Dividing up Veggies??
 

I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like I have to force myself to eat 2 cups of veggies at lunch and dinner. Especially at dinner, I am SOOO full! I feel like I eat WAY more now than I ever used to so it makes it difficult to get in all 4 cups!!

Does it matter if you divvy up the veggies? Like having 1 cup of spinach blended into a shake in the morning and for snack. So that way I am spreading it out with 1 cup for breakfast, 1 cup for lunch, 1 cup for dinner, and 1 cup for snack. I am still getting in 4 cups, just not in the large quantities they suggest at each meal.

I would assume the same would go for the protein. 8 oz max but its ok to have an egg in the morning and then you have 6 oz left to get in. (well 5-8 oz daily is what my coach said so I don't have to get full 8 oz). Not sure what this effect has either....

.... does eating less protein hinder progress??

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!! :D

I think there must be something wrong with me. I always see people that can't finish their veggies, but I feel like 2 cups at each meal isn't enough sometimes! And then I want more throughout the day!

I split my veggies today, had about half a cup in my omellette, then some more for a snack, and will have another cup at lunch. Sometimes I save most of my veggies and gorge at dinner, all depends how hungry I am and when.

Originally Posted by AnnaBoBanna:
I think there must be something wrong with me. I always see people that can't finish their veggies, but I feel like 2 cups at each meal isn't enough sometimes! And then I want more throughout the day!

I split my veggies today, had about half a cup in my omellette, then some more for a snack, and will have another cup at lunch. Sometimes I save most of my veggies and gorge at dinner, all depends how hungry I am and when.

Anna I feel the same too, must be us Massgals! :)

Originally Posted by AnnaBoBanna:
I think there must be something wrong with me. I always see people that can't finish their veggies, but I feel like 2 cups at each meal isn't enough sometimes! And then I want more throughout the day!

I split my veggies today, had about half a cup in my omellette, then some more for a snack, and will have another cup at lunch. Sometimes I save most of my veggies and gorge at dinner, all depends how hungry I am and when.

count me in this group....i could EASILY eat 8 cups of veggies a day!!!!

i could get my entire 4 cup allotment just in veggie chips alone!! haha

i heart my veggies!!!!!!!!!!!!

I talked to my coach about this because I was having a difficult time eating the prescribed amount of meat and veggies in a day. I couldn't space them out from brekkie to dinner because my husband does the cooking so dinner is our biggest meal. What I've taken to doing is EXAMPLE:

MON dinner: having 2/3 of the specified amount
TUE AM- afternoon: remaining 1/3 of Monday's dinner
TUE PM (dinner): 2/3
WED AM- afternoon: remaining 1/3 of Tuesday's dinner

(and so on and so forth)

My coach told me that this is perfectly all right.

For some reason I don't think 4 cups of veggies is too much for me either! I usually have a salad at lunch and at dinner. When I first started, I used to eat cucumbers between meals for hunger, but I just don't get hungry much anymore. I have put spinach in my shakes, you can't taste it or anything...also, thankfully we weigh our veggies raw so they take up more space in the measuring cup...they shrink so much when cooked so it doesn't seem like I am eating so much. On hungry days I do split my protein in the day, sometimes boiled eggs in the morning and the rest of my protein in the evening. :)

4 cups is not too much for me either, but I often do split them up.. there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I often split up my protein too.

Sometimes I'll have a small omelet on the weekends with a cup of veggies for breakfast - part of my protein and part of my veggies. I also very often have a little bit of protein (maybe 2 ounces) on a spinach salad for lunch - just helps keep me full better. (Afternoons - before dinner - are hardest for me.)

Dehyrdated veggies are also less filling, so for example, zucchini chips equivalent to 2 cups pre-cooked will be less filling than 2 cups raw.

Originally Posted by Aimiloo:
Anna I feel the same too, must be us Massgals! :)

y'all must have been great veggie eaters prior to starting ip because i struggle daily trying to come up with a tolerable variety....ugggh, i'm about celery, cucumber and spinached out; still waiting for my brain to catch up and start appreciating all the roughage:dizzy:

Originally Posted by idealweight:
y'all must have been great veggie eaters prior to starting ip because i struggle daily trying to come up with a tolerable variety....ugggh, i'm about celery, cucumber and spinached out; still waiting for my brain to catch up and start appreciating all the roughage:dizzy:

well.....i was NOT veggie lover at all!!! MY idea of a veggie was anything made with potato, sweet potatoes or corn!!!!!!!!! mashed, boiled, scalloped, baked, fried, whatever....i rarely if ever ate ANYTHING GREEN!!!!!!!!!

only in soups would i get in other veggies!!!!

when i started this protocol....i made a promise to TRY every veggie on the list at least once!!! before IP i had never in my life dehydrated anything!!!

before IP, i had NEVER EVEN TASTED...rutabaga, jicama, turnip, fennel, swiss chard, rhubarb...and i'm sure a few others i can't think of right at the moment!

i do not like some cooked...

i do not like some raw....

but i WAS WILLING TO KEEP TRYING different methods of cooking!!!

now....omg....OMG....

I LOVE....kale chips, zucchini chips, squash chips, beet chips!!!!!! who knew!!!

i really like....rutabaga fries, rutabaga maple bisque, rhubarb jam, jicama sliced thin and eaten raw with cinnamon!!!

and don't even get me started on ALL THE DELICIOUS VEGGIE PUREES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just be willing to EXPLORE AND EXPERIMENT!!!!

you might just surprise yourself!!!

Originally Posted by lisa32989:
I have 1-2 c spinach in my smoothie in the morning. If I have the whole 2c, this only leaves 2 c for the rest of the day.

1c. pureed veggies in my soup at lunch is really 2c. raw.

That would be 4c. veggies for the day.

So, now I've reduced my spinach to 1c in the morning and less than 1c puree in my soup so that I can have some veggies with dinner. If I have too many during the day, I just have salad, which is NOT counted in the 4c.

This is the VEGGIE time of year. All the good veggies are in abundance and inexpensive at the farmer's markets.

If I were trying to eat them all raw, it would certainly be a LOT of crunching!

I love your idea of putting pureed veggies in your soup!! Definitely gives more variety then chomping on the same steamed veggies every lunch.

My coach told me though, that I should measure my veggies as they are served. Spinach for example she said that for cooked spinach you'd still serve 2 cups..well that is A LOT of raw spinach to get to 2 cups of raw. I wonder if the same would apply to your veggie puree??

Originally Posted by KateLyne:
I love your idea of putting pureed veggies in your soup!! Definitely gives more variety then chomping on the same steamed veggies every lunch.

My coach told me though, that I should measure my veggies as they are served. Spinach for example she said that for cooked spinach you'd still serve 2 cups..well that is A LOT of raw spinach to get to 2 cups of raw. I wonder if the same would apply to your veggie puree??

I measure raw as I chop them up to throw them in the pot. I braise them first with a little chicken stock.
So I've noticed about 2 c raw makes about 1 c puree.
I usually make enough for 5 days worth of soup at a time.
My coach (and many others) say to use raw measures. If you choose to cook, you still started with 2c. raw.

And I (actually lots of us) use 1c raw spinach, pureed in the blender, then I add my thinned pudding and some ice for my breakfast smoothie. I make mine with coffee.

None of these ideas are mine...all came from reading these threads...I read for about a month before I started IP

Originally Posted by rainbowsmiles:
well.....i was NOT veggie lover at all!!! MY idea of a veggie was anything made with potato, sweet potatoes or corn!!!!!!!!! mashed, boiled, scalloped, baked, fried, whatever....i rarely if ever ate ANYTHING GREEN!!!!!!!!!

only in soups would i get in other veggies!!!!

when i started this protocol....i made a promise to TRY every veggie on the list at least once!!! before IP i had never in my life dehydrated anything!!!

before IP, i had NEVER EVEN TASTED...rutabaga, jicama, turnip, fennel, swiss chard, rhubarb...and i'm sure a few others i can't think of right at the moment!

i do not like some cooked...

i do not like some raw....

but i WAS WILLING TO KEEP TRYING different methods of cooking!!!

now....omg....OMG....

I LOVE....kale chips, zucchini chips, squash chips, beet chips!!!!!! who knew!!!

i really like....rutabaga fries, rutabaga maple bisque, rhubarb jam, jicama sliced thin and eaten raw with cinnamon!!!

and don't even get me started on ALL THE DELICIOUS VEGGIE PUREES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just be willing to EXPLORE AND EXPERIMENT!!!!

you might just surprise yourself!!!

I just want to caution you, we're not allowed beets.

I agree with the experiment - we have fennel, rutabaga and turnips, nuns we'd never even before. Kale chips are yummy too. Dill pickles count as veggies as does spring mix salad.

There's a good recipe in one of the threads or chicken and leaks, yum. There's a lot of good recipes there do your not having meaAnderson a side of veggies, your Having a meal.

Must be New En

By the end of my 3rd week I was having a hard time getting the last 2 cups of vegies and the last IP pack. I just wasn't hungry. I am restarting today after a 5 week hiatus. I had the smoothie with 2 cups spinach. That really helped get them all in.

I think I could eat at least 6-8 cups of veggies a day and easily 10-12oz of meat. Glad I'm learning self control LOL!

Lately I have been roasting veggies and having them as filling in a butter leaf cup. Today I had some roasted eggplant, sauteed mushrooms, and ground turkey with paprika. I top with a bit of dijon mustard because I LOVE it!

Sometimes I do roasted asparagus, sliced onion, and buffalo chicken. Anything is good in a lettuce wrap I find, just something about finger food is very enjoyable.

I have the same problem....4 cups of veggies is too much. I've actually been skipping my 2 cups of veggies at lunch each day. I'm not hungry for it and I just can't get myself to eat it at lunch anymore. Sometimes, I will do a little extra with my dinner though. I'm also, really finding it hard to eat all of my packets in a day. It's amazing how full I am on this diet!

I had a hard time with 2 cups at lunch and again at dinner - throughout my 22 weeks I had 1 cup veggie @ breakfast, 1 cup @ lunch, and 2 cups @ dinner. Shuffle the food to make it fit your schedule, but eat all of your food - you really need EVERYTHING on the sheet. Skip something and don't be surprised if you hit a stall - cutting nutrients on an already restrictive program has proved counterproductive many times before.

I have a hard time eating two cups of broccoli or asparagus, or other more dense veggies, but I can't get enough salad. Maybe try something lighter like butter lettuce?

What do you guys think of grazing on veggies thru the day? I've been cutting up broccoli, cauliflower, red and yellow peppers and giving them a shake of salt then nibbling on them from about 11am til 2 ish when I can usually get an IP soup in at work. I eat my dinner veggies all right but at work this seems to work. Everyone ok with that one?

So many great suggestions, thank you!!!

I was starting to worry that I was the only one feeling like it was too much.

If you're a salad lover, don't forget that spinach counts as a veggie, not a lettuce! If you can't do 2 cups of denser veggies, have a salad with 1-2 cups of spinach instead of lettuce, topped with 1 cup of another veggie. Then you only have to squeeze in 1 more cup for your day.

Originally Posted by idealweight:
y'all must have been great veggie eaters prior to starting ip because i struggle daily trying to come up with a tolerable variety....ugggh, i'm about celery, cucumber and spinached out; still waiting for my brain to catch up and start appreciating all the roughage:dizzy:

I was not a real veggie lover when I started this diet but when I started seeing the fast weight loss results, I was more than happy to eat my veggies and am even starting to get creative with them.