alwe74 -- you must be SO proud and excited! Halfway to goal! It will be another 8# before I am halfway! (Newbies -- Alwe74 started this forum...and I am SO glad she did).

MaggieLA - there was a site posted earlier in this forum by the Dr. that invented IP....I remember looking at it, and it basically showed what they add after Phase I, Phase II, etc. I do remember thinking that by the time you are at the "end" - you have most of your foods back (i.e., fruits, grains, dairy)...so I assume they will teach you how to integrate these back in the diet. I was told you go on Phase II, once you lose 90% of your weight. I think Valkyrie is about to enter Phase II....she just lost 100# (since February!!).

Most of us on IP are fairly new.....within the last 4-6 months....so we are probably all learning together. I have been on IP for almost 5 weeks...and I still have so much to learn. I was never a big veggie or salad eater so that is always a challenge for me.

I struggle with lunch also....probably because I eat a late breakfast. Just too nauseated when I get up to consider breakfast. I just haven't been able to eat a salad for lunch yet. I usually cut up veggies and then have a pudding or shake around 3pm. I also have restricted every day, and am sure that is slowing my weight loss. Trying to learn how to do without them. The lunch that Spatime posted sounds really good...and I might add chicken to it for my dinner.

A few things I would suggest would be, a)go back thru old posts because a lot of your questions will be answered (there are recipes and food ideas there) and b)Go to Netrition.com website. Go under Walden Farms....and read the reviews. I have gotten a lot of ideas from there....plus it also reviews whether people like or dislike certain items (thus,saving you money...).

Two really good ideas I have gotten from forum is a)pour WF Honey Dijon dressing over veggies, b)Freeze the premix Vanilla shake for 30 min, stir, and freeze again for 30 min. Kinda tastes like ice cream. I also add a tad of Torani syrups to the vanilla puddings for variety (don't know if that is legal or not). Sunkissed or Babygene????

I just ordered the French Onion dip from Netrition.com, hoping to dunk my veggies in it. It had fairly good reviews. I have also used WF thousand island dressing to dunk veggies in (kinda runny, tho). I DO use the BBQ sauce a lot. Others have been told they can only use the dressings....so again, don't know if it is legal or not. Still haven't come up with a good tarter sauce. Tried the WF mayo (yuk)...then tried WF coleslaw dressing (better). I think - since I have to use dill relish instead of sweet relish - I may NEVER come up with a good one.

Great info, thank you!

thanks for the replies. I'll have to go back on the older posts and read and re-read them.
Recipe ideas would be great.
Just started today and am excited!!

Let's see if I have this ticker thing right.....do I have to go thru the WHOLE thing each time I want to change it??

(PS: If it doesn't show up, I give up!!)

Found a new taste treat - I put bunch of cinnamon (>1/2 sp) in my vanilla pudding before shaking it and had cinnamon pudding! Yum! Unfortunately I am cheating today. Had some chips, a few sips of rum... a bite or two of ice cream, some jelly beans. What is wrong with me??? the first two weeks were sooo easy. I am at 3 & 1/2 wks and down 14 lbs. you would think that would carry me over. Does menopause cause PMS symptoms? Carb cravings, etc??

Torchlaker- I think the link below will help you with the ticker thing. It explains what to do to add them to your signature.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/anno...signature.html
My ticker is a 3FC ticker so when I change mine I go into User CP and change signature. Then somewhere on the code for the ticker it has your beginning weight/current weight/goal weight. I just change the current weight in the code. This seems to work so that I don't have to keep doing a new ticker every time. I haven't tried this on ticker from other sights so I don't know if it works for them or not.

Thanks to everybody for their support. You don't know how much your encouragement and positive comments have helped me!

Hi,
I just heard about this diet today and was wondering if anyone knows a doctor in greensboro offering this diet?

I just thought I would post my results (Friday's are my weigh/measure days)...

I have lost 7 3/4" overrall in 4 weeks! I have lost over 30lbs in 4 weeks! I have not weighed this week because I hurt my back during last weekends purge of the garage (while I was sick).

We are also in the process of moving near work (5 mins) so I will be out of touch!

WELCOME to all the newbies, and grats to Alwe on meeting your half way goal! Grats to everyone else as I know you are also on target for losing. Those who just started it will get easier!

Way to go Goddess!!! 30 lbs. in 4 weeks...that's incredible!

Today was a rough day. I just could not get the food down. I did my protein stuff and most of the water. I also ate one of the bars and it was yummy!! I thought I had returned all the restricted packets but found this in the bottom of the box. I could eat these all day!! Also I am sooo proud of myself. One of my daughters flew into visit her dad and she is an oraganic and healthy cook.She made white and brown chocolate brownies from scratch and stuffed pasta shells. She left today and I packaged everything up and froze it! My hubby eats very little because of the cancer and I have to vary his food to get him to eat. Before this diet, I would have eaten everything up!! No leftovers!!! She is reading Michael Pollon's book and after talking to her Lots of food for thought in his book. First weigh is Monday at 1 !!!

GREAT JOB!!!! half way thats great!! keep it up

I have decided that I will start walking tomorrow. Today is rainy. I can only be out of the house in about 15 minute increments because of my hubby's illness--but my 9 month old Maltese is a butterball too--so I figure we will walk 3 times a day. I love to walk and since I have not in months, the short walks will get me back into practice. I had leek soup for breakfast!!! I wanted something hot and I love soup--it was great! I sure miss my big cups of LA coffee and milk--to me that is the hardest part of the day. I think I read where I can have hot tea. I love green tea and had 3 cups yesterday--I need to look at old posts to see if that is ok. I used Splenda in my tea.I filled out my request sheet this morning and will try some of the things others have mentioned. Lunch is still the hardest for me. But , I am determined!

GoddessTT - 30# in a month...that is twice what I lost...hang in there. I know this is a rough weekend for you...you are doing great (and look at all the obstacles you had to overcome in just the past 2 weeks).

Maggie LA: Boy, that is determination. The walks will probably help relax you too and clear your mind a bit. You have a lot on your plate. I bought "10-minute Dance Solutions" in case I thought I had 10 extra minutes. So far, I have just taken the plastic wrapping off (does that count??). Whew...if it does...no wonder I am so tired.

I have been struggling getting in my water...don't know why. I KNOW I have a book around called something like "Your Body's Many Cries for Water", but can't find it (an old book).

"Things" are finally "moving" today....yay! I hope this means the end of my problems!

Hi all! First off, I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences here. This thread is what inspired me to start Ideal Protein. Had my first weigh in last week and lost 10 lbs! I don't expect that much again this week, but what a great feeling!

Sounds like depending on your nutritionist/doctor/etc instructions might vary a bit. I was just going to note that we were told we could also use the Wishbone Salad Spritzers for dressing. All things in moderation of course. I have the Italian Vinaigrette, and 10 sprays equals 10 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 1 carb. I use 2 sprays max, so figure I should be safe. =)

I'm not a huge fan of the WF dressings...prefer just to chop up some green onion, and sea salt and pepper on my salad for flavor, and skip the dressing altogether. Same for meats, except I cook with garlic and mushrooms as we were told no cooked onions...I'm usually so excited to have "real food" that I don't need any dip to get in the way anyway.

That's my tip of the day. Thanks again for all of yours. Keep losing!

Hello, it is normal to feel yucky after quite a bit of exercise, especially when you're only at day 5. Your body isn't using carbs for fuel now, so it's a change! We recommend to wait 3 weeks, you are correct. If someone absolutely must work out in the beginning, we recommend to take it easy so you don't end up burning muscle, and there is a modified version of this diet for people who are athletes.

As far as lunch goes, just choose one of your IP packets and have 2 cups of the *SELECT veggies, cooked how you like (except fried. Check out your phase 1 sheet if you need to. I found that using very fibrous veggies like broccoli helped to keep me feeling fuller longer. But everyone's different!

Phase 2 is still a weight loss phase, so don't worry about gaining anything, you will continue to lose. When on phase 3, you will introduce complex carbohydrates back into your diet. If you follow this program, you will not gain your weight back. If you go back to bad eating habits everyday, you will gain it back. It has to be a lifestyle change. Phase 4 is a balanced diet. With fruit, veggies, grains and healthy protein. And also some junk food SOMETIMES.

GREAT idea, write down all of your questions and ask your coach!