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:
If you can't find what you're looking for in this forum using the website search function, try using the "double search" using Google.

1) Go to Google.com. Search 3fatchicks by using the term site:3fatchicks.com at the end of your Google search.

For example, if you want to look for "big mac in a bowl", type "big mac in a bowl site:3fatchicks.com" in Google search. No need to include the quotation marks when you type.

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

Good morning and happy saint Valentine's Day everyone.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

I am really excited because I've been on the forum long enough and have enough posts for a siggy! Yay!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi, I lurked on this board when I did IP a few years ago, and now I am doing a reboot. When I planned the timing I had not anticipated the effect that Valentine's Day would have on me though! We have a bottle of champagne in the fridge that we won't be opening and my husband is offering me whatever meal I want. I just keep thinking about a box of assorted chocolates. Maybe I can do something with a chocolate pudding packet to make me feel like I had a special treat today. Any ideas?

I'm 9ish weeks into IP and for some reason this week has been really hard...tired of what I'm eating despite mixing it up quite a bit! How have people gotten past this kind of frustration when they still have a long way to go to meet goal???

A very happy Valentine's Day to all!

To celebrate, I had my initial consult with my coach - whom I now LOVE!

I had forgotten to do my health profile, so we got off to a shaky start, but when she asked if I had medical conditions, beyond the hypothyroid (she remembered!), I told her "no" but went on to describe what happened to my joints when I was drinking the EAS low carb shakes (with soy).

I told her about 3FC - which she knew about, but she 'coaches' on another official IP board - and was impressed I was able to narrow down the issues and eliminate the problem (soy-based drinks).

She was also amazingly helpful - we got online and looked up information I could use. I showed her my MFP and she was impressed with how well I'd already modified the IP protocol using real food (thanks to 3FC I said!) - said my macros look great. Told me while she would love me as a client, and how important it is to have support, if the majority of the soy foods aren't tolerable for me, then she understands. We talked about artificial sweeteners / processed products of which neither of us are huge fans and at one point she laughed and said something to the effects of "I am talking myself out of a client" She also sent me a link with all the IP foods and what they contain - of course, 70% are / have soy (protein).

So in the end, she didn't have me fork over the $350 for the starter box / fees. I am going to experiment this week and bought a mixture of non-soy and soy products to try. I am dying to make the cauliflower fritters Rainbow posted the other day, but needed IP potato puree (which IS soy free!). So I got the potato puree, broccoli cheddar soup, vanilla drink mix, mango drink mix, chocolate & vanilla pre-made drinks, and the herb-omelet mix. So we'll see!

I was so super impressed by her - I was afraid of a "hard-sale"...but she was the one who immediately suggested a sample / trial period before committing. She was even willing to work a deal with me about visits / WI's as long as I would buy 2 boxes of product &/or vitamins to come to a minimum $$ every week or two - depending on my needs.

Thank you to 3FC / all the posters over the years who's institutional knowledge allowed me to educate myself before meeting with my coach This group is awesome!

So I had my first official IP product for lunch - the broccoli cheddar soup...how anyone can eat that by itself is beyond me - licking the spoon was hard. But I added 1C of my homemade broccoli puree, added some curry and adobo and it was fantastic!

nearthebay Take a look at Ideal Protein Cupcake Treat Pops for some inspiration, or hit up the recipes thread for some of Rainbowsmile's incredible recipes. Lisa even posted a cupcake tower recipe on the "I need a baker's help" thread that would work as a treat.

Kcodrums Have you looked in the recipes threads (linked from the first post of the daily thread) and checked out Pinterest and done some googling on how to "bake" with IP packets? There are so many variations out there. Sounds more like frustration with lack of flavours than real diet fatigue though. You'll get past this stage.

hysteria_625 You certainly got lucky with a potential coach there. Sounds like a win-win situation if she's willing to work with you for IP and non-IP products and weighing in and accountability provided you meet a minimum financial outlay per week/month. That is awesome.

I never tried this but I printed a recipe where you wix the IP pudding with the crispy cereal and freeze it so it's like a nestle crunch bar. (Do you have those in the US?) The pudding would have the water added, but the cereal gets stirred in dry.

Happy Valentine's Day. Got my new ticker today. Hope everyone has a great day! Had a wonderful massage yesterday. I am spending time with my family as my oldest is home from college for the weekend. Made his favorite cookies and wasn't even tempted. I consider this as I love cookies (I can relate to cookie monster.) I consider that a big NSV for me.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Holy moly! Made jicama fries tonight!!!! Wow! What a treat and I am absolutely stuffed. DD10 loved them too

Anyone know of a BMI ticker that could be added to the signature here on 3FC ? I'd really like to find one that shows the ranges for Obese, Overweight, Normal.... Any ideas?

Drop Alexandra (Avalon1957) a PM. Looking at her tickers, they look custom-built and she may have mad skills for it.

Had a google around and can find BMI calcs that you can put in, but no direct ticker.

We went for a very nice Valentine dinner with 2 other couples last night at a chain restaurant with a huge menu but not necessarily healthy. I modified it as best I could but didn't realize the steak was going to have a sauce smothered all over it. Even though it was a mushroom sauce I could tell it had sugar in it...I had them change the "tempura" asparagus to plain asparagus and I gave away the amazing looking mashed potatoes with butter and pesto. And I'm happy to say, no weight gain.