IP Alternate Phase I
 

Hello all, some of us are opting to follow the Alternate Plan on the IP Diet, Phase 1. The information on it is in with the normal IP Phases/FAQs (one of them). I am not about losing the weight as fast as others are, I just want to lose healthy and HAPPILY (which means eating a little more of what I like to eat). Welcome Alternate IP dieters. This also might be a good forum for you IP Phase 2ers!!!

Hey, Ogdog!

A sigh of relief......

I just tried the Lindora Cinnamon Raisin bar(13 carbs) and it's delicious. Especially after getting a little stressed out doing Turbotax. Torchlaker's doing Alternate phase, too

I just ordered some things from the new life style diet place. Yeah, a little higher in carbs but looks super yummy. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'll definitely have to try the cinnamon raisin bar from Lindora!!

hi there!

agreed with message!!

i think i will check in on this site as well as i will eventually be doing this phase anyways. after my almost month off, i need to be diligent, but once back on track will likely make the switch.

look forward to checking in with some regulars!!

Okay, down another .8 pounds. One more pound and I'm in the 150s. Whoohooo. Totally enjoying Alternative Phase I/ Phase 2 type eating. I missed my cheese, nuts and veggie alternative meats too much.

I am still reading through some of the other posts, and wonder if I should have started after Xmas. Xmas was the big "undoing" of the strict diet for me. That is when I really started to miss the cheese....my mom and I have a thing of playing Scrabble while eating cheese, crackers and fresh veggies. I just had to have the cheese.

When does one go on Phase 2? How close to your goal do you get and how long are you on it?

I am not sure about the phase 2 but will ask my coach when i see them next. I had a heck of a time over the holidays!! my mind thought was not exactly great i suppose, looking back. at the time i was just enjoying doing the "regular" things i enjoyed over past christmas's. i got on the scale every morning, and seen that i was enjoying these things but not gaining weight. (yet!) and that kind of gave the thought process that i was doing well, and "deserved" this break. i had totally intended to go back right after xmas, then got a sudden emergency call that took us away for yet another week, the day after boxing day...the situation made it very difficult to stick to plan, much less prepare! but i did do the best i could during that week. then we came back home and i had one week before our trip to mexico. that week was very hard...it felt ridiculous to be eating packets and veggies for such a short time when i knew what laid ahead in mexico. weak way of thinking, i know. but i never intended to be good in mexico!! that was supposed to be my big break! i did not know that things would be so strange before the trip. but it did give my incentive to get right back on plan when i got home, which i thought would be harder. mind you it is only day 3 for me starting back. but i did not have a significant gain, but a gain none the less, and that is a first since starting in september. so a little eyeopening. however, it did show me that i can allow the odd exceptions without gaining wieght back overnite. which makes the diet a bit easier, having been on for a period of time now.

Ogdog, i totally get how you are doing the diet. it has crossed my mind to do that more than once. in fact i posted about it a while back. had i not had such a wreckless month, i would likely be doing the same right now. but i totally wasted a month, no wieght loss, whatsoever, small gain. so now i need to see some progress before moving to the next chapter in the diet.

by the way, do you know where torchlaker is? i have not seen her post for awhile?

take care

Torchlaker is good...hopefully she'll be on here again soon! LOL, she is eating more of an Alternative Phase I/Phase 2 approach too. She is enjoying ice cream bars if I remember correctly. ;)

Torchlaker this is for you!!
 

Loose skin when losing weight:

InstructionsThings You'll Need:
Time
Will power
Perserverance

Step 1
Think of how long it took your body to reach your highest weight. It didn't happen overnight, so you can't really expect your skin to become taut in such a short space of time.

Many surgeons recommend waiting two years from the day you reach your weight loss target before even considering surgery. This allows you to exhaust all options available naturally before entering into a costly and potential dangerous operation.

Step 2
Nourish your skin and encourage it's elasticity. Exfoliate your skin daily to encourage removal of dead skin cells. Doing this each day will stimulate your skin's circulation which should help in tightening skin up.

Step 3
Treat yourself to a hot hour-long bath once or twice a week. While the bath is being drawn, add 1/2lb of pure sea salt to the water and allow it to dissolve. Besides relaxing your body and muscles, it will draw toxins out of your skin and will improve your overall skin tone.

Step 4
Determine what your body fat percentage is. It's impossible to differentiate loose skin from body fat without this figure. Many gyms are able to assess your body for this.

Step 5
While you may have reached your goal weight, it's possible that your body fat percentage is still high. In order to reduce this, you should strive to change your body's composition by reducing fat and replacing it with muscle. If you haven't done so already, speak to a gym or a personal trainer to work on an exercise plan which will help you achieve this.

Step 6
Aloe vera extract, soy protein and yeast extract can improve your skin's elasticity by increasing your body's production of elastin and collagen. It not only tightens your skin but your skin's natural defenses as well.

Step 7
Eating raw food such as cucumber, tomato, olives and coconut can mark an improvement in your skin's elasticity.

Step 8
Hyaluronic Acid is naturally found in our body's tissues. It depletes over time, so it's worth supplementing your diet with some. It is critical for muscle growth, so if you're replacing pounds of fat with muscle, it's definitely worth taking. Smokers tend to be lacking this nutrient. It needs magnesium to synthesize, so ensure you're taking magnesium daily to reap its benefits.

Phase 2
 

Below is a copy paste from Dr. Tiens book. I was told that you transition to Phase 2 when you are at 80% of your goal.

Phase II = 1st Intermediate Phase

The second phase lasts between one and two weeks.
a) Morning:

- Coffee or tea.
- 1 packet or 1 measure of protein.
b) Noon:

- Raw or cooked green vegetables.
- 5 oz. lean meat or poultry.
- OR 5 to 6 oz. lean fish. You may have fattier meat or fish 3 to 4 times a week.
- 2 tablespoons oil for flavor.
c) Late-afternoon snack:

- 1 packet or 1 measure of protein.
d) Evening:

Dinner is exactly the same as lunch: 5 oz. lean meat or poultry with green vegetables.

You may have 1 to 2 dairy products per day, such as plain yogurt or 2% cottage cheese.

Comments: The second phase closely resembles the first phase, as your diet still excludes carbohydrates and ketosis continues.

I now tend to shorten this phase to less than one week so that the first phase can be extended as long as possible and protein packets are used for a late-afternoon or evening snack.

DOH, why didn't I think to look there?! Thanks Princass!!

The Matol info says at 80% of your weightloss goal.

I need some opinions/suggestions/thoughts/

I'm kind of freaking out. To update my FitDay sometimes I will use the Nutritional Info off of the actual IP website http://www.idealprotein.com/ipcl_cae...o=152&c=3&p=15 And today I just noticed a discrepancy on the Wild-berry Yogurt. The 1st thing I notice from the actual box to the website was the carbs. The box says 5 carbs and the website says 14 Thats a huge difference. So I started to look further into it and realize the actual ingredient are different too! I am really upset. I don't know how to take it. Do you think I should call IP?

IP used to say until 80% of weightloss, but they changed it to 90%... probably because people were complaining about losing slower on Phase II. :-)

Huh, I don't remember what the box said for the wildberry yogurt, but I remember seeing on the website that it had 14 g of carbs. I didn't like it too terribly much, so I just didn't order any more.

Definitely find out what's going on....how many more are wrong? And which is the right one? For those like MeghanO who is carb counting it is really important!! 5 vs 13 is WAY different!!!

Excellent idea Ogdog for the new thread!!!! Hello to all us "oldies"

Things for me got a bit strange just before Xmas. By Dec 22 (2 months in) I was down to 158, 3 pounds from my goal and probably should have gone to Phase II but I was still thinking of changing my goal to 150 from 155.... still had the love affair with numbers and my scale at that point. I then went completly off IP over the holidays. I gained a bit over 2 pounds over the holidays and then tried to go back on Phase 1 again. As in the beginning, I had terrible side effects, sick to my stomach, terrible headaches etc and ended up coming competly off IP. I tried again the following week but used an approach similar to the Alternative phase - had a slice of 100% rye bread made with no yeast for example. This lessened my symptoms and I managed to get back into the swing of things and followed Phase I and lost the weight I gained and ended up at 154 pounds. I did not have much product left and was using EAS carb advantage shakes and what product I did have left. After that I went straight to maintenance... probably should have gone through the phases but did not want to spend any more money on food.
I am having a bit of difficulty working out what is best on maintenance as the place where I got my IP provide a very different plan for maintenance and are VERY VERY big on everything you eat being organic and no additives, not using teflon pans and they tell you not to eat carbs/grains at night and their way is much different from Dr. Tran's. So I have been slowly trying to work out what is going to be the best way for me and also the cheapest. Pure organic things are quite expensive, such as the almond butter ($9.00 a jar) that is recommended on Ezekiel bread ($5.50 a loaf) for breakfast etc. Very confusing. So far I have only gained 1 pound back which I am assuming is water due to eating more carbs. I do know that I am not eating enough/and eating properly on a daily basis and have to work this out quickly before I do myself some damage. Add to this I am currently on week 3 of quitting smoking so things are a bit stressful.

Suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Ottawa, where are you getting this info about organic and non-tephlon pans???

I eat as organic as possible anyway. I feel better on it, and know that I am doing the earth good too. It is expensive!!

So glad I found you guys!! As I mentioned to OgDog13, i've settled into this diet and while I appreciate that the "newbies" have lots of questions - it just takes too much reading.

I read Dr. Trans book - thanks for the link OgDog. I really enjoyed the read - appreciated lots of the comments and reasons for why it works and it's got some great info we can use for those detractors.

In there too was maintenance info - quite frankly that phase scares me. I remember when i started this diet and i thought that once I was done dieting that I'd be able to enjoy all those foods, wine, etc again. But it makes sense that if i go back to how i was eating before, i'll go back to looking like i did before too.

he says to have your carbs (complex carbs) for your evening meal but you can't mix carbs and fats. You also can't have carbs and (I think) protein together. i'm having a mental block - what is he calling fats - is this your basic oil, marg, etc. or what? I'm assuming that this would mean a plate of pasta, tomato sauce and veggies is allowed. But a plate of pasta, sauce and chicken is not.

After MeghanO told us about the 20-25 carb limit she was using I thought I'd give it a try and that's when i checked out my supplies and found out the wildberry yogurt has 14g (off the box). I was like - oh no...i think the crepes are only 15. it's more than the chocolate pudding for goodness sakes! i haven't had one since as i've been trying to keep my carbs down - i need to get through this and be buying fewer packs - i'm going broke. I asked my counsellor why it's not on the restricted list - she was going to ask her higher up contact - still this week no answer.

check out the veggie list of dr. trans book vs. our approved veggie list - he has fresh button mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, among others, on an enjoy in moderation list.

Okay Ottawa, had a little time to digest your post and think about this. Organic is NOT cheap. They can't expect everyone to either afford to buy organic or even have organic around them. Although Almond butter, btw, is in the organic section, but it doesn't mean it is organic unless it is labeled organic as some "organic" sections cater to glucose intolerant and different eating styles, not just organics. I think they want you to eat almond butter because it has less carbs. Could you eat peanut butter?....YES. Just not as much, or watch how many other carbs you are eating. Somewhere in the older posts someone said that we are eating about 800-1000 calories and between 20-25 carbs a day. Not sure where they got that though. (Has anyone tracked their total carb consumption besides MeghanO?) Anyway, if we sit down and figure out how many calories/carbs the new lilestyle takes, we should be able to approximate what you should/shouldn't eat in order to fit your budget and lifestyle!!! I, for example, don't eat red meat....so my approximations would definitely differ from those who do....I might be able to eat more PB since fish has less calories/carbs. So, let me print off what we have in Phases for Phase 4 and see if I can do a rough workup of calories and carbs for you. We can make this work!!! (Are you still seeing a coach?)

So I think I panicked a little more than I should have. I guess what I was looking at was the Canada/English Version on the IP site. The difference is Canada version ingredient is - lactoserum protein isolate. (14 carbs)
US version is whey protein isolate (derived from milk) only 5 carbs. So I guess in conclusion they actually twiked the product for US?

Woo, What a relieve. 5 carbs I can handle. 14 I cannot!

Sorry to bother you with the upset.

NP for the upset!! We all would like to know this stuff. Besides that is what we are here for!!!!!

I noticed that too! The book should have been offered or at least suggested at start up. But what I'm finding out is that coaches are learning about this just as we are. I was living off of broccoli and cauliflower at 1st. I wonder what my losses would look like if I would have used them as a moderate.


Oh and I found a nice website that has a bunch of varieties of nut butters:
http://www.nutsonline.com/nuts/almon...rce=googlebase

Ottawa, took some down time at work to figure out what you should eat calorie and carb wise from the Phase 4 list posted in Phases. When it comes down to it you should be eating (to maintian) 1800-2000 calories a day with approx 200 carb per day. So 10% of your diet should be complex carbs. If you keep a list on Fitday or sparkpeople or whatever you like you should be able to have no sugar added PB (given I'd still do organic because I love organic products) as long as you don't go overboard. PB is protein after all....just track how many carbs it has in it.

Does that make sense???

Speaking of different butters, I lived in Atlanta for 10 years and would frequent the Dekalb Famers market. It was wondeful in supplying freshly ground butters...right there in front of you. Cashew butter is SOOOO yummy!!

SoyNut Butter
 

http://www.nutsonline.com/nuts/nut-b...ed-creamy.html

5 fibers 1 net carb sounds like a nice alternative.

It's okay to have protein and carbs together. His reasoning (that I don't completely buy into) is that when we eat carbs, the insulin secreted tells our body to store whatever fats and oils we're eating as adipose, or fat cells. So if you eat your fats (and proteins) earlier in the day, and there's little to no insulin in your system, then it will just be processed and expelled without being stored. Then at dinner, you can eat your carbs (and proteins) without worrying about there being dietary fats in your digestive system to be stored by the rush of insulin. And he says you can mix them in moderation, like buttering your toast, because why break with tradition. Just no greasy lasagna. And if you do have greasy lasagna one day, he says to go back on phase I the following day, so your system will burn through everything before it has time to build up.

I love the Dekalb Farmer's Market, it's only about 5-10 miles away from my house. It makes buying organic a lot more affordable, and everything is so fresh! The only thing I don't like about it is that I go in for 3 items and come out with a packed cartload.

Bwhahahaha, leaving iwth 3 items. Impossible. What I loved about it also was the different cultures who shop there, and the variety of different culture type foods. I always left there with a new recipe to try.

Dang I miss Atlanta!! Maybe someday I'll be in a position to move back there.

SandraB - just for you - someone posted a ketchup recipe on page 34 of the recipes thread. Apparently all the ingredients are IP approved - although I'm not sure about tomato paste.

well i am disappointed about the yogurt!! i really like it, and i am in canada, so guess mine has been at 14 carbs a packet!! that is crazy. i try not to let this diet get to complex for me, rather keep in mind that i started on sept 21 and (technically) finished on dec 20th, which at that time lost 47 lbs. as mentioned, lost nothing since, but due to circumstances. also i think i am one of those who needed a "break" anyways. i remember from our meeting that some people choose 2 goals. a mini goal, then a final goal. although i did not plan that, that is how it has turned out. i can get back on track that way, rather than feel like a failure!!! and i do try to keep in mind that the second wieght loss will be more timely than the first portion. but i think i will try to do what i did before because right up until christmas, i did not find it that hard really. sometimes i wonder if it weren't for christmas, if i would have had such difficulties. oh well. movin on!! but damn, i like the yogurt!!

and ottawa!! hats off to you for quitting smoking the same time as losing weight. i needed to do both, but did not dare attempt at same time. besides my husband told me if i quit before mexico i could go alone!! JK. i tend to get a little biotchy trying to break that particular habit. but it is on my list for may 1st!! so good luck to you!

Hi, Ottowa!! How are you going about quitting smoking?

I did mine for a week way back when I wasn't falling off every 3 days....can we all just refer to this glorious disciplined period as BH (Before Holidays)? Anyway, I was taking in between 800-1000 cals., and 30-40 carbs. I must say that I was surprised at how many carbs I was eating, I just assumed it would have been between 20-25, like Meghan.

Hey ladies! Glad to see you all over here, seemed like we were getting lost in the hustle & bustle of the new year dieter rage! I have not been on since Sunday. I am trying to make since of my diet since I jumped or flat fell of the wagon! I was not in a happy place & the minute a carb hit my mouth, my spirits lifted & my body payed the price, tummy issues & now pancreas & kidneys ache! I actually can not wait to get back on plan. So why am I not going on plan then??? I have out of town guests coming this weekend & it so much easier to cook like a normal person then deprive myself. Also my 30th bday is next Wednesday & my girls are taking me out for a nice dinner. The next day I will start OVER & will be glad to have my gals encouraging me on!

I was able to swing into my IP office yesterday to inform them of my face plant off the wagon. They gave me Phase 4 to follow until then, to give me carbs & fruit to make me happy! Not sure I understand it totally but will follow it close enough. No matter wether I follow it or not, I will have to get back in ketosis. They also put me on medical grade St John's Wort to hopefully help with the depression I am having.

I can not believe how all that CRAP food I ate before this diet does NOT taste good any more. Veggies taste good to me! Pop, ack...when did they start putting so many bubbles & syrup in it! LOL! Glad my body is rejectiong that CRAP! Maybe when I am really off IP I can succeed at keeping the weight off!

Does anyone have Phase 1 food listing that they can email me, I have misplaced mine & the link on one of the other threads is not working.

MEGHAN

Ohmygosh.....our own little thread!!!! What a great idea, OgDog!!! And so nice to see us "oldies" together again! I am glad there are so many newbies...but for me, I just don't have the time to go thru 5-8 pages of posts everyday. We have all been thru it...or are going thru it....

Well, since I have talked to some of you on Private Messages, I know that I am not the only one having trouble getting back on plan. So - I gotta be honest, here.....I am supposed to be on Phase II....but haven't done ONE day right of it yet. I am under an awful lot of stress and just need to have more comfort food! I have kept it at sugarfree candy (ok...the Whitman Chocolate covered almonds have been the "bomb" for me. I actually "go" every day now). I eat 1-2 of the 100 calorie ice cream bars daily (well, haven't had any today). I still eat approved IP in the a.m......tried going to just an omelette...so disappointed that it doesn't hold me as long as the IP oatmeal does.

I haven't read Dr. Tsan's book -- 75 pages and sitting here in the cold computer room hasn't sounded real appealing....but I think I better read it.
SandraB - good for you for going back on plan. I wish I could...but I think I have lost my drive. PLUS - I just cannot afford it anymore. My son lost his jobs, which means he hasn't paid me for the loan I gave him when my husband died in 3 months. That was $400 a month...and that was how I paid for IP.

I must have IP mentality tho. When I am hurried, and haven't eaten breakfast (or perhaps lunch), I still grab a bar. I tried a lot of bars...I have 2 favorites that I got from Netrition. One was the "Oh Yeah" bars (don't have any to read the nutritional value....and the other I like is "Power Crunch" bars. Here's the values on the Power Crunch bars: 200 calories...fat 12g, 10g carbs and 13g protein. These still don't hold me as long as the IP bars...but they are a heckuva lot cheaper.

I am debating between a few things.....going on maintenance or the alternative plan. Just tryiing to keep my carb count low and low fat......I am a big fan of Hungry-Girl.com and get her digest every day. She kinda follows the WW plan...but her digests keep me updated on what is NEW out there....Most of her foods are high in carbs tho.

One peanut butter she suggests is called "Better'n Peanut Butter"...which has 85% less fan, and 40% less calories than regular peanut butter. I actually DO like it. I have spread it VERY thinly on Pretzel Chips that she recommended also.

So - back to the Lindora stuff....do they have puddings??? I have practically lived on IP puddings and bars thru doing IP.

Anyways, I am SO glad we have this new forum. I didn't want to post on the regular forum, because I did not want to damper anyone's enthusiasm....I didn't want to say how expensive this has become for me now.....I still think it is a wonderful diet, and I know I couldn't have lost 40# without it.

Hi Ladies,

Phase 2 begins once you have reached 90% of your goal. The old Ideal Protein paperwork states 80% but that has been altered to 90% now. My husband is on phase 2.

I don't understand why this diet has to be so expensive, even the vitamins are totally outrageous in comparison to what you can buy elsewhere. my husband does think that even though it works, it is a major money making scheme. ever notice how depressed and guilty we all feel as soon as we consider venturing off? i hate feeling that if i am not on IP - i can niether lose nor maintain my weight. i should not feel so dependant on it. my whole purpose of going on this diet was to learn good eating habits, and continue to practice them throughout the second half of my life. so Torchlaker, if you feel that the diet is too expensive, (which it is) just apply the habits and techniques you learned. really, if IP suddenly went out of business, would we all gain our weight back? I HOPE NOT! or else we are surrendering to being on IP for life!! soon i plan to be packet "free". for many reasons. expenses, getting boring, and missing real foods. it sounds like you are trying to make many conscious decisions in your eating, and that is probably what we were all lacking before. if we eat proper, healthy, we should not gain our weight back. that is what IP should have been all about, was to motivate us...not to keep us on thier product for life. cause no way in **** am i doing that!! if it was simply our health they were concerned about, they probably could have made this product slightly more affordable!! just my thoughts for the day!

I checked out the wildberry yogurt and crepe carbs - the wildberry I have says 14 carbs and crepes, which are restricted are less at 13g. Interesting...

I hear you all about the cost - man it's dangerous to add up all the weekly receipts for supplies. I've never had those amazing weekly weight losses - slow but steady but boy i'd like to have a week where I lose or 5 (or more) lbs. It hits me really hard during a week when I don't lose much and I head out of my weigh in thinking - I just paid $90 to lose 2 lbs. I know, I know - all the other saving but it's an easy tally and very unforgiving. I heard a rumour from someone who works in the office that the mark up is 100%. I believe it - the diet industry is big business.

I asked my consultant about the difference between Dr. Trans veg list and the IP list - she basically said that the book is older and so there have been changes based on people's questions and input. I buy that a bit - but Dr. Tran is the Dr. that developed the diet and I tend to lend weight to his entire plan and how it all works together - not just green peppers vs. red peppers that the IP people seem to concentrate on. I'm going to go and look up glycemic index numbers for veggies - Dr. Tran talks about glycemic index when he sorts his vegetables into enjoy and enjoy in moderation.

SandraB yeah - I'm like you and hoping that I will learn skills and tricks from this diet so that I can move on to regular food and not gain back my weight. I never plan on having to lose 50 lbs again.