First official day on IP today! 1st weigh in next Wednesday evening. Had the cappuccino drink for breakfast. Getting ready to have salt and vinegar crisps for snack, then chicken a la king with 2 cups veggies for lunch. Really hoping I have success on this plan!

Welcome dcs0826! You will have success as long as you stick to it and check in here regularly. This forum is so motivating. 1 month, 2 months, 3 months from now you will be so happy you started this program :D

Thanks stephascope! I have been checking out the threads on this forum for a few weeks now and they have been so helpful!

Is there anyone struggling with being stalled when it comes to the number on the scale? I put my scale away for a couple of weeks to prevent me from checking every other day. This morning I weighed myself and I'm still the same, despite watching and carefully planning my meals. It is so frustrating. I measured last night and the numbers haven't changed either. Any thoughts?? ......

I would say light jacket and umbrella for when you come and bring 1 or 2 pairs of jeans (just in case). Today will be a balmy 78 degrees but we have humidity and a slight chance for rain showers.

any excuse to go shopping is GREAT in my book! HA ya, thats how it was with our weather in December (early part) in a mere 24 hrs we went from 80 degrees to 14 with snow/ice mixture. shut down pretty much all of North Tex! crazy i tell ya. Thats one thing you will notice here is that tex folks -- do not do cold weather -- snow or ice. Kiddos will appreciate school closures! almost shut down for a week because of that.

are you drinking enough water? also what meals are you using? i know you stated that your are measuring them out.. but what does your day look like typically?

Stick to the plan & you will succeed!

So far, spinach is a hands-down winner over lettuce for smoothie additions. I will give lettuce another chance, but the smoothie-bar has been set pretty high by the spinach.

I'm following the IP program using alternatives. so, for breakfast I have a protein shake (made with water) that is comparable to an IP shake. I have a restricted snack around 10 am (DETOUR bar from Costco); lunch consists of big salad and either a shake or some protein of sorts. Then my final meal at dinner is usually some form of meat and lots of veggies/salad. I try to drink water throughout the day. Some days are better than others. It seems I'm not really consuming that many calories when you look at how much I'm eating. I wish I could bite the bullet and just pay for the IP program but I'm just not at that place finanically to put out all the cash for that. I also am hypothyroid, post menopause and on HRT. At 37 I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure which pushed me in to menopause and so now I'm on HRT (big dose of Estrogen and Progesterone). I wonder if the drugs and sluggish thryoid are my enemy here and it is just going to take much longer. I also have a relatively small amount to lose - around 40lbs. Most of my weight is in my hips and thighs - typical pear! ;)

I've only been on IP for 8 days now. I had my first experience of attending a party while on IP last night. I am proud of myself for doing so well!! I ate dinner just before we left so that I was full when I got there. I drank water and resisted all of the food that was out. We didn't say too long and I had an IP pudding when I got home!!

Way to go! I have a wedding in May that I am nervous about. I would prefer to eat before I go and not have their food, but not sure if that would be considered totally rude.

I have had an event every weekend since starting IP and have events scheduled after Easter all through mid June. I have always managed to find an IP "friendly" meal. There has always been a choice of something roasted and a salad. I could not control what went into that salad, but I did not have any carbs or alcohol and my choices did not throw me out of ketosis. Found that people did not really notice if I was drinking or not, and was not even tempted by desserts.

You may also want to check you the nutritional info on your alternative products. The Detour bars I looked up, even the lite version had 370 calories!!! the lower sugar bars are a little less at 340. This is WAYYYY too many calories for a restricted daily snack. Also, your net carbs are too high as well. The calculation I did on the Cookies N Cream Lean Muscle protein bar is 32g net carbs!!! Your alternative products should have between 70-160 calories per serving, 30 % o rless calories from fat, 9 net carbs for a restricted and 8 net carbs for unrestricted.

3 suggestions:
1) I just looked up Detour Bars and the first 2 flavors both contain 340 calories, 30 g protein. I don't think any of IP restricted are over 240, and most are lower. 30 g of protein is more than IP bars, and can end up being converted by your body to glucose. Have you checked the IP Alternatives thread? There might even be a sticky teeling you exactly what the protein/fat/carb make up of IP is. You absolutely can do fine without IP brand! Many people order alternatives online from Nashua Nutrition

2) Make sure to have 2 tsp of olive or grapeseed oil each day.

3) Water is essential to weight loss & health while on this diet, so absolutely get in minimum 64 oz/day. I used Mio flavoring to make it a little easier.

4) well, actually another suggestion: make sure your veggies from the IP list? it should be exactly 4 cups, NOT more than 2 cups at any one time. Most kinds of lettuce are unlimited. The reason is to be so rigid about these things is to get into the fat burning state of ketosis.

I tink you will get out of the stall by switching out your Detour bar for something more IP-like. Read that IP Phase 1 protocol and follow it to a tee, and check out the Alternative thread. Keep us posted. You are doing great!

I was thinking the exact same thing but didn't look it up like Spydergirl did (NICE!)

Do you have the little graphic that helps you align all alternatives with IP nutrition standards? It is the second (?) post on the most recent alternative thread. REALLY important to be sure all items match. (I bumped the thread so you can find it quickly).

There is NO MAGIC in the actual IP packets and you can be equally successful on alternatives IF you are very careful in selecting the right items. No need to buy IP... Save your money for all the new clothes you will need soon! ��