HELP! Out of Ideal Protein land and need to get back on track!
 

Hi,

My user name is CatinCali, but now I am CatinIsrael! I have been living here for 1 year, 3 months, and love it, but unfortunately, and much to my dismay, I have gained about 15 pounds since I have been here.

Somehow, I didn't expect that, being familiar with all the wonderful fruits, vegetables and salads that are here. Alas,there are also wonderful carbs! There are bakeries and cafes around every corner, and of course, hummus and pita is a way of life. I also have found that lettuces, celery and delicate greens like that are not easy to find in the summer as all of those need lots of water to grow, and we live in a dessert.

Ideal Protein is not available in Israel, and I need help designing a diet that is like that. I have purchased SunWarrior Classic Plus Protein Powder to form a basis of a new diet. Each serving has 100 calories, 1g of fat, 18g of Protein, 2 Net Carbs.

What else would you suggest I do to make this a complete program? Should I be using almond milk or soy milk with this? What about other meals? This is the only protein supplement I have found, so I think I would die of boredom if I just consumed this and one meal a day.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Milk in any form is off limits, except for the 1 oz that's allowed for your morning coffee or tea or for baking.

Can you order from sites like NashuaNutrition.com or DietDirect.com ? Those are the sites where I got most of my protocol foods. You can also get things like Quest protein powder on Amazon, and probably some bars there, as well. Do you have a copy of the current protocol sheet so you know what's allowed?

If you can order the Quest protein powders from Amazon, I would highly recommend it. They taste great and they also bake very well, so you can do cookies, pancakes, rolls with them. Not sure what the options are in Israel.

The only other thing I could think of for you is to just follow a basic ketogenic diet if you can't find protein powder. Stick to (3) 4 oz. servings of protein (chicken, turkey, eggs, etc...) and then (1) 8 oz. serving of protein and then add vegetables. It is the basis of IP, but using whole foods instead of protein powder.

I believe that you can find the protocol sheets in one of the stickies so you can get the vegetable list.

Cat I know shipping to Israel is $$$$ but I second the suggestion for Quest powders if you can swing it. They are very versatile, and would help with the boredom not having the same thing every day.
The protein powder you mentioned sounds OP (no aspartame??). Have you tried baking with it? Maybe try a muffin recipe. If that works, it would be a big help. Can you get spinach (even frozen if not fresh?). My go to breakfast is a spinach shake, gets the veggies in and fills me up.
I know people have replaced the lunch protein packet with 4oz lean meat, and that has worked well; that would only leave you with 2 packets for the day. Should be manageable.
Hope you can find some way to make it work.

Thanks all for your help!
 

I am going to try to see if I can get the Quest powder shipped to me here. Also some bars, and supplement the best I can. I like the idea of the Spinach or perhaps a Kale shake, to get the veggies in!

CatinCali

Also use egg whites to replace packets -- I vote for Quest protein powders and chips too.

Sounds like you need to open an IP clinic there in Israel! What a great opportunity that could be!