Today has been a long awaited post. I thought I would get this up sometime in August with an incredible transformation, but it took me much longer to do this program than I anticipated. And to be totally honest, I didn’t actually hit my goal weight. BUT, I am so happy with where I am and since I’m done and moving forward, I figured it was time to share the details.

I briefly touched on Ideal Protein in a post I did last year about weight loss. I also talked about Faster Way to Fat loss which is a slower fat loss program but ultimately better for you as its sustainable and you eat whole foods. Anyway, let’s dive into why I chose IP this time around and how it worked.

What is Ideal Protein? It’s basically a keto/carb cutting crash diet that gives you instant results but takes a great deal of willpower and money. You eat 4 protein meals a day and 4 cups of very specific green vegetables and your calorie count averages about 900 a day. Yep, you can see why you lose weight quickly by the calorie deficit alone. By eating high protein and low carb, you rid your body of sugar and become a fat burning machine. Coaches running this program will actually tell you not to do any exercise as you risk burning your muscle mass and it doesn’t actually change your weight loss. However, I chose to do barre classes and occasional runs to get myself back into a healthy routine and also earn a few more calories. While it’s not recommended, it helped me stay in a routine of exercise after I finished and also, has been life changing for my mental health. Now I work out 5 days a week and it’s been the number one form of self-care for me.

Now let’s back up. The reason I didn’t hit my weight loss goal is because I had too many weekends off the diet with travel, weddings, and finally getting into Austin restaurants after booking reservations 3 months ago. I was very diligent in the first 3 weeks of this with no weekends off and that’s when I had the most fat loss. I continued to lose weight for another few weeks but since then, it’s really been maintaining. If you want to be successful in this program and spend LESS money, you need to do it without cheating. Carve out 3-4 weeks (or more depending on your goal) where you know you can be less social or more resistant to giving in to temptation. I say that because I ended up giving up at the end because I just wanted to get back to real food and less limitations. Again, I’m very happy with my results.

Just to give you perspective, a pack of 6 ready-made chocolate drink shakes (my daily breakfast) is $31. That add up very quickly Especially when you’re eating 3 Ideal Protein ready-made meals a day. This diet requires a LOT of processed food. I know, I know: I’m totally selling you on this, right? Ha. But here’s the truth. I knew the only way that I could get back to my pre-baby weight in the time frame I wanted and feel GOOD was through this program. My body has changed so much since having kids and I’m proud of it, but I know that burning fat and fighting those last 10 lbs, even with daily exercise, doesn’t work for me unless I do something drastic. And this is what I chose.

I’m not an expert by any means, but I don’t believe this program is smart for breastfeeding mamas. I waited until I was done breastfeeding to do Ideal Protein because I had read that ketosis isn’t good for transferring milk to a baby. I really enjoyed Faster Way to Fat Loss and Whole30 after having Charlie and McKenna. But after doing Ideal Protein with Eric during quarantine, I was much more inspired to try this again and I’m so glad I did.

Anyway, you are here for the numbers and the results, I know! I’m not going to share my actual weight because I feel like that number doesn’t matter, but my total weight loss was 13 lbs in 5 weeks which got me to my pre-baby weight. My goal was to do another 5lbs but I didn’t quite get there and now I just don’t really care. I lost a total of 6 inches off my body, mostly off my stomach but also my waist and legs. I feel so strong and my clothes are fitting again. My anxiety has decreased, my sleep has been deeper, and overall, I just feel so much better. I fluctuate 5 lbs weekly due to carb cycling and water weight and I’m happy with that! I’m very diligent about getting a good night’s rest and balancing exercise with any meals where I want to enjoy extra goodies like chocolate or wine. Crash diets like IP often have people packin’ the LBs right back on but not if you focus on changing your lifestyle. Balance is key.

This program isn’t for everybody but I thought I’d share my results and just my overall thoughts on crash diets/healthy eating. I know that I’m someone with a sweet tooth and a love for a good glass of wine or an ice cold pilsner. I’ve always loved exercise because getting my heart rate up and zoning out to a good playlist are one of the few methods that relax me. I want my kids to be interested in exercise and food because they LOVE their bodies and want to nourish them. Not because they want to punish them in the name of vanity like I once did years ago like many other immature teenage girls. So I’m going to work hard at leading by example for my children, not talking about my weight but talking about how good running and taking care of myself makes me feel. I wanted to share all this because I know this post is specifically about weight loss, but to me it was also about getting myself back into a healthy routine. And if better sleep and less anxiety are apart of that, what more can I ask for?

healthy living ideal protein ketosis