Meghan,

Remember back a month or so ago when we discussed the soy protien and our hormones? I think this could be the culprit with the irrational anger. It happened to me both times I got my period since I've been on I.P. Maybe we just have to grin and bear it. I'm going to be mixing I.P. packets with the Lindora and newlyfestyle that I added, which have way fewer foods with soy protien, and see how it goes this month. Or maybe it's like someone's coach told them about the estrogen being released with the fat.

Low Carb Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1 t ground ginger
• 2 T oil (sesame, olive, grapesee, canola, or vegetable)
• 1 T Splenda
• 1 clove crushed garlic


This will make enough for 1 pound of meat and can cook well in a crock pot.

I have other recipes too and have been pulling them out today. I will post more later. You can use this for shrimp, steak, any meatball, fish, or chicken.

Teriyaki Sauce:

1 bottle soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar or apple cider vinegar (for phase 3 or 4 you can use rice vinegar or red wine vinegar)
6 tablespoons Splenda
3 tablespoons ginger powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder

Shake and let sit overnight, adjust flavorings according to taste--

this one is a bit more tangy because of the vinegar

Here is a wings recipe I found and plan to try next week!

Low- Carb Baked Teriyaki Hot Wings

Ingredients
• 1 pound chicken drummettes
• 4 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (allowed per our plan food sheet)
• 1/3 cup light soy sauce or braggs amino acids
• 15 drops liquid artificial sweetener or appox 3tbsp splenda
• tabasco sauce (optional)
Directions
1.
PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Place the drummettes on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.
2.
STIR together the olive or grapeseed oil, hot sauce, soy sauce, sweetener, and Tabasco, if using, in a large glass or metal bowl. Add the hot wings and toss to coat.
Nutritional Facts per serving

CARBOHYDRATES 1 G

TOTAL SUGARS 0.2 G

Here is my favorite meatball recipe! I use turkey but you could use chicken or beef. you can make them plain and use their broth, put them in soup, use with a terriyaki, or sweet and sour sauce, make a meat loaf, or stuff into mushroom, cabbage leaf, eggplants, or green peppers!

Turkey Meatballs -

1lb ground turkey
2 egg whites

1/4 cup dried parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1tsp onion powder
11/2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 cup grated zucchinni
3/4 cup finely chopped or grated cauliflower tops
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms

optionally, and to taste, add seasonings that fit what you are making: mexican spices for albondigas soup, italian for a wedding soup or italian style mushrooms, asian seasonings for a terriyaki or sweet & sour sauce

mix ingredients , make into balls. place on a cookie sheet or rectangular cake pan covered in foil. Cook at 425 for 25 minutes or until done.

alternate cooking methods:
Mix all ingredients,form into about 16 balls and place each into large frying pan. The mixture will be very wet. then add 1-1/2cup chicken broth until it comes 1/2 way up the balls. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir after 20 minutes. If you stir any sooner, the turkey balls will fall apart.

if cooking in terriyaki sauce place meatballs in crockpot, cover with sauce and cook on low until done.

If using to stuff, stuff the mix ingredients and press into vegetable. Bake, broil or grill til done. I tend to do my items at 375 to 400 for about 25 minutes.

TIPS:
Instead of frying the meatballs prepare and then put on a cookie sheet that has been wrapped in foil. You bake the meatballs for 20-35 min in a low oven (200 degrees). this way all the grease runs off the meatballs, they aren't crunchy but the are moist! You just take off the foil, fold up the foil and toss ... No Muss no fuss!

another method for cooking meatballs to reduce the fat from frying, not to mention the super easy clean up! place meatballs in a cardboard egg carton & microwave 6-8 minutes depending on size. when done, remove from egg carton & drain on paper towel. toss egg carton in trash & clean up is finished!

Thanks for all the wonderful info! I am caught between excited and scared about starting this plan. I want to get going but afraid it won't work or that I won't be able to do it. Nevertheless, I will be weighed and measured tomorrow night and it's on with the show!! At the orientation last week the Dr said something about the snack IP I will be allowed needs to be eaten an hour before bed. Have you heard about this and do any of you know why that would be a requirement? I am sure I will be asking a million more questions during my first week and so on. Thanks in advance for your help.

Stuffed 'shrooms

1/2 lb ground turkey
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
2tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp NSA Italian seasoning
8 large mushrooms


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove stems from mushrooms and chop. Crumble turkey in skillet, add mushroom stems, onion powder and pepper and cook until turkey is browned. Add garlic and Italian seasoning and cook 1 minute longer. Set aside.

Place mushrooms in baking dish. Stuff mushrooms with meat mixture and bake at 400 for 25min



Boneless Hot Wings

Warning... this will be HOT.. (depending on how hot your chili powder is), but good!!
16 ounces of boneless skinless chicken breast tenders
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chili powder (salt free of course!)

Mix vinegar, water and cayenne pepper. Add chicken to mixture and let marinate in refrigerator for a couple hours. Put chili powder on a plate and gently dip each tender in chili powder and then place on a rack in a baking pan. Bake at 350º for about 15-20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.


Super Bowl (of) Chili

2tbsp to 1/2 cup No sodium added Broth or homemade broth depending on how much liquid you want
2 lb Beef Chuck (Turkey, chicken, whatever you can have)
2 cloves Garlic
1 Green Bell Pepper,Coarsely Chopped
2 T Chili Powder (salt free of course)
1 T Cumin
1 t Oregano
1 t Cilantro
1/2 t Black Pepper
1 Jalapeno Peppers,Chopped

Coarsely grind beef (or chop into cubes no bigger than 1/2 inch). Saute beef, garlic and peppers in broth until meat is browned on all sides. Add spices and saute an approximately 5 minutes. Transfer to crock pot. add broth. Stir to mix, cover and cook on low 4-5 hours. Top with chopped raw onion if you like it!

The protein we are taking in feeds our muscles so that our bodies are forced to go to our fat storage for energy. That is why this program burns fat not muscle! So between your dinner and breakfast your body would have no option but to burn muscle and fat through the night therefore it is necessary to give our body protein before bed to keep the fat burning!

Wow, so much good information.
I have been making so many mistakes. I was eating cauliflower, broccoli, the bars, and sugarfree jello until I read many of the posts. I was exercising 5 days a week. I have also been eating the snack (a bar) in the afternoon, not before bed.
I really appreciate everyone's input. I am going to try to make many changes. Have I even started ketosis if I have been making mistakes? I have been pretty tired the last couple of days. Would my mistakes be causing this also?

Mistakes? I don't think so...your weight loss looks great
Don't beat yourself up - remember you are making lifestyle changes - not just a diet.

How long have you been on the IP program?

Today was a really rough day for me. It's that time of the month, and because I have endometriosis, I get very very ill. I have very severe cramps, to the point where I've been essentially bedridden all weekend, and many times in the past I've even gotten physically ill. Dealing with this diet the past two days, especially today, was really hard. I have prescription strength Naproxen, but since there's not too much food in my stomach at any given time, I felt even more sick after taking that. The IP foods were so unappealing to me today, and it was so frustrating to feel so restricted when I felt so completely drained and exhausted. I made it through though, on plan, and now I am FINALLY feeling better (just in time for another hectic week of work... oh boy!). This was my first "screw it" encounter with the diet, and I'm glad I didn't choose to stray from it (though in all fairness it would have taken a lot more energy to cheat, since there's nothing non-IP approved in our apartment anymore). Here's hoping that tomorrow I'm back to myself and the routine of IP, and that I'm just as enthusiastic as I have been.

Everybody has a bad day once in a while...don't feel bad about it. Try and do some major pampering for yourself....candles, music, a bath or a good book. This day will pass and so will your mood.

I hope you have a great week ahead!!!!

Super sweet is SO right! And you did EXCELLENT! It is so hard to stay committed when you feel well and then to feel so horrible and stay on track! BRAVO!! HIP HIP HOORAY!! WOOHOO!! You really do need some cheering for what you did AND you will be very pleased with yourself when you have your next weigh in. Good Luck the rest of the week!

That's a real drag! Glad you made it through. You can do it. Every time I want to cheat I think "how will I really feel about this later and can I just get to tomorrow"...and it works.

I also had endometriosis...almost the same symtoms you described. As did my sister. Her case was a little worse, however, the good news is that getting pregnant pretty much takes care of all the excessive pain issues!!! Yippee! (totally worked for me and the sister and the Dr says this does it!) Don't know if you are planning for children, but if you are....just think every month at how temporary the pain is! Just giving you something to look forward to, I guess. And sympathize. Cause it hurts. Sorry girl!

You will be awesome tomarrow, stay strong!

Hey there!

I don't see so much for mistakes! Cauliflower and broccoli are DEFINATELY allowed. The sugarfree jello seems to be a judgement call by your coach so, it may not do much damage at all. The bars may have been a "perfect mistake" consider you were exercising so much. AND, according to Dr Tran Tien Chan on his website, he doesn't care if you take the snack in the afternoon or the evening. IN GENERAL it is prefered for evening because it helps keep steady blood sugar levels and prevents the body from using its own proteins. HOWEVER, Dr Chan states on his website that for some people who have extreme afternoon hunger it is fine to use the snack at that point. I think you are doing very well if those are your only concerns!

Yes, if you have been doing everything else well, these things should not prevent ketosis. The tiredness could be because you are shifting your body processes and because you are releasing toxins that are stored in fat. Try drinking more water and... It is possible that your blood pressure could be changing too. It is one reason people have been advised to add a little extra salt. See if that makes a difference for you!