I have been doing Ideal Protein for nearly 2 months now... I use alternative products and don't have a coach, but I have done a lot of research about this diet. I am MOSTLY vegetarian (I eat fish sometimes, moreso on this diet than before, but I won't talk about that here).
Every day I get between 80 and 100 g of protein, which is within the recommended range for IP. For example, today I am eating 3 "packets (oatmeal, chili, a bar) and I am having veggie meatballs on zucchini noodles with marinara sauce for dinner... today's protein total is 86.6 grams, net carbs 35.
The protein portion of dinner is supposedly (based on what I have read around here) around 40 g protein - I just checked some random meats and they all came out between 38 and 42 grams protein for 8 oz raw.
I'm not sure what your coach is talking about, bumping up your protein to 56g in a single meal... that might happen occasionally with meat (maybe?) but it seems like way too much to do regularly, since 3 packets give you around 45g protein already, sometimes more.
Hey everyone, yesterday I entered week 2 of this diet. After my first week check in where I only lost 2 pounds (goal is 20, I weigh 121 now)
Oh wow I missed that on the first read. You only have 20 pounds to lose and you lost 10% of that in your first week? It seems like 2 pounds is a great loss for you. Also, you might have been eating better than most people pre-IP and had less water weight to lose? (that happened to me for sure, I was dieting for a couple of weeks before I started IP)
But yes, I feel your pain - vegetarian AND 20 pounds or less to lose... it's not likely to happen as 3+ pounds lost per week and 3 weeks later you are done! (I wish...). It sounds like you are doing fine so far!
The only thing I recommend is come as close as possible to what "regular" IP dieters are getting in your macros (carbs/fat/protein)... But watch the carbs since the veggie proteins always(?) have more than meat. There was an actual vegetarian IP sheet floating around here years ago and it said to forgo the restricted on any day that your dinner protein was > 8g carbs (net, I am assuming).
Personally, since I track everything, I just try to keep my net carbs for the whole day at less than 40g.
FYI I just switched to Trader Joe's High Protein Organic Tofu, which has 35 g protein in half a package and 7.5g carbs... but 325 calories and a lot of fat... maybe choose lower calorie/carb packets (shakes/RTDs) and veggies (lettuces/spinach/cucumbers/mushrooms etc, no "select" veggie) on these days to help offset that?
I second EmmaD & Sharkie's responses. Your coach does not understand vegetarianism. Another gal I know made her own seitan (it's apparently quite simple and inexpensive) for a different meal from tofu. Of course, only if you are not bothered by wheat gluten. You could also have paneer if you watch the fat content. I know this is dairy but it is more important for you to get your proteins in and it can be low fat (also greek yogourt plain is a good choice) - you can do a partial Alternative P1 Diabetic protocol (without the starch carb and fruit carb needed for that) just using the low fat dairy protein. Get your coach to look up the Alternative P1 for more info.
How to make seitan: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/homemade-seitan/
Some recipes for it: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maind...tanrecipes.htm
I have no experience as a vegetarian, but the rough rule of thumb for low carb diets is that you should be getting about half your body weight in grams of protein per day. This is why there is a table for having people with high starting weights add extra packets for every 50 lbs over 200. Your coach is probably not factoring in your already low starting weight. At 120 lbs, you only need to strive for about 60 grams of protein per day. 3 packets get you 36-45 grams of protein already. You don't need to be adding protein beyond the regular 8oz dinner portion and you could probably reduce it. With your low starting weight, it is possible you consumed MORE protein than you needed last week.
So 56 g for dinner is too much? I suspected as such since that would be give me around 110 g per day which seems like a **** of a lot for a 5'1 121lb woman. I just assumed she was saying 56g because it is so low everything else.
What is the consensus on the amount of protein for dinner? 30 - 40 grams or higher? What have the other vegetarians gotten from their coaches?
So 56 g for dinner is too much? I suspected as such since that would be give me around 110 g per day which seems like a **** of a lot for a 5'1 121lb woman. I just assumed she was saying 56g because it is so low everything else.
What is the consensus on the amount of protein for dinner? 30 - 40 grams or higher? What have the other vegetarians gotten from their coaches?
It's weird that your coach said: 1) eat 56g of protein for dinner OR 2) eat half the recommended amount of vegetable protein PLUS one packet. I understand the second recommendation, maybe that ends up being lower in carbs/fat than straight up vegetable protein? Maybe you could alternate that plan with vegetable protein. Ignore suggestion #1 - 56 grams seems like way too much for a single meal! Ick. Did you follow up with this coach for clarification?
I don't have a coach but I have read a lot about low carb/ketogenic diets... the numbers wahoofan gives are common ... but I find on IP that I usually get a bit more than that. Let's say 15g for each of 3 packets and 30g for dinner = 75g, but then veggies have varying amounts of protein themselves....
Fats are absorbed with about 97% efficiency (e.g. if you eat 100 grams fat, you’ll absorb 97 grams of them), animal source proteins are about 90-95%, vegetable source proteins can be in the 80% range and carbohydrates vary drastically depending on their form, fiber content, etc.
Maybe vegetarians need to aim a bit higher because of decreased absorption of vegetable proteins? I would still keep it at around 40g for dinner - personally.
Anyway, if you read through the vegetarian threads linked here, you will find lots of information, some of which came from people with actual coaches. They do seem to allow nontraditional items like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese for vegetarians, though I haven't taken advantage of that. The list I have from someone's coach has a lot of name-brand stuff on it, so not that useful, but it includes: eggs, egg whites, veggie burgers, Smart Dogs, tofu, tempeh, edamame, Gimme Lean ground meat substitutes, Quorn products and cottage cheese. I don't recall ever seeing that vegetarians should eat more protein than the normal IP recommendations for dinner.
All that being said... The bottom line is that 2 pounds/week is actually a good loss when you only have 20 pounds to lose and nothing should be changed based on that at all... I say carry on with what you were doing (maybe adding other protein sources beyond tofu if that was all you were eating for dinner...) unless you see weeks with no losses, then figure out if you need to change anything.
ETA: FYI - My meal plan for today was: oatmeal with chayote, chili with peppers and mushrooms added, green salad, tofu/broccoli stirfry and a Quest bar. Calories: 952, net carbs 27, protein 91g (15 from each of 2 packets, 30 from the tofu, 20 from the Quest bar and the rest from the veggies)
Last edited by EmmaD; 06-23-2015 at 04:30 PM.
Reason: add nutrition stats
