Made it to my 3rd day, so far so good. Still tweaking the packets to my taste. I made the mistake of making an iced mocha with too much coffee for my taste and I made it on my way out the door, took two drinks and had to throw it away (so I was short a meal yesterday).

Tried the Roasted Rosemary Garlic Mashed “Potatoes”. Thanks FinnSteven! I was skeptical, I’ve never liked cauliflower and I’m a potato lover, but these were good.

Physically I’m feeling fine, I’m having headaches in the evening (but with my TOM I always get headaches, so it could just be that). I’m not feeling hungry; hopefully the rest of the week will go as smoothly. (I did a VLCD, all liquid, diet a few years ago and this one is much more doable so far. Having real food makes a difference and is helping start healthy habits for maintenance.)

Happy to see the scale is going down – unfortunately I gained 7 lbs over the last month or two, ate like crazy before starting, so I don’t really count the first 7.

Thanks again to this community, looking forward to this journey with you all

Welcome to you! Congrats on taking the step to start, the first 3 days are the hardest and you're already past that. Looking forward to see you post your losses!

Hi and welcome! Oh do count those extra pounds you added on...they all count!!!

Be sure to try a chocolate drink mixed with two cups of spinach. It's such an easy way to get some veggies in... I make mine in a bullet (blender).

Enjoy and before you know it you'll be at goal!!!

PS I never tried those rosemary, garlic cauliflower meal...I've been at this for a year and there's so much to learn and discover! They sound yummy!!!

Welcome! And I agree you should definitely count that 7 pounds as loss.

Welcome! And I agree, count the pounds! Looking forward to seeing your losses..

Count every ounce in your losses! If they are on my body and I lose them, they count! Welcome!

Hi and welcome!

Hi and welcome, sounds like you are doing great!

Hello and welcome! The first 3 days are the worst, as everyone has said - after that you'll feel much better an it'll be easy to stick to!

I'm fairly new myself, 4 weeks in, and I have to say this is the ONLY "diet" I've ever been able to stick to. I feel great, I'm losing and staying motivated, and the packets are pretty good for the most part!

Good luck and have fun!

I now know that I can’t stand the dark chocolate IP pudding. I tried it yesterday for lunch as an iced coffee mocha shake w/spinach (which I made for breakfast with the Chocolate Drink mix and liked). Took 2 sips and threw it out, causing me to miss my lunch.

Today I made it as pudding for lunch and couldn’t make it thru 2 bites before it went into the trash.

I didn’t want to miss lunch, for a 2nd day in a row, and I only have a limited number of packets to get me thru for next week. So for my lunch, I just ate 2 eggs and 1 c mushrooms (together as an omelet).

As I mentioned, I am on my 3rd day. Do you think this will affect my getting into ketosis?

For future, is there a way to replace one of the packets with real food if in a bind? Or will I have to find a way to get packets early?

Thanks!

np2lose - I don't think it will mess up your ketosis. If anything, it just means you didn't get enough calories in that day. But, I'm not an expert in IP yet, so hopefully some of the more experienced will weigh-in (no pun intended LOL)

Someone on this site had recommended that you always carry an emergency packet with you, along with some sea salt, WF single packet of the dressing you like, a days worth of supplements, maybe a foil wrapped package of tuna, etc and anything that's not perishable in case you find yourself in a bind.

If you can afford to, buy some extra packets (especially after you develop some favorites). This allows me to choose a packet based on what my mood for the day is. It has worked very well. Good Luck and welocme! Jen

you will get use to the taste of the food. The first week I did not like much. I made myself eat it though because I am cheap...just hold your nose and drink as fast as possible You will find your favorites.

Blended spinach with the chocolate drink is my morning staple!

Thanks everyone for the welcome wishes & advice. Tomorrow I plan to order some more packets.