Ideal Protein Diet
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Anonymous
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OP here, Thanks for all of the great tips! I'm really feeling better about my last weigh in--especially because I unexpectedly got my period one day later. I was stunned because I was a whole week early (my period is very stable, with fluctuations only about a day, give or take), and I had absolutely none of my regular PMS symptoms to alert me that it was coming. I am hoping that was the reason my weight loss wasn't bigger, but maybe not.
Weigh ins are in the morning, my appointments are at 10:30 every Friday. I don't want to weigh myself at home because I'm scared of misreading the numbers and allowing them to dictate my mood and progress. I'm drinking my water the way I'm supposed to for the most part and hit my target goals. In the beginning I wasn't hitting those goals so I splurged on some water canisters that will help me keep track of my intake and also force me to get in all of my electrolytes. I'm still drinking coffee and I honestly don't want to give it up because it is a treat for me, but I have decided to give up the half and half because I'm only using 1 ounce anyway and it doesn't seem to be worth it. I asked my coach about caffeine and she said that since I am only drinking one cup a day, it shouldn't be an issue. I have a protein shake in espresso over ice almost every day, and the days I need a hot cup of coffee, I'm just using vanilla protein shake and that takes care of the sweetener and the creamer, so it's a nice compromise. I am going to continue to limit the WF dressing and picked up a bottle of IP dressing. I also ordered "buttermilk ranch" seasoning from Penzeys which doesn't contain much of anything but spices, and when I mix a tsp of that with vinegar and a about 1/4 tsp of grapeseed oil, it makes a fantastic dressing for me, so I'll probably just make that in bulk and continue to use that as my primary dressing. I'm also scared of greens this week because of e-coli breakout, so I'm refraining from salads and will eat other vegetables on the list. We'll see if these changes will make a difference on the scale. I hope so! I have an upcoming week long trip to San Francisco coming up that will be full of celebratory meals (graduation) as well as a Mother's Day brunch. My coach mentioned that at the end of the month, we're going to change my plan up a bit to ease me into maintenance so that I won't gain as much weight on my trip, and I will also be able to resume exercise during this period, so YAY! I think I'm most excited about that more than eating more food. |
Anonymous
| OP - I remember my first trip. I brought IP food and stuck to lean protein and vegetables. Much to my delight, it was easy to stay on the diet and on track! |
Anonymous
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I was actually surprised that my coach wants me to phase off. My original plan was to stick to the protocol as much as possible, but in a pinch, just do regular keto--which would allow me to have some extras like cheese, butter, avocado, sour cream, etc. That way I can at least stay in ketosis and not have anxiety about food choices. I might not lose weight, but it's only for a week and as long as I don't gain, I wouldn't have a problem with just being regular keto.
(I did regular keto for about a year and didn't gain a pound, but also didn't lose any weight, so I know what I'm doing on that particular diet and which foods to avoid) I think it's because I will be in celebration mode that she just wants to make sure I won't harm myself by indulging in alcoholic beverages and cake and whatnot. I'll have another chat with her about it. BTW, my coach is the clinic doctor--is that how it is typically? |
Anonymous
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OP here. I really feel like I'm in a nice groove with this plan and feeling great! I hope it lasts, as I've heard people on FB complaining about crashing and bingeing or going off plan around weeks 5/6. I'm not a binge eater so I hope that won't apply to me. But I'm out of the "all food makes me queasy" phase and now I'm actually starting to look forward to eating.
I looooove the waffles and the IP syrup, I wish I could eat them every day. I think I've been eating ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken) too much, but it's just so versatile and really quick and easy to throw together a meal. I can't wait for the weather to heat up so I can indulge in grilled steaks and pork chops and such. I also made a dill coleslaw last night with no WF mayo and it was still delicious. Why haven't I been eating like this for years? My husband says that he's noticed a change in my whole demeanor, and I have much more energy than I normally have. He also commented that I typically look awful (pale, sunken eyes, etc) in the days leading up to my period, but he had no idea I was due to start and thinks that the diet is really good for me in that aspect. So it's nice to see that there are other health benefits besides weight loss that I'm experiencing. |
Anonymous
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A word of caution re: menstrual cycles while on IP. Yes, your PMS may improve. Your cycles may also get shorter and be less painful. However, my coach told me that the IP diet can make a woman extremely fertile while on the plan. In fact, many people try the IP diet when experiencing fertility problems. So be very careful to take precautions if you aren't planning to expand your family!!
Another unsolicited piece of advice: Take the supplements!! You don't have to keep buying them from IP, but they are really important to keep your body strong (and keep your hair from falling out -- yes that can happen) when you are depriving your body of so much that it was previously used to. This goes for using BCAAs (again either IP's or buy your own) if you are doing any more exercise than a gentle walk or yoga. This prevents your body from using your existing muscle as fuel. You want to protect your muscle! To the poster that will be traveling: When I went on a vacation my coach did not phase me off the plan completely, but rather she suggested I do Phase 2 during vacation, which is basically adding another 8oz of permitted fish, chicken, egg, meat protein to one meal and eliminating a packet for that meal (e.g., having "real" food for two out of 3 meals in the day). It helped me to feel more "normal" when dining with others. However, you still can't drink alcohol on Phase 2. Perhaps your coach was going to phase you off completely if you felt you couldn't abstain from alcohol. But if you are on a good roll, I really don't recommend phasing off completely. It's hard to go back on. |
Anonymous
| OP - In the end, I stick with that way of eating because it makes me feel terrific. In terms of your coaching question, my IP center is really large and they have a great deal of experience. I also like that they have a large number of clients so there's good turnover in food product. I didn't go with a doctor as I didn't need medical supervision. Honestly if you're feeling great, I don't think it's worth it to go into real maintenance this quickly. There's a whole way of transitioning that is critical to keep the weight off. Also I found that I was actually sensitive to gluten and dairy once I slowly added them back. I believe that's why this diet makes me feel better. Overall it's better for your body to stop craving the fats and sugar. Soon you'll find they don't taste great and will make you feel sick. Plus foods will start to to taste better on it's own. Everything tastes sweeter to me now. You can do anything for 30 days. Take it one month at a time. For me I'm fairly strict because I never want to go through that 3 day transition again plus I know too many people that regained more weight than they lost by playing around with the protocol. BTW - I suspect that going into celebration mode with food might actually ruin your time as it is very possible that after eating this clean, the treats you're speaking of will give you stomach and intestinal issues. I speak from experience. |
Anonymous
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OP here,
Wow, that's interesting about the fertility, I had no idea! Luckily we are well protected and in no danger of unexpected pregnancy, but I'm hoping the PMS benefits stick around while I'm doing this plan. I really don't drink at all, so I'm not sure if that's why my Coach wanted me to be phased into maintenance while I'm on this trip. The possibility of me having any kind of alcoholic beverage is slim to none, so maybe I need to sit down with her and explain to her how committed I am to the diet and I won't be in "celebration" mode like that. I think she heard graduation party and Mother's Day in the same weekend and just jumped to conclusions. I purposely started this plan two days before my birthday because I've had enough celebratory eating to last me years. Definitely taking all of my supplements, I am too old to mess around on an 800 calorie diet and think that I won't need supplements and such to maintain my level of nutrition. I'm totally good there. I forgot to add that I went out for a family brunch this weekend and did absolutely great with no cheating and no desire to cheat. Prime rib and steamed shrimp was an amazing treat. |
Anonymous
Great job OP! Thanks PP for the great advice too. I'm only 2 weeks in and I'm getting sick of the sweet food. I didn't think it would happen so fast so I think I'll completely switch up the products I buy this week. I might end up buying janeva's cookbook since I'm getting sick of the same dinners too... I'm down 5 pounds in 2 weeks so I'm going to stick with it. This diet really works! |
Anonymous
I get a little fatigued with the sweet stuff too! I always make sure I have a very savory lunch and won't allow myself to have any bars or sweets. I just had the mushroom risotto and it was WAY better than I thought it would be. In fact, I'm going to buy a box of it on Friday. The only thing that I had to microwave it for four minutes with extra water to get rid of that chewiness. Then I added my two cups of broccoli, added some more water, and nuked it AGAIN for another 2 minutes and the texture was perfect. So it is good, but no way is it going to be satisfying with only 3 ounces of water and 2 minutes of cook time. It seems like every other post on FB is someone claiming that a certain packet causes them to "stall", and I don't know if they're not being honest or if this is really the case, but it's a bit frustrating to have to worry about that considering that we're not buying variety packs. We're buying a whole week's worth of food and basically have to eat variations of whatever we picked that week and we shouldn't be gaining because we picked and paid for a $30 box of food. |
Anonymous
I think the people who are stalling are dieters that have been on the IP diet a long time trying to lose 100s of pounds. They're used to big jump losses every week so when their weight doesn't move, they're baffled. That's my opinion at least and I totally agree.. if we follow the 1 restricted and 2 unrestricted a day plus the other sheet guidelines, I don't think we should have to worry beyond that! Does your clinic let you buy half boxes or try individual packets? Mine does within reason.. she'll open a box for me to try one or two items, but my clinic does not have a huge inventory either. |
Anonymous
I haven't asked whether or not they sell half boxes, I guess it's worth asking. They do have the swap bags, so you can bring in what you don't use/like and swap it out for whatever is in the bag. Problem is that the bag is full of of mac and cheese and gelatin mostly. They did have a couple of mushroom risottos in there, which is how I managed to try it and I actually like it! But again, I had to really doctor it up before it became edible so I can see why some people dislike it if they strictly followed the directions and ended up with stiff, hard bits of pasta. I still have my sample bag of mac and cheese and I'm terrified to try it. Nashua also sent me a sample pack of their mac and cheese ... maybe some things just don't need to be on this diet. lol |
Anonymous
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OP here again with a quick update. So first, I had my weigh in on Friday and lost 2 pounds. I wasn't thrilled with that number, but on the flip side, I'm having the longest period I've ever had. Ever. I'm on day 7 and it's just starting to wind down (I typically go 4 days), so I'm absolutely certain that has something to do with it.
I also took an opportunity to sit down and really examine my diet, add up all of the carbs, the calories, the fat and the fiber. Even though I'm technically eating on plan, I've found that my calories are closer to 1000 than to 850, so I'm really trying to make better choices as far as which packets I'm eating, the type of vegetable (celeriac is surprisingly calorie and carb dense, so I will no longer eat 2 cups of that at meal time), and only eating a restricted packet every couple of days. I'm also going to cut way back on the lean ground beef, which I depended on a lot for quick meal nights. Going to limit that to maybe once a week, and try to eat turkey and chicken the rest of the time, or maybe even eggs. If I don't see bigger losses after making those changes, then I'll know for sure that my body is just slow to lose and I'll have to deal with it. |
Anonymous
| Try fish OP. |
Anonymous
| In addition to cutting back on the beef, you might want to be extra careful you are not overdoing it on the oil and try to drink some additional water. I try to keep a few bags of pre-peeled hard boiled eggs on hand for those nights when I need a super quick dinner. You could also try going the route of eating raw sliced veggies for one of the meals every now and then. Peppers are easy to eat raw. These things often help me "jump start" when I have stalled. |
Anonymous
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I picked up some fish today, thanks for the tip!
I drink SO much water I can hardly go 15 minutes without going to the bathroom. I think at this point I'm close to 90 ounces and I really don't want to drink more than that, it's pretty stressful getting that all in. But I have to drink an additional 16 ounces because of the coffee I drink, so I guess that's a decision I have to live with if I want to keep up with the coffee. Two teaspoons of oil is nothing and very hard to incorporate into the diet, and my coach actually instructed me to be more diligent about getting it into my diet. So Idk. I could honestly go days without adding in the oil but it hasn't helped me so far. Interesting about the raw vegetables, because that's pretty much all I eat, outside of the celery root and the occasional cooked broccoli and questioned if that was my issue! I'd planned to eat a lot more cooked vegetables this week. So don't eat them cook, just stick with the raw cabbage, raw broccoli (slaw), kale, spinach and peppers? For some reason, raw veggies don't feel like diet food to me, but cooked veggies I find to be pretty unappealing and was dreading eating them this week. |