Hi everybody :)

I'm starting the diet this coming Wednesday where I'll have my first appointment at the clinic. I am really excited to see that there is such a big community on this forum that I can talk to.

What kept you guys from your cravings ? I work with people that eat carbs all the time ( from pretzel to chocolate). I'm scared about that mostly.

Celia

Celia-
I can not speak for everyone. However, I have done this diet (restarted) 3 times. The third is the charm right? So, do whatever you can to ABSOLUTELY not cheat the first 3 days (really don't cheat at all of course) and you will find you will not crave the pretzels and chocolate. As each day passes after the 3rd day, you will crave even less. I think this is why people are so successful on this diet. You will find yourself not wanting bread, sweets, chips, etc. I can make my favorite brownies for a picnic and not lick the spoon on this diet.

Good luck! You can do it!

CeliaB: Welcome to IP. Be prepared for it to be very tough in the beginning. For most it seems the first 3 days which is the time it takes for your body to go into ketosis. For me, it was the entire first week. I am a sugar addict and found it very hard. This is where mentally you have to be committed and stick to it. Once you get past the initial part, you will feel great. More energy and the cravings will disappear. It's still a struggle but a lot easier. Best of luck and keep on these threads, the support here is wonderful.
Btw, I made rutabaga for the first time ever last night and I really enjoyed. Surprisingly, my hubby liked it too. My kids couldn't stand it. I don't think I would've eaten it as a kid either.
Rainy here in southern Ontario today so no chance for my walk today.
Have a great OP day all!

Mary if you feel like it drop by and say Hi on the Maintainters thread sometime. You may start to have questions that they can help with.

Welcome Celia. It was the same for me as Bootros & livinlg describe, I didn’t have cravings after the first week. I’m not even sure I had cravings the first week, I was just really hungry and flu symptoms (they call it “ketosis flu” - not everyone feels it) and low energy. After that I felt very fine the whole year I was on Phase 1, and never had issues with foods, their smells, etc.
Everyone is different of course….. welcome to a great journey!

Jonquil :cheer2::carrot::woohoo:

Thanks, Grateful4Health. This has been a really good week.

Welcome, CeliaB

It's true that you should be prepared for the first few days to be rough, but once you get past that, it does become much easier. Going forward, the worst cravings I've had were associated with smell--the smell of freshly baked bread, etc. So you might need to be prepared for that, too, but just know it's not the end of the world and you can resist the craving.

I've been on IP for 3 1/2 months now, and I've settled into it to the point that I don't really crave anything "forbidden." The way I eat now's become…routine? I guess that's a good way of putting it. One thing about that, though, if you're not the type who prefers the routine/structure, you have to switch things up, try different recipes, don't stick with the same veggies or IP foods over and over again, or you'll get sick of the monotony.

A few things that serve as good motivators for me (aside from just wanting to lose weight, period):

1.) This diet isn't cheap. If you give in to the cravings and get knocked out of ketosis, since it takes 3-4 days to get back into it, to me that's like losing half the money I spent on that week. Since it's a stretch for me to afford this in the first place, using money as a motivator works for me.

2.) I really don't want to go through getting into ketosis again. It wasn't pleasant the first time, and I doubt it would be the second.

Something else it might help you to hear, my daughter's been semi-following IP along with me. Not really the diet itself, but the general idea. She's not eating IP foods routinely, but has them now and then, along with alternative products like Quest bars. She's given up soda and sugary drinks entirely, substantially cut carbs, pays closer attention to what she eats in general, but does still have occasional sweets, eats bread, etc. Even though she's nowhere near 100% on plan, her taste/tolerance for sugar/carbs has still dropped significantly. To give an example, she had a few bites of one of those yogurt-granola bars the other day and that was all she could stand. She said it seemed sickeningly sweet.

So your taste/tolerance really can change. And you can also overcome your environment. My daughter has friends who eat pretty much nothing but junk, she's around them and that sort of food all the time, but she's been avoiding it.

This diet can be tough, you'll have times when you think you can't do it, but you can. Good luck. :)

Celia --

I'll agree with all the previous advice - first few days are awful but it gets easier. I lost about 60 lbs nearly 20 years ago on a low-carb fen/phen combo and thought I'd never be able to do it without the fenphen but it was really ketosis as I've discovered.

I've been on this diet for nearly 9months and still haven't gotten bored. I'm a creature of habit to some degree and never got into packet hacking or other boredom fighting methods. I just found the 8-12 IP foods I liked and rolled with those. Some of them were gross but I did find some friends with similar palates and we traded stories and packets in efforts to avoid $30 worth of food we didn't like.

I do like most proteins and that makes it easier - shrimp, trout, chicken and bison are my go-to proteins. And I just read that Trader Joe's now sells frozed riced cauliflower which makes my life immensely easier.

Good luck and don't be afraid to try new things - it might be surprising.

Thank you guys !! I love his forum. :)

Thanks for all the encouragement! I haven't been at my computer, but I have subscribed to this thread, and was able to read everyone's kind replies from my phone.

I'm happy to report that I've been able to stay on plan, even with my son making a chocolate cake today! I know it's a short-term strategy, but I put on my shorts that fit 20 lbs ago, and while it's not a pretty sight, it sure helped me remember what my goal is! That definitely helped me focus on the end result!

Also, I'm going to take your advice, Grateful, and take it easy with my schedule this week. I really enjoy going to the gym, but I'm going to take this week off to focus on getting in control of my diet. I'm also planning to spend as much time as I can here on the boards.

One last thing... I saw that the Walden Farms apple butter was mentioned, and highly recommend this product! I like to cut up zucchini into little chunks, and sauté it with a little WF apple butter and cinnamon- delicious!

I know it sounds like a wierd idea, but has anybody ever tried to photoshop their own picture to have an idea of what you would look like at the "weight goal" as a motivation ?

Hello everyone! I am on day 6 of my new journey with IP.
I lost 50 lbs. on IP in 2012. I reached goal - did good on maintenance. Then, unfortunately I had some major life changes.
I felt as though I was living in a snow globe that had been shaken furiously.
I went back to my old way of abusing food.
I have gained the 50 I lost plus an extra 10 lbs!. I have no guilt over gaining so much weight. I had abused food for over 35 yrs. I understand why I reverted back to my old habits.
Now, I am more confident on what to do. This plan works. Although I regained all my weight - I feel like a success story. I remember how healthy and alive I felt. I am very excited to be starting this journey again. I've been on plan for one week - tomorrow is weigh in day :)

Here's a couple of sites to help you out: first is real life people who've uploaded a body photo you can narrow down by weight, height, age, pant & shirt size, to give you an idea of what that weight would look like. mybodygallery.com (over 25,000 photos so several there will match your criteria)
THEN
tutorial on how to photoshop using 'liquefy tool': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVqC9j11c1o
And a quickie here: http://photoshop-tutorials.wonderhow...filter-356475/

Mary,Thank you so much!! I got a wow from the former m/i/l, then a remark about a dress I wore to a wedding of a family member about 20-25 years ago...which I naturally took as "still not good enough" but that's my own character flaw. I need to be conscious when my buttons are being pushed by her. Oh well, just wait until August for the wedding- I still have 2 and a half months- and I am not getting my dress until very close to the wedding. anyways...
For something I thought was going to "be easy because it was at my house" holy smokes!! That was by far, the most difficult situation being around food since I have been on this diet! Between the finger sandwiches, the antipasto, cheese, and sweets- the cake- THAT was beyond difficult- chocolate, 4 layers, with a fudgey type frosting between the layers and a vanilla frosting about an inch thick...just the way I like it- it KILLED me not to swipe my finger along the side just for the frosting. (especially when I took the cardboard that it sat on out to the trash..it was really really hard!! BUT- I did not touch a thing. I noshed on the veggie tray and had a strawberry drink . Stuck with my water, and was proud of myself- but it astounds me how difficult it was. I quit indulging in alcohol 10 years ago, and I don't remember ever finding myself in a situation where I really had to force myself not to touch it. I could/can sit at a bar with friends and very comfortably sit and drink club soda- did it from the very beginning with no problem. Sugar really is my demon...
Anyhow, on to another week. Tomorrow is w/i day. I always find that to be a stressful day- I think I need to chill out-lol. I hope that everyone had a great weekend and has a great week ahead of themselves!!!

Thank you so much !!