I'm sure this has been answered before...but I didn't have much luck in my searching.

I'm confused on the Occasional veggie list. It says you may choose 2 items only per week from the list. My favorite veggies are on the list - Tomatoes and Peppers. Does this mean I can have 1 c of tomatoes and 1 c of peppers each week? Or say 2 cups of tomatoes 1 week?

For some reason I can't get my head around this whole part. My plan was to make 2 cups of pico de gallo and use it as a condiment throughout the week. I like it on my salads. Can I do that??

Tomorrow will be Day 1 for me - assuming I can get my ducks in a row.

hi there and welcome. any of the veggies you get 2 cups at lunch and 2 cups at dinner. you can mix and match your veggies. the restricted are the ones you can only have once a week (2 cups). but it is 2 cups of veggies at lunch and 2 cups of veggies at dinner. but most importantly make sure that you get your 4 cups a day.

If you make 2 cups of pico de gallo and make it last for the whole week it should be fine. I have done that just a litte each day. IMHO

I just got back from my very first appt and my coach specifically answered this and said it's a total of 4 cups restricted per week........

You'll find that over time reading these forums that no two coaches are the same. The protocol sheet I have says "2 x per week". In my opinion, that's two servings, or two cups, per week. If you didn't get a protocol sheet, ask your coach for one, or you can find them online in the FAQ thread.

Hi all-

I am in my 2nd week with IP. How many carbs should I limit myself to? How many calories? Should I measure my veggies? I feel I am probably eating too much.

Thanks for your help!

Thanks all - I started today and it went well.

I think I'll do 2 cups of pico and use it through the week.

I'm finding that 2 cups of veggies isn't really near as much as I thought. That's about how much I ate anyway - just not 2x/day. So this might not be as hard as I thought.

CRD3 - to answer your question (and remeber I'm just starting) - you don't really have to count carbs..just your protein and veggies. Make sure it's 2 cups of veggies (in addition to a salad) 2 x/day. And either 5 oz of lean protein or 7oz of fish.

My coach said I could spread the protein across Lunch and Dinner if i wanted - but to make sure I got no less and no more than the 5 or 7 oz.

Calories will probably be around 800/day. Carbs, most people are told (those that are told) the standard is about 25/day or fewer, give or take from day to day. Try not to go over 30. Just remember that there are about 15 carbs or so restricted in foods. Talk to your coach about this?

I only manage to get in about 650 calories a day. Some days less, rarely more. I feel like it's low, my coach (after examining my food diary and seeing I eat a LOT of spinach) is fine with it. What are your thoughts? You all seem to know WAY more than he does!

I'm a little puzzled how you can be getting so few calories. Here's what I based my approximations on:

3 X IP = 300
beef = 330
oil = 76
Romaine = 34
spinach = 87 (assuming that's the only veg you eat)
TOTAL 827

And I realize fish has fewer calories. Maybe if you listed what you typically eat, we could help more?

Absolutely!IP--270 (pudding mix 80, soup 90, omlette 100) Fish, shrimp, or chicken.
Veggies-- spinach raw (at least 2 cups, usually 3 for 14-20 calories w/WF dressing) mushrooms (1 cup 15 calories). The other cup is
typically zucchini (70) or cucumber (15). Romaine-24, oil 80.

I use an app to keep my food diary and it adds for me.

Sorry that post is such an aesthetic mess! Smartphones and forums can be a tad...uncooperative.

THanks for the speedy response. You're a little light on spinach. 138 gr of frozen spinach = 2 cups and a major source of potassium and magnesium, +++. What you're getting is about 60 gr. And while mushrooms and cucumbers are low in calories and carbs, they aren't nutritional powerhouses. You also need at least 2 t of olive oil; it's really important. You need some fats to function and you're not getting a lot in fish or shrimp, unless you have salmon or other omega-rich fishes. [I did the same thing you're doing about week 3 and 4, coming up with 650-700 calories and not hungry. But I didn't lose, either.] Please don't shy too far away from the colored vegetables, like broccolli even if you only have one cup with 1 C mushrooms, for instance. Hope this helps.

Do you have a food scale? I live by mine and this tool: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Does anyone else want to chime in.

My coach agreed with your coach. I was told 2 cups no more than 2 times a week and it could be broken out through the week AND it could be a mix of occasional veggies that totaled up to the 4 cups during the week.

I wasn't allowed to start using occasional veggies until I had been on the program for 6 months. By then I had lost about 70% of my intended initial goal. (I also wasn't allowed restricted foods until I was 80 to 90% of goal)

Some coaches talked about carbs once upon a time, maybe some still do. It may be more challenging now that IP is reformulating and increasing some of the carb counts.

Once upon a time, some coaches were saying stay under 40 total carbs or near 25 net carbs per day. That can be extremely low and is UNNECESSARY. Once you are past the first 3 weeks and well stabilized in ketosis (NO cheats of any kind) you will then be able to add a few more carbs into the plan. You can actually be in ketosis at 60g of carbs per day.

Unless your coach wants you watching carbs, I wouldn't worry about the science and proportions of the plan. JUST FOLLOW THE PLAN and IT WILL WORK! The science has been done for you.

Yes, measure, measure, measure. The little variances can add up.

If you are really needing calorie info, look up a calorie calculator that will help you determine your calories needed based on height, age, and weight now vs weight to be. It will help you see what you would need to have to lose a few pounds a week. You will find that as long as you are below that you will be losing. That becomes in accurate if you are "starving" yourself. If you are getting far too little food, your body may stall out despite your best efforts.

I was wondering if you could post yor recipe in the recipe thread. I love pico de gallo but have never made it. Thanks!