Happy Monday!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. The soon to be hubby and I went to Houston over the weekend for a wedding. It was a mini sorority/grad school reunion too. I wore my great new black dress that made it's debut on the boards early in September. 3 people didn't even recognize me, 10+ made me twirl to show off the new me, and countless compliments were made. Needless to say, it was a great weekend.

AND- despite traveling and eating the majority of my meals out, I still managed to drop 1lb as of this morning. It's unofficial, but still. I think I would have hit the floor had I stepped on my scale this morning and it was up.

For those who know my wedding dress story, the NEW dress comes in this week and my first fitting is on Saturday!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!

Good morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent almost the entire weekend outside enjoying the beautiful weather we had. Took my dog on many long walks thru trails in our areas parks. Great way to refocus and to think forward. Looking back to where I was with my weight, and where I am heading.

I had one question, is it alright to eat canned veggies? I find myself getting a can of spinach out of the cupboard for almost every meal. Started thinking maybe this is not the best thing to do and that it should be fresh or frozen.

Also thinking about doing IP packets for all meals this week instead of cooking my dinner for my protein. I hit the 160's last week and really want to speed through them to get to the 150's. Any thoughts on doing all IP packages vs a cooked protein for supper?

Hope to WI this afternoon which will be a few days early, but I usually plan my trips since I live 45 minutes from my clinic. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will hit the 20 pounds lost number when I weigh in.

Have a great day everyone!

My Sister in law came over to talk to me yesterday afternoon about IP, she is signing up today!!!! So now I have 3 relatives that have signed up in the last 2 weeks!!! I love telling people about this Eating Program

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! I just wanted to share about my Treadmill success! I have always been a walker on my treadmill, but I have noticed as the pounds have been dropping I have been able to run further and further each time! I have to say I feel invigorated after these workouts!

I tried a CrossFit class Thursday night and it totally kicked my butt. It was a great way to mix up the routine!

Have a great day everyone!

Well, fell of the IP wagon this weekend. It was the 1 year memorial of my best friend's loss of her husband. Blah, blah, blah, I ended up having a 6 inch sub. Short story, I restarted IP yesterday. I told my best friend that THAT was it! I am serious now. I have a lot invested here, most importantly money and MY HEALTH!!!! I CAN DO THIS!!!!!

wyoangel ~ you've got the right attitude. I did about the same thing this weekend. (I really have a tough time with the weekends!) But I'm still into it. My home scale still hasn't budged from my weight Saturday am. Starting over again this morning!!! We will do it!!!

Hello and happy Monday!

I've seen mention of IP boot camp in several posts now. Can someone educate this newbie on what IP boot camp is? And what is it's purpose? Maybe it was in some literature that you received, but as I mentioned previously, I got 1 page giving me what I can and cannot eat during phase 1 and the only other thing I got was a page to track my food/water/vitamins/exercise.

On a side note, they just closed a bathroom near my office for "maintenance". Could they not have done this before I started IP and upped my intake of water??? Oh well, I'll just get some extra steps in as I head to the bathroom for the 15th zillion time!

shrinkingsusie posted about it in the last 7-10 days. It's not in the dieter literature. It's in one of the clinic or coach manuals. If I recall correctly (IIRC), it's a possible modification of the Phase 1 protocol to try and move stalled weight loss. Again IIRC, stalled weight loss or a plateau is no weight loss or inches lost for 4 weeks. Given you're in week 2 on Ideal Protein, this probably fits in the "good to know if I need it at some point" category of IP information, if you know what I mean.

In the unlikely event that your weight loss stalls while being fully compliant with the program, ask your coach about it or search shrinkingsusie's posts.

A brilliant post from Rocky Monarch about a shift in mindset required for lifetime success in Phase 4, maintaining the body we've worked so hard to get during Phase 1. Read it by clicking on the blue arrow next to her name in the quote below


Hey Rocky Monarch. I appreciate your honesty about the holidays. It appears that I opened a can of worms about the IP philosophy. I have a couple of comments/ concerns. I understand where you are coming from as far as transforming your mind. I believe if the diet is only to lose the weight and return to previous eating patterns, one would end up at the starting block once again in a short amount of time. But, with that said, I'm not quite sure how I see IP teaching someone how to eat healthy long term. I am only in phase one and very new to the whole system but as far as I can see, it is not healthy for one to eat out of little foil packets for the rest of their lives. During the IP protocol the plan is to unbalance the diet to lose fat and maintain/ build muscle. Once you have successfully completed the protocol, you would want a balanced diet. A balanced diet would include fruits and vegtables, and yes- carbs. I do not believe wanting to eat some green beans and potato with my turkey is jumping off the cliff. My question was strictly in reference to the opinions of others as to whether or not to have my Thanksgiving meal with the family while on protocol and return immediately to phase 1 to phase off the diet and see that I can maintain weight loss, as my coach is encouraging. I have not cheated at all with this diet and refuse to do so. I have done alot of work in this area of my life and refuse to go back. My weight has come from three babies in three years and is a lot different than sitting at home on the couch eating unhealthy foods and gaining weight. If the philosphy of IP is to eliminate carbs, including and especially healthy carbs for the remainder of my life, than this diet is not for me and would not have been approved by the FDA as a healthy option for weight loss. Our great God has given us a wide assortment of fruits and vegtables among many other beautiful things and they were meant for our enjoyment and health. Just my $0.2.

Got it! Thanks for explaining! I'll file it away in case I need it down the road. Thanks for your help!

Hello fellow Ip'rs! Its been a while since I read the boards. Great to see everyones progress! I can't wait to get to onederland! I'm sooooo close!

Happy Monday Everyone!!!! I had the best weekend! We went to a Carrie Underwood Concert! Absolutely fantastic, if any of you have the chance to see her go!! She is amazing. My NSV some pants I wore last Sat. night to a wedding were super baggy yesterday when I wore them, I love IP. Good job to all for your wonderful successes.

You must be so excited to try on the dress. Yeah!!! Good job staying on track!!

Me too!! I also have 3 member plus me on IP and two more pretty close to joining. A bunch of friends too, it is so exciting!!

We are all human, we are not perfect. lol Just jump right back on the IP train!!! You can! do it!!

Go to the after phase 1 thread and read everyone's posts there. It gives you a lot more understanding of living after the weight lose. Great thread!!

Hi again,
Please don't get fed up with me and my questions just yet....I'm trying to learn as much as I can from you wonderful *losers*. I just read the phases thread and thanks to Jordanna have a lovely color copy of phase 1 instructions. This is a much prettier version than the one I was given by my coach....and I must add, slightly more informative. A couple of questions:

1. it says *serving size must be respected with no more/no less than inidicated* regarding veggies. I was told by my coach to eat 2 cups of veggies at lunch and 2 at dinner, but he said I didn't have to eat them all if I was feeling full....to stop when I felt full. I've stopped when I felt full....should I make sure I eat the full 2 cups going forward?

2. 7 oz or fish or 5 oz of meat. I was told 8 oz of fish and 6 oz of meat.....and I did ask, and it was pre-cook weight. So I'm guessing this would be close to the 7/5 oz after cooking....or do I need to adjust?

3. should I avoid restricted items the 1st few weeks? my coach didn't mention this. I quickly realized how much I look forward to the yummy caramel bars...then saw the # of carbs in them and have told myself no more than 2-3 per week. But, I can do without them for another week or so if I need to.

Thanks for your help.....I really appreciate it!

NCgirlie I'm wondering the same questions.

funny, my coach just said to have 2 cups of vegetables a day plus unlimited salad.