Hey Delia!

Stacey is correct. Black beans are not on plan. YOU CAN use the black soy beans, they come in a can by eden organics. If you can't find them in a store (whole foods, sprouts, health food type places) then check online. here is a link to the specific product I am mentioning.

http://www.edenfoods.com/store/produ...ucts_id=103050

They have a flavor and texture like black beans. I cooked them up a little bit early and seasoned with spices I would normally use for a black bean dish (spanish flavors in my case). Then let it sit awhile to meld the flavors even more. But they taste good right from the can!

My start up fee was $250 with 1 week of food, salt, supplements, journal and mixing bottle. It has been $90 for each week's food packets since. I made the conscious decision not to supplement with other products after reading one of the other discussions. My question(s).
1 Why no soda if it is 0 everything, low sodium and not caffeine. The coach said it was bout the acid - base balance the diet tries to achieve. I'd like to know more about that if anyone is in the know
2 Why no chewing gum - not that I'm a big chewer, but occasionally it's nice to have.
3 Why is turnip on the daily okay list, when it is a root vegetable (my experience was I l enjoyed turnip chips - but suffered blood sugar rises, so will have to put them on my sparingly used list)
4 Are Basil, cilantro, dill and other herbs counted in the vegetable count or "free" to use in reasonable amounts.

Regarding your points:

1- yes, I have been told the same thing. something about soda messes with the acid balance in our bodies. also, we are avoiding aspartame which many have. that said, several people have had soda on the diet as this is not a consistent comment shared by all coachs.

2- again, this is a coach's discretion point. some say never. some say only if you wash it off first AND it is a gum like spry made only with xylitol.

3- of all the root vegetables, turnips are the lowest carbohydrate and sugar levels which is why it is acceptable, same is true of radish. It is also why rutabaga is a sometimes root vegetable. Potatoes, parsnip, carrots and the like have more sugars/carbs and are not appropriate at this time.

4- I have not heard and am unaware of restrictions on herbs.

Thanks, appreciate the informaiton

Today, I had 1/2 my dinner protein and 1/2 of a lemon bar for lunch with vegies and 1/2 of the dinner protein and the other 1/2 of the lemon bar for dinner with vegies. Is it okay to split? Which is more important - the total intake for the day or the placing of the intake?
I'm gong to do the same thing tomorrow because there is a potluck at work and I'll feel less deprived if I eat some "real food" and the bar will seem like dessert.
Jean

my coach has always told me that you can work the foods in your day in ANY order, just as long as you get everything in. that means pancakes and eggs for breafast if you want, just have veggies and non-restricted packets for the rest of day. make sure you just get everything in

Thanks Erin.

Hey I last posted before I left Mississippi (my home state) to go apartment hunting in DC last week (I found an apartment!) Anyway, I had my second weigh in today (3rd week because I wasn't in town last week) lost 6.5 pounds and 5 1/2 inches. My coach said i can start using the restricted packets now. I'm waiting another week because I want to work my way up to running again. Do you think it would be beneficial to eat a bar an hour or two before I run as opposed to eating the restricteds and not exercising?

Is there anything that can be done to reduce water retention during TOM? Increase salt? Decrease salt? Increase water?

Also, does anyone know why exercising would throw the body out of ketosis? Should exercise be avoided to stay in ketosis?

And how will I know when I am able to use my sig tracker? So far, I haven't seen a place to put it. Will that just pop up?

You have to have been a member for 20 days and have a minimum of 20 posts to be able to use it. It will be easy to figure out once your 20 days is up, it's in the User CP in the control panel toolbar.

Hi everyone!
Newbie to the forum here!
I have been on the IP Program for 4 weeks. I have been very strict on the plan. I only have had one cheat, on the first week I had a family member with a Birthday, we all (our family, small family) get together and go out for dinner, I did pretty well, but it wasn't plan. This week when I weighed in, there was no loss, I couldn't believe it! I even exercise, nothing to rigorous, walking, 5 miles, 5 times a week, takes me about 4.5 min. to walk a lap around the track. My Coach had told me I could use broth in my soups to add to the flavor, as long as it didn't have MSG. I found these packets by Hormel Foods, Herb Ox, No Salt, No MSG, No Gluten; I thought ah ha this is what she is talking about. I live in a small town, we have two stores to choose from, so I thought I had the right thing, since she would have to shop local too. When she told me no loss, we talked about what it could be and she said it was the bouillon packets; they have 2g carbs, 1g sugars. I haven't added any of the restricted items to my diet, because I am trying to take it off as quickly as possible. Is it really possible it's the bouillon packets? Attached are the labels.
Thanks,
6710

I haven't started the IP regime yet and I know a bit about obvious and hidden sugars. Here's what I saw on the labels. If you look at the ingredients on each package, the first one is ... SUGAR. And the 4th ingredient on each one is ... maltodextrin ... a HIDDEN sugar. If you want a link that provides a list of hidden sugars, PM me.

Is it possible that your coach meant liquid broth? I can buy low-fat, low(er) salt chicken, veg and beef broth in tetrapaks. I've also made my own broths -- it's really easy.

I don't know if the gram of sugar is what made the difference. I'm interested to hear if leaving the bouillon out for while makes a difference for you. Good Luck!

Hi lcw,
So far leaving the bouillon out has made a difference. When I weighed myself Friday Morning I was at 202, when I weighed myself this morning I was at 198.

Will taking Advil, Aspirin, Mylanta or Maalox affect weight loss?