my coach told me that I should have atleast 1 restricted EVERY day.
I've only been on the program two weeks, first week I lost 7.8, this week I weighed at home and saw that I only lost 1, I weigh officially tomorrow.

My question is do you have a restrictive every day and do you think if I cut those out and replace it with a shake that would speed up my weight loss?

My coach said it's important to have the restrictives (will ask more this week when I weigh in as to why). They are so delicious those barsespecially the peanut butter ones

It is import to have your restricted, it gives you the protein you need. It will NOT speed up your losses if you chose not to have them. I did an experiment with not having bars or restricted for 2 weeks and my losses did not change. I have my restricted everyday for breakfast, it gives my body the fuel it needs for the day.

Thank YOU L!! I needed to hear that. Even though I'm only eating 8-900 calories a day, when I have the restrictive (because they are soo good) I feel kind of guilty, like I'm cheating or something.

They are a welcome treat for me. I usually have mine between 2-5 pm (so I'm not starving by dinner time).

You are welcome, we do have very little calorie intake that is why it is important the restricted have more calories than the rest.

It's funny that you said your coach said that you should have "at LEAST" one restricted- Protocol to have ONE restricted a day, no more, no less.

I've been having a restricted every day for 2 months and have had great success.

Like Wuv, I also have a restricted every morning for breakfast. Last week I had an IP cookie every morning for breakfast and I weighed in today and lost 3.2 pounds.

Huh, my coach told me not to have any restrictives if I can, maybe 1-2 times/week because "it will slow my weight loss". I kind of feel guilty ordering them now. I know, foolish.

I ran the same trial that Wuv did, didn't notice any difference and most of all I really missed those "treat" that the bars/snacks gave me. One a day and ENJOY it

That is very good news for you and everyone who was wondering about the IP cookies. It was propably a good idea to have it for breakfast.
I saw a video somewhere of one of the wigbigs at IP in the US. He said it was important to have one restricted every day because the brain needs a certain amount of carbs everyday or you notice foggy thinking. He also said the research shows that people who have the restricted tend to stay on the program to goal compared to people who don't and they have the same rate of weight loss as people who don't have the restricted.
There seems to be a lot less people posting now who say their coach doesn't allow restricted. That info must have got around to most coaches now.

Pat

I was told the same thing. I have had only one restricted product since I started 6 wks ago . And I felt sooo guilty eating that bar but I will admit. It was soo good!

And this is my one complaint with this program. Different coaches giving out different information. My coach never said I had to have one, but if I do I can only eat 1 per day and never at bedtime. I've been eating a bar every morning since I started and I'm totally happy with the speed of my weight loss.

I ate a restricted item just about every day. I think at one time or another, we all try to experiment a little bit to see if we can do anything to speed up our losses. But I found that life was just a little better with a restricted item in it

I say, eat them! They are delicious, it is a nice treat for the day and they are OP. What more could you ask for???

BTW- Week 2 is notorious for a lower loss. Once you have been on the plan for a while, you will notice a weight loss "cycle". For most of us, we found that roughly every 4-6 weeks, there is a "stablization" week where you will have a lower than average loss.

But it is just your body catching up. Which is what you are experiencing now. You lost such a huge amount in the first week, that your body needs a little bit of time to adjust. Heck, I am on maintenance and I notice that my body is still shifting and adjusting, trying to find it's happy place.

You are doing great! Keep up the good work and eat your restricted item every day.

One more quick note on what I said above...

You can see in my signature that week 4, 8, 12, 15 & 21 were all lower or no losses, but they are surrounded by bigger losses.

I have restrictives every day and I am so looking forward to it. I eat my bar or chips or cookie etc. at night with my Perrier. Mmmmm! And I always feel like I'm cheating. They are delicious. And I have lost as much as during the first weeks of the program. So go ahead. Indulge!!