You have gotten some great replies here and I feel the same way as most of the posters. While I have said I love this diet and I do, what I mean is the package food isn't bad at all, I love how the weight is coming off and I just find this diet so much easier then all of the other diets I have been on. Yes, I would kill for a pizza and a Starbucks latte (the two things I miss the most). However I am on week five with no intention of cheating till I have lost all of my weight and I don't think I ever felt this way before on any diet, and there have been lots of them. When I started this 5 weeks ago I was fully committed to giving up a year of my life to change my body once and for all, and on this plan I know that is a possibility. Is it easy? Of course not, but so worth it because I found a plan that got rid of my cravings for carbs, gives my pancreas a much needed rest and basically just gives me more energy than I have had in a long time.

Bottom line is I think how you feel is very normal. BTW read the book Why We Get Fat, and What to do About it and you will see that fruit is not all that it's cracked up to be, especially if you want to lose weight.

When I first started the diet and looked at the list of what I could eat, I almost didn't start because I thought there would be no way I could survive mentally with so many restrictions.

I also sought out recipes and hints (the Daily Thread has an amazing list of threads for recipes and "packet hacks") to cure the monotany.

But I made a goal to be as creative as possible working within the limitations and have been sharing recipes and pix with other dieters so they can see real photos of what they could be eating.

http://www.facebook.com/idealproteinlohja

I can truly say that I don't think I have ever eaten better in my entire life. And my body is responding and healing as well as losing weight.

The other thing which greatly helped me has been awesome coaches (they are a husband and wife team). They explain the science (WHY it works and what the consequences of cheating do to the science...making it easier to mentally understand why "one taste" can mess things up rather than just being scared of not following rules because they are rules.) Overcoming the mental hurdle is the greatest obstacle and feeling that I want to eat what I'm eating vs obsessing about what I cannot have. (Thats where the recipes come in... if you can re-create the taste memory of the foods you miss, it help keep the demons at bay.)

Lastly, I find most people who LOVE the diet are loving it because it just works. Never have I ever been on a diet which lost weight so quickly and left me feeling so good about myself and my choices. Because I do make an effort to cook (or prepare food to take with me), I feel in charge of my choices and feel like I am eating like a king (while still seeing an enormous drop in the portions I need to feel full.)

Hope that helps and good luck. Not everyone needs to be an Ideal Protein missionary, but I really believe that suffering is optional.

Thank you, all of you. Honesty i am touched by the support and very impressed with how all of you articulate your thoughts. I feel stronger and more hopeful because of you and its good to be reminded that although i dont "love" this diet, l do " love" how it is making me healthy!!

See you are not alone, we are all in this together, we stick by each other and help one another get through our rough "feelings"