Good morning everyone! Checking in to see how everyone is doing. I haven't posted on here for awhile. I'm currently in Phoenix trying to get warm but they are having a chilly week here. It is still warmer than Iowa. At least there isn't any snow here. I have been off protocol since December and have made plans to restart IP as soon as I get home in a week. Hopefully I haven't done too much damage but the jeans feel tight. It's a funny feeling when you go off protocol just a few pounds makes me feel fat! Gearing my mind and body up to restart. I am hoping to finish this journey on IP by the time summer arrives and the wearing shorts time will be here. The mental part is the toughest.

Everyone take care.

jupiter- i find myself doing alot of mental planning about life after IP as well. what kind of a balance between my food choices is going to work for me etc. one thing i have decided for sure is that my breakfast is always going to be protein coffee of some sort. i'll have to move anything more than that to a few hours later. i can not do a big breakfast... barf!!

vanessa- welcome back to the fold! here's wishing you a great week!

iowa- OMG i would sacrifice to be in phoenix right now. wyoming winter round two (or more like 3 and 4...) welcome back to protocol! good luck!

Excellent Rondar, will try the vanilla + banana pineapple mix tomorrow...going out to buy some different packets now. By curiosity...how much do you guys pay for a box of 7 packets? Are we allowed to say or talk about this on the forum?

Also....what's the overall attitude towards IP'ers without coaches on this forum...is that frowned uponed here? Are we considered lucky, not lucky, deviant :devil:....lol

My one week weigh in will be Monday....but I am already feeling so much better in my jeans. I can at least sit without the buttons and zipper digging into my stomach. I used to have to tuck my belly into my jeans after sitting...and now...just one week later, I don't have to do it anymore...Woot woot!!

Any idea when spring is coming, it is another cold day in Alberta to, it seems if it warms up then the wind blows and makes it just as cold.

Ok, once again I'm running in here for help.

Going out to dinner with the MIL tonight, and we are going to Red Robin (YUM)

I would give my eye tooth for one of their burgers, so I have customizer my burger and it has calculated the the specs for me... (very cool webpage I must say) So what do you guys thing? Seems like a lot of fat (but then again, I don't know now many grams of fat I'm getting daily) and the sugar has me worried.

Shroom Burger - Patty and mushrooms only. No sauce, no bun, no cheese, no garlic butter....

Cal: 421
Fat: 28 g
Sodium 482 g
Carbs: 8 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 33 g
Weight: 282g - this seem way over weight, maybe eating 1/2 of the patty?
Sugar: 3 g

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

[Where are you from jupiter. I feel sorry for all those cattle out there, I drive a hour to work each day and all week those cattle have be crowded into the corner of the pasture trying to stay warm, they look so cold. Sorry seems like this cold weather is getting me a little off topic.

maybe eat only half the burger but load her up with lettice and tomato? and maybe some green peppers and dill pickles to make it interesting for you.just an idea.

Thanks Tweety! I was gonna do a salad too - the tomato as that's a occassional veggie.

WEEEE WHOOOO....Congratulations!!!!:carrot:

Good Morning All

The scale finally moved this morning and I couldn't be happier.....I'm in the 150's finally, well 159.5 but It's good enough for me, I'm remotivated to get to my goal!!! YIPPIE!!!!

Good for you congratulations on the last stretch sort of speak, hoping I get in my 50's soon. wieghrd myself this morning and was 163, last 10 lbs have been a struggle.

maggie- we must be kindred souls....:hug: we both conquered the 160's just today! it is a rush isn't it when the numbers finally turn to the next 10's. i thought i would never get thru 160's but today it is worth it! here's to kicking 150's fat butt!

SV - i updated my tickers. hello 159! :carrot:

Sherry- my best advise is to keep it simple. meat the size of a deck of cards. veggies and a salad. i put some 0/0/0/ drink mix stix in my purse and have a fruity drink as well to make it feel more festive! fruity sweet drink helped while my DH and boy were chowing down on their *onion rings and fried jalapenos with ranch and blue cheese!* (white out)

hollmark- try this experiment.... weigh yourself first thing after going potty in the am on your scale, then again right before you go to bed on your scale. i bet you'll see a big difference. mornings are always lighter for me. i actually kept 2 sets of numbers for awhile. the scale at home and the one at the hosptial where i work. why???? i have absolutely no idea whatsoever..:dizzy:

gotmilk- i don't buy IP so i can't help with cost of box. when juice man was thinking about leaving the forum because he had decided to use alternate products (but still follow the IP method) he had alot of support to stay. so I'd say based on that, it's all good! alot of us substitute products into the dr. tran protocol. if you haven't read his book yet you should. it's free and linked to on the intro page for each daily chat.

NEW VEGGIE BLING! :broc: i found some popcorn seasonings 0/0/0 in a variety of flavors. i bought every flavor they and have big plans for my veggies. they look like molly mcbutters or whatever that product was... should be yummy!

Well I was not sure what to wear this morning, everything except for 1 pair of pants that needed washing fit anymore. Need to go shopping I guess, went to a closet with my small clothes in it ( you know the ones, the ones you think you will never get into but hang on just in case) Well pulled out a pair of jeans have not worn in at least 10 years and they fit perfectly. made me feel so much bettter since my wieght loss lately has been slow.

Hi Rondar & Jace :wave:

Thanks for your help. Do you know that Red Robin does serve any kind of veggies besides salads, which most have no no's in them. :nono:

I'm gonna do the planned burger w/ shrooms. Cut in half when served and have a doggie box waiting on the table when it arrives and bring the other 1/2 home with me, and order a small salad. Yep yep that's the plan!!!!

IP diet is best weight loss program out there
 

Hi,

I am new to this forum and I have enjoyed reading all the posts, this is an awesome support group.

My sister lives in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada and she lost 55lbs in 4 months, 4 years ago, and she has kept it off by following a diet that is organic and healthy. She now teaches classes out of her home for people on maintenance after IP, to help them create healthy recipes for their families and continue maintaining their weight. She has a website so if anyone wants to see the healthy recipes they will be able to enjoy once they reach their goal weight check it out at: http://www.thehealthnut.ca/

In March 2008 I had my annual physical and my blood pressure was sky high, I weighed 175 lbs and I had tried every diet out there, nothing worked for me. My doctor put me on high blood pressure pills that I would have to be on for the rest of my life and she said in a couple of years I would have to take other drugs because there would be other symptoms that would have to be dealt with.

I was really upset, I don't even take a tylenol for a headache!!! I called my sister and she told me how to proceed with IP diet since it was not available in Calgary at the time. She gave me the diet and I was able to order the products online. In two months I lost 30 lbs. wow, I weighed 145 lbs. for the first time in years. I felt amazing and my clothes went from size 16 and Plus sizes to size 8 - 10. I was also keeping tabs on my blood pressure daily as I had purchased a blood pressure monitor from Costco. I could see that my blood pressure was really low so the next month I went to see my doctor and of course the first thing she saw was my huge weight loss, she was shocked. Then I showed her my blood pressure readings and she said I had done everything I had to do to get my health back. She immediately took me off the pills and I have never gone back on them. So much for being on drugs for the rest of my life that would have had all kinds of side effects over time.

I kept my weight off for quite a while but I had no support in Calgary as IP didn't exist and I wasn't able to follow all the Phases of the program which would have been really helpful. I gained about 10 lbs over two years which wasn't bad but in the last year I have become pre-menopausal (I am 54) and the weight just started creeping up, this depressed me and I started eating things I shouldn't have and I wasn't exercising. This January I weighed myself after Christmas and was shocked to see that I was up to 172.8 lbs UGHHHH As the IP program is now in Calgary, a friend and I both joined together and this time I will go through all the Phases and then make recipes from my sister's blog. In the first five weeks I have lost 16.8 lbs and 23 1/2 inches all over, amazing!!

So even if you are menopausal you will lose with this diet and if you follow all the Phases through to maintenance and eat healthy after that and exercise, you will keep it off. My sister is proof of that.

:cheer2::cheer3:

OMG THATS CRAZY!! it took me three weeks to loose that much! good for you girl!:carrot:

i bet they will "modify" your salad if you ask... have fun and no &itch slapping the MIL when she starts nagging about you "can have a couple of bites".. ;)

Very inspiring....great story! Keep up the good work

Well ladies and gents I finally did it! Its not official but this morning

!!!!!!!139!!!!!!!!!
OMG you have no idea! Don't give up! I was stuck for weeks and was seriously thinking of quitting. But look what happened!

Pegsi- AWESOME work!! Glad you didn't give up. You deserve it.

Ontario- THAT is just amazing! Makes you want to stick with it if you were second guessing it huh?

Hello, just wonder about the magnesium citrate supplements. I am feeling backed up. I can only find it in capsule form - 150mg/capsule. How many should I take and when (just before bed?)

TIA

:carrot::carrot::carrot: Way to go!!!

That is fantastic!!! Now you know you can do it!!! You should be very proud of yourself. Here is to another great week:D

Doing the happy dance:carrot: You go girl. Thanks for being an inspiration to me. Have a great day.

Hey there Divegirl I am going to jump up to the rafters to post this info to you. lol

My wife and I go to Red Robins lots mostly because of our children. I always order a 5 Alarm Burger and just have them make it bunless wrapped in iceburg lettuce and with no cheese or mayo and instead of fries I ask for a side salad. I have also changed other burgers there I just have the condiments that are not IP friendly removed from my burgers.

Hope this helps and enjoy your meal.:burger:

Checking in after a long absence .... wow, lots of new "faces"! Welcome everyone and :carrot:woo hoo! on all the NSV and weigh-ins this week.

I am officially in Phase 3 now .... my body needs a break and for some reason, those last 2 pounds won't go away! Finally figured it wasn't worth beating myself up over. I need to focus on the 47 pounds that I did lose -- not the 2 that seem to be hanging on for dear life!

I am having trouble with Phase 3 ... I really like the convenience of a carmel nut bar and a cup of hot tea every morning ... so actually having a real breakfast has been a problem. Trying to get my head around the idea and have put off starting Phase 3 until Monday.

The "good" news is that for the last two weeks, I've been acting like a bratty little kid. Haven't kept a food diary and although on plan 90 percent of the time, I have added an cup of yogurt, a slice of bread, or a small piece of dark chocolate once in a while. But, even doing that, I haven't experienced a weight gain. Makes me think I can keep this off and make good choices.

So, because I know phasing off is so important to the plan's success, I will go back to POP on Monday .... but if all goes well, will be on Phase 4 by mid March.

Now, my own NSV --- I bought a pair of size 8 jeans today!!!!!!!!!! From tight 18s to 8s in 6 months! Thank you, IP and this forum.

LOL - your funny! :D

Thank you for your suggestions! Have you ever been to their webpage and checked the nutrion facts? That's how I came up with my numbers. I have always loved the Shroom Burgers.. :hun: and I'm happy to know that it's in my evening plan and the best thing about it is I will bring half the patty home (since its over the 5 oz's) and I can have it tomorrow for my cooked protein... :carrot: (wish we had a dancing hamberger) LOL.

thanks so much beachbella..i thought maybe it had other ingredients.. appreciate it!

Frustrated to the point of quitting
 

Has anybody else experienced ridiculous mood swings? It seems like I am crying all the time lately for no reason. I don`t feel happy, I`m losing interest in the diet because of boredom and lack of appeal with the food choices from IP. I was expecting to feel better, happier but all I`m feeling is in a slump. My coach has no advice and I feel like I`m hitting a dead end.:(

Well, congratulaions to everyone on this site I think we all doing great , went shopping today and got into size 10 pants, not to bad size 16 to siz 10 in 3.5 months.

Hi everyone! I have officially started the ideal protein diet two days ago and I'm on day 3!! I'm so excited to be doing this and as far as cheating goes, the first day I had one fish cracker, a super tiny bite of kiwi, and an extra portion of lean meat. Although, my coach did tell me to have an extra packet the first week since I would be hungry at first, which I didn't. But other than that, I've been OP since and I am amazed at myself! I never do this good on any diet!! I really feel that I'm gonna do great on this and as I've seen so much success on here with everyone else, I know I can have the same success too!!
I'm gonna be moving next week out of my apartment into a new one, so I will be pretty busy which will def. make things easier for me, but I may not be able to post too much after this weekend.

Poor Camio, your having a rough time of it. How are you feeling with your sickness? Mood swings are very common, as harmones are stored in your fat cells. How long have you been on protocol?

Have you tried the puddings & drinks? They're real good. Have you checked out the fun with packets thread that I gave you last night?

It just takes a little time to adjust and I PROMISE it does get better, if you can just hang tough you will get thru this. There's a lot of good things to come your way, but you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and stay focused on your goal. Can you do that?

:hug:

I have no desire to eat. I forced myself to have a RTD chocolate drink this morning. It is quarter to three in the afternoon and that is all I have had plus some water. I am heading into my 5th week of the protocol. I have been eating the pudding every day since I started - I am not enjoying it even with modifications (cinammon in chocolate, pumpkin pie in vanilla). I`m not a veggie person to begin with so spinach every day is getting old fast. I`m trying to stay focused on my goal, but with the protocol and the other stress in my life I feel like it is going to make me crazy more than anything else.

You dont have a desire to eat because of Kitosis, and that's a good thing! But you must eat to avoid your body going into starvation mode. Have you tried the drinks? What about having a protein bar (restricted) for lunch. Who was it, hmmm Rondar I think blending spinach with her drinks just to get the veggies down. She saids you cant even taste them, just makes it green.. lol If the truth be known, I'm never cared much for veggies either unless they are smothered with all kind of no-nos. But I am on a mission to get this weight off and get on with my life.

Are you taking all your supplements?

All I can tell you is take this one day at a time and one pound at a time. I'm sorry this plan is stressing you, and I know it takes a lot of planning to do this, but it will be worth it in the end.

You never answered.... How's your sickness.

Try a different veggie... maybe celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms those seem to be my "run to" veggies.

I am taking all the supps faithfully, and as far as being sick goes - I still have this insufferable cold, plus the abdominal pain is still coming and going. I have tried the pink lemonade and the peach mango and they both tasted awful to me. I had to plug my nose to get them down. I just have never been a fan of forcing myself to eat when I`m not hungry. Nothing seems even tolerable anymore. I am to the point where at lunch I am having my protein pack with my two cups of spinach but I dice up a couple ounces of actual protein (usually chicken leftovers from the night before) and put it with the spinach so I can get it down.

Well Camino, no one says you just have to eat spinach, try another veggie. Have you tried the Cappacino drink? You can have RTD's for every packet meal if you want.

I really think you should see your doc about the abdominal pain.

Also, you may want to add Vitamin C. This protocol runs your resistance down, I have been on 1000 mg a day and started that 1 week before I started IP, as I have a low resistance anyway. If someone steps into my office and I know they are sick, I run them out.... quickly! lol

Honey, if I could pull you thru the hardest part, I would in a heartbeat.

I have a quick question. Is it okay to skip veggies at lunch ? I have the chicken soup and feel pretty full. Usually add more veggies for dinner. It has been amazing the past couple of days with no hunger. Sometimes look at the clock and realize that I missed lunch. Thanks for any info!!

Hey Camio... have you tried the crisp cereal? It's good with some cinnamon sprinkled on it before you add the water.