I have done the ip thing a couple of times with success, but I find it is really hurting my budget, so I looked at other options like paleo, and other hflc diets and tried them out for a while but I found that I wasn't getting the same results hormonally / it didn't seem to improve my severe pcos situation. (See post titled: my pcos story... any one else in the same boat?)
So I decided the issue is probably that if you follow ip exactly it is 950 cal a day. I find it hard to replicate this with real food. Maybe I am doing this wrong... anyone have suggestions?
I have been using my fitness pal to track my carbs
Looking at various low carb recipies online that can keep me on track with weight and balance my pcos so that I can hopefully get prego eventually.

Since IP is low calorie, low fat, low carb, moderate protein... It simply cannot be replicated with "real food". It has been tried. You can't get the minimum 12-15 g protein and still keep calories, calories from fats and net carbs low enough. Only one food can work... One whole egg plus three whites gives you a close replica of a packet.

Why not just use alternative products at half the cost of IP? (See the alternate thread in this group.) As long as you use the guidelines for selecting protein foods that match IP, it can be a great savings!

Otherwise, you can do a high fat low carb plan such as Atkins. While they DO have packaged foods, those are meant for occasional convenience and not meant to be used as a main part of the plan the way IP foods are used. It is mainly "real foods".

While you can't replicate IP on real food, you can create a plan with similar (and even superior) calories and nutrients, but it can be quite the daunting challenge if you don't have a fair amount of nutrition education (or the help of someone who does).

IP is a psmf (protein sparing, modified fast) and doing a psmf without medical supervision can be tricky (and even risky), but it's not impossible.

Atkins Induction is also a psmf, and so are many other (but not all) low-carb plans.


PSMF plans have been discussed quite often on the site, and you may be able to find some of those old threads if you type PSMF into the search field.

I can't believe I have read these responses!

Tried canned fish. And save a bunch of cash!!

Oh, and it comes in a convenient packet too!

Thanks very much for the advice. I have been doing a lot of research on line, but had not come across the term PSMF.
Yeah, I figured it would be hard to replicate with real foods. I have been trying but finding it hard. I still buy their vitamin supplements and trying to stay at about 25 carbs max a day, but the calories are the kicker. Even eating salads twice a day, with chicken or tuna and eggs and for breakfast I find my calories are over 950 cal as per their protocol. I got sick of eggs and started making cream cheese pancakes just to have something different.
Maybe I will give Atkins another look.
I appreciate your response!

really... why so rude! These forums are for advice and bouncing ideas off of other people. If you have nothing nice to say, try saying nothing at all.

HiSarah....

I've had success some time ago with Medifast. It's about the 900-950 cal a day that IP promotes and the MF packets do contain 12-15 g of protein, many under 100 cals and under 10 carbs. However, MF has becoming way too expensive.

I'm using Wonderslim and My Diet Shopz products. Very reasonably priced and tasty, especially Wonderslim. I buy online directly from their sites.

25 carbs per day was mentioned on this thread. Is this correct? This is extremely low. I have success keeping the carbs at 75 or lower. Good luck!

Apologies if that was taken as rude. I was just indicating a low calorie, low fat, low carb, moderate protein food which I assumed was the mysterious item in question.

I am doing IP with alternatives right now. I do sub in the egg/egg yolk combo a few times a week and canned tuna instead of a shake occasionally. While I know this is not 100% on plan, it doesn't kick my calories too far up, provides some variety and saves some cash.

I lost a great deal of weight with a mostly paleo diet with atkins/keto macros, but I slacked off, regained and haven't been able to "kick" start like I did last time. I find the structure and severity of the diet is what I need to get back in the game. I plan to transition back to whole foods in 60 days.

You can buy IP compatible packaged protein foods at HALF PRICE OR LESS than IP foods. Thousands of us are foing it. We folow IP protocol completely except that we buy the same foods under different brand names. There are many alternative foods that mirror IP. Why try to reinvent the wheel? Just lower its cost!

I have been using real food (with the exception of a Quest bar), and I've been seeing results I don't like the IP or the alternative foods, so that's why I decided to go the real food route. It might not work for everyone, but it works for me!

Here is an example of my daily menu:

B - 2 whole eggs (scrambled) + 1 TBSP Oscar Mayer Selects Real Bacon Bits (low cal, low fat, 0 carbs) + salt & pepper

L - Spinach salad (2 cups raw spinach + 1 cup raw broccoli + 3 oz. Tyson Grilled Chicken Strips + EVOO/ACV dressing) AND 2 hard boiled eggs

S - Cinnamon Roll Quest Bar

D - 4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast w/salt & spices + 1 cup raw broccoli w/EVOO/ACV dressing

It adds up to about 920 calories, 20 NET carbs, and 105g of protein. Since this works for me, I'm sticking with it! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Where was the rudeness? I only saw an honest effort of advice giving and idea bouncing in Ian's post.

Your response seems more hostile to me than Ian's, but I'll assume you lashed out because you assumed hostility that I don't believe was intended.

Rather than assume rudeness, it helps to re-read posts (out loud if necessary) in what you consider a caring, compassionate voice. If it still sounds rude, there's still a very good chance that no rudeness was intended.

On the subject of weight loss, saying almost anything at all can be interpreted as rude, so we have to assume the best of each other or we all would be obligated to remain silent.