You did SUPER!!! That had to have been tough. Good job!!
Have you tried the Morning Star Bacon? It is vegetarian and would be allowed on the IP program. It was recommended to me because I am a vegetarian.

Evening all. Just took some milk chocolate pudding cakes out of the oven for my snack tonight. Hubby is firing up the grill for some steak dinners!!

Welcome newbies! IP is a great idea, you must be very smart.

My husband travels for work and is only home weekends. When he got home today he said he could totally see a difference in my legs! Said thighs were much smaller, and I didn't even ask! What a good man.

I am prepping for my sister's b-day party Sunday. Tomorrow I am baking her cake and making the caramel/cream cheese dip she requested. Most of the meal is off plan, so I will just be eating a plain burger with pickles and a wedge of lettuce. There will be other birthdays for me to enjoy cake and such.

Monday we are grilling for the 4th of July. I'm not too worried about it anymore since everyone knows I am on the plan. I do have errant daydreams about various foods from time to time, but I'm finding my will power is still strong. I keep telling myself I'm a third of the way there. Next mini-goal is 180.

You are doing so well. I hope you and your family have a lovely 4th of July weekend.

Good to hear all the positivity today! I too am going to stay 100% OP this weekend. I've already got my plan in place for tomorrow. We are having friends over for swimming and grilling and I am in charge of the menu. So everyone will be eating steak and salad. I will also have some off plan sides for everyone else, but the bulk of the meal is OP. Sunday and Monday will most likely be beach days, so it is easy for me to pack my cooler.

So I finally weighed in today and ended up losing 1#. Not great, especially for 9 days, but at least it wasn't a gain. I am working a new theory. Before I started IP, I was working out 5-6x per week, this has been going on for at least 5 years. The 1st 3 weeks on IP, I kept up my workout schedule, just scaled back to accommodate for lack of energy. And off 3 of those weeks I had great to good losses. Which brings me to the past 9 days (my weeks are Wed-Tues, with WI on Wed.). In the beginning of this time frame I worked out 3x (Wed, Fri, Sat) Then I traveled on Mon & Tues and did not work out from Sat. morning until Wed. evening. Which is essentially 4 days. In that time I went from 159.2 (Sun. am) to 161.4 (Wed. am). Come Wed. I was back on my schedule and worked out both Wed. & Thurs. night. This morning I weighed in at 159. I had WI today because of scheduling conflicts w/ my coach.

So my theory is, since my body was used to working out before IP, I think I see better losses with working out vs. not on IP. Do you think this is possible? I know that the 1 pound over the course of 9 days is not a very good average, but I traveled and didn't work out like I normally do. Could it be the reason for the low loss? I know not every week is the 3-7 pounds IP advertises, but I would definitely be happy with 2# each week. I am anxious for my next WI because my workout routine is back on schedule, so I would like to see if this theory is working.

Also, peppermint and chocolate is my favorite food combination, ever. So I thought I would try to chocolate pudding cakes with peppermint extract for a chocolate mint cake. If anyone is interested in giving this a whirl, please learn from mistake! I used 1/2t vanilla and 1/2t peppermint extract. TOO MUCH! I am going to try these tomorrow and do 7/8t vanilla and 1/8t peppermint. I actually had to throw away my beloved pudding cakes. They were just to inedible.

This is one diet that cardio exercise will not help. It can actually impede fat loss and cause muscle loss. I only believed until I read the science on protein sparing modified fast (PSMF) diets and exercise.

I did notice a natural small loss every month, probably due to female hormones and our cycle. The good news is, the next week was almost always a big loss.

Welcome to the forum and IP - I too am a guy who posts. This is a supportive group and that helps from time to time.

Great start to the plan, 5 lbs in 5 days - that is motivation to stay OP and watch the lbs and inches disappear.

BTW: if you get lost in the TLA's (three letter acronyms), there is a good list of them in the forum FAQ that is a sticky on the front page.

Anyway - welcome and good luck!

Just a quick update before trying to get some rest.

27th day OP and had my third official WI today. 17 lbs down and an overall two point drop in visceral fat - which my coach says is a good sign. The numbers are going the right direction. My unofficial numbers are a little better but they are, well, unofficial.

Also I survived the first of the Holiday Weekend meals and stayed OP. Passed up the smoked sausages, the bacon wrapped, brown sugared Little Smokey's and a good cold beer. The salad and steamed broccoli were great along with a nice club soda and lime - followed by a chocolate malt protein shake - good stuff actually. I think I will make it through the weekend just fine.

The best part of course is having our grandchildren here - what fun!

Have a good weekend all

Goooooood early morning..
Well...time is something hey? Im a sitting duck...I finally got one order in from New Lifestyles for my rtd shakes(someone told me they are like equivelent to IP chocolate drink just in different packaging).. But..i found out my order from nashua cleared canadian customs..and my proteinwell order is finally being processed and my low carb grocery order is finally done..that was a whoooohaww of a time trying to figure out that one.. So now..its just waiting like a friggen duck..for all this stuff to arrive..Im hoping that this is the week that it will..Of course by the time it does...it will be my little girls first birthday..which means cake..but im thinking..im going to go OP 100% and do it regardless cause right now im desperate to change..my body needs to change..or im going to die..thats how bad it is...

So sitting here and waiiting...and i hate waiting...but i will stay on this board..to keep up with everyone so that i dont lose hope and i stay encouraged and motivated..

Hope you all have a good day..

Hi. i just realized that we started within 3 days of each other, and have both lost over 40lbs... Congratulations! I agree that I wish I had found this earlier...

Here's to losing 50!! We can do it!

Thank you Yes it does! I have tons of oversized purses that will work perfect.. I didn't think of coffee thats a great idea because they already booked a hall for the after party LOL so I def will need something to keep me up!

I am glad I kept working out. I can finally see those muscles I knew were under the fat! Hello abs!

My coach says the jello and the pom drink are free. They do not have enough absorbable protein to count as a packet. They do have collagen, which supposedly helps with loose skin. And she recommends taking vitamin c with them to help with that.

Nsv today!

I am wearing a pair of shorts from the gap in size 4!!! 4!!!

And they are loose!!!

In march when I started ip I was almost in a 12....

Happy dance!!!

Some people have talked about miracle noodles...but it is not on the Ideal protein list..as long as you guys know that...
and My doctor told me if its not on the list don't eat it...
Just wanted to throw that in...Happy 4th....