[mmmaria]

Hi all.

I have been on the diet now since October.. lost 35 pounds so far... but in the last month I have only lost 3 pounds

I am wondering if I am eating too much of the veggies.. or maybe too many calories.. or maybe too much protein.

How much of the nutrition elements do we need daily (calories, protein, carbs, sugars etc.. including the packets?

I also have not been having any restricteds at all since jan 1st...
my typical day is:
B: capucino drink
lunch: pina colada drink and 2 cups veggies.. (usually celery or cucumber raw)
dinner: 2 cups veggies ( broccoli or cauliflower or asparagus usually steamed)
5-6 ounces chciken breast (usually grilled)
snack: vanilla pudding

Is there something I need to do differently? Or is it possible that I cannot lose any more??

Any advice is welcome. I spoke to my coach, she said to keep trying a few more weeks, but it is expensive if nothing is happening.

Thanks in advance for all your help

Maria

[Bellamack]

What is your height and current weight? are you small,med. or large boned? are you muscular. It is normal for your weight loss to slow down as you approach a "good" weight for your age, height and body structure. I think you should be eating the restricted, when I was losing slow, I upped my protein slightly and ate a restricted everyday, I think I needed the calories. Also, if you are seeing an IP counselor, speak with them about it. Good Luck and let us know what works!

[Bellamack]

oh.. Have you had your thyroid checked?

[wuv2bloved]

You may not be getting enough protein with only 5-6oz...I would up that to 8 and see what happens. If your body isn't getting enough it will hold on to what it has. That is my suggestion, I would also maybe change up your veggies if those are the only ones you have been eating, everything else looks great.

[patns]

I had the same problem. Are you mixing up your protein for your regular meal? I had fallen into the habit of using chicken breast all the time, I was also using WF dressings.
I hadn't tracked what I was eating on a tracker for awhile (like my fitness pal). I happened to do that last week and was shocked to dicover I was getting next to no fat in. (I also had very bad constipation issues). I added krill oil to my supplements, mixed up the type of protein I had at my regular meals, had salad with lots of lettuce and added olive oil and vinegar to that.
I was really aiming to get rid of the big C issue which happened, but was very surprised to see my weight start to move down too. So make sure you have't cut back too far on fat.

[lkander2]

Try eating a restricted food every other day or every 3 days. That worked better for me (for weight loss) than just completely going without restricted foods. Over an extended period of time, the 3-unrestricted plan sort of stops working.

[mmmaria]

Hello,

Thank you so much for all the replies and ideas... I will for sure try your suggestions. I appreciate being able to come here for support.

Maybe I just need to kick start my body again... I will for sure try the restricteds again.. Maybe my body is just hanging on to what it does have... I will also alter my meat choices.. I have been trying to avoid the fattier meats but maybe that is the wrong approach.

I am 5'0" and curently weigh 160 pounds.... I am not big boned.. At my lightest weight as an adult I weighed 125.. of course that was 25 years ago.. I am 48 now and I don't expect to get to that weight but I was hoping to be close to 140...

I have never had thyroid issues in the past and I did have a physical 2 months ago and all was okay then, however if I don't start losing again, I may go back and ask to get that checked.

By the way.. does anyone know on the IP diet what the recommended amounts for calories and protein and carbs per day etc are... I suspect I am not getting enough and I wonder if that is causing me to plateau...

Thanks again for all your great suggestions... I will let you know how it works out... I am having a cookie tonight.... (I am so looking forward to it...yay!!!!)

Maria

[Eck]

I have been wondering the same thing since I have been tracking my food on line. I am down 35 lbs in seven weeks, starting at 256.
Is there an average calorie goal or breakdown of carb/fat/protein?
Below is from my op food diary today. I just set my rid at 1000 as a guess.

93%
of RDI*
(933 calories)

* Based on your RDI of 1000 calories
Calorie Breakdown:
*Carbohydrate (21%)
*Fat (36%)
*Protein (43%)

[Linden]

Originally Posted by mmmaria

I have never had thyroid issues in the past and I did have a physical 2 months ago and all was okay then, however if I don't start losing again, I may go back and ask to get that checked.

If you are going to a GP it is quite possible that he or she isn't aware of the new readings for identifying hypothyroidism. If you have a printout of your test results, and the TSH level is above 2 or 2.5, then I would be concerned. Also check to see if the T3 level was taken. Then, before you go back to the doctor, if you think you should, get a little bit more information under your belt because may doctors haven't kept up with the latest results. Well, they're GPs. All the new information must be overwhelming.

So, if you think you should pursue this, I'd go to Mary Shomon's webpage and read 3 or 4 articles by the acknowledged experts in the field of hypothyroidism so you can ask specifically what should be tested, know how to interpret the results, and then work with your doctor if the results merit it.

And I realize you may have done all of this already. I'm writing for others who might be in the same position as you as much as I am for you. Good luck.

[TracyAWC]

I've been tracking my intake for awhile now and I've found calories are between 8-900 a day - carbs/50g fiber/15g protein/106g and fats/24g.

These are rough estimates only as the sheet allows for such a variety of combos veggie and meat wise.

I'd echo what the others are saying - I didn't see oil (evoo) on your list and when I switched from zero fat chicken to turkey burgers (20g fat in 8 oz) my weight loss kicked up a notch for quite awhile. Also you don't mention if you're exercising but I found cardio (not weights) to slow/stop the losses. I think my body just thought it was in starvation mode.

[patns]

Originally Posted by TracyAWC

I've been tracking my intake for awhile now and I've found calories are between 8-900 a day - carbs/50g fiber/15g protein/106g and fats/24g.

These are rough estimates only as the sheet allows for such a variety of combos veggie and meat wise.

I'd echo what the others are saying - I didn't see oil (evoo) on your list and when I switched from zero fat chicken to turkey burgers (20g fat in 8 oz) my weight loss kicked up a notch for quite awhile. Also you don't mention if you're exercising but I found cardio (not weights) to slow/stop the losses. I think my body just thought it was in starvation mode.

This is what I think too and again stress if you are eating no fat your loss slows right down. The most common advice is to avoid restictreds which I think is the oposite of what you should do. Go back to your sheet and follow it exactly 100%. I thought I was 100% on program but was stalled. I realized I was not 100% because I was leaving things out-olive oil, lettuce, not getting in all the veggies anymore. But the big thing is not stated on the sheet; mix up your souces of protein and make sure the are not all fat free. The program is at the lowest end of what we should eat and when we don't get it all in the body goes into starvation mode and hangs on to the fat.