Im from Billings

Thanks for the advice.

I have a question? I'm new to all of this and need to know how much the week before your period affects your IP diet. I have had a 7lb loss first week, a 5 lb loss second week, a 3 lb loss 3rd week. This week is the week before my period which started today and according to my scale at home I have not budged. I started my period today and weigh in on Monday. does this mean I will not lose weight for 2 weeks out of the month, the week before and during my period?

I just started IP last week and love the premade vanilla shake. Because it has been so darn cold here, I love my hot drinks, so I heated one up and sprinkled nutmeg over the top.....delicious....

I have to agree with you! The vanilla RTD is a lifesaver for me in the morning when I don't give myself enough time in the morning to actually "shake" something. The chocolate drink is also delicious hot!

Playing around with the choices, moving dinner to lunchtime, lighter dinners, bars for breakfast w/ water. Just keep on keepin on, you can do it. This diet is a winner.

Though I'm getting much better in week 2 at not longing for my carb-y food cravings (especially the emotional gratification from those foods), sometimes I can't shake the desire for mindless shoving of snacks into my head.

I'm so grateful, though, that I've found the seasoned nori sheets to fullfil my emotional need for potato chips: they're salty, crispy, and carb free! The Korean ones are tastier than the Japanese.

I hope someone out there finds this to be a good tip for themselves...none of my non-diet friends seem to be appreciating my little indulgence. lol

Ok, I was so excited when I weighed in this morning at 5.2 lbs less than a week ago! Seven days no desserts, no bread, that has never happened in my life. I stuck strictly to plan and it was easy, until today.....I have been starving all day long. I had the crispy cereal for breakfast and the yogurt and salad for lunch(on the road) and I was so hungry that an hour later I had to mix up a chocolate drink to see me home! I am drinking more than enough water. Veggies could be more, but I am running out of ideas and they are not my favorite . With nutri system they would allow you to drink a low sodium V8 in place of veggies, can that be done on IP? Any ideas why I would all of a sudden be getting hungry? I was doing so good, a few cravings, but not hunger! Any suggestions will be appreciated. I love reading the success stories on here, it gives me hope.....

The cereal and yogurt do not keep me satisfied and I am six weeks into it. What I find helpful is to pick the packets that have the most protein to carb ratio otherwise I am famished. I also have a hard time with the oatmeal keeping me feeling full as well as the chili. I certainly cannot eat two of these things back to back otherwise it is GAME OVER. I find hot tea helps (especially green tea) drinking extra water helps as well. As for veggies - V8 low sodium doesn't count... you need to eat the veggies on the list and unfortunately V8's first ingredient is tomato (which is only an occasional veggie) the second two ingredients Carrots and Beets are not allowed at all on phase 1 and it has both Carbs and...SUGAR. Check the recipe threads for ideas on veggies -- I am a big fan of roasting veggies (asparagus, broccolini, cauliflower. zucchini) I also like making "rice" out of cauliflower and making purees out of celery root and fennel, or cauliflower or turnips. You could try making a big "taco" salad - add lettuce, meat, cucumbers, green onions, celery, radishes, pepper.-- Mixing all those in to your salad gets your veggies and salad together all in one. Stir Fry's are great too. Hope these things help... hang in there and keep trying new things. Observation of how your body works and what foods work best are the silent whisper (the ohhh so important stuff that sometimes get lost in the uber focus on weight loss) these little voices are what will help us keep the weight off when we get to maintenance.

Good luck

Thanks SO much for all the helpful veggie tips CheekyWit. I drank a V8 today out panic. Need to start planning better and soaking up all the knowledge available on this board. I started taking bioidentical hormones 3 or 4 days ago and I found out they can cause extreme hunger (my luck). The wellness center that started me on IP also put me on the hormones, so I will be calling them on Monday for advise.

Thanks again for your help, what would us newbies do without you guys ?

Seems to be some confusion - I was told my counsellor that Splenda is not allowed only Stevia as a sweetner? It is only carried by a couple of stores here and is very expensive compared to Splenda? Any thoughts from anyone?

Coaches vary, but many permit splenda. That is all I have used with success.

I have yet to start IPP. I have been researching, reading blogs, especially trying to find IPP support since I haven't even officially walked through the doctor's office, that will happen Tuesday , 2/22/11. So, I'm thankful to find your post about the Nori sheets. That brings me to thought is the dehydrated kale, which comes in a variety of flavors like BBQ (still need to check out if it's on IP program).

Hi GoChica! the prepackaged kale chips are not on plan, however, you can make your own! there is a recipe for them in the recipe thread. check it out!

got2benow- my question is about the yogurt. is it the ideal protein wildberry yogurt packet or actual dairy yogurt?

It's a milk concentrate powder with dehydrated berries. So it *is* dairy, but it's not yogurt like you'd buy in a grocery store. It's more like a berry shake than yogurt.