OK -- I figured out a way to not eat!! I have been SO busy sewing..that I forget to eat until I have a huge headache!! I am forgetting my water...I haven't taken the supplements (except potassium when I get cramps) since I returned from Ohio. Funny thing is.....I feel pretty good. Maybe I feel good cuz I am accomplishing something BESIDES dieting. It seems like IP took over my life when I went on it in September.
I don't mind talking about other diets/ways of eating, etc., on this forum. Those of us that have been on a long time have to be feeling the pinch financially....and the boredom with the same old foods. I even started adding butter to my veggies cuz I couldn't even look at them in olive oil anymore.
I used to make a pudding on Atkins using cream cheese and it was fillling. Any of you do that? I was trying to think how I could just use regular sugarfree puddings and make them filling......I wish i could do shakes...there are more viable ones out there than there are for puddings.
Sewing is going slow....just can't pound it out like I used to. I love garment sewing....but it just takes too much focus now. If anyone ever comes over here and I look decent, I will have them take a pix of the white shirt. I am gonna take tomorrow off and go shopping. Haven't taken my new car any further than 2 miles since I got it!! (Well, if it quits snowing....). Thursday is Red Hat function at a mexican restaurant. This one might be tough...cuz I usually just go to restaurants that I know I can get a salad. I LOVE this restaurant, tho.....maybe I should just make it my birthday dinner, huh??
I also went back to eating one sugarfree Klondike bar in the afternoons...it seems to satisfy my need for icecream. It DOES look like I have lost a little weight on the new scale (but I am gonna HAVE to go out and get another digital one....this one is too vague!).
Torchlaker, forgive me if you already told us, but I can't find it...when is your birthday? Also, since my very first "lurk" on I.P., before I even started, I've wanted to ask you, what is a Red Hat function?
OK, trying to stay awake for Best in Show at Westminster. JEEZ I'm a geek!!
i did the suzanne somers diet a few years back - it was easy and i lost weight - i think for me, at the time, it wasn't strict enough - too much grey area. as i recall, the basics were carbs plus veggies or protein plus veggies. not allowed carbs and proteins in the same meal. it worked well and eating out wasn't a problem. i think after i've been on this diet for this period of time, i would be able to stick to that way of eating and have good luck.
Mom22, could you explain more what you mean about finding it grey, and not strict enough?
Mom22, could you explain more what you mean about finding it grey, and not strict enough?
I just meant that one of the reasons i've been able to follow the IP diet is that it's very black and white i.e. eat 2 cups of vegetables at lunch and we know which vegetables - no guessing. For me - the black and white rules of IP seem to work - give me an inch - i'll take a mile.
that being said - i think that after being on this diet, i would have an easier time making healthy choices on any other diet - I know better how to read labels, where there is sugar, I know about carbs, etc. the other diet - suzanne somers - didn't have a lot of rules (as I recall) it was basically no carbs with protein - you eat veggies and carbs or veggies and protein.
The first is with my pups, it was taken at the end of September not long after we got Jasmine, who is about 4 months old in the picture (skeletally, she's bigger than Ginger now!). The second was part of a "before" picture that was taken during Thanksgiving, a few days before I started IP. The third was taken at the very end of January, right before heading to my fraternity's initiation ceremony, and the last one I just took a few minutes ago using my camera and a mirror. I'm pretty pleased with myself. :-)
Elisatamar, what a beutiful pic of you!! You look great!! You looked pretty before, don't get me wrong, but WOW WEE!! And are those Ridgebacks? My bro just bought one a few months ago!! Neat dogs!!
elishatamar - wow!!! You looked good before but now you look great!
Happy birthday Torchlaker!!! Have a superb day! Lots of changes that you've had to go through but you are emerging as a stronger, more independent healthier and thinner person!
Happy Birthday, Torchie! Do the boogie,woogie for me!
And Elisha!!!! You are sooooo beautiful both before and after IP. I love your hair! And you have a great smile.
I am still nursing a miserable head cold (had a terrible night) but I woke up from a dream in which my deceased mother told me that I had to lose weight for my health! I actually heard her voice saying "stick with it."
So I am having an IP peach/mango shake for breakfast. I eat breakfast in the late morning or early afternoon because of my work schedule (12 noon to 12 am.) And I had a big glass of water already. I'm going to stick an eggplant in the oven for lunch and have it with an IP pink lemonade or something like that.
I agree with liking the "black and white" rules of IP. I am like a kid in a candy store (pun intended) when it comes to eating. I like everything! And will definitely eat dessert before dinner if it looks good enough. Ha-ha.
But I, too, have learned a lot about which foods are high carb. I mentioned before that I used to chug down carrot juice thinking I was doing my body a great favor.
And I've learned portion control for sure. I used to eat like a trucker. In fact, I was recently in a truck stop restaurant (long story) and those truckers sure do chow down. And they have the bellys to show for it. LOL.
Okay, going over to the other forum to give support which really helped me yesterday when I did that.
Melissa, OgDog, Mom22, and Lilita, thank you for the welcome. :-)
Gotta say that wouldn't be the first time I'd be chastised on a message board for suggesting alternatives! I guess I am just not a vee-must-all-goose-step-together type of person. I like individuality and choices.
Ogdog, no I don't have Montignac's recipe book. I have "Dine Out & Lose Weight" and "The French Diet", but not that one. Really though, all the regular Suzanne Somers or even the Aktins recipes work.
Melissa, I'm sorry you lost your cat. :-(
Mom22, Some protein powders have an off flavor and/or are hard to mix. I like Now's Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate (available from Netrition). I mix it with a zero carb / zero fat vegetable broth seasoning (I'm a vegetarian) to get a yummy soup with 113 calories, 0.3 g fat, 1 g carb, and 26 g high quality protein. The cost for both the broth and protein? $0.79 per serving. You can sauté veggies and throw them in to make it extra yummy and healthy.
Lilita, if this thread is for people wanting to focus on doing only IP, and I am sometimes interested in talking about alternating IP with other diets, would it be preferred if I started a new thread for that?
Naw, you don't need a new thread. This is it. We are all over the place here!
posted this on the other site but should have posted here with the experts who can "weigh in" with opinions
I went shopping yesterday and found a soy protein isolate product that's really low in carbs - 3 i think - no sugar and the plain only cost $20 for 30 servings - that's .67 per serving as compared to $3.86 for IP. It's a president's choice brand sold at Extra Foods (Loblaws, Superstore). Flavors are plain, vegetarian, chocolate, strawberry, orange cream and vanilla. The flavored are more expensive $29 - which still only works out to $1/serving - still cheaper. Watch as some of the flavoured ones have a bit of sugar 1g as i recall. Also available in whey or soy. And that's all in my little town grocery store!
I bought the plain and am going to mix it with chicken broth - which we're allowed as my lunchtime soup and maybe some oxo - it might turn out gross - i'll let you know - but it was still only $20 and if it's good, it will reduce my costs by $22/week (difference between .67x7 and $3.86x7) and almost $90 a month!
I think I mostly belong over here in the Alternate IPers thread. I only do a few weeks of the IP diet every now and then, and mostly eat non IP foods/products even when I'm on the IP diet.
I find IP awfully hard to do for long lengths of time. I am also not 100% convinced that it's healthy to do for month after month. I really like the Suzanne Somers diet. Don't let the name throw you off. It is developed from diet techniques based in France -- I think particularly Michael Montignac's diet. Years ago a friend mentioned this diet to me. She was older (sixty ish, so therefore slow metabolism) and lost 10 lbs and 101 points of cholesterol in 1 month. I have now done the SS diet too off and on. And I have to tell you, the thing works! It's not as fast as IP. But is much much easier to do, and very balanced. It's a good long term way of eating.
Here is the really interesting thing. It's quite similar to what Dr. Tran Tien recommends for maintenance. (Perhaps not a coincidence that he too is from France.) It's a food combining thing, separating your carbs from fats. You don't eat crap, and there are a few vegetables that you can't eat, like corn and potatoes. However, in addition to proteins and vegetables you can eat stuff like whole grains, fruits, and cheeses. Actually, you can eat lots of fat on this diet and still lose weight (like Atkins.) That's what I really miss on the IP diet -- fatty foods! You can also eat a lot of food in general and still lose weight.
Anyways, just thought I'd mention this for those wanting a break from IP.
Welcome over here Birman!! I think this is the IP thread for animal lovers too!!
Elishatamar - great picks and you can really see in your last picture how thin your face is!
You can also eat a lot of food in general and still lose weight. 
