Hi I am new to the ideal protein diet....I am having trouble figuring out how to get my whole 4 cups of veggies in....should I go by weight on my food scale or should I cut the up into a measuring cup??
Also how important is eating the extra lettuce, I am full after dinner and don't really want any lettuce...

Weighing on the food scale is more accurate.

Thanks...it seems like there are alot of some of the veggies when I use the scale for 8oz..???

IP measures in cups, not weight.
8 oz of spinach would be TOO MUCH!

Yes, you will need to use cups to measure as weight varies way too much among veggies. Cut them into reasonable pieces and measure before cooking. With some you will also have to use some reasonable judgement as well when measuring bulky veggies in a cup!

You DO NOT have to eat lettuce. Eat your two cups veg (x 2 meals) as your priority. If you want a salad or are hungry, then add in lettuce. Plain lettuce is "free" (romaine/iceberg) but other lettuces (arugala, spring mix, etc) are counted as part of your veggie cups.

Thank you Lisa for helping me with this...its hard to figure out things like mushrooms and green squash and I was not sure if it went by weight or cup....Lisa can you tell me if lettuce at lunch and dinner is necessary? ? I am full at dinner and eating lettuce is no possible..

Oh Laurie thank you a million....

As Jlus stated, lettuce isn't required but I hear over & over again that those who eat the most salads lose the most weight. Some coaches require salads and some don't.

I wonder if this is because typically the veggies one would put in salad are a little lower carb (lettuce, cuke, celery, etc) than others one might cook? Or maybe the raw of a salad is more filling? Interesting observation that salads seem part of better losses in some people!

My coach says lettuce isn't required but advised. I agree that some days I just can't get it down. So I take a day off of lettuce when it just doesn't sound appetizing.

I measure my veggies in cups

I do recommend a food scale. I got one at Target for under $30. But as others have stated a cup of veggies does NOT usually equal 8 oz., as that is typically a measurement for liquid.

If you go to the website below, you can find the weight in grams (most food scales have this measurement) for one cup of almost every vegetable (raw and cooked weights) under the sun. It's been super helpful for me the last few days. For example, one cup of raw spinach is 30 grams while one cup of raw asparagus is 134 grams. Trying to get asparagus spears in a measuring cup is way too hard for me!

http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

I love this link!! I had been thinking the same thing about asparagus and trying to eyeball it but it's awesome to know the exact weight. Thank you for sharing!

Measure your veggies raw (2cups), it'll reduce after your steam, sauté, baked,etc.... Weigh your protein before cooking (8oz raw)

Thank you all for your help...that link is so very helpful with weighing my veggies