Ideal Protien Diet - weight loss and Sleep Apnea

Well said Janknitz.

Jan,
I wish we could follow your advice but this has to be a family, whole household affair for us if it's going to work. It looks like my sister in law (an MD) is going to start and unless Beth advises otherwise we're going to continue doing it by the book.

The 1st phase if IP seems similar to the Atkins induction phase and I'm not going to argue with 5 to 7 lbs per week. The transition phases seem to lead right into Paleo, and I am looking forward to Venision, Grass Feed beef, Rabbit, Pheasant, free range organic chicken and asparagus slathered in butter.

How is eating real food counterproductive when it comes to the entire household eating the same way?

Maybe I just misunderstood what you were saying?

The Ideal Protein diet may not be for everyone. That being said, my wife and I started on the diet 3 months ago at our doctor's recommendation. After two months we asked to have a full fasting blood test done. I've been diabetic (Type 2) for 12 years and my wife has been the same for 3 years. Both of us also have some kidney problems, blood pressure, etc. Its old age creeping up pretty fast. I also have a auto-immune disease called Mysthenia Gravis. Part of the treatment is getting an Intravenous Immugogblin (Short name - IVIG) which is made up of blood products from healthy individuals and is a tad on the expensive side. For example, it is now the end of the 3rd week of January and I've just had my 1st treatment for the year and I'm 2/3 of the way through the prescription drug "doughnut hole" I'm hoping that improving my weight situation via this diet will allow me to spread these IVIG treatments out by a couple of weeks - that could be a real cost saver.

The results of the blood test were very similar for both of us - blood sugars in the normal range; triclidrides normal, kidney functions normal, cloistral (good and bad) pretty close to normal. We've been able to either reduce the dosage or even eliminate some of the drugs we are taking (some of which are not generic).

Is this something the the Ideal Protein program promises? No its not. Do a lot of people see this "benefit"? I believe that they do based on reading comments in other forums and facebook groups devoted to this program.

I'm down 55 lbs and my wife is down 19 lbs.

Concerning the food - some items I don't like but others I do like. I do use a good amount of seasonings (Mrs Dash to the rescue) as well as Walden Farms products for salad dressings, ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc. My wife likes other products such as the crispy cereal and chocolate drink (both cold and hot).

A typical day for me is:

Breakfast - a IP Herb omelette with 2 egg whites added plus 1 cup of chopped mushrooms & cooked spinach mixed in with a bit of WF Chilopte Mayo - added at the end plus other spices, salt and black pepper (I like it spicy).

Lunch -IP spups such as Chicken A-la-King, chicken noodle or mushroom plus another cup of veggies such as Jamaica, bell peppers, cauliflower, etc (usually heated) over a bed of lettuce, cabbage or raw spinach.

Supper - 8 oz of steak, fish, or other protein (sometimes we'll do 8 deviled egg halves) plus 2 cups of veggies over a salad ...

Snack time (about an hour or so before bed) - another IP product such as Herb & garlic chips or Southwestern Cheese puffs.

I'll also have 2 to 3 cups of decaf coffee during the day plus my water. The IP diet plan wants you to drink 64 oz of water a day but my kidney doctor won't let me do that much.

There are also additional supplements sold by the IP program to supply different minerals and vitamins.

Excluded during the Phase 1 of the diet are dairy products - including butter, fruit, and vegetables that have lots of sugars - such as carrots and cooked onions.

Now to the question of Sleep Apnea - Nope, this diet doesn't do anything for that - other than when you have lost weight and are eating better, you just may be sleeping better - but any good diet should help there.

Personally I believe that when both adults are on the program at the same time, it is much easier. When we started, the first thing that we did was to get rid of every thing in the pantry that we could not eat. Some went to out children and some was donated to different charity groups and we found some way out of date that that was discarded.

It has been a challenge at times - no McDonalds, french fries, onion rings, ice cream, In 'n Out burgers, chicken fried steak & mashed potatoes, English peas. corn fritters,
etc, etc for the last 3 months. Once we get to the final phase on maintenance, then one day a week we can have some of those - but by these, they may not taste very good again.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it - YMMV -

What ever you decide to do - do it with the same dedication that you had when you fist started using your CPAP or BiPAP and stick with it.

Can't find this in the list..

+1 for regular low carb, modified Atkins. Lose weight, have even-level energy all day, eat delicious food, drink some wine, have whole wheat pasta occasionally. I will say low carb is hard to do if you're a vegetarian.

Hey, Bill, I get the convenience angle and if it's working for you that's 75% of the battle. So I'm not criticizing, just hoping that you can gradually start to add in real food so that this will be sustainable for life beyond IP packaged stuff.

While you're on this phase is a good time to study up on Paleo and in particular the auto-immune protocols. Paleo may not be the miracle cure, but so many people have successfully slowed autoimmune progression and sometimes reduced the ravages of their diseases through real food.

I'd start by looking for Dr. Terry Wahls TED talk, Minding Your Mitochondria on YouTube, reading Robb Wolf's book The Paleo Solution. I also like Nora Gedgaudas' Primal Body, Primal Mind, and Diane San Fillipo's Practical Paleo. Check out on some Paleo sites. A good aggregator of many of the best sites is http://www.dietdoctor.com/new. Robb Wolf, Mark Sisson, Peter Attia, and others are there.

Read up especially on gut dysbiosis and its role in disease, particularly autoimmune disease. Even while on IP, your family can start to work on your gut micro biota by adding two simple things--fermented foods (real, fermented dill pickles, sauerkraut, Kim chee, etc ) and learning to make real bone broth(as simple as throwing some bones and veggies in a pot with water).

These simple things will not delay your weight loss, but they WILL profoundly improve your health.

The big takeaway from the Paleo resources is to begin to learn the concept of nutrient density so that when your family is ready to transition you'll understand WHY it's crucial to your health and weight management.

digitalepiphany wrote:How is eating real food counterproductive when it comes to the entire household eating the same way?

Maybe I just misunderstood what you were saying?

Yes, you misunderstood. In our home the whole household will have to be involved and eating "real" food (and I appreciate the distinction) again will occur when it is time. This is being lead by my wife and she will make the decisions.