This is the second time I've done ideal protein. The first time I did lose AND I did cheat. Maybe I didn't lose as much as I would have, but I did lose.

This time around; I've not cheated, but found out I was doing some things wrong. I did a few little things here and there, but I just can't believe that it would prevent me from losing. I did lose .8 lbs in one week.

Here are the things I did wrong. Let me know if you can shed some light on this.

I did chew Orbit gum most of the week. I did use about 3 teaspoons of splenda a day. I did have 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day. I did use about 2 teaspoons of creamer a day in my coffee (1 teaspoon = 1g carb). I did drink a lot of diet coke until I realized that wasn't allowed. I did accidentally have rice wine vinegar 3 days in a row before I realized I was using the wrong vinegar. I HAVE NOT been taking the supplements, but have been taking a daily vitamin. I HAVE NOT been drinking enough water. It is possible that I ate 6 oz of meat rather than 5 on a few of the days for dinner. One day, instead of soup for lunch, I had 6 med sized grilled shrimp on lettuce with nothing else b/c I was out shopping - but, I only had two packets of IP that day.

Can you tell me if the above things would add up to a .8 weight loss? According to my scale - I was 140 when I started - went down to 136 during the week as my lowest and this am weighed 138.

My breasts are heavy like I'm about to start my period, but I'll probably not start my period for another week or so. I have PMS symptoms for at least a week before I start my period. Could I be retaining fluid?

I AM in Ketosis and have been for at least 4 days b/c I test everything I go to the bathroom.

I'm a little discouraged, but am completely over the cravings and hunger so I am going to just keep going. Can you give me any insight?

I forgot to put that I am 5'7", 41 years old, weigh 142 ish and want to get between 130 - 135. Also, I have not been working out much. I did weights one day and 1/2 a weight class another day, but don't think I burned too many calories either time.

Well,
The diet pop has to go. I think according to the charts I looked at that you are at a good weight for your height, therefore your losses will probably be low.

I don't know if those "slip ups" would have caused a small loss. But you are actually a very healthy weight for your height, perhaps because you are only "needing" to lose a few pounds your losses will be smaller

I think you answered your own question. I can't speak from experience, but from what I have read from other members, your weight loss in the 2nd go around is not like it was in the 1st.

But yes, I do think that most of those things you mentioned contributed to the lower loss, along with the fact that you are starting very close to your goal weight and the fact that this is your 2nd go around.

Personally, I chew a piece or 2 of gum just about every day. I do not believe it has hindered me. Besides, it has helped keep me on track more than once, so to me, it is definitely the lesser of 2 evils.

It seems like you are consuming a lot of Splenda. I don't know about you, but I am very sensitive to the "fake" sugars and 2-3 tsp would just about bring me to a halt. I have found that I have less reaction to Stevia, maybe you can try to cut down on the amount and see about switching? From what I have heard, Stevia is the best option for 0 calorie sweetners.

The diet coke needs to go, the creamer needs to go. Instead of using so much splenda and creamer in your coffee, why not use the RTD vanilla drink or make a vanilla pudding with 10 oz. of water and use it in your coffee instead? Chances are that the vanilla drink will be sweet enough that you won't even need extra splenda.

Do you see how you answered your own question? I wouldn't worry about the extra protein ounces, we are allowed up to 8 oz. To recap:

-Up your water
-Take your supplements
-Cut down on the Splenda
-Eliminate the diet coke
-Eliminate the creamer

If you do these things, my guess is you will have a very nice loss. As a side note, you might not have a big drop of 5 pounds since you are very close to your goal, but it should be a good deal more than 0.8.

I just need to vent a little bit. I've texted my coach for the past two days and she doesn't respond. I feel very low and don't know who to talk to b/c this is such a specific topic. I hope you will just let me be frustrated. I have seriously followed the IP diet exactly for the last three days and I gained a lb this morning. I just don't know what to do. I feel so defeated. I don't think I've ever tried this hard at doing something with no results. I compared photos of myself from 10 days ago - 7 days later and then again last night - there was absolutely no change in my body. I thought maybe I was actually losing some fat, but hanging on to water or building muscle. I don't know, at this point I'm grabbing at straws to explain what's happening to me on this diet. I'm so frustrated. I gained a lb! Can someone please tell me what's happening? I can't get my coach to talk to me. I feel so frustrated that I'm thinking I just need to eat some carbs to see if that will shake things up but I don't want to make things worse. I don't know what to do. This diet is supposed to help you shed lbs quickly so that you have a sense of accomplishment and all I feel is failure. I would have done better getting on Weight Watchers. At least I would have lost a couple of lbs by now. Can anyone give me some words of encouragement?

Ok, first off, set down in a comfortable chair, take a few deep breaths and relax for a few minutes - try to calm your thought process.

From your first post, I don't know how much you lost on your first round with IP nor how long you were on it nor how much you cheated, but from your description of your restart, while you didn't knowingly cheat, you were not really following the plan.

Don't panic because the pounds are not falling off after three days of being on the actual plan - there are weeks I don't lose much of anything and days I gain depending on how much I ate and when the day before.

You sound like you are weighing at least every day - some of us can do that, some of us can't. I weigh every morning first thing, record the results for a week and use the average to gauge my progress - along with my official WI results. I keep a chart based on the weekly averages and not on the day to day weights. If you are too stressed by the daily readings - don't weigh every day - this is a long term project.

Comparing 10 day old photos may work for you but not for me - I need more time to see the change in my body - some of it is real, some of it is self perception. If you are convinced you are not losing weight, you probably won't see it in a 10 day picture comparison either.

As others have pointed out, you don't have much to lose so you might want to look at your losses in terms of percentage of weight loss rather than actual weight, it is all relative.

Most of all, don't panic - drink your water, stick to the plan, don't cut out the protein portions or shakes, and relax into the process.

Have you tried calling your coach rather than texting?

Good luck and stay strong!

I agree with Kelly, you have to give your body more time than just 10 days. Maybe you are expecting too much from this program, you don't lose the weight over night. Like many of the other have said you are already at a good weight for your height so your body maybe be holding on to your weight. No need to panic, if you are doing the program correctly and drinking your water it will come off. We have many that are slow loser and don't lose anything for weeks then it comes off. Hang in there.

Subrown - I did not read through everyone else's responses, but I am just chiming in to say that I hear and understand your frustration and discouragement. You and I have similar stats (I am almost 38, 5'7, currently between 144 - 146 pounds, and I want to be around 135 or so). I haven't been on protocol for a bit, was trying my own thing for time / money reasons so I don't want to say this is a testament to IP, but rather just to say that I understand how the slow loss can be very disheartening and discouraging (whatever diet plan you are on).

You are still early on and you have learned some things along the way already that you can improve on. Keep going and stay strong. Just know that it will not come off quickly and easily no matter what diet plan you choose -- you are moving into a more challenging area (the final 10). Best of luck and keep your spirits up!!