Originally Posted by benice:
Does anyone want to share with me their alternative vitamin regimen (brand/dosage)? I really need to do some serious research on this front, but won't be able to get around to it for at least a week. In the meanwhile, I'm worried that I am going to suffer from a lack of potassium and magnesium. On the other hand, I'm nervous to over potassium-ate myself. It's a catch-22. :)

Anyway, any short-term advice would be appreciated. And I promise to do my own homework in a week or so.

I will. We use ALL alternative supplements. Bought mainly from Vitamin Shoppe (because with their member card you get a discount AND a voucher periodically). They also have items on sale on a regular basis.

B--- Centrum Adult MultiVitamin from Walmart (1)
B--- VS own brand AntiOxidant II (1)
B--- Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra Probiotic (1)
B--- VS own brand Biotin 5mg - (1) not IP necessary but great for nails and hair
BLDS Garden of Life Omegazymes Ultra Digestive Enzymes (4)
-L-- VS own brand Potassium Citrate (1)
-L-- VS own brand Lutein with Bilberry - (1) not IP necessary but I have macular degeneration in the family and bilberry is an antioxidant that is missing from the above pack
-LD- Nature's Way Fisol Enteric coated Fish Oil (Omega 3) (2)- not IFOS, but good
--DS Solgar Calcium-Magnesium with Vit D3 (Sprouts) (4)





B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner S=Snack Bracketed number = total daily amount.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Briael:
I will. We use ALL alternative supplements. Bought mainly from Vitamin Shoppe (because with their member card you get a discount AND a voucher periodically). They also have items on sale on a regular basis.

B--- Centrum Adult MultiVitamin from Walmart (1)
B--- VS own brand AntiOxidant II (1)
B--- Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra Probiotic (1)
B--- VS own brand Biotin 5mg - (1) not IP necessary but great for nails and hair
BLDS Garden of Life Omegazymes Ultra Digestive Enzymes (4)
-L-- VS own brand Potassium Citrate (1)
-L-- VS own brand Lutein with Bilberry - (1) not IP necessary but I have macular degeneration in the family and bilberry is an antioxidant that is missing from the above pack
-LD- Nature's Way Fisol Enteric coated Fish Oil (Omega 3) (2)- not IFOS, but good
--DS Sprouts Calcium-Magnesium (4)





B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner S=Snack Bracketed number = total daily amount.

Hope this helps.

Yes! Thank you so very much. I'm going to try to order online tmw!

Originally Posted by Ro22:
Which alternative chicken soup is most like IP chicken soup in terms of both taste and calorie/carb/protein?

Originally Posted by mars735:
Great question. Definitely NOT ProtiDiet Chicken Flavored Soup!

Originally Posted by joysh:
I guess tastes differ. I'm using it as a substitute for the IP chicken soup. I like the IP version better, but with my doctoring, this one tastes good too. And is much cheaper. If anyone has another alternative sub for this, I'm open!

Heh heh, Just goes to show how different out tastes can be :) I had read great reviews and was expecting basically the same packet as IP under a different name.

joysh, how do you doctor up the Protidiet soup? Thanks!

I really like the IP chicken and broc cheese soups. More than like them! When the proti-diet versions first arrived I remember being very happy to have substitutes.

I always sautee chopped mushrooms and red peppers in evoo. Also add fresh garlic, although lately I've been in a hurry and add some of the jar garlic. You can put other veggies in as well, but I stick to these two.

Then, lots of freshly ground pepper and salt.

I mix up the soup with cold water, the IP way, not using the directions on the packet. Then, when the sautee is ready, I pour the soup onto it. Add more pepper and salt. I always add some curry powder to the chicken soup, too.

Heat until it begins to boil, then shut off and eat it! I think it's really good and it fills me and serves the purpose.

BTW - I dice my red (and other color) peppers in advance and keep them in a little tupperware in the fridge. That way, it's very fast. All I need to do is cut up the mushrooms, mix the soup, and it's ready.

Yes, we all have different tastes! :)

Originally Posted by DD5977:
I have been searching for similar products and have found the website netrition.com. The brand is Dixie USA. They have several soups and many other products. They also have two other products that I liked from IP. Convenient Nutrition Protein wheyfer bars (just like the choc wafer cookies) and Quest protein chips (just like the IP chips and have more flavors)

I just read your post about Dixie and it jogged my memory about having bought low carb products from Dixie and Big Train (both sold by netrition) when I was in maintenance a couple of years ago. They have a wide variety and the few I tried were good products (brownie mix, choc chip cookie mix). I bought them as my birthday weekend was approaching and I knew I just couldn't have the cake that others would be eating in front of me, so I made myself brownies and watched my intake.

Unfortunately, I gained back a lot...so here I am, on day 4, refreshing myself on the latest in the alternatives world.

A couple of years ago, when I was searching for other low carb products for my alternative IP program, I ended up reading articles on gastric bypass since I had googled low carb food sources and one site led to another. Anyway, I had no idea of the dietary restrictions these people must live with and how they cope. I will never do gastric bypass, but because of this research, I found some other fun food sources.

Originally Posted by joysh:
I really like the IP chicken and broc cheese soups. More than like them! When the proti-diet versions first arrived I remember being very happy to have substitutes.

I always sautee chopped mushrooms and red peppers in evoo. Also add fresh garlic, although lately I've been in a hurry and add some of the jar garlic. You can put other veggies in as well, but I stick to these two.

Then, lots of freshly ground pepper and salt.

I mix up the soup with cold water, the IP way, not using the directions on the packet. Then, when the sautee is ready, I pour the soup onto it. Add more pepper and salt. I always add some curry powder to the chicken soup, too.

Heat until it begins to boil, then shut off and eat it! I think it's really good and it fills me and serves the purpose.

BTW - I dice my red (and other color) peppers in advance and keep them in a little tupperware in the fridge. That way, it's very fast. All I need to do is cut up the mushrooms, mix the soup, and it's ready.

Yes, we all have different tastes! :)

Yum! Thanks joysh! I relied on the IP version to get me back on track, like a conditioned response from first P1 days, lol. I've actually grown weary of it, so alt soup with your recipe will be a welcome change.

Free shipping on Nashua today until midnight when you order over $49. Use code TODAY49.

Thanks so much for the Nashua tip!

I've signed up for their newsletter many times, but it doesn't seem to work well with my earthlink email. They send me a forwarded version, but it doesn't always work either. I was justt about ready to place another order - running out of my chocolate anytime rtds. I LOVE those. They're exactly like the IP ones. Yum.

Does anyone know of alternatives to the IP ready made chocolate puddings? They didn't have them when I was on IP the first time around. They're non-restricted and are very good.

Can you see I love chocolate? The Quest brownie bars are a staple of my diet!!

Originally Posted by joysh:
Thanks so much for the Nashua tip!

I've signed up for their newsletter many times, but it doesn't seem to work well with my earthlink email. They send me a forwarded version, but it doesn't always work either. I was justt about ready to place another order - running out of my chocolate anytime rtds. I LOVE those. They're exactly like the IP ones. Yum.

Does anyone know of alternatives to the IP ready made chocolate puddings? They didn't have them when I was on IP the first time around. They're non-restricted and are very good.

Can you see I love chocolate? The Quest brownie bars are a staple of my diet!!

I tried the Healthsmart Chocolate pudding. It's not as chocolatey as the IP one, but it works if it's really cold.

They have all the same brands at Diet Direct and always free shipping at 49 dollars. Great customer service too.

Proti-Thin Caramel Delight bars are really good. I tried them and then went ahead and bought 4 more boxes...(I bought mine from Nashua Nutrition). Also like HealthSmart Caramel Crunch.

Originally Posted by MaPetiteChoux:
Has anyone dealt with a coach who scolded them for using alternatives and told them they're strictly prohibited? I'm through week 3 on IP now and have just started to integrate some alternative products (quest bars I already had) and I'm treating them as a restricted. I'd like to keep costs down as much as I'm able, but my coach pretty much brushed that consideration aside and told me that he doesn't know what's in "those things" and so he can't coach me if I'm not 100% on his plan. After explaining that I've carefully compared the bars to an IP pack and used the guidelines I found here, and offering to bring in a bar for him to look at, he said it's just not the same and I can't have them. I don't want to go to alternatives entirely since I'm still relatively new to IP, but it's fairly clear that others have had success using a mix of IP and alternatives. I've tried looking for a different coach hoping to find someone I can work with more easily but of the two others nearby, one hasn't responded to multiple inquiries and the other recently moved. Any suggestions?

I am on week two and have purchased some alternative products. Unfortunatly, it is best not to tell your coach in most cases. This is my second time doing ideal protein and I used some alternative products last time too. It's a shame you can be honest with them but their view is if you are purchasing other products you are not really on the plan. Also, remember it takes money away from them. When/If you go back to the IP clinic just buy 1-2 boxes instead of three. If a coach asks why just tell them you still have plenty of packets left or that you have a friend who gave you theirs as they are no longer doing the program. If you change your appointment time/days around you probably wont end up with the same coach and they don't know what you bought the week before.

Hi, brand new here :) I am reading my way through all the previous posts but am going shopping before I'll be able to get through them all. What do you use in your coffee as a replacement for creamer? Is milk not allowed on an IP type diet?

Originally Posted by dappledawnfarm:
Hi, brand new here :) I am reading my way through all the previous posts but am going shopping before I'll be able to get through them all. What do you use in your coffee as a replacement for creamer? Is milk not allowed on an IP type diet?

Welcome!
Do you have the Phase one sheet?
If you need it, go to the daily chat thread and find the links for the protocol sheets.
Phase 1 sheet says 1 oz of milk daily for coffee.
For a long time I used some vanilla ready-to-drink for my "creamer". Now I've learned to drink it black.

Awesome, thanks! A chiropractor came to my school (I'm a teacher) and gave us a presentation about IP. The program sounded great until I found out the cost. So, being a science teacher, I decided to try to replicate the IP diet using alternatives. I'm in the info gathering phase now and putting together my alt foods before starting. Where is the info about vitamin supplements?