Why do I feel different from so many?!
 

I love reading all the positive comments on these boards. They really are great. I just wonder why I feel so different from so many of you. First off, I am having success on IP. I have lost around 18 pounds and 10 inches so far ( 5 weeks or so). My next weigh in is tomorrow so hopefully those numbers will increase.

The difference is, I don't "love" this diet like so many say they do. I actually feel it is a form of torture on some days!! I often feel deprived and sometimes wonder "Could this be healthy? No fruit? What the heck?
I'm doing it with a friend who feels a lot like me. She texted me one day last week that " I could eat a human right about now!" A joke obviously, but the implication is the same..... Crap, this is hard!!!!!........

Anyway, please dont take this as a negative or say Im not on board. I am really trying!!! I just wish it was getting easier!

Any thoughts?

It's not like I don't miss food, I have my bad days, but overall as a diet I don't think I have ever stayed on one as long as I have been on this and it's still easier than when I did Adkins or some other diet.
Obviously since I am still doing it :)
It's not that I love the diet itself, but I love the results and how "easy" it seems to be for me to stick to plan.
Trust me I want to be done by December and that is my goal lol.

I don't love depriving myself and I don't love most of the food. I DO love that I have had great losses and am on the road to a healthier, thinner me. I DO love that I don't have to eat this way forever, just seems like it sometimes. I DO love that my pancreas is asleep and will be retrained. I DO love that I have kicked my carb addiction and am correcting my insulin resistance. I don't love everything, but am focusing on the positive instead of dwelling on the negative!

Thanks Wayward. i was starting to wonder about myself! I think of the holidays coming too and almost dread not being able to have what I really want! I worry that if I do it would just start the spiral down! Im tired of weight being an issue. It has my whole life and I just wish I could eat what I want. But, I cant! None of us can!

A couple of things...

One, try to drink your drinks warmed up in the microwave AND include lots of hot tea. If you drink the decaffenated kind, it counts towards your water intake. It doesn't sound like much, but warm drinks are very satisfying.

Two, say this to yourself every time you feel like you are starving...NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS!!!!! I love this saying and think that it is so true.

I am a lucky one who is loving the strictness of this diet...I love the plan and am rarely hungry. BUT...every now and again I crave two things...pizza and fruit. I tell myself every time...those will be around when I hit my goal and am in a size 4/6 again. And at that time...I will be able to eat a little and walk away without feeling guilty!!!

Remember...NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Another saying to keep in mind...eat to live, don't live to eat!!! :)

You can do this...but I would caution about you and your friend who are doing it together venting about it together. I know you need someone to vent to and this site is great for that...but...you all can cause each other to throw in the towel too. Try to stay really positive, if nothing else, than for the other person!!!

I am like Wayward, I do miss the foods but this is the first diet that shows me the results as quick as they have. I can live like this for the time being, this is only temporary. I have learned how to eat better for myself and know that once I reach my goal I will be able to handle it. I miss the fruits and such but also know that I will be able to have them once I reach my goal. You may be thinking that this is some sort of punishment having to eat this way to be able to lose the weight but it really is not. You have to have your mind into, you have to make the commitment to yourself. You said you are in this so stop thinking the way you are and turn those thought around to a positive about what you can have for now and what you will be able to have once you are done.

I don't know how much you have loss already nor how much you want to lose but it does get easier IF you think it is. Sounds like you are dreading the diet instead of learning from it. I do by no means want to sound mean by saying what I have said, its just my opinion please do not take offense :)

Mamarenee,

You know, everyone's experience of this program is unique in some way. Not everyone loves it all the time. I can't truthfully say that I loved every minute of IP. There were times when I really didn't like it, mostly when I was hungry and was afraid of eating anything. That did feel like torture sometimes.

I think the thing that kept me going while I was in the weight loss phase was seeing my weight and inches decrease pretty much every week. I am one of those people who loses more inches than pounds. I lost 33 pounds and about 39 inches! I was determined to make this work because it was clear that nothing else was working, even the plans that had worked very well for me in the past. So, I basically felt that this program was my last chance at achieving a healthy weight.

I'm so glad I didn't give up because it means so much to me to feel attractive again, to be able to buy clothes off the rack (size 8 pants, size S or M blouses ;), to actually enjoy clothes shopping again, and to feel in control of my eating for really the first time since childhood. I can't put a price on how good I feel having achieved what I set out to do after so many years of feeling like an utter failure at weight loss/management.

I am a R.N., and I've never had any reservations about potential negative consequences of this program. I think it's quite sound, actually. It is important to follow it precisely, however. For more information on this, I can highly recommend watching the documentary, "Fathead". It's available on Netflix (streaming). It will make you a believer in the low carb approach to health and weight loss/management.

Best of luck to you!

Karen

I guess the bottom line is, how bad do you want it and what are you willing to do to get it?

I feel similarly. I'm thrilled with the results and happy to have some of the decisions taken out of my hands, but I can't wait to stop eating out of packets and enjoy a yogurt or a glass of wine occasionally.

You are not alone.

Hey first of *hugs and second of all well done on losing so many inches in such a short time.

Of course making the transition from eating all the things you love to eat to eating nothing you love is hard. There will be good days and bad days and what you have to remember is what you have already lost....WOW. Also if you feel like having pizza or something you could look online how to make one, you can buy ready made low fat pizza bases and it means you can add your own ingrdients or make your own fish and chips or even get a low fat milkshake and turn it into a mousse or ice cream. I hope some of this helps you. Just remember your doing great.xxxx

Thanks everyone for all your advice and support!!!!! This really is a great place to come and I appreciate nobody telling me I am not committed blah blah blah!! Thank you! Karen from Texas, I will get that movie. I heard its excellent!
So lets all continue to take this one day at a time, on inch at a time, one pound at a time!!!!!!!!!

Also note I am one of the most picky eaters you will ever meet, and the food on this diet isn't bad at all.
Many of the bars, drinks and snacks are very edible.
Now keep in mind that my menu is very easy which will make many laugh.

For the past 3 weeks I have gotten the exact same thing each week, before that I was mixing in a few white cheese crisps.
But typically I am 2 boxes of cappuccino and 1 box of bbq crisps.
I eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch and evening snack everyday lol.
My breakfast and lunch have been the same for the past 10 weeks.

And yes I know this is just temporary, but I have made a decision to be healthy again.
My goal as I stated is to be done in Dec. but I will still hang out and do my best to keep people motivated and continue my journey with the friends I have made here.
I will also note that I didn't used to be a breakfast guy, I will continue to drink my morning breakfast shake even when I am done, if not it, I will drink a whey shake, I am going to keep that routine during the week especially.

I also plan on continuing my supplements and pills after I am done, I already have found cheaper alternatives for all my pills, and I have no plans to change my intake when I am done.

But I am not worried about maintenance because I know I have changed.
For the past 18 years or so I have gone down hill, I used to be an athlete, I played 3 sports every year through Jr High and High School, after high school we still stayed active for the next several years. It wasn't until I started my family that I got lazy, that and working fast food.
I want to be an older version of that guy again.
In the past 2 months I have done over 350 miles on the track because I want to be better, I was out there last night in 37 degree weather for 2 hours because I have made a choice.

When you have fully made that choice for yourself, it will be much easier.
Will I go back to eating like I did before? Yes and no, I don't plan on eliminating all the foods I used to eat, I am honest about my plans.

I plan on moderation and portion control, that is my plan. There are things I don't need to have, but I don't plan on not enjoying food again.
I love my deep fat fryer lol, do I plan on using it again? YEP, difference is this, I wont make whole meals in it, I will occasionally make a side dish in it.
I will change the type of oil I use, I will control my portions.

Obviously this type of thing is harder for others, I smoked for 18 years, then one year I decided to stop, and I haven't smoked since and that was 4.5 years ago, I used to drink alot in my teens and early 20's. 4.5 years ago I stopped drinking, not by choice I just did. And after a year I was like hey I haven't had a drink in a year, then I made a conscious effort to not drink and I have been fine.
When I get something in my head and make up my mind I stick with it until it's done.

Sure easier said then done right, but it's just the way I am, and everyone is different.
This is your battle, we can be here to support and help guide you, but in the end, ultimately it's your fight.

Stay strong, stay positive, and stay OP!!
:bike2:

Mamarenne, hi,

We don't know how tall you are or how much you weigh or whether you eat all white vegetables, or what. But it's possible you might like the program more if you used some of the really satisfying (aesthetically and gastronomically) recipes people have come up with. But as I say, not a lot of background :) so this is just a shot in the dark. I like the program a lot because of it's intrinsic simplicity and because it is a program not a diet. I also log food carefully so I know that I'm getting the right nutrients and not being deprived.

Edit: I forgot to add that I do take vitamin C in addition the IP supplements and use krill oil tablets for the omega threes.

The Holidays
 

Don't stress about the holidays. They are still pretty far into the future. Just think how much weight you can lose in the next seven weeks before Thanksgiving. Also, I try to take it day by day and live by the mantra "not never, just not right now." So when I see something I would like to eat, I tell myself "not never, just not right now." I have usually forgotten about the food in 10 minutes.

As far as being hungry, make sure to get those four cups of vegetables, your protein, and gallons of water.

Regarding the protein, I find that I am losing at a fast clip eating 8 ozs of protein a day. My coach said that I could break it up and have protein for two meals a day for a total of 8 ozs.

Not everything is for everyone. I love the diet because I feel so much better. I'm not tired and slugish and bloated and just down. Carbs do a number on your body. I was one who said I could never do a low carb plan because I have to have them. Now I know I don't need them and I'm not even that excited about introducing them back in. Of course there are things I miss like fruit and pizza, why do we all miss pizza? The one thing I hate is how everything is centered around food. I feel like I can't just drop everything and go for a day because I have to make sure I have enough food with me or make sure there's a restaurant I can eat in and that gets old. It's only temporary and the better you stick with it, the faster you will get some of the old things back into your life. This is supposed to change your way of eating forever though so if you are waiting to be done so you can eat the things that you had been eating, remember those are the things that got you here in the first place.

You have gotten some great replies here and I feel the same way as most of the posters. While I have said I love this diet and I do, what I mean is the package food isn't bad at all, I love how the weight is coming off and I just find this diet so much easier then all of the other diets I have been on. Yes, I would kill for a pizza and a Starbucks latte (the two things I miss the most). However I am on week five with no intention of cheating till I have lost all of my weight and I don't think I ever felt this way before on any diet, and there have been lots of them. When I started this 5 weeks ago I was fully committed to giving up a year of my life to change my body once and for all, and on this plan I know that is a possibility. Is it easy? Of course not, but so worth it because I found a plan that got rid of my cravings for carbs, gives my pancreas a much needed rest and basically just gives me more energy than I have had in a long time.

Bottom line is I think how you feel is very normal. BTW read the book Why We Get Fat, and What to do About it and you will see that fruit is not all that it's cracked up to be, especially if you want to lose weight.

Originally Posted by mamarenee:
The difference is, I don't "love" this diet like so many say they do. I actually feel it is a form of torture on some days!! I often feel deprived ...Any thoughts?

When I first started the diet and looked at the list of what I could eat, I almost didn't start because I thought there would be no way I could survive mentally with so many restrictions.

I also sought out recipes and hints (the Daily Thread has an amazing list of threads for recipes and "packet hacks") to cure the monotany.

But I made a goal to be as creative as possible working within the limitations and have been sharing recipes and pix with other dieters so they can see real photos of what they could be eating.

http://www.facebook.com/idealproteinlohja

I can truly say that I don't think I have ever eaten better in my entire life. And my body is responding and healing as well as losing weight.

The other thing which greatly helped me has been awesome coaches (they are a husband and wife team). They explain the science (WHY it works and what the consequences of cheating do to the science...making it easier to mentally understand why "one taste" can mess things up rather than just being scared of not following rules because they are rules.) Overcoming the mental hurdle is the greatest obstacle and feeling that I want to eat what I'm eating vs obsessing about what I cannot have. (Thats where the recipes come in... if you can re-create the taste memory of the foods you miss, it help keep the demons at bay.)

Lastly, I find most people who LOVE the diet are loving it because it just works. Never have I ever been on a diet which lost weight so quickly and left me feeling so good about myself and my choices. Because I do make an effort to cook (or prepare food to take with me), I feel in charge of my choices and feel like I am eating like a king (while still seeing an enormous drop in the portions I need to feel full.)

Hope that helps and good luck. Not everyone needs to be an Ideal Protein missionary, but I really believe that suffering is optional. :hug:

Thank you, all of you. Honesty i am touched by the support and very impressed with how all of you articulate your thoughts. I feel stronger and more hopeful because of you and its good to be reminded that although i dont "love" this diet, l do " love" how it is making me healthy!!

Originally Posted by mamarenee:
Thank you, all of you. Honesty i am touched by the support and very impressed with how all of you articulate your thoughts. I feel stronger and more hopeful because of you and its good to be reminded that although i dont "love" this diet, l do " love" how it is making me healthy!!

:hug: See you are not alone, we are all in this together, we stick by each other and help one another get through our rough "feelings" :hug: