Thank you BlueMermaid for your Vegas information. My hubby and I are headed there 5 weeks from tomorrow, which will be after I've been on IP for 6 weeks. I told him tonight my goal is to stay on IP until we go to Vegas, then enjoy my vacation thoroughly (but probably not to the excess I'd have done in the past), and then just get back on the wagon when we get home. You are right, life is short and our vacation / time alone for just the two of us is something that doesn't happen often. Not that food makes it better, but if we want to share a treat we are going to do it. I really needed to read your information tonight, because today was a really crabby "poor me" day for me. Thank you very much!

Apparently Vegas is the place to go! My boyfriend and I got back a week and a half ago, and we had the same mindset. We were on the diet faithfully for 6 weeks prior to our trip as well. At first I was going to stay on plan the whole week except for a splurge day. We ended up going off plan for the whole week we were there, and it was great. I only gained four pounds (which came off almost immediately after restarting the diet), and I ate some of the most delicious food I've had in a long time. Basically, it was WORTH the setback, and also gave us the break and recharge we needed to continue with the diet (though now I'm struggling with health issues, but not motivation). You'll have a great time!

You are welcome! I am glad I made your day a little bit better. We all need to be extremely proud of ourselves. We are all sacrificing food that we really enjoy to lose weight and become more healthy. This diet was not meant to tell you that you can never eat what you enjoy. It is to learn new habits like learning to really enjoy vegetables and make better choices. We will all have to make choices after IP and Dr. Tran also says that we can use IP as a tool to maintain for when we don't make such great choices.

Please keep us informed if your doctor thinks your health problems have anything to do with IP. I know the Canadians have had IP available for much longer than we have in the United States and I have not seen any negative information on the internet about IP. I really feel it has been the easiest diet to stay loyal to for me.

Thanks BlueMermaid for the info on taking a vacation break and your encouragement and ideas for my hunger and headaches. I have a family vacation in Mexico planned for the end of April and have been wondering how I was going to do that. I thought I would try to stick to the plan at least for breakfast and not go crazy other meals. Sounds like it is very doable and not much damage will come of it. I want to enjoy meals with all my family while gone.

Any ideas are welcome!

Jordanna - thanks for the booster! I wanted to mention that I caught sight of my "before" pics and was disgusted! I had no idea I looked that way! Isn't it funny how our minds can make us believe that we are smaller than we really are. Although I'm not even half way to my goal, I no longer mind catching a view of myself in the mirror! My boyfriend today added to my boost as he told me how proud he was of me and how much he enjoyed watching me walk away in my undies! :val2: What a good feeling!

I can't remember who asked about spices, but I make a ton of stir frys and my favorite seasoning is the Mrs. Dash chili lime! AMAZING!

That sounds completely awful! My coach has several rooms that people go into to be weighed and measured and the food is located in the waiting room. I would look for something more private if it is of concern to you for sure! I discuss many personal things with my coach and don't want the rest of the patients to hear. When I first started I was embarrassed just seeing others at the clinic, but we're all in the same boat and I've gotten over that and offer advice to people there for consultations. But, that doesn't mean I want to share my measurements with others! Good luck if you change coaches!!!

Swik: I will post in the other thread with book titles and stuff tomorrow afternoon.

Libbyshims: Stay away from those Vegas all you can eat buffets! A couple of months ago I stayed at the Paris hotel there, and their buffet is toooo good. I was noticing that Mandalay Bay has an ALL DAY all you can eat buffet. Don't go! (Or if you do, come back and tell us about it. :D )

Jen: I wouldn't consider the Miracle Noodles or the Tofu Shirataki noodles to be a restricted food. There is only 1 net carb per serving in the Tofu Shirataki and none in the Miracles Noodles. Blue Mermaid already posted where you can get the Miracle Noodles. You can find out where to get the Tofu Shirataki noodles here.

Lightheadedness
 

I agree. This has only happened to me a couple of times, but sitting down and consuming water and salt worked for me. Once it was after shoveling copious amounts of heavy snow, so in addition, I ate a bar -- the only restricted food I've had on this diet -- before lunch rather than with lunch. Usually water and salt does the trick, though checking your blood pressure is a good idea, also. Mine has gone down significantly, and I've had to adjust my meds accordingly.

Signatures
 

Technical issues... the external ones still work, however. You might want to switch until they get it worked out.

yinyang - Hang in there! The first 3 days were the worst for me. Your hunger will go away- hopefully today! I had to lick salt off my hand at night during the first week to deal with the little headaches I was getting. You can do it. :hug: :D :cheer2:

BlueMermaid : My coach conducts the weigh-ins and the scale is in one of the rooms at the chiropractic office- it has a closed door. I think it's a violation of HIPPA for them to do it where others can see and hear what is going on. This is personal healthcare! I think you should tell them that you do not want to be weighed and measured where others can see and hear what it is going on. It is your health and is personal. If you WANT to disclose something and talk to someone, you can- but that's your decision, not theirs. Talk to them about it, raise the privacy/HIPPA/patient confidentiality concerns (this is a doctor-managed diet, right?) and if they don't address it, go somewhere else. I'm sorry you are having this problem. It is simply unprofessional of them.

Just wanted to say that you all are great! Keep up the good work! :broc:

I am thinking of buying a scale. Does anyone have a scale that measures body fat %? I wonder if I should spend the money on it or if that would be a waste. It's nice to know the % but maybe I really just care about the weight. Opinions?

For me, the little headache 3 weeks in turned out to be mild dehydration -- hard to believe with all the water I consume. But if you drink coffee, you need to offset each cup with an additional glass of water, and make sure you are diligent about your sea salt intake. So try those adjustments, and you may find the headache goes away.

Some of the in-person "coaching" support out there isn't that great, to be honest, so I'd just stick with this group for information and motivation. :)

Scale
 

I am thinking of buying a scale. Does anyone have a scale that measures body fat %? I wonder if I should spend the money on it or if that would be a waste. It's nice to know the % but maybe I really just care about the weight. Opinions?[/QUOTE]

There are some great scales out there... mine is an Omron I got at Amazon, and I'm happy to have it. BMI calculation is pretty standard and it does that, but the body fat percentage is a different calculation than the scale where I'm quite sure you weigh in, since I believe we go to the same place. :) You can have a scale do that, but you can also use an online calculator based on your measurements. If you want to be consistent with your weigh-ins during the diet, look for the formula developed by the US Army and Navy. I've found that to give the same result. If you Google "most accurate body fat calculator" you will find it.

Anyway, I now do all my weighing and measuring at home, so I like to have my own equipment.

If you want to find the men, you have to look for the people losing twice as much weight as the rest of us!

Hi Babs,

I love my coffee and couldn't stomach the sweetner in it. I bought the UHT vanilla drink and pour that in as creamer. I get my 2 cups of coffee and my protein at the same time. If I want it cold, I put coffee/UHT in my bullet and have it frappiccino style.

I agree about the coaching--big differences out there. This group has been a life saver for me. I come on here now more than Facebook and I love it!