No - it was directed towards you and this comment

The point is that unless I am mistaken, the OP is lean and has been lifting weights long enough where it is part of their routine and they enjoy it. Given this context, she shouldn't be on such a restrictive diet such as the IP diet and it is likely that her problems are indeed hormonal in nature.

Her problem, in my opinion, is not that she is failing to follow the protocol but that she is following the wrong plan for her situation.

you obviously love me I know what Im talking about, been thin my whole life except while preggo....btw.

This is my first post so hope I'm in the right thread. I've been on the IP diet since December 9th and have lost a total of 28 lbs. Once a month, my coach measures my body fat to lean muscle ratio with a monitor that I place both hands on and hold straight out from my body for about 45 seconds. I've not seen this mentioned by anyone else and am wondering about the accuracy of these measurements.

You will actually get more responses if you post general questions in the Daily thread

But to answer you, they are VERY inaccurate. Helpful for measuring trends, but the actual numbers don't mean anything. Your doctor gets a more accurate body fat reading when he uses the calipers.

That's all well and good, and even though people may think IP is not the right diet for her, I still stand by the fact that she's not following it correctly by adding in food that's not on Phase 1.

With all due respect, you're saying quite a bit more than she isn't following the diet as written. You're saying that if she followed the program as written that some of her problems would be solved.

My belief is that based on her specific circumstances, which I am calling conext, she shouldn't be on a PSMF type of diet for long periods of time.

I realize that you're trying to be helpful but you're probably completely wrong. I would have to see pictures of the OP but based on the height, weight, measurements, training history and symptoms the IP diet is not the correct diet, for her.

I really don't know how to explain it to you without writing out two pages but I'll simply tell you that when you're lean, and trying to get leaner, you need to lose it slowly and only intermittently ketogenic.

People toss the words "starvation mode" around all the time thinking that too few calories stops fat loss and this is a myth but there actually is such a thing as starvation mode and it is when the body starts to shut down non eseential functions and if I'm rigtht the OP is at the beginning phase of this.

I've seen it before to others around the net and I saw it happen in my wife. We didn't know what was happening and in the end it tooks months of eating at maintinence for everything to work itself out. That is why I'm suggesting the OP consider eating a couple weeks at maintinence and if she wants to return the the IP diet I'd suggest only 3-4 weeks of phase 1 at a time.

These are proponents of an Atkins diet, but the questions abouts stalls using a ketogenic diet may be applicable for IP as well. The podcast is a bit long and more general, but Phinney is doing good nutrition science.

http://ec.libsyn.com/p/f/1/c/f1c834b...1&c_id=4872461

I had no idea that machine was so inaccurate. I haven't been on it since my first weigh in before i started the diet. Do you think it was totally off?

Please dont blast me I have done that already but I want to know if it is possible that you gain weight just because of cycle(Tom as you all call it on here) I had my 4 week weigh in and was doing awesome total of 17 lbs lost previous but 3 pound gain this week! Was very devistated but still very determined! Any tips to try and make sure there is not a gain the next cycle! Thanks for any input! :0) Shelly

It is totally possible! Don't worry, TOM can cause some to retain a lot of water weight.

Just drink extra water and it will flush itself out!

Yup

Basically, there really ISN'T a way to accurately measure body fat % with electrical impulses. And the lean mass % is calculated based off of the body fat % number that the scale comes up with. So neither is going to be a real, accurate number. What they ARE useful for is measuring trends - because they measure the same way every time you can see upward and downward trends, but the numbers themselves don't mean anything.

The most accurate ways to measure body fat and lean mass % are a DEXA scan, a water displacement measurement, or your doctor's old fashioned fat calipers

Spend some time reading the daily threads - there's usually one of us that's got a little TOM gain going on

It is TOTALLY normal - your body is going to have some water bloat going on during your period, which will flush away when you're done. You really can't "make sure" there's not a gain the next time - your body will do what it's going to do - but what you CAN do is be armed with the knowledge that it's just water and not REAL weight, and not get too worried about it.

wow. it is really nice to know that someone else has experienced the emotional craziness. I want to loose, but not at the cost of my sanity. I think I will try your advice and continue the diet, but not with my coach as I'm certain she would not approve. Again thank you for responding and sharing your experience.

Your current BMI is 23.7, which is in the normal range. Your goal weight is a 20.2 BMI. Underweight is anything less than 18.5. I would speak with your doctor and make sure that your goals are healthy and realistic. The fact that you are having some of these issues may be your body's way of saying STOP! Good luck and please take care of yourself.

It is my understanding that a 1lb muscle gain for a woman in one week is not possible, even if there are ideal conditions and super high levels of testosterone involved. However, my coach insisted that the readings were correct. So, yes. I do have serious doubts in the measurements and knowledge at the clinic.

I guess I put my goal weight as 125 because I'm really not sure as to what my goal weight should/would be. I know I will gain 5 or so lbs when I add carbs back in my diet and that would put me at 130. I'm guessing 130-135? My goal is to lose some weight but mostly to lose fat so that all the strength training and muscle I have been building over the last several years can stop hiding behind the fat :0) I workout too hard not to SEE some of the hard work looking back at me in the mirror. As to what those exact numbers are....i dont know yet.

I've seen my doc and she said to add some carbs in for a while until we can determine what is going on. She said it could very well be the amount of estrogen my fat cells are releasing is too much for my body to handle or that my body is very sensitive to the hormone release. However, she said there could also be some other reasons. She ordered some blood work, sonogram, and a few other tests over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully its nothing serious and just a matter of a few carbs...ill keep this thread posted as to what happens.

Again, thanks for all your thoughts and your post.