It is quite possible she doesn't know the answers. They are as follows:

1. Lettuce: Do I *have* to eat lettuce? I have some sort of intolerance to lettuce and it goes right through me (producing quite a bit of discomfort on the way through)... Is it about getting enzymes or something that I can for example substitute raw peppers or cucumbers for? I should point out that I am not hungry and don't need "fillers" if that's what it's purpose is supposed to be.

2. Salt: I find 1/2 teaspoon of salt per day really difficult to handle...I eat things that have salt in them sometimes (ex: turkey sausages) and IP products have a lot of of sodium in them...I felt poisoned with salt when I added 1/2 teaspoon per day. I do add extra salt but not as much as that, and feel totally fine with that. Now is there an important reason why I should have more salt that I am not aware of?

3. Collagen: I do hope Raspberry Jelly and Blubbery/Cranberry/Pomegranate drink can help me with cellulite and lose skin, however I really enjoy them and sometimes I would like to have them more than just once every other day. In one of the sheets given to me by my coach it says "If you are concerned about cellulite or lose skin, be sure to have one of the collagen packs every second day: either the Blueberry, Cranberry & Pomegranate drink or Raspberry Gelatin. During the Maintenance Phase, you may enjoy one each day." Can someone explain why it seems we should limit them to only every other day?

1. Lettuce: You don't have to eat it. It's a nice "filler" but not if it makes you uncomfortable.
2. Salt: You are using this for electrolyte balance. Have you tried splitting it up 1/4t at lunch and 1/4t at dinner and just sprinkling it on your meat and/or vegetables? Getting this amount of salt (while still using some salty proteins) was helpful to me to balance low blood pressure and prevent dizziness. You might not need it ever or not just yet. See if splitting it up helps. I would try to get it in if you can, or start with 1/8 teaspoon per day and try to "build up" to 1/2 teaspoon per day.
3. Those products are limited because they are not complete proteins. An option might be to be sure to have 3 egg whites on days you have them. This would give you 15g of complete protein and an extra 51 calories. I think the collagen IPs are only 80 calories so if you compare that to chocolate drink at 120 calories, you're pretty close with the collagen/egg white combo in terms of calories, so it shouldn't impact your weight loss.

Hopefully others will post to confirm or refute my opinions.

My dietician & doctor explained that the salt is a must even if you feel that you dont need it. (Sometimes I feel like just throwing it over my shoulder!!!) But yes, this program is all a matter of checks and balances and a very delicate one at that. Yes, you have to eat some sort of lettuce or spinach or some kind of leafy green vegetable (1 cup) at lunch and dinner. Now I dont know about the third question ....my peeps jsut told me to drink whichever one I wanted each day

I will just comment that I hardly ever use the salt. The only time I do is if I am eating eggs or egg whites. Otherwise, I never put it on anything. Some people just don't need it and if you don't feel like you need it, I wouldn't worry about it. If you find that you start getting headaches or dizzy, then I would add some in.

There isn't actually a requirement for lettuce/leafy greens in the protocol. Lettuce is unlimited but not required, and helpful if you need to fill out mealtime with more than just the required foods. It doesn't matter if you have 1 cup, 10 cups, or none.

My coach recommends lettuce at least once a day to keep things...uhm, moving :-)

Also, the salt is very important. Especially when you drink a lot of water. Your body needs electrolytes to function, and even if you feel fine, it may be hurting your body. You need sodium to absorb some nutrients

Hey this is interesting, so many different views/opinions. Thank you everyone!

I do try to comply with all the requirements as precisely as I can. I was splitting the salt between lunch and dinner (and I can't tell you how many times I checked the measuring spoon I am using, wondering, "is this really 1/4 teaspoon??" because it seems so much!) but found that all that salt is simply too much and I felt kind of ill from it... so I do keep adding salt, only not as much - but I try to make things as salty as my taste buds allow (and it is weird because prior to this diet I ate super salty food compared to most people I know...).

In my readings about food prior to starting this diet, I remember coming across live enzymes in raw veggies that are destroyed in cooking, and those enzymes are important for proper digestion. I tend to like to cook one giant soup on a Sunday and eat it Mon-Fri (I mix up 5 or more vegetables in the soups to keep a variety going, and I often include leafy greens too), occasionally substituting 1 cup of cooked veggies with 1 cup cucumber to have the raw things once in a while (I have no idea if this is important at all, but it doesn't hurt since I love the freshness of cucumbers). If a part of the purpose of lettuce is to provide the raw vegetable thing, I have no problem eating a few different vegetables raw to make up for it. Or it may be some fresh vitamins, vitamin C, etc, and again happy to substitute (and I do actually, just to cover all basis).

Just as a point of interest, my coach includes celery and cucumber into the unlimited group. One of the IP sheets says those 2 veggies and lettuce will not make you gain weight no matter how much of those you eat, so she allows it - although I haven't done that. To be honest I find the amounts of food set out for us to eat in the plan completely sufficient and don't feel the need for anything more.

Infoplease, that was a great explanation about the collagen packs, makes sense, thank you!

This is a great diet protocol and an amazing support group here! Group huuug!

I think that celery for sure (and maybe cukes) actually take more energy to burn up than you consume, so that's why many diets say they're free. Ours doesn't, but I think that's maybe why it did in the "old days" It takes more work for your body to do when you eat 'em.

Jenny
Do you not find any issues with a lower salt intake when exercising? I add quite a bit of salt to my food, and I have a soup every day. If I don't salt things I desperately crave it and am lightheaded and often cramp up at the gym. The potassium is a must for me too. It does seem to be a fine electrolyte balancing act...

I have never used the salt. I am extremely sodium sensitive and try not to have any food item with more than 300 mg. my max would be 500 mg. If you are not getting dizzy and don't get a headache you are probably fine.

Hey this is such a simple and obvious answer and I bet that's just it!! Somehow I didn't think of that. I don't exercise... when I do exercise or when it's hot out I sweat a lot, but it just so happened that when I started this diet a week and a half ago, the weather has already cooled down and I haven't been exercising at all...

But I do understand about dizziness, etc, if I experience that I will be sure to up the salt...

I make sure i use the salt and take my potassium. this is only day 5 and already I figured out if i don't use them, i have such bad LEG TWITCHES at night... Ugh.

#3: So we are not supposed to have the BlueCran drink everyday? This is basically all I use for IP mixes!!!!

at one time I had an issue with not getting my salt... a nearly painless way to do it is to just put a dash in ever glass of water you have (your dash size can vary depending on how big your glass/bottle) and you might not even taste it...

The 2 products are incomplete proteins. My coach told me on the days I use them to use them as an "extra" packet and NOT to use them instead of one of my 3 packets.