Hello all,
I am at my goal weight as of this morning and I am very grateful to IP and my doctor's office for helping me get here.
But, I have to say that this way of eating is not sustainable for me - packets, recipes with packets, chemical supplements - I did it, and it worked, but really - can you live like this….
It got me here and, as I said, I am grateful, but the stories on this board about reboot, redo, trying again, etc. are not motivational for me. They are an indication that this doesn't work long term.
Help me understand why a more balanced nutritional profile with exercise isn't better.
Thank you,

I agree. I don't want to continue with packets and reboots either. Problem is I haven't figured out a way to eat long term where I have been able to maintain my weight. It is so easy to slip back into old eating habits. Every reboot I say this is it, I am finding a way to eat so I don't have to do this again.

What I need to do is eat just like I do on P1 but replace IP packets with real protein and add some carbs. Easier said then done I guess.

I have only briefly skimmed the other phases but doesn't the phase out have you eating 'real foods' and teach sustainable habits? I look at the program as a tool for your back pocket once you're done with the program so if you do veer off track you can easily follow this path and get back where you were. I may be completely wrong though! Have you read any of the threads by the maintainers?

NSV here this morning, my four year old started preschool today and I wanted to look extra nice for drop off (no idea why, maybe to help me feel more confident??), tried on a dress I wore after losing before baby no. 4 and it fit! :carrot: in all fairness it is a loose summer style but I couldn't even get it over my arms and chest a few weeks ago. Anyway, very emotional morning, he didn't cry but I left sobbing my heart out, why do they need to grow up?! Went to the shops with one year old and wandered around, had a bottle of water and went home. Which is a NSV no. 2 as I didn't emotionally eat:carrot:

How's everyone else going?

Good for you with managing the temptation to emotionally eat -- this is always tough to do. You did good! :carrot::carrot::carrot:

I had 4th weigh in and am down a total of 11.2 for 26 days on the program. Heading in the right direction and generally ok about it.

Tomorrow I will post some notions from my coach regarding strength training while on IP -- right now I am heading for sleep which I know is a good thing for weight loss. And I am coming down with a respiratory infection - I get to feel miserable with it for at least a week I suspect....

but catch y'all tomorrow,
cheryl

That's awesome weight loss!

I just finished up my 3rd week and my weight actually went up a few ounces, but my muscle mass went up a couple of pounds and my body fat percentage went down 2%, so I'm trying to be okay with it. Hoping for much better results at my next weigh in, though.

I'm interested to hear what your coach says about strength training. Mine says I can exercise (cardio) as much as I'd like as long as I can still carry on a conversation AND eat extra protein on the days I work out (to combat potential muscle loss). I have a really hard time even getting my 3rd packet in each day, so extra meat or a packet is not happening! But I do workout lightly several times a week.

Good Morning! I just discovered this thread and I am happy I did, no one aside from my fiance knows I am doing IP so it is great to find others I can talk to on here. I am down about 12 pounds in 4 weeks, which I am pretty happy about. What I am shocked about is I just discovered (through this website) alternative products. I ordered a few online, and I found that Proti-Thin Fluffy Vanilla Crisp bars ($12.50 for 7 bars) taste EXACTLY like my favorite "Crispy Vanilla Bars" from IP! They appear to be almost identical in carbs, calories, fiber, sugar ect, and I am paying $28.20 for 7 of the IP bars. It is insanity! Same goes for HealthSmart Salt and Vinegar chips (have a few more net carbs, but very similar) and Healthsmart Apple Oatmeal!

I have posted in another thread I don't really love my coach. She calls her former 180lb self "disgusting" and calls other dieters who cheat lazy ect. She seemed disappointed when I "only" hit 10 pounds after 3 weeks. She also seems extremely confused, telling me how high the carbs are in some items, only to realize it is net carbs, not just total carbs. This has happened multiple times, and I have only seen her three times! She is a few years old than me, and I think just assumes because I am younger I want to do this to "snap necks at the beach this summer" or "wow my man" (ALL her words, NOT mine, I would never say anything like that haha). Has anyone broken up with a coach?! Should I just blame it on financial reasons? Honestly I am so bad at these things I was considering just saying I was pregnant (half kidding, but it crossed my mind!).

Sorry to vent, I just want to do this right, and be happy while I am doing it!

Hi!

I am a rebooter, but I saw your previous post about your coach. I am on my third reboot (I started to lose the baby weight- which I did! And then went on to have two more kids, so I am post baby now and working on getting back into my jeans). I did IP with the total program the first time because I didn't know about all the alternatives, etc. My coach was not super helpful- she seemed to think that time in her office was time for her to vent about her boyfriend to me and tell me about her running goals. She was very young, had clearly never done the protocol beyond trying the foods and did not know how to answer most of my questions. Considering how expensive the diet was, I was really frustrated with that. I did ask to switch to a coach I heard was better later and it was like night and day- she had lost 80 pounds on the protocol and kept it off, was supportive and actually answered my questions. She even had suggestions for recipes! My first coach was a nice person, and I did like her as a person, but she didn't actually add any value to the experience for me and I am glad I switched.

I do think it can be hard to learn the whole protocol without some help for at least a few months- especially if you need the motivation of a weekly check in with someone or help with adjusting the protocol if you hit a snag. I switched to alternatives after my first go, but I felt I had a good understanding of what to do and how to do it (these forums are really great for learning about alternatives!). That said, it sounds like your coach is not really helpful or supportive, so if you don't think she is knowledgeable and isn't supportive, I would really think about it. If there is no chance to switch, you might stick it out until you feel like you have the hang of it and then switch to alternatives.

Not to give advice where is not wanted or needed, but have you called her out on any of her comments? Maybe just saying, "I don't think that comment is helpful for my progress"?

I'm sorry you are dealing with a crappy coach. :(

Had my Orbera gastric balloon placed this morning, and begin Ideal Protein on Sunday or Monday (depending on how vomity I feel). Met with my IP coach on Wednesday. She seems nice, though she wouldn't let me change out the yucky looking flavors in my IP sample bag. It was $280 for initial consult + bag of IP so I will be eating them (even if I hate fruity flavours, yuck!). I like that the fee includes weekly follow up visits and measurement though.

Starting stats:
Age: 33, F
Height: 5’2″
Chest: 43.5 in
Arms: 15.5 in
Waist: 37 in
Hips: 50.5 in
Thighs: 31.5 in
Weight: 214
Body Fat: 44.1 %
Lean Mass: 119.67

I have a coach but she lives a long way away from me so all contact is via email & phone. I would probably just ignore her idiotic comments because I'm not one for confrontation or I'd email my concerns.

I didn't get a start up package :( just had to pay for the coaching & membership then ordered what I wanted online. We pay $43 for restricted boxes and $39 for unrestricted. I am loving the Quest chips as an alternative.

Last night I was wanting something really flavoursome so I did zucchini 'chips' with olive oil, cayenne pepper, paprika & garlic powder. They were delicious! I also slice my zucchini round and thin but this way they were so much better. It's going to be my new go to haha!! I did cauliflower in the same mix but it was nice but not as good as the zucchini.

Love reading about the great losses, well done! So inspiring!

I've had to move my morning schedule around with kids back at school and struggling to drink my pudding shake at 8am as I'm just not hungry. Thinking maybe I should have my restricted bar for breakfast instead? I really really like the caramel crunch bar and I don't find them a very big snack. Thoughts?

Howdytx, you might be surprised about the fruity flavours. I thought I'd hate them &I tried the orange drink and thought it was quite ordinary the first time but now I LOVE it and the peach & mango. I am a real chocolate person but these are delicious. I make they with lots of ice and cold water so they're like a slushy.

Fitnhappy: thanks! I'm glad to hear a fellow chocolate lover survived the fruity mixes :D I'm actually not feeling too bad on day 1 Orbera and the broth I've been drinking has 15 calories per cup....so kinda hungry. Thinking about starting IP tomorrow, but I'll see how well I survive the night!

~Lindsay

Good luck! I haven't heard of the balloon before, wishing you every success!

Thank you for your reply, yesterday's session was actually pretty good with her, and I think it because I did more leading. I basically just started saying that I was happy with the results, that 13 pounds in 4 weeks (yay!) is solid progress to me ect. We actually discussed my eventual transitioning off of the plan (as I only have 12 more to go) and she mentioned because I am so super strict she doesn't think I need to do phase 2 and 3 as exactly designed (two full weeks of each ect, basically adding an extra month to my ideally only two month program).

Overall I was happy, but I am swapping some of the IP foods with alternative foods, because financially it makes more sense. I want to recommend this plan to family and friends should they ever ask, but honestly I think I will point them towards the alternative plan. This blog (just simply reading it and posting a few times) has truly helped me out more than my coach has, and I am really grateful I have it!

This is actually the most important part of the program. During phases 2 and 3 you are stabilising your loss and starting up your pancreas' insulin production and release to counter the carbs that are reintroduced to your diet.

Please do not skip that part. What is a month compared to the rest of your life?

Briael is SO RIGHT ON -- phasing off is truly critical to enabling your metabolism to made a smooth transition to maintenance. Hopefully your clinic does a workshop sessin on maintenance. And hopefully you are posting and tracking your food intake daily - this is great boon to successful maintenance/

And do a search for posts by Novak here in 3FC -- she did two or three excellent long posts about her first year after a big IP loss -- it is very informative and gives you a good feel for the challenges that you face and ways to address them.

Please do not let your coach take you off the program guidelines. Everyone is different and you are going to have to find your niche that best enables you to keep the excess pounds at bay, but you deserve to treat your body carefully as you shift from the restricted P1 food plan to a real life of unlimited food choices.

Glad you are feeling better about your coach! Sometimes it takes a while to develop that relationship. :)