I am using PD oatmeal,
PD chocolate bar, and WLS pretzels. Also using occasional quest bars.

Yes I have had this happen, in fact twice during the month of December my scale weight went up because I lost fat and gained muscle.

I'm pretty particular about which products I choose from Nashua. None of the ones I choose contain aspartame, soy or gluten. I count EVERY bar and "snacky food" (like pretzels) as restricted, no matter what their actual numbers say because I want to learn to live without so many snack foods. I've never had the pretzels because they contain both soy and gluten, which I avoid.

I have a tendency to choose mixes with numbers in the 70-100 calorie range. There are plenty to choose from at the Nashua website.

Hey all,
So, i am reading a lot about people using alternate products to the IP products. Please tell me all about it. Are these okay to use? what should we not use. I would like to have more of a variety and if there are cheaper products that would be great too, cuz this does get expensive.

There is a whole thread about it.
For those of us who have fired our coaches/clinics and gone it alone, the first thing we had to learn is that we pay them to do all the footwork. Most coaches don't allow non-IP food. They aren't trained in how to use those items, nor do they make money if you buy the items elsewhere.

To do IP using alts takes time and research. So get ready for that.

Anyway, here is the thread. Pay particular attention to the first several posts because it gives you parameters of what to look for in an alt product.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...-part-5-a.html

The soy protein does seem to be the only common factor between the oatmeal, chocolate bar and pretzels. Quest bars only use Whey and milk protein isolates.

Did you use any IP products that contained soy before you switched? Many of the alternative products actually come from the exact same factory as the IP products, so it's a bit unusual that the brands would be the cause of that kind of gain.

Happy Monday IPeeps,

I hope everyone had a great OP weekend. I had a zero lb loss week, and I missed measuring last night, but I am sure I've lost in inches. I have a NSV, I went shopping at lunch with a coworker and comfortably fit into a size 8 pair of jeans!! Single Digit Baby!


I developed a migraine midway through day two and it lasted 4 days. Salt never helped and neither did my migraine meds (I think I was too late taking it) but I didn't go off plan and am glad. I have been fine since then. Hopefully you can stick with it too.

Have a great OP week :)

I popped some Advil, put some salt in my IP omelet and had a cup of tea. Within half hour, it was going away. Not sure if it's related to the change in diet or something else as I've been having migraines more frequently the last few months.

DeterminedDieter - single digit jeans!! So exciting!! Congrats!

Thanks Lisa,
I haven't gotten to the point of firing my coach/clinic and i certainly won't share what i use for Alternates but my clinic is an hour away from where i live and the drive will eventually get old.
Thanks
Pam

I started with alts from the get go, which is why i was so surprised. I was using whey protein and eggs as subs before though...so more natural.

It could be the gluten/soy mix. ill taper back down to only quest bars and then may need to get off quest too. my body is a mystery to me right now.

Thanks for the suggestions!

My cousin's migraines were directly connected to her hormonal cycle... IP gets stored estrogen out of our fat and that affects our hormone levels in the bloodstream, also if you've made any changes to your birth control, that could cause a migraine issue for similar reasons. Just some ideas to look at.

Liana

CO_6 I really hope you can figure out what it is that is causing you to stall. I wish I had some advice but unfortunately I'm at a loss. The only thing I can say is that when I was having major issues dropping weight (despite 6 day per week activity and food journalling) I started to go to the gym and lifting heavy with low reps 4 days per week (then yoga 2 days per week). Building the extra muscle helped to increase my metabolism and helped me lose a few lbs, and I did tone up quite a bit. Still didn't lose like a normal person should have but any lit bit was a win to me. You may already be doing/have done this. I'm just throwing out ideas.

Ipers, what's your favorite stevia?
 

Hi fellow IPers,
It/s been 2 yrs since I began IP and suspended my preference for non-processed food. Today, after a gazillion bottles of Mio, I'm trying to move toward more natural sweeteners without making it a struggle to get my water in. I would welcome your opinions about stevia for other uses, too.

I'm overwhelmed by all the varieties of Stevia out there & hope to tap the collective knowledge on this active forum. I posted also on the Food forum, but it can take weeks to get a response.

Thanks!

It doesn't sound like your body is in starvation mode at all. It sounds like you are building muscle (which weighs heavier than the same volume of fat). If you lost fat the diet is working. To build that much muscle means that you are using energy and possibly having a higher than optimal amount of protein than your body requires to maintain/lose weight. Muscle also retains more water than fat, so you could be seeing an increase in hydration which is being deducted from your loss.

Do you track your food intake so you can see what your macros are for carbs/cals/fat/protein/fiber? This will give you a solid idea of where you stand.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that my pattern of loss is best when I keep calories around 850-950, with carbs below 40 (I aim for 25-28 NET carbs). I am constantly juggling what I'm going to eat in order to meet the sodium requirement (many protein shakes - not IP - do not have enough sodium). If you start tracking (MyFitnessPal or SparkPeople or an iphone app) you will begin to see trends and patterns about what MIGHT be holding your loss back.

I'm surprised that a coach would suggest that you are in starvation mode when you have clearly gained muscle AND lost fat.

Congrats on size 8 jeans - that's a great NSV. :) That's got to be worth staying on IP for!