Bella, you are right, the culprit for low losses (which I've had at times) MIGHT be a low BMR. As you said, the only way to find out what your BMR is by doing some testing (I'm getting mine done when I hit the 130's, along with body fat). But if you think that this might be the problem, then the best way to raise it is by exercising, and even more so if you do some strength training. If you guys aren't doing any type of exercise.. it might be worth giving it a shot?

:carrot: :cb: :cp:

:carrot: :cb: :cp: Major props to you, too!

Wow! Some awesome SVs today.

I had a good weekend IP wise, and it was fun too. We went horseback riding and it was lots of fun (though my muscles were screaming the following day! who knew!)

The only bad thing was ... well the pictures :/ I was pleasantly surprised with all the pics except for the ones where I'm on the horse.. my biggest problem area is my hips.. and sitting on that horse they were just spilling out ughhh It was really disheartening.. but I tried to not let it get me down (it was just the first activity of the day). The rest of the day though was better and as I said, I actually was content with the way I looked in the rest of the pics.

I thought I would make it to goal by the end September (for my bday) but it looks like that won't be the case.. and surprisingly so I'm not upset about it. I'll just be happy if for the first time in about 5 years I'm back to the 130's by then :)

Congrats to everyone else on SV's and NSV's, keep up the good work everyone!

I was going to ask, if you have a low BMR and have it confirmed, if there's anything you can do to help. So exercise is the only thing? I can't do much as i have very bad knees (no more cartilage) but i can walk my dog for about 20min to start and increase that way....do you think that would help?

I haven't paid a consultation fee. But I am sure if you tell a new coach, or new clinic about your situation they might be supportive and waive the fee.

I must second and third people when I say that you have had amazing averages in one month! Your coach should be estatic with your losses.
you will probably have slow weeks and big loss weeks throughout your weight loss journey. I agree with Wuv too, if you get measured you will often see that weeks you don't lose big on scale you lose big on measurments. that week I gained .8 I lost 3 inches from waist!!! that kept me positive and motivated!!

I met my coach's boss before, then last week my coach was hurt and his boss did all the weight and measurements. I really liked her and felt like they were a team.

Maybe talk to your coach's boss?

Well i did call another clinic near where i live (right now i go close to work) and i would have to pay the fee ($60) as i would need to be reassessed, etc...but what is tempting me is that the woman is a naturopath and a nurse but the only downside is that they close at 6:30pm (i would have to rush after work to make it on time) and are closed on the week-end and i don't know if i want to get weight after a whole day of drinking water and eating lunch...i know that it evens out regardless. Right now i can't afford the extra money (kids...school..) but i will seriously consider it and i think i will have to put my foot down with my coach and say that i want to be measured and that i would appreciate encouragements instead of being reprimanded.

She's the only consultant there.

Thanks everyone. Feels good to have so much support.

Completely agree

Well that's the only thing I know of that could raise it. Any exercise will help, and definitively if you increase it as your knees allow, would help too. Unfortunately as we lose weight, the BMR also decreases, which is one of the reasons why it gets more difficult to lose weight as you approach your goal weight. But yeah, cardiovascular exercise helps and increasing muscle mass helps too. So maybe you can add in a few upper body strength moves as well?

One more thing, spreading your meals out also helps with BMR, which is why many diet plans advocate that. However I've heard mixed things about doing that while on IP. I remember reading a post about a coach saying that if you spread out your veggies you interrupt your body from burning fat (because it will turn to the available carbs from vegetables).

I weight in at 445 every time. I like doing it after work, in fact I go home and eat and then go to TOPS after IP weigh in (part of my maintenance plan). I just decided that as long as it's the same time every time it doesn't matter. I usually stop drinking water at 3:00 pm, then I drink a litre before TOPS (plus food). Because I've always done this...it's the 'same'. Maybe I would see a big loss if it was in the morning but my lifestyle doesn't allow me to weigh in at either place that early. I think it's worth the $60...to echo others, you need a better coach.

I made it through a tough weekend and had my first weigh-in (two weeks) today and I am down 9.7. I love love love this website and have told my family, coach and friends. Thank you girlsguys! I am on the right track and have had a smile on my face all morning.

It's a start and I do think it would help. I have a lower than average resting metobolic rate or basal metabolic rate. A few years ago I did the whole breathing test and I am on the high end of a slow metabolism (does that make sense?). The woman who tested me told me that the best thing I could do would be to exercise and build muscle (lift / train with weights). Muscle is more metabolicly active than fat, so the more muscle you can add to your body, the more calories you will burn, the higher your metabolic rate will be.

If you can, I would suggest getting some dumbells or even some resistance bands and start working your upper body. I would continue with the 20 min. a day walking, but add in some upper body weight training. I believe there are even workout DVD's that you can get that to go through all the exercises. Even though you have to be gentle on your knees, there are so many other exercises you can do to start activating your muscles and help raise your metabolic rate.

If you are interested in a DVD, go to beachbody.com. They have tons of great workouts and would be a great start for you.

I know there is a lot of controversy on IP about exercising or not, but I have been exercising from day 1 and I truly feel like it helps with my losses and my fat losses.