Originally Posted by lisa32989:
I think it is. Once the fat loss stops. It would be great if a maintainer who experienced this issue would chime in

I so hope so, and yes, a maintainer please chime in. :) And lastly, a late thanks for your great information earlier on this thread, Lisa.

I'm so happy to see this thread. My poor husband. I think once I'm allowed to exercise my sex drive will go through the roof- it always does! (TMI- hubby has this thing for hips and when I lay on my side my hip bone now sticks up and the second he touches it he goes into...overdrive.... and I'm all "not now.")

so there is no vitamin we can take?!?

It's not a vitamin deficiency
It's hormonal

IP really messes up my hormones, as well in a very bad way. I have the problem that estrogen/progesterone levels dropped. At the beginning of such a diet you may release a lot of estrogen into the blood. Later on I am not sure whether it is the fast loss or the low levels of fat and carbs that affect synthesis of sex hormones.

Anyways, Lisa said it. Loss of libido is probably due to low levels of testosterone. I had those symptoms when I had hormone imbalance (this was not due to IP or any other diet). Here is what worked for me. I took Ashwagandha root extract and Rhodiola rosea extract. I am not sure whether the combination did it or whether Rhodiola may work alone. Ashwagandha is said to balance thyroid hormone levels, whereas Rhodiola rosea balances adrenal hormones (there are some positive studies on testosterone levels). With Rhodiola rosea it is important to have it from plants growing at high altitudes and harvested in spring. I got both from Gaia. I am not sure whether it works with everybody whose thyroid and adrenal glands are slightly out of normal levels. But it rebalanced mine and as a very positive side effect my libido came back big time.

bumping this thread up in case some more people on maintenance a while might be willing to give some insight. Starshine you give me hope.:hug:

I know DH is much more interested in baking cookies after I have been 7 months on IP than pre IP. He's asked me a couple times now if anyone who's had libido issues has gone to maintenance and found it truly has returned. Yep he's worried - then again I have to remind him, I'm no spring chicken and there's plenty of other hormone issues I may be dealing with beyond what rapid weight loss is doing to me. I tell you low calorie and work stress do take a toll. The hormone issues with fast weight loss as well. So - my question, if anyone wants to PM me is fine - does going to maintenance for a few weeks bring back your libido where it was pre-IP?

Hey all - to address the "will it come back question..." Yes it will. I was in maintenance for 3 months the end of last year and it did come back very quickly (by the time I was off P3 onto P4) - I've returned this year to drop a few more and BAM - just like that it dropped off again. Another nice treat this time is I also can't achieve the big O "properly." I am assuming this is temporary too .... My God I hope it is anyway!!!

Oh my goodness, this is so funny! Glad lots of people were wondering about this. I was way to embarrassed to ask my coach!

Originally Posted by healthyangie:
Hey all - to address the "will it come back question..." Yes it will. I was in maintenance for 3 months the end of last year and it did come back very quickly (by the time I was off P3 onto P4) - I've returned this year to drop a few more and BAM - just like that it dropped off again. Another nice treat this time is I also can't achieve the big O "properly." I am assuming this is temporary too .... My God I hope it is anyway!!!

Wha-hoo! That is great news. Thank you!

funny stuff, I thought I was crazy.

I guess its a good thing that my husband and I are doing this diet at the same time!

Originally Posted by jeffiner:
I guess its a good thing that my husband and I are doing this diet at the same time!

I'm so sorry to bust the bubble but I don't think it works the same for them :(

My DH and I went P1 beginning of year together and while mine tanked - his increased :o

I have to "second" Angie, it came back in full force once I was in maintenance and now it is gone again!

I actually didn't make the connection.... I just thought it was too damned cold in the house for naked yoga :)

Thank you, Lisa, for the answer. I have PCOS, so my libido is screwy anyway, but the last month there is NONE. I had been wondering if it was the diet. At least now I have something tangible to blame it on. :)

Bumping this thread b/c I am REALLY struggling! I told my hubby it has to be the hormone changes b/c I feel more confident about my body than I have in years. If only i could have a glass of wine.....well....hoping this is only a P1-P2 thing!