Hi everyone!!

I'm new to the forum. I just started phase 1 on IP on Tuesday so I am just starting Day 4. I weighed in on Tuesday at 150 pounds (I'm 5'5"), then after day 1 I was up a pound at 151!! (so discouraging) Then Day I went down to 149.5 and this morning 148.5 So after 3 full days on IP with no cheating I am really only down 1.5 pounds. I am finding the diet soooo hard to stick to. I am used to eating "real food" so the packets are not that appealing..but I'm sticking to it. I'm just wondering what I should expect in terms of losses the first week. I seem to hear people losing 10 pounds or more!

I decided to stop using the bar (restricted) and am sticking to the pudding for breakfast, soup for lunch (with veggies) and chicken breast and salad/veggies for dinner. Does anyone have any tips to get the weight off the quickest??

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Ainsley

stay off the scale for the rest of the week. i went up and down as well. come WI time i was down 20. if you keep getting on the scale you will drive yourself crazy. i have never used the bars. i hear bads things people over do them.

The weight loss really varies from person to person. I started a LOT heavier than you, and lost 5.6lbs in my first week. You have less to lose, so the weight will probably come off slower. But it will still come off!

Also, don't weigh yourself every day. So many things can make you fluctuate from day to day it can be discouraging if you see a 2 lb loss one morning, and then a gain in the evening.

Also, I was not allowed to use restricted until the 2nd week of the diet (when weight loss was fully established). Even then, it was only 3 per week.

Choose lean meats/fish for your protein, and stay away from the restricted veggiest.

Lastly, stick to it, drink your water, have your salt/oil, and DO NOT CHEAT.

Good luck.

As others have mentioned - STAY OFF THE SCALE! You will drive yourself crazy if you become a slave to it.

This is not really a diet that can be "played". Follow your sheet. Eat ALL your veggies (and eat a variety so your body and mouth don't get bored!). Drink ALL your water. The weight will come off. Don't try to accelerate the weight loss unless you actually hit a few weeks where the weight isn't coming off, that is when you go back to your food journals and look for patterns in eating and see if you need to adjust.

Thanks everyone! Which products to do you find produce the best results and which to avoid? I have to buy my next stock of food for the week on tuesday and am just wondering which to pick? This week I bought vanilla shake, chocolate protein bars, mushroom soup, chocolate puddings.

The ones that produce the best results are the ones you will actually eat! See if your clinic will let you mix and match packets, or buy individually instead of the whole box - that way you can try something out and know whether you will actually use all 7 in a whole box.

I am on day 7 and just did my first weight in yesterday and I was down 4 lbs. I am very happy with that weight loss since I only planning on losing about 20 lbs. My coach picked my foods for me the first two weeks and I have placed on order for the following week. I have figured out there are several foods I really liked and several I really did not like. Amazingly enough almost all the foods I like were on the nonrestricted list. Can't wait to try all my new foods this week.

Kim

I generally stick to the puddings and soups, mainly because those are my favorites. You don't have a lot to lose, so you aren't going to have some BIG weight loss the first week. I would guess at your weight you are looking at somewhere around 3 to 5 pounds max. I lost 7, but then again I started out a lot heavier than you. Stay off the scale as others have said and enjoy the surprise at your weekly weigh in. Remember the first week is the hardest, but hang in there and it gets so much easier.

There is no magic combination of packets. The weight will come off, but as you are close to your goal weight it may be lower than you hope. Stay off the sale. It does go up and down and can be frustrating!

Pick things you like and that will keep you reasonably satisfied. Clearly none of us were used to eating packets before ip, and we would probably ally prefer to be eating "real food", but ip is a good tool for efficient weight loss.

Ainsley-are you still having a snack? Make sure you are getting in the third packet. You need it.

thanks guys-
Yes I was eating the 3rd pack, first I was doing the protein bar but after seeing how many carbs it has I switched to the vanilla shake. I usually split the snack between breakfast and lunch and the other half later in the afternoon. I'm okay after dinner I find...
thanks for all the tips!