I really do, i've been on IP for 5 days now, im 3lbs down. Things have been ok and each day gets a little better, but i really do miss cheese; its one of my guilty pleasures. Is there some sort of alternative? Today at the store i saw a "cheddar melt block" which was soy based product sold in the vegan isle. There were no sugars and like 1g sugar. Is this legal? if not does anyone have any sugggestions for a substitute that will ease the cheese cravings?

you could try the land o'lakes seasonings, there is a sharp cheddar in those...say away from anything with sugar. The diet was built to keep you in ketosis and it's a very tight window. The deeper you're into ketosis the easier it gets...trust me

I haven't had cheese in almost 9 months...and I l-o-v-e it...I miss it but it can be done.

...remember...it's not like you're saying goodbye, you're just saying 'see ya later'...

According to Wuv..from what i remember...soy cheese or vegan based cheese is useable...as it is used for flavour mostly...its better to get the slices that are pre-packaged..that way you know how much your using.

I lost all my weight eating anything and everything including cheese, every single day, just need to keep it to a minimal portion, just like everything else.

Diet should be something you can live with, not a transient snapshot of your life, whereby you return to previous habits and gain everything back, one needs to tailor their nutritional needs vs wants.

That is correct, we can have veggie cheese

Keep your eye on the prize... Whenever I'm feeling down.... I just think about how bad I really want this!!

Ditto. The diet teaches us to pull a Nancy Regan and "Just say no" Then again giving up cheese wasn't hard for me.

I agree...I really miss cheese too. Especially melted all over my eggs in the morning! The texture is just not the same with cheese sprinkles and I haven't been brave enough to try the veggie cheese yet. Will have to look for it the next time I go shopping and try it on my morning omelet (which I actually scramble).

I miss it as well! But luckily it will only be a temporary thing.

Oh, how I miss cheese!!! Last night, I saw the veggie cheese in the vegan section and almost bought the shredded cheddar. Then, I looked to see that it was 70 calories and had some fat and put it back on the shelf. I picked up the slices and saw that the calorie count was even higher for those. I want cheese SO badly! However, I can't justify almost 100 extra calories for that small bit of happiness. I took Wuv's advice and found the Land O' Lakes seasonings, but they didn't have cheddar at my store, so I bought butter and sour cream & onion. Very salty, but they helped me get through some veggies I didn't want to eat last night! Over the holidays, I asked my coach what I could eat for a treat and we agreed that a piece of laughing cow light would be ok if I didn't eat a restricted that day--it was heaven! It didn't affect my loss, so I felt good about asking for permission first. However, I don't bring any more home just to have around. It was only for a treat and I can't start wheeling and dealing with this program. It's just good to know that I can have a little treat someday far in the future (Valentine's Day, perhaps).
Have I mentioned that I really miss cheese?! Well, I do.

THank you!! its good to know someone misses cheese as much as me!! You give me hope. I saw the Land O Lakes sharp cheddar but i wasnt sure if it was ok. I'll be buying it today!

Thank you so much for all your suggesstions

I agree. I'm a cheese lover (part of the reason I am here). This time on Phase 1 is a minor "blip" of time in our entire lives. Think about that-it's really not that much time in comparison to the rest of our lives.

I'm using this time to retrain my brain's bad habits so when this time is over, I can enjoy food like a "normal" person and us it as fuel for my body-not as a source of comfort.