Has anyone stuck to ONLY the unrestricted foods throughout P1 until goal? Does anyone know if there is any evidence that doing that would give bigger losses or quicker results?

I did it for a few months simply because I preferred the nonrestricted, and the restricted I did use on p1 was on the low side (BBQ Soynuts). It didn't make a noticeable difference either way.

My coach warned me about "starvation mode" in which your weight loss can slow if calories are too low because the metabolism slows down to conserve energy. My weight loss month to month was the same overall either way.

I never experienced a faster weight loss than with IP and I think this is true for many. But we always wish we could get there faster The time it took to get the weight off was a window of opportunity to adjust my eating habits & relationship with food. Best wishes to you!

Thanks mars! Yes, I'm impressed with the quick results! I was curious because my coaches told me not to even look at the "bad wall" in the clinic, that has all the restricted items on it. So I haven't. I'm in Week 3, almost to Week 4 and I haven't tried any yet. I am fine with all the unrestricted stuff and wondered if it would make a difference as I've seen a few people who had great results on here mention that they stuck to unrestricted.... But, I've got two trips to Mexico in February and don't intend to stray from the diet, and most of the pre-made/packaged stuff is restricted, so I will probably be trying it soon enough!

Bad wall? Boy is that a lack of training!
Restricteds are built- in as part of the plan & even so most days my cals are 800-900. Only for the most carb sensitive would it make a hill of beans difference.

Yikes I totally second what Lisa wrote! I took a 12 day trip in the middle of P1, but had a car to haul my product. I used choc, & vanilla RTDs (& BBQ soynuts). Both are unrestricted and do not require refrigeration, though you may prefer them cold. The only thing is carrying them in your luggage. imo, it's easier to do what you plan and enjoy some restricteds.

I'm with Lisa and Mars here - "bad wall"????? The coaches are supposed to help you lose weight, not torture you!

One restricted per day is already factored into the daily fat/carb/sugar/calorie counts that make IP EFFECTIVE! I haven't seen anyone report much difference in weightloss by avoiding them, and if so it only seems to be negligible. As Lisa said, you can have them and still stay in the lower range of calories.

However, having one restricted per day is also meant to provide a sweet or salty/crunchy item that in MANY cases helps people stay OP and satisfy a need for that type of food. Many people look forward to that particular packet and savor each bite. My coach made sure I got one each day from the start so I would feel more satisfied and WANT to stay compliant. Worked for me!

FYI - I believe OLD IP rules had restricteds start in week two, but that was changed quite awhile ago... But as we know, some coaches do not bother to stay current or just choose to out-think IP and make up their own rules!

I'm lost here - maybe I just didn't pay attention to my coach on Friday - what's all the talk of restricted foods - I'm just following the program that he gave me - 2 IP - 4 cups of veggies(from the list) 2 tsp of olive oil - at least 1/4 tsp of IP sea salt & a IP snack - I did make a mistake on2 days and had an oatmeal & a bar (didn't know I wasn't supposed to) - what am I missing?

thanks for any input

maureen

Maureen: Did the coach give you the phase 1 sheet (it's posted in the stickies in the first post of the daily chat)? It lists the restricted items.

Off the top of my head (and someone please add if I forgot anything) the bars, the chips type products (except the garlic and herb chips), the pancakes, oatmeal, chili and soy puffs/nuts are all restricted and should be used only once a day. They are higher fat/carb foods.

thanks Ruth - he did mark an "X" through all the bars so I'd know I was only to have 1 a day but I don't remember him saying anything about anything else

thanks again

You're quite welcome Maureen - it does get confusing at first and it doesn't help if the coach isn't really clear with you.

I use largely unrestricted items, varying only with the oatmeal on a good or tired day. However, I cannot compare my weight loss to using restricted, since I only do it one way.

My main reason for not using many of the restricted is that the very nice quality of them - the salty , the crunchy, the sweet - are triggers for me. I worry that if I have them, I will have more than one, that I cannot stop.

Lisa says she solves that in regards to the things like Quest bars by only getting one or so at a time, which is a great idea.

What is important, I think, it to know how your mind and body works. For me, biting into a Bubbies pickle is a great treat and it cleans my mouth so totally that any lingering desire for sweet is gone! At the price of $7.99 a jar, that has to be my treat.

Sounds like your coach selected your first week of food as many do. The red X is on your restricted items. However, IP oatmeal is also restricted so it should also have an X (restricteds are higher in calories, fat, carbs (or At least in one of these) and are limited to 1 per day,

Technically, you can have a restricted for B, L, D or snack, but since they are mostly "snack-like" that is how most think of them. Though really many have a bar for B or L and have an unrestricted for snack.

Ask for a list of all your packet choices and it should show which are Restricted. I got this after my first week when I started choosing my foods.

Question I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this but "Bread and Butter pickles are not allowed right......too much sugar????

Fairly certain they're not allowed, but Netrition has no sugar added bread & butter pickles...