Thanks darbs7! We don't need bells and whistles!

I'm sorry to hear about your mother's day. It really bothers me when people ignore special occasions.

I bet your wife really appreciated Mother's Day!! I hope you get the same special treatment for Father's Day. Well... minus the pedicure. Though I've had some guy friends get them before and they really liked it, though I think it had more to do with having a female massage their legs and feet....

Mrs. Diettrich ~ I have to say your new picture with your friends is so cute! I was looking at you photo journey yesterday and I am so proud of you. It looks like we have simular body types so you are a GREAT inspiration to me.
Thank you and WAY TO GO!!!!!

haha....actually - I love pedicures. I've only ever had 2 but they were awesome.

My apologies for a question that has probably been asked previously on this site but I haven't seen it yet and I have read quite a lot....how do you 'know' you are in ketosis?
I am 3.5 weeks on the plan - purchased the ketostix - and it seems I have not reached ketosis.
I am sticking to the plan (except for some days when I don't eat all my vegetables...) and I don't think I've got there yet.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks Stell

My husband loved his. The big problem with him is trying to get him to sit down for longer than 10 mins at a time. LOL! You did give me a great idea - he has been so encouraging and helpful during my weight loss and wants to do something extra special with me when I hit my goal weight so I think pedicures together will be my request. Best wishes for another happy and healthy day!

They totally are!

I think I've decided on my "half way there" reward (which is just 5 more pounds!!! I'm so excited): TREAT MYSELF TO A PEDI!! Thanks for the idea, sjdawg!

well, now I want one.

ash - i won't buy the bars for this exact reason. i have never tried any of them and i don't plan on it. i don't trust myself around bars! they are far too convenient. knowing me, i'd "accidentally" eat an entire box in a weekend. my coach always asks why i never by bars and i say because i am trying to break all my old habits, not keep them going. so, i'm sure they are super delicious, but i will never know!

Funny. I actually keep all my restricted items in my vehicle for the same reason. I want it to be a deliberate decision and a bit of an incovenience to go get one for a snack.

Sorry you had a disappointing mothers day. While none of my 3 sons are married yet, I've watched this for years with my brothers, and it's maddening. Kind of expecting it to some degree in the future with my boys, even though I have great relationships with all of them now.

As far as your weight loss, it is within the 3-4 pounds per week that IP protocol states, even though some do have larger numbers the first couple of weeks. I'm really wondering if you're getting enough to eat, even though your shakes have a bit more protein. A third shake, or even better, some yummy IP snacks like chips or soy puffs in the evening, would make things more bearable & possibly even help speed up the weight loss. Since you're doing alt products, maybe check on line & see what you could order. I know lots of people make it without the restricteds, but it's really been a lifesaver for me to have that to look forward to in the evening, and I've always lost something every week, even though I'm very close to goal.

Hope you can make some adjustments & keep moving towards your goal- and hey, this is the place for venting when you're down. We're here for you!

Morning everyone! I am starting day one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a big dinner last night (I won't say what... seems sort of mean). It was great, but I am excited to put all that behind me! I have about 40 pounds to lose, although I have several mini goals. 40 pounds would get me to high school weight, so I'm ok if that doesn't happen if I find I am happy before I get there.

I am only a few hours in and have already goofed. My coach said the sparkling flavored waters are fine so I grabbed a few at the store yesterday. It has aspartame! ACK! I think he said I was supposed to get ones flavored with Splenda or Stevia, etc. I'm just going to go ahead and drink it today. I guess. Why are we not supposed to have aspartame (other than the chemical reason that it's just not good for us). Will it have a specific negative effent on the diet?

I just had the oatmeal for breakfast and was pleased. I'm super nervous about all the packets I chose. I hope I like them!

Ok... enough rambling! I hope everyone has a wonderful OP day!

~Kay

Hey guys! I took a break from the forum (actually the internet too), but now I'm back! I found out my starting weight (thank you dr) and it turns out I've lost over 30 pounds! WOO!!

I'm not a mom to human kids, so we didn't really celebrate mother's day at my house. We did do mother's day Friday with his mom and Saturday with my mom since Sunday was our anniversary. Hard to believe we've been married 12 years! To celebrate we took the dog to the park and had homemade IP friendly tacos with no shells and with vegan cheese for dinner. I felt like I was having a treat!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and continues to have a great week!

So you don't have a third packet a day? Plus the protein is important but what about calories and carbs for the shakes. I follow IP protocol using alternative products (I used IP for 5 months). I eat the same every day....

Omelet for breakfast (packet from Nashua Nutrition) 100 calories and 2 carbs
36 ounces of water and supplements

lettuce, cucumbers, cabbage, mushrooms, for lunch with evoo, herbs, and vinegar for lunch with a shake and 36 ounces of water

6-8 ounces of chicken, beef, fish, pork or shellfish and 2 cups of veggies with evoo for dinner and water

1 restricted bar around 7pm

I buy the bars and omelets from Nashau Nutrition and the shakes at Target (pure Protein brand).


Ketosis takes 3-5 days to get into. Sometimes it barely shows on the stick and they say some people never. If you are losing, you are probably in ketosis. You can taste it in the back of your mouth, smell in in your urine and breath (although...I can't smell it but hubby can). If you have too many carbs you would go out of ketosis. The diet is very strict.