Today is Week 3 for me on IP Alternatives, and I've lost 15 Pounds Total.
Its nice having people look at me and tell me "I can tell you've lost weight!"
Its a big motivation, I don't even care if I lose 1-2 Pounds a week. A loss is a loss, and im not gaining so that's a plus in my books!! :) :)

OMG Congrats!!! I weigh in tomorrow and I am crossing my fingers. Full disclosure, I weigh myself everyday and so far my scale says I'm down 3 more pounds but we'll see what happens tomorrow!

That's SOOO great! Congrats!

shelby- I really admire your mindset. A pound down is one closer to your goal. Been trying to look at this all being part of the journey and not try to rush to the end. Cause sometimes it seems like the end is a looooong way away. But then I realize that even at the 'end' is just another new phase to go through and that one lasts forever. So, may as well enjoy this time in Phase 1 when food choices are simple...
Thanks newluv! And fingers crossed for that tomorrow the scale will just as kind if not more so than today!

Thanks Ladies!!! You guys are a big help with motivation! My Quest order came in today and I tried my Brownie Bar, I warmed it up a little and it was wonderful :)

I found a recipe online for meatloaf cupcakes!!! I made it tonight for dinner and they're so good and cute!!!

Recipe:
Ground hamburger or turkey
2 eggs
Minced onion
Garlic powder
Reduced sugar ketchup
Salt & pepper
Olive oil spray
Cupcake sheet

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together. Spray pan with olive oil and put palm sized globs in each slot. Cook for 25 min or until internal temp. Reaches 160*. Take out of oven and let stand 5 minutes. Enjoy!

I lost 3 pounds this week bringing my two week total to 9 pounds!

Hi all. I started IP on August 1st. I had previously started last year, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind. This time I am so ready. I am down 15 pounds and last night made my goal of 10, 000 steps yesterday! While my family has been wonderful, I'm glad this site is here.

:welcome2: nodee- you are doing so well!! Keep up the hard work!
:congrats: newluv on the loss- that's great news!- you'll be at goal before you know it:carrot:
shelby- the cupcakes sound delightful I'm going to have to try them!
Busy weekend here! Lots of prep for tomorrow night...

http://http://pinterest.com/pin/193936327678498274/

You'll do great on your camping trip!! Just believe in yourself!

Thanks for the help, I'm still learning how to navigate my way around this site...

I had my first weigh-in on Wednesday and I lost 9.5lbs my first week. 2.8lbs of water (but I was drinking 2.3gals a day so not sure how that was possible), .9lbs was muscle and 5.8lbs was fat... I've upped my protein intake due to the .9 lbs of muscle loss... I don't want to lose any of that....

I have so much more energy and I'm sleeping better than I have in years...

Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this.....I'm a little (umm, a lot) lost on here! I started IP 08/27/2014.
My coach gave me the site to look at, I'm glad she did. It seems to be a great source of information and support on here. I am looking forward to joining, learning and hopefully succeeding in my weight loss journey. I have totally let myself go and I am the biggest I've ever been. I looked in the mirror last week and decided it was time to do something.

Welcome Nana!
 

Hi Nana!
You are in the right place. In this thread we've all started IP during the past month. It is a great place to share experiences with other people who are experiencing what you are. I started August 5, and I've lost 15.5 pounds in 3 weeks! I've never had a diet where I've lost this quickly or this easily. This forum has made my dieting experience so much easier. We are all here for you and hoping for your success!

Wow, Floridabamaboy! What a great first week!:carrot: I also noticed that with just a little weight loss, I felt so much better. I think that eliminating the carbs really makes an incredible difference. Glad you are here!

:welcome: nana- congrats on taking back control of your eating! And thank you for posting. It's always nice to have more company on this lifelong journey towards better health & new habits. Please check out the "STICKIES" thread to help better answer some if your questions and to guide you. But definitely post here or the Daily Chat :)
Thanks shelby for the props!
losingtowin- I love how eloquent you are! I try but honestly I feel a little brain dead right now. I'm really hoping the fuzziness will ease up soon!

Have you guys heard of ketostix? I guess you take them, and when you pee they come out lol if they're pink or dark it means you're in ketosis

Just kidding!! It's a stick that you dip in your pee! My mistake

Hello, I am so excited to start this journey. I started IP on 8/19 and was pleased as punch with my first weigh-in... -9.4 lbs. I've tried several other programs but this is the first time that I have felt like I was completely in control. Love the fact that the struggles that I anticipated (giving up my Diet Coke habit and my candy habit) have not been an issue at all.

Thank you so much.

ketostix
 

yes ive heard of them(trying 2 type w/ one hand bare w/me)! Some say they're not really accurrate,however, i still use them! U can get a bottle at target. it cost me like $12 dollars and has i think 50 stix. on the bottle it has colors that u will compare w/the stix after u hve dipped it in the urin. the darker the color the more ur in ketosis....according to the bottle.

I find ketostix are motivational.

Week 3
 

Things are going well at my end as we round out August. As of Tuesday, I am down a total of 17.6lbs in 3 weeks! Looking forward to breaking 20 at W4...

W1 (Aug 12): -7.7lbs
W2 (Aug 19): -3.7lbs
W3 (Aug 26): -6.2lbs

Hello, I'm a new IPeep. Started on Aug 26 and already seeing a tidy drop on the scales. My husband started nearly 4 weeks ago and his loss was inspirational.

I was expecting the packets to be blah in taste but so far there's only two that I don't actually like. Such a pleasant surprise.

Loving the recipe pages and I see so many that I now want to try. It's much easier having both of us on the plan.

Wow whirlygirly! You are really rocking this program!! Great work:carrot::carrot:
:welcome2: Briael!
I've never used ketostix... But I can tell by the color of my urine (nice I know)- it's almost a neon yellow... Very light and bright...

Thank you! The program is not as hard as I thought it was going to be, and I am so happy with the results so far. I acknowledge though, that I've had some great weeks and they won't all be like that so my target date for reaching my goal is still calculated using about 2lbs/week to keep my spirits up no matter how things go.:)

Actually, any change of color will show you're in ketosis. Ketosis is kind of like being pregnant - you either are or you aren't! :)

And as your body gets more efficient at burning ketones you may start showing none on the stick - don't worry, you are still in ketosis (assuming you're still following the program) but at some point you will probably quit excreting them through your urine. Just wanted to warn you so you didn't think you did anything wrong when/if that happens!

Thanks everyone for the welcome...there is so much information and support on here! I'm trying to figure out everything. The stickies are helping. My coach wasn't very clear on a lot of things so having the information here is great. I am struggling with the headaches and I have read where the salt helps. I am going to try that today and hope that will do the trick instead of taking something. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Iron Woman, Lose2Win and newsluv- :bravo: YAY! Congrats on your losses! Can you believe how we're losing this weight?! :D Woohoo!!!

ShelbyLynn- Thank you for sharing the motivational quotes, they're very inspiring! :hug:

RefreshingMe- How is it going? Let me tell you that the healthy, delicious meals you describe make my mouth watery! YUM, I wish to one day be able to cook like you do, and ENJOY cooking! Once I go in maintenance. With IP I'm learning to look at food differently, and to be more conscious of what I feed my body. If you feel like you need something bubbly to drink, get a glass of mineral water with some lemon/limes..yum! :carrot:

Daisyy- :welcome3 Daisyy! and good luck!! :carrot:
[QUOTE=Lose2Win2014;5061675]Yay!! I weighed in on Monday and lost 3.4 pounds in week 3 too! :carrot::carrot:

nodee- Grats on your loss! and on your 10k steps!! That's something I need to incorporate into my new lifestyle, the walking! The support from family and friends is HUGE, I'm so happy to also have support from my family, friends and coworkers! :D Keep up the good work!

nana- :welcome: and yes, THIS IS THE PLACE! :carrot: I'm glad you're here, and you can join us! Everyone here has a journey, some have more to lose than others, but we all have the goal, and this forum offers a TON of support and encouragement! Good luck!! :carrot:

Ruth Ann- Thanks for your great help! It means a lot to us!:hug:

My second WI was last Wednesday, I lost 3lbs and about 3 inches! :carrot::carrot::carrot: I was happy because I just didn't feel like I had lost anything, but I was very glad that I did because I had not cheated at all. My family, who see me everyday, tell me they can tell I lost weight (ALREADY!!!) :D They say my face got thinner, and my belly smaller :p I don't have the triple chin anymore :dance: Even a coworker is interested in doing IP because she's seen how I've been losing weight. I hope to get to 20lbs less in the first month of doing IP. I've joined the Thanksgiving Challenge, and I hope to lose at least 30lbs. Good luck to everyone :dust::dust: have a happy, safe and 100% OP Holiday! :grouphug:

Hi August starters - I am dipping my toe in the IP water here. I am on plan as of today so I am officially an August starter :broc:

My mother has had great success with this program, and I have used many of the products. I will be doing alternatives, with no coach. I spent a lot of time reading up here on all the alternative threads, etc. I am almost entirely a vegetarian so that will present a challenge but I will eat some fish and seafood, especially on this plan. I won't miss dairy much, I eat very little already. I think my weigh-in days will be Mondays and I don't plan any strenuous exercise, since I don't do much now, but I do plan to continue regular yoga and walking.

I only need to lose a "few" pounds - I think 20 or so but if my composition changed (less fat) I might be OK with a higher weight. Many people my height are just fine at my weight, but they look far different than I do. If I ever make goal, I will post photos of what a difference those last 10 or 15 pounds can make. Since I turned 35 or so, I rapidly gained weight and it was mostly in the belly and is sooo much work to make it go away, in fact I have never actually been successful at getting back to where I was :(

I have been struggling to lose 25-30 pounds for about five years now. I lost some weight early this summer, but then stalled out and started creeping up again. I know I need a stricter plan than I have been following (which is theoretically South Beach but I have been diverging in crazy ways with very carby items -- clearly I have a big problem in this area)

I am very interested in using as many whole-food items as possible as well as maximal nutrition from the veggies. I go back and forth between going wild with cooking & recipes and then swinging to the other direction thinking I need to simplify as much as possible until I get myself on track. <sigh> this is an ongoing battle for me.

I am very excited to join this group!

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.