[arimartini]

I completely get where you are coming from - I am in Phase 3 of IP as of last Friday, 2/10. I lost about 40 pounds, pretty quickly. IP is easy to follow and absolutely works for weight loss, however, I have been very disheartened to see all of the reboot, regain stories on the IP forum. I also agree with oneuh that it's all hard - overweight, losing, maintaining....
I am just not really sure that I learned that much on this protocol - other than to buy the products and follow the plan - I watch the videos and listen to my coach, but I am feeling very much like I'm not prepared for the maintenance phase.

[huskiesbabiesmama]

Originally Posted by arimartini

I completely get where you are coming from - I am in Phase 3 of IP as of last Friday, 2/10. I lost about 40 pounds, pretty quickly. IP is easy to follow and absolutely works for weight loss, however, I have been very disheartened to see all of the reboot, regain stories on the IP forum. I also agree with oneuh that it's all hard - overweight, losing, maintaining....
I am just not really sure that I learned that much on this protocol - other than to buy the products and follow the plan - I watch the videos and listen to my coach, but I am feeling very much like I'm not prepared for the maintenance phase.

How do you get the videos? I totally forgot about them. My coach signed up my email address with IP, but I still haven't received anything.

[arimartini]

I receive an email everyday directing me to the video. I sign in with a user name and password at http://my.idealprotein.com/login

My coach has changed the videos from Phase 1 - 3 as I've progressed through the program.

[Ozilla]

Originally Posted by Nightowlrn

I get that part. But, if the data from the previous attempt shows failure, why go back to that particular method again?

Because it worked for them before to lose it. It worked, it was after care of ourselves that failed, not the diet. Not every diet fits every person. If IP worked to take it off before, it'll work for that person again. It's kinda like asking a smoker who started again why they smoke the same brand as before, or why they chose the patch to quit again when it "didn't work" to keep them stopped. Like many major life changes, it can take a few starts and setbacks to become final. I hope I made sense there, lol.

[darbs7]

Originally Posted by oneuh2

You know - after looking at your posts on 3FC, you don't seem to be on Ideal Protein. It's great that you have embraced another approach to losing and maintaining. You have plenty of threads with others who are following the same kind of weight loss strategies as you are.

I don't think that those of us on IP really need to justify ourselves or the IP program to you. We have more interest in devoting our time instead to supporting one another on the journey we have chosen.

Originally Posted by oneuh2

Nightowlrn:
Sorry to appear mean but - really - everyone has to find their own path - and the journey never ends. A common quote on these boards in the IP forum is:

Losing weight is hard. Maintenance is hard. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard. (-Ishbel)

The thing is - especially for those of us who lose large amounts and then regain - we already feel badly about having let ourselves down. We came back to IP because we know it works, and in truth, the Phase 1 protocol is relatively simple. How we lose the weight is not the issue except we know we feel miserable having regained and we want to move decisively forward.

Congratulations on your weight loss success - you now face the new challenges of keeping it off. There is really good info on maintaining, here in the Ideal Protein forum - look up posts by Novak, and check our IP threads called Maintenance or Maintainers - hundreds of posts with lots of good insight into the challenges there. Ishbel is another poster whose story is in these threads, and I think maybe she has a blog too.

I also suggest another terrific reaource - check out Elizabeth Benton's website www.primalpotential.com and her podcasts on Mastering Fat Loss Naturally. She has a daily motivation feed and she has a great approach to winning the mind game - very key to successful maintenance.

You are welcome to post support here anytime.

WELL said, thank you

[oneuh2]

Originally Posted by arimartini

I completely get where you are coming from - I am in Phase 3 of IP as of last Friday, 2/10. I lost about 40 pounds, pretty quickly. IP is easy to follow and absolutely works for weight loss, however, I have been very disheartened to see all of the reboot, regain stories on the IP forum. I also agree with oneuh that it's all hard - overweight, losing, maintaining....
I am just not really sure that I learned that much on this protocol - other than to buy the products and follow the plan - I watch the videos and listen to my coach, but I am feeling very much like I'm not prepared for the maintenance phase.

Ideal Protein has really put more into the prep for Phase 4 maintenance - you should be getting a workshop session that presents the basics you should follow for maintenance -- and really - check out the links I posted for Nightowl -- she discusses what she learned in her maintenance workshop and what she discovered for herself as she tackled maintenance.

The thing is - you have to pay attention in maintenance just as you have in P1.

And you have learned that you respond well to restricting sugar (including the high glycemic foods) and starch - those heavy carb foods. Clearly you cannot eat them with abandon and keep the weight off.

The one thing that IP does not do well but you can do for yourself is to start posting your food intake in MyFitnessPal -- it will help you track your nutrititional data on a regular basis and from that you can figure out what your limits are. Some people can live on a little more than 100 grams of carb and maintain beautifully. I wish I was one of them - after 5 decades of poor eating habits, I am highly insulin resistant.

But do start posting in MFP now so you have the habit when going when you really need it.

hope this is helpful.
cheryl

[jennydoodle]

Originally Posted by oneuh2

The thing is - you have to pay attention in maintenance just as you have in P1.

The one thing that IP does not do well but you can do for yourself is to start posting your food intake in MyFitnessPal -- it will help you track your nutrititional data on a regular basis and from that you can figure out what your limits are. Some people can live on a little more than 100 grams of carb and maintain beautifully. I wish I was one of them - after 5 decades of poor eating habits, I am highly insulin resistant.

For me, paying attention in maintenance is MORE CRITICAL than in P1. When you are on P1 and following the protocol, you know that fluctuations and swings will eventually go in the direction of "down".

In maintenance, it is so important to track things and pay such close attention to your macros and what you are eating to try to understand if foods are affecting you negatively.

Which also highlights your second point of tracking. Track, track, track. You will never notice trends unless you track. 10g of carbs could mean the difference between maintaining and gaining, and until you find your sweet spot / zone, you will never know what is causing any issues. Even if I eat the same thing 2 days in a row, I track it. Every single thing that passes my lips gets tracked. Every . Single. Day. This is the only way I have successfully figured out maintenance.

Start now. Get into the habit.

[beckyjwebb]

Hi,
I'm back after trying restart several times. I lost 38 pounds 4 years ago. I am retiring May1, 2017, so I decided to lose 15 pounds by then. I work in the area where the clinic is, so this is my last chance here.
So excited to be back posting on this site because I think it helps to get advise from all of you.

[oneuh2]

Originally Posted by beckyjwebb

Hi,
I'm back after trying restart several times. I lost 38 pounds 4 years ago. I am retiring May1, 2017, so I decided to lose 15 pounds by then. I work in the area where the clinic is, so this is my last chance here.
So excited to be back posting on this site because I think it helps to get advise from all of you.

Welcome!
Congrats on upcoming retirement! I wish I could do it right now too!

Glad to have you join us!

[tiredoflaziness]

Hi! I am trying to loose the weight that I had gained after losing it as well!
I've been trying to do it on my own without success. Reading your post inspired me! I wanted to ask what is IP? Where do you live? How can I get info on this. Thanks!

[oneuh2]

Originally Posted by tiredoflaziness

Hi! I am trying to loose the weight that I had gained after losing it as well!
I've been trying to do it on my own without success. Reading your post inspired me! I wanted to ask what is IP? Where do you live? How can I get info on this. Thanks!

Welcome!

Our sticky thread in the Ideal Protein sub forum here has loads of info on the program. You can go to an Ideal Protein clinic - they are all over Canada and US. Or you can follow the plan using alternative diet foods (all high protein stuff - drinks, puddings, soups, etc).

Basically this is high Protein, low carb, and relatively low calorie - using the protocol and the protein packets, you don't have to count macros or calories though.

Check it out and then use the newcomer thread to pose Qs and we will try to explain details as needed.

[ARF]

I am back at it and so annoyed I gained. I started strong last April and lost 24 pounds in 3 months. I only had about 14 more to go to hit my goal weight. I got lazy and cocky about the whole thing and started eating anything I wanted. Definitely less than pre-IP, but I didn't follow the protocol. Now, almost a year to the date from when I started, I am up 10. So a total loss of 12 now. Ugh. I want to stop the rise ASAP. I am back at it again. I have about two weeks before a spring break vacation so I need to at least focus the next couple of weeks. Please tell me it is doable!!!!!

[BobbleHead]

I am a restarter, many times over. In 2012 I lost 80 pounds....but with untreated anxiety and other issues I wasn't prepared for my new body. The idea that everything would be fixed at the end was not the case at all. So I gained it back. BUT since then I worked on those issues and I am big again but mentally stronger.

So I am going back to what works. Failure on a diet doesn't mean the diet was the problem. So I strongly disagree with any sort of black/white thinking. We all have issues that got us to where we are. Those could be mental or physical. The important part is figuring out what those are and addressing them.

Failing and learning leads to success. Failing and continuing to repeat the same thing is just going to continue the cycle.

It did take me a long time though to get to a mindset where I could identify where I went wrong.

This time around feels better than the first time. I'm not weighing at my appointments. My focus is on my eating everyday. I already know that if I eat IP food, I lose weight. So why do I need the pressure of a weigh in. A bad one used to derail me. Every week my clothes fit differently, so it's working.

So for anyone restarting, the past is the past and the future is now. Guilt and fear won't help, so let those things go and just focus on how amazing you are for persevering and not giving up on a goal. The fact is, you succeeded as a newbie so you will be even better at this as a veteran

xoxo

[oneuh2]

Welcome back ARF and Bobblehead -- I am a restarter too -- I ate my emotions after my husband passed away. I rationalized that i deserved to eat anything I wanted in my sorrow, but I am SO sorry I could not talk myself off that ledge and eat reasonably. I lost 86 in 2014/15 and I regained all but 10 before I managed to stop the bleeding.

Cannot turn back the hands of time, but I can try to make that mistake in judgment and behavior into a good lesson learned. Down 27 lbs since restart on 1/5/17. Heading back into One-derland in another 6-7 lbs.....

I feel confident that I am back onto a smart path -- glad to have 3FC as a support mechanism along the way.

[MaPetiteChoux]

Another re-starter here. Lost 42 lbs in 2015, and am back up 24 lbs since then. I'm about two weeks into my (millionth) re-boot, but this time I'm finally laser focused like I was the first time around. If I've learned anything, it's that in any phase of dieting or maintaining, focus is everything. I've spent a lot of time wallowing over the injustice of having to practice constant vigilance while I watch my naturally slim friends eat entire calzones and cupcakes "just because", but I finally realized that all that time spent feeling indignant did nothing for my happiness or health, and that while I fretted, the scale kept creeping up. I finally broke out of that cycle of anxiety and frustration and came to terms with the facts: I have to bear the consequences of what I eat. I can choose to be focused, or to be fat. There is nothing in between.

Now that I've adjourned the pity party and got my head on straight again, I'm so very glad to have this community of fellow fighters as a resource. Bravo to all of you who are maintaining or re-starting, or trying to re-start. All we can do is keep after it.