I replied on the Alts thread, but I'll repost it here as it may be easier for you to find:-

If you had reached ketosis in week 1 you would've lost glycogen store weight at a minimum (4-6lbs). It indicates that you are not there yet. Just because most of us get there within 4-5 days doesn't mean that everyone will.

If you want to post examples of your daily eating plan we can go over it and see if there is a reason. Include any non-water drinks, sweetener packets, gum/mints, water additives and choices of vegetables, any spices and anything that isn't listed on the P1 sheet. If you are being faithful to the protocol (even with alts) and aren't in ketosis then you may be insulin resistant and your body is fighting you all the way.

Don't give up yet.

Sorry, another novel.

Thanks for the encouraging words! As I'd hoped, the spirit of rebellion has passed. No more viva la burrito/breadbowl, more viva la jicama. (Butchering multiple languages, there, I know.)

Side note: Harris Teeter WAXES their jicamas. That is so weird.

For my own sanity, I think I am going to put an end date (instead of an end weight) on this run of IP, and then I will transition to low-carb (maybe not full-on ketosis, because I love orange vegetables, berries, and spaghetti squash, plus the occasional steel-cut oatmeal, but perhaps more in line with the nutritional guidelines for diabetics) and calorie-counting for a while. I'm wasting a lot of mental energy worrying about -- just for instance -- spending the holidays with my in-laws. And while obviously they know me well enough by now to have ruled out total normalcy, I don't want them to think I'm a complete freak because of what I'm eating. They really buy into the "whole food" school of nutrition.

So I'm in this until mid-November (ish -- I vaguely recall someone suggesting sticking with phase 3 for longer than two weeks), and then I'll phase off in time for Christmas. Since my in-laws tend to eat pretty healthy, anyway, I don't expect that to be the disaster it would with my family. (Hence staying on this through Thanksgiving. My family already thinks I'm a freak, so whatever.) They keep a lot of fruit around; I'll probably eat more oranges and grapes than I should -- but, in the scheme of things, there are far worse evils.

I won't rule out going back on alt-IP in January or February, but you know? Honestly, if I stay OP through the beginning of November, I'm going to be at a low enough weight to do the exercising I'm missing out on now. I've never been in this for a "healthy BMI," because that's such a dreadfully unscientific measure. I'm in it to reset my insulin response (assuming that's really possible -- the medical literature isn't conclusive), to lose as much visceral fat as possible (especially in my liver), and to be light enough on my joints that I can exercise the way I want to (walking up and down mountains, biking long distances, and running on the elliptical).

If I keep to a 2.5 lb/week average loss, which is definitely possible at my weight, November's going to put me right in that range, anyway. (And I'll have incentive to keep losing through the end of winter and beginning of spring: 15 pounds down from where I expect to be when I phase off, I get a new bike. )

Magpie, I applaud the amount of thought and analysis you've put into this. It sounds like you are making the right choice for YOU and your situation, which is awesome. I don't think there's anything wrong with setting an end date rather than end weight for when you will phase off. At that point, and after the holidays, you can re-evaluate and see if you're where you want to be at that point in time. Good luck until that time, you'll do great

How often do you use blender/processor in preparing your meals? Trying to justify the cost of the one I want. I'm only in my 2nd week so I've not experimented with too many meals yet.

Love reading all the losses and NSV!! Thanks to IP, I'm now about halfway to my goal, I was hoping to reach my goal weight by the end of May, not sure I'll quite make it though. Unlike other diets though, the consistent losses of pounds/inches on this plan is encouragement enough to keep going even though some times are more difficult than others.

I have a very small kitchen and for hitting 30#'s this week, I treated myself and bought a Mini Cuisinart (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/stor...sor/1015086491) I absolutely had to get something small for making chayote "applesauce" and chopping fresh herbs - it made wonderful ginger paste - and I am sure I will find many other great uses! The clean up was quick and easy too - the main reason I went smaller.
I also have a Ninja (on sale for $40 off at BJ's right now - like Costco, but I think only in the north/mid-atlantic) which I LOVE, but it is a PITA to clean for just making the chayote and honestly the one i have is not very good for herbs. It is great for ricing cauliflower, making smoothies (when I get there again) and making large batches of puree, etc...but even the purees I believe I will be using the Cuisinart more - I don't make more than 4 cups at a time.

How often - at least 3 / 4 times a week, so yes, I believe a blender would be a great investment

I never uses my blender and rarely use my mini Cuisinart. My Cuisinart only gets used when I am making either cauli crackers or spinach crackers for road trips. Otherwise since there's just the two of us I hand chop everything.

Asked this question in the maintenance thread but didn't get a response. Hopefully someone knows the answer. Thanks.
I am on a reboot but hope to be in maintenance soon. I am not a big breakfast eater but I love having my protein shake in the morning. On maintenance phase 4 can I have a shake in the morning then my breakfast for lunch and my normal dinner per phase 4. Has anyone done this with success.

Coffeebean -- it's only phase 3 where the carbs are restricted to breakfast -- thus you have to eat that whole phase 3 breakfast as your first meal of the day without splitting. Phase 4 (maintenance) is more about ensuring the carb/fat separation. For lunch and dinner on Phase 4, you can have a fat meal and a carb meal each day -- you decide which to have for which meal. Generally breakfast is the only time you don't have to worry about the fat/carb macros. If you want to forgo that freedom at breakfast and have a protein drink instead, I don't think it would be a problem as long as you follow the plan (fat/carb separation) for lunch and dinner.

If this is the way you intend to maintain then I don't see why not. It may not be optimal (many suggest that the reason for the big breakfast is to get the carb loading done as early in the day as possible so you have time to burn off the excess calorie loading) but if it works for you, who's to say whether it is right or wrong? There is no single solution for everyone. Try it and see. If it doesn't give you the results you want, switch it around. You'll find a method that works for you.

Coffeebean Amanda as always gave a great answer and winewanderer also.
My added two cents (I'm only a few weeks into P4) is that every time I ask my doctor/coach a similar "how to" or "should I" question they say "well, try it out, and if you gain weight, or you don't like how you feel, adjust".

I decided to start as prescribed in P4, and make little adjustments one by one to I know what's affecting me and how. The P3 breakfasts really work for me (I used to be a protein shake girl also) so I have continued those for now. I do mix macros for one or two snacks (i.e. a few nuts with half an apple, or almond butter with celery), and so far that seems to work OK, but the later in the day I do it, the more I seem to feel weighted, so I'm still experimenting with it.

This is my 3rd day on IP, my ketostix indicate the level of ketosis is approx. 80 mg/dL, in the "large" range, and the second purple from the right. Is this unhealthy? I'm very worried, but don't know if I should be ....

Chaos -- I have used my food processor once a week each week on IP to grate up cauliflower. I use a Vitamix to make smoothies -- my family uses it almost daily, but on IP, I've been using it less and instead just using the blender bottle with IP packets. In maintenance (starting Saturday!), I imagine I'll return to using more often. Lots of folks on here seem to have and love Ninjas or Magic Bullets, etc., but I'm not very familiar with them.

Perfectly normal. You're in the early days when your body is over producing ketones after using up the glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. As this is NOT a normal form of metabolism for your system it doesn't know what level to produce at, so it goes into overdrive and you see excess ketones in your urine; and you may find the metallic taste dwindles in the next week or so once ketosis is fully established.

In as few as 2 weeks, or as many as 5 weeks, your system will produce fewer ketones as it works out what your likely fuel need is. This is why you see many of us telling people not to bother with ketostix once you've been on IP for a while, as they only show EXCESS ketones and not the variety that are transported in the blood as fuel. To measure effectively once ketosis is established you would need a blood ketone meter, similar to a diabetic's blood glucose meter.

Sounds like you're going to have a nice tidy loss for your first week. Congratulations.

Question about phasing off for vacation: I'm just starting my re-start and plan to phase off for my "honeymoon" (after 9 years of marriage!). We'll be going to Hawaii in June and when I did IP before, my coach had me phase off for three days so I thought I'd be able to stay OP right up to three days before leaving.. Talked to my new coach today and she said I'll need to do phase 2 for a week then phase three for two weeks, ugh! That cuts out three weeks of losses for me! I had incredible results my first time, but did not phase off correctly and then got pregnant.. So I think I could lose up to 30 lbs by my vacation..
Anyhow, anyone phase off for vacation and how long did you phase off for? I will be good while I'm there.. But definitely want to safely enjoy some Mai Tais and champagne!! And then straight back to phase one when I get back