Hi to new folks and returners alike!

Life has a nasty habit of throwing curve balls, doesn't it? I stopped sweating the small stuff, but fell into the trap of sweating the big stuff, too, so now I'm restarting an IP alternatives using real food and a handful of packets from NashuaNutrition.

I lost 102lbs on IP and know that it works, so I've decided to go for it again. Already down 11lbs in week 1 (mainly glycogen stores) and the sugar craving has gone. This time I *will* phase off properly, because I can't keep doing this to myself.

Where is everyone from the maintainers and rebooters?

Hey Beth

Good to see a familiar face. Been a busy couple of weeks so didn't check in. Glad to see you've come back to get the weight off once more.

How’s it going? Going into week 5 and the weight loss has been steady. Was 173.5 last Friday but more importantly my cute summer tops are fitting again.
Every day is a struggle though. I am not in a position to get all the “bad” stuff out of my house - my husband and 13 y/o don’t have weight issues and hubby is training for the Marine Corp Marathon again in October. He eats healthy, but can have fruits, peanut butter, etc...
I already have entry too but am deferring - I can’t train for this kind of mileage at the weight I was at (187 before I decided to get my poo together).
Hope all is well for you!

Going ok here. Slower loss this time round, but perimenopause doesn't help. Losing the weight is giving me horrible hot flashes as the fat cells release stored hormones as well as fat. However, down 24 lbs in 6 weeks, so it's going. Noticing that I've dropped 3 dress sizes though, so it looks like I'm burning it even though the scales aren't playing nice.

Congrats on the loss, Beth.

This time round I'm doing a hybrid of a true keto and the ultra low carb/moderate fats. I won't starve myself to lose weight, but I also won't eat food that isn't healthy. I really need to break the cycle and find healthy desserts that will stop me reaching for the low nutritional value sweets. Found an excellent site for LCHF if you're interested. Looks like a good array of low carb and moderate to high fat recipes for sweets, so it should keep me on the straight and narrow this time round.

Hi Amanda,

Today is my first day on IP. Searching around the web, I came across this board and your post. I have so many questions, doubts etc. - especially because I tend to be weak during the weekend. I will keep searching around to see where I can find more information and hopefully I don't fall off so quick.

Hey Yami!

Trust the diet, it works. If you absolutely can't resist certain foods, do some research on keto groups for recipes that will help you out. For many people, bread is a necessity, but if you search for keto+bread you will find recipes that you can incorporate once you are firmly into ketosis. Unless you are carb sensitive you can make small adjustments once you are familiar with (and using) the principles on IP.

I found IP too rigid, and the food was less palatable than I'm prepared to endure a 2nd time around.

Good luck on your journey!

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but you'll explain to me what IP is? how it's working???

Ideal Protein is a weight loss system that is designed to minimise the amount of insulin your body produces. As a result of taking in a low calorie, low carb, low fat and moderate protein diet, your body will go into a state of ketosis. Ketosis is where your body is not using carbs to give you blood sugar; it is burning your body's own fat stores and that fat is broken down into ketones, which the body can function on just as well as glucose (stored version is glycogen) or blood sugar produced from carbohydrates. If it wasn't for the fact that there is a small part of your brain that NEEDS carbs to function, then we could eliminate carbs altogether.

However, the IP diet relies heavily on soy and sucralose. Soy is problematic for many people with estrogen positive cancers, as it's a phytoestrogen. Sucralose is a low glycaemic index artificial sugar, and there are better sugars out there (monkfruit and some of the sugar alcohols (erythritol, xylitol)) that are zero GI response. This means that your blood sugar will rise for a short period after eating a packet, but it will be of short duration and the low caloric intake (IP is normally around 800-850 calories if you're following the diet closely) will keep you in ketosis. Some of the packets contain dairy products (whey and casein are both milk based) and can cause problems with excess mucus and dairy allergies.

A great many people start out on IP, but find it expensive and start looking for alternatives. When you see the group has a thread called IP Alternatives, you'll know that people are sourcing cheaper (and different ingredient) products elsewhere, and still comfortably maintaining weight loss.

Once you understand how the diet works, it's very easy to switch to real food alternatives by adjusting certain macros, and still lose weight!

Here's a link that explains it:- How Ketosis works

Hi Briael!

I lost 57 pounds to 155 in 2015 and I'm back because I married a carbloader and I keep forgetting I'm insulin resistant. I think my hormones need adjusting, too, because when I try to ease into low carb/keto using whole foods, the carb cravings are ridiculous.

Anyway, I have 20-25 pounds to lose before I feel good again. It helps that Facebook keeps showing me my "skinny" pics from 2015 to motivate me. So I'm back with alternatives and I'm going to do it this time, not fall off the wagon and beat myself up! Doggoneit!

Welcome back, Marcibeaucoup.

Just keep getting back on that old horse, you know it works.

I was on Phase 1 for about 4 - 5 months in 2015-16. When I reviewed all my numbers - I was really amazed at how well it worked! I was not great on the program, wine being a primary problem for me. But now that I am up in weight higher than I started, I am back. I am doing IP without the check-ins. I have a smart scale and I felt the check-ins were always just a source of frustration for me. It was always how I should be doing better, not really a pat on the back. The first time around I got mad about the packets and artificial food, but my goal this time is to go on for 2-3 months to see the progress and move to a Alternative and/or real food approach. I am getting the actual IP products for now (ebay). It really does work, and in the first week I am down 5 lbs. I wish us all success!

My "official" weigh-in day isn't until tomorrow but I'm down 9 pounds as of this morning. Yes, indeed it does work! Even with alternative products!

I'm brand new to this thread, but almost exactly 4 years ago I lost approx. 40 lbs. on IP and it was very easy because for the 1st time in my life, I lost all cravings and I truly "ate to live".....not "live to eat" like we do in south Louisiana! LOL My father got really sick and I stopped working to help care for him and during this time I ate on the go - he passed on August 29th. Now I need to take care of myself & get healthy for life this time. My restart appt. is tomorrow and I'm so excited! My youngest son is getting married in March and my husband has booked an awesome cruise for us right after that, so I want to be able to wear the dress I want to for the wedding AND be bathing suit ready for the cruise! I'm so glad I found this thread!

Welcome, Tammykd9! I'm so sorry for the loss of your father.