Lalison....

I don't know if I'm really the one to help you with this problem, but I will give you some thoughts and share what I have read on here.

I think your doing awesome with the water intake and the protocol in general. Make sure you are getting the full 4 cups of veggies a day, if your not, that could slow you down a bit. Maybe try having your cooked protein for lunch instead of dinner, maybe it will confuse your body a little bit and I would also step away from the restricted items, that could be causing the slow weight loss too. If you are eating the 4 cups of veggies a day AND a salad AND all your packets, I think you will end of at 30 to35 grams of carbs a day.

It really does suck when we have thos slow weight loss periods, I was about ready to light my hair on fire and put it out with a hammer, and I'm not joking!

Lalison... I'm gonna echo Coloradodivegirl's advice, try cutting out the restricteds for a while & see if that helps... you might be throwing yourself out of ketosis... remember, not everybody's bodies are the same, some folks can tolerate up to 60 g. net carbs before ketosis stops & some can't... more than 30 g. net carbs might be too much for you...

hugs :hug:

like a lot of people, my weight loss has slowed. with some weeks of only losing 1-2 lbs it makes me wonder if this program is worth continuing.. considering all the sacrifices im making. lately ive been thinking about phasing off for a while and joining weight watchers instead. at least i could eat a variety of foods with the same results??? i have been on ip since feb 1st and i think im running out of steam. do u recommend i take a break for a while?

No....you won't get the same results on WW unless you follow an IP type diet but track your points. I was on WW for 2 years. NEVER went over my points allowance, rarely even used 1 or 2 points of my "bonus points". I lost the same 8 pounds over and over and........ The flaw in the points is that yes, you can have that Banana Pound Cake for 12 points and still have enough points for a latte and maybe a burger. Is this a good diet? NO Does it fit their points profile? Yes...but it's NEVER going to train you to follow a good nutritional lifestyle. JMO!

Wow Blk...

I will STAMP your post.....

Cajun, I too don't think it's a good idea. Read this posts and most will say that
once you get off of it, it's so very hard to come back to and be 100%. they usually regret it in some form or fashion...

With 20 pounds to go.... I would tell you to hang on... you can do it!!!
just look towards the goal!

Thanks for the replies everyone! I will lay off the restricted packets for this week and see if that changes anything for me. I will also start eating salad on top of my 4 cups of veggies. That just seems like so much food! I hope I will find something that works for me. Thanks again!

Good to see you back at...goal is there...I am 11 days back on plan...ready to get to goal!


Hey Lisa, when did you start? I too am ready for goal!




Good girl. I was supposed to be done by the end of February and here I am...but I am 2 pounds below the original 175 goal that I set.



Cereal for breakfast...is this IP oatmeal? That is a restricted item. Are you having two restricted a day? That might be the problem. As far no restricted...I always lose more when I have my restricted. do you follow the IP protocol 100% every day or do you have little cheats...? could you be setting yourself back and then starting over. (I know that my planned cheats set me back for at least 7-10 days following them)...at the end of the month I am always down 4-5 pounds, but if I didn't cheat I would be down so much more.


The gain sucks, but wow...you were a couple pounds more than me a few weeks ago and now 163...YIPPPPPEEEE...good girl. I am vowing to be good until at least 163...then maybe a little cheat weekend until 156. GReat job...by the way...when I starting exercising in January I gained a pound two weeks in a row.

You are right Darbs - by the next day I was back in ketosis - according to ketostix. I joined 3 FC last fall. Then I was trying to do the healthy, cut the fat, eat whole grain and fruit thing. I also worked out rather rigorously 5 hours a week. I was lucky to lose 10 lbs in a year. And so easy to gain back. I started IP on January 14. I followed phase I for a long time.Until I lost 20+ lbs. I found I cannot do the restricteds. I'm the one who bought a box of IP bars and ate it in 2 days. I also stopped having the IP cereal very often. I am a starchy carb/sugar addict still. When I have those things it just gets me wanting more. I'm also not good at having a normal healthy portion size of those things. I'm not saying I will never have them again. I take it one day at a time - like addicts of other things. As to how it's going...well, I think it's a hellish torture at times but I'm very pleased with it. I'm used to it. I've moved into my own version of Phase II. I'm fine have an IP drink for breakfast and lunch. I do the RTDs unless I'm traveling. If I'm out with friends for lunch, I will have a salad. But I eat real salad dressings now - not a lot and lowest sugar/carb. For a treat a few times a week I started having Maries Blue Cheese dressing. Jar says it has no carbs but lots of calories. I love it and I don't start craving the evil things. The other part of my personal phase 2 is that I have cheese, usually Gouda, as my bedtime snack. It doesn't get me craving anything. The third thing I discovered when I had bad bronchitis were sugarfree cough drops. I have those when I want something sweet - every night. If I eat too many I get diahrea which helps with the big C and keeps me from overeating them. Now that I've bought some clothes and people can tell I've lost weight and the complements are rolling in - it's been fun. And I feel like I can breath again - it is literally easier to inhale and exhale. I only lose 1-3 lbs a week now but I'm okay with that. What is hardest for me is when I am in social situations surround by the foods I love. I pop a cough drop. And believe me - this could all come to a screeching halt and I could slide down that slippery slope and gain it all back and more. But at least I know how to lose it. I am sick of all the IP soups etc. But I've gotten very busy and just grab the RTDs for fuel. I don't expect to enjoy my breakfast or lunch. I don't want to hate it and I want the fuel to have energy. But I really have to love my dinner, salad dressing, bed time cheese snack and Ricola sugar free lemon mint cough drops. I think I might add wine more often now! I think everybody has to find what works for them. Thanks for asking.

No it isn't the oatmeal. It's the crispy cereal, which isn't restricted. I make sure to only stick to one restricted a day. I follow protocol 100% each day. Haven't had a cheat in the 14 weeks I have been on it. I figure I just need a bit less carbs. Thanks for your response!

I'd definately try dropping the daily restricted. See if that shakes it up enough for you. Good luck :hug:

thanks for all the input. today i allowed myself to cheat for the first time on this program. im glad i did because it made me realize that i really dont miss all that other "junk". now that i have gotten it out of my system im ready to start fresh again tomorrow.

I just started phase 2 last week. I'm fairly confident it didn't contribute to the gain. I really ate (and drank) quite badly over the weekend. So, I'll take that two pounds as a reminder that I can't do that anymore, and hope the rest comes off this week. :-)

You're changing your life. Yeah, it's a lot of work, it's a lot of sacrifice, but, 2 pounds a week is a LOT. You're never going to get results like that on WW.

If you feel like you're running out of steam, try finding things you can have that ARE allowed. Coffee. Herbal tea. I discovered Truvia about a month ago, and it's been saving my butt ever since. I add it to seltzer and it tastes like a sprite. I add it to coffee, and I find I don't miss the milk that much.

I find it's easy to stay on plan when the scale is moving - and really, really hard when it's not. If you're bored with the food, mix it up a little. Have different veggies. Add interesting spices. Use soy sauce, or garlic. (Also, which foods you pick are key. I like the chocolate shakes - both the pre-mixed and the powder. And pretty much all of the bars.)

For me, this diet changed my life. I have been fighting with my weight my whole life. I had given up on ever being able to lose enough weight to matter - Weight Watchers and other diets felt like trying to move a mountain of sand with a teaspoon. Too slow, too much work, for too little reward. I'd be there forever. But 1-2 pounds a week, consistently, will get you there - I've lost 83 pounds (85 before my little cheat weekend) in less than a year. I've gone from a size 22 to a size 12 (and the occaisional 10). A year ago, I would never have believed that to be possible.

How much do you want this weight loss? Enough to hang on another couple weeks? Another day? Another two days?

Whichever way you decide, good luck.

I started eating 1-2 heads of lettuce with my dinners. :-)

You HAVE to eat all your veggies. That's key.

You might also try adding in some light exercise if you're not already. And be careful about the accidentals - the little things like, what's in the sauce when you eat out, or putting dressing on the salads.

OHOHOH! Sleep is also a big deal. Make sure you're getting enough. That really helps. And water. Drink more water.

Good luck!!!

My orientation was May 7th of last year, and I started the following day. I've been a little anxious about coming up on my one-year mark. ;-)

I was hoping to be done by then, but, I was hoping to be done by last Halloween when I started, too. Optimistically, I'll be on Phase 2 for another 2-3 weeks before I start transitioning off.

If I can figure out how, I'll upload some photos, and see if I can actually fill out my profile. (I optimistically took some "Before" pictures last Mother's Day, and I'm using them as my reference point. It's hard for me to look at them now, but they're a good reminder of where I started.)