot:

May I ask how late everyone has their PM sanck? I feel like I am cramming it in at night before bed. My coaches said to eat it at least 1 hr before bed......I coach my daughter's Basketball and Softball teams and often I get home late and then I feel like I have to stay up later after my snack. :?:

Thank You!
Yeah, I was planning on having it for dinner but plans changed because I could only find it in the frozen section. So its in the fridge thawing, i'll make it tomorrow. I;m really excited to try something different. With my "new" tastebuds i just might like it drenched in lemon!!

Your weight loss makes me so happy. Keep up the great work.

I agree....Grapeseed Oil is wonderful and just plan old lettuce is a treat.

I throw the Tilapia under the broiler frozen...right from freezer. It has worked ok. I had it tonight again on top of fresh spinach with cucumbers.

wagnomore
 

Welcome wagnomore (and all others) to an awesome board. I have only been posting for a few days, but have found it truly inspiring. I am excited to see someone from SD on!! I live in SC now, but am from ND. And want to move to Sioux Falls. I miss my family and friends.:(My best friend lives in SF and a lot of my family is in Minneapolis, so not far away. Down side is that I am a teacher and I am sure you know how difficult it is for teachers to get jobs there. Until then, this is where I am stuck. I am pretty sure ya'll are getting some icky weather this weekend... stay warm :)

Hm. The Pocket. I could like that!

Sugar free Altoids smalls? 1/2 cal, no sugar, no carbs, no fat (sorbitol, corn starch, wheat maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavorings, acacia, magnesium, stearate, sucralose). What do you all think?

Also....to have something "okay", I know it is no carbs, no sugars...but what is the rule on calories and fat? I used Vegenaise instude of Mayo (for the last several years) and it is made from grapeseed oil, no carbs, no sugars, but high in fat, moderate in calories (sorry, not looking at the label at the moment). For an occasional treat, a tiny bit with some tuna salad on a bed of lettuce. What do you all think?

But, if I am in a "pocket"....I don't want to be out!

OH...I just realized the fat content is from the grapeseed oil itself, so maybe this isn't such a bad idea! 1 tbl is 90 calories and 9g fat, zero everything else. Here is the link with nutritional info:

http://www.followyourheart.com/products.php?id=20

I don't know that I use that much when I mix with my tuna (I just use a little to make it not dry).

Anyone have email access to their coach to ask to look at that?

Yummy chicken recipe! Thanks!

Cost is a concern for me too. Just me and two kids. I believe we have embarked on something that just takes a committment financially. Time will tell if I will be able to continue it financially also. I know my habits are already changing in regards to spending on food: no more $1.60 coffee's, oops I forget my lunch days and end up buying at work for $6+, snacks from the vending machine, too tired to cook lets eat out, or take out/delivery. I spent a lot of my money on quick and bad (but many times tasty) food. I am not interested enough in actually figuring out the difference, but I am sure there is a savings of some kind in there somewhere! :D

My kids are totally on board with me too. Not that they have a say in how the money is spent, but when I say No to eating out or certain things, they seem to understand a little. For as much as they can.

I drink coffee most days and most days measure the 1oz of skim milk.

My PM snack is between 8:30-10pm. Just depends on the schedule. Many nights I am not eating dinner until 8-8:30 at night. I try to eat it about 1-2 hours after dinner and 1 hour before I think I will lay down. But, it's hard to figure that out sometimes. I know it is suggested to not eat after 8 or for several hours before bed, but with my schedule, I would never have time to get in all the meals. There have been times when I eat the snack and go right to bed.

Tonight, we ate dinner at almost 9pm and I just had my snack and I am about to go to bed. It was a weird "i don't care to eat, so I forgot" sort of day. Didn't mean to eat late, it just happened.

I don't keep a food diary, but perhaps you could keep one and see if the PM snack times make a difference? Not sure how you would know it was just that, but you could try. Some have the snack mid-afternoon instead of PM too. Just get in your three packets and make it work for you.

I had a delicious dinner tonight - a 5 oz chicken breast marinaded in WF Balsamic Dressing served on a bed of butter lettuce & roasted cauliflower; I drizzled olive oil & sea salt over the top and it tasted like forbidden food :) Best meal I've had yet on IP!

Almost finished my first week and it's getting easier and easier every day :)

Showgirlaz - I'm looking forward to hitting our birthday goals together, it will be nice to have the motivation and encouragement :)

Regarding the cost of food: my coach charges $27 per box of food, and there are 7 packages per box. We can mix and match rather than having to buy a whole box of one thing. She charged $45 for the three kinds of vitamins, but the cal-mag is a three month supply so I think she said it would be $28 for the vitamins monthly until the cal-mag runs out again.

I'm a bit confused.... regarding the amounts of meat and veggies. Is it pre-cooked weight or cooked weight that we are supposed to follow?

My coach says 5 oz raw meat and 2 cups raw veggies for each lunch & dinner :)

I pay 28.00 a box of 7 or 4.00 per pack. $30.00/case of 6 readymade drinks.
We can exchange anything we don't like. The vitamins are about 22.00 -24.00 per bottle. The potassium is a 3 month supply and the multi and cal mag last 1 month.

I was told the sugar free jello is ok if you need it to stay on track. Nothing other than the phase 1 protocol is Ideal Protein approved but my coach believes staying on the diet is more important to our well being than dumping the diet due to it being to strict. We are not allowed more than 20 -25 carbs per day!!!!

I also checked the other websites Lindora and New lifestyle diet and other than the readymade shakes(exactly the same) at NLD the products are not the same. They have much more carbs and a ton more artifical fillers. I understand that in order to stay in the "fat burning zone" you cannot exceed the 25 carb max intake. On Bootcamp you have little room to add in anything extra. The 3 IP packs give us between 6 and 14 grams of carbs(depending on the choice of pack) alone, than add in our vegetables and meat choice carbs and there is no room for error. If you cheat you are only extending your time on the diet and basically following a low calorie diet and not resting your pancreas. So in my eyes, I feel saving money on the food with higher carbs only increases the length of time I am on the diet and than ultimatly costing me more in the long run.

I am working on ideas to survive Superbowl weekend. We always host the game and now I need a varity of nosh foods that won't blow the diet....Can you all help with any ideas?

Thanks.....