Hi to all my IP buddies. I am doing my best to build up the courage to start IP again. I had started last August and lost 26 lbs or so. (I can't even remember) I have about 80lbs or more to lose total. I did really good, then fell off program for a reason that I do not even remember now! Gained that back. I tried to start over in January and was totally miserable and went off program in a matter of days. I most definitely think I have an addiction to food! I have a love/hate relationship with IP. I love the weight loss but I hate not eating the foods I love. How do most of you successful IPers make up your mind that you love this diet more than you love food? I have enough packets of IP food to last me several weeks!

I want to be at a healthy weight so badly that I just resist and when I feel like my resolve is weakening, I come here to see all the posts from people who have stuck with it and lost as much as I want to lose and more.

Also, I don't want food to rule me. It should be fuel. Tasty fuel but fuel nonetheless. Since I'm losing slowly I'm using this time to work on changing the way I think about food.

You can do it. Cmon in, the water's not cold!

For me I had to hit rock bottom so to speak. Last year from April to Oct I spent my life in a wheelchair. I had torn the cartilage in my knees and could not walk, drive, work or look after my home and family. There may have been some other cause to the injuries but I'm sure at 282lbs my weight was definately involved also.
There is no worse feeling than having your independance taken away. I had to have help with everything and I mean EVERYTHING. I managed to get down to 275 before my surgery and a couple of months later was back to 279.4. That's when a lightbulb went off that if I didn't lose this weight for good I'd be back in that wheelchair waiting to have more surgery.
So for me the motivation is keeping my independance and being there for my family. Also my oldest son is getting married in Aug of this year, so maybe just maybe I'll finally have hopes of having grandchildren and believe me I want to run and play with them when I get them.

We all face your same challenge -- just some people are more successful at the mental battle. I'm someone who's in your boat. I do well for awhile, and then struggle to keep going. I also have a ton of food so I'm determined to keep at it. Seriously, you will find it a big help to come here -- either to hear some stories of inspiration, or just to watch the success of people who are doing it. I sometimes beat myself up about "where I could be" if I could be more committed, but that's not going to help. So, I just use that thought to motivate me about where I will be ...by summer... if I just keep going. You're here again, so you obviously know it works, and want to make that commitment. I'm takin' the plunge with Desafinado -- come join us!

What are the foods you love?

There are many ways to lose fat. The IP diet is a PSMF which is a way to lose fat as fast as possible while still retaining muscle but the trade off is that it is extremely restrictive.

Some people can put their heads down and grind out phase 1 and some people will end up off program and right back where they started.

Personally, I am not the kind of person that can grind out phase 1 for month after month but as you can see I have lost a lot of fat and a good portion of it was done with a PSMF (Not IP) but with breaks. Essentially I went phase 1 for 3 months but over a period of 5 months.

The key is learning and understanding how fat loss works so when you're not dieting you're able to maintain your loss. Sadly, the IP education does literally nothing to educate it's dieters and instead just has a series of rules which serve to restrict calories.

Should you restart the IP diet? Only you can answer this but ultimately your goal has to be figuring out a way of eating that restricts caloric intake but you can live with forever. Otherwise you'll lose the fat and put it right back on when you resume the habits that got you overweight in the first place.

Not knowing the best way of eating for your lifetime shouldn't stop you from starting something now. Whether IP or simply counting calories the time to take action is now. Not tomorrow. Not after one big glutonous meal. Now. One decision at a time is how you accomplish any goal.

Goodluck! You CAN do it.

JohnP can you explain how you went on phase one over 5 months with breaks? Did you enter into ketosis? I don't believe I can maintain IP as my lifestyle and am curious how you did this!

Thanks.

Honestly, if you think IP is the way to go for you then you just have to bare down and get through the first week. No excuses, no rethinking, just following the protocol.

I knew from day 1 that sticking to this plan 100% was not how I wanted to do it. I had a cheat day planned from the beginning, and when it was time to cheat, I did so in a very controlled way and didn't lose any ground when I did.

As I moved on, I also wanted to eat more real food. The packets just kind of weirded me out--although I was thankful to have used them during my detox from carbs!

After seeing JohnP's posts about Lyle McDonald's PSMF, I decided to give it a try. On a very basic level, it is phase 1-friendly real food at every meal except for two meals per week--when you can eat like a normal person. Then every couple of months or so, you take 2 weeks of break from the diet.

It is working really well for me so far. I don't know if I am still in ketosis but really don't care. I am losing weight, am not hungry, and have no problem resisting the foods I LOVE because I know I can have them in a few days. Also, I am not terribly worried about it if my weight loss slows somewhat. I was never terribly worried about how quickly I will reach a nonexistent finish line!

I still think IP is a great tool and can be followed 100% by people who choose to do so. I just think that it can be done in a more forgiving way for those of us who want to keep pizza in our lives. (So thanks JohnP!)

However, I feel like I shouldn't post here anymore now that I am not really OP, and I miss it. Lyle's message boards are informative but way less fun.

Me Too! I'm putting my meals together to start again tomorrow. Good luck to you!

Hey iwiggy, I think the biggest thing is you have to be dedicated, and really want it. I followed IP for about 3 months and when I only had about 8 lbs left to lose I lost my way, or as my coach said I lost the "urgency" and I basically was off and on the program from Sept to Nov, losing a few lbs, then regaining them back. I wasn't mentally focused to be on the program anymore, but instead of phasing off properly and taking a break, I continued with the program, spending $80/wk and cheating. Basically I threw this money away, and the more I thought about it, the more upset I became and next thing you know I gained almost all of the weight back. After indulging the entire month of December I hit rock bottom and was back to hating myself. (I truly believe I wouldn't have gained all the weight back if I had properly phased off, but I didn't). Anyways, come the new year I recommitted and managed to lose all the weight I'd gained plus some more.
I phased off for a vacation this past week and am having a tough time getting back on P1 and ignoring the cravings I am now experiencing again.
All in all, you need to want this, and if you don't I would suggest you don't waste the money until you're mentally prepared.

John does not follow the Ideal Protein diet, but he often pops in here to offer insight into weight loss based on his research and experiences.

IP is NOT a lifestyle. It is a temporary measure to lose weight quickly. Phase 1 of IP is designed so that MOST of the work of counting calories (and carbs, fats, etc) is done for you. Those who are most successful on IP use their time in Phase 1 to conquer some of their mental challenges - cravings, food addictions, weaknesses - and figure out how they want to eat for the rest of their life.

Reality check - once the weight is gone, you can't expect to go back to your old eating habits and keep the weight off. No matter WHAT diet plan you choose, you need to make real, lasting changes in your attitude towards food and your plan for eating in order to avoid gaining it all back.

I am one week shy of being on this diet for 7 months straight with no cheats. I have lost 85 pounds and intend to lose a total of at least 120. For me I think it would be harder to go back and forth with off program foods, but I guess that varies person by person. My inspiration has come from my prior health situation, which was (when I decided to go on the diet) as a type 2 diabetic taking 5 shots of insulin a day (160 units of Lantus spread over two shots and 35 units of Apidra spread over 3 shots) and 2000 mg a day of Glumetza (a metformin formulation easier on the stomach) and 320/25 mg Diovan/HCT per day and 10 mg Crestor. Even with all that medication my blood pressure was too high and my A1C was 11.9. Which is terrible. The more weight I gained the more insulin I had to take which then made me gain more weight. So, I was on that metabolic merry-go-round which usually ends with either a total change of lifestyle or a wooden box.

So, I am now down to only taking 40mg Diovan and the Crestor, and my A1C is down to 6.2, which is only pre-diabetic, not even a diabetic diagnosis any more. I want to put as much distance between insulin and myself as possible. If I started eating a "normal" amount of carbohydrates today, I am afraid that I still would have to start taking diabetic medications. Which make you gain weight. Which makes them prescribe more medication. So you see, I am very very motivated to get the rest of the weight off and stay there.

My cardiologist (it is his clinic that does my IP program) says that 20% of overweight people have no metabolic problems caused by weight. I am NOT one of those people. If I only had to lose weight as a cosmetic issue, I doubt that I would. But I almost feel like doctors stop trying to help you if you do not take the steps to help yourself. I guess they see a lot of people with self-destructive behaviors and have to detatch somehow or else they would be depressed all the time.

Anyway, that is a long winded answer, but it is my reality. Hope that helps.

Thank you all so much for adding your comments to this thread! I am thrilled to hear from such a variety of dieters. I want so badly, to be successful in this weight loss!

Wow...your post could very well be mine! I have been trying to get back on plan for 2 months now. I was very successful last year in getting the weight off, then had some big time trouble with the cheat days. I've been paying ever since (I've regained ALL of the weight I lost). This just feels like a bad dream that I need to wake up from. I was going to start today (again)...then fell off again this evening just before reading your posts. Pretty depressing, huh! I just want to get back to feeling "on top of the world" again...just as I did when I lost the weight the first time.

So maybe, we can do this together! I'm starting now. I think if I can get through the first two weeks, I should be good. I think it is hardest for me to get into the lettuce & chicken mindset again. I would be nice to check in with you restarters at the end of the day (or early evening). Any takers?

Good luck to us...we CAN & WILL do this!

I'll be going through getting back on this in a month or so to and am hoping to have the will power. Right now I am phasing off and am on phase 3. Good luck and you are probably right with just getting through those two weeks to get your mind/body back into the swing of things. And in regards to the chicken how often do people have it? I am twice a week tops.Good luck to you.