Hello all! just started the ideal protein cause I was tired of my lifestyle. I'm following this diet so far to the T. My first weigh in I lost 18 pounds!! my second time I lost 9 pounds. I've lost 27 pounds in the first two weeks, Im just hoping I can keep this up.

My only problem is getting in those darn veggies. I love to grill my food, so do any of you have some helpful tips on some good recipe ideas that makes the veggies a little more enjoyable to eat?

Amazing weight loss! Remember though the first two weeks you always loose the most, then after that it slows down to a nice (hopefully) steady pace.

I love to roast my veggies. I lightly coat them in olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on them. Bake them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Last night my husband used the grill to BBQ flank stead and so I put some asparagus on the grill too. Again I used olive oil and sea salt. They were great, but roasting is still my favorite as I love the crunchiness of roasting the veggies. Almost forgot, another way I get veggies in is through the pudding shakes. Many days I turn the vanilla pudding into a shake by adding the 5oz of water, the pudding powder and 8 ice cubes. Then into the blender I also add 2 cups of baby spinach. The pudding will turn green, but you can't taste the spinach, only the pudding taste.

If you're male at your height and weight you may just keep melting off big increments for quite some time.

Here is something I put together for a friend recently...

I shop and then use my food processor to slice mushrooms, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers which I keep in individual containers in the fridge ready for cooking. Plus, I prepare a large salad bowl in the fridge with ready to eat salad.

Costco Grocery LIst
1, Artisan Lettuce $4.49,
2. Gourmet cucumbers $4.99,
3. Celery,
4. Baby Spinach,
5. Assorted Bell peppers (red, orange, yellow) $6.99,
6. Mushrooms -- these can also be pre-cooked and stored in the fridge,
7. bag of lemons or limes (squeeze and freeze juice in ice trays then store in freezer containers ready to use in drinks or cooking fish, salads, etc.),
8. Frozen ready to eat Tyson's grilled chicken breasts -- these can be put on a salad in the morning and will be thawed for lunch or dinner if away from home),
9. Individually packaged frozen Cod or bags of shrimp and other kinds of seafood,
10. Kirkland brand Albacore canned tuna -- yummy!,
11. Stabucks VIA instant coffee -- this is just what I like to drink. I quit using skim milk for the diet. Instead I sweeten it with Walden Farms chocolate syrup and Peppermint liquid stevia. Another favorite are any of the DaVinci flavored sugar free syrups like Kahlua flavored.

http://www.davincigourmet.com/produc...avored_syrups/ (I buy this at Super Walmart for less money than the online price)

I use Walden Farms products but, some people cannot stand the taste of any of it. 3FatChicks has some forums discussing which ones are best and how to use, google it.
http://waldenfarms.com/

Grocery Store shopping list:
1. Cauliflower -- love to make "mashed potatoes" from steamed cauliflower, garlic pepper, seasonings, and butter buds with a little olive oil blended in CuisineArt.
2. Filet Mignon -- only have red meat at most once or twice a week. This is a divine splurge with mashed cauliflower, steamed baby spinach, and salad. The only thing missing is the glass of red wine and you cannot tell you're on a diet.
3. Walden Farms products at certain grocery stores
4. organic chocolate cocoa.

Like everything on this diet, this idea requires planning. Mix up a vinaigrette with white or cider vinegar, ev olive oil, water, tons of herbs and spices. I use the mrs dash varieties. Marinate your veggies in a bowl or zippy bag of the stuff. I use summer squash, portobello mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, etc. first I slice into quarter inch slices. Marinate for minutes to hours and grill. Yummy!!!!

thanks for all the suggestions! Im going to try pretty much all of them =D

I'm on week 8 and have tried hard to vary the veggies so as not to go crazy! If you haven't already, check out the ideal protein finland site. Recipes are amazing with photos to match. The greatest thing is making cauliflower that feels like a carb. I've made the "bread sticks" and they are delicious. This weekend made the "fried rice" added sauteed mushrooms and fresh ginger. It was so good! My Dad thought it was rice! Of course "mashed potatoe". If you don't have one, a mandolin is great. Grill zucchini, bake turnip chips. I'm going to try the "zucchini apple pie" today. Congrats on your amazing weight loss!

Yes im a guy, and with other diets in the past it has come off quickly, but i've always lost my way and it came right back. I'm only 21 but I've had a weight problem my whole life. I figured now is the time to fix it and change my ways for good.

Welcome mate, and congrats in the loss so far!!!

I eat a cucumber for lunch every day. I dice it up and put 1 tsp of olive in it and some sea salt. I love it. it is so refreshing. For dinner I eat allot of cauliflower. I will mash it or make it into fried rice. Spinach is good cooked in the omlet. I also chop up spinach and mix it in to my tuna which has chopped onions and celery and a little WF thousand Island dressing.

Welcome, and wow!!! You should be so very proud that you made this decision. It has changed my life completely. You're so young and you have your whole life ahead of you.

I tend to digest the vegees better when they are cooked, so for lunches I would boil them and then puree in that water, with an immersion blender, adding parsley, spices, etc. I'd take one of the IP soups, mix it up in the shaker and add to my vegee soup. Pretty much did that for a whole year. It made a big bowl of soup and was very tasty. You can vary the spices and vegees to whatever you've got. Then I took to making big pots of soup, counting the cups of vegees, and freezing portions so that making lunch was now a matter of defrosting and adding the IP soup. The easier you can make it, the more likely you'll do it.

For dinner, I love my stir-fry, so I used the 2 tsp olive oil in a wok to stir-fry the vegees, then put them on a big bowl of head/romaine lettuce with the meat. At first I was measuring out and cooking the meat with every meal, but soon started buying whatever was on sale in quantity, poaching or roasting it, and then making my little dinner portions and freezing them. It made it so much easier to pull the meal together in a snap.

I am having a salad with lunch now as well. Lots of fresh parsley, cilantro, basil snipped in - makes a difference. I have made many dressings using the Walden farms stuff as a base, adding a splash of either apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice to brighten the flavor, and sometimes a splash of tamari. I just made tillapia, using Chinese 5 spice on the vegees and fish, and making a sweet/sour dressing with WF orange spread. Kept the fish on a separate plate, but usually I throw the meat right into the salad. I've done this for the past year too, and I think I'll do it forever.

Good luck to you!