Good afternoon everyone, I did Ideal Protein a few years back. It just costs so much but it did work. So here I am bigger than I have ever been and wanting to start it again with alternative products. Please help on where I should look on here and what works, what tastes good. I need to lose some weight fast as my class reunion is in June and I probably will not go unless I loose some weight. I have also considered joining weight watchers if I didn't try this, any thoughts on that? Thanks!

You can do this with alternatives for sure if you follow protocol. Check out the alternatives threads for products and tips. There is an IP Alternatives group on Facebook with lots of files listing products that are good choices that you can get from Nashua Nutrition and other online sources. GNC has Quest protein powders and chips at good prices. You CAN do it!

Check in here and let us know how you are doing!

I am going to bump the thread on "When I lose weight I will..." - lots of good thoughts by IPeeps on why they are on the weight loss journey.
Your description of numbing the effects of life with food is SO true for so many of us. It's definitely there for me. I eat my emotions. I eat to procrastinate and avoid things I need to do. I eat to fill boredom. All of these reasons lead me to very poor food choices and lead to fat. It is a struggle to replace those habits.

You might find writing in a journal to be helpful. For sure it is useful to track your eating and learn to watch your macros - carbs vs fat and protein and sugar. I use My Fitness Pal app. Spark people is another good choice - your own blog page there too.

Hang in. You can do this!

Rprbabe, I tried weight watchers after baby no. 2 and didn't lose more than a kilo or two as I continually included 'bad' food in my points! I need to be low carb to lose weight I've found, IP has been brilliant for me.

Brave, my 'why' is because I use food to feel better. I lost all my baby weight and then some after my third and felt amazing, got pregnant with no. 4 and was fit and healthy all the way through until he was a few weeks old and I tore the tendons in my knee. From there I ate and ate as I was quite depressed I was gaining weight again (I'd become a runner to maintain my loss) so the cycle started again. I fight the urge sometimes multiple times a day to indulge in 'bad' foods because I'm tired/stressed/low/overwhelmed etc

good to hear from you! I am sorry you are continuing to fight the cravings -- how is your progress this week overall?

Thanks for thinking of me Oneuh. Feeling pretty good as the children are all on the mend and we seem to be at the end of the sickness bug they all had. Husband is home this week too so that helps. Desperately need to catch up on sleep though! My measurements have dropped nicely and I must say I was absolutely thrilled to discover my bust & hip measurement are nearly the same with my waist smaller so I'm getting my hourglass back

Hi rprbabe! I'm on IP, doing a reboot on Phase 1, and I use alternatives from Nashua. It's much less expensive and the products are just fine.
Some are exactly the same, such as the Proti-Thin RTD Anytime Drinks (I have a chocolate one every morning) and the Proti-Thin Chocolate Soy Snacks.

Others you'll need to look at the calories and calories from fat.
I like the Health Smart Soups and some Proti-Thin soups. There are some bars in various brands that I like and others that I do not. You can buy boxes of assorted flavors in bars and soups and then see what you like.

There are Alternative Threads here on 3FC as well as on FB.

For a small feee (and well worth it) you can be a Lifetime Member of Nashua Nutrition and always get 10% off of your order. They have weekly sales and every so often have free shipping for orders over $49. If you purchase what is on sale for that week and get lucky on a free shipping day, you can get a very good deal!

Best of luck!

Good morning! To echo what Joysh said, I freeze the Proti-thin chocolate drinks and have one almost every night. You thaw it about an hour before you want to eat it and it is really delicious. The Quest chips are also a good alternative. Since I am a chip person I like all the flavors. These can also be purchased on Nashua. If you go on the Nashua website you can look at all the different brands and the nutrition to see what matches up with the IP nutrition.

Congrats on the hourglass thing -- I know that is BIG deal - clothing fits and hang so much better when you have a waist.

rprbabe - I have recently discovered blueberry muffin Qquest bars and I cut and bake them in the oven... these are a real go to for my sweet tooth and my desire for something that seems bread or cookie like in texture.

We can't do all the Quest bar flavors because they are too high in fat and sugars, but these blueberry muffin bars are very good as a substitute for a restricted.

It's Friday woohoo! I know some people struggle more on the weekend but I seem to be the opposite. My biggest boy plays soccer this afternoon so I am looking forward to going to that & then get into 'weekend relax mode'.

I had a restricted bar this morning for breakfast due to chaos of getting kids into car etc and thinking perhaps I might see some change in my loss this week if I have it (who knows, can only try!) as I generally don't ever have the restricteds because I tend to have the orange drink, dark cocoa pudding mix and quest chips as my daily packets as I really like them. Anyway will see what the scale tells me on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone

Hi! Yesterday I had the blueberry muffin bar cut up and baked and it was really yummy. I've done it with the lemon cream bar also but I think these are better. I used to love doing this with the Double Chocolate but since we can't have that one anymore at least there are a couple that taste good.

Just started ideal protein yesterday! I got married last May weighing in at 115 pounds and have since seen my weight spike to 143. None of my clothes fit - includes the gown I bought for my sisters wedding in 3 months. And I mean that it is not even close to zipping up.
I know several people who have had success on the diet so I'm giving it a try. I just feel like I didn't follow it right yesterday even though I feel like I followed the rules. I'm worried that I am going to make little mistakes unintentionally - I made a salad with olive oil, salt, and lemon juice for dressing ... While I checked to make sure those are all allowed I still feel like it can't be right and I made a mistake and I won't actually lose any weight. Does anyone have any advice for following the rules perfectly? It's too expensive to make mistakes and these pounds need to drop like rain if I'm going to fit into my dress by May!

Hi everyone! I'm not really a newcomer...I did IP 4 years ago and lost a ton of weight, but never phased off properly, and regained everything plus an extra 40 pounds, so I'm back I can't figure out how to get my ticker and old weight off of my signature, but it's all good. I'm looking forward to taking control of my weight again, as well as meeting others in the same struggle =)

I'm back from 4 years ago too! I have tried a couple of times to lose the weight using low carb, but it just doesn't do it for me, so I'm back to IP using alternatives. I wish you well on your journey!!

You too Bella!! Same here... I tried other diets but none were as effective as IP had been that first time!