Excellent points I hadn't thought of. A good coach can make a big impact on the value equation.

What you decribe with Atkins is certainly possible but most people don't follow atkins correctly. You're supposed to continue reducing carbs if you don't lose weight which ultimately reduces your food options to the point where it becomes extremely difficult to not lose weight. Having said that I do agree with your unspoken point that many people, especially those with a lot to lose, will just give up in the face of slow weight loss because they figure it just isn't worth it.

IP worked for me. Johns right that you can lose weight on any diet IF you follow it. The problem is with emotional eaters, it's really difficult to stick with any plan.

I've tried WW, Atkins, LA Weight loss, Seattle Sutton, counting calories, working out, and diet supplements but IP is the only one that I could actually stick to. All the others I would cheat on and end up binging on all the stuff I missed. Then I would start the diet again and make viturally no progress because I would cheat again.

I'm on week 13 and haven't so much as had a bite of anything that wasn't allowed.

The program is expensive, but was worth the expense to me initially. I switched to alternatives after the 2nd week because of paycuts at work, and I'm still losing 2-4 lbs a week.

I think this is an important point. For those of us who are emotional eaters, who eat all those carbs/sugars, a lot of diets don't do what IP does, which takes away those cravings, by limiting what you eat, and forcing you to eat so many veggies, and changing what your taste buds like.

I'm amazed by this, and even during stressful times, I'm not reaching for the sugar products/carbs. And it's only 2 months in. And the weight loss can be very fast too (especially if you weigh more).

I find this diet very easy to follow, and unlike other diets, I don't want to cheat. I'm using alternatives, and I've used this site as my coach. It would have been better to have a coach at first, but as money is tight for me, I did it this way.

I think one negative is for me is that there's not a vegetarian option that's clearly spelled out. I struggle finding veggie proteins that are good. I miss the beans and nuts, but those aren't allowed. Once I go into maintenance, I'll incorporate those back in though.

My coach is not a medical person, so there is no benefit from this (doesn't take blood pressure, etc). She just weighs and measures and provides food and accountability.

The quick loss you see following ip is motivating. This encourages people to stick with it.

I did the first few weeks of an ip diet on my own using whey protein. I had excellent results. I only went to the clinic to increase the variety of protein options available and because I have known the coach for a long time and felt if I was going to recommend ip to others I should check out the service! She is great, and I liked the continued ability to weigh in etc.

Actually, you have that backwards. With Atkins you start with less than 20 gr carb for induction...and go up from there.
I didn't want to post that in this thread because its so off topic, but I couldn't let that go unchecked as I see a lot of us heading to the LC bandwagon to be able to maintain our weight losses. (Myself included) I have a LC background and its serving me well on IP. You already know about ketosis etc. you know how having a cheat can effect the science of this diet etc.

With that said, I agree with someone who said "how do you put a price tag on your health?" And yes, any diet will supposedly work if you follow it, but YOU have to be ready to do it. Good luck

I'm just starting week 4 and the results have been really fast. I made my decision based on the spectacular results of a woman I met in passing. I then searched the internet for reviews and spent a great deal of time on this particular site and over and over everyone had great success and positive things to say. As others have said, this is actually saving me money because I don't eat out and Starbucks misses me and my $$ tremendously I am really bad at planning multiple meals and eating healthy on the go. I'm also not fond of veggies nor am I a very experienced cook. I absolutely love that most of my eating is already figured out for me. I'm only on the hook for figuring out 6- 8 oz a day of protein and 4 cups total of veggies. The items I'm responsible for do take some planning but I'm finally moving beyond celery and cucumbers and chicken stir fry and kabobs. My hope is that by learning to make actual food for only one meal per day or divvying it up to better suit my hunger levels, I believe will help me once I'm done with this program. Every time I try a veggie recipe that I think will be the grossest thing on the planet, I'm proud of myself and I have yet to actually make something that I didn't like. Also, my family is starting to lose weight as well because I've asked them to not bring junk food around me, I never buy junk food, we eat out very infrequently and actually sit down for dinner as a family many times per week (we used to do the whole fend for yourself PB&J or cereal most nights). My oldest daughter is now going to join as well and although I cringe at paying the cost for 2 people I feel good health and confidence is SO worth it. The one thing that I struggle with it not being able to run or lift weights. I used to jog or run intervals to relieve stress and we're not supposed to do anything that strenuous. My dog loves that he gets walked really, really fast 2-3 miles everyday LOL. Long winded response but this program is easy to follow but it requires a lot of commitment and discipline. Best wishes!

Has anyone had a bloated feeling on the IP diet? I've been on it for two weeks and can't get past this bloated feeling I get, so then I have stopped doing the diet right now to see if it goes away.

I go to boot camps 3x a week and they said that's fine, but I might have to increase my protein...eat an extra bar etc..good luck to you and your family!

You definitely want to add a packet/product when you exercise - this diet has us eating about 600-900 calories per day, not enough to give your muscles fuel to recover from exercise if you don't add more food. You should be having an extra packet within 1/2 hour of finishing exercise - and if your boot camp is moderate to intense, you may also have to add 1/2 bar about an hour before to give your body some carbs to burn.

My coach told me that it was a 1200 calorie diet. Daily burn is 2600, leaving 1400 to burn. But according to my BodyMedia Fit, I'm not even hitting 2600 now that I am no longer working out.

Phase 1 of IP is about 600-900 calories if you are having 3-4 packets plus the 8oz protein and 4 cups of veggies. I've tracked on myfitnesspal.com just to get in the habit for when I move into the later phases.

Thank you. I was trying to look that up. Is there a PDF of the newest Phase 1 food guide dated later than 3/20/12?

And I am a bit bummed today. I was up 2/10 of a pound. At this rate, I will gain 36 pounds in 6 months. I do not want the scale going up. I am meticulous about weighing everything. I have not messed up. I do have a cold now though. And I was just put on meds for low thyroid and adrenal fatigue.

I just started Ideal Protein last week and I admit I am a bit nervous but I found this forum and knowing that I am not in this alone is very reassuring. All the great success stories are keeping me motivated! THANKS!