I've been on IP alternative for the past three months and have averaged a weight loss of 2 lbs a week. This past month I've been very lazy- snacking on extra portions of protein bars, eating fatty meat with breakfast, skipping my bed time protein, ect...
I weighed myself today and found that I've only lost 1lb in the past two weeks and may have actually gained a pound. Time to get back on track- I weigh 235 from 298 but I'm not where I need to be yet. Today was a reality check to get me back on track. I think I felt that I could slack off since I've dropped so much weight.
Just wanted to share.

That's an amazing loss! Great job! I haven't been doing this long, but when I feel the need to cheat or I get bored, I browse the threads and eventually I either find little nuggets of wisdom to get me through or the feeling passes. Keep strong!

Will do I've been trying to find a post that a user wrote detailing the standards for non-restricted and restricted items per day for alternatives. Such as "two non-restricted items at no more than "X" number of calories, fat, carbs...", same for the restricted. Anyone have that info?

Good luck to you! You had a big lost, congrats!

Whether you use alternatives or IP products, you should be having two unrestricted products and one restricted product per day. the Newbie sticky thread at the top of the forum has a link to the most recent Phase 1 sheet if you need it, detailing what you should be eating every day, approved veggies and meats, etc. It's about halfway down the first page.

Regarding how to determine if an alternative product is compatible with IP, these are the basic guidelines:

under 200 calories
less than 30% calories from fat (multiply the calories from fat by 3, if it's lower than the total calories you're good)

8g or less NET carbs - unrestricted
9g-16g net carbs - restricted
17g net carbs - super restricted (only twice per week)
above 17g net carbs is too high to be good for Phase 1

at least 12-15g protein


Hope that helps!

Glad you're here and chose to share. Great job on losing 63 lbs so far - that's terrific. We can definately lose our way, especially if we become complacent. This site is awesome for inspiration, motivation, encouragement, education, etc, etc. I really find coming here daily (or as often as I can) makes a huge difference on staying 100% OP. Nice to meet you! Look forward to hearing about your future losses

Thanks scorbett1103 for the info.

Markhenry - good job on the loss. you are doing great. we all require a nudge now and then to get back on track

I think we all get to feeling "lazy" and life also gets in the way. When I first started the diet (a little under 5 weeks ago), I made a list of reasons why I needed to start the diet and lose the weight. Every time I feel like cheating, I refer to this and the cravings for those chips, beer or junk food go away instantly. May not work for everyone... but it sure does for me. I've seen this posted and quoted so many times on this forum but "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".

Good luck on your IP journey. I'm so happy to say I'm down 19.3 in 4 weeks. Need to keep the momentum going!

Excellent responses from all- thanks for the encouragement @ scorbett1103- that was exactly the information I was looking for, in fact, I think that yours was the post I read a couple months back. If I hadn't seen improvements, I don't know if I could have kept this diet up, but generally it's been great.
To clarify- I've been on IP since November, but went alternative in January. Much cheaper, but I can't give up those chocolate powder drinks. I get them about once a month or so. I generally have one Pure Protein bar a day, and try to have two servings of EAS powder for the other protein servings. The protein powder is cheap but hard to stomach every day, I'd love an alternative non-restricted item to change it up.

This is my problem these days too. I so far (3weeks) have only been using the shakes or rtd for my protien outside of my meat and veggies, and am starting to find that the drinks are getting harder and harder to gag down every day. I need some variety or my longevity with this program is sure to suffer. I plan on placing an order online for some food today to get a bit more variety!! (Im in canada though and still trying to find a pudding or more desserty type things on the sites that ship to canada!)

Good luck... hope you find some new things to keep you interested and OP.

Getting lazy is my biggest fear post P1. I'm doing good now because things are so regimented. When I'm out there making decisions on what to eat on my own I have a feeling I'll start letting things slide and that's something I do NOT want to do. While P1 has been the easiest diet I've ever been on I really don't want to have to keep going back to it to maintain.

Check out the Proti Diet and Health Smart products on www.nashuanutrition.com - many of their products are in line with Phase 1 of IP but they have LOTS more unrestricted options. The nutritional info for each product is listed in the product description.

When ever I feel like cheating I come on here. It really helps!