I've been doing a lot checking into alternative products and I'm finding that a lot of the products have the same numbers as IP. (fat, sugar, protein) What makes the protein in IP products superior to alternative choices?

There was a post with a big discussion about this very question, but I can't remember what the outcome was. However, I'm assuming the price difference is because it's a business, with lots of "layers" and everyone needs a cut. Buying alternative products, in bulk from a supplier, would naturally be way cheaper than an IP product that has to pay the coach, the clinic, the distributors, the IP company etc. I'm sure it's just about the almighty $$ not necessarily any quality issues. However, thats just my opinion, not based on anything substantial.

Nothing was ever solved in the big discussion. IP claims their protein is superior but then quite a few Canadian clinics switched to protidiet or protithin products and now say it's the same quality.

Pat

Basically, there are TONS of people on this forum that use alternative products because they work the same as IP products and cost 1/3 the price...or thereabouts.

IP is a program that is sold, and the coaches make money by selling the packets of food.

I started on IP only, and have been slowly switching to alternatives. My weight loss is the same, the products are nearly the same (some even healthier!) and I'm saving a couple hundred bucks a month.

Your coach will NOT agree that the products are the same. Your coach will tell you you're not following the plan if you use alternative products. (This is what I heard when I admitted the truth) Your coach will not be making money off you if you don't buy the IP products...

This is my opinion... The opinion of an educated diabetic who knows more about nutrition than my coach could ever know or pretend to know. (I'm in Canada where there's no medical supervision, and my "coach" is a salesman by trade, and his wife, the other coach, was not in any medical field either.)

I have my GP on speed dial, and she keeps my blood work in check, and has serious concerns with some of the IP "ideas" that are NOT good for everyone...especially a diabetic with heart issues.

On the other hand, this diet (plan, not product) may be saving my life...so it's not all bad.

Whether you use IP products or alternatives, I feel, is a personal choice you need to make.

Hi

I'm in Canada too, and if you don't mind I would love to know which alternative products you are using, and where you get them! I just ordered from Nashua Nutrition but find the shipping expensive. Lindora won't ship to Canada... I found some Pure Protein bars and shakes at Wal-Mart, but do not want to use them everyday (specially the bars) because they have more calories than the IP ones. Thanks!!

Marilyn

Hi Marilyn. There's a 'Canadian thread' in which a lot of us have been sharing alternative products that we use that are more accessible to us in Canada. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...da-thread.html

RE: Alternative products - there are several very informative threads on alternative products, where to buy, which are compatible with IP, etc. I would strongly encourage anyone with questions or interest regarding alternative products to read those threads before posting, as many of us have spent a great deal of time adding info to those threads.

RE: whether the IP products are "superior". Realistically, no they are not - in fact there are several IP products that are ALSO sold under the alternative brands at a lower price (a practice called "rebranding"). Same factory, same product, same silver space packaging. The other products are nutritionally VERY close to IP products and the ingredients are not necessarily "superior" in IP's brand.

Just as an illustration - is the brand-name Saltines superior to the store-brand salted crackers? Maybe - but for many the difference in price between the two makes the difference in taste irrelevant. Some may prefer the brand-name, some may prefer the store brand. It's the same with IP products vs alternative products.

Marilyn,

I happen to live in a border town near Bellingham, Washington... I have a USA mail drop box. I order all my stuff from the states and go pick it up and "import" it myself. Sorry I'm not more help.

I had not seen it, thanks a lot!!!

Lucky you

Im not trying to "stir the pot" but.... there is an enormous difference between the US standards and Canadian standards. In the US we have GMO's, meat with hormones etc... in Canada the standards are very different so an alternative product in Canada has got to be different that an alternative product in the US.

Thanks for the replies. I'm new to forums like this, so I'll have to wise up in how to search for just what I'm looking for so I'm not muddying up the threads! Thanks again!

Well, not really. Everything is imported/exported cross border from pre-packaged foods to fruits and veggies and Canada DOES have GMO's. This is from the Environment Canada (government) website "Canada is the third largest producer of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the world."

IP is produced in Canada.

We have almost the same everything here as in the USA, it just costs more because our taxes are higher, and things imported from the US are levied with tariffs and such.

I'm American, living in Canada for the last 14 years (married me a Canadian) and I do almost all my shopping in the USA. The majority of everything is cheaper for the same product. Maybe only cents for small items, but believe me it ads up when feeding a family!

The meat and dairy costs more here because there are limits placed on farmers by the government that keeps the costs up, not that it's any healthier than in the USA. You still have to buy your stuff at the organic markets if you want anything healthier than grocery store food.

Everyday items are all the same, exactly the same, only a lot of them have Canadian producers so that they're NOT imported. Nabisco has a sister company here called Mr. Christy (same products, different company name).

Now, as for alternative foods. Because most are not produced in Canada, and not imported by stores, you have to order them/import them from the USA, and then you're stuck paying duty taxes, etc. I don't have to pay duty because I know what to tell the border guards when I'm crossing. Meal replacements are considered groceries, and there is no tax on non-snack type foods (like soda and chips, they can tax if they decide).

Another example. If I want Heinz Sugar Reduced ketchup, I have to order it from a Canadian online company and pay around $5/bottle. Or I hop down to the states and pick one up for a $1.50 cheaper. WF products are the same. I get them from good ol Kroger in the states for $5/bottle, here they're close to $7.

So anyway, long story short (too late) you would be wrong thinking that Canadian food is any healthier than USA. It just costs more, and I reallllly feel for my Canadian peers who are not lucky as I am to live near the border and can go import my diet food for way cheap.

Sorry leanne not to stir the pot and get political, but I wouldn't feel really bad for people not living close to border. For me anyway I like to support my local community/Canadian economy. Where I live smaller town people frequently travel to the big city a few hours away to do their big shopping trips and they believe it's cheaper. I save the gas and shop here trying to support local retailers.

I'm all for that...if one can afford it. I, unfortunately, cannot.

Big city Canada isn't what I was getting at anyway... I live the exact distance from Vancouver as I do Bellingham. I have to save every penny, and Bellingham, WA is way cheaper than Vancouver. I support my local farmers by only buying produce from the one market where they grow everything practically in my backyard. They're also cheaper than normal grocery stores for produce. Besides, my "local" stores (groceries) are big chains, so why bother? I can get things at 1/3 savings if I cross the border and go to Safeway or Walmart there instead of here. I'm on the border, not in the boonies. If I were, I wouldn't spend the $$ on the gas and would shop locally.