[natural girl]

I just made the most awesome chips! I sliced zucchini really thin probably 1/8". I bought a mandolin at Walmart it is Farberware and was only $20 and has several different cutting blades. I used the thinnest one and sliced the zucchini on it and fried it in organic extra virgin olive oil until golden brown. When I took it out to drain on paper towels I sprinkled it with sea salt. It was heaven! They are good the baked way also, just not as crisp. These were so much like potato chips. This is obviously something you can't eat everyday as I am sure it is beyond our oil consumption. I was testing these for a dish I want to make and while they are excellent they are not "strong" enough to pick up a dip. Making them thicker does not produce that crispy chip experience though.

[pitakitten]

Originally Posted by mamaerinb

WI #5, down 3.2 lbs and 7 inches! Maybe I can lose 2 more by this weekend to make my mini-goal?.....we shall see

160's here I come for ya!

super cool!! congratulations Erin. mine is friday so we'll see, I don't think I've lost anything.

[Novak]

Originally Posted by QueenJumbie

I'm headed to a seafood restaurant tonight and I'm excited to have crab legs. I don't ever use the butter, so just the meat should be acceptable. I was just wondering, does anyone have any idea if I can have 1lb of crab legs or 1.5lbs to = the 7oz of seafood allowed? There's so little meat in the legs it seems, but I don't want to over eat, because as week three WI approaches, I don't think I'm going to see a loss and I certainly don't want to push it anymore than I did last friday night with my 3 alcoholic drinks- which I'm sure is the reason I didn't see a loss. (They were the low carb beers though- only about 8 carbs!)

What kind of crab? For snow crab, I've read that 2 pounds uncracked (shell and meat combined) yields 1 pound of meat. So a pound of uncracked would yield ~8 ounces of meat. Different crab have different yields, so it really depends...

[kellyrook]

Originally Posted by natural girl

I just made the most awesome chips! I sliced zucchini really thin probably 1/8". I bought a mandolin at Walmart it is Farberware and was only $20 and has several different cutting blades. I used the thinnest one and sliced the zucchini on it and fried it in organic extra virgin olive oil until golden brown. When I took it out to drain on paper towels I sprinkled it with sea salt. It was heaven! They are good the baked way also, just not as crisp. These were so much like potato chips. This is obviously something you can't eat everyday as I am sure it is beyond our oil consumption. I was testing these for a dish I want to make and while they are excellent they are not "strong" enough to pick up a dip. Making them thicker does not produce that crispy chip experience though.

I just had some for lunch! Today I tried to spray a nonstick baking sheet with EVO to cut back on the oil. Didn't work quite as well as my other technique of brushing pan with silicone brush thingy and then brushing zuchini after arranging them on the pan. This way I can get by with 1 1/2 tsp. of oil. Bake at 450 and then let them get dark and crisp. Awesome!

[jordanna]

Originally Posted by natural girl

I just made the most awesome chips! I sliced zucchini really thin probably 1/8". I bought a mandolin at Walmart it is Farberware and was only $20 and has several different cutting blades. I used the thinnest one and sliced the zucchini on it and fried it in organic extra virgin olive oil until golden brown. When I took it out to drain on paper towels I sprinkled it with sea salt. It was heaven! They are good the baked way also, just not as crisp. These were so much like potato chips. This is obviously something you can't eat everyday as I am sure it is beyond our oil consumption. I was testing these for a dish I want to make and while they are excellent they are not "strong" enough to pick up a dip. Making them thicker does not produce that crispy chip experience though.

just as an FYI - according to my coach you are not supposed to fry any of your foods. Bake, steam, saute lightly but no frying

[Rocky Monarch]

Originally Posted by jesslev

What do y'all suggest to get the bad taste out of your mouth?
Any gum or mints that are allowed?

The Spry mints and gum can be hard to find in stores, I finally dropped by my dentist and they sell it!

Originally Posted by neeseebaby22

[B]im really trying not to get discourage but why did the scale stop moving? am i doing something wrong? i havent been taking my fish oils everyday or my one a day women pills. idk what to do am i missing something? i have my olive oils everyday and seal salt, whats going on???? please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't worry neesee, it happens for many people in "fits and starts". It will fall off soon!
Regarding your childcare and needing some time to get your food prep in hand: I wonder if you could plan a "mommy day off" and have someone take your little girl for a weekend day where you can spend the day trying 4-5 new, fast recipes and getting some basic foods stocked up. It seems you just need a tiny bit of breathing room, and you can get less stressed about the "processes" (which take some getting used to, even for us without kids, so you are doing great to do this with a new baby!)

[kellyrook]

I just have to get off my chest that I'm really hungry and sort of food obsessed today. Actually, I was yesterday too. I know its TOM issues. I want food! I swear I've never been typically ravenous with PMS until this diet. This will be my second cycle since I've started. I don't want to cheat. Help. I need some support.

[showgirlaz]

Originally Posted by Rocky Monarch

re: the kelp noodles: any fishy/salty/seaweedy flavor or are they truly tasteless (I hate the flavor of seaweeds!)
I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the shiritake noodles, as I have been eyeing them for awhile. What do you eat them with?

(Ok, this may be subjective and relative as I do like seaweed and fish things.)
I took them from the package, rinsed them well, and tasted. Very crunchy raw... yep, no taste. I didn't taste them plain when I cooked them the other night. Then, they picked up the flavor of my homemade terriyaki sauce. Cooked the texture is a tender firm reminding me of Japanese glass noodles.

The shirataki noodles (spaghetti style) were a little softer to the bite.

In both cases, I mixed the noodles with steam vegetables, lightly tossed with a homemade sugar free terriyaki sauce and pan cooked chicken breast slices.

I was thinking I might add them to a salad next.

Originally Posted by HopefulTricia

Showgirlaz said:In phase 1, the best I can tell, we get about.... 48grams of fat on our highest fat days. That would be on the high side using 1 tbsp of omega or olive oil (14g per), and 3 of the ready made vanilla or chocolate drinks which are the highest fat items IP makes for phase 1 at 4g each. And adding 22g fat for salmon (we are only allowed after week3 and only 3x a week according to my coach. In general beef is 11g per 5oz, chicken is very roughly 9g per 5 oz, other nonfatty fish is 15 g per 7 oz, and shellfish/shrimp is 6 grams for 7oz).
Just a clarification here. If you are allowed restricteds on phase one (and many of us are), quite a few of them have more than 4g of fat. Soy nuts have 7g- a few bars have 5g. Chocolate soy puffs have 6g. Just wanted to clarify that the vanilla/chocolate box drinks at 4g are not the highest of all the IP foods. I am sure you meant they are the highest of the non-restricteds.

you are correct! The drinks are the highest fat of the unrestricted items allowed in phase 1. If someone is at the stage they are allowed the restricted items then the information would be too restricted. The spaghetti and chili are about 4g of fat. The bars range from 3.5g to 6g of fat and, the chips and soy puffs range from 4g to 7g of fat.

That being the case, the fat per day could be an additional 3g per day higher if you ate a caramel nut bar or soy puff every day. So the highest day would be somewhere in the 51g area however the lowest amount per day would remain unchanged.

Just a reminder to TXrealtor in the first 3 weeks NO RESTRICTED products are used. In fact, because of some people abusing the restricted products and some coach's having bad experiences once restricted are added there are several clinics that do not allow ANY restricted products until you are past 90% of your weight loss goal.

ALSO, I was advised that under new IP clinic guidelines (for clinics that are following the new protocols) BARS and Soy snacks are now treated similarly to the chili and spaghetti and should not be had more than 2x per week. Anyone else heard that? Not that it matters to me, I am months away from being allowed to order or eat any!

Originally Posted by jesslev

What do y'all suggest to get the bad taste out of your mouth?
Any gum or mints that are allowed?

Be careful with gum. There are several brands of trident and, if you use it, look for the one that is XYLITOL only. You could also use spry gum. Mints would have to be xylitol only. UNLESS you can find a product that is sweetened with stevia, rebiana (chemical form of stevia) or sucralose.

When you read the ingredients list, watch for any MALTITOL, MALTODEXTRIN. These are common sugar alcohols that add a lot of sweetness and don't have to be listed as a carb BUT, the have a glycemic impact (load and index) the same as straight table sugar and can cause you to go out of ketosis.

Originally Posted by neeseebaby22

im not really creative with mixing in new meal plans and i really dont have the time because i just had a baby a few months ago and he never gives me time to do anything. it would of been a different story if i had help around the house but i dont. i wake up at 6:45am drop him to grannys house, start work at 9am get off at 5pm, head straight to grannys to pick up the baby (he is a HAND FULL OMG) "sometimes if luck is on my side she'll give me time to cook something up.

are you keeping a journal? could you post what you are doing? Are you following the portions? Are you using Ideal Protein products or alternates? Are you getting in your water? Are you close to your TOM (time of month)? Are you still breast feeding? Are you exercising? All of the latter things can slow down or stall weight loss.

For the meals, since your day is so busy, do you have a crock pot/slow cooker? If so, maybe we can help you get some recipe ideas that would be quick in that.

Also, you can prepare meals ahead of time. Sometimes I will prepare 4 or 6 chicken breast at one time, then I just have to portion it out during the week. Veggies only take about 10 - 16 min to steam. But, I will grill some and have them in the fridge cold so I can just microwave/warm them when I am ready to eat. I chop up a big bowl/keeper of romaine and another bowl of my "basic salad veggies" early in the week. Then I just have to reach in and scoop out what I need to make a salad. The only thing I have to fuss with is adding extras to make the salad suit my mood.

Originally Posted by natural girl

I just made the most awesome chips! I sliced zucchini really thin probably 1/8". I bought a mandolin at Walmart it is Farberware and was only $20 and has several different cutting blades. I used the thinnest one and sliced the zucchini on it and fried it in organic extra virgin olive oil until golden brown. When I took it out to drain on paper towels I sprinkled it with sea salt. It was heaven! They are good the baked way also, just not as crisp. These were so much like potato chips. This is obviously something you can't eat everyday as I am sure it is beyond our oil consumption. I was testing these for a dish I want to make and while they are excellent they are not "strong" enough to pick up a dip. Making them thicker does not produce that crispy chip experience though.

They sound great!! With the added fat would definitely not be a regular food item. Not sure why because it doesn't effect ketosis. ALSO, my information states not to fry foods. Not sure how it would impact the weight loss.

Originally Posted by kellyrook

I just had some for lunch! Today I tried to spray a nonstick baking sheet with EVO to cut back on the oil. Didn't work quite as well as my other technique of brushing pan with silicone brush thingy and then brushing zuchini after arranging them on the pan. This way I can get by with 1 1/2 tsp. of oil. Bake at 450 and then let them get dark and crisp. Awesome!

I need to do this! I like that you are able to cut the oil down!

Natural Girl and Kellyrook: Would you post your Zucchini Chip recipe in the recipes 2 thread?? I am sure others would love to try them in the future!

Originally Posted by kellyrook

I just have to get off my chest that I'm really hungry and sort of food obsessed today. Actually, I was yesterday too. I know its TOM issues. I want food! I swear I've never been typically ravenous with PMS until this diet. This will be my second cycle since I've started. I don't want to cheat. Help. I need some support.

Hey there! I know!! Weird things happened for me too. DON'T CHEAT. Have more water, have herb tea. ADD MORE OF YOUR OMEGA OIL. Take it straight off a spoon if you need too. Have an extra NON RESTRICTED drink packet or pudding. If you stay in ketosis, you will still lose even if you add either suggestion. It may be a little slower, depending on how many calories your body needs, but it will be a loss.

I think (for me it was) we create little habits related to our menstrual cycles and when they come up on this diet we have to retrain our responses. I always ate pizza and had chocolate the week before. SO??? You guessed it, once I started this, the week before my TOM, I would start craving. ALSO, I noticed I was ravenous and when I mentioned it in passing to my doctor SHE SAID that it because a woman's metabolism speeds up before and during her cycle by UP TO 400 calories a day. I haven't researched that comment but, if true, it would make sense why we get more hungry.

[pitakitten]

very interesting re frying. I fry a lot, mind you only in a very small amounth of oil, say maybe 1 tbsp of olive oil or walnut oil. Usually to satue vegetables with a bit of garlic and sea salt. My staples are satued zucchi or bok choy and have done cabbage before too or mushrooms to go with my grilled steaks.
I really wasn't aware that it was a problem. So if I use the same amount of oil but put it in the oven then it its fine, just not on the stove?

[neeseebaby22]

To Showgirlaz:

Example Of My Weekly Journal.

Monday: Breakfast- 9:30am Chocolate Drink Mix
Lunch- 12:30pm Salad W/ Vanilla Pudding & ("sometimes" 2 Cups Of Veggies),
Dinner- 6:30pm Tilapia W/ 2 Cups Of Spinach,
Snack- 9pm Pudding Or Hot Ip Drink

[neeseebaby22]

Sorry "daily" Journal..... And I Eat The Same Thing Everyday For The Entire Week

[natural girl]

There is a zucchini chip recipe in that post and I did try it but like I said the chips weren't crunchy enough for dipping, that is why I tried it this way but they weren't strong enough for dipping lol. I wanted a "chip" that I could scoop up pico de gallo with. I thought it would be great for the Holiday party I am having and I could put out regular corn chips for everyone else. Also my coach is having an IP reunion tomorrow evening (even though I have only been on 2 weeks) and she is having a contest for whoever brings the best dish wins a sauna and massage and let me tell you I need that! lol But this dish is not turning out right and I just found out DD #1 is having an orchestra program tomorrow evening that she forgot to tell me about and DS has TKD & Judo tomorrow and he gets his orange belt in Judo tomorrow for passing his test last week so DH has to take him to that. Soooo looks like I won't be going. It is a shame though as I was looking forward to meeting some new people (at my age meeting new friends isn't always easy and I work from home) and winning for my recipe but that didn't turn out right either. Oh well.

[kellyrook]

Thanks Carla. Sometimes it is helpful just to hear someone tell you not to cheat. You are really so helpful, honestly!

Pitakitten: It sounds like you are talking about sauteeing food. Frying is when food is immersed in oil.

[1FCuser]

Originally Posted by showgirlaz

ALSO, I noticed I was ravenous and when I mentioned it in passing to my doctor SHE SAID that it because a woman's metabolism speeds up before and during her cycle by UP TO 400 calories a day. I haven't researched that comment but, if true, it would make sense why we get more hungry.

This is really interesting. It could also explain why most of us are talking about a ''big losse'' the WI after TOM is gone !

Originally Posted by neeseebaby22

Sorry "daily" Journal..... And I Eat The Same Thing Everyday For The Entire Week

Wow, you'll get tired of it really fast. I know that for me, if I always eat the same thing, I get bored and want to cheat. Maybe you should try other meals ? I cook in advance some ''fried rice'', and this goes really well in the microwave!

_____

I've juste made a FitDay Calorie. I want to keep track of EVERYTHING I eat. I don't really understand how it work but.. let's try.

And I really want a signature Hope it'll be soon!!


Oh and Jordanna, I went on your FitDay, and that's why I've decided to create one for me, but I've seen ''IP vanilla pudding'' and other IP stuff on your foodlog, and I'm not able to find it in Fitday. Where is it ?

[jordanna]

Originally Posted by pitakitten

very interesting re frying. I fry a lot, mind you only in a very small amounth of oil, say maybe 1 tbsp of olive oil or walnut oil. Usually to satue vegetables with a bit of garlic and sea salt. My staples are satued zucchi or bok choy and have done cabbage before too or mushrooms to go with my grilled steaks.
I really wasn't aware that it was a problem. So if I use the same amount of oil but put it in the oven then it its fine, just not on the stove?

Hey Pita - that's sauteing your food which is totally allowed. Frying food would be to submerge it in oil and let it fry until crispy and browned...that's not allowed.