[fluffymama]

Originally Posted by skittlescda

Hi Fluffymama......for your sweet tooth have you tried chocolate soy crisp puffs? I had them for the first time a few nights ago and they were amazing, filling and satisfying. I know its all a struggle but keep thinking of your goal and if you take a step or two back, just remember to get back on track as soon as you can!!

I cant have that yet, I wrapping up the end of my third week. Thanks for the thought though..

[Eastcoastmama]

I want to thank everyone for their encouragement to cook the same thing for my family as I am making for myself.
Planned our menu for the next couple of weeks and went shopping.
Planned to do a roast in the crock pot, salmon, tacos, meatballs (they will have tomato sauce and I will have sweet and sour sauce like someone suggested), roasted chicken and the spicy chicken legs to name a few meals. I am excited. I think it will be much easier just making the one meal. I think this will really help us all after I reach my goal to keep eating healthy.

[wagnomore]

Are altoid minis legal or is it just like gum - a no? They are sugar-free with Sorbitol as the sweetener.

[skittlescda]

Originally Posted by fluffymama

I cant have that yet, I wrapping up the end of my third week. Thanks for the thought though..

Hi Fluffymama, You can't have them yet?? Why?? Nobody told me that I couldn't have them until my third week, it was my third week actually that I had them for the first time but I didn't know any different.

[ritiki19]

jordanna....or anyone - when you make something like the turkey meatballs, how many do you allow yourself for dinner? How do you count the veggies? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! They sound fantastic and I want to make them tomorrow!

[jordanna]

Originally Posted by ritiki19

jordanna....or anyone - when you make something like the turkey meatballs, how many do you allow yourself for dinner? How do you count the veggies? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! They sound fantastic and I want to make them tomorrow!

If you use 1 lb of meat - that's 16 oz so basically three 5 oz servings, then you add two cups of veggies to the recipe and divide that over three servings so I basically count it as about 3/4 of a cup of veggies per serving Hope that helps!

[jordanna]

Originally Posted by skittlescda

Hi Fluffymama, You can't have them yet?? Why?? Nobody told me that I couldn't have them until my third week, it was my third week actually that I had them for the first time but I didn't know any different.

all coaches are different - some don't let you have restricted items until you are a month in to the program, some coaches don't let you have them until you have reached 90% of your goal, and some let you have them right away....it just depends on the coach and how strict you want to be on the program.

[ritiki19]

testing to see if trackers is working.....

[skittlescda]

Originally Posted by jordanna

all coaches are different - some don't let you have restricted items until you are a month in to the program, some coaches don't let you have them until you have reached 90% of your goal, and some let you have them right away....it just depends on the coach and how strict you want to be on the program.

Oh my....that is just torture if you ask me. I mean maybe one month without restricted foods but to not be able to eat them until you have lost 90% of your goal is just crazy and I can't imagine that to be very healthy. I'm not sure if everyone's "restricted" list of foods is the same as mine but if I eliminated all of them (see below) I would be eating nothing but soup, drinks, puddings, salad & veggies for a long time.

My list of restricted foods includes all bars, all soy puffs, chili, oatmeal, pancakes, all soy nuts, muffins, salt and vinegar ridges, stew and spaghetti.

[Texas Sweetie]

Echobaby - Thanks. Every little bit of encouragement is always welcome!

HopefulTricia - I'm the one going to wine country this summer. Looking forward to it, as I've never been. Two of us are meeting the 3rd girlfriend there (she lives in Playa del Rey) and taking the scenic route. I'm sure you'll do just fine while you're there. Okay, so maybe wine isn't exactly on IP program, but enjoy a little and concentrate on good eating habits. You CAN do this!

[HopefulTricia]

Originally Posted by Texas Sweetie

Echobaby - Thanks. Every little bit of encouragement is always welcome!

HopefulTricia - I'm the one going to wine country this summer. Looking forward to it, as I've never been. Two of us are meeting the 3rd girlfriend there (she lives in Playa del Rey) and taking the scenic route. I'm sure you'll do just fine while you're there. Okay, so maybe wine isn't exactly on IP program, but enjoy a little and concentrate on good eating habits. You CAN do this!

Texas Sweetie - Thanks for the encouragement -I will report back to you in early March or even from CA if possible. It seems like a pretty big temptation right now but I am so into this diet (at day three) and with at least 50 pounds to lose, I really don't want to slow my progress. Especially since that's when I get discouraged and give up. So Valentine's Day will be fine (movies and Bonefish tonight)-- a week of visiting wineries might not be quite so easy. I'm thinking I will just buy bottles of wine for the future-- won't feel deprived and will know I can have some later. This is how I quit smoking many years ago-- carried cigarettes around with me saying I could have one a little later... somehow telling me I can't have something pretty much guarantees I will have it!
Two other comments - I have no restricted foods, but I do have a food group where you can pick only one from it a day. The crisps. chocolate soy, spaghetti and stew for example, are part of that group.
Wondering about the gum? I had some last evening. Didn't realize it isn't allowed. Thoughts???
5 pounds lost. This is the beginning of day 3. Last night I made a list of all the things I want to do in about 4 months. Things I've been avoiding due to my weight like seeing old friends. Pretty excited about the possibilities.

[swilk]

Well, we're leaving for Las Vegas in a few hours. I'm a little nervous; mostly about flying (I hate flying) but also about staying on plan. My boyfriend surprised me last night by taking me out to dinner to the restaurant where we had our first date last night. VERY romantic, but also very challenging, since it's a sushi and thai restaurant (rice, anyone?). It was also our first time at a restaurant since starting the diet. We ended up eating some chicken, broccoli and a small serving of restricted vegetables, and some edamame, which isn't anywhere on our approved list, but it seemed to be the best choice for appetizer options. And, my boyfriend put it in perspective by saying that he wasn't going to feel guilty and obsess over eating some beans. Which is true; had we been in maintenance, that's the kind of choice we would have been so proud of ourselves for making. And the scale went down this morning, so I'm chalking it up to an excellent test of our willpower at a restaurant. Of course, we'll be with friends this week who are NOT watching what they're eating, so it'll be a little more challenging. Plus, it's a vacation, the kind of time where normally you would splurge and indulge a little, so part of me wants to just enjoy myself with food and not have to worry about thinking and planning and scrutinizing menus -- which I will on Thursday when I have my planned day

Have a great week everyone, and happy Valentine's day! Good luck resisting temptation today!

[swilk]

Originally Posted by HopefulTricia

Two other comments - I have no restricted foods, but I do have a food group where you can pick only one from it a day. The crisps. chocolate soy, spaghetti and stew for example, are part of that group.
Wondering about the gum? I had some last evening. Didn't realize it isn't allowed. Thoughts???

Those items are called restricted items. Bars, puffs, soy nuts, oatmeal, chili, stew, etc. are all considered "restricted" because you can only have one per day. I believe the spaghetti is only twice a week. There's different schools of thought on the gum. Some say if it's sugarfree and you wash it off before chewing, you're fine. My coach says NO to gum, because chewing it stimulates your digestive system and your body produces insulin, prepping for food (or something like that). We are only allowed to use Listerine PocketPak strips. That said, we're flying today, so I am bringing gum for the plane because my ears don't adjust well.

[BevS]

Originally Posted by wagnomore

Has anyone ever woke up with muscle cramps in your legs - kinda felt like a "charlie horse" kind of cramp in the calf of my leg this morning.

Yes, I've had that happen. I think it's from not getting enough potassium and/or calcium. Are you taking all of your supplements?

[BlueMermaid]

I don't think I am in ketosis and that is part of why I have been hungry the last 3 days. We had been on vacation and indulged in extra protein at dinner but stayed on plan the rest of the day. I have the ketostix and they are not changing color at all. My scale has been flat since last Tuesday when I got home. I have been eating a restricted almost everyday since I started the plan but I think that may be too many carbs for me now. I don't weigh in until Tuesday so I think for the next 3 days I am going to stay away from the restricted. I was really hoping for a good loss this week since last week was small.

Here is how my weeks have gone.

Week prior to ideal protein I did Atkins and lost 5 lbs.
Week 1 IP- -5.4
Week 2 IP- -3.6
Week 3 IP- -4.6
Week 4 IP- -1.6 weigh in after vacation and tom