I continued doing ~2 mile walks ~4x/week at a VERY slow pace (22 min/mi w/a 45-minute play break in between) from Day 1 - Week 8 of IP, but it was 'non-negotiable' as it was walking my son to the park to play. I never added a packet then, but I did make sure to have my snack before. I also didn't have a restricted during that time.
Breakfast@8am
Lunch@12pm
Snack@4pm
Walk@4:30pm-6pm (yes, we were gone for 1.5 hours, it was SLOOOW)
Dinner@8pm

When it got too hot to walk to the park I started taking him to the indoor mall play area and slacked on the walking, but picked up my Bodypump weightlifting class 2x/week at ~75% weight that I had done pre-IP, I also started having 1 Restricted/Day. I had stopped doing that class cold turkey when I started IP. So Week 8 - Week 15 I did that routine. Then ~Week 15 I stepped up my frequency to 3x/week and I also picked up my weight amount. I HAVE to have an extra packet those days and add 2 egg whites before the class and I have my full meal soon after.
Breakfast@8am
Lunch@12pm
Restricted@4pm
Snack w/2 egg whites@6pm
Bodypump@6:30-7:30pm
Dinner@8pm

Now that I am in Phase 2 I started adding in light cardio, ~2.5mi jog @ 11min/mi, 3x/week on my off-Bodypump days. I had attempted to do light cardio in Phase 1 and it was a DISASTER - I got dizzy, nauseated, my eyes wouldn't focus, and I was EXHAUSTED, even with adding in the packet and going at what I thought was a slow pace. Those are definite signs that I pushed myself - even though it was SO MUCH LESS than I had done before IP. I haven't had any problems these 2 weeks in Phase 2 with the light cardio addition.

I plan on adding in higher intensity in Phase 3, when we add in carbs. Higher mileage and faster pace for running and perhaps some Bootcamp/Kickboxing classes like "the old days".

Bless you for your thoughtfulness! :hug:

Thanks Cindy- I turned 40 this year. My dad died when he was 48. If I were to only have eight years left (God willing I will have more), I don't want to spend them stuffing my face with Skittles and hiding in my house. I deserve better, my husband deserves better, and most of all, my son deserves better. For once, I feel like I know how to do it, and that I can do it without white-knuckling it the whole way! :)

aimee - so sorry to hear about your friends. How heartbreaking. :(

Question for my US friends. Is it true that you don't get the ready made pudding cups there yet? The only pudding you can get is in the silver packets that you have to make yourselves? I heard that you were getting them soon and was flabbergasted that you don't have them. Truth? Fiction?

my coach does not have them in stock yet.
online order store does not have them yet either.
i would so love to try one!!....as i very much dislike the packet ones.

Luck with that!!!

I see others gave you muffin recipes. Just make a smoothie for breakfast to drink on the way & have those muffins for lunch with some celery or cukes on the side & its all good! Have you tried the coffee/spinach breakfast smoothie?? :love:

True Dat!

:wave::hug:

Wow, that sucks! They really are quite good. The vanilla ones, anyone. I'm not a huge fan of the chocolate ones. But so much easier to travel with, etc! And they're super good when mixed with all sorts of WF stuff. Sadly they're more expensive, but you do get 8 in a package. Huh.

Well, apparently they are soon to be on their way to you, so keep an eye out for them!!!

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. It's been a sad day! Makes you think of how blessed you truly are.

On a good note, I DID not eat anything I had no business eating. :) I knew better than that b/c I would have had to come here and confess and you guys would've gotten on me, dont want that. hehe

IPDIVAJEN - I would so like the already made pudding cups. Can you post a pic so we can see what they look like? lol

Aww, you're a sweetie, thanks!

I am so confused as what to do. I am losing so much hair! I am taking biotin as someone suggested. I know it isn't going to stop immediately but I'm concerned that I will start having bald spots. My coach says that it will grow back , but at what cost am I doing this? I have 20 lbs until goal, that's 12 weeks and then phasing off. Not sure what hair I will have left by then.

If I just get off IP immediately, I have no idea what to eat .

Please tell me if you have gone thru this and have in fact had your hair grow back, I am desperate for encouragement.

Just tried to find a pic online and I can't! Will snap one when I'm home. :)

Aimeed3 What a shocking story! So sorry for the loss of those two men. Life is full of unexpected tragedies that are so difficult to understand. Thinking of you and your community during this difficult time.

nope how do you make that. it sounds. frozzen or fresh spinach. i have tons of the baby leaf.



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You can use the puddings as shakes, just add more water. They taste much better as shakes. WF dressings got to me after a while too. Now I just use a little olive oil and sea salt and don't miss the dressing at all. Never thought I would say that, but your tastes change throughout this program and you will be able to eat and drink things that you may have previously disliked.

Love this diet ...it really works.. hubby started monday he is doing great so far :)

Aimee...I am so very sorry to hear about your friends! :hug:

Wow, I'm in Baton Rouge, but have been so busy here at work I haven't really looked at any news. Being in an MP Unit with the National Guard, I have lots of cop friends. I am so sorry for your loss and pray that the 'Thin Blue Line' is there strong for the families of the fallen. :hug:

The US doesn't have the pudding cups because our "oh so wonderful" FDA doesn't approve of the nozzle tip that puts the pudding in the cups.:censored:
Yet they still allow doctors to give people rat poison to thin their blood!

Hello everybody ! I just wrote a post and as I hit 'enter' I lost my internet connection....aw nuts...

Anyway, it's great to see so many new and old faces and so many people working hard to create a better future for themselves. You all are very inspiring to me. I'm almost 6 months in maintenance and it seems like we will always need that reminding to be conscious of what we are feeling and what we put in our mouths.

It is a rainy day out here, storming a bit, and we really need the rain. the kind of day it would be fun to sit in bed and read a book, listening to the storm. I'm trying to clean the house a bit, but my hands and knees are burning so bad it's hard to ignore the pain. Not sure if it is the RA, fibro, gluten or just the humidity. I see my doctor tomorrow to get results on a celiac test and sonogram to check the gallbladder. Get this, the last time I saw him, he told me I needed to stop losing weight! That's a first!!! ;)

I had a beautiful walk in the woods this morning and saw 10 blue heron! Amazing, considering the river has dried up to a few puddles here and there.

I'm gonna try and peruse the posts today - sounds like some sadness. I'm so sorry. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned.

Margaret

Oh Aimee, I'm so sorry. There is no making sense when these things happen, is there? I saw in your other post that you did not eat those donuts. Good for you! Hang in there...:hug:

Margaret

So love this!
I agree. I finally know what to do. I am 53, and no more kids at home. I want to enjoy my life every day.:dancer::dancer::dancer:

I usually use fresh, but you could use frozen if it was a little thawed and drained.

I blend the spinach with some water (or coffee) add some Stevia (1 pkt) and get it very smooth...chunky spinach...no thanks. whip it up real good!
then add a drink or pudding packet. I have used both chocolate and vanilla, but any of them would work. Blend again real well. add Raspberry extract. Yum. You cannot taste the spinach at all.

Ah, interesting! Well, I've heard that the FDA has finally given their approval so it should be coming soon to a clinic near you!!!

Thanks for sharing! VERY Helpful!

What an incredible, sweet thing to do! :)

See...you could do it! :carrot:

Good luck, and once past the first few days you will love the program.

I have heard shingles are nasty. Hope you feel better soon.

For best results I would just stick with the program the way it's written. If you do decide to take two days for your free day, then I would do two days of phase 1 to make up for the weight gained.

This was so my life. Very healthy food at home for the entire family, but not so much as I was out and about during the day.

I don't cook anything special for my family for dinner, we all eat the same healthy low carb dinner. We all have a protein and veggies for dinner. No one needs any starches/carbs for a healthy dinner.

Glad to hear you are doing so well. Meal replacements are not the answer long term, but that is the beauty of IP, it has four phases that eventually get you all on whole unprocessed food by phase 4. The packaged food is a very high quality in the meantime and you lose a lot of weight. A win-win situation.

As for the Just Cheese, I would have to say you can't have it right now. It's way too high in fat and calories for IP. Any food not listed on the phase 1 sheet should be 0 fat/0 calories/ 0 carbs.

I don't like the puddings as pudding, but I love them as shakes with cinnamon added. Having only drinks might cause you to burn out too quickly. Have you tried some of the other products? They have several good ones, and you can get creative with them too.

I wouldn't buy them because I like turning them into shakes, but they would be great for my daughter who eats them as pudding only.

Make sure you are getting enough biotin (2500 mg. twice per day). I didn't have any hair loss with IP I think because I take fish oil (before I even started IP), and collagen and I believe that really helps. I also started adding biotin recently to be on the safe side. I did lose a lot of hair when I did Atkins, and wasn't taking anything till I noticed it falling out. My hair did get thinner, but I never looked bald. It lasted for about three months.The loss happens whenever you stress out the body, for example with a big weight loss. Whatever you do don't quit IP, your hair will come back, and you'll be thinner too. :hug:

I have a question... lets say i rushed this morning and forgot all my IP packets at home... and I ate a huge salad for lunch to keep me full... is it ok to eat all my 3 packets when i get home, possibly at once?

I use fresh and add it to my vanilla pudding mix and turn it into a shake. The drink is green, but you honestly can't taste the spinach. I also add some cinnamon and a few drops of English Toffee Stevia, and then blend in my Magic Bullet. Yummy!

how much water do you add to it. and how much spinach?


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I do 8oz of water with 2 cups spinach, some use less water. Trust me when I say blend the heck out of the water and spinach.

Heard the same thing 6 months ago and still no pudding cups. Keep my fingers crossed we get them soon. I am all about quick and easy so the more non-restricted things that don't need to be mixed the better. Yep, I'm lazy when on plan:D

Molly,
I'll look into that, it's uncomfortable as it is right now, so it'd be worth the discomfort to get better, hoping since it took a week to happen it'll be healed in a month.

Aimee: I am so so sorry to hear about your friends :( I used to be a dispatcher and I was always so afraid whenever I heard an officer get panicked on the radio, or hear "shots fired" etc. etc., I can't imagine what you are going through, if you need a buddy, I'm here.

So, work is kicking my you-know-what today, found out I have to copy over 1,027 webpages to our other server, individually...and it's a 4 step process each time and i have to trouble shoot them anytime it gets weird. I am NOT happy... >.<

On the plus side, I decided to try on a pair of "Junior" size jeans, they were 13s, but ****, they fit! I am now officially a "grown up" size 10 and a junior size 13...I can't wait until I can fit in 8s!

That sounds amazing!! Way better than just the water, spinach, and choc. drink mix. You just made my day, can't wait for tomorrow morning :hug:

So now I am sitting at Dairy Queen, reading 3fc posts on my phone while the in laws and kids eat ice cream. (sigh...). I brought my mio so I ran accross the street, bought a Starbucks passion tea unsweetened and added my lemonade mio. I so have this! My mother in law still can't believe my willpower!