Hey girls! I have not posted in awhile, but am still following the program. I am so glad to see all your insights into the following phases. So many that have been on the program long enough to get here, stop posting. The wisdom is so important to all of us.

I have lost a little over 30#, and would like to lose another 20#, but don't know if I will be able to. I have had a couple times when I was traveling for a vacation, and couldn't eat exclusively phase 1. I tried to stay with proteins mostly and veggies and it did not hurt my progress. I am looking forward to getting on phase 2, 3, and finally 4!!

Do most of you keep IP foods at home that you buy from your counselor or one of the other sites? After I don't weigh with my counselor each week, I may try one of the online sites for the product.

It does give me some peace of mind that if I go up a little at times, there is a plan to get back to goal and maintain the weight loss.

Wow. I'm so glad I read this post even though I'm far off of phase 4. Novak, thank you so much for your thoughts. I haven't been able to really get my head around 4 yet either -- this helped a lot. And I think you are right about this being a tool for managing your weight for the rest of your life. I let so many of my clothes get too small without taking action, and I feel a little ... I know this sounds corny, but 'awakened' about not letting that happen again.

Pitakitten: have fun on the Oregon coast. I'm from Portland, so get to hop over there occasionally.

Thanks for the wise words, ladies. I'm going to make sure and re-read this when I get to phase 4 (and I WILL get to phase 4).

Really enjoyed my strawberries and skim milk this morning, it was absolutely my favorite part which was weird because I thought I was going to be so excited about the bread but it was all about the fruit and milk :)

I'm confused about the "nature valley" breakfast as I can't seem to add it up so that there is at least 25g of protein? Novak or Sylvia - am I missing something here?

I work for NASA.

I purchase the premades from New Lifestyle; I have not bought any products from my chiropractor for quite some time, though I still have a box of mixed packets on hand in case I need them.

I also found this diet very enlightening, and have made the same "corny" vow you made! You will get to Phase 4 before you know it... hope you find the information useful when you really need it. :)

Funny... I get 30 using their tables, though it could be less depending on the type of fruit, brand of bread, etc. But my real message is this: enjoy your breakfast and don't overthink it. :D

Hi, Jordanna, Let's call the berries an average of 6 grams of protein, the yogurt 10 grams, the muesli 3 1/2 grams, the toast 5 grams, and the almond butter 2 grams. That totals 26 1/2. Plus the paperwork says to shoot for 25. It probably doesn't have to be exact since we have 3 more meals to make up for our protein needs.

maybe it's just the options I have at home that are making it not work properly...shrugs, I had an egg mcmuffin anyway :) I'm just trying to avoid eating eggs every morning...I'll keep hunting for higher protein options

I only eat eggs on the weekend. My version of the Nature Valley included peanut butter rather than almond butter, the Alpen Muesli, berries, high protein toast, yogurt... it came in at about 30 grams protein.

And since I don't eat meat, I used 3 strips of Morningstar veggie bacon on my egg days.

Like Bev said, I wouldn't worry about too much precision with hitting the numbers.

Sometimes I don't want to deal with eggs or meat protein at breakfast so I put half of a scoop of whey protein isolate in my low-fat yogurt and mix it with a cup of fruit, usually blueberries. The yogurt and fruit are my favorite part of breakfast anyway. Plus I have toast or oatmeal for my slow carbs.

I'm a huge fan of greek yogurt and used to have it for breakfast mixed with a bit of fruit and muesli or higher protein cereal. I can't wait to get back to it. I was using Fage 0% and it has 15g of protein, the 2% has 19!

I have been eating all the protein sources, but have family members who are vegetarian. I am slowly moving more toward that too, but wonder what I could/should eat to stay with this lifestyle. Can you give me an idea of what you eat for protein sources.

Breakfast isn't hard, but for lunch and dinner I do not have lots of options in mind. Thanks.

I don't eat meat, but I do eat fish now (gave up my hard-core veggie days when I lived in Alaska... love that halibut and salmon!)

Anyway, even with the seafood, I look for other sources. I use firm tofu, Worthington burger, other Morningstar Farms veggie product, and the premade shakes from New Lifestyle (same as IP). More options for me now in Phase 4, with peanut butter, nuts, cheese, etc.

I don't eat meat, and I used to be mostly vegan (occasional cheese pizza binges, whoops). Now, I'm pretty lax having to be on this diet, but always a strict vegetarian. There is an IP vegetarian sheet, but it isn't very handy honestly. I love:

Quorn naked cutlets (have egg white, my meat eating DH likes the patties)
LifeLight products (Italian sausages are great on the grill, gimme lean sausage is good too)
Match Meat (fake meat, like ground beef, chicken, pork, crab that is local to St. Louis but they carry it all around)
Vegan Boca Burgers (the original ones are still my fave, but I make Match ones now, so awesome)
Tofu (marinated, grilled, baked, fried (non stick pan, no oil), make into faux egg salad)
Tofurkey deli slices
Tempeh (I don't use this on plan, most are wheat based)
Seitan (still haven't found one I'm in love with, made with wheat though)
Eggs
Greek yogurt
TVP (texturized veg protein, great for chili)

I can't wait till I can add back beans, nuts, quinoa, and whole grains.

Thanks Xanthia and Novak for the protein ideas. I regularly (before IP) ate many of those, but there are some new ideas also.

Hi Novak-
I just went to the New Lifestyle website and see that there are puddings and bars etc that look like IP. Are the products as filling as IP and are the nutritional values similiar?

Did you use them to continue weight loss or just order them after you hit goal to keep on hand in case you needed them?

Thanks,
Elle

I only order the premade shakes, because they are the same as the IP premade drinks, but less expensive. And I continue to use them in Phase 4 as a protein source/weight management tool, because they are convenient. I have looked at the other New Lifestyle products, and they tend to be higher in carbs than IP, and several contain aspertame, which I try to avoid. I never used products other than IP during Phase 1--again, except the NL premades, which I believe are from the same supplier as IP, and nutritionally identical.