This is day nine for me and the first few days were a breeze. I had lost 6.6 lbs on day 8 but today it was a gain of 1, so I have lost 5.6. I have started bioidentical hormones and noticed I was absolutely STARVING! I actually stopped the hormones (2days ago). But this morning I am hungry again, I am so frustrated. I am drinking tons of water, I am taking my supplements. Everyone else seems to be completely satisfied with so what I am doing wrong? At first, I would have to make myself eat lunch, now I am checking the clock every five minutes waiting for time to chow down! Anyone else experience this or am I just a pig?

I have been on the program for over 20 weeks. I am ALWAYS hungry and checking the clock for when I can eat again. You are not alone. I also didn't understand how everyone felt so satiated, when I was starving all the time. I did the water thing, I did the extra packet thing, nothing helped. I don't know what to tell ya, except to try all the trouble shoots and see if something works for you!

I am so glad you said that! I'm only 2 days into my second week...and I'm ALWAYS hungry! The first few days I was fine and even thought this was going to be a breeze. Afterall, I lost 5.6 lbs the first week! Yipee. But the last few days I find myself very hungry. I confessed to my husband yesterday that I found myself dreaming of pizza and french fries!! Somewhere in these posts someone recommended that you drink water and then wait 15 minutes. I find that does help me. Weekends are the hardest for me...I just have to keep myself very busy! Good luck!

Thank you both for responding, at least I know I am not all alone in this.... I just hope and pray I can stick this out. I have to have some relief from the hunger.... The cravings are hard enough but starving is something else. I love the results so I want to find the answers.

i'm not sure how accurate this is, so it is just a suggestion. for about 3 weeks i was not hungry at all. it was a serious chore to force myself to eat anything. i spoke to my coach about it and he thought that the complete lack of hunger came from not eating enough carbs (i was eating a lot of lower carb veggies like cucumbers for my 4 cups a day). he suggested that i add a restricted every other day to increase my hunger. it worked. so, it might work the other way as well. maybe you are eating too many carbs and that is making you feel hungry all the time. try skipping the restricteds for a bit (if you are currently using them), and try eating the lower carb veggies only for a few days. this might make your hunger go away.

Thanks Laura - that sounds like a great idea. I'll try anything at this point!

Okay Laura...it's worth a try! I appreciate all the support on this board.

I must admit - I have been hungry every day - I've just learned to tune my mind/body to something else. Lots of time spent here reading. I have horses - I go to the barn and clean stalls, sweep, ride, anything to pass the time until the next meal. It has become a mind over stomach agenda. If I find something to occupy my mind, I don't feel as hungry ALL the time. 4 months in and I still know when it's time to eat! Just wanted to share my way of dealing with the hunger!

Rubyh - wow! 4 months and your still hungry inbetween! I do feel better about myself now, especially since you've had great success (3lbs to goal! Congratulations!). I agree with you about keeping busy, i just have to keep my mind off of eating!!

Well when I say hungry - I don't mean I'm starving, I can just feel the empty feeling in my stomach - no pain, just know its getting time to eat! I usually have coffee early (5:30 am) then breakfast - IP Chocolate drink around 7 am, a large kosher dill pickle around 9:30, 2 cups veggies and salad for lunch, chai tea with IP vanilla RTD around 2:30-3:00, then dinner around 5:30 - 2 cups veggies and protein. I have IP restricted bar around 8:30 - 9:00. I try and keep on schedule or I get very grumpy! During the day I am constantly drinking water! My hungriest time is between lunch and my tea time, the tea holds me over until dinner time! Hope any of this helps - it's worked fine for me.

Sounds like your being starving correlates w/you starting your bios? Could your dose need adjusting?

I am hoping that the bio's are playing a part in this.... I have put in a call to the Wellness Clinic and waiting for return call. I hope they can help.

I love your story....and the fact that you are almost to the promise land! Wow! Gives me hope, I have about the same amount to lose as you did but these last couple of days have been a challenge. Scales have gone up this morning even though I have only dreamed of chocolate cake. No cheats, plenty of water, only sin not enough veggies....and last night I ate a ribeye out of starvation (approximate 10 oz). Thanks for sharing.....

From my own personal experience, might not apply to anybody else:

Before I started on the IP protocol, I was pigging out every day, especially in the evening... I thought my stomach had to be full all the time, & it felt weird if it wasn't... I doubt I had actually been really, physically hungry in many, many years... so, when I started IP, it took me a while to get used to not being stuffed 24/7... I can't really remember when I got used to the feeling of having an empty stomach, but somewhere along the line I did & it really isn't at all uncomfortable to me anymore... I finally realized that having an empty stomach & being hungry are actually two different phenomena... sure, I still have cravings, but those are mental or emotional things, rarely a physical thing...

hugs

P.S. Just wanted to add this... IP is as much about retraining the mind as it is about retraining the body... I've quoted this before, but it still means a lot to me: A permanent solution takes hard, smart work & sacrifice on your part... human nature always seeks the path of least resistance...

I also have been on IP for 17 weeks and have felt hungry almost everyday! I tried everything too but kept with the plan cause it works. My only worry is that when I am finally off IP I will binge cause I feel I earned it? Not sure if I will ever go to Phase 4, I think it might just make me want more carbs causing a downward spiral?