Hi everyone. I started IP today and I can tell already that it will be tough for me. I have the chocolate shakes for breakfast and the broccoli and cheese soup for lunch. I hated both and fear that I will not make it on the program very long if I have to eat the same thing every day all week.

I plan to call my coach, but before I do I wanted to know if anyone has bought multiple weeks worth of food to mix and match in order to avoid having the same thing everyday. TY!

That's what I did. I actually spent the first few weeks just buying 3 boxes a week, each one of stuff I hadn't tried yet, and kept track of what I liked and what I didn't. Once I felt like I had a good variety of things I liked, I placed a really big order and got about a month's worth of stuff up front.

Variety is the key. I found several items that I liked, stocked up, and changed things up as much as I could. I found I did not need as much variety at breakfast, but certainly at lunch and dinner I needed to mix it up. I also found that work days were different than weekends, and took that opportunity to introduce even more variety.
Good luck!

Thank you both. I will definitely reach out to her and get more then.

I guess I must be lucky with my clinic/coach... We can buy individual packets so I was able to mix and match from the beginning and not get stuck with a lot of something if I didn't like. (AND we can return unopeneds of anything we don't like.) We get a little discount for buying a week's worth of packets at one time, but that still can be individual items to make up the week of food... OR we can buy less than a week's worth of packets but they cost about 50 cents more each that way.

See with your coach if you can exchange it?
My clinic allowes us to exchange food we do not like. I just returned some soup today in exchange for another kind.
So even if you stock up, you are still not stuck with the food that you do not like?
Good luck

I couldn't exchange mine at my clinic so I still have a few boxes of things I didn't like. I used to buy a variety so I could mix it up a bit.

Unfortunately my coach won't let us exchange. She said something about the packets not being labeled for individual sale so they can no longer let you return them.

I made an appointment tomorrow afternoon to get more foods. Even if I just have 3 to choose from I think it will be much better.

Some clinics have exchange baskets so clients can exchange amongst themselves

I find the key is to try some recipes. Honestly, I hate most of the food by itself. The soups I always add to a veggie puree and then I love them. The puddings I can't stand so I buy the ready made for pudding and the others I use for baking to make the cookies, pancakes, muffins. Just add an egg white, and 1/2 tsp baking powder to any package, add some water to desired consistency. If it's too runny, let it sit for 5 minutes as it will always thicken up. Then cook away.
Your tastes will change too. That "fake" taste seems less noticeable after awhile. Stick it out if you can. It's worth it and you'll definitely find your favourite items. Many coaches might not even have thought about a "swap basket" so encourage yours to think about that if you really have some packs to get rid of

When I started at my clinic it cost me $350 but I received 3 weeks worth of packets. It was like a mixed bag of a few of each of the products so I would have a chance to see what I liked. My coach had a print out of all of the packets in the bag so I would know how to prepare them. She told me if there was one with multiples in the bag and I did not like it I could just exchange it on my next visit. I really liked how she did it. It gave me a chance to try everything without having to purchase full boxes.

I am really lucky that my clinic allows us to get individual packets. It saved me in the beginning when I ate something and hated it. Now I mostly get dark chocolate pudding for breakfast and lunch (love them the most) but have a different restricted for my snack every day.

Variety has definitely helped me. I was disappointed when our clinic would not let us trade in the rest of a box we didn't like. I was lucky because my husband is doing it with me, and so we would buy 6 boxes for a week, and then we had some variety together. We also buy an extra box when we have a little extra money so that we can throw in more variety once in a while. Good luck!

Thanks everyone. I will try the recipes as well. I know it will be worth it in the end.

I bought 3+ weeks worth of food my first week (hubby and I were on it) so we could test out variety. What I didn't like he seemed to or we were able to trade packets.

It took me about 3 weeks to get to know what I really liked and what I didn't.