Hello! Just checking in. Already down below 195 as of this morning after two weeks. Have had a couple slips, but mostly staying strict. Was an idiot this morning and left all my food at home, so went to the deli around the corner and got a veggie omelette. Getting a light salad for lunch, and 7-11 sells quest bars. *sigh* Gotta roll with it. Have a good week!

Hi Posh!! Missed ya, good to see you again and hear things are headed in the right direction.
Just checkin' in... seeing who all is here and waving atcha! :wave:
Liana

Hi All,

Reboot 2017 starts today. Goal weight here I come! Have 20 lbs. to get there.

Hi Catlady! Best of luck - you got this

Great news!

Hi everyone! How are you doing this week? Nice to see the boards a little busier, but hoping everyone's reboot goes well. I have a small NSV- I took my daughter to dance class where they have a room that is basically just a huge mirror and I was able to notice that I look smaller and my jeans are pretty baggy- that was nice since I usually avoid the mirrors! :)

Anybody have any new favorite alternative items they like a lot? I need to expand beyond the mocha wafer, tomato soup and quest muffin rut I am in. :dizzy: I did try a new quest flavor in the Cookies and Cream, but I think the fake sugar in it gives me a tummy ache if I eat it too often.

Have a great week everyone!

Hi Stormy! Good for you! I love those NSV!!! I have to say my favorite alternative is the Proti-Thin Anytime Drink - Chocolate. They come six to a box and are a bit pricey ($18.95 for 6) BUT they are so delicious! For me I feel they are worth paying for. I freeze them and then take them out to thaw for about an hour and I swear they taste like ice cream. It takes a long time to eat also which helps me because my problem time is at night after my kiddies go to bed :).

I love the Quest Cookies and Cream protein powder. I have it as a shake every night now. I put a good amount of ice cubes with about 8 oz water and a fair amount of salt with a scoop and mix it in my ninja (single serving accessory) blender. It is as close as you will get to an Oreo blizzard doing IP :-)

I am also a big fan of the Healthsmart hot chocolate (aspartame free).

I love to make peanut butter pudding out of the Quest Peanut Butter protein powder. I make it with salt and 2 oz water. I love the flavor but it is not all that filling.

Overall, the Quest protein powders are the best alternative due to taste and versatility.

I should add that I have not replaced any of the IP products this time with alternatives. The items I mentioned I am having a replacements for my 8 oz dinner protein as I just haven't felt like eating meat or eggs.

I have tried a bunch of other alternatives and concluded the IP products are superior tasting and more fulfilling as compared to alternatives, in my opinion. The worst was the Doctors Weight Loss systems - no taste!!!

For me, there is no beating the IP chocolatey caramel mug cake made as cookies for breakfast (just 2 oz water and 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp baking powder and salt). I love the IP chicken soup with 2 cups of riced cauliflower. And, I absolutely crave the IP chocolate drink mix made as a cake with simple 2 oz water and 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp baking powder and salt.
I removed the egg white from my baking as I wanted my full dinner protein and I don't miss it at all.

Thanks for the recommendations! I'm going to try a few new things this week. Switch it up to keep things interesting. :dizzy:

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Hi all,
Rebooting today, day 1. Start weight 136.4
Shooting for 16.4 lbs in 12 weeks:)

Hi all,

I broke OUT of the 180s this week and weighed in at 179.6!!!! Down a total of 19.8lbs since 2/20. YAY!!!!

Hi all,

Congrats on all the NSV's and SV's! Completed my first week of reboot and down 5.4 lbs as of today. Fav alternates:

Healthsmart soups: Cream of Broccoli and Cream of Mushroom. I cook two cups of veg(usually steamed) and pour the soup on top. Add a big salad of freebie lettuces, radish, cucumber, etc. and that is lunch most days.

Healthsmart puddings: I like these because they give the idea of eating dessert. Mix with 4 oz really cold water in shaker bottle and it's pretty tasty. I also use these to make Lisa's zucchini muffins. Works just as good as IP products.

Proti Diet Chili: with 2 cups of sauteed veg or over 2 cups riced cauliflower. Very filling. Just soak the chili for at least 30 minutes or it's crunchy.

Agree with above on Quest powders. These can be used for waffles and pancakes.

Hi all, I'm starting into week 3, hardly losing but losing nonetheless (only 3 lbs). Loving all your recommendations of alternative products. I was so afraid to deviate from the official protocol the first time that I didn't try alternatives but this round, I'd like to be a little kinder to my wallet and it sounds as if plenty of people are very successful on alternatives, so I may start mixing a few into my routine. It looks like a lot of the alt products are used by people in Canada - does anybody have a recommendation for where to buy alternative products for those of us in the US, and which ones seem to be good standbys to start with?

Hi!
I love GNC, the Vitamin Shoppe and netrition.com. and nashuanutriton.com. You can pretty much get everything you need there for alternative products.

I buy them from Nashua, and Quest products are great!

Day 2- 134.5

I did crazy cardio last night. I do a BCAA pre-workout and I eat extra protein too!

Everyone is doing great! Congrats:)

What's everyone doing for Easter? I was thinking of doing Keto so I don't really get out of ketosis. So basically have some cheese and sausages:)

howdy rebooters!!

I had my 13th (3 month) weigh in on Monday -- 204.6 lbs -- heading for Onederland and hoping to get there this month....

I was sick with a bad sinus infection and actually lost my appetite - that was a real boon to my losses the past 2 weeks. I do not recommend it, but I will take the losses wherever I can find them!

I have been enjoying pancakes made from Vanilla Drink Mix with an egg white, baking powder, cinnamon, and a cup of cauliflower rice (pre-cooked), and sparkling water (plain) added to bring the consistency to something pancake like.

Seeing that Ro22 is leaving the egg whites out, I may have to try that....

For alternates - I LOVE the Quest Blueberry Muffin protein bar -- so few of the Quest bars are legit alternatives to the IP restricted bars, but I cut the blueberry muffin bar into 8 pieces and put on cookie sheet, back at 350 for 8 minutes and savor my wonderful little cookie like nuggets, one at a time.
Yummmm!!!

Reboots are hard.... but maintaining is even harder....

When I got into maintenance in 2013..... I would go nuts with food, gain three pounds and then exercise and do P1 for a week to get back.... I did it so many times, I was always on P1:(
I loooove food so I mess up easily/ My kids always eat snacks, and on playdates you cant always look like you are dieting.... so a slice a pizza HERE, ice cream there, and oh my.... up three pounds.
My hubby is a serial snacker.... hes always eating chips and ice cream in bed:( that's really hard to watch P1. He did it last night and I felt myself start to get HANGRY! so I walked into my babies room, and told him that he was crying so I can avoid the snack attack.... grabbed some celery to snack on.... he looked at me like..... whats that?

HAHAHAHAHAHA

He sabotages me:(

Hi! I'm new here: I lost 46 lbs on IP 3 years ago, as I was approaching my 50th birthday. It was great...but fleeting. I bailed too soon, and didn't properly exit the diet with phases 2,3 and 4 (because the birthday festivities had begun!), so I started to regain immediately. I put about 20lbs back, and managed to keep it there for 2 years, but last year I really started to eat and drink everything in sight, and my weight headed right back to my original heaviest weight. Last July, I went back on IP, and went strong for 2 solid months, and lost 20 lbs. Then the annual festivities started up again: anniversary; birthday; Christmas; Tuesday...
I had every intention of getting back on IP, but before I did, I wanted just one more (insert pretty much anything chocolate, made of bread or tasting like wine here), and here I am, binge eating almost every day, because I'm starting IP again TOMORROW. How can I get my head back in the game? :?:

LucyLoo,

I've rebooted many times.... This has been my successful reboot. I think you have to be totally ready. I have no desire to cheat right now, and if I do, I reach for protein. Every other time, anything would derail me, coz I wasn't ready.

Try to think of how great you look in new small clothes, or plan a goal date for your skinny reveal and buy the outfit from now.
My hubby is an MD and he says that we need a goal as humans and we need to have a goal to strive for. So I went out and bought a cute dress in a size 4 for my sons bday. I will wear it on July 1st!

XOXOX

My new day is today. 4/10. Excited to be back.

Thank you! You're right: I need to just think about how great it will be, and keep my eye on that prize. I appreciate your thoughtful reply!

Hello Re-booters!

Made it through my first day!.... Here we go 2nd day. Just a short story, I went through a menopausal depression, I started to seek medical help and got a blood test done (after about 1.5 years into this) though, I have been going through peri-menopause since 2010, but for the last two years it got worse. So back to the doctor, I was low on vitamins and testosterone. I searched for natural help on the testosterone and found a few that helped and my levels are almost normal and feel a lot better. So heres to getting better and losing that extra baggage!

your fellow rebooter!
Skinnyjeangirl

Welcome back, new/old gals, lol! You know this works! Hang in there til you start to see those results again (and then don't forget to phase off correctly afterward ;) )
Liana

Day 2 of the latest reboot, and it didn't go as well as day 1. Yesterday, I killed it: 2 packets, a bar, veggies & chicken, water: No problem. I was so busy all day, I had no time to think about food. Today, I had to stay home with my daughter (after she threw up in the middle of the night), and I've had lots of time to think about food. Still, not too bad. I added a hard boiled egg after my morning packet because I was starving, and a bag of the sweet & spicy trail mix after lunch. But with any former attempts to reboot, I always resorted to nuts; and once I start I can't stop, so I guess this is progress. It feels so weird to talk about what I've eaten; usually such a taboo subject inn polite conversation! But I'm glad I've discovered this forum: I think it'll help. I hope it will help!

Rebooters
 

I hope I can keep up with the boards here. This is my third day I am doing awesome. Today is my birthday and I even passed up cake. I am so ready for a body change after the last couple years. I can't wait till next week see you tomorrow

Skinnyjeangirl: Wow! No cake on your birthday is real dedication: Good for you! I passed on a roomful of free donuts this morning! :)

LucyLoo and Donuts
 

Donuts are my favorite~! Good for you too!! woohoo!:carrot:

Just looked at a scientific study and the funny thing was they had to feed rats a special 'obesogenic rat chow' so that they gained enough fat to do the studies on obesity and the macronutrients were exactly the same as a donut.

Next time just think of the donuts as 'fat rat chow'. Guarantee you won't touch them now, lol.
Liana

http://old.seattletimes.com/ABPub/20...2016998681.jpg

Hi Everyone!

Well, I guess I won't be eating any donuts... Thanks Liana! :)

I haven't checked in in while, but it looks like there are some new re-boots! Welcome!!!

Thanks to everyone who told me their fav. IP alternative- I found a few new ones I like. My new fav is the proti-thin caffe caramel latte or pudding as a shake with spinach and coffee- tastes like a caramel macchaito- yum! I have been doing pretty well. Trying a few new things made the last couple of weeks better since I was getting kind of bored of the same thing all the time. I haven't been tempted by the kids' easter candy, so I am taking that so a good sign that things are moving along okay.

How is everyone else's week going? Happy Easter!

Thanks, Liana: That is certainly good to know! I have a question for you rebooters: Is it possible that after going on and off this diet throughout the ENTIRE winter, that I have screwed up my metabolism forever? I used to drop weight immediately after starting (any diet), but the scale does not seem to be moving now. I am committed to staying the course, but I wonder if it's going to take twice as long now?

Hi all,

My reboot is going well. Today completes Week 7.

For those interested, I have tracked my stats very closely and I can share with you some insights.
First, some background...
I rebooted and got within 20 pounds of my goal after losing 63 pounds. I achieved this the first week of November. I transitioned off using a ketogenic diet which I successfully maintained with mini reboots thrown in to compensate for Thanksgiving and Christmas. On Jan 28, I was the same weight from when I transitioned off for the holidays. That day is remarkable because it was my brother's birthday and I took the family out for a fun night at the casino and dinner. We wound up at the buffet vs waiting until 9 pm for our steakhouse reservation. At that point, I decided I was going to partake in a "normal" dinner at such a place and not have an IP dinner especially given that I was at my pre-holiday weight. Well, that triggered a month-long binge of eating whatever I wanted - goodies, fast food, etc. I couldn't get control for a month. So, today is the end of week 7 of IP since that month-long binge.

I am surprised by how long it is taking me to lose the weight gained during that month. It is going to take me 8 weeks (I will weigh myself tomorrow but I was 5 pounds away at my last week's weighing).

Conclusion - Right now, without transitioning and simply falling back into worst eating habits, it requires 2 days of IP to every 1 day off IP. I'll use this in the future because if I had made a conscious decision I would not have chose this meaning if someone said to me are you willing to trade 4 weeks of absolute diet freedom for 8 weeks of IP to get back to where you are, I would have said, "No, that is not worth it". So, I'll ask myself this in the future when I am in this situation again.

In other news, I have having a pretty big shoulder surgery on April 27. I have fully torn my rotator cuff along with some other issues. I have decided to continue to do IP through this ordeal. I wanted to lose that remaining 20 pounds after the holidays and so I am going to keep going - it may wind up being 10 depending upon how I feel but I am going to stick with my plan and drop the additional weight I had planned when I transitioned off in November. I had purchased 6 weeks of IP food thinking it was going to take me at most 6 weeks to drop the weight I had gained so that is now all gone. So, I am now using alternatives and will probably do that for the remainder P1 timeframe, mainly using Quest protein powder. This week I am using up the remaining products I had from Nashua Nutrition and then starting next week it will be all Quest for the most part.

Welcome back to former IPeeps who are launching their reboots!!!

I seemed to be determined to cut corners and make my reboot slow... I messed up and fell out of ketosis the week before last and this most recent week has been all about getting back to where I was 3 weeks ago.... I hope the weigh in tomorrow will show something that looks like 205 or better.... then I can resume the descent to one-derland.

Honesty - I messed around having extra restricteds, some half & half in my coffee, and skipping out on veggies and supplements... why would I expect any other result?

The mind game was winning during the second part of March-- I hope I am learning some lessons and able to behave differently so I can be successful!!

thanks for the support here... :)

cheryl

Ok, time to buckle down, Cheryl!!!! :hug:
Good luck on the weigh-in. I hope it is "better".

Hello everyone!

Reboot is going well. Starting week 4 and down 8.8. I have a vacation in Mid May. My daughter graduates from college in Oregon. My plan is to transition for the 2 weeks before I go(1week each on P2 & P3) and then stay as close as I can to P3 during the vacation week and go right back to P1 when I return until I reach my goal. My osteoarthritis is really giving me a hard time right now so I know there is inflammation going on. But the scale keeps moving down so I'm happy. It's just so hard to get the motivation to work out, either cardio or weights, when it makes me hurt. :-( I know in the long run it will help my joints by my muscles being strong, but it's a long road to get there.

Liana: I have a new perspective on donuts now. Thanks!

Ro: Sending good thoughts for your shoulder surgery.

Thanks, Andrea. Congrats on the loss, your plan and the daughter's graduation!!!

I just learned about something recently from my Dad for which my sister-in-law has been taking and she reports great results. I am going to start it after my surgery which is a Boron supplement - look it up as it may help with the arthritis. My sister-in-law cleans houses for a living and she has always had to wear kneepads because of inflammation in her knees. She says that since she has been taking Boron she often forgets them as she doesn't need them. My sister-in-law is a big skeptic so I give this much more credence than I normally would. Also, she used to have significant menopause symptoms and she said those have dramatically reduced since taking this so given my sister-in-law's personality, it had me look into and conclude that I am going to add this to my supplement mix. I am waiting until after the surgery because the hospital told me I had to stop all supplements 5 days before surgery so no use starting for 6 days or so and then stopping for 5. In case anyone is curious, it is because Vitamin E and fish oils are known to cause bleeding.

Fell off the wagon this week and into a pile of cadbury eggs...

BACK ON THE WAGON STRONG and placing an order with Nashua right now.

Well, the good thing is you are back at it and without going off for too long!!!

Staceyjblack: I ran into that same pile of eggs! For 2 days! I don't know what to do here: Since last October, I seem to be fine on this diet for a week, maybe 2, then I fall off and overeat for an entire day; sometimes two. I'm worried that this cycle keeps repeating itself because of the restrictive nature of this diet, and that maybe I should try something different, and a little less harsh. On the other hand, In 2013, I managed to stay on IP, without ever cheating, for 4 months, and lost 46 lbs. Why can't I muster that willpower again?