Ok...Inspire Diet

jcavanna2

So, I bought the 14 day Inspire Diet and plan to start tomorrow. I keep my surgery secret from some so today I modified my Facebook Profile so I could keep it to myself (though a family member who has a if mouth is part of the closed group so I wound up dropping out because I don’t want her finding out I had surgery and blabbing..but I digress).

Anyway, today I spent a good part of the day meal prepping - chicken crust pizza, Italian chicken poppers, manicotti, cheeseburger pie and worlds best meatloaf. These are all recipes from their website. Their diet recommends using 5 of their products a day. I inquired about the 5 products since I like some of their shakes and the pancake mix, but wanted to know if their recipes using their products also count.

Unfortunately most of the recipes I made don’t qualify to be part of the Inspire Diet - you can’t eat cheese, yogurt or even fruit on the Inspire Diet. I find it so restrictive so I wouldn’t survive.

I still plan to try to follow it, but much more loosely. What I will say is that it feels good to know I have my lunches and dinners for the week all planned and even my dinners for the week are prepared and just need to be cooked.

Monday - manicotti
Tuesday - chicken crust pizza
Wednesday - chicken poppers
Thursday - meatloaf
Friday - shake

Lunch this week will be cheeseburger pie and leftover manicotti. I made so much food that o already froze some cheeseburger pie for next week and I am sure I will have leftovers from dinner which I will freeze and use next week for lunch.

It felt so good to plan and prepare as much as I did, and that I have some better snacks planned - granted it’s mostly Inspire shakes but hoping that this gets my mindset back where it needs to be.

My Peloton bike gets delivered on Saturday and I am so excited to get it and get started. Some people in the FB groups have had huge success with weight loss and toning using the bike. I am really hoping that having it at home will allow me to work out more than I was and helps alleviate the issue I have had with my daughter not letting me leave in the morning.

I have been under so much stress lately so really hoping this re-shifting my mindset helps get me back on a losing streak and feeling better about me again. The other stuff will eventually fall into place and I need to figure out how to deal with not letting other factors I can’t control affect me the way they have.

Sorry for the long winded post but I have so much on my mind and really excited to get back to taking care of me!

Lizakabibbis

I just looked at the Inspire website. Do you think the protein shakes are worth the purchase just to incorporate in my lifestyle for every day use? They have so many different flavors that look appealing to me.

jcavanna2

@Lizakabibbis for me, some of the shake flavors are bland - the chocolate definitely fell short since I didn’t get a strong sense of flavor - I prefer Eat The Bear chocolate and chocolate pb. I did try the Banana Nut Bread and last week made it with 2% Fair Life milk but it was bland. I made it again today but this time with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a dash of cinnamon and a half a frozen banana and it was AWESOME. The Inspire Diet is very restrictive - no fruit at all, and seems like no dairy though the package suggests using skim milk for their shakes. From the past I liked Cafe Bella and ordered it as part of my kit so hoping it hasn’t changed and I also like the Mexican Hot Chocolate..that one is vegan so you may need to get accustomed to the grittiness of the pea protein. I still have blueberry cheesecake which they don’t sell and that too is bland but probably can benefit from added fruit, and the pumpkin one I also still have and that one is good, just gotta be in the mood for some fall like flavors.

The Bariatric Eating site has a crappy return policy so if you don’t like something you are stuck with it. Their recipes are good. Made the manicotti several times and love it but still need to master crespelle making. I am having their cheeseburger pie for lunch and it’s awesome!

Check out Eat The Bear (I can give you a referral code for $20 off), also Syntrax Nectar and Quest. If you like coffee flavors, Chike and Click are both awesome.

Lizakabibbis

I’ll definitely check those out. Right now I’m drinking PEScience. I don’t mind it but I’m always intrigued by different flavors

garber6th

@jcavanna2 have you tried any other brands of protein pancakes? I have seen several so I am wondering if they could be a substitute?

fit_chickx

How are you feeling on this food plan? Hunger level?

I eat every two/three hours. About six meals. How does it work on the inspire diet?

You mentioned you are useing inspire to kick start your weight loss. What food plan are you looking at that will be sustainable long term?

jcavanna2

@garber6th I also bought Lakanto protein pancakes which are good and they make a bunch of different products. These products use mostly monkfruit for sweetener. As someone who suffers from migraines I prefer to eat more naturally. I almost gagged on sugar free syrup with pancakes. Honestly, I would rather have a couple of teaspoons of real maple syrup vs tablespoons or more of the sf chemical laden stuff.

There’s another brand in the grocery store which I can’t recall the name (not Kodiak) that someone I know who follows keto uses and loves. I don’t eat a ton of pancakes but is good to switch it up. In fact, Damn Delicious has a healthy protein waffle recipe which is amazing (and my daughter likes which is a huge deal) and it’s all real food - ground oats, eggs, cottage cheese and cinnamon.

@fit_chickx As for my eating plan, I don’t try to follow a plan per se but just needed something to sort of anchor to mentally to help my head because right now I am so stressed and depressed so the idea of following the Inspire Diet was one way for me to control what o put in my mouth since right now it is so easy to just say screw it and eat whatever. What I am glad is that since I so badly wanted to follow “something” I had to be even more thoughtful about what I ate and have everything planned out. It made me plan 4-5 more meals which means I had to think about it and plan. Now this week should be relatively effortless.

I have leftovers from this week so I will have lunches prepared for the week. I am going to look for dinners that interest me and are healthy though I don’t plan just to use Bariatric Eating recipes only. There’s lots of great websites with healthy options.

My biggest issue is that I really don’t like vegetables. Never ate them as a kid, my family never prepared them. Salad to us was iceberg lettuce drowned in French dressing. Now I like spring mix, and will eat sugar snap peas, green beans of prepared how I like them, zucchini mixed into stuff (like the BE Italian chicken poppers). For me, unless it is salad I can only eat a couple of bites - I used to love carrots but now they upset my stomach, and years ago I tried red peppers but again, just a few bites. I need to try to incorporate more but after 40-something years of not really eating veggies it isn’t something I can automatically like. If anyone has any good recipes with veggies maybe I can try it...

Sorry for the long winded post - so much on my mind. Haven’t been able to get out of bed at my usual 4 am to go to the gym - been very depressed, so it’s hard. Really excited for my Peloton and can’t wait to get on it which I plan to when it’s delivered. Like MFP, Peloton has an amazing and supportive community. Need to get my spark back!

Thank you for letting me vent - I know there are a few people going through the same thing and this is a super supportive group!

Lizakabibbis

Growing up in the south - we ate a ton of fresh from the garden veggies but they were normally cooked with bacon grease or fatback and service with a massive side of cornbread haha.

For the most part I like my vegetables roasted (cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and potatoes). I like zucchini noodles stir fried with either a curry or Asian style sauce and then I add a ton of peppers, onions, and shredded carrots to bulk it up. It's the same for cauliflower rice.

I think for so long I tried to force myself that steamed veggies were what I needed to eat and it was just so bleh to me....so maybe with all that I'm saying - just try to mix it up.

loriloftness

I'm curious to hear how your Peloton bike works. I have seem it at the MOA and it looks really great- but not in my budget right now and I already have a membership at the Y that is paid for. I agree, it would be really nice to be able to get a good workout at home and not have to go out for it. Can't wait to hear as you experience it.

jcavanna2

@loriloftness I thought the same thing but you can finance the bike, along with monthly class subscription ($39) - i had a friend’s referral code which gives you $100 towards accessories. I got the mat, new shoes (mine are 10 years old and I would need to change out my clips), as well as earbuds - it is WAY more affordable than you would think. If you want more info, PM me and I can find my code and refer you to the person at Peloton I worked with. Their app (part of the subscription) has so much stuff it’s not even funny, and not even stuff that can be on the bike only. They have abs, arms, flutes, core, boot camp, running coach, yoga, etc. you can also do a 14 day free trial of their app too

loriloftness

Thanks. I may look into it next year when my gym membership runs out. I will probably go try a few spin classes at my gym to see if I like them.

loveshoe

Jcvanna2, I'm so excited about your bike!

jcavanna2

@loveshoe - me too!! Will let you guys know what I think once I get on it! Saturday can’t come fast enough!

clsumrall1

How’s your bike treating you?

jcavanna2

@clsumrall1 LOVE the Peloton - even my husband is using it which is great. I have been battling migraines daily since last Saturday but still managed to get 5 rides down

clsumrall1

Awesome 😎

littlegibbs62

Morning all!! @jcavanna2 How is the Inspire Diet going? You may be having headaches from "carb withdrawal." Some docs say adding 1-2 cups of chicken bouillon will help with sodium levels and also advise adding 1 tsp of MOM for 425mg of magnesium. Hope you're feeling better. Cool about the bike!!!

jcavanna2

@littlegibbs62 I couldn’t follow it to a tee - it was WAY too restrictive for me. I did love having my meals all planned - having all 3 meals and snacks planned made things way easier! I didn’t get to weigh this past Saturday (I weigh in “officially” at Weight Watchers). I plan to go this Saturday especially since we will be going to Alaska next week. For me, I get migraines and the weather in NC has been ridiculously hot and humid. Yesterday and today I am feeling much better thankfully.

The Peloton bike has been amazing - got on for a 30 min class at 4:15 am today, it is really convenient and even my husband is starting to exercise!

clsumrall1

Has anyone tried Inspire peach parfait?

jcavanna2

No but curious about their new shake flavor Caffe Amore