I did some homework today-calling around to the different IP clinics-which is within a 2 hour radius-the nearest one to me is an hour away.

It's a chiropractor office. The start up fee is $100. Is that about right?

They said they will mail out packets and initially the chiropractor goes over the start up plan and you can call her anytime there's a question.....

Is this how it works for others?

They said I wouldn't have to drive the hour once a week to get weighed...I could do that at home....or go to my local dr office and just ask to be weighed...just curious how it works for others-the coaching and the start up cost.

That's about how my office is. We go in weekly to get weighed and measured and she asks if we have any questions. We can also call during business hours. Not much coaching, really. Our startup fee was $75 each but that's because she gave a 25% discount for couples.

That is so sad. My coach is awesome. I wish everyone could come to my clinic!!! I have said this before, but I am so lucky with the support I have here in Alaska. My clinic has a great staff, great support, and great products for us to purchase to make this journey easier.

I feel very fortunate also. I would not have made it this far without an awesome coach. I meet with her once a week for a chat. I get weighed, measured, blood pressure checked, and we go over my food diary. There is no charge for this other than the IP packets I purchase. She is very knowledgable and encouraging. I wish everyone on IP could have an awesome experience like this!

I went to two clinics for a presentation and chose the one that was farther from me, just because I liked their attitude better. There is a thread here somewhere comparing what clinics charged, but I can't remember the title of the thread...sorry.

Anyway, I think I paid about $100 for the workup, then more for a startup bag with a packet of almost all the products, the supplements, shaker, salt, etc. No fees for weekly meetings, but if I want readings on the fancy fat monitor, that's extra. I have gone once a week and have had two different coaches, each with a different style and background, but both wonderful. I had not found this message board until recently, and found my coaches to be essential. I came to trust them and I now consider them both as friends.

I really liked the face-to-face thing, but email can work too, if they will take the time to really respond to your questions. The other tricky thing is to make sure you order enough food every week. Will they keep mailing them too? My clinic started out only selling whole boxes but switched to packets, which made it much easier to try new things without worrying about hating something. I can get through one of anything, but a whole box is another thing...

You might look into iptogo.com as well. They sell the IP products for people who live too far away from a clinic. Don't know how the prices compare, but it's worth checking.

I really do not get a lot of coaching, hence the main reason I use the alternative products in conjunction with IP products. My coaching happens here! Good luck.

Well I can feel your pain on the driving! I too drive an hour each way to my clinic as that’s the closest town that has IP. I was lucky as they have a few clinics that carry IP. The first one I went to was disgusting! I had the receptionist take me in once for WI day, she had no idea what she was doing, it was a mess and I almost quit! I went to a different clinic which sat me down for about an hour and a half explaining the program to me and charged me $169 to start (that included first week of food and supplements) this was a special they had on as normally they would charge $269. My coach is ok, she’s very nice and gets excited when I lose BUT she rushes me through the process, takes days to return e-mail or phone calls when I have a question (or sometimes I need a pep talk) She will however try her best to find the right answer to my question.

Start ups are all different. Mine was 350 and included a week of food and some other things, including the weekly weigh in visits (15 min). You'll get great information on this site and should be fine seeing your "coach" once a month, or how ever often you want to visit...just stinks that gas prices are so high! You'll do great!

The registration and one week supply in IP bag with the all vitamins/suppl. was $349. That includes weekly 30 minutes consultations - weigh in, measurements, body fat %% measurements. My coach is available over the phone and e-mail anytime, sometimes she calls me to check how I'm doing during the week and if I've asked some questions and she didn't know the answer right away - she'd call me back the same day. Also, every week she gives some sort of motivational printout and lots of info on the products. The food price is $4 per package or $28 for the box. $5 for RTDs. If you don't like something - they exchange unopened packages without problems. But I have to say - this forum is the best resource, I'm trying new recipes and share with my coach.