I came to this Forum looking for some more information on IP. I have a friend who has had incredible success on IP and I'm inspired by her transformation and thought I would THINK about giving it a try.

I've read through this section today and am quite motivated by the results that people are seeing...but I have a small concern and was just looking for advice from the people who are living the program.

I, admittedly, have not done enough research yet into IP, so please take what I say with a grain of salt. I realize that IP is NOT like Bernstein, but I'm a little concerned about the long term results from IP vs. Bernstein.

I have a different friend, who several years ago lost a huge amount of weight on Bernstein over a very rapid period. She was able to maintain her weight loss for just a few short months before she QUICKLY gained it all back (plus more) only to have to start all over again, with the discouragement of knowing she was successful and then gained it all back.

So...what's the long term success of IP?

Disclaimer ~ I realize you need to change your way of thinking, your lifestyle and your eating habits, but as we've all heard, it's easier said than done and with something like Bernstein, as soon as you started eating any real food, you gained weight.

So...please give me your insight.

You might read through http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...s-vol-7-a.html to get an idea of the people on maintenance. No one said this will be easy. Keeping weight off takes perseverance. I've been working on getting that mindset for when I complete my weight loss.

Molly

Losing weight is the easy part compared to the diligence that maintenance takes. With weight loss, you are rewarded on an ongoing basis by the scale. All that changes with maintenance.

Personally I think you can lose weight on any diet. But maintenance becomes a lifestyle and you have to learn NOT to overindulge if you want success for life. Afterall we got into this mess my overindulging.

I love this diet because not only does the weight come of fairly fast but the phases ease you into 'real' life. This plan teaches you how to eat once you reach goal so you can stay there!

In three weeks I've lost 15 pounds and I feel good! No more stomach pains, bloated feeling and I think my skin is looking better!

Whatever you decide to do stay committed because nobody else can do it for you. Good luck!

You asked about the long term success rate of IP vs Bernstein.

I know quite a few people who have done Dr B.s diet. I am always amazed that absolutely no one has kept the weight off.
I really don't know all that much about it but I do know it is very low cal and wonder if the shots they give mask the fact that you are very hungry. Once the diet and the shots are done the dieter hasn't learned how to monitor hunger and what to eat.

I had been thinking about the two plans. I work at different schools and one day at one the principal noticed what I was eating for lunch and asked if I was doing Dr. B. I said no I was doing IP. She said; "Oh you will just be like me, as soon as I stopped Dr. B I ballooned right up again immediately."
I think the big difference is the phasing off stages of IP.

I lost 83 pounds in 8 months on IP....Maintained for 8 months no problem

then struggled for a few months, but maintained.

Then threw caution to the wind for an extended 6 week vacation and put on about 15 pounds...but it is coming off and I know it will because I have used phase 1 over and over to maintain.

So 15 months in maintenance, but I am faithful to weighing in and returning to phase 1.

I agree with Wuv....you can gain with any diet (including gastric surgery)....you have to commit to a life-time change.

I am into my 19th week and have lost close to 50 lbs. It has not been a cake walk, but this is the first diet where I feel like I am in control of the food, and not the other way around. I do believe that some of my eating habits have changed. I don't have the mentality that "when this is over, I can eat anything I want." I have always tried to "work" the other diets I was on - go pig out after wiegh in with weight watchers because I had a week to lose it. Or making very poor food choices, like eating all my points in cake.

As others have said, you can't go back to your old way of eating. If you embrace what this protocol is all about, your habits will change, and you will have a much better chance of maintaining. If you just look at it as a quick fix, you will probably gain everything back. I was ready to really change. I wanted to feel better, lose the weight and not let food control me any more. I truly believe that I found all that with Ideal Protein.

I agree with all those above...it is "mind-set" for sure. As with any iet you stick to, weight comes off. You have to redesign your way of thinking and whether its atkins , south beach etc or this, you will need to change your carb intake for sure and then make sure you get the proper carbs and not the refined sugars or flours...they are killers!

Portion control...carb control...and of course "Self Control".
Anyone thinks they can do this and then go back to what got them fat in the first place is in for a bad time.
Cheers
Jake

I'm in the middle of my 6th week now and I still have those concerns, though less now than when I first started. I don't think anyone starts any diet without similar thoughts... but like everyone else has said... it's all about your mindset. Best of luck!

I had the same concerns before I started. I'm an emotional eater and have struggled trying to find a way to stick to a diet. I knew what I needed to eat, but had a constant fight with the strong urges to eat the bad stuff.

I figured I would try IP and if I couldnt stick with it move onto a surgical method to lose.

The first 2 days were aweful, but I got through them. The strange thing is by day 2 I didnt have the emotional issues with food. I have been on this for over 5 weeks and lost 22 lbs.

I can easily see myself on this through the end of the year. I have no doubt about that part. My plan is to lose it all and get on maintenance. I will weight myself every week and if I gain 5 lbs, go back to phase 1.

I don't feel deprived on phase 1. There are so many recipes out there, I can have an IP friendly version of most of my favorite foods.

IP is something that I will do for the rest of my life. I feel great, my skin has never been better and I don't have the emotional battle with food going on.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who had the same struggles as I did. It's worth trying.

I was on the Dr. B diet back in 2003 and lost about 35 lbs. If I recall correctly, I started at about 190 lbs and stopped at 155 lbs. I've been on IP (using alternative products since early May) and with today's WI have now lost 33 lbs.

I recall finding Dr. B's somewhat harder to stick with, and I didn't like getting those needles in my stomach. However, once I got to 155 lbs I decided not to follow through with the additional weeks it would have taken me to go 'officially' through maintenance with Dr. B. I convinced myself that I could save the money and do it on my own - I fear that added to my downfall. Did your friend do the maintenance phases with Dr. B?

I've lost that same 35+ lbs of fat on several different diets over the past 30 years. Unfortunately, I've also gained it back because I didn't modify my eating patterns beyond the dieting phase. Once the *diet* was completed and I was back at my slimmed down me, I allowed myself to slip back into old unhealthy eating patterns. And a lot of them involved sugar and carbs, which I now realize I need to really minimize in my eating habits. I firmly believe that unless we learn new lifestyle eating habits the weight will come back, regardless of what diet you use to lose it. II feel like I've learned new options and habits through this IP process... and the fact that it's taking me longer to lose the weight I need to this time around is imo a benefit, as the months of eating relatively carb and sugar-free are re-setting my overall eating habits. And I need this to happen in order to stay successful at weight maintenance in the longterm.

I like the phasing off process that I've read about with Ideal Protein. If we follow the protocol it does seem to work for most people. This time around, once I reach goal I'll weight myself regularly and immediately take steps if I see an upward trend on that scale. Before, I buried my head in the sand and ignored the scale. But I really don't want to go through another lengthy dieting process - so in my head I feel I'm different this time around, and I'll make it work. If I do go back to eating carb laden foodstuffs... then it probably won't work for the long term and the fat will creep back on. There's no 'miracle diet'... IP is great and I've really glad I found it (and this forum) but whether or not I keep the weight off is totally up to me. And like practically everyone else has said here, that requires a certain mindset and discipline.

i agree with what everyone has said. While i did not do the Dr. B diet i did do Ww and lost 30lbs. But all i could think about is how i could use my extra weekly points to go to McDonalds and i did. I gained the weight back and more. I half heartedly tried to stop the gaining by kind of following WW, but that did not work because i did not have the will power or the right mindset to do it. I have been telling my friends about this diet, but have made it clear that you really have to want to lose the weight or it will be a long and difficult road.

Hi! Still in phase 1 (19 pounds in 4 weeks). One of the reasons I chose IP was that I thought the maintenance approach was sensible. They actually acknowledge that you're going to cheat once in a while and have a plan to deal with that - if you have a cheat day, you go back and do phase 1 for a day. Every other diet I have been on, they act as if that's not going to happen, which is just not realistic.

I think in maintenance, if you generally folow the guidelines, continue to monitor your weight regularly, and go back and do phase 1 to get back on track, this sounds very manageable...

I think what's different about this plan vs any other is the education that comes with it, ie how to eat in real life, and it just makes sense. It also acknowledges that food is good, that it can be enjoyed, and says that in maintenance you ARE allowed to have a really good meal and enjoy it - just get back on track the next day. That, to me, is a healthy and realistic way to approach food on a long term basis. It's not setting people up to fail like so many other plans are.

Good to see you here!!