The weight losses from this month are amazing - you all are very inspiring!

:welcome2: EmmaD! You will be able to lose those last 20lbs with IP just make sure you stay 100% OP. Think that if you cheat, your body won't be in ketosis mode anymore, and your body will have to restart the process again, which will take about 2-3 days AWAY from burning fat, and so it will then take you longer to reach your goal. :goodluck:

From all the negative crap I had to deal with growing up, its difficult at times to look at positive. Having said that, I've felt better this month than I have for a really, really long time. There are moments when I want to cheat, but doing that I know would put me on the way to badville again. I don't post much but look/read several times a day. Reading all these posts helps me stay straight. Thanks and way to go August starters!

Thanks so much! I am on plan so far, just the second day but I feel surprisingly good so far, given that I was coming off a carb bender :(

I will be OK even losing 10 or so pounds - which sounds easy but has proven IMPOSSIBLE for me over the last 5 years. I have struggled so much, especially in the last year, with out-of-control eating then over-restricting to compensate. I am looking to develop some healthier habits and get into a good maintenance groove with the principles of IP. I think all the stories I have read here are so inspiring :hug:

I'm feeling down - I was exactly on target for the day until after dinner, I had a Pure Protein Chocolate Caramel Bar. I was still really hungry, I was giving the kids their dessert and feeling SO weak at that moment. So instead of having a spoonful of their ice cream, I grabbed a bar.

It's really the first time I've cheated, and I'm not even sure if its cheating, except for it likely puts me on the "Two restricted items" list.

Also, I have been logging my food in My Fitness Pal on my phone, and I've been averaging about 1100 calories a day, sometimes a bit more, sometimes less. I keep seeing people say they are averaging 700 calories. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing differently, since I think I'm pretty much sticking to the plan. Ok thanks!

:hug: newsluv- don't worry about it too much but maybe consider that a bar in the evening does not work for you. Sometimes when we are addicted to sweets and give ourselves a bit we want more more more! Especially when we are already calorically deprived. In all honesty I am very much a sweets person and in knowing that it is one of my pitfalls I made a conscious decision to forego the bars for at least the first three weeks of the program. You might consider it for a couple weeks... I know from my past round of IP that it does help to get rid of all the sugars and then slowly reintroduce them (like one bar a week, then two) and gauge you're reaction... Make sure you get enough sleep and get all your veggies too as both of these can effect your hunger levels also... But you've got this- so just keep going!!

Thanks for that @RefreshingMe! That is a great idea, I'm off the bars for a few weeks until I can really gain momentum. How'd you do this week?

I'm thrilled to report that I'm down from 204 to 189.8 since Aug. 8th! :carrot:

I have been away on holidays for the last 9 days and I lost 4 lbs. while away :carrot:

Despite having to modify my diet greatly due to celiac and sucralose allergies, I'm still losing!

I just bought the new cherry jello which has stevia so I'm excited to give it a go. And I bought the potato puree.

I'm making a goal of letting go of 20 more lbs. by Oct. 28th, the day I leave for the winter.

That is awesome!!!

When I attempted Ideal Protein a couple of years ago, I would actually binge on the IP bars and other snack items. Having one would just set me off .... (talk about expensive! ... they were alternatives but still...). Sadly for me because of my newly developed (in the last few years) binging tendencies, I can't really have the bars or the chip-like products. For now. As RefreshingMe says, we can always check how we do with them later.

I do, however, find that I don't binge on the Quest bars! Something about the texture and maybe it's the fiber in them. I plan to get more of those soon.

I am focusing on keeping myself UN-hungry by using the unlimited raw veggies as needed. Today I have added some cucumber slices in apple cider vinegar + dill (kills hunger nicely!) and celery stalks.

^That last paragraph is an important development for me, since I have my first day of being mindlessly hungry and wanting to graze .... probably because I didn't sleep nearly enough last night :(. But yeah, those unlimited veggies and a big jug of water with cucumber slices and lime juice in the fridge are keeping me honest so far. And a cup of tea!

Good luck to you in figuring what works instead of the bars. I find a big smoothie made with a drink/shake packet or RTD, bulked up with icecubes and some spinach does the trick when I am craving something sweet-ish so that has been on my menu every day so far.

That is truly an accomplishment. :congrat:

Thanks EmmaD!

Newsluv- I hope you're feeling better :hug: Having an extra restricted item is better than eating something we're not allowed to eat...so, is that really cheating? I too, some days I get hungry, and what I do is I drink water, that usually fills me up pretty good ;) I don't know about you, but I do get tired of "chewing" so much. I guess it varies, some days I eat more lettuce and others I just get my 4 cups of veggies. You're doing great, hang in there! :hug:

Adventuregurl- :woohoo: You're now in the 100's (onederland!!) :bravo: I'm very happy for you!!! :hug: You will reach your goal with no problem! :carrot: The new cherry jello with stevia is sold at regular stores? Is that IP approved? Do they only have cherry flavor? :p

Hello all,

New here and started Aug. 26. Had my first weigh in today and am thrilled to say I'm down 6 lbs!!

I discovered that I'm having an allergic reaction to the soy products, so my coach switched me the whey only products. If anyone is having trouble with the soy, there are more whey products to choose from than I expected, so good news there. I also asked about Stevia products in lieu of the Sucralose and she said IP is actually reformulating for the U.S. to offer Stevia in products sold here, but didn't know when they would become available.

Best wishes for a great day tomorrow!

Had my second weight in today and lost 2.2 labs for a total of 7.6 labs in 2 weeks.....