Okay so you are moving along great, no cheating all week, you WANT this badly...and then the weekend comes (those are the hardest for me) and BAM!! You either eat something not even thinking, or you have just a little of something that you know you should not have. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???

How do you stay on plan 100%?

PLEASE share your tips and motivation for staying true to IP. I will be forever grateful!!

My son had his "30" birthday this Saturday. I was all around the food they were eating, I even cut the cake and passed it around and not even one finger went to my mouth. My dear sweet husband grilled me a steak and had my vegetables. Staying true to yourself and the fact I want thin so bad keeps me going. By the way my birthday is Sept. 27th also. And my cake will be made with IP. Have a great Sunday.

I'm new to this eating program, but not to dieting. I set out to lose the weight, will lose it and then gain it all back because I have lost sight of what I really want...to be happy in my own body. I am so sick of not being able to fit comfortably into clothes that I was wearing last year at this time. There have been plenty of times in the last few weeks that I have stopped myself from just grabbing something from the cabinet to eat and told myself, "if I eat it, it will take me 3 more days to get back into fat burning mode." That stops me. Look at the bigger picture and then drink more water.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you all sharing and encouraging me. I was so set in the mindset for the first two months and did not cheat once, then I got a little loose with the guidelines toward the last couple weeks of summer with vacation and travel and I did not gain anything, but I did not lose and I know it is my own fault. I think I need to read Dr. Tran's book again as that helped me fully understand the science as well.

Thank you again for being so supportive!!

Reading this forum helps...

It's so hard for this program not to consume you but to sme extent it does and has to in order for change to happen. It's hard.....very hard to stay OP. I have a sign in my bathroom I look at everyday that says I'm worth it! I work in an industry where there are meetings that revolve and often have foods I cannot eat. Here is an example of a typical conference I have to go to.

Morning......well..lthey bring in a couple of dozen bagels and cream cheese and Dunkin Donuts! Lunch...well....since I live in Chicago...it is very normal to bring in deep dish Chicago style pizza for lunch....oh and then there is the afternoon snack....well that can be a basket of delicious pastry items. On one particular occasion this type of meeting happened on my weigh in day. Each time everyone ate I went to my office and ate my food...I did join them once I was done...I came back to several people saying..."oh sorry Michelle you can't eat this...or How can you handle this Michelle". All I could focus on was that I was weighing in later that afternoon and there would be no way in **** I was going to blow a whole weeks worth of OP for one short moment of deliciousness. Later that day...at my weigh in...I had lost 3lbs. I was so incredibly happy....that feeling far surpassed any enjoyment I would have experienced from a slice of deep dish or asiago bagel! LOL. that feeling of happiness is what I crave and try to remember when it gets hard to stay OP.
And that's how I manage Good luck to you! It's not easy but it's sooooooooo worth it!

I would look at Express and other websites of clothes I have not been able to fit into, and know I can only get back to those sizes if I stick to plan. Then there's the obvious cost of cheating (it will set you back three days and can harm your body). You just have to be in the mindset to do it! You can!!!!!!!!

I was so decicated over a year ago ( HI WUV) and never cheated once, I just kept feeling better and better. BUT, even though I phased off properly, I have gained alot of weight back and it has been wayyyyyy harder to stay OP this time around. FIRST I would suggest stay on plan all the way to GOAL, don't phase off ( I think that was my mistake) and secondly, even when at goal, come here to stay on plan. Weight is a fight for me (and I am sure many here, that's why they are here) Food is my addiction, but unlike other addictions:drugs, alcohol, smokes, etc. we need Food to live and stepping away from something you have an addiction to and limiting it, is wayyyyyy harder than giving something up. Suppose a drug addict was told they could have 1 whatever of Heroin but that is all, well we all know that doesn't work, because you crave more and will do anything for that addiction. Well, that is how I am about food, I love everything about food, from recipes to cooking in my gourmet kitchen, then I love to sit and enjoy what we have cooked (hubby loves to cook to, but he is thin, grrr) I am not trying to be a "downer" but just saying we continue to need support and tough WUV, even after losing the weight. We will be on this sight the rest of our lives, if we know what is good for us. Good Luck all

I keep my eye on the prize... A thin me!

Also, I succeed because of this board. It's too easy to fall off of the wagon, but when you have support and see others being successful, it makes you want that too. I also told myself I could do anything for a year when I started IP. Well it's almost one year, but because I took the summer off that year has been pushed back to Thanksgiving now. Now I tell myself I can do anything till Thanksgiving.

You can do, I know it!

Whatever program you use, your head and heart have to be in it. I tried to always keep the big picture in mind, that I could have those forbidden things later. Mostly, that I was building a future for myself where I'd be healthier. Being overweight is just not healthy, and IP happened to be the tool I used to save myself. Over time, your attitudes can change in subtle ways. I'm in maintenance now for 6 months, and so far, so good. The surprising thing I've found is that now that I have 'permission' to have anything I want (within quantities and frequency limits, of course), I can say, okay, I can wait, no big deal. I want my new health and body much more than anything. I do enjoy those treats, but I make sure that I choose when and how much.

Because I had so much weight to lose, it took time, and that gave me the chance to examine my emotions and history with food. Critical work if we are to succeed long-term.

Good luck !!!

Margaret

ITA. I believe that a lot of dieters who 'slip' aren't fully aware of the rationale behind the Ideal Protein Diet, and don't understand how and why it works. It's not the same as a 'slip' on a calorie-counting type of diet. I think reading and understanding the diet is essential; definitely Dr. Tran's book, as well as other dieting books that follow the same principle (or related) help me to stay on track. I recommend: Protein Power, by Drs. Michael & Mary-Dan Eades; Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It, by Gary Taubes; also, Wheat Belly by Dr. Williiam Davis. I also recommend Life is Hard, Food is Easy: The 5-Step Plan to Overcome Emotional Eating, by Linda Sprangle; and Diet 101: The Truth About Low Carb Diets, by Jenny Ruhl. Also the Dukan Diet, by Dr. Pierre Dukan.

Throughout this process, I've also been very very aware that I don't want to go out of ketosis. My 'slips' have been with an extra serving of something that is protocol-appropriate in order to ensure that I do as little 'damage' as possible. (My personal downfall is protein bars... I learned the hard way that they tempt me sometimes into wanting more than one. - That's why I originally searched out and read Life is Hard, Food is Easy: The 5-Step Plan to Overcome Emotional Eating. It definitely gave me some good pointers).

I have tried so many other plans .... they didn't work. I tried to eat "well" and I kept gaining. I would go to sleep at night and say my prayers and at the end... ask that I could wake up "skinny".

I have stayed the course and it think for some reason or another, IP was harder for me, as my losses were always smaller than the norm, judging from other people on the forum, and I have stayed OP for over a year now (only recently trying some of the alternatives on Nathua Nutrition just to add some variety to my diet). I am so close to my goal and I am not giving up. I think in the back of my mind - "nothing tastes as good as thin feels". I now wake up every day..."skinny". My husband woke up in a panic one night because he thought I wasn't in the bed and something was wrong... fact was, I was no longer the huge lump he remembered there.... lol. He had to dig through the covers to find me :P.

Fact is - YOU ARE WORTH IT!!! - and only you can do this for yourself -no one else can do this for you. I hope you have a good support system at home, but if you don't - we are here for you on the forum. You need to be healthy, you need to feel good and the looking good is just a simple added bonus to the plan. My skin has never been better (and I have psoriaisis!!). This is my life and I welcome it with open arms. I have learned portion sizes and what "whole" foods mean. I look at other people eating cakes and sugar and think that they are not enlightened. Sure we can have some that later on, but really - refined sugar is not good for anyone - don't think I am going back to that... but a slice of pizza - now that will be my one and only final reward on my cheat days when I am done.

Stay the course - you will win!!!

So many things pushed me into this diet. First, I saw others doing it and was jealous. I wanted to lose weight too!

Second, I was aching everywhere, everything hurt. I also have PCOS and plan to have children within the next few years. I knew I needed to lose the weight to feel better and be healthy.

Third, I was sick of being persecuted for being fat. I once applied for a bartending position and the man looked right through me, then told me he was looking for someone with more "energy". All of my friends can tell you, I am very energetic and bounce off the walls. I've also been called SO many demeaning names because of the way I look.

I wanted to prove to myself that I can do this, and I can change my life. Every time I want a piece of pizza or a cheeseburger, I just tell myself that this is my time. I can do this. I am a work in progress and only I can do it for myself!!