Six pounds in two weeks is still really great! Don't be down on yourself. It's hard to say if you are doing anything "wrong". If you follow protocol you should be fine. Are you getting all you water, salt and oil in? Are you eating the required packets, protein and veggies? If so, just give it time. TOM can also play a factor. Did you lose any inches?

I've had about 4 weeks in the 16 or so I've been OP where I've lost little to nothing (even a week of gain). It's frustrating, but it's going to happen once in a while. The important thing to know is the plan works if you stick to it.

Thank you Mamacitaof2!
I have been getting pre-marinated beef and chicken (typically chipotle lime) for my protein. And have been boiling greens with salted pork. I wonder if there may be some hidden carbs in the marinade. I will start doing more simple fish and see if that helps. I LOVE the vanilla rice crispy IP food.... LOVE it... But I did notice it has higher carb content than most of the non restricted foods, so maybe I limit that and not have them every day.
My doctor has recommended I do weights 4 days a week focusing on a couple of muscle groups at each workout.
At my weigh in a week ago, I had lost 5 pounds but only one inch (in my arms).
Maybe my body is just stubborn.
Thanks again for the reply!

Ohhhh Annelizaustin.... I love the marinated flavors and in my house salt pork is know as 'streak-a-lean'.... but you have to pretty much let that stuff go if you are going to drop more lbs faster....

The marinades have sugars and probably more fat than you should have to do IP successfully. I do find that the rotisserie chickens from the grocery store (e.g., the ones from Whole Foods, and in my area, Giant Food Stores) work ok - but otherwise, prepare your meats with herbs and use the real salt from IP or sea salt. I find that a grilled steak once a week, some rotiss chicken, and pork roast seared in skillet and then done in the crockpot (with Walden Farms maple syrup and chicken broth, over cut turnips or rutabaga) -- see the thread of IP Friendly Slow Cooker recipes for some recipes. Those all work well for admirable weight loss in the first couple of months on IP.

Try to avoid too much oatmeal and pancake packets - they seem to slow things down somewhat. In my experience, the drink mixes and the RTD's seem to really help with greater losses. You can make them into muffins and cookies -- Ro has provided lots of recipe ideas for those options, and I know that Janeva's cookbook has quite a few variations of those too.

I hope this advice helps you. Read the protocol sheet and follow it as close to the letter as you can regarding food prep, condiments and veggie selections. If you do that you will be AMAZED at how quickly you slim down those first couple of months!!

One more suggestion Annelizaustin -- I cook all my veggies with low sodium chicken broth -- zucchini, yellow squash and cauliflower are my most likely choices when on P1. Or I roast veggies in the oven with a light spray of olive oil, some seasoning salt and I slice elephant garlic to go with it the mixture... this is yummy -- cauliflower, coarse sliced mushrooms, celery, asparagus cut into one inch pieces, coarse chopped onion, and some of those baby sweet peppers (yellow, red and orange that come in a bag... Lil Sweeties, I think) - this mixture with the elephant garlic, onion powder, real salt, and ground pepper is really yummy... roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, stir and roast for 20 mins more. Fabulous, and I could eat it every day.

Anne I agree with what One said. The marinades likely have sugars in them that are affecting your weight loss. Her meal/cooking suggestions are great.

I am a huge crock pot cooker. I'll put something in on low in the morning and it's ready when I get home from work. Just have to steam up some veggies.

I also like to prepare on Sundays for the week. I'll make up my veggies for the week and I'll also make supper meals in advance and freeze them. I'll leave out a few in the fridge if I know I'll need them and freeze the rest. Then if I'm in a bind one night I can just heat it up quick and don't have to worry about cooking anything. It also works great for when the rest of the family wants pizza night.

anne - I also agree with one and mama on the sugar in the marinades - but also, regarding the salted pork...we use it at the holidays in green beans and once cool the fat congeals - that fat is all over your greens as well and isn't protocol.

Anneliz - This is a fantastic idea from oneuh, I roast or grill a lot of my veggies. If you cook more than you need, you can puree these with a bit of chicken broth, and make it into soup for another time. I freeze mine in equivalent 1 cup amounts, then add to some more broth when I want soup. Add herbs, spices, whatever you like. Yummy and quick, and a good way to get veggies in.
(You have to figure out how much cups of the raw vegetables there are, and how many cups of puree, and prorate that)

Y'all are inspiring me - I am going to leave the boards for tonite and go load the crockpot to make bone broth overnight tonight!!!

Tomorrow I will try the pureed veggies - I have some leftovers from tonite's roasting that could make some really good addition to the broth....

Thanks for additional ideas, folks.

and let us know how you are doing Annelizaustin!!!!

smdawheel - Glad to know we'll be in it together. I meet with the clinic on the 22nd, so I'll ask if I get to pick my week 1 foods. I'm not a big smoothie person. I don't like thick drinks. But I will be getting a scale.

I started low carbing today in preparation. I bought a few of the alternative products. Tonight I'm roasting a chicken and doing zoodles with alfredo sauce.

Ok!!!! Thank you all for the replies... And ideas. I can't tell you how helpful they are and so appreciated. I am very interested in the crock pot ideas and will go track those down. I've never been a big fan of veggies so I need to mix things up and try new recipes.
Thank you all!

Being on IP, I have found I like veggies that I would have never tried before. A few of my favorites:

1. Turnips: I use them in place of potatoes when I make a broth based soup. Even DD12 likes them!
2. Zucchini: I like making zapples (zucchini apples) topped with WF Caramel
3. Spinach: I add this to my shake every morning. It's a way for me to get at least 1 cup if not 2 cups of veggies in every day.
4. Pickles: I LOVE pickles. I love pickles so much I put them in my beer (obviously not now since I'm doing IP) They are great for when you have the hangries. Just eat a pickle and you'll feel better! Clausin (in the refrigerated section are the best, IMO).

Thanks everyone for writing their suggestions on food ideas. They have been tremendously helpful and I've bookmarked the page to come back. The pounds have been coming off.... Yay.

Hi, I am new to this forum... new to any fora really! I started IP 13 days ago and I am still trying to get used to things. I have 50 pounds to lose and I am terrified that this will be another flop. I don't cheat, but impeccably after a few weeks of no results I give up. Typical for me is: great first week with good results, little no none the second week, and then I start gaining back on week three and four. Granted, this regimen is so different and scientific that I am betting on it really working for me this time. I would like to share my favorite salad/veggie/anything dressing. I use a lot of vinegar in my dishes. I blend vinegar, parsley, hot peppers, garlic, salt at the highest setting. I love it! Then I add the oil as needed.

Hi everyone! I had my IP consultation today. It went well. I decided to go ahead and sign up since that was ok. I was given a starter pack with 28 items. I haven't laid them all out to see what I have yet. I'll be starting January 11. We did do weight and measurements. The one downside is she doesn't have a fancy scale so I'll likely get one since I'd really like to see my body fat percentage. I've really been amping myself up for this. I'm in the Facebook group too. Oh, I also added on the honey Dijon dressing since I figured I'd eat a lot of salad. I plan to pick up the WF syrup at my grocery store.

I liked the coach's enthusiasm. She was really nice and I saw her devotional tucked away, so I assume she is a Christian too. Plus, we both have a love for leopard print. I think she and I will get along well.

That's awesome! 1-11 as a start day sounds empowering. 111 pretty cool. It took me a while also to go through my bag of goodies. I am at week 2 and I am still exploring the packets. I know that they are expensive, but just like my coach said "if you taste something and you don't like it, throw it away and try something new". After I found a few foods that I liked, those are the ones I purchased in a box when I saw her the second time.