Welcome (or, rather, welcome back)! You've got this!

Started the alternative program 6 days ago. I have lost 5 pounds and am in ketosis. I use EAS AdvantEDGE carb control shakes for my morning protein of 17g. I also use sugar free Silk Almond Milk in my coffee that has 0 carbs and 30 calories per 8 oz. glass.

I am lactose intolerant and carb sensitive. One of my parents has celiac disease and I was told by my doctor that my symptoms are most likely due to the same thing - so no gluten. Most prepackaged diet plans and WW would not work for me.

Anyway, I am happy to have found this weight loss plan and all of the products that were not out there when I was on previous plans. We are planning a major trip in June and I want to be down to my goal weight by that time.

Oh yes, I am just under 5' and over 60, so I face those challenges as well.

Welcome, WoodLily, and congrats on the weight loss! So glad you found a way to make this work for you!

Restarted 3/8/15 - Vacation coming
 

I started IP on Nov. 1, 2014. I hit my goal weight in Feb. - down 30 lbs. It was so exciting to reach my goal in 3 1/2 months. My inspiration for doing this was because I was having a knee replacement on Feb. 14, 2014 and was advised to lose weight to help in my recovery. I had to transition into Phase 4 after only a couple of weeks on Phase 2 & 3 knowing I had to eat real food during my recovery. I continued to lose during my recovery even dipping below my goal weight for a short time. For the first couple of months I was eating very good. Eventually summer set in and my social life started to sabotage my good eating habits. A little too much indulging resulted in a 5-7 lb gain by Sept. and then the holidays, eating out and winter comfort foods has added another 3lbs. So now I have 10lbs of very unattractive belly, butt and thigh fat I need to remove before a vacation to Columbia March 28th and then keep it off for another vacation in May to Aruba. I am not happy that I find myself under the gun to get this weight off. I should have started this in January not 3 weeks before vacation. I'm finding I'm not having the headaches or terrible hunger I experienced the first time. I am trying to eat breakfast a little later (9-9:30) and lunch around 12/1pm with lots of water to tide me over in between. I'm starving when I get home but a 6/7:00 dinner with my snack at 8ish seems to be working to keep from being very hungry. I want you all to know that this diet is really easy once you get past the first week or two and you see the weight and INCHES coming off so fast. You figure out which foods you love and which ones you hate and you'll get into a routine. I liked it because it didn't entail a lot of preplanning. I could just grab two envelopes and my veggies (salad or fresh veggies to microwave at work) and off I'd go to work. In a pinch I'd just run to the grocery store at lunch for a store bought salad. I'd keep my Walden farms dressing at work plus extra IP meals in my desk. I was never a big cook but found I loved roasting my veggies or steaming them to have with my steak, fish, chicken or pork. I also learned to love new veggies like cauliflower and brussell sprouts. Try the Cauliflower rice it is soooo good. Leftover roasted veggies are great for lunch too. So here I am again battling the bulge. It's so frustrating that we let ourselves fall back into our bad eating habits after all the hard work we go through. Just know that this diet although expensive is the fastest I've ever lost 30 lbs. There are alternative products out there but do your homework to compare. Love Premier Protein Shakes and Pure Protein Bars as occasional substitutes. YOU CAN DO THIS!! and so can I AGAIN!

Hi everyone! Nice to meet you. I'm going for my initial WI tomorrow, and should be starting the program on Friday.

I'm really excited but also nervous. I've lost the weight a few times, but have always gained it back...and then some. Now I'm ready to be done with all this yo-yo nonsense. IP seems like an effective way to just plow through it. I have about 80-100 lbs. to lose.

Agreed, Harleygirl58! We CAN do it, and so can you! Nice to hear your story--thanks for sharing it with us! Colombia! Aruba! Your life sounds a lot more fun than mine. Haha. :D

Lettuce, welcome! You've got NOTHING to be nervous about. First of all, Ideal Protein works. Second of all, we've got your back! Good luck tomorrow! (Also, I like your username. Lettuce will be a big part of your life soon!)

Week two, getting easier

Definitely getting easier, but for my current headache. :( I missed my snack time. I'll make it up as dessert...

Lindora cheesecake packets plus a dash of pumpkin spice is fantastic. :)

Thank you IdealAnnie...you are down 5 pounds..wohhoooo

It is getting easier everyday. :bunny2::bunny2:

Thanks Annie. I love this website. There is so much information to be had. It is very encouraging and helpful to know there are so many people going through the same struggle with losing and maintaining our weight. I don't have as much to lose as many but it is still difficult. I feel I'm addicted to sugar and it is very hard to get through a day without something sweet - especially after dinner. I'm not even sure I should eat the bars because they are like eating a candy bar for me and it doesn't help me get the sugar urge out of my system. It's such a psychological thing.
I had asked a question on another thread that maybe you can answer. If I eat a late dinner around 7/8 - is it okay to skip my 3rd IP food. It's usually a dessert which makes me feel guilty to eat at 9pm. I do try to get it in before 8 but what is your thought on this. Also - do you think Chicken & Apple Sausage would be OP? Thanks for your thoughts.

I would ask about the sausage on the Daily Chat thread--people there know everything! You might need to be specific about the details (how many carbs, calories, etc).

As for that 3rd packet, I know that people who have to eat dinner late due to work/school/life will have their third packet earlier in the day, like as an afternoon snack (which would probably be nice to hold you over since your dinners are so late). That way you get the right amount--it doesn't seem to matter what order you eat it in. Hope that helps!

Hi all, I'm new here and new to Ideal Protein, I started Monday and just reached Day 5. Day 3 was the hardest, headache was a killer but now I am in Ketosis and definitely feel different. I do my weigh ins on Mionday morning. I was skeptical at first because I am over 50 and weight is hard to drop, but I can tell this is different and even though I haven't stepped on the scale this week, I do feel thinner. Actually looking forward to my first weigh-in

Thanks for the welcome, Annie!

Starting today, and I feel great. Maybe I won't feel so great when the carb withdrawal kicks in, but I know wonderful things are on the other side of that :)

I'm so glad to have found this place, it seems to be the most active IP resource on the internet.

Congratulations, Kirag.
Good work.

I think what you are asking is, if you have not yet had your 3rd packet, and you had a late dinner, should you go ahead and have the 3rd packet, or should you skip it. I just asked my coach the same thing, because I usually leave my 3rd packet (also a 'sweet' choice, like you) to have in the evening, but sometimes I end up eating dinner later than I planned and it seems like 'overeating' to eat dinner PLUS a packet. My coach said yes, it is still important to get the 3rd packet in. Do not skip it, as much of metabolism occurs during sleep. Since you are limiting carbs, and are in ketosis, my understanding is that you need to have adequate nutritional protein on-board so you don't break down muscle to fuel your metabolic needs.

As I have a lot of weight to loose, I am concerned about skin laxity...does anyone have any good ideas to prevent sagging skin and stretch marks due to fast weight loss?

Six pounds in one week is great Oma...great job

I've read posts here about people working foods/vitamins with collagen into their diets, but sagging skin stretch marks is unfortunately something many of us will still have to face. :(

Rosemary, I am Novak and you may remember some of my posts from 2010 and 2011. Please come to the thread I started today to talk about my 5 years on maintenance and how I was able to make it work. It is hard, but so worth it. I am planning to be around for a few days, and am happy to help you in any way I can. Believe me, I have had my share of regains and restarts (and false starts), but today I am less than 2 pounds over my original target weight.

Best to you...

Thank you, I did get collagen to take, so I hope this helps...I guess sagging skin is one of the side effects of fast weight loss

I did go to your new thread and reintroduced myself to you. You have given me hope. It is so nice to hear from someone that I walked the path with. I was able to lose before because of everyone on these pages. I am kind of fighting it this time, convincing myself that I failed before, I don't know anyone here anymore, etc. I keep coming back. Keep talking, I am listening.

Hi, Hope! Welcome, and yay for ketosis! It's amazing how quickly you can feel thinner on Ideal Protein. Good luck on Monday--we're rooting for you! :cheer:

Thanks for the welcome! Very excited to be on IP! First few days were rough, hunger, headache, but day 4 and 5 were easy and great! Can't wait to weigh in!!! Hope to be able to contribute during the next year! 😃

You are right Annie, doesn't take long before one starts to feel thinner...love this diet...

For reeeeal, I can already see a huge difference in my belly, and I'm not even done with week 2!

This morning, my husband said, "Have you lost any weight on this diet? Because... don't take this the wrong way... but your butt looks smaller."

I was like, "Is there a wrong way to take that?" And I've pretty much had a huge grin on my face ever since.

I'm delighted that it's not just my imagination--things are really starting to move in the right direction. I have my second weigh in tomorrow, and I have really high hopes!

How's everybody doing today? It seems like weekends can be the hardest...

Hi there! I'm an IP re-starter, too. I had great success on the program from Dec 2012 - June 2013 -- lost 70 lbs! During the summer-fall of 2013 I maintained. My downfall started off gradually with little cheats here and there, and was clinched by 3 surgeries (hiking and cooking injuries) this past year. I've gained about 40 lbs back. I am ****-bent on getting back on track and back into my size 8-10's before the summer! Having a closet full of clothes you can't wear is misery!

Hey Everyone! Another restarter here. I previously lost about 75 lbs on the diet and went off because I moved overseas to teach English! I gained back about 5 lbs and have always maintained at this higher weight of about 150-155 lbs. I didn't finish my weight loss and now I'm back to get that done. I have tried so many other things that simply don't seem to work for my body so I'm going back to where I started!

So happy to be here again and to be able to make some new friends along this journey! I'm ready to get rid of the rest of this weight!

Welcome Kiera5353 and Lalison! Great to have a couple of restarters join us this week! It's nice to meet both of you. Good luck with your goals--you've got this!

I had my second weigh in this morning. I'm down another 4 lbs, bringing my two-week total to 9lbs! So excited! This stuff works!

Way to go! Sounds like you're going full steam ahead with nothing stopping you! :D

First week weigh-in and down 10.8 pounds! It probably helped that the second half of the week before I started, I did sort of a "detox" vegetarian diet, but still, that's awesome! I know it is at least partially water (I have ankles now, which I haven't had since I was pregnant), but I'll take what I can get. Moving marbles from my "To lose" to my "Lost" marble jar is a great feeling!

Marshacup! This is amazing!!! Congratulations!:D

First week complete
 

Had my first week WI, down 4.8, which I know is an ok number! I thought I started at a higher weight! :) so thought my loss was 10lbs and was excited, then felt a big disappointment, kinda dumb since either way the ending number is the same !

Your disappointment is understandable, but you're moving in the right direction! Get excited for THAT! :D

Hey everyone! Well TOM and a bad cold hit me like a ton of bricks this weekend. Woke up this morning and all I wanted was to stay curled up under the duvet.
Glad I didn't though, or I would probably have succumbed to a mini egg craving!
I wasn't perfect this weekend, and ate some off plan food, but I didn't binge which is a defeat for me.
A coworker of mine is getting starting IP again as well, so we're gonna be each other's diet buddies again. Don't get me wrong, I love 3FC and all the encouragement this site gives, but some days it's easy to just not click on the link if I don't want to face the truth of a cheat. Having a buddy that I see five days a week should help me stay accountable. I actually find if I'm helping someone else stay on track it's more difficult to go off track myself.

Anyways, here's to another Monday, only this time getting back to 100% until I hit goal. I have been avoiding the scale like the plague, but will get back on tomorrow morning and update my numbers accordingly!

Hey everyone hope you are all having a good week. Wi today down 3.6 for wk 2 also had TOM. Still a great week. Hope everyone has a fabulous week

Because I'm an accountant and I love playing with numbers...

I lost another 6.2 pounds this week, which means that I've now lost over 15% of the weight I needed to lose! Woohoo!

I know what you are talking about, my jeans are too big. Wow!:dancer::dancer::dancer:

I went for my consultation. I will start tomorrow!, super excited, I know I can do this!!





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