Just a head's up everybody...my coach said the soy and chicken patties are being discontinued.

I always just sayi am a picky eater (ya right) and bring a salad
Cept for a wedding last weekend it was kinda the same situation as you - no real salad
Loaded my plate up with the pickles and hot peppers

Well, I'm back. I posted a couple of weeks ago announcing my pregnancy and needing to know what I needed to do to get off of Ideal Protein correctly. I got fabulous advice and phased off correctly. I did, however miscarry again. This is my second miscarriage and only the second time in 5 years of getting pregnant while actively TTC. My doctor has referred me to a fertility specialist because of my age (35) and history of miscarriage. I will begin my fertility journey this week. We actually tried IUI once already a few years back, but no luck there either.
Has anyone done IP while also doing fertility treatments? Is this something I "should" do? I will also be asking this to the fertility doctor, but wanted opinions of those who have lived it as well. I know IP isn't for pregnant women, but I wonder about those TTC.
Thanks in advance for any input.

So sorry for your loss!

Hey everyone, I'm back from my trip. France was fabulous. I ate and drank whatever I wanted. I tried not to go crazy with extra ice cream or treats and stuck to meals only. I chose to include bread or dessert when it was a delicious option like a croissant or creme brûlée. Did not eat the bread on the plane because I felt why waste calories and carbs on something not so great.

But, after a few days, I could feel my belly bloated and began to miss the structure of the plan. Water and especially ice was not as easy to get. They don't offer water unless you ask and ice was a commodity. I really missed my salads too. So, in all, I had a fantastic time and it was the right decision to phase off before I left. I would have stressed too much trying to remain OP. I'm back on plan and very happy about it. I gained about 2.5 lbs which I hope will be gone quickly. Having this break was a good clarification for me that I'm doing the right plan for me. Now back to working toward getting the balance of this weight off.

The other thing that was weird was I retained so much water on the trip. My feet were huge. I know that I was not getting my water allotment in so that attributed to the retaining but it felt awful to be so bloated and puffy.

@aliboo723 - I too am sorry for your loss.

Hi and Welcome Back! Good for you for phasing off properly and jumping back on the bandwagon upon your return. It's amazing what our bodies crave. I don't think I could have resisted the creme brulee (nor would I want to) so you were smart to plan, plan, plan. And, there wasn't a huge consequence because you did this the smart way. You'll be back to dropping that and more in no time. It will be curious to hear about this next chapter for you - may you reboot quickly (you sure will, just stay focused)!

Your story is enlightening, thanks for the share and again, Welcome Back!:carrot:

So sorry for your loss...

Thanks! :)

Thanks AlaskanRN, KareVT, and Clarington45.

aliboo723 - my condolences to you for your miscarriage. I do not have a lot of sage wisdom, but I do have a few thoughts that may help.

In regards to your current weight - I was about 25 pounds above that when I got pregnant and did not find it to be an issue with my health, and yet I lost 4 babies to miscarriage. I was starting at 35 years old. Went through all sorts of treatments, hormones and still could not keep a pregnancy.

So we gave up, made an appointment for a tubal. At that point I was 40 and could not take the emotion of losing pregnancies. One week before the tubal, I was feeling sleepy and mean. Needless to say, I had gotten pregnant again despite medical precautions.

Our son is now a gorgeous, healthy, strong and very lovable 19 year old. Our miracle baby is one of the finest young men I have ever met and people stop me and tell me how much they love him and what a solid citizen he is.

So hang in there, have faith, don't give up. If you do give up, then relax because that was the magic for us. I think stress was a huge factor in all this as I look back on it. After one or two miscarriages, the worry and concern is so huge that I think it takes a toll.

This is just my personal opinion and history but it might help.

Thanks. It's stories like yours that keep me going. I know I'm meant to be a mom, it's just really hard to keep losing. I'm a big time overachiever. I HATE to fail and miscarriages and not being able to get pregnant have fallen into that category for me. I'm extremely hard on myself about failure and have recently put these things together. I'm trying to take a different approach to my thinking. I hate asking for help and fertility treatments seem like asking for help, but as a friend helped me see, if that's what it takes to get my baby, that's what I'll have to do. I need to put my ego on the shelf and ask for HELP! :)

No advice regarding fertility but lots of hugs for your loss and tons and tons and tons of positive thoughts and wishes for your next journey.

I currently only have access to the soy patties, but haven't been told they were being discontinued.

I'm asking my coach about the cheesecake pudding b/c I saw one of Rainbow's recipes & really want to make it.

What an awesome memory from your life & how wonderful that you were blessed with the miracle of a son who has grown into what sounds like an amazing young man.
I've had several teacher friends who had the misfortune of dealing with 2 - 4 miscarriages before receiving the gift & blessing of a baby. I watch the young lady at my school who dotes over her blessing who will be 1 next month & the other young lady who after numerous miscarriages is now expecting her 2nd baby.

Phase 1 day 3
 

I posted the above in the wrong forum, my brain isn't working clearly enough to figure out these boards. but I need help!

The cheesecake pudding isn't available through IP. you'd have to purchase it from Nashua Nutrition.

Happy birthday! - Enjoy the Banjo Bowl - you guys are winning at this point :)

Thanks, Lisa. I may have to see what they have that I would like to order.

The IP diet being very low carb will likely change your progesterone/estrogen levels, as well as levels of other steroid hormones that may be important for getting pregnant and staying pregnant. It is also known to affect thyroid hormones and these will become essential when you are pregnant. In addition, carbs through leptin are required for the production of a cell surface protein (LDL receptor), which transports cholesterol into cells. You need cholesterol uptake for building a placenta. So, there may be an issue if you have been low carb for a while.

If your fertility specialist is a reproductive endocrinologist, he should know. I guess most effects will be reversed within several weeks on a higher carb diet. So, you would probably have to see what your hormone levels look like and also check for LDLs. If there is not enough LDL receptor made, cholesterol in the blood increases, so it should be easy to spot. I would definitely discuss with your doctor and focus on getting in best possible health and this may not necessarily involve dieting, but checking hormones, minerals, vitamins or genetic background.

Thanks! I'm in need of plenty!

Thanks for this. I am printing it out now to be able to speak to my Dr. about it. He is a reproductive endocrinologist and the hospital that he works in also has an Ideal Protein clinic. I'm hoping he has heard of it. I know my OB/GYN knew about IP when I asked her last week at my consultation after my miscarriage. She thought it was a healthy diet, but I wanted to wait to talk to the fertility dr before I started again for the reasons you brought up. I didn't know the exact issues, just that it "messed with hormones". Thanks for the specifics. :) I don't need IP to counteract anything he will be doing to help me get pregnant!;)

Aliboo723-

I am very sorry for your loss. You and your family will be in my thoughts.

Lisa I finally made your Mockamole and crackers for dinner. I loved it. The crackers really satisfied that missing "bread cracker crunch". I did make a double batch and will have them with a salad for lunch tomorrow.

Thank you!

That sounds like an amazing trip, theres no way we would expect you to stay OP over there! Lol! Glad you enjoyed it for yourself! Did the portions there seem a lot smaller? Ive never been to Europe but I always hear that their servings are much smaller, wish they did that here in the US!

Looks like you are going to be in good hands. Good luck.

I started IP a few of days after I returned from a 3 week vacation/cruise. From the hot, humid weather and from the 15hr flights in 1 day - my legs were SOOO incredibly swollen that I no longer had ankles (the dreaded cankles). I think I had edema all the way up to my knee. It took a couple of days for my body to pee it out. I think I lost 7 lbs in water weight that weekend!

Yes, much smaller. Interesting to see so many people walking through the street eating a baguette at lunchtime. Bread has been such an enemy for me and then seeing so many thin people eating it as their entire meal was hard to grasp. Not a lot of fast food places either. Subway was prominent as was McDonald's but that's about it. The pastry shops were beautiful. I took many pictures of food.... LOL. There was was small shop that had cookies piled high according to flavor. You put on plastic gloves and chose your flavor. I stayed away from that section. The French people seemed to know how to enjoy and live life. Very relaxed lifestyle. I loved every minute of my trip even though the jet lag is killing me today and I caught a horrible cold.

Oh the dreaded cankles.... i know those well. I also called them my "Fred Flintstone" feet. :carrot:

The Banjo Bowl was not our best showing! We will get Toronto next week!

Thanks! The cake turned out really well, I'll post a pic tomorrow when I add the icing to it.

Thanks! I still have a hard time remembering that I've lost 30 lbs, still think of myself of being bigger than I am :) Definitely check out Rainbow's recipes, they are fabulous and inspirational!

I have no advice but I am very sorry for your loss. Lots of healing and positive thoughts your way.

Oh, oh, surrounded by Rider fans :D I can't believe the Bombers won and finally at home! No offense to you guys but I hope this is the start of a turn around for the boys in blue...tired of defending why I have season tickets :devil:

Well, it looks like 5 days into the school year and my son will be taking his first sick day. Poor kid obviously has whatever it was that knocked me out yesterday but he woke up with a sore throat, stuffed head and achy all over. At least he'll get some good rest tomorrow if the house is quiet.

Time to finish up the laundry, make some breadsticks for lunch tomorrow and curl up with a book before bed - happy Sunday evening!

Jo

Just home from my best friend's birthday party .... there was ice cream cake. I ate my salad and protein. The cake was so tempting and I almost needed to go into a different room - not because I wanted to eat, but that I was jealous of those who were eating it without care. I belted up and dealt with it, realizing it is part of my life but I did *almost* have a moment. :(

I am going to try to make crackers this week. Are we allowed a few sesame seeds?

Sarita75 I'm sure they are not allowed on IP, no nuts, yes I know they are seeds, but how much harm can a few seeds do? Besides, I think, think being the operative word that like flax seeds we don't digest them, they just pass through?
I added a tablespoon of liquid crushed red pepper instead of the pimentos. mmmmmmmm