LUCCILOVE - Have you considered shifting to phase 2 while you are traveling? You could eat out two meals a day and stay in ketosis. Your total calories would be higher but at least you would still be loosing and could enjoy more meals out with your family.

Wahoofan-great idea. never thought about that. I will ask my coach on Monday. Where are you from in Boston? Just curious.

Thanks

Thanks for all the kind words! Guess I'm feeling a bit worn down. I will be back to my normal crazy self soon!

Congrats on the jeans jig! That always feels good!

I started IP for the first time on November 4 but I really like all the info, support, and advice in this October group; do y'all mind if I join in? Here's some background on me - I'm a 36 year old wife, mom, and IT professional, and I'm desperate to get rid of the baby weight and the additional 20 lbs I've been trying to lose for 7 years. I had my first baby 4 1/2 months ago and am 15 lbs from my prepreg weight, and 35 from goal. So far I'm loving Ideal Protein but am confused about a few things. I go to a weight loss center that offers several programs and is backed by an MD's clinic but is staffed by a nurse practitioner and a couple of dietician/nutrition-type ladies. I went once for my consultation and sign-up, and got the beginner's box of IP products. I had a long meeting with the practitioner and she gave me a lot of info and literature, but after reading on this site and others, I am learning about restricted/non-restricted products, the importance of the oil serving every day, and that avoiding exercise may actually be a good thing. She did not tell me any of this, only that exercise isn't necessary on the plan. Also, my first box of IP meals did not contain any restricted items I have seen mentioned, so they haven't been an issue but I'm still curious. Anyhoo, from my weight at home Monday morning thru Thursday, I was down 5 lbs (yaaay!). Then on Saturday morning, I was up a lb. And this morning, I was up another lb!!! I have followed the plan perfectly with absolutely NO cheats at all, and no real exercise except walking the dog for 20-30 minutes each night (not real exercise, just strolling). However, I did start taking a penicillin antibiotic due to a wound on my hand, and I also had TOM start on Friday. I know TOM should explain the gain, but since I'm only 4 months out from having a baby and have just recently started taking a new BC pill, my TOM is irregular and I have no idea if I'm really retaining water or not. SOOO, since I've stopped the antibiotic and my TOM is in full swing, I hope this gain will drop off soon. I go back to the center to weigh in and buy more meals tomorrow, so I'm going to ask more questions then. Also, do y'all use Walden Farms products freely? Or are they limited/restricted? The lady didn't tell me about those either... Thanks for reading; I hope it's ok if I participate!!

Miss Kay, Of course you are welcome here.

Check out the website for Weight No Longer (my clinic). Push the place an order button to see the list. Great before and after pictures on the site too. They have all the products listed, if the item is restricted to once a day there is an R next to it. Bars, soy puffs, wafer cookies, chips (except for garlic chips) are all R.

Be careful, IP has an effect on fertility. I hope your coach told you that it can effect bc and to use back up. TOM can make the scale swing. Just follow the program, it works.

Use WF within reason. My coach did not give me any guidelines but moderation is the key.

Be sure to drink your water and to measure portions. Welcome, you can do this!

WOOT! Got my ticker! So motivating!

I joined the IP 20 lbs. by Christmas challenge and had my first weigh in today and was down 4.5! Go me! I'm really feeling like I can achieve 20 by Christmas!

Congratulation!

by week.

That's great.

I joined too. Down 3.8 this week. I am kinda worried about being able to lose that much weight by then. Seems almost impossible to me but, I'm giving it a go.

hahaha awww the little things in life hey? haha So exciting! And if you go to tickerfactory.com you can get different ones but the ones on here are easier to update. Congrats

OK Fellow IP'ers. I am in a rut. Already. Or something is happening. I am not hungry after breakfast. I HAVE to force myself to eat. And everything I eat is so bland and blah that I only end up eating half of it. 2 nights ago I had a 6oz chicken breast and only managed to eat 3oz. Yesterday for lunch I had another Hot Choc. drink (I have one for breakfast every morning) and couldn't eat anything else. About 2 hours later I forced myself to eat 2c Cauliflower but it took me a while to eat it all. Then Last night I had pork tenderloin strips with roasted asparagus/broccoli and ate less then half. I wake up sickly hungry but after I have my drink I don't get hungry anymore. Maybe I need to shake up my food? Maybe my brain/body is bored with the same old foods day in day out?? But I am so picky I don't like many other foods then the ones I eat already. My foods contain: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Cucumber, Dill Pickles, Mt. Olives Bread and Butter Pickles (sugar free), Lettuce, and I only like shell fish (Shrimp, crab, lobster), chicken, pork. I don't like wild or red meat (except ground beef)

I guess my question is why am I not hungry anymore and if its because I'm bored with food, what are some of your favorite meals?

Sorry its so long, But thank you for listening and I'm looking forward to your opinions/recipes.

Thanks Slipfree and Jemma! It feels good to be losing.
Jemma you will be amazed at how quickly you can lose 20 lbs. on this plan.
I was on it in 2012 and lost 20 in less than a month. And to boot I'm hypothyroid and over 50! Sadly I quit the program and gained it back. I would like to lose about 50 total and am determined to see it through this time.

Claustin, Once you are firmly in ketosis you will find that you are not hungry. That began happening for me yesterday. Normally I'm a carbaholic and could eat them all day long. But on this plan once I've been on it for a week or so my appetite subsides. Which for me is a miracle! Check out some of Rainbows recipes she has a lot of good ones. I tend to stick with the same foods a lot too. I eat my veggies raw, lots of peppers, tomatoes, spinach, jicama, cucumber, celery. I make A green monster smoothie in the AM and that gets me at least a cup of spinach in. If you like ground beef or gr. turkey what about making a taco salad? I use romaine for that. Veggies and meat in one happy dish! I'm sure others will have lots of good ideas for you.

I am a "carbaholic" as well. Live on Spaghetti and rice and breads lol Its been hard saying good by to them. But I feel so much healthier when I don't eat them. So much more energy.

I love making "Lettuce Taco's" with my gr. beef. or make lettuce wraps (I put my meat, some mustard, slice cucumber, and slice dill pickle and roll it up) its crunch and feels like Im having a sandwich without the bread lol. But its filling and delicious. I don't like any of the other drink mixes besides the choc. one and I only like that one warm so I don't know how blended spinach would do in a warm hot choc. hahaha I did try the Big Mac in a Bowl the other day and loved it but there is only so much gr. meat and lettuce I can eat. I have looked down thru a lot of her recipes and haven't seen much that entice me. But I'll have to keep looking I guess.

And I did not realize being in Ketosis can affect your hunger?!? neat! I have been showing moderate-large for the past 3-4 mornings. But this past spring when I did this diet I was always in Ketosis for the whole 5 weeks and didn't experience this "not hungry" feeling. I even opened a pack of S&V Ridges to see if I could eat them and I had 1-2 pieces and had to put them back. Its weird. I'm not complaining but I am worried that my body will go into starvation mode and stop loosing weight.

Wow, I wish I could say I wasn't hungry like you! I still get really hungry, especially around 3-4pm. Do you like Franks Red Hot Sauce? I make lettuce wraps with ground chicken, green peppers, hot sauce, and a bit of WF Ranch dressing. They are really good! Have you tried mashed cauliflower yet? I have been making it in my Magic Bullet and it is so good. Really creamy and good to dip your meat in. I love Indian food and made a huge batch of aloo ghobi (minus the aloo - potatoes and onions) and it is soo tastey with all the lovely spices. Let me know if you want the recipe! I am trying all sorts of veggie recipes because I can really get burnt out with eating the same things every day.