Hi,
I basically have only drinks like the Strawberry Banana drink for my IP foods. I have four eggs, either as an omellete or fried eggs with olive oil. My IP coach said since I am eating 4 eggs, I can have four IP foods, which are the IP drinks. Besides that, I have a huge lettuce, cucumber salad once a day. I do have a tea as well. But I have been doing the same thing everyday. I hope this helps. I am mostly vegetarian, so eggs were my only option that I could eat for my protein source. All the best

Hi Ladies,

I am getting more full each day! My next weight in is tomorrow as Friday is easter and the clinic will be closed. I don't think I will have lost as much but its a day short anyway. Ill report what I lost if I did lose anything. I feel more full each day, I could not finish my dinner yesterday. Today I changed the meal and actually ate a little less of protein and extra veggies like cucumber and mushrooms that are free game.

I am trying to eat as much as I can the required food but especially at dinner it is getting harder.

do any of you cheat at all? Like eat a couple of nuts or even a piece of dark chocolate? What happens if you cheat a little bit?

Hi there! There will always be some people to cheat, be it a little or a lot. Some people insist that they wouldn't be able to maintain a diet unless they allowed themselves some wiggle room, and some insist that they wouldn't be able to maintain a diet unless they were strict with themselves.

While a small cheat here and there probably wouldn't throw you out of ketosis, it could. Every body is different. It could stall your losses and make you unmotivated. Or it could tide you over for the time you're on Ideal Protein. The effect of cheating is entirely up to your body and your motivation.

I recommend you read the post The Real Cost of Cheating for some perspective.

Personally, I can't cheat. I did IP two years ago and allowed myself some cheats, and it destroyed my motivation. This time around I know myself better, and I'm in it to win it.

My coach suggests that if you feel hungry to eat an extra ip product, if you crave chocolate eat one of the restricted products or an extra chocolate pudim or chocolate chip pancake mix. I followed this advice once when I was so hungry I couldnt stand it during the first week and it did not effect the weight loss.

Hopefully it helps.

Hi Gals,

I had my weight in today, so basically it was only 5 days after my week date but because tomorrow is Easter holiday she called me in to record my weigh. Surprise! In 13 days I lost 9.4lb! I am extremely happy!

Also, the hunger is sooooo mild, having breakfast a little later in the morning is helping a lot and I am not thinking much of food at all! I bought lots of chocolate pudim and double chocolate brownie to prepare myself for Easter, while my husband has his real chocolate I can have my ip chocolate and feel part of the fun!

How are you girls doing? Hopefully everything is going well and you are all prepared for Easter with no suffering!! I think buying low carbs chocolate will be in order even after the diet! When I move to maintenance (keep dreaming !! hehe) I will buy some of the ones that are reduced carbs.

Anyway, happy dieting and no cheating during Easter!! You can do it!!!

ImaShark I am a fan! Grrrrrreat answer.

vpohani- For me I always ran any possible adjustments past my coach. My coach (which was at a doctor's office) was very flexible, but also a staunch believer in not upsetting the pancreas apple cart so to speak - not eating anything that would cause it to produce insulin. For me an my personal health situation, that was important. So my adjustments only every involved extra IP packets (or subtraction to jumpstart), and occasionally adding or subtracting 1tsp oil or 1/2 oz cheese.
I definitely had a special relationship with the IP chocolate bars and often ate one piece of it at dinner, and they knew this, and were fine with it. It helped me get through the year It was also nice to save the bar or restricted food when I had friends over, like for date nights it was nice if he was eating chocolate that I could have my little treat also.

The coach said the worst thing I could do was introduce sugar or alcohol, so I didn't. I have heard people who manage to do this (add something) from time to time and bounce back - but I have heard it is a challenge for them, and often will lead to an "overdoing it” response or just quitting….

lol dickinsp we just posted almost the same response
Great minds think alike

Cheating can be a slippery slope unless you are very strong-willed and can rein it in and go back to compliance. Tiny cheats won't kill you if they are rare, but when you start having them every single day - you're asking to slow or stall your loss.

Best advice - stick with the protocol until you see your weight loss pattern and understand how changes to the daily macros (carbs, fats, protein, fiber) affect you before you begin attempting to weave cheats in.

Tofu and veggie burgers are also allowed, and give you a break from eggs. If you have a local sprouts take a look at some of their offerings in the vegan section and you may be surprised.

If eating 8 raw oz of cooked protein is too much for one sitting, split it between lunch and dinner. The chicken, mushroom and noodle soup packets are really nice with some real meat thrown in and it helps you get all your required protein in.

Some days I will put some of my dinner protein aside and have it as a pre-bedtime snack if I have my supper too early.

does anybody know if we can use TVP (textured veggie protein)? I really like it and it can substitute ground beef. I noticed the veggie chilli thats what they used, are we allowed to have 8oz of tvp? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textured_vegetable_protein

I asked my coach but she did not know, she was going to ask. If one can use it is a good choice for vegetarians.

Tried it! Delicious!! I actually like it better. The spinach seems to take some of the "fake" taste from the mango drink. Thanks for the tip =)

I'm sorry you can't get the mango drink...it's pretty delicious once tweaked!

Hi Lattiuss! Well, I can't really speak much to the impeding weight loss since it's only my second week on program but I don't think so. I don't like green peppers (unless they're stuffed or in chili) but !LOVE red, yellow and orange peppers. I think they're all considered bell peppers. But, now that you've mentioned it I will check with my coach tomorrow just to be absolutely sure.

And, I hear you on the cocktail sauce but with some strong flavors it's not too bad. We just bought the frozen medium size in the grocery store. Always good to have them in the freezer for last minute emergency dinners.

Good luck with the experimenting!!

I'm such a dork. I thought that by replying to Eatingless and LuckyDVL from within their message it would note their name...sigh. Sorry guys. I'm going to blame it on needing to get some sleep =)

Hello all! Well, it's day 5 of the diet for me and I'm glad I'm still around! Whenever I get 'blue' I turn to 3FC and everyone is so inspiring that I kick myself in the rear (which is fairly big) and push onward!

I am a recently diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic so I am on an Alternative IP Plan for the intial two weeks. This means I won't have the dramatic initial weight loss that others experiece but, hey, the weight was sooo slow to come off when I dieted on my own that I doubt it'll worse. (For example, it took me about 8 weeks to lose 5 lbs. at the start of the year.) So if I lose 2 lbs. I'll be ahead!

Okay, I'm going to be Debbie Downer for a minute. Truth be told, I am having a hard time eating the packaged food. I heard some people describe it as 'delicious' and one website even said some of the packets were 'gourmet'! SAY WHAT????? I dislike the food so much that I eat it standing, with the tv on, in order to distract me from the horror. Therefore, I am thrilled when others say how they tweak the packets to make them better. Any tricks you mentioned are noted by me! So please share your experiences! Okay, I'll put a sock in my mouth and stop the Debbie Downer comments now...

On a positive note, I am happy to be so committed to losing weight! Ideal Protein is so unique and uses a totally different approach to dieting. My old dieting methods were not working and I am thankful my doctor told me about IP! And I am very thankful to have found 3FC--my support group!

--Susie