A little story. As I was packing to leave for Christmas, taking my small suitcase out of the large one, I felt a funny bulge on the inside of the big one. What the. . . ?
It was a ziplock bag with 13 IP packets. OMG. Talk about Christmas presents! I had the first one this morning because . . . because I am celebrating a one pound loss after a 6 day stall. I'll just say this:
There are alternatives to IP products, but there are NO substitutes. The taste, the texture, so very much different. And these were at least a year old because I left the states on the 16th of January last year. Over the moon, at least briefly.
Good to see you,
Iowa Mom. I hope business has been really brisk. I'd sure like to see an up surge in the real estate market.
Hi
SalemSinead, to get started you should get all your ducks in a row and to do that read the IP Nutritional Fact sheet to see what the products look like and the IP Supplements Overview. I believe these are in the 2nd sticky under Ideal Protein Diet -- Phases. And then read about the phases, post number 9. The info is a little dated but the only differences, I think, are that all coloured peppers are allowed, and 8 ounces of meat and fish are required for dinner. The latter is an important difference. I'd send you links but the copies I have are pdfs and I don't know how to attach or link them. Sorry.
The supplements are also VERY important. Try to replicate them as closely as you can. For the potassium, ask the pharmacist. You won't find anything like it on the shelf and you may have to order it and you will probably have to buy the calcium separately. If you have trouble stomaching fish oil, use krill -- but it is a lot more expensive. Buy the very best vitamins and minerals you can, preferably in capsule form since they tend to be higher quality and easier to digest. If you are over 50, get a multivitamin without folate. Too much is poisonous and the older you are, the less you need. And you also get a lot of folate from green vegetables. Also consider adding a B complex, vitamin C and, during the winter, at least 1000 iu Vitamin D.
About the protein isolate. I Googled Amazon.UK and you can get Syntrax Matrix 5.0 with free shipping for Pound 40.54. You get 5 pounds and one serving is 30 grams so this is a bargain. I'll also vouch for the amino acids and other nutrients but you might want to check reviews yourself. It isn't IP but it's as close as you're likely to get. 23 g very high grade whey protein per serving BUT 6 grams of carbs per serving, at least what I can get in Germany. They make products with 2 g, so look around, even call the supplier to make sure what they advertize is what you get. But you can still use the 6 g product and be careful what other carbs you take in. Belgian endive and spinach are good low-carb high nutrition vegetables.
Salads: use Romaine lettuce because it's the only one with good nutrition (and it actually has a taste
). Lettuce is free and STRONGLY advised because this is a LOW FIBER program. Eat it as a salad, just to munch on, to wrap meat and vegetables, etc.
Water: very minimum 1/2 ounce for every pound of body weight up to 240 pounds. About 100 plus ounces a day is best every day, especially at the beginning, so you flush out garbage.
Oil: medium- or long-chain fatty acids, like coconut. olive, and grape seed. DO NOT use stuff like canola, OK? 2 teaspoons minimum and don't go too far over that. You might want to do some research here. A lot of barbaric practitioners, like Dr Michael Edes, Atkins, believe that taking in good fat helps you to burn fat.
Salt: 1/2 t a day of sea salt.
Sel de Mer, Celtic, and Himalayan are best tasting except for pink Hawai'ian, but it's hard to get in Europe. You can always visit and bring some back. It's about $3 a pound so worth the visit.
In the beginning you will probably need more salt because you're flushing electrolytes as well as other stuff. If you get a headache or feel light headed, this is what is happening. You know your body best and what level of sodium it can tolerate without water retention.
Sleep: Get lots although once you're in ketosis even though you may sleep less for a little while -- all that new energy.
Scale: You'll need a good kitchen scale that measures in both ounces and grams.
Sweetner: Stevia is the only thing I can recommend.
Bases:
My interpretation of what is the base line for this program? About 100 g good protein; under 30 real carbs, not net, between 800 and 900 calories a day, 1200-1500 mg sodium, 4,700 mg potassium, 350 mg magnesium, 100-1200 mg calcium; and keep sugar as absolutely low as possible, ALL sugars.
Tracking: If you'd like to track what you eat, and it's a really good idea, you can use cronometer.com or other commercial derivatives of the USDA Nutritional Data Base.
I hope that covers the basics and hope it helps.
CarolIrish in the Netherlands (I think) is also doing this in Europe, but I haven't seen her around recently.
Sorry, one last note. Protidiet is also available in Europe, if you want more variety and packets. I didn't get them because I think they're low in protein, some are fairly high carb, BUT they do have fiber. And as I said, variety.
GOOD LUCK.
Great day here.
