I haven't ran in the past 2 weeks as im busy with work. On MFP I was eating roughly 1200-1300 calories, running 3 miles still never lost a pound. I wasn't always eating my workout calories no. All of my weight goes to my belly. My arms and legs are toned but my belly I feel like I'm carrying a baby most days ( (sticks out!), no not prego!) my water intake has been low......could that be it?

Could be the lack water or what about food sensitivities or gluten? That could make you gain weight.

This is exactly right. Facts > fiction.

It's understandable you would think this because this is what IP teaches but none of this is accurate.

People vary in how insulin sensitive they are but everyone becomes more insulin sensitive when they lose weight regardless of what diet they follow. IP marketing aside the IP diet does not train insulin response. You're eating 700-900 calories a day on phase 1 and that is what limits your insulin response.

Whether one regains or not has everything to do with calories. Separation of carbs and fats is just a rules based method of calorie control. Phase 4 rules are just an easy way to keep caloric intake at a reasonable level.

I am in the same boat..I lost all my weight and didn't finish Phase 3,I have gained a portion back plus some inches. I just started yesterday and I know ignorance is bliss because I am still wrapping my head around starting over.

So sorry to hear this@ But...I so admire your desire to to not give up!

Thank you! So my questions are,I am training for a half marathon and I run 4 days a week,only one long run a week which I need to have some kind of healthy carb.I dont want to gain or stay the same so this is where my issue arises. Also I have been having the Caramel and Vanilla Protein Bar for breakfast and it is not filling me up,a hour later I am starving. I work early so I am up and out by 6:00 am, what do you all eat that is easy does not require a oven( microwave is fine) and fills you up?

I'm also an early riser. I know that there's some rule about eating within so many minutes/hours of waking, but I just can't follow that. If I eat as soon as I get up, I feel like I wake up my stomach and it starts looking for more waaaay before lunch.

I put off having my morning shake until I hit the office at around 8:30 and it makes it much easier to last until lunchtime.

Thank you guys,I feel better knowing its not just me! I love the bars but I agree they trigger that hunger mode and I find myself really looking forward to them in the AM. I tried the strawberry /Banana shake and it is wonderful also.Again,just not filling enough. I think I will bring some veggies to fill in the gaps at work. I have no problem eating a salad or veggies at 10 am any more

I have a cup of tea with an ounce of milk in the morning before leaving the house. I have a long commute between traffic and the preschool dropoff, so I get to my desk around 8:30 and have an RTD shake with a cup of black coffee and a glass of water. It's 1:00 now and I'm just having my lunch without having felt completely ravenous all morning.

Also, I eat a humongous salad (fill a seven-cup pyrex bowl to the brim) every day at lunch and that lasts me through the rest of the afternoon. I save my shake until I'm leaving the office around 4:30 so that I'm not tempted to snack the minute I get through the door at home or sample when I'm cooking.

I don't think this is officially approved protocol but it's working for me.

The need to eat breakfast is a myth*. You don't have to eat within a certain time frame after waking. If you're not hungry till 10, don't eat until then.

*I can go into as much detail as you want on this subject but the idea that breakfast is important to fire up your metabolism is false.

JohnP, quick question - what about eating after exercise? Is it also a myth that we should eat immediately after rather than later in the day?

For example, if I run in the mornings and not eat till say, evening (except maybe a protein bar after the run), would this be bad for metabolism? Or it doesn't make a difference?

Sorry, OP, also hijacking your thread a bit. But the question is related to breakfast!

JohnP doesn't actually do IP himself, though he comes to visit us often

In terms of Ideal Protein, the diet is so low calorie that if you choose to exercise while in Phase 1, you need to have an extra packet within 1 hour of completing your exercise. This article explains in pretty simple terms the WHY of eating after exercise, just bear in mind that they are speaking to people who eat within a normal calorie range. For the purposes of IP, eating after exercise is necessary because you need to replace those calories that you just burned. For most people it's just because a good snack/meal after exercise aids in recovery at a time when your muscles are receptive to the fuel.

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2009/08/05/ea...n-the-how-why/

Can the extra packet be UNrestricted? An extra Quest bar just might be the dangling carrot to get me on the treadmill!

It SHOULD be unrestricted, so you're in luck! The extra packet replaces the calories you burned, but the recommendation is to still only have ONE restricted product per day, the rest (whether it's 3 or more) unrestricted

Did you mean restricted? I count quest bars as restricted

Scorbett is right, extra packs should be unrestricted.