The gum in question is called "Spry", I haven't tried it as I am not supposed to chew gum due to TMJ problems, but I've seen it in my local health food stores.

Liana

Walden Farms 0cal, 0carb, 0fat products are ok and they have basil tomatoe sauce, and others.

Quote of the day: "Believe You Can & You're Halfway There."
-Theodore Roosevelt

Still trying to get my head around this diet. But at 100% adherence and doing good. lost 8 pounds at my first weigh in. I've had no cravings to cheat which is amazing to me since I have a 4 year old who eats and snacks all day long.

My husband is also doing the diet with me, and he had a set back. He has occasional atrial fibrillation, and on day 7 his heart went into crazy arrhythmia . His cardiologist wants him to continue on the diet but to not take the potassium supplements because they can trigger arrhythmia. We'll see what happens. At least his cardiologist is supportive, but I'm a nervous wreck.

NSV, fit into shorts I hadn't worn for 4 years, and not only could I get them on, I could do squats in them. This amazes me as I worked out with a trainer from February to July and only lost 12 pounds and didn't go down a pants size. One week on this and my bum is already significantly smaller. Yeah!

Congrats to everyone keeping on this journey.

Thank you very much!

ariel- she is a sweet little mermaid- loves water and has such a calm attitude. Good thing, with three older siblings I think I'd be going insane if she was more cranky. How is the weekend so far??
liberated- congrats on the loss! IT is such a great feeling to be rewarded by something besides the scale and you get 'new' shorts out of it. Sorry to hear about your dh's health issues. Hopefully they will resolve with dropping the potassium tablet. It's great that the two of you can support one another.
shelby- thanks for the quote... Amazing how words can empower us!
byugrl- how are things going??

:c omphank you! Thank you! Thaaaannk yooou! This really helped me a lot! It's hard, confusing, and frustrating when you can not get the answer from the person that is suppose to be helping you. You have been truly a life saver!

ShelbyLynn- Thank you for sharing these quotes with us, I really liked today's quote.

Lberated- Good job on staying 100% OP and GRATS on your loss and fitting in those shorts! Not cheating definitely pays off! I hope your husband does well

RefreshingMe- Aww, just like I imagined her. Pisces are very calm and sweet, oh and lovable So far I have been shopping for back to school and getting last minute things that I need (I'm a teacher) this week was insane, setting up my classroom, I barely had time to eat! I want this weekend to NEVER end! How is your weekend going?

Ariel I started out on the program weighing 258pds. However, before getting on the program I was 263! I'm over being bombed about the 4pd loose due to all the support from you guys. I so love this forum! It is so helpful and supportive. I bought the ketostix after that 4pd weight loss. I wanted to make sure I was in Ketosis...I was! I will just be happy for the 4pds.
I did not even think of Listerine spray or the strips. This is great! Thanks for all the information! This forum gives me hope!

This week I find myself being overly full before finishing all of the required meals. Tonight I could not eat dinner at all. I was still full from my Chocolate drink mix I had for a snack. I know this is due to me eating a late breakfast and lunch. Is skipping a meal detrimental?

thenewme- We both started IP diet with the same weight! I'm very glad you're happy with the weight loss you've achieved I'm also glad that you like this forum and that we can somehow help you, and I LOVE this forum too because I can feel the support from everyone
Besides the Listerine strips and spray (I bought me the strips because like I mentioned earlier, I don't like chewing gum) these are the gums my coach told me I could buy: Trident Cinnamon, Dentine Fire, PUR.

I also get full and I don't think I can finish everything, but I do. This week I've been so busy, that I've had breakfast at 10ish and lunch at around 6pm and then I have my dinner a couple of hours later and then like an hour later I'll have my snack... I think it is important to eat everything, not sure, but I eat everything I'm supposed to eat because I want to do it 100% I just cut down on lettuce or don't add lettuce, I'll just have my cups of veggies.

Question, how much water are you drinking?

I had that issue a few weeks in too.....I now don't do a drink for snack if it is close to dinner, I find especially the ready to drink ones very filling. Try doing a bar or like the orange or peach mango drink which is not a thick and Filling as chocolate. Also a pudding or jelly would be not as filling.

Remember, carbs aren't the only thing we're looking at on IP. We need the correct amount of protein, plus we're also looking at fat & calories.
Most sausages, by the time you get an equivalent amount of protein to meats that ARE listed on the p1 sheet, will have too much fat.

For example:
8 oz lean ground beef has
398 cals
23 g fat
45 g protein
0 carbs

8 oz Echrich Turkey polish sausage has
440 calories
52 g. fat
32 g protein (not enough!)
16 g. carbs.

In contrast, one honeysuckle brand turkey brat (a lower carb option) is not an IP protein serving.
to have 8 oz of honeysuckle turkey brat, you'd have to eat about 2.5 brats.
Those 2.5 brats would have
450 calories,
23 fat
45 protein (same as the burger)
3 carbs

All these examples make the brat choices higher in fat or cals. If I were choosing a sausage, it would probably be the honeysuckle brand turkey brat, but I'd know I'd need to balance with a much lower fat day the day before or the day after. This is probably why processed meats are not on the P1 sheet. Too many fillers and additives.

It really takes research to find the right processed meats to eat. Easier to stay with the whole ones.

New research is showing nitrates aren't as damaging as they've been made out to be from some older, flawed studies.

newme- don't skip a meal!! We are already on very low calories and it's vital to our weightloss that our bodies receive a consistent amount each day. Ketosis is wonderful for taking away the gnawing hunger that accompanies most other diets but your body still needs calories to keep itself going and to burn away the fat! You could try blending your veggies into your shakes- the chocolate drink with spinach is a favorite of mine. As well lighter proteins such as eggs and fish are sometimes easier to get down. If it's still too much try breaking up your protein- eg 3 oz with lunch and 5 oz with dinner. And don't forget your oil- it 'lubes' the digestive track and makes 'processing' everything that much simpler.
I drink roughly a 100 oz of water per day.
ariel- many of the most successful IPers in this forum are teachers! Maile, Lisa are two that can be found in Maintenance right now and I know there are many others. You are doing so well at remaining focused during such a busy time!
lisa- thank you for your input. It does seem that following the rule of 0 carbohydrates in regards to protein is the simplest and indeed the only way in Phase 1.

I took my brood out to Fort Edmonton yesterday. It is a historical park with a steam train and heritage homes that you can look around in. Lots of walking and it was great to enjoy a nice summer day. I brought a red pepper and celery sticks to have with my Southwest Cheese curls and found this along with a ton if water to be ample sustenance.
Made the mock Shepherds Pie I found on one of the IP centers sites last night. It was mashed cauliflower blended with a chosen IP soup (I used the Broccoli Cheddar) this tops a ground turkey and tomato mixture and is then baked in the oven. Even the kids liked this one. Yay!!

Hello everyone! I'm so happy to be here!
I lost 5 pounds since last Sunday - I joined last Saturday and decided to make Fridays my weigh in days so I weighed in early for my first week.

It feels so good to get the ball rolling in this way. This is the first diet I've ever been on where I didn't cheat in some way. I feel really proud that I'm doing it.