IP Chat - Week of March 8 - 14th
 

Here is the link to last weeks chat

Ideal Protein Weekly Chat March 1 - 7th

I'm trying out the cauliflower crusted pizza tonight - very excited!!

NSV's - today I felt my collarbone and I can't wear my wedding bands because they won't stay on my finger :)

So...I was having a few "issues" shall we say and used a dose of Citrate of Magnesium or whatever that stuff is called. Whooooo Boy, won't be doing that again. Wowzers. I think I'm going to explore taking a daily fiber pill to try to ward off any "issues" again. It's been a rough 24 hours!

VERY NICE! :carrot:



Week 6 for me.....time flies. Every time I hit the scale and its down, I'm surprised. Not sure what to expect for the next 5 weeks but anything around the 12 I've lost in the first 5 would be amazing. I'm expecting less.

I remember my first week feeling like it was a month long and now here I am two months into the program and the weeks are just flying by!!

Keep up with the positive outlook, 12 lbs is 12 lbs!!

So today will be the first real test to avoid cheating, our boss's daughter comes to the office after work, cute little 8-year-old on a regular basis, actually helps around the office a lot. Yesterday was her birthday, so we are celebrating with a cake for her. I don't eat many sweets, but can never resist birthday cake when it is for an actual birthday, not just cause. I resisted pizza the other night because my boyfriend got olives and pepperoni, neither of which I like. Cake I like so this will be tough. Just need to tell myself that it is not my dad's homemade icing, it is store bought, and nowhere near as good. Will keep everyone posted!!!

I will want the details please on how that pizza tastes!!

Congratulations on your success.... can't wait to be there.

Jordanna - Congrats on your NSV and continued losses.

My weekend went better and now I am not as hungry as I was last week. I think I am in ketosis, as I do have a somewhat different taste and the reduced hunger. Yeah! I have been using BreathRx mouthwash and it seems to really help. My hubby can't stand that ketosis breath.

I have been having a few sugar free pickles in my salad and it is so good. I always have put these in my salad and am glad I can continue. They have
1g carb which so far hasn't hurt me.

Tomorrow is my first weighin. I am anxious to go as I feel "lighter". We email our food list to our coach and she has everything ready for us. So far I find I like all the food. I do like to make the puddings into a smoothie though with lots of ice.

Thanks for starting our new thread. I also, can't wear my rings - i did find my pinkie ring from when i graduated from university (25 years ago) and it fits. i told my husband that i'm going to need some new rings - he got this confused look on his face - so funny - poor guy!

Store bought cake and icing are full of chemicals and they taste awful. Save your "slip" for something more worthwhile.

Eat one of your IP snacks or some protein (cheese, nuts) before the cake event.

Another tip is not to look directly at the cake and don't spend any time near it or talking about it. Ignore it like you would an enemy (which it is.)

Also, drink some extra water.

Come back and report your NSV (non-scale victory.)

My favorite thing to have on IP (I have it twice a day) is the vanilla pudding made into a shake with a couple tsp of instant decaf coffee in it and 2 ice cubes...mmmmmmmm, some days I have to convince myself not to have all three of my IP meals as this!

thank you Jordanna... I was down 1.5 on the scale but 4 lbs. fat which is great! I knew that I slacked off this week on getting all my water in and my coach said that my retention was up so I am going to be chugging the water the next few days to see if I can have a few more lbs. come off like Libby* did a few weeks ago. I am officially at 145.2 and so today I went home and tried on all my old jeans and shirts that either haven't fit in a year or 2 or didn't "look right" on me. I feel like I went shopping! I like how all my old shirts look and I have finally managed to fit into my favorite pair of jeans (they are a little snug but 5 more lbs or so should do the trick) Needless to say I am in a great mood today. Congrats to everyone who is losing this week!

I am going to Texas on my spring break next week for a wedding. I plan to have 2 meals at a place called Cheddars.. by this time I will have been solid on IP for 5 weeks so I am going to have a few small portions of pasta on those to occasions and some wedding cake. I am going to enjoy the heck out of it too :) Have a nice Monday!!

Also, do any of you think that doing some intense leg workouts over the next few weeks will help with some of the loss in my legs? I have lost a few inches but the loss in my upper body is much more significant than the loss in my lower body. I also have cellulite on the insides of my thighs (my biggest insecurity). My beautiful, lovely, wonderful thighs (i'm trying to sweet talk them into going away this week) are my final stumbling block on this diet. Hopefully my last 26 lbs. come off of my thighs..HA!

I think we should all post our least favorite part of our body and say audios to it!

Those are called "planned slips" and IP will be there for you when you get back. Eat a few bites of protein before the pasta so you don't get an "insulin surge" from the carb intake.

But most of all: Have fun and let us know how it went when you come back.

Oh, and what are you wearing to the wedding? I love fashion reports.

Jordanna,

I am eating the fritatta that you posted on the recipe page for lunch right now and it is wonderful!! I'm not a huge fan of the IP Omelet and this is actually really good. I did cheat with 1 tsp parm cheese though :)

Fashion Report: A black strapless dress... it's simple but I will be able to wear it again and that was important when spending $145 on it. Oh and a NSV involving the dress.. I bought it last Oct. just to make sure I would be able to get that exact one and took it in to be altered last Monday before losing 6 more lbs. and she said she would be taking it in from a size 12 (I have a big bust which makes strapless dresses difficult) to a size 7.5. How awesome is that!?

I'm a guy so probably normal but gut/love handles for me.

Rachel:

I just saw that your picture showed up. You are so young and beautiful.

I am 57 y.o. and if I had my life to do over again I would have started strength training in my teens or at least by my 20's. And we didn't know anything about "bad carbs" back then so you are lucky in that respect.

I was always slender and toning my muscles would have given me a great looking body and most likely avoided a lot of fat gain over the years.

For your legs I recommend starting with simple squats (thats what Beyonce did to get those great legs.)

But the Holy Grail exercise system is "The Firm" which is a kit sold at Target that comes with steps that also turn into a ramp. You will need to buy a set of dumbbells to go with the kit. The kit comes with some exercise CD's that you build you up from beginner level. You see results pretty fast.

I did Firm workouts for one whole summer in 2006 and noticed a huge improvement in my muscle tone (enough to wear a spaghetti strap short little black dress to my 35th High School Reunion, wink-wink.)

Since I'm giving out motherly advice, here's something else I would have done different and I wish I could share with all young women:

Avoid men that have a poor relationship with their mother. Whether the fault is with the mother or not, the poor guy didn't learn how to understand or treat a woman. I learned this from experience.

Hooray, glad you are enjoying it :) I sneak some cheese in mine once in a while too and hasn't slowed down my weight loss at all. I don't look at cheese as a cheat, it's more like a tool you pull out of your belt once in a while to help get the job done :)

My belly for sure is my body area that gives me the most trouble (I am apple shaped.) And my upper arms are a close second but those are easier to cover up. No arm tatoos for me.

Seven and a half? Never heard of in-between sizes like that. Beyond awesome.

Please take pictures at the wedding and post them here!

Speaking of toning, gotta go to the gym. Bye 'til later.

She may have been telling me that because it wasn't taken in to quite a 6 but not a solid 8 and she knew I had been on a diet LOL. and thanks for the awesome advice. Beyonce's legs are to die for! Also, the information about guys is soo true!

I'd have to say the gut and the "man boobs" are what I'm trying to get rid of.
My wife keeps telling me I don't have man boobs, but I think she's saying that to be nice.

Also, anyone here eating bok choy? I've started doing stir fry and am using bok choy in it. Do we count bok choy as unlimited lettuce or does it apply to our 4 cups of select veggies? I'd ask my coach, but I'd probably get an equally useless answer if I asked my 5 year old.

Thanks.

HI all

I hope you don't mind if I crash your group. I just finished my first week on IP and I lost 14 pounds. The first 4 days were hellish and my poor fiance thought I was possessed because my moods were up and down but I fought through it and today I feel almost normal.

I have a lot of motivation behind doing this diet. One is my Sept 18 wedding and I want to be a smokin hot bride, the second is we want kids right away and I want to be in the best shape of my life when we try.

I have been reading this forum all week and I have already learned so many tips etc.

Have a great evening everyone!
KimAnn

Ummm...wow! 14 in one week is awesome! I lost 12 my first week and was ecstatic. I can't imagine how excited you must be.

ok, well then I would have to say "audios" to my hips, butt, thighs and gut. I wish they would go far, far away!!!!!!!!

I make baby bok choy soup every other day for lunch and I count it as my two cups of veggies. On our "IP Phase 1 Protocol" shhet it's listed as one of the select veggies and not as a lettuce so I would count it as such. :)

I used to do the Firm videos a lot over the years and they are great. I also have gone to circuit training classes for many years too. They will certainly help with the toning, but not too much in a couple weeks. Spanx will help more in the short term!

I have not done any exercise this last week and I am itching to get back at it. I feel quite a bit better this week and more energetic, so plan to start mid week with walking and using my exercise bands.

I love bok choy and my information lists it as a select veggie, which would mean by the cup. It should filly you up though.

THAT IS SO GREAT!!!

Bok choy is Chinese cabbage, and belongs in the veg list as IP approved!

I think it is considered a veggy

Ughh. Then I cheated last night. Had 2 cups of vegetables (mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower, bean sprouts, celery) AND one whole baby bok choy. So I probably went over on my vegetables yesterday by a cup and a half, maybe 2. Probably why I didn't lose today.

Oh well. Thanks for the clarification.

Hey Scott,

Don't beat yourself up - it could have been worse!! Bok Choy is only 3.2g of carbs per two cups so you picked a perfect veggie to screw up on!

If you want to bulk up your stir fry's try adding a head of romaine hearts - it tastes just like bok choy in a stir fry and adds that nice crunch, but it's a free lettuce :) I do that once in a while when I really want a big dinner :)

I'll try that. Really enjoyed the stir fry. Have a feeling I'll be making it frequently.

I drank water, and told myself it was nowhere near as good as my dad's. It worked, home to a extra-lean turkey burger (no bun) and roasted asparagus, one of my favorite veggies, cooked in a little olive oil and sea salt (saving most of the sea salt for this meal) Yummy. For my sweet tooth, I'll have a bar tonight as I've been good all day.

WAY TO GO! What a great feeling to resist something we know we shouldn't have... it's not worth being set back 3 days or a week for that matter. Great job:cheer2:

Great Job Babs! Way to resist the cake. You will be pleased with the numbers on the scale. :cp:

Rachel, great picture! I bet you are gonna knock'em dead in that little black dress. :flame: You are going to be on fire. I can't wait to see the picture and hear all the compliments you are going to get. Have a great time and don't stress over what you plan on eating. Oh, to be 19 again!

Finally, I have my Tracker. Unfortunately I only lost 1.3 lbs week 4. I have definately slowed to a snails pace.

Say Cheese!!!!
 

I know we've discussed this before, but I wanted to mention again for the newcomers and the talk about putting cheese on your omelets...I use soy cheese and LOVE it! I'm a total cheese freak and was really nervous at the thought of soy cheese, but truly once it's melted it's just like the real thing. Eating it "raw" is not very good as it has a weird texture, but melted is amazing!!!! I had the cheddar and last time bought the pepper jack and it's wonderful!

Also, someone mentioned having a bar as their evening snack. I just started the bars last week and my coach recommended that I eat them for breakfast or lunch. She said due to the higher carb count, by having them early you know your body is burning off the carbs. If you have it at night it doesn't get as good of a chance to and could affect your loss. This advice came to meet after a week of gaining .8. I only had the bar at night twice and missed a ton of veggies so it was all in all a not so great week. Just thought I'd pass it along. Others may have not experienced this.