Hi everyone!

I've been on Ideal Protein for about 6 months. I have NEVER cheated, and I've lost 59 pounds so far; however, for the last month or so, I've been losing 1 pound or less a week. I am far from rich, and I'm spending entirely too much money to lose 1 pound a week. I'm also about to go out of the country for a week, and I don't want to follow the protocol while i'm out of town. I'm going to China, and I want to fully experience the culture. I told my coach, and my coach refuses to tell me the best way to prepare for travel. He only told me to only eat unrestricted foods. It upset me, because I asked him how to phase off, not what snacks to eat. He insists that I stay on the protocol during my trip. His refusal to tell me how to phase off on top of my lackluster weigh loss as of late really has me down. I'm really close to my goal, but this diet is just making me more and more upset. What should I do?!?! I need HELP!

Here is a link to the protocol sheets which includes Phases 1-4. You follow Phase 2 for 14 days & Phase 3 for 14 days. The number of days to follow the phase is on each protocol sheet.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/5040423-post79.html

It is important to phase off so it's not such a shock to your body when you begin eating normally again.

Enjoy your trip to China.

Hi there! We all hit rough spots. That's normal. Weight loss is slower as your total mass gets smaller. Just think, you are taking in the same amount of calories, but you're smaller! That's a sign of something good to me. Anyway, there are many people who choose to do an alternative version of IP which will save you a ton of money...I never really did that although I do use some of the alternative products on maintenance; however, there are people who have done IP ONLY on alternatives. Nashua Nutrition has a lot of good alternative stuff.

In addition, when I have gone on vacation while on Phase 1, I do a brief phase off. I will do five days of Phase 2 and five days of Phase 3. The day I get back home, I am back on Phase 1. This was all recommended to me by my coach, my husband's coach, and many people on these boards. I am sorry your coach isn't being realistic...if you are going on vacation, you need guidance to phase off properly if you need to. Boo.

Good luck. Don't quit. You can go on vacation and come back and meet your goal easily! You may see that a restart may be just what you need.
Take good care!

I completely agree with MiWi. 10 days before vacation, do the short Phase Off. Hop back on Phase 1 when you get back. As for the slow losses, unfortunately that is how the last 20 pounds went for me. Incredibly slow- from Feb- June to go from 180-160.

Thank you all so much for the help! I'm going to start phasing off in a couple of days. Maybe the break is what I need to get back on track!

Hang in there babyjay5!! Your coach is a ditz! Try to stay away from the noodles and rice and you are pretty close to protocol anyhow. Chinese is one of the easiest to navigate on P1. Just remember to ditch any coated, deep fried stuff and the above carbs and you will likely be fine, who knows, if you are careful while still enjoying the cuisine and you do a lot of walking around you may even stay at this present weight or lose. It has happened to others.

Do NOT give up, just think of how far you have come! Don't screw it up now

Have fun in China, remember it's about the culture, not just food. Enjoy the arts and artifacts you will be seeing. Enjoy new friends on your trip and maybe meet more from your travel destination.

Liana

Agree, a phase off is a must prior to going on vacay. Check out my experience on this thread:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...long-post.html

Also, as others have mentioned, the smaller you get, the less you lose each week. Are you checking your inches? I tend to fluctuate between losing scale weight and losing inches. It's like my body is playing catch up. I'll have a few weeks with some really big drops on the scale and then I will have weeks of slow losses. But those slow weeks, I am usually physically getting smaller and am losing a lot more inches. Something to keep in mind.

That being said, I am totally on board with alternatives. When I did IP the first time, I used their food, but when I did my reboot I used alternatives and had identical results.

I am 6 days in and I have my bar, shake for lunch, and chicken for my dinner. I don't have time to run to the store and grab veggies, but i do have eggs in my fridge. I already had my 8 oz of protein with the chicken, but i am SERIOUSLY hungry and am wondering if i will ruin everything by having some eggs?!

you're supposed to have 3 IP foods? Where is your 3rd one? Breakfast, lunch, snacktime (aka 3pm-ish meal btwn lunch & dinner) then 8oz protein for dinner. Also 1st 2 weeks you can have an extra IP food (4 packets a day) as long as it's unrestricted.

Howdy was spot on. Also, you wouldn't think it, but eating the 4 cups of veggies each day really, really helps with the hungries and to curb cravings.