I lost all but the first week of weight loss here while using alternative products. I learned so much I decided to write a blog in order to help others who wanted to 'go alternative' .... see the link in my signature below. You may find it useful.
Thanks so much for the link to your blog! I've only started reading through it but I wanted to say thanks for all the helpful info! I, too, love my IP Cappuccino in my morning coffee! Nice to know there's a good alternative.
I just ordered a variety pack of Syntrex Nectar. I'm excited for them to come in so i can get started back on full fledge IP (with alternatives). Meanwhile i'm just using "whole foods" to get myself started and into ketosis. It sounds trite, but i've missed the clean eating and the feeling of control that comes with this diet. My boyfriend is doing the diet with me which is really encouraging. I did IP with my mom the first time and we both experienced great results. It's nice to have the support of someone in your home as well as the support of a forum like 3FC. I couldn't have done it the first time without this site! Here's the the second time around!
I just had the Syntrax Caribbean Cooler after my run - it's very blue, but good
Just a hint with those - don't go too crazy if you mix it in the shaker, they foam a LOT - I either mix with a whisk by hand, or GENTLY shake it
I just bought a few from our favorite local nurtition store . Thanks for the tip. I am now doing more than 50% alternatives. I love the IP chocolate shake and cappucino too much and hope to find an alternative. I went into my appointment today thinking it may be my goodbye appointment but my coach was actually helpful and made some good suggestions about what I should do to increase my exercise and still be ok on the program so she will see me at least a few more times.
I just bought a few from our favorite local nurtition store . Thanks for the tip. I am now doing more than 50% alternatives. I love the IP chocolate shake and cappucino too much and hope to find an alternative. I went into my appointment today thinking it may be my goodbye appointment but my coach was actually helpful and made some good suggestions about what I should do to increase my exercise and still be ok on the program so she will see me at least a few more times.
Try the Syntrax Nectar cappuccino. I am ready to buy the giant tub, it was very good I got one of the single serve packets and now I'm hooked!
Learning to Fly, I noticed you are from Ontario. So am I! Do you mind sharing what you have tried? I'd really like to lower my costs as well! I just placed an order from Protein Well for the chocolate drink, hot cocoa, vanilla pudding and the chocolate dream bar. Hope they taste good!! SO much cheaper!
Of course tastes differ a lot, but this is what I liked so far (I haven't yet tried a huge amount but will eventually): I got all of these from Nashua Nutrition:
Health Smart:
- Berry smoothie
- Peach-Mango drink (tastes nicer than IP peach-mango)
Proti-Thin:
- Orange drink (tastes nicer than IP orange drink). Also I like to add 2 teaspoons of no-sugar orange flavour psyllium husks (Equate brand from Walmart because it's cheaper than Metamucil) and a juice of 1 lemon or lime. This adds extra fiber my guts require and also alkalizes the body.
Proti-Diet (this brand I ordered from Canada protein-well, but is also available on Nashua):
- bacon and cheese omelet (love that simulated bacon taste )
- I tried green tea & cranberry drink and was surprised how good it tasted. It's not so much that it had a lot of taste, more like it was so mild and refreshing and lovely - most products have very in-your-face fake sweetness taste, but this one tasted "natural". It was lovely when you want something mild that is not going to assault your taste buds.
I have lots more products at home but haven't tried most of them yet. One shake/pudding that I did not like at all (couldn't finish it) was Chocolate-Chery shake/pudding from "Nashua Nutrition". But I could never stomach that fake cherry taste, so I am not surprised.
I love drinks and puddings and shakes. Sometimes I like soups. I also do like salty snacks - my only restricted that I have sometimes (so far I've only had IP ones).
Very long - alternatives notes from various IP posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Billster
Thanks ladies makes me feel better! I have had some people say some nasty things as im not diabetic however my doctor wanted me to do it this way. It works for me however lots of people say its not OP because i have fruit dairy and carbs. Not all 3 every day but at least one choice a day. Lost a fair amount in 7 weeks so it works for me. However thank you it means a lot to me that people are still supportive.
Of course we support you! And you have a great weight loss so far. Keep up the good work and keep posting. I use alternatives also, but began 2 years + ago using only IP and did that for 2 months (then moved and fell off the IP wagon with the huge changes in my life). Then last year, started again and my weight loss for the first 2 months was identical using alternatives. Can't say if it would have been any different if I used IP branded products long term, but can't see why they would be.
My favorites from last summer: Proti-Thin Cream of Vegetable soup, Proti-Diet Pea Soup, Proti-Diet pancake mix, Proti-Diet oatmeal (note maple brown sugar has maybe 7 carbs making it unrestricted unlike the IP version), I make eight 2 oz. white turkey meat burgers from 1 pound of ground turkey breast once a week and freeze them in a zip lock bag and hard boil a couple of eggs to keep in the fridge. I use Miracle Noodles (fettucine) every day for lunch – usually with soup and veggies so have a “pasta primavera” of sorts. Buy Miracle Noodles (0,0,0,) from www.iherb.com , free S&H over $20.00 plus also get my flavored stevia from them for my coffee and flavoring my vanilla pudding (stevia: English toffee, chocolate, vanilla crème, hazelnut, etc – I have all of them). Because I exercise 5 X week (2 X with weights, 3X Power plate plus dog walking) I at times, will add a 2 oz turkey patty at lunch and then have 6 oz. protein at dinner. Meanwhile I’m drinking 30 ounce tumblers of Mio flavored water (drink 4/day). I use a lot of Waldon Farms products and have to buy some of them online since don’t have the full array locally (www.netrition.com, flat $4.95 S&H). I put spinach in my milkshakes with ice cubes to extend them and get more veggies in. Use Proti-Thin vanilla and chocolate drinks but also the GNC Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein powder mentioned earlier. The Proti-Thin packets are handy to travel with so keep them for that.
Re IP, love the broc cheese soup, so that is the one product I buy from them (www.plainprotein.com). Their drinks and puddings are good, but hard to spend 5X more than what it costs to buy in bulk from GNC (Optimum Nutrition protein powder – buy on sale – $.75/serving.)
One thing I noticed is the Proti-Thin and Proti-DIET products mix better with water than IP.
I have a Proti-Diet pancake with Walden Farms pancake syrup every morning. Very filling. They have a blueberry pancake also. I add a tsp of vanilla extract to the batter, tasty, satisfying. 100 calories, 7 carbs or less - so unrestricted in the IP world.
Lunch is Proti-Thin Cream of Vegetable soup or Proti-Diet Pea soup to which I add 1 cup of chopped steamed zucchini and a bag of miracle noodles in fettuccine style. This is similar to a fettuccine alfredo every day. Add green salad with cucumber and celery and WF dressing. Sometimes I add 2 oz of protein to the lunch and subtract from that from dinner portion.
Snack is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% whey protein powder in Double Rich Chocolate flavor. I buy it at GNC, often on sale, cost is $.75/serving. I add a c of fresh spinach and ice cubes, vanilla extract or vanilla or chocolate flavored stevia and whirl in the ninja chopper. I drink some of it and split the remainder between 2 sm pyrex cups and put in the freezer. I have one of these mid afternoon, one at bedtime.
Dinner is protein, unrestricted veggies, always a salad with WF dressing.
IMPORTANT: My favorite bar is hard to say - I love to buy Nashua Nutrition's HealthSmart Variety Pack of bars and as a matter of fact, bought 3 boxes that were delivered today. I highly recommend these. I expect to use these sparingly but have a ski vacation coming up and there will be daily happy hours and other somewhat challenging times, so I'll have tea and a bar while my hubby and 2 other couples drink and eat all the usual contraband stuff everyday.
Cost per week is around $35. I use www.nashuanutrition.com. There are others. I have to buy some of the walden farms products over the internet so for that I use www.netrition.com. For flavored liquid stevias and Miracle Noodles, I use www.iherb.com.
Hope that helps. It's not hard to do this diet inexpensively and still get great results.
My favorites from last summer: Proti-Thin Cream of Vegetable soup, Proti-Diet Pea Soup, Proti-Diet pancake mix, Proti-Diet oatmeal (note maple brown sugar has maybe 7 carbs making it unrestricted unlike the IP version), I make eight 2 oz. white turkey meat burgers from 1 pound of ground turkey breast once a week and freeze them in a zip lock bag and hard boil a couple of eggs to keep in the fridge. I use Miracle Noodles (fettucine) every day for lunch – usually with soup and veggies so have a “pasta primavera” of sorts. Buy Miracle Noodles (0,0,0,) from www.iherb.com , free S&H over $20.00 plus also get my flavored stevia from them for my coffee and flavoring my vanilla pudding (stevia: English toffee, chocolate, vanilla crème, hazelnut, etc – I have all of them). Because I exercise 5 X week (2 X with weights, 3X Power plate plus dog walking) I at times, will add a 2 oz turkey patty at lunch and then have 6 oz. protein at dinner. Meanwhile I’m drinking 30 ounce tumblers of Mio flavored water (drink 4/day). I use a lot of Waldon Farms products and have to buy some of them online since don’t have the full array locally (www.netrition.com, flat $4.95 S&H). I put spinach in my milkshakes with ice cubes to extend them and get more veggies in. Use Proti-Thin vanilla and chocolate drinks but also the GNC Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein powder mentioned earlier. The Proti-Thin packets are handy to travel with so keep them for that.
Re IP, love the broc cheese soup, so that is the one product I buy from them (www.plainprotein.com). Their drinks and puddings are good, but hard to spend 5X more than what it costs to buy in bulk from GNC (Optimum Nutrition protein powder – buy on sale – $.75/serving.)
One thing I noticed is the Proti-Thin and Proti-DIET products mix better with water than IP.
I have a Proti-Diet pancake with Walden Farms pancake syrup every morning. Very filling. They have a blueberry pancake also. I add a tsp of vanilla extract to the batter, tasty, satisfying. 100 calories, 7 carbs or less - so unrestricted in the IP world.
Lunch is Proti-Thin Cream of Vegetable soup or Proti-Diet Pea soup to which I add 1 cup of chopped steamed zucchini and a bag of miracle noodles in fettuccine style. This is similar to a fettuccine alfredo every day. Add green salad with cucumber and celery and WF dressing. Sometimes I add 2 oz of protein to the lunch and subtract from that from dinner portion.
Snack is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% whey protein powder in Double Rich Chocolate flavor. I buy it at GNC, often on sale, cost is $.75/serving. I add a c of fresh spinach and ice cubes, vanilla extract or vanilla or chocolate flavored stevia and whirl in the ninja chopper. I drink some of it and split the remainder between 2 sm pyrex cups and put in the freezer. I have one of these mid afternoon, one at bedtime.
Dinner is protein, unrestricted veggies, always a salad with WF dressing.
IMPORTANT: My favorite bar is hard to say - I love to buy Nashua Nutrition's HealthSmart Variety Pack of bars and as a matter of fact, bought 3 boxes that were delivered today. I highly recommend these. I expect to use these sparingly but have a ski vacation coming up and there will be daily happy hours and other somewhat challenging times, so I'll have tea and a bar while my hubby and 2 other couples drink and eat all the usual contraband stuff everyday.
Cost per week is around $35. I use www.nashuanutrition.com. There are others. I have to buy some of the walden farms products over the internet so for that I use www.netrition.com. For flavored liquid stevias and Miracle Noodles, I use www.iherb.com.
Hope that helps. It's not hard to do this diet inexpensively and still get great results.
Wow! So much good info here! Thanks so much - I'm saving this. I'm still using primarily IP but getting a bit bored already with the selection, and the price is pretty crazy considering what other equivalent options cost.
I mentioned previously that the only IP branded product that I buy is their broccoli and cheddar soup. I found a version at Nashua Nutrition by Proti Thin and its called Broc N Cheese, has 7 carbs, 100 calories, don't recall the protein count.
The Broc N Cheese is definitely not a favorite, not the same thing. I only bought 1 box and I'll use it - will probably make it the base of another soup - add veggies and maybe some clams to it or make it a sauce for a mock veggie alfredo and add some strong spices (garlic orOld bay). So I'll continue to buy the IP brand of this product!
I just got my Nashua order with the Syntrax Nectar samples. Liked the first sample (thanks Scorbett).
I also wondered whether anybody had tasted the new IP pasta and compared it with the Proti-Thin pasta (the Fusilli)? The Proti-thin pasta has only 7g carbs (34g total pasta) whereas the IP version has 12g (42g total pasta). I tasted the Proti-Thin version and it is quite ok, but not excellent. The IP pasta seems to be made from similar ingredients and I wondered whether they tasted the same/better/worse? Price and carb content argue for Proti-Thin.
FYI, I was just getting ready to order a new cappuccino alternative, and discovered you can get the big tub of the Syntrax Nectar Cappuccino for $30 on Amazon with free 2 day shipping if you're a prime member. I know some of you were talking about ordering the big tub so I thought I would mention it. I personally can't live without my morning cappuccino so I think I am going to bite the bullet and get it.
One question though, for those who have tried both, which do you prefer, the Syntrax Nectar or the HealthSmart Foods ChocoRite Protein Shake Mix Cappuccino?
I need to get an alternative lined up for me ASAP because I don't have many IP ones left. I will piddle along for a few days without it if I have to, but it just makes my morning so much more pleasant
. Thanks for the tip. I am now doing more than 50% alternatives. I love the IP chocolate shake and cappucino too much and hope to find an alternative. I went into my appointment today thinking it may be my goodbye appointment but my coach was actually helpful and made some good suggestions about what I should do to increase my exercise and still be ok on the program so she will see me at least a few more times.
