So now im confused..cause this IP is based on low calories and low carbs...BUT Atkins is based on high fat low carb...both diets focus on high percentages of proteins...So how come both of these cause significant weight loss??? Especially when there so different in terms of fat and calorie ratios??

It's not that complicated, really. It's just the math (not always simple math, but math). Ultimately it come down to calorie deficit. Some of us do find that what we eat can affect our metabolism in somewhat different ways, so "a calorie is a calorie" is an oversimplification, but true in the fact that weight loss always is a result of calorie deficit. Finding a way to take in fewer calories than you burn.

Whether a person is on Atkins or IP, or on any other weight loss plan, weight loss is a matter of creating a calorie deficit (that is burning more calories than you take in).

People can lose weight on many different weight loss plans as long as it produces a calorie deficit. You may be able to eat a few more calories on low-carb than say on South Beach or other plans (other people may see no difference at all), but regardless any diet that produces a calorie deficit (no matter how that occurs) will result in weight loss.

I find that I can eat a few more calories on low-carb than on high-carb to lose the same amount of weight. I still could lose weight on a carb-only diet, but I'd have to eat significantly fewer calories, and I'd be much hungrier.

I can eat more volume (from nonstarchy veggies and lower carb fruits) on a low-carb diet that includes fruits and vegetables, which also helps me be less hungry (though even without the veggies, low-carb tends to suppress my appetite).



There are many ways to create the calorie deficit, and it's even possible that different people have different variables affecting the math - but it doesn't change the fact that it's essentially math we're dealing with.

Low-carb may allow me to burn more as well as take in less. Or it might just allow me to take in less. Either way, I'm going to lose weight so long as I burn more than I take in. Getting to the exact math isn't easy, but I don't need exact math, I just need "good enough" math.

SERIOUSLY?? 17 lbs?!!! That's a lot of "material" in there. I definitely weigh myself AFTER I've gone to the bathroom in the mornings, but I had no idea how much was in there. WOW! Thanks for the info

My advise from experience (and I am on alternative shakes as well):

1. Make sure you are getting your dinner protein. Make it light beef, chicken, fish, pork, or even tofu.

2. Make sure you are taking supplements or that your shakes have a good amount of nutrients. Especially potassium. I can't tell you how miserable it was to have low potassium. Very painful. There is no point in anyone dieting to lose weight if they don't make their body healthy in the process by taking vitamins and supplementing the nutrients they need.

3. Drink more water. At the very least 100 oz a day.

4. I would hold off exercise, even light exercise, for a couple of weeks to allow your body time to get used to the huge change you have made in your diet.

5. HIDE THE SCALE! Only weigh once a week! Some people can weigh everyday because they can deal with the fluctuations in their weight. Some people cannot and will get discouraged to see the fluctuation. I weigh every morning, but seeing a gain does not bother me since I know it will go back down the next day. It seems to me that you should not be one of those who weighs every day. At least not until you are in full swing.

I hope this helps and that you will see healthy losses each week. Depending on how your body is reacting and how much you weigh, you may need to tweak things just a bit. I had to add an egg or other protein as a second snack to encourage my body to lose. I am also over 400 pounds, so my body requires more than most. As I lose weight, my body will require less and I can adjust. The most important part of any diet is to listen to your body. The first week of the IP diet is pure ****. But it does get better and it does work, even if you have to tweak it to fit your body.

If you are willing and can afford to, might I suggest trying to go mostly organic? I have never felt better than when the hubs and I starting eating 90 to 95% organic. Our vitamins and supplements are even made from whole sources and not artifical chemicals.

Even in the meats you buy there are growth hormones (comes as no surprise there is an "obesity epidemic" especially in our children). And you know how they say you are what you eat? Well the same holds true for our food. Most beef now is corn-fed. This does not make for healthy cows. And is passed on to us through meat and dairy. Cows have evolved as grass eating creatures. The quality of feed plus the fact it's feed that they have a hard time digesting leads to bacterica, such as e. coli, to develop in their digestive track and can be passed in their feces. This is gross and hard to think about, but most of the beef we eat comes from cows who "live" in containment farms and are literally knee deep in this feces. It has contaminated the soil so that now we are having e. coli scares about vegetables (remember the spinach scare?) when it is an animal bacterica, not a plant one.

Don't even get me started on chickens!

Most fruits and vegetables are grown in nutrient and mineral deficient soil and are soaked in pesticides and other chemicals. This does not make for healthy plants and is also passed on to us.

I don't mean to be all preachy, but as we diet and lose weight, I presume to get healthier, we need to at least be aware of what we are putting in our bodies and how it affects us. We, as a society, are so ready to use chemicals to flavor or sweeten, or even preserve our food without finding out the long term consequences. It no longer suprises me when I find others, like myself, who suffer from pancreas disfunction and insulin resistance when I read the labels of most of the food we eat. A healthy body can lose weight and maintain that loss. We have to get our bodies healthy to that point.

hi i was wondering how much food equals the measurments...after cut up?? any suggestions?

Are you stepping on the scale the same time of day? YOu should be drinking half your weight in ounces of water. I started drinking about 120 or so ounces a day but I am down to about 80 ounces a day now...water makes a difference for me.

Also are you getting your olive oil? Are you weighing and measuring your meat?

Make sure you're drinking WAY more than 64oz. of water per day. I know it isn't always easy, but that will make a big difference in helping with hunger, regulating your bodily functions (keep you from getting constipated), etc. I notice that in the weeks where I get closer to 64oz, I don't lose as much, and I'm way more bloated.



As for the difference in the two, Atkins doesn't monitor the level of fats you intake, and I don't know that you can have veggies on that program? Plus, you don't monitor protein amounts as closely, so the body is more likely to burn muscle, then fat. IP ensures that you retain your muscle mass and burn fat.

Hang in there. Be prepared for events like weddings, barbecues and outings. Nothing feels better than walking out of one of these events and knowing that you stayed OP and didn't let you old cravings get the best of you!

Go read the Atkins thread...they don't lose anywhere near the rate of IP. If you are 100% you will lose 3-5 pounds a week at your size.

Here is 100% what you should be doing:

1. Packet for breakfast (non-restricted around 110 calories, 4 grams fat, 4 carbs) and water and supplements

2. packet for lunch (non-restricted, same nutritional value as above) and water and lettuce and 1 tsp of evoo, and 2 cups of veggies

3. 2 cups of veggies, 6-8 ounces of lean meat, 1 tsp of evoo, and lettuce (if needed..helps with the Big C) and water

4. snack between 7-8 pm (restricted, around 160 calories, 5-9 grams of fat, and 16 carbs)

You could switch breakfast or lunch non-restricted for your snack and vice versa.

You could add an extra non-restricted if you are very hungry.

You need about 125-150 ounces of water a day.

You can use herbs, seasonings (no carbs), apple cider and white vinegar, red hot sauce, tamari, and mustard for flavor


Here is my typical phase one day:

1. omelet with red hot sauce (order from Nashua) at 7am with 36 ounces of water and supplements

2. lettuce, mushrooms, cucumbers, cabbage, evoo, italian seasonings, vinegar and a vanilla shake (buy at Target) with coffee with 36 ounces of water

3. meat (filet, pork tenderloin, chicken , or seafood around 7 ounces) and 2 cups of veggies (eggplant, zuchinni, brocolli, spinach, asparagus are my fav) with 1 tsp of evoo with 20 ounces of water

4. Bar around 7pm (order from Nashua)

Hi Darbs,

Do you use olive oil or salt? I'm on strictly IP products, I just wander if porthardygurl should still be adding them even though she is on alternative products...?
Thanks for doing this, I think a lot of newbies on alternative products will find this useful.

I do use the evoo and salt still.....

I did strictly IP products for the first 5 months.

I still stand by that IP products are the best by far

I only switched because I decided to go way lower (about 30 pounds) than my original goal and I knew that it would take quite a while because I had a ton of planned trips, events, etc. So I turned gears toward intense exercise, alternative products, and slowing down.

I am going until the end of June and then maintenance for the summer and if I return in the fall to lose more....I will go to the clinic.

IP is worth every last dime!!!!

with that said....my daughter and her hubby are dirt poor...really poor and they cannot afford anything else (I send them Nashau because I can't send them IP....because I am paying their other bills half the time too...got to love grown children)

Figgypudding,

You sound like you body was the same as mine! Even though I haven't had it confirmed by any tests, talking with different alternative professionals who have treated me has indicated the same thing with me. I also had the exact same results as you.....I worked out with a trainer for 8 months, 4 days a week, and lost and regained the weight.....and this while changing my eating. I've tried everything out there for over 10 years and even had Herbal Magic reimburse me my money because it didn't work. This is the first diet that's worked for me and I'm so thankful for it.

For everyone, work this diet as it's written, it was written that way for a reason and if you do that, you WILL lose.

Hugs,

Mary

You really need to give the proram a chance.
By cheating and going off the protocol 4 days in, you aren't giving your body time to adjust to ketosis.
By exceeding 30 grams of carbs or having sugar spikes you are kicking your body out of ketosis.
In some people who are sensitive to sugar, aspartame can even kick you out.

The ketosis strips will give you a good idea of your bodies tolerance.

I am super sensitive to sugar. I have read of people who have had a TABLESPOON of ice cream and that causes their body to kick them out of ketosis.

Follow the program.... Drink your water... give it a chance.

Write your goal on your mirror. Write a word of affirmation on your mirror beside it ( use sticky notes, or I use white board markers)

But a picture up of what you look like and why you want to change.

If it is to be... It is up to me..... You are the only one who can make this change. We all can confirm to you, if you stick to it IT WILL WORK!!!!

Yes, and if you have access to ketostix (diabetics should be having these) it is a nice way to check. If I am using mostly alternative products vs IP, or those days that I eat out and I cannot guarantee 100% that the restaurant is honest about their nutritional value - I use them to confirm that i am still in ketosis and even if I don't see the day to day change on the scales, i know I have lost at least 1-2 lb this week (lets just make sure my coach's scale thinks the same!).

DAY 4. You're doing fine. Take a deep breath in (1,2) let it out (1,2,3,4) Do that 4 times. Get a glass of water, sit down. Now, practice how to drink water with a huge grin on your face because that's where you're going. Don't exercise for the first 3 weeks, unless you're an athlete already. Hang in there, steady as she goes.

Darbs - thank you so much for your schedule. It's hard to see it even using the guide they give you at the clinic - this really puts everything into perspective for me. WI #2 tomorrow, fingers crossed.