Ideal Protein

Ideal Protein (IP) is a low fat, low carb, and low sugar diet that focus on eating the "ideal" amount of protein. See: http://www.idealprotein.com/ca/home. I am not an expert on this diet, just a regular gal that struggles with weight loss, that is on the IP plan. In my knowledge, you can only get IP products from a health care type clinic; mine happens to be a chiropractic clinic.

The plan is easy: eat three packets of IP food a day, 4 cups of vegetables, and 8 oz. of protein at dinner; such as fish, meat, chicken, eggs, tofu, etc. I am a vegetarian, so my 8 oz. of protein usually consists of eggs or a Morningstar Farms product without breading. Take the proper supplements and drink water! You meet for weigh in once a week and buy food from them at the same time! Pretty easy, huh!

Food costs $90 a week at my clinic. You need 21 packets a week, boxes consist of 6-7 meals, so you need at least 3 boxes a week. There are many options that IP offers for their food. Drinks, soups, chips, bars, puddings, pancakes, etc. I really enjoy the strawberry banana smoothie, triple chocolate wafers, and ready made vanilla drink! I like the other options that I've ate as well. If you run out of packets, or don't like something that you've bought, 2 hard boiled eggs are the replacement that you can make.

If you love and are addicted to your morning coffee like I am, no problem! I combine 2 shots of espresso over ice with my ready made vanilla drink and you get a pretty tasty vanilla latte, full of protein! I like my routine, and still enjoy stopping at my morning coffee stand! They are very accommodating and make my drink just the way I need it. I'm looking into getting my own Nespresso machine so I can make my own espresso at home.

The thing I think is super smart about IP is the 4 phases. Phase 1 is where you lose the weight and get to your ideal weight. After that they don't say "See Ya, Good Luck! You'll be back in a year to give us more money!". You are phased out of their foods and slowly reintroduce "normal" food back into your diet. The thing that you've been learning all along in Phase 1 is you need to eat enough protein and eat your veggies!!! This is a great habit for life, that IP really beats into you along the way!

My Results:

Week 1: 8.2 lb weight loss

*Each week I will update my weight loss. IP says that you will lose 3-7 lbs a week using their plan. I plan to lose 100 lbs using IP!

Weight Loss Surgery...Is it the Answer?

Gaining 100 lbs in 8 years because of depression isn't easy. I've tried every diet out there. At my last physical in February my doctor and I discussed weight loss surgery as an option. My dr. said "statistics show that someone in my weight range that is struggling with depression has a 10% change of succeeding on their own". In other words, she thinks that surgery may be the option for me. She said she was actually contemplating it for herself as well.

I attended a seminar in my area, put on by a local hospital. I was very happy with the information that was presented and felt that this is a pretty great option for some people. I'm still on the fence about myself, which I think is mainly due to the fact that my insurance doesn't cover weight loss surgery. Therefore, I would be expected to pay out of pocket for this expense, which ranges from $14,000-$25,000!

I looked into borrowing from my 403(b) retirement and getting a medical loan and this is an option that would help. Being that I'm still young and have many student loans, car loan, and hope to buy a house soon, I'm not thrilled of going into debt any further over this expense.

Something that has changed for me is that I'm taking a new medication with my depression med that is helping tremendously! I feel better than I have in 7 years. I can actually think clearly again and see the "big picture".

About 6 years ago I fell on my tailbone and had to see a chiropractor 3 times a week. His office offered a program called "Ideal Protein", and I tried the program for a month or two before I moved to an area that didn't offer this program. I had good success with this program, other than having to quit due to relocation. I'm now back in an area that offers this program and I'm back on! See my "Ideal Protein" post to read more!

Thanks,
Tiff

21 Day Fix Review

At this time in my life, 21 Day Fix isn't right for me. I think it will be once a huge portion of my weight loss is finished. The workouts were great, but being as overweight as I am I had a lot of back pain. The containers were easy, but I still struggled with being hungry and would resort to binge eating. I have nothing against this program, Autumn Calabrese is amazing, and as I said it is the program that I will use in the future to help me stay on track. See me other posts to see what program I'm working on next.

21 Day Fix

It's 2015!!! Time to get in shape and feel great. I loved my juicing journey but needed more of a day to day structure to follow. I have used Beachbody products in the past and really enjoyed them. This program seems to be something that will work for me and that is why I chose it. I'm excited to get started. I got my shipment last night and will begin this journey on Monday! I hope to create a weekly video to share my progress.