Oh my gosh!! I just found a recipe for cauliflower 'rice'!! I cannot wait to try this with this IP Chili or even make some curried chicken and rice! Whoo hoo!!

Check it: http://www.lowcarbdiets.about.com/od...r/caulrice.htm

Well I have to say this is going to be an odd Sat for me. I haven't slept as late as I did since...I dunno..maybe in my 20s when my kids kept me up all night. I actually slept over 12 hours!! So, getting up at lunch make getting all my packets in a little more of a challenge

I need to do some yard work but was told to be careful being on week 2 not to do too much work...what do ya'll think? It is a great day and I would love to get it done, but at the same time, I could use another lazy day lol

Saw this youtube video ... might give you a smile.

Even Frostie the Cockatoo does a little bit exercise. Pretty sure s/he is on a high carb diet though.

Ha Ha. Drinking a gallon of water a day is expensive. With so many trips to the bathroom I'm going to go broke buying toilet paper and my water bill to the city for flushing so much! haha

Good Evening All!

So I made the most amazing supper! I made Chicken Fajitas!

I used chicken breasts, soy cheese, salsa, green peppers, onions, and celery! I only used about a tablespoon of cheese on mine, but it was yummy! All wrapped up in a large romaine leaf.
I used Epicure Fajita Seasoning.
My entire family loved it, I even had Mom and Step Dad for supper! I had regular salad and served them Southwestern salad. The only difference, is that I gave them tortillas with their chicken!
Supper was a success! YAY!

Tonight is my first night shift while on IP. Wish me luck! :P

Default Confused and in need of help
I realize this site seems to mainly for women but I've looked alot of places on advice for the IP diet and I kept coming back to here looking for recipes, advice and have found tremendous inspiration from people doing amazing things.

I am a former college football player, I played linebacker at 240 lbs and was proud of all my "beef" I put on during college. The problem I realized soon after my final game was that my "beef" was really jiggly and I didn't want to be that way. I've worked really hard to drop to 195...mainly by consistently trying to limit what I eat as I am out here acting as a geologist on oil rigs (very sedentary work) and by trying to be somewhat active and limit my talent of consuming alcohol.

I'm currently on my 4th day of ideal protein...I've been extremely strict at following the sheets I was given. The problem is I'm ALWAYS hungry. I try to drown it with water, I figure "oh it's the first few days suck it up pansy." I guess I'm just asking for a little advice. I've been in sports my whole life, wrestled 13 years, football for 12 with 5 of those at a college level and pretty much every other sport. So I like to think I know "signs" from my body pretty well, and my stomach is hating me right now but I really wanna lose these last 10 lbs so I'm not so self-concious taking my shirt off and just being more comfortable. I know my 10 lbs is nothing compared to some of the amazing stories I've read on here...I was reluctant to write on here after reading such inspiring stories from some amazingly determined people but it ate at me til I couldn't do any work, especially with all these oil workers setting out HUGE bowls of candy and garlic bread out on the table all day on my 12 hour shift. It's taking everything I have to resist "just one."

It sounds like everyone sees amazing results the first week, I'm really hoping so too. I'm anxiously waiting for "ketosis" breathe and read on another site that sometimes it takes form by leaving the body through urination? I hope that's true because I seriously piss like every 15 minutes.

I've also heard back and forth on coffee...I just do mine straight black, so is it ok to have more than one cup? I read somewhere in here that one person was told all they needed to do was drink a cup of water for each cup of coffee...anyone?

I'm also a little confused on working out while on this diet...I read on one site that it isn't recommended because of the limit of available energy before your body starts eating away muscle and that is the LAST thing I want to happen. So should I skip my every other day "lift" time while strictly following phase-1 of ideal protein?

Thank you to anyone with any help. I hope I don't come off as insensitive because my weight loss goal is much smaller compared to some peoples...some peoples stories have really inspired me on this website, to all of you here is this -----> I'm the pink one hugging you for inspiring me. I don't care if I'm pink, besides pink is sexy and it's breast cancer awareness month

Just got back from town -- went in for WI. In three weeks I have lost 17.2 pounds Clothes are getting looser -- my husband thinks I need to go shopping very soon

meathead! No you're not being insensitive. Your 10 lbs means as much to you as my 50+x! Just don't flaunt your likely very significant first week weight loss in our faces! Brag about it, sure, but don't rub it in too much.

A couple of questions:
Are working with an Ideal Protein coach/clinic?
If yes, face-to-face or by phone/email with Ideal-to-go or some other option?

Post a day or two's worth of "What I ate" and we might be able to assist you.

Hunger: A couple of ideas
How many packets are you eating? Although the Phase 1 says 3/day, the additional "information sheets" I received say that you can increase that to 4 or 5 especially during the period where you're adjusting. I've had 4 or 5 packages on most days since I started.

One thing that a lot of us didn't realize when we started is that lettuce isn't part of the vegetables. So, have 2 cups of cucumbers, pickles and broccoli and unlimited lettuce in addition. You can also move some of the veggies away from the meals and have them between meals.

Having packets with higher protein counts -- omelets, soups, some of the puddings -- may help too. There's a Nutritional Info Summary of most packets attached as a pdf to the 5th message in the IP Food Alternatives thread. You'll have to be logged in to download it.

Ketosis: Some people never have the common signs and symptoms of ketosis -- metallic taste, energy increase -- and still burn fat and drop pounds quite consistently. One way I know I'm in the fat-burning mode is that I don't crave carbs, have those "umm, I want to eat something but I don't know what I want" feelings that go away if I find something else to focus on, or get actually hungry at times that seem unlikely -- 1.5 hours after a decent meal.

Good luck and post again!

There's not much I can add to what I'm Svelting! says but please do look at the exercise thread. And I would definitely go light on weight lifting at least for the first 2 weeks. Coffee -- it's pretty universally agreed that the right procedure is 1 cup of water for each cup of coffee after the first cup; and go light on caffine. This holds true for soft drinks like Pepsi and Coke, even 0, although it's best to just eliminate those altogether for a wide variety of reasons.

I think you're doing the very best thing you can do by reading as much as you possibly can on this site, especially Tips for Newbies, Phases 1 and 2, Recipes, and the facts sticky.

Congratulations for taking your life in your own hands, and WELCOME.

Luck. Shift work must be the devil, especially when your on a diet, and when people around you want to munch through the night to stay awake.

Day 7 of IP here, WI on day 5 (4.8 lbs down) - just having a kind of frustrating defeatist day. Like I'm hungry but I don't know what I want, nothing sounds good, all I want is french fries. I should mention I've been sick for the last 4 days and I dare say that's been affecting my moods as well.

It's my own fault that I'm hungry this afternoon though - left the house at 12:30 to run errands without having a packet before I left, getting home 4 hours later and STARVING.

Anyway, just whining - I do better during the week because I'm working and not fixating on food! Any ideas for motivators, other than shopping for bikinis online? :-D

Well, the old standbys: have a packet and lots of water or hot tea.

My best suggestion, though, is it start reading threads, especially the stickies. You can get so caught up AND learn so much, that you forget you're hungry. But do try the tips above, too.

Welcome! First, the site isn't just for women, and I'm sure Dave (Salesgod) would welcome having another man to offset all our, ahem, girl talk. We're happy to have you.

I agree with I'm Svelting, you might just need another packet. Honestly, when I went though a 'hungry' time on the diet (there are times when the thought of food is revolting, too...) I had an extra packet, 3 oz of lean protein or an egg without feeling guilty about it. It's extra calories, but its better than eating something off protocol because you're so hungry, or giving up on it all together. It's also likely that you simply need more because of your size or your muscle mass. There is also an althletic protocol that allows for an extra packet a day, depending on your lifting routine, you may need it for that. I also found that when I did a lot of activity, I needed that extra protein.

Don't worry, I know that many have found that you don't crave carbs at all after some time on the diet. The one thing that will make you the most successful on the diet is learning what to prep for...if you have a spare bar or shake in your car, purse, office, other places, it will be much easier to maintain without getting hungry.

Went to a party today that's about semi annual...and this woman is an amazing chef the the spread is terrific. While I was there, I was looking around at all the stuff that was there at the last party, too, and realized...I probably consumed close to 1,200 - 1,500 calories or more at her last party. It was an eye opening experience about how I used to eat, and why this diet is truly life changing. There was stuff I could have had, but didn't. And I didn't focus on it or feel any remorse that I wasn't going to get to have it, either. Big steps. Big steps.

JC

WOW!! That is so inspiring! We started at a similar weight and similar measurements. I've only lost 25 and feel like I will never get the rest off. How long did it take you?

You will! 25 pounds since August is great! I started on May 10, so it took me 23 weeks to get to here. I often lost slow, or nothing, but then would have weeks where I lost anywhere from 3.5 to one week where I somehow lost 8 pounds. My average according to my spreadsheet is 3 pounds, but all the weeks weren't there, for sure.

Good luck!