Hello! New here to IP, not new to 3FC But this time, I need to DO IT and for once, my husband is doing it with me - THAT makes me super excited. We both have a lot to loose and I am so happy this time he realizes that we BOTH need to do this.

We are doing alternative IP - since we are both doing it, unfortunatley I cannot afford regular IP for both of us with a kid in college and one in high school.

I have been researching and thank you so much for sharing so much informaiton. I have an order to place for some things and then we are going to start.

Looking forwarding chatting with ya'll!

Hi!

I'm on my third week of IP. I was just thinking about putting in an order for a few of the IP alternatives. I need variety, and this stuff gets sooo expensive! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress using alternatives!

Those first three days were brutal for me, so be prepared with iron will! Allow yourself an extra packet if you get hungry, and I found that taking a drink packet and adding tons of water and ice to it, and stretching it over the course of the day really helped with my hunger.

also: the videos are super helpful, they have them all somewhere on here. My coach told me not to do restricted packets for the first two weeks, basically just the soups, puddings and drinks in the under 9 carb range. I think it helped. I generally have a very hard time losing weight and I'm down almost 10lbs in two weeks.

good luck!


:co okie:

I am new as of last Wednesday.

My coach did not mention anything to me about not having the restricted packets from the start. Those of you with experience, do you think it really makes a difference? They have actually been life savers for me with my hectic schedule and have allowed me to actually eat while on the run versus starve myself.

I'm not finding a whole lot of vegetarian posts, so if anyone else is out there, please chime in. I will eat fish but simply don't know many ways to prepare it but I am searching and searching for recipes.

I like the looks of the recipes on Doctor Tran Tien's site - very sophisticated.

Summerblue

peaches17 some coaches try to modify the plan thinking it will accelerate the losses. Personally, I think it just makes the plan harder to follow. The first week is hard enough as it is.

Some coaches say no restricted the first few days or week. I was fine having a restricted from the beginning. I just started training to be a coach and my coach....an IP consultant, says to have a restricted from the beginning, but like I said every coach is different. Kinda silly not too. With the diet being so restricted it can help people get thru those first few awful days.

Welcome Summerblue and Ruti. You will do great as long as you stick, strict to P1 and no cheating.

Strongly agree ragdoll! So frustrating!

so you guys don't think it makes a whole lot of difference to include the restricted stuff from the start?

oddly, the plan isn't hard for me at all as I've always eaten "weird" - raw, vegan, juices, cleansing, etc. so I am actually finding the IP packets totally awesome and a change from my ordinarily bland diet.

luckily i did a two week cleanse prior to starting. i personally LOVE to drink wine, but, after the cleanse, the wine started making me sick. if i had to cut out the wine cold turkey while starting IP, then i think i'd definitely die. :-)

one thing i'm not quite grasping - are the 3.5 / 4 hour eating intervals hard and fast rules? like today i was stuck in an appointment during that window without a chance of eating. i had no idea whether it was better to grab something early or something later?

thank you guys. this forum is a saving grace.

My coach didn't tell me that I had to eat every 4 hours, but I've seen others post about it.

Don't stress yourself out if you can't eat on time. I try to eat earlier, if I know I will not be able to eat at my normal time, to avoid being overly hungry later. I also swap lunch and dinner or eat my snack at different times to accommodate my schedule.

Yes! My coach literally told me if I do not eat in the 3.5 to 4 hour window, then I am NOT doing the plan. That didn't seem completely right to me. And, already in my first week, I am seeing the challenges of a modern day schedule fitting eating into that specific time 3.5 to 4 hour window.

Ok good, so today when I knew my constraint, I did eat before it so I wouldn't be famished after my appointment.

Thank you.

Hi Peaches,

My coach also told me that I really need to eat at least 4 times a day.

I dunno...the drinks are pretty easy to put down, I bring my shaker cup and I add extra water, like basically a packet and a pitcher of water with ice for the blue berry pomegranate drink, but then I rather enjoy it actually. I sip it all afternoon at work. Otherwise they are way too sweet for me.

hmm. He said that this used to be the proticol, but after they changed it he found people weren't doing as well. My aunt who has a different coach and got me into the diet also thought it was ridiculous. Even without restricteds (or cheating) it took 4 days for me to get into ketosis, which I think is a bit longer than most.

I dunno, I'm scared to have the restricteds now! I guess I will take the leap.

4 times a day is understandable but mine gave me the hourly mandate - to eat every 3.5 to 4 hours throughout the day.

And, that if I stay up longer than 3.5 to 4 hours after I have had dinner, then I must have an IP packet before going to bed even if I am not hungry.

I simply have no idea if any of this is right as I am not seeing others talk about it?

Ruti - how did you know when you went into ketosis? I started IP on Thursday and don't know how I'd gauge that?

Thanks.

Coming in as someone 4.5 months into the diet, who uses alternatives (although I started out on IP with a coach), and has to modify a LOT of this diet to fit my rather odd medical conditions....

1 - I do not eat restricted foods because I'm diabetic, but I add meat protein to make up for the missed calories. Therefore, there's no reason not to eat a restricted if you are following the whole plan to a T. Some people need the extra energy to get through the day, others, like me, don't need the carbs at all. It won't hurt you not to eat them, but it's a matter of the coach changing up the rules, which to me is just wrong (part of the reason I left the clinic)

2- it doesn't matter WHEN you eat, as long as you get your 3 packets, 4 cups veggies, 8 oz meat in a day. Period. Eat when you need to eat or when it's convenient to you. Eat what you want to eat WHENEVER you want to eat it. Sometimes I have my protein for breakfast if it's a hectic day ahead and I need my snack foods that are portable the rest of the day. It does NOT matter.

3 - About the restricted again. You will lose weight because you're massively restricting carbs/fat/calories. There is no way NOT to lose weight on this diet if you follow it, and those restricteds are made the way they are for a reason, to fit the diet. My average calories are around 900-950 a day (higher than a person following this exactly) and I lose on average 2lb/week since I began the diet. (except for a 2 week break I took)

4 - Eating four times a day. I think a lot of us have just found that with the small, small meals that a fourth is necessary. For instance, I actually eat 5 times a day. Breakfast (IP or alternative) Lunch (salad) snack (soup and IP or alternative) dinner (real meat) snack (before bed - third IP or alternative) This keeps me from every feeling STARVING and therefore keeping me from going off track and grabbing the nearest food to shut my stomach up.

5 - Going into ketosis can take anywhere from 2-5 days. I think it took me 4 because it wasn't till day 5 that I didn't feel like death.

Cheers to you! Stick with it and you will lose!

Don't be afraid of the restricteds. I always have mine at night since I really enjoy them and it is something I look forward to. In the beginning I was not particularly hungry, but now that I am in my fourth month, I do get hungry sometimes, and knowing I am getting a treat at night keeps me on track!