10lbs to go and STARVING
 

So I have 10lbs to go until I hit my goal weight (ignore my ticker...need to update it) and I find that I am hungry all the time. No amount of free veggies seems to take the edge off, and neither does drinking more water.

I've also recently started getting headaches the way I did when I first started IP. The past two weeks have actually been harder on me than the first two weeks of the diet. It feels like I'm having to get into Ketosis all over again - but I haven't strayed from the diet at all so shouldn't have left Ketosis.

Has anyone else experienced this as they moved (ever so slowly now) towards their goal?

Hey Lex, I did experience this as I got nearer to my initial goal. Never really identified what it was, but I ended up moving to P2 a bit early because I was so hungry all the time. My losses stayed pretty consistent, with a 1 pound week followed by a 3 pound week usually. You could probably afford to up your protein intake a bit or add a lower carb packet like the lemonade or jelly. That's what I did at the suggestion of my coach. Hang in there, you're so close!

I have been hungrier as I get closer to my goal but have been doing 4 IP foods since I started in October with no detectable slowdown. I also upped my goal by 10 lbs based on how I felt and a body fat percentage goal.

Good luck and as the previous poster said don't be afraid to increase your protein when you're hungry.

I don't want to alarm you but extreme hunger subsequently followed by headaches were my first symptoms that I have posted extensively about. I started the same time as you, btw. I thought I had an electrolytes' problem and it took quite a while to find out what was happening because the subsequent symptoms were dizziness and extreme fatigue and weakness. My thyroid (T3 way low but TSH normal) was under-performing, my body was making no testosterone, my DHEA was low and cortisol high, platelet count high and then we discovered a significant Vitamin D deficiency which my doc thinks is the root of all of this. So, my advice is to have blood work done if you haven't to test for these things. Also, you can read more about this in the thread I posted titled, Please provide Advice and How & When to Transition" as I thought it was my body to tell me enough of the dieting.

My clinic was of no help to me. In fact, they made things worse because my "coach" told me thinks like I was quitting, I had no plan, etc making me think it was all in my head and that I just needed to push through it.

Lex, I was very similar to pishposh.
For me, my losses slowed, and I was overly and ongoingly hungry for the first time in many months on P1.
Per my coach/doctor I did add a little fat and made sure to eat higher fat proteins.
I had set my goal a little too low, and decided to transition to P2/P3 about 5 or 10 lbs over where I thought I would stop, and then I lost about 5 to 7 lbs from P2 to P4.

Good luck! The phase you are entering is very unique to you, and will require some trial and error.

Thanks everyone, glad to know I'm not the only one. Ro22, appreciate the heads up. If things don't get better with a little extra protein/fat, I'll see my doctor ASAP. I'm already on Vit D supplements, so fairly certain I'm not deficient, but thyroid is a concern.

Lex I also had to add thyroid about a month or two in - for me it was an undiagnosed issue that was uncovered at that time - likely had been an issue for many many years. For me it wasn't caused by the IP protocol, only highlighted by it.

So glad I saw this post. I am going through the same thing. I am a few pounds from
my goal. I too am experiencing hunger. I thought it might be due to my working out and walking more. I do add an extra packet when I have a very active day. My weight loss for this week was zero. No gain so that is a plus. I thought if I don't have a loss for another week I may begin phase 2.

Sounds like it's time to review your macros. If your body fat percentage is dropping and your lean mass is staying the same you are getting sufficient protein, but you could be deficient in healthy fats. Fats control hormones AND the taste of carbs (which is one of the reasons thyroid issues start popping up when your body isn't getting enough fat). If you aren't getting enough fat in your diet then you almost certainly aren't absorbing some of the vitamins and supplements that rely on fat for absorption.

I would consider getting a blood panel done, just to check that you aren't deficient in something important. Maybe a day of higher carbs and fats to "reset" your body and then resume P1 in a more comfortable manner than being headachey and hungry.

Best of luck!

Lex - even though you are on a Vitamin D supplement, you need fat to absorb it. For whatever reason, my body needed more fat to absorb the supplements I was taking, which became apparent when I was 10 pounds from goal after 5+ months on the diet.

Because I am having similar issues, I am wondering what "extra fats" you added. It is difficult for me to eat any meat other than lean chicken, I eat more fish than chicken. Other than fat from meat sources, have you increased fat from olive oil?

Sorry 3BD, I should have been more clear. I should have written that I would have needed to include more fats. I had reached my goal by the time this was discovered and 2 independent doctors both advised me to stop the diet immediately. I did that and then gained a whole lot of weight in less than a month. So, for about a week I did my own variation of this diet but consumed 1200 calories and made up the calories from P1 protocol to 1200 with healthy fats such as coconut oil and ghee (organic clarified butter). This was not per the P1 protocol so I don't want to mislead you. I didn't lose what I expected in that week so I am back doing P1 until I get that weight off which I estimate is about 4-6 weeks. I will then properly transition so I don't have a huge uptick again. I figure that being off the diet for almost a month and adding supplements helped the situation. I am not 100% yet and while I take these supplements, what I have added to the P1 protocol to get more fat is I mix 93% lean ground turkey with 99% lean turkey for turkey burgers whereas before I only ate 99%. I don't eat red meat or fish so I was getting no other fat in my diet other than 2 tsp olive oil. I take the Vitamin D3 with my dinner meal where I consume the 2 tsp of olive oil and the added fat in the meat. I have even added a 93% sirloin burger into my eating plan to get that fat. I have 1 tsp of olive oil with my lunch.

I also did not eat many eggs for the 5+ months so I would tell you to add eggs into your diet as much as possible if you can't consume fattier meats.

I also believe salmon is a fattier fish.

I am not sure if you are doing this on your own, but if you have a coach, I would consult him/her as well.

Coconut oil, olive oil, pastured butter, salmon (if you prefer to increase meat/fish protein instead of direct fats).

Coconut oil is probably the best if you like the taste - as the organic extra virgin varieties are around 62% Medium Chain Triglycerides (and these little MCT beauties give ketosis a kick in the pants and ramp it up a notch). :)

At the "10 lbs til goal" mark, I started lifting weights with my high school age daughter. (I would have waited except it was summer & I needed to get her doing something.) I know that added to the hunger, but...

I looked at the hunger as my body finally working properly. Each week at weigh-in I would decide if I wanted to keep going. Weigh-ins actually become weirdly consistent.

I often needed to use "a lick of salt" at the gym, so electrolyte balance was very delicate.

Interestingly, my thyroid numbers (been on T4 since 2000ish and T4/T3 since 2006ish) stayed level. (When I did MRC I needed thyroid meds at the end.)

Low Vitamin D levels is kind of a chicken/egg thing. Does being fat cause the levels to drop or do low levels create the condition to easily gain fat? When I had blood work done at 8 months into maintenance, the only number off was Vitamin D, which I was able to bring back up with OTC supplement.

Because of the working out, I would have a non-restricted packet for breakfast and then another one after.

I think after many months in maintenance, many of us have a kind of set routine of our food choices. Although the last 10 pounds seems like the wrong time to start mixing it up, sometimes it does seem to need tweaking.

What I did was pick some packets that were higher in calories, especially in the morning. So the breakfast packet was likely chocolate drink powder and the after workout was either that or the mango shake.

As others mentioned, one of the other things was to be sure to go with the higher end of the oil. At the time it might have said 1-2 teaspoons, so that would mean 1 teaspoon at lunch and 1 teaspoon at dinner, rather than a half at each.

And, the eggs. I basically did this vegetarian and the rules for the eggs changed a lot. There is something about egg yolks (B12? magic?) that is helpful in how I feel. I certainly didn't have them every day, but adding a whole egg as part of protein at dinner (or eventually at lunch in p2) certainly helped me.

Plus, mixing in a little higher calorie protein choices.

It seems a bit counterintuitive to need more calories at less weight.
You could move to Phase 2 or try the more fat (from oils or protein sources) for 3 or 4 days to see if that helps.

Certainly see a doctor if it goes on much longer.

The other thing that those with a lot of willpower might encounter is the ability to take your weight lower than your body should go. Since you don't have enough to think about...

Hi OP, it could be low blood sugar. There's a point when your body just doesn't have enough fat stores readily available to meet your most basic energy needs esp. fueling the brain. That was my experience anyway.

Fwiw, have you considered phasing off now? Your weight right now might be ideal or even lower than "ideal". I'm only 5'4.45" & my goal weight of 140 was too low. It's very subjective & involves some trial and error to find your ideal & sustainable weight.

Also, as others have mentioned, when you supply more fuel, your metabolism will very likely ramp up & burn more, so you may see some continued loss.

Congratulations & wishing loads of enjoyment in your new healthy weight, whatever it turns out to be! :)