This morning is Day 4. I told myself not to get on the scale..... do not do it until 1 week!!!! But I did this am and saw it said I gained one pound from when I started Monday. I get discouraged easy so I am trying to look at the positive side and "hope" I am losing inches rather than pounds. It is just me and my kids so its hard for me to measure inches myself seeing how I don't know exactly how and where to measure.

I wanted to walk in to work this am and have a HUGE breakfast burrito but I will be strong and drink my shake that I already prepared.

I hope everyone has a TERRIFIC DAY!!!!

Hi,

This is why it is not advisable to weigh yourself everyday, some do it (and I am one of those), but the best thing for you is to forget about your weight today and focuse until it is a week and by then you might be surprised by an amazing weight loss.

Just be patient.

Here is what I have been eating

Breakfast:
Shake with 2 handfuls of spinach (unrestricted)
(Sometimes 2-3 egg whites if still hungry)

Snack:
Protein Bar (restricted)

Lunch:
Salad with 2 cups of veggies (usually green bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, and lettuce), 4 oz of grilled chicken or tuna

Dinner:
2 cups of veggies (usually roasted broccoli) with 8 oz of shrimp or grilled chicken

Snack:
Shake (unrestricted)

Water: 100 oz and taking ALL vitamins along with 1 teaspoon sea salt and 2 teaspoons olive oil

I checked all my nutrition labels on shakes and protein bars and everything is fine so I am thinking it has something to be with regular food. I have been hungry at night so I have been having 4 oz extra chicken or shrimp so I wonder if that’s messing me up. I know someone said we can have extra protein during week one if we are super hungry just until our bodies get use to this change.

Sorry you gained, but I know for me in my first week, I only had an extra restricted package on one day. The rest of the time I was eating a shake/bar for breakfast, and for lunch I stayed with the protein packages as I was told and maybe added a salad, and then dinner was when I had my chicken breast and stir fry, and then snack around 8pm of a shake or non-restricted (since I had the bar for breakfast).

If I were you I wouldn't have the extra egg whites and would not have your own food at lunch. Just my two cents hun.

I too am one of those people who have to weigh every day, it is a demon we must work through or know that the scale isn't always going to make our days

First of all like most new IPers you will need to see on here a bunch of times that weight fluctuates daily sometimes as much as 4-5 lbs!! (You have to eat 3500 calories to gain a pound of fat, so you did not gain weight, you probably gained water other fluids or waste!) You have weekly (not daily) weigh ins for that reason. You want to see a downward trend over weeks. If you are 100% OP you are loosing! Stay off the scale between weigh ins and you will be less stressed.

IP guideline is to have an extra (unrestricted) PACKET in your first couple weeks, not extra protein (though two egg whites are also ok). If you read extra protein on here, it was not IP rules. It may have worked fine for that person but it may not for you! Some IP coaches allow split protein and some don't.

Restricteds are already factored in to the already low calorie/carb/fat count if Iap and are meant to be eaten one per day. Some people do limit them, but it doesn't particularly mean it helps them. Personal choice. But they are meant to keep you satisfied with a sweet or salty item each day .

Spinach isn't "free." It is listed on your IP sheet clearly under veggies. So you need to measure and count it in your shake. However, lettuce is unrestricted (you listed it in your veggies so not sure if you counted it.) hungry? Eat unlimited lettuce!

These adjustments wil get you 100% OP and within a couple days (or even sooner) you will hit Ketosis and the hunger will subside.

Hang in there!!!

Okay, makese sense; thanks for the adivce. I am having a little too much veggies and too much protein which is probably not allowing me to lose actual pounds on the scale. I will modify those and see how I look on the scale.

Ditto to everything JLUS said. If you would like your own protein at lunch it is ok, as long as the total for the day is 8oz. I also wanted to mention counting spinach towards your veggies, but that's been covered. Good luck!