The wife and I are starting the Ideal Protein diet today. Did a google search of recipes and found this site and am starting to read everyone's comments/reactions/experiences with this plan. I am pleased to see everyone's progress and know that I need to do "something" to lose the excess weight I've been carrying for the past 15 years. My wife gave birth to our third child last summer and has been struggling to take the weight off...she's beautiful, but no amount of compliments will make her feel good about her current image issues. As for me, I'm hovering at 300 pounds but am relatively healthy...no internal issues, still able to compete athletically, etc...just fat and been fat too long and am tired of carrying the equivalent of my kids around. I'm looking forward to this journey.

One question I had, and I hope someone can answer it better than the nutritionist we saw, is how is it possible for my wife and I to have the exact same calories per day? Is that something either one of us should be concerned about? I will admit that I'm concerned the weight will shred off of me, but not her, causing her to get frustrated. On my end, it seems like such a caloric deficiency that once I get to Phase 2 or beyond, the weight has no choice but to come back on me. Thanks for reading and any input/guidance.

Welcome, Texas Steak...
This is an awesome place to go for support and get answers to you questions.
The abundance of knowledge available on this site is phenomenal.
Good luck to you and your wife on your weight loss journey..we're all in this together!
Have a great day!!

Hi, and welcome to both of you. I think you'll enjoy this Program, and enjoy the results. I also think your concerns are logical, reasonable. They would be easier to answer if we had a little more information but, generally speaking, if you weigh over 200 pounds and get hungry during the first week, it is perfectly OK to have an extra unrestricted packet. During that time you can even go to 5 if things get really dire. After you're in ketosis, and especially if you're allowed one restricted item a day, the concerns will become non-issues. You shouldn't be hungry or craving at all.

I wish you both a happy and healthy bon voyage.

Welcome TexasSteak! You'll be glad you found this site as there is a wealth of info and knowledge to tap into here. To try to answer your question...yes, you will drop weight much faster than your wife. IP's claims state that men will lose 4-7lbs per week but women will lose 2-4. It may seem discouraging to your wife if she is comparing herself to you but there is really nothing that can change that. Have her join this site as well so that she can see how others are doing and get a bit better perspective.

As for gaining back...IP is about a lifestyle change. You will learn what foods are healthier for you and make wiser food choices when you phase off. You will eat more calories than you do in phase 1 but not the way you did pre-IP. Also, there is very little to no excercise in phase 1. Hopefully you will excercise to some extent after. Should your weight begin to creep again, you are always able to go back to phase 1 for a day or more to get things back under control.

Best of luck to both of you! Hope this helps and hope to see you both on our daily chat.

just wanted to say it's great that both you and your wife can do this together and support each other. there are some really great people and really great advice & support on these boards. you've come to the right place! have a great IP day!

Thank you all - I appreciate the welcome and the encouragement. I'm looking forward to sharing our results.

I think it's also important to point out that this diet is designed to reset your pancreas and your body's reaction to insulin. The phases are designed for you to shut down insulin production; clear your cells of excess insulin and then slowly start insulin production again so that your body now runs more efficiently.

Of course that doesn't mean you can eat cookies and donuts on Phase 4 - but it should mean that you can begin a balanced/healthy diet and NOT gain weight. And it gives you the tools to know how to handle those 'special occasions' and 'holiday treats' - so that you are never more than a few days away from back to your ideal weight.

For me - prior to IP I ate similar to Phase 4 and continued to gain weight and couldn't lose anything. I'm hoping/expecting that once I get to my goal I'll be able to eat that way and maintain. I'm hoping that calories in vs calories out may actually start to apply to me. Prior to IP it didn't.

Good Luck!

keep in mind that you are not going to feel so stellar for the first 3-7 days its different for everyone but over all it is not a fun time but it does get better and when you see the results it makes it so much easier to stick to it and reach your goal!

Hi and welcom to you both. I started IP Dec 7, 2010 and have found it to be the easiest plan I have ever tried. As others have said the hunger factor is almost nil and the food choices are simple enough to stay on track. Best of luck to you both. I found this site in Jan and am still working my way around it, LOTS of info all over the place. ENJOY

Had the first weigh in on Monday afternoon...lost 9 lbs in the first week, 5.5 fat lbs!!! Due to some meetings over the week I had to stray from strictly following the plan, but kept it sensible and am pleased with the results. The good news is the wife lost 8 weeks as well, and have another friend who started it yesterday, so I'm glad to be a support system to both of them.
Also good was getting my lab work back from the doctor and everything is normal to good (Tri's high side, hdl's low side), so like I mentioned earlier, I feel fine, but it's amazing to notice the difference in even one week...who knows...I might have to move that goal weight lower.
Thanks again to everyone for the words of support, as I will be supporting my wife and friend in this journey.