I got your email and sent my screen name but I'm new to gmail and just wanted to be sure you got it. I understand completely if I need to sit out this challenge since I am new to the forum. I start IP Wednesday and am excited about it! It feels strangely wonderful to be excited about a "diet"!!

Well......was losing a steady 2 # per week until I started this challenge. LOL! It's got to improve.

Another week of a really small loss ..... I actually have gotten extremely strict and by the book for the past 3 weeks and I'm losing less and less .... Through the holiday when I had a little taste of this and a little taste of that I loss consistently larger amounts. I'm confused but I cant completely complain because the measuring tape seems to be consistently getting smaller.

I know we shouldnt be so focused on that scale number especially when there are clear signs that something is working through compliments, buying smaller clothes, feeling more energized, etc BUT I can't help it. :?::?::?:

TOgden3
How many pacers are you consuming per day?

It is very possible you're having too little

Could it be that you are eating too LITTLE? Are you making sure to get your free lettuce and cucumber in with lunch and dinner? Eating all your oil allowance and making sure you get enough sodium and water?

On the weeks where I have multiple days with low water intake (generally as a result of too little sodium in my chosen foods), I notice that I have very small scale loss, but I do still lose the inches on the tape measure.

It's also possible that your body is just going through what I like to call a consolidation period. Where it comes to terms with what you've lost and gears up ready to lose the next amount.

Either way, stay positive. You'll probably have a "whoosh" next week, as so many of us do after a pause. :)

Lisa & Briael ... I drink about 100 oz of water everyday, I get all my vitamins in, and Im eating my 3 IP items a day along with 4 cups of veggies .... I dont tend to eat the extra lettuce or cucumbers but I am going to try this week.

Going to keep chugging along.

Got my info entered. I put my starting weight as what was on the scales at the cardiologist's office (who rec'd the IP life) Jan14 and the weight loss as what I've recorded here at the house. I should have my first weigh in Wednesday? Unless this first visit is just to introduce me to the IP, which, after reading all I have here, may be "old news" but I will listen, take notes, ask questions and go from there.
Looking forward to this journey!

At your weight, my thought is that 3 packets is too few.
I had a friend who was a coach (no longer) but gave me info from the coaches' manual:

201-240 pounds = 4 packets/day
241-280 pounds = 5 packets/day
281-320 pounds = 6 packets/day

So, by these guidelines, no wonder you were losing more when you were having "tastes"! You could probably have 6-8 packets! This is when alternatives would be very economically feasible! Additionally, I'd suggest adding at least one salad per day, if not two, and taking advantage of other unlimiteds in those salads!

That's how I felt when I got to the clinic. I'd researched here for WEEKS first. I don't think she gave me any new info :)

Interesting ... I was wondering if my coach was correct because I have questioned her before and she is adamant on 3 packs a day .... I even told her that I started plugging into my calorie counter and noticed I was eating about 900 calories a day and my counting website was recommending 3300 calories a day ... :( ... but still 3 packs she said. I think I am going to research the alternatives site for some options and get them purchased and see if I have any luck ... for now until I can do that (over the weekend) Ill take an extra salad to work to have as a late afternoon snack.

Thanks for the suggestions

I see a nutritionist each week for counseling/support. She has been a great help for me getting my "head on straight" in regard to my eating. I hadn't weighed in with her since I restarted on IP and she was in shock when I stepped back on the scale at her office yesterday. It feels so good to be able to see the scale move in the right direction and was so fun to see her reaction as she continued to move the weights to the left on the scale. She kept going, and going.... (she has the old-fashion weighted/Dr. scale). I love surprising people!

Lost another pound this week!

Chiming in on the packet conversation, I personally started with 5 a day and moved pretty quickly to 4. I always do 3 now with 4 on my later / longer days. I find the weeks I do 4 I lose more.... Sometimes we just need more food to get our bodies to release.

It's possibly related to the metabolic rate staying relatively stable if you don't continually eat the minimum amount possible. Once your body becomes accustomed to a limited amount of food it will adjust your basal metabolic rate downwards. (This is why people who don't phase out properly regain the weight very quickly). Throwing in more calories/carbs periodically will keep it on its toes and hopefully prevent the BMR from plummeting too quickly.

DH has days when he eats everything that isn't nailed down, and seems to lose just as comfortably as I do - despite eating bread and cheese and pepperoni bars and the duo candies.

Quite frankly, I've arrived at the stage where if my body is truly hungry (rather than just anticipating a meal) I will eat something - especially on days when I'm exercising. :)

Ugh! Men! ;)
Such different abilities to lose weight (usually faster) than women. (Testosterone!)
Us girls gotta stick together on that.

I know, right?

You've inadvertantly given me today's research subject. Whether testosterone gets stored in fat the same way estrogen does. This may have some bearing on why they lose better and more consistently than us following the same protocol. :)

A little late to the game but very excited to join in the challenge! My first mini goal is to consistently get all water and veggies in. I'm also adding walking to my routine. I am curious if that will affect my weekly weigh ins. I did not exercise at all my first time around with IP and had good losses, but felt like a shut in. :)

WI #2 today and down 3.1lbs. I am very happy with that! Hope to keep this up until I hit my goal weight. Spreadsheet updated! :)

Congratulations :carrot: :hug:

Lisa . Just did my weight in and have lost another 2 pounds. I will take it. Just wondering if you could "lock" or "freeze" the top column in the spreadsheet so it stays on top when you scoll down. My memory is not helping me see what the different numbers are when I get to my name. Don't worry if it can't be done. Just wondering. Thanks.

Sorry, we didn't do it on purpose... :-) However if it makes you feel any better.. my wife beat my weight loss this week at WI... Even by 2lbs!!

Thank you for organizing a challenge. I am late to the party but want to join in

Jeff - we will forgive ya! Kudos to your wife, I am sure she was excited! And probably didn't gloat at all? Hehehe. ;)

The challenge is going good so far, I love that it keeps me on track. I'll take every little thing that I can to keep my motivation up there. I think as we get further along in our journey it becomes harder to stay 100%. So this is good for me! :D

Jeff:
Hope you know I was kidding.
We all have our own weight loss "speed" however, typically a guy will lose faster than a woman, mostly (I believe) because of higher testosterone levels.

Congrats on the WL!
I thought the top row WAS frozen. Perhaps something happened. I'll go fix it. Thanks for heads up!

ETA: I just checked. The top rows are frozen. I wonder why it isn't working that way for you? Try emptying cookies?

First official weigh in and going by what my scales say I'm down another .3 lb. Next week should be more inline with IP weigh-in.

I'm so excited for you frawniemae!!! You've got this :carrot::carrot:

Thanks stacynak! Who thought I could ever be excited about a "diet"! I feel great about this new journey!

frawniemae- I know exactly what you mean!! I absolutely love the program and sometimes feel like a bit of a IP zealot. :) As you can see in my stats, I took a short break in December due to our annual pre-Christmas Hawaii trip & then the holidays in the wake. I didn't make it a free-for-all but I wasn't diligent and gave myself some latitude with some things that weren't on the program. My husband has since shared with me that he thought I might have trouble going back on the program. It was actually quite the opposite! I couldn't wait & it was such a relief to be back on. I think so much of one's success is the mindset you go into the program with & once you start seeing progress both on & off the scale, you'll be unstoppable!

Hello all!

Loving this challenge to help push me to the finish line (or starting line depending on how you look at it!). But, as I get closer I am noticing a little bit of saggy skin (so far just upper arms) - not too serious but wondering if anyone has done any weight training? Did it help?

Thanks!

Bummer - I have broken my winning streak of so many weeks with no gain.... up 0.8lbs this week.

I have posted my gain as a negative number and I added a note to the cell to explain - I hope this was ok, Lisa -- if it messes up the sheet, please feel free to correct my entry to the proper format or let me know what to do to fix it and I'll get on it right away.

More eating out than I have done for the whole 6 months, some constipation, and I believe too much eyeballing. I know I need to get religious about measuring - perhaps the experience of a gain will be enough incentive to make me do what I know I need to do.

I did the same thing last challenge (my first) - take out the negative number and just put in a 0.0
then just keep track for next weigh in to see if you have lost that .8 plus extra to correct your 'current' weight. I am putting in next week's weigh in as 0.0 already as I will be away in Mexico for a bit - not expecting to lose any then, lol. Hopefully not gain much either as I brought somewhat unforgiving clothes.

See y'all soon! Keep up the good work, oneuh2, you'll be fine and back on a downtrend soon.

Liana

Hey all
Reminder
Any WI that results in no loss is posted as a zero.
Negative numbers caused confusion in the past as some people used them to enter a loss. The spreadsheet doesn't calculate this way and it goofed up people's WI reports. So, to keep it simple, no negative numbers (why is "no wire hangers" running thru my head? LOL).

That's the long story of why any type of WI resulting in no loss is posted as a zero.

As hard as they are to take, flatline or slight upticks on the weekly chart are normal. Although the trend line is down, the actual data is jagged.

A few Ipeeps have asked me what to do if they'll be out of town for a WI or don't weight weekly.
Just enter a zero.

Thanks for the refresher on this Lisa - and thanks for changing my negative number to zero, and deleting the note on the cell. I have it in my head now, but I do not intend to need it again. I am determined to head downward!!

Just got the RV setup for my winter break in South Florida. I am a weather refugee - not a snowbird! Anyway, just posted on the Winter Challenge spreadsheet. The Mini Challenge was just the ticket to keep me on track over the holidays. So now I am ready to focus on a clean and healthy IP lifestyle with the help of all you. Thanks, Lisa, for facilitating another challenge.

Lost only one pound this past week, but I feel the inches going. I know, mentally, that 9 pounds in 3 weeks is a good average and I'd rather have a large loss the first and second week so I can be motivated, but I wish the scale would move more. Ah well! I'm just going to stick to the plan and watch for a larger loss next Friday.

joysh, you n me both. My last two WIs were scant.
I'm waiting for the whoosh!

oneuh2

Lots of people ask questions, which is why the "directions" have grown.
I only update if the question comes up more than once.

RE: WI
It is ALL part of the process, esp as you get closer to goal. You're at almost 65% of the your WL goal. How fantastic is that? A slight uptick from time-to-time is normal. It is all about the science of how the fat goes away. The body holds x amount of water for each lb of fat. And the water drops last! That is why other measures in addition to the scale are so important. And the biggest measure for me is how I feel!!!!

You are so right Lisa! I think I am just anxious to get beyond the holidays and back into that great rhythm I had going before Thanksgiving. I was not having to even think about IP - my routine was like breathing - something I did consistently without any reminders or serious thought.

And - I am sweating about making it to the round 1 goal on DietBet ! This is no time to be going in the wrong direction... :o
I went dancing today and plan to go dance more regularly. My ankle is adequately healed, per the orthopedist appt this past week, so I am ready for more activity. nothing too aggressive - just more than sitting so much.
I can do this! Thank you so much for the support!

WELP Lisa

I think you were correct ... added the extra pack and salads to my week and down 3.6 this week .... YAY!

Thanks for the advice

Had a gain this week, but on track for success this week. I chopped up a big bowl of veggie salad to keep in fridge for the week. I have a hard time with veggies at lunch, so this is key for me. It also helps if I get hungry during the day. Already feeling better. :)

This is what I made today:
- diced cucumber
- diced orange bell pepper
- diced red onion
- WF "Pear White Balsamic" dressing
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil
- salt/pepper

TOgden3
:bravo: