Thanks to the moderator won fixed my date typo in the title yesterday without a request sent!


Welcome back to the Daily Chat thread - post your plans for today, share what's been happening, ask questions!

Some forum lingo:
NSV = Non-scale victory
TOM = time of the month
WI = Weigh-in
WF = Walden Farms
OP = on plan

Bookmarking:
Ideal Protein Sub-forum Home page
Consider making it a bookmark or a favorite in your browser so you can come back easily to get your RDA of Ideal Protein information.

Information for newbies:
Check the sticky page (top of forum, above all the topics) for lots of good information and please read here before asking what might be a frequently asked question: Information on Ideal Protein phases (1-4), IP Ultimate List Recipes, FAQ, Newbie Guide, Exercise, and other Important Threads,
and here are the most recent Ideal Protein Protocol sheets

And before you cheat, read this thread:
The Real Cost of Cheating on Ideal Protein

Before starting new threads: spend some time reading the forum. Most new threads are duplicates, triplicates, quadruplicates. Folks who are the most successful, make time for research/reading.

Recipes Here
Ideal Protein Diet Recipes #4 -current thread open for posting
Recipe thread #3
Tips and Recipes from the Incredible Weight Loss Center
Fun with Ideal Protein Packets
Fun with Veggie Purees!
Mix'n in the kitchen...Recipes from the Rainbow
MiX'N' iN THE KiTCH'N.... Recipes from the Rainbow Volume 2

For those looking for alternative products
Here is a thread with tons of info. Spend some time in it. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...phase-1-a.html
And here is a link to a chart to help you choose appropriate products

Tickers and Signatures:
There are 2 requirements to have access to signatures and tickers. You must have been a member of 3fatchicks for 20 days AND posted at least 20 messages anywhere on the 3fatchicks forum. When you've met those requirements check The Ultimate Signature and Ticker Thread for more information and instructions.

Quoting:
The best quoting tip - EVER!! Thanks Rosie, aka 6710.

Searching:
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2) This will bring up the page that you are looking for, now hit Ctrl+F to search on that page. Type "big mac in a bowl" and all instances of that search term will be highlighted.

Progress photos
Mini-Goal Photo Album.

Other helpful links related to the Ideal Protein Dr. Chanh Tran Tien's website

Just finished WI#5 - down 0.4lbs but THREE INCHES gone! And yesterday was the first time at work that multiple people complimented my appearance - a few just said I looked good, but three people called out that they noticed I had lost weight I actually expected a zero loss week, this week was extremely tough schedule-wise (not enough sleep), I ate steak for dinner last night (sometimes it causes me some water retention), AND TOM is on its way out. So I was happy to see the scale moved!

Have a great Friday!

Hi everyone! I started IP on Sept. 3.
I'm in my 5th week and I love this program!
I'm not too happy with my clinic...they have never seemed interested in my progress...no coaching...just weigh in, pay for your food. This week I asked if I could buy less than 21 packets and was told no. I've ordered some alternative foods from Nausha and hoping I can continue that way. It's so incredibly expensive...but I'm so thankful for the kick off it's given me.

I am a very boring, repetitive eater...I pretty much eat the same packets daily which are the S&V chips and the shakes with a few cereals scattered through the week. Lots of raw veggies and the daily 8oz of good lean meat.

I've really enjoyed making my own salad dressing...

I feel so great eating this way and I can't BELIEVE how my cravings for carbs have subsided. I have such food issues...I've often felt like I could out eat anyone in a contest because I just don't feel full. But after being on IP for a month, I fee so "leveled-out"...my energy is better, some skin issues have improved...

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi! I really hope I can cross over into the alternative products. I don't trust myself with bars and cookies...but I've done so great with the shakes and chips. I don't like experimenting in the kitchen...I don't know if that will change...but for now, I love the simplicity of what I'm doing. I feel nourished and so satisfied.

Hi I am on day 4, and am confused about the packet requirements. How can I use 3 packets per day, when you only use them at breakfast and lunch? Also, when would you use the shakes or drink packets during the day? My clinic just said to follow the print out for phase 1, but that I should use 3 packets per day plus one snack food??? Other than that, I'm loving this!!! I think I had food allergies and didn't know it until I started this program.

Hooray scorbett! I was always amazed at how the inches went down even if the loss was low.

Welcome becky123abc - glad you found us, this a great board full of helpful people. Check out the recipe threads if you get bored with what you're eating - lots of very simple things you can do to jazz things up. But there's nothing wrong with eating the same thing every day if it works for you and doesn't cause you problems. You might want to add some less lean meat in there if your losses start stalling (ground beef, steak, etc.). Fat is important for our bodies and I actually found I lost better when I upped my fat a bit.

Check on the Alternatives That Will Work on P1 for ideas on what to order if you're going that way. Sorry your clinic is not more supportive.

You eat a packet for breakfast, lunch AND snack, which you can place wherever you like and need it during the day or after dinner.

You can use ANY packet for any of the three meals (Bfast, lunch, snack). If you want a shake for lunch and chili for Bfast, no problem. Any item for any meal. Did they cover ONE restricted packet and TWO unrestricted packets per day? Sounds like they did NOT do a good job of coaching you. Tell us more about what your initial session was like and what they covered.

Good morning all,

So glad this week is almost over - it's been a doozy.

0 loss this week, which doesn't come as much of a surprise given the amount of stress and lack of sleep I've been dealing with this week and I know both of those things affect weight loss. I've been 100% though and was hoping to break out of the 190s this week, but no dice.

That brings my losses for my first month on IP to 7.4 lbs, an average of less than 2 lbs per week. I know it's better than if I hadn't started a month ago and hadn't lost any weight at all, but for some reason I expected IP to help me shed the pounds a bit faster than most other diets, because the calories are soooo restricted. Just feeling a bit discouraged to be on the slower end of the 2-3 lb per week average I hear people talking about on the boards. The disappointment I'm feeling may very well also be a product of being tired and stressed and still kind of angry at myself for regaining and having to do this [I]again.[I]

Hopefully month 2 will be a better month. Feeling today.

I am on the stress/lack of sleep train with you! I noticed particularly that when I sleep better, I can almost FEEL the fat flushing out the next morning

As far as your losses go - a little math shows that your average weekly loss over 4 weeks is 1.8lbs! So you are just barely below the "average" losses - don't be discouraged! Any other diet would have you at around 2-4lbs lost for the whole month, and you are down nearly 8lbs. Are you also taking measurements? Don't forget that losses aren't just on the scale and sometimes the scale shows little to no change, but inches will have disappeared - that's been my cycle, one week of great losses, one week of low losses but big inches. I just finished week 5, so we're on nearly the same "reboot" schedule. We can do this!

Happy Friday,

Thank goodness after two weeks of no loss I weighed this morning and down 3.4 lbs. It's just what I needed to keep me going. I thought maybe I would completely stop losing. Happy day for me

Happy Friday Everyone! WI today and I'm down 0.6 lbs. I'm okay with that because I really had some numbers moving the last couple weeks. I'm looking at the positives and I'm less than 20 lbs til my goal weight and I know this week is a couple weeks before TOM and that's when I show my slowest losses. I'm hoping next week I drop into the 140s. It felt like just yesterday I was saying that I was hoping to get to the 150s!! I love moving through the decades!!

Not sure how you feel about it, but I would far rather lose the inches than the scale number. At least that way you FEEL better as the clothes start sliding around.

Hi Becky. Sorry to hear you got a clinic that doesn't seem to care. You'll find LOTS of experienced IP and Alternative folks here and they're all very helpful. Check out the alternatives thread for recommendations/equivalencies and see what others are using. Is there another clinic in your area that you could switch to? Maybe one that is a little less rigid in making money off you and more flexible in working with you to find a diet style that you can live with more comortably.


Welcome Liuba. Sad you didn't get some better help for getting started but it's one packet for breakfast, one for lunch with 2 cups of veggies, an 8oz lean protein + 2 cups of veggies for dinner (you can switch lunch and dinner around if you prefer your "big" meal during the day), then 1 packet for a snack. Some of us have the snack for supper, some as an afternoon filler if they eat a late dinner. Make sure you get 2 tsps of olive oil in per day, this will help with keeping you "regular" and it's good, healthy oils to supplement the packets. You can have a free amount of lettuce at any time of the day if you find you are hungry, and there are excellent Walden Farms zero carb/sugar free dressings and zero carb/sugar free "syrups" from others like Torani if you find the packets a little bland or you don't like the taste of the soy and whey protein when you're starting out. Many a packet that would've been trashed in this household has been saved by a good dosing of Torani caramel.

You may have a high insulin resistance level as well as your body struggling with sleep deprivation and stress. Talk with your IP clinician and see if there is any way to check for it. At least that way you would feel less "cheated" by smaller losses if you knew there was a definite reason for it.

Congrats Jemma, how lovely to see the scales moving again.

Wow, you're getting so close now, Kissi. A small loss, but a loss nonetheless. 140s will be awesome and it won't be long before you eyeing up the 130s.



Today hubby is driving me crazy. He's talking about going out to my favourite restaurant for our anniversary next month. Beautiful food, but they cook all their veggies in butter, they make this heavenly mashed potato with herbs, garlic and butter and the meat is to die for. Although I know it's beautiful food and I appreciate the sentiment in him trying to do something nice for us (we're both on IP, he's almost at target weight and phasing into P2) but I feel mildly resentful that I would have to break out of my losing streak for one day and set myself back. Then I feel guilty for being ungrateful that I have such a sweet DH. At which stage he starts talking about ordering a tin of Quality Street chocolates from England for Christmas and I start wanting to hit him with a rolling pin. LOL

Hope you're all fired up for a strong, OP weekend.

If it makes you feel any better, I lost 7.2 pounds total in my first four weeks since restarting (Sept 2 -30). However, I am seeing a difference in how my clothing fits. I didn't measure, so not sure if I've actually lost any inches.

On the up side, that is a faster weight loss than I usually achieve with pure calorie counting - in fact nearly twice as fast. Physically, I feel good, and mentally I feel optimistic that I just need to push through and my body will get used to this program and give me a sudden whoosh.

I totally get where it's discouraging. Last year my friend did IP and lost more than 40 pounds between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Of course, that got my hopes up for similar results, and it's becoming very clear that won't happen for me. But I will get there, even if it just takes me a bit longer.

And you will too!!!

Hi all My 2nd biopsy went better than the first, on the first they hit a nerve and it hurt all the way into my jaw and ear for days. Today I am sore but not too bad. I am taking a mental health/resting day from work, so that'll be good. I should have the results on Tuesday.

I made the BEST soup yesterday!!! Here it was:

First, sautee zucchini in 1 tsp olive oil until browned, add 1/2 tsp cumin, hot pepper flakes to taste, 1 tsp oregano and salt to taste.

Then:
2 c raw kale
1 c water
(blend in vitamix until perfectly smooth)
Add: 1 packet Protithin cream of vegetable soup, blend until the liquid is hot (a vitamix does this)
Then add hot zucchini and just blend for a few seconds so you still have some texture.

It was delicious!

Happy Friday! TGIF!!!

A couple of people in yesterday's thread mentioned transitioning at the end of this month to P2 and that would put them into maintenance by the week of Thanksgiving. I am tossing around the idea of this being my plan as well. As of this morning, I am 6.2 lbs away from my goal. Of course, I love the idea of being a couple of lbs under my goal for wiggle room before going to P2, but I also *hope* to lose a little in P2. I am really focusing this month on getting these last lbs gone so I can be comfortable moving to P2 at the end of the month. It is weird even thinking of doing anything except P1, but it is exciting at the same time!

Congrats to everyone that had lb or inch losses today!

Hey ladies, what is the eggs/egg whites required to substitute an unrestricted packet? I thought is was 1 egg and 3 egg whites but I can't find it nor remember.