I know I've read this a thousand times, so don't know who to directly quote, but if it's not on the sheet, it's not approved. And it's not on my sheet;) Maybe one of the cheese flavored packets (broc cheese soup, cheddar crisps) could help if you're craving that? Good luck!

Congratulations! How exciting for you & inspiring to us all!

Only allowed on Alternative Plan P1 (for those with diabetes). Not or regular Phase 1 though.

There may not be a "why" to one low week - weight loss is NOT linear - it won't be a steady downward slope. Along the way, your body has to "normalize" a little, adjust to all the changes that took place in the preceding weeks. My first time on IP it was VERY common for me to have one or two big loss weeks followed by a week of low or no losses (though I often saw changes in my measurements that week - not all losses show up on the scale!). And the closer you get to goal, the less often you will see big drops on the scale. Sounds like things are working as they should, no need to re-assess unless you have several weeks with zero or super low losses.

As far as the hair loss - it's TOTALLY normal. Someone had posted a great article a few years ago about the science behind it, but essentially when you do a rapid fat loss diet like this, the release of hormones from your fat cells causes your hair follicles to go dormant. They "wake up" again once you are in maintenance. Did anyone ever mention to you about taking Biotin? It's a supplement that can lessen the hair loss - you can always give it a try for a few weeks and see if it helps!

Amazing!!!

I completely understand what you mean. We have come so far but we still have a long way to go until we get to goal. It seems to be almost an impossible task! But...we WILL do it! We are going to focus on one short term goal at a time and we are going to focus on our NSVs. The alternative is to stop dieting and either stay the same weight we are now or even get bigger. So we just need to keep plugging along. :D Time has been passing quickly (we are ALREADY almost to Christmas!)...we will get there before we know it. And then this time next year we will look back and think "it seemed like we would NEVER get to goal and now we are not only AT goal but maintaining". :D

Good morning weekend survivors!

Still here and still loving IP.

I have a question---I've been using garlic clove as a seasoning...actually adding a LOT of garlic clove to my stirfried veggies. I was curious what the carb is..a whopping 44 carb per cup. I probably add a 1/2 cup easily and let the cloves carmelize whole. OOps!!! Has anyone heard that and why doesn't anyone say don't use them. One garlic clove has 1 carb. Ugh.

I'm losing it today. I was unusually hungry for my lunch at noon today. I went to grab something and found my breakfast shake still sitting there. How could I have forgotten to have breakfast??

Just looking back to yesterday on MFP and realized I totally forgot ALL my supplements except for my pre-breakfast Reishi for Fibromyalgia. SIGH! I had better pay attention this week. I seem to be more distracted and not focusing on my nutrition properly. That will certainly edge me out of maintenance if I keep it up. Off to eat breakfast, take my potassium, D3, and Vitex, and then go have my monthly meet-up with my coach... I think I will save my waffles for a carb lunch today, nothing like filling up with food and then getting weighed/measured, lol (that is if we do that today - I did weigh myself this AM - because she will ask how it's going...)

Liana

Just got my Medscape email and an interesting article from NIH published Aug 7th was in it.

Is Your Gut Ruling Your Brain On Food Choices?

posting full article:
People may no longer have to blame their food cravings — and giving in to them — on poor self-control.

Now scientists are arguing that microbes living in the gut are responsible for manipulating eating behavior by causing cravings for food they favor for fitness or that suppress their competition. Alternatively, microbiota in the gut may send out signals via the vagus nerve to the brain to induce dysphoria and goad people into eating what the microbe needs whether it's good for the host or not, a diverse group of researchers are suggesting.

"Bacteria within the gut are manipulative," Carlo Maley, PhD, director, Center for Evolution and Cancer, University of California at San Francisco, states in a press release. "There is a diversity of interests represented in the microbiome, some aligned with our own dietary goals and others not."

In their overview of eating behavior and the microbiome published online August 7, 2014 in BioEssays, Joe Alcock, MD, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and colleagues argue that certain microbes are highly dependent on the nutrient composition of the diet.

For example, Prevotella grows best on carbohydrates while dietary fiber provides a competitive advantage to Bifidobacteria. "Even microbes with a generalist strategy tend to do better on some combinations of nutrients than others," the authors write, "and competition will determine which microbes survive."

Microbes can manipulate host behavior in a variety of ways, but one way may be by "hijacking" the host's nervous system. As the authors point out, evidence shows that microbes can have dramatic effects on behavior through the microbiome-gut-brain axis.



The vagus nerve is a central actor in this communication axis, connecting the 100 million neurons in the enteric nervous system in the gut to the base of the brain at the medulla.


"The vagus nerve is a central actor in this communication axis, connecting the 100 million neurons in the enteric nervous system in the gut to the base of the brain at the medulla," they explain. And, they add, enteric nerves have receptors that react to the presence of particular bacteria as well as to bacterial metabolites. Research has also shown that blockade or transection of the vagus nerve causes drastic weight loss while stimulation of its activity through norepinephrine appears to drive excessive eating behavior in satiated rats.

Other pathways through which microbes may influence host eating behavior is through secretion of hormones involved in mood and behavior, including dopamine and serotonin. Microbes may also manipulate eating behavior by altering receptor expression. Changes in taste receptor expression and activity have been reported following gastric bypass surgery, a procedure that changes gut microbiota and alters satiety and food preference, as the authors point out.

"Microbes have the capacity to manipulate behavior and mood through altering the neural signals in the vagus nerve, changing taste receptors, producing toxins to make us feel bad and releasing chemical rewards to make us feel good," coauthor Athena Aktipis, PhD, Arizona State University, Phoenix, states in a press release.

"Together, these results suggest that microbes have opportunities to manipulate vagus nerve traffic in order to control host eating. Exerting self-control over eating choices may be partly a matter of suppressing microbial signals that originate in the gut."

Happily, researcher add, the use of prebiotics, probiotics, antibiotics, fecal transplants, and dietary changes can rapidly alter the microbiome within 24 hours of administration.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Bonnie D. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, and the Institute for Advanced study in Berlin, Germany. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.


Liana
ps: In case you are freaked out... fecal transplants aren't necessary unless you have had C. Difficile - this part has nothing to do with weight loss.

I think the assumption is that we would use garlic as a SEASONING...putting in 1/2 cup makes it more like a VEGETABLE :) For people like me, that meant REALLY reining in my garlic usage, and when I need a stronger flavor I use powdered garlic.

Is your clinic small and only has 1 coach? I'm fortunate enough to have rather large clinic with several coaches to pick from. I know it's kind of late in the game for you but if you can switch to a coach who can actually give you advice, I'd do it. I'd complain to Ideal Protein corporate directly, I'm sure they want the coaches to represent the diet as it was intended to be. It's not fair to you, IP is not cheap... you deserve to get everything you are paying for.

Beck Diet Solution Daily Tip
 

September 8, 2014 - Monday Motivation

When you’re working on losing weight, it can be helpful to remind yourself, “It’s not about the food.” This time period is not about what you are or are not eating, it’s about getting healthier, feeling better, becoming more confident, fitting into all your clothes, feeling proud of yourself, etc. It’s not about the food, it’s about everything else!

I loved the description someone gave on another thread.
Their weigh loss graph looks like a staircase, rather than a straight line. Some weeks will be bigger losses than others, it is just how it works.
Even maintenance graph would look like a straight line drawn by someone with shaky hands.

For a single week WI, there is no reason to determine a "why" (unless you've strayed and know precisely what it is). A longtime stall/plateau (4-6 weeks of zero losses on scale or measuring tape) would more than likely be a cause for investigation.

Awesome weigh in! This program is so great!

That's a great NSV! I can't wait for my clothes to fit properly, let alone be saggy. :) Everything is super tight right now as I have regained much of the weight I lost on WW about a year ago and I refuse to buy bigger clothes. That's what really got me motivated to get started on IP and stick to it. I think even 10-15 pounds will make everything a bit more comfortable!

Great quote, but difficult for me at this stage, just starting IP. It seems like all I think about is food! I am going to work on shifting my focus this week. Thanks for sharing some wise words!

Lucy

Yes, only one coach unfortunately. I am no longer paying for food (and haven't been since transitioning to maintenance....just using alts), so I am just going to a free weigh in basically.

I am not sure how to handle this. She actually works at my PCP's office. I can't imagine I am the only one who has had this experience with her. Her lack of expertise is SO much more apparent as I have phased off.

Thankfully, I have you all. I can't imagine clients who are not going to search out their own information though. I imagine it's setting up people to quickly gain their weight back. I really need to report this to someone.....ick....I'm a people pleaser, so this challenges my rescuing spirit.