I got back yesterday and it was hard, but I did it. My husband is a saint but it is still annoying what he eats infront of me. On the way there I had already had my breakfast and lunch drinks, so I just needed a salad. I got that okay, but the restaurant smelled like waffles and syrup. Eek. I had a few tomatoes on the salad, and wasn't really worried about restricted veggies then. Had a few hard boiled eggs in the car as we headed to our destination.

When we got there, I had a portion of tofu I had gotten from Whole Foods and was hanging out in the cooler and you can eat it cold. I was hungry and cranky. We went to a steak place since it was our anniversary and they had sides of steamed veggies. Well yeah. Ew. My broccoli was boiled to the point that it fell apart on the fork, I needed a spoon. The salad was pretty bad too, but they had oil and vinegar. No cheese, but I did "cheat" with the 6 measly croutons. Sorry, I needed something for my pain. Then my husband wanted ice cream so we went in hunt of that. As I watched him eat ice cream I had a bar. It totally put me over my carbs but well, I was really eyeing the sugar free ice cream so it was the better choice.

The next day I had my drink and we were off. We headed to an attraction (they are building a medieval castle in AR) and it was MUCH longer than expected. When we got back to the car, I downed my lunch drink. I saw a Ruby Tuesdays about 50 miles away so we held out for that salad bar. Well, it wasn't advertised on that side of the darn highway! So we ended up at a new place and they fortunately had a better salad (raw green bell peppers, again, I didn't care) and I got 2 hard boiled eggs for the salad. They also had oil and vinegar, thank goodness. On the way home I crunched on celery and mini cukes.

Got almost home and my husband wanted chinese food. We went for takeout and they had NO tofu left. NONE. WTF? They were trying to sell me on the mixed veggies but I knew they would have carrots and thing I didn't want to pick out. I went to the grocery store beside the takeout place, bought tofu, kale and broccoli and made my own stirfry at home. Not that I wanted to, but I did it. He ate crunchy deep fried things that smelled so good. UGH.

SO I survived, but I was pretty unhappy. The scale has gone down .8 this week so far. I lose so damn slow that I'm just going crazy. I got so tired of cold meals that last night I had to have something cooked. Today we have no special plans so maybe I'll fire up the bbq and celebrate America's birthday. Who knows!

First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOXIE:hug:

Second Hope everyone has a PHENOMENAL July 4th:dizzy:

Enjoy!

OK Sweets I think we were twins separated at birth, I did the same with the rhubarb WF strawberry sryup and froze a vanilla pudding ...yummer. Also tried a wf strawberry/rhubarb/pudding/crepe roll up... gotta split it between 2 meals (2 proteins) but I wasnt complaining. I am so getting some muffin mix and marshmellows, thought about a roll up with wf PB and choc, gonna try that too.. I never allowed myself any restricts so now I am loving all the little treats. I am gonna try that shake I have a freind who hates rhubarb and has alot of it .....bad for her good for me.....I need to watch as I was surprised at the cooked carb count of rhubarb I did a :yikes: when I put it into fitday. Anyway... gotta stop talking about food, I just ate....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA!!!!!

Have a fantabulous day everyone, welcome all IP newcomers...hooray on all the victories weight related or not...

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY to all the American Peeps!!
Hope you have a great holiday.

Well I am all packed..got all my IP food in the suitcase AND all my clothes!!!
Took some repacking but got it all!!

Happy Birthday Doxi!! I am proud of you for the choices you made regarding eating out. It will be interesting if your sisters end up wanting to join you later on, as they will see how amazing you look!


Well all, for the last 3 or 4 nights in a row, I have started reading the logs, his my multi quote buttons along the way, and inadvertently, I fell asleep each night before I got to post my reply. I am not going back through and doing it all again, it would take forever!!


Pita and Erin...congrats on going to Phase II, I am very interested to see how that goes for you both.

Taylor...your family names do not sound familiar to me. I don't live in that area, I just am in charge of supervising parolees in that area, so basically, if your family has not been naughty at some point, I wouldn't know them. :) I hope your little brother is doing better. Also, sounds like a fun date, going to Eclipse, I am a lot jealous!!

Welcome to all the newbies!

JLEWIS...you are rocking this diet! 4 or 5 inches off the waist, in less than a month, you will be the envy of the boards!!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!

http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/q.../July_4th1.gif

Have a happy and safe Independence Day!

OK, have to share this, will post in recipes but this is the BEST concoction i've come up with in 10 weeks on IP and i have to spread the word!

GRAPE CREAM SHAKE/SLUSH

1 packet vanilla pudding
8 oz water
1 c of ice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp of Grape JELLO gelatin dessert powder

shake up everything in the shaker, pour over ice and enjoy!!! tastes just like those frozen grape popsicles with ice cream in the middle-YUMMMMMMMY. oooh, i may blend it up with ice to make a grape cream slush later tonight


*note* i used 1 tsp of real full-sugar Jello. It contains about 1 carb per teaspoon and is purely sugar. they don't make sugar free jello in grape so you could also use the sugar free jello in a different floavor like orange or cherry but it's made with aspartame and i know i would rather have an extra carb in the day that ingest a nasty chemical like aspartame.


:)

Happy 4th of July everyone. Yesterday was mine and my husbands 1st wedding anniversary (we have actually been together 11 years....got married on our 10th year together) and we had a BBQ..inviting a few of the folks that were at the wedding last year. Everyone knows that I am on a diet...so everyone brought foods they thought I could eat. Roasted brussel sprouts..brocolli..green salads...I thought that was so thoughtful. We did pull the wedding cake top out of the freezer..my mother-in-law said I at least need to touch it to my lips... something to do with good luck???(I did through seran wrap). My husband..is the one eating the cake..he did report to me that it was as good as last year. Thats nice. I don't miss not being able to eat it and that is a good feeling. The best thing tho is...I got back into a pair of jeans (levi's) that I was only able to wear for ONE day when I was doing Jenny Craig, because they were still too tight. Today..they fit nicely..in fact my husband said..you look great in those jeans babe. What a wonderful feeling. I got so many compliments on how I looked yesterday and that gives me such insentive to keep on keeping on and reach my goal. I am proud to say I have done IP through a womens retreat...a campout...and now a bbq and I did not faulter once. I am looking forward to my weigh in on Tuesday and hopefully will see I am down another 3 lbs. Love the fact that this diet is sooooo easy. Thanks for all the insight girls. Love hearing all the positive stories..and also being able to share my successes with all of you.

:flow1::flow1::flow1::flow1: one for every 5 lbs lost.

Thank you!! I loved reading the details of your post and ended up book marking the reference link! Interesting that you mentioned nappa cabbage! I just got some and some fresh ginger at the farmers market. I found a recipe online that calls for both and then uses either a chinese five spice baked tofu or pork tenderloin as the protein. I will post it after I try it, of course, :), that is assuming it is good!

I think you had a GREAT birthday! You really are showing such great commitment to making change and that will be meaningful to everyone in your life. I hope your sisters see your success and join you in doing IP. Sister bonds are so powerful; I have 3 sisters and can relate to that. I think they can be hard to change but, for me, those bonds have been more for the good than bad and have been so helpful for each of us. We kind of motivate and drive each other to do better and support each other when times get hard and change is needed. I hope you taking this hard step will make it possible for your sisters to change too! :)



YUMMM!! :broc:

I was at the farmers market yesterday and they had some great zucchini and yellow squash. I picked up so much! I can't wait to try this recipe!! Thanks for posting it. Have you already added it to the recipes forum?

Xanthia: I'm happy to hear you did so well on the anniversary trip! Sorry it was so challenging, that does happen more often than I like. Interesting point, and I wonder if anyone else has something on this, my friend who is doing the IP protocol just got a new phase 1 sheet and it says nothing about having green pepper cooked. I guess she is allowed cooked or raw.

I think anything near a pound is still good loss. I know that may sound strange but, it is a loss. If it keeps you moving in a positive direction toward the goal, it is worth it in my book!

YUMM! I wonder could you use the unsweetened grape kool aid for the flavoring, add a little knox plain gelatin (to keep the jello like properties), and a packet of splenda for the sweetener? Do you think it might come out the same without using real sugar??

Before IP, I use to make my own jello ( I don't like aspartame) and I would just use unsweetened koolaid packets, knox plain gelatin and splenda, stevia, sweet-n-low(saccharin) or xylitol (I preferred the splenda.) It worked great!

Congratulations! How nice to have been together for so long!! You have such a supportive circle of friends and family, you must be so grateful for and proud of them. Good luck on the weigh in. I am sure you will do very well! :)

I am so bummed. I had a poor weight loss this week--.8 lbs. I have to take responsibility, though, because my program was really sloppy this week. It's almost like I am trying to sabotage myself--not drinking all the water, not eating all the IP proteins, eating parmesan cheese in my soup and salad. A girl at work who is on the program said we can have cheese, but I haven't asked my counselor yet, I just dove right in because I love cheese!

This IP stuff is expensive, and to fool around with the program is like throwing money down the toilet. Five weeks in is way too soon to be screwing around, and I'm afraid of my rebelliousness. Has anyone else struggled so early in the program?

Also, what about this Lindora stuff. I read about it in the posts and checked out the website, and it looks like it costs about half the price, but is the quality of the protein in the product as good as IP? They make so much of the "pharmaceutical grade" protein, that I am concerned, but I really would love to save money on the product since I will be on the program for so long (if I can stop shooting myself in the foot!).

Rocky Monarch, you've already given me one reality check and I think I need another--that if I don't buckle down and do the program as it is supposed to be done, I'm only wasting time and money. Thanks again for the support.

The truth???? DAIRY is only allowed on this diet at 1oz of skim milk per day. THAT IS IT.... Some people have bent the written instructions. It works for some and not for others.

Fat is not going to pull you out of ketosis but carbs will. Cheese that is zero or very low carbs isn't going to be a problem but, it will add calories and can slow you down some.

You will try things on this diet, even approved thing that may not work. I can't eat fennel or leeks without falling out of ketosis. I can't eat more than a 1/2 a small tomato without falling out of ketosis. Those shouldn't do that to me but they do. My point is you will become aware of the unique way your body works on this diet. So, write down what you eat. Make changes slowly and distinctly so you may note what works and what doesn't. During the first month, keep your carbs low (net 20 -30g). Drink a lot of water!! Your body will potentially be burning more fat than most because you have a greater difference between what it takes to keep you going in a day and what we are eating. That is to your advantage. The thing is that our body uses water to help our liver and kidneys flush fat and toxins from our body. DRINK WATER! It will help you burn more/flush more. The added benefit is water is also essential to restore the appearance of the skin as it shrinks back. Drinking the water will help you get better results in that area too!

I started this plan with over 100 pounds to lose. I was not allowed any occasional veggies during the first month (my coach actually made me continue avoiding them after we saw how I reacted to fennel and tomatoes.) I still haven't had restricted and it is 7 months. ( I don't know if it would matter much at this point though) I was losing an average of 4 pounds a week for the first 10 weeks.

Stick to the plan for as long as you can. DON'T shake it up until you have been at it for a long while. You are trying to change some chemistry in your body and improve things from a medical/health perspective too and keeping to the plan you were given will help you get the best results not just the weight loss. You will be very happy with the overall results and success if you do!

:)

Hi ladies! wow everyone is doing great! My last weigh in was 3.5 lbs so I am approaching 50!! WOOHOO. Just a question for u girls though...I have long read about hair loss and until recently I have been fine but now I am losing loads of it.. Any suggestions? I have been told its either a defficiency in either protein, zinc, iron ...Any thoughts?

Wishing you a fab week everyone =)

Carla: how did you know that half a tomato was kicking you out of ketosis? By ketostix? Also, how long after having that tomato were you kicked out of ketosis?

Thanks

fitday
 

I like to start using fitday (now that I am going to phase II etc) but wanted to know did you guys enter every single IP food in there on your own?

I can't find them when I do a search.

pitakitten: A friend of mine told me about this my plate that was recently purchased by Livestrong.com, and I have to say, I love it. they even have an iphone app that I downloaded. It auto completes nearly all of the IP foods and knows the cal/carbs, etc. Pretty cool. I've never had to enter anything.

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

NSV for today: Went to Sak's today because they have a big 40-60% off sale since they are closing in Portland...and fit into a VERY cool black dress that is just perfect. There is NO WAY I would have fit into it before this diet.