Here's last years 'crop' lol. I don't touch 'em except to harvest until I get tired of rhubarb. There are technically three plants in the patch. That is a 4 ft stepladder and a size 9 gumboot (I wear double thick socks in them) for a size comparison. Also pictured is my 'rhubarb machete.' :rofl: Even though they are huge stalks they aren't stringy or tough and the compote comes out a gorgeous deep rose colour.

Wow, that's some big rhubarb. I grew up in the northeastern part of the USA, and we grew rhubarb, but it never got as big as that! Rhubarb must like that cold Canadian air. :)

I am so ridiculously jealous Liana :p

I know there is a train of thought around that once you get to P4 you should give up all the WF products, but I plan to continue to make Janeva's rhubarb compote - who needs strawberries ;)

Hysteria -- I'm so glad the Tyson's HT had frozen rhubarb. I hate giving false hope and false information!

ab

Actually North Eastern US (and Eastern Canada) is colder than here but I do notice that your spring comes a lot later than the Western edge of the continent - maybe that's the reason.

Our official weather stats:
"The warm season lasts from June 15 to September 6 with an average daily high temperature above 23°C. The hottest day of the year is July 30, with an average high of 29°C and low of 13°C.

The cold season lasts from November 19 to February 29 with an average daily high temperature below 5°C. The coldest day of the year is January 20, with an average low of -7°C and high of -1°C."

Hello everyone, I'm Ella and this is my first post here. I have been on IP for 2 weeks. Starting weight was 210 lbs. My first week I only lost 1lbs which was shocking since everyone had their biggest loss on the program at week 1. I lost 5lbs on week 2, however, they said I went from 22% muscle mass to 18% so it seems I am not losing fat properly. I'm having some lab work done to see if I am insulin resistant. I bought the ketostix yesterday and it showed I am in ketosis. Not sure what week 3 will reveal but I have no choice but to continue :)

Week 1: -1lbs
Week 2: -5lbs

Welcome Ella! Best of luck to you and don't get discouraged. You've come to the right place. You will find a tremendous amount of support here. Congrats on the %'s! That is great news, and the 6 lbs so far. Once the labs come back and you get some answers, your coach will be able to guide you I'm sure. You will likely find others here that have had the same issues and how they have coped and adjusted. This is an amazing protocol. I'm so grateful to have found it. Everyone loses differently. I've been on this since February 16th and started at 212. I'm mostly in size 12's and my tops run about medium, yet I see others who weigh more than me in 8's and my point in this is just to reitterate that everyone loses differently. Again, welcome, welcome, welcome, GOOD LUCK, stay focused and stay connected!!!:hug:

Thank you for the encouraging words Destony. Your weight loss is impressive, 69lbs seems like an unbelievable target to me at the moment, that's why I put my goal weight at 170lbs.

People have all kinds of different weight loss patterns on this protocol. I personally think it has to do with our muscle mass when we start, our age, and our activity level. You need to focus on average loss per week, and try not to get too worked up about a week when your loss is less than you expected. (Assuming you stayed on protocol, of course!)

When I first started, I lost weight almost every day (1/4 - 1/2 pound). Then I went through about six weeks of little plateaus, where I would stay the same weight for several days and then suddenly lose two pounds. Now I'm down, up, down some more, up a bit, down more.... As long as the scale is trending downward over the course of a week or two, it's all good!

Feeling bummed today.

Week 1: -4.0 lb
Week 2: -4.4 lb
Week 3: +2.5

Crap.

Wohn Jayne, were you able to stay on protocol all week? And did you lose inches?

Week 3 is commonly referred to as "ghost" week as our bodies start catching up with whats going on. Could also be TOM and numerous other factors. Weight loss is never linear.

Hope you have stayed on protocol and are having a better week!

Hi Ella: Don't believe the '22% to 18%' muscle mass loss. What is actually measured (and not all that accurately either) is any NON-FAT mass in your body - this includes water, waste, food in your tummy, bone mass, blood volume, muscle and visceral tissue. You cannot lose 4% of your muscle mass in one week if you are eating enough protein (which we are on protocol). Usually in the first couple weeks you lose stored water weight that your body holds when you eat higher carbs. So it's entirely possible you had emptier bowels, emptier stomach, or had lost that stored water due to lowered carbs. So many possibilities it could boggle your mind. Once your body gets used to burning ketones the ketostix will be useless too as you will not be excreting ketones although you will be losing fat weight.

Hang in there.... it doesn't sound like your coach is very knowledgeable.

Liana

Canadjineh I think you are right, I mean if I did really lose this much muscle in one week I would have no muscle left by the end of the first month LOL.

I can't believe it has been one month of IP. I am down a total of 15.6 and I am feeling great!!! I am thankful for this forum and lurk every night to help me stay focused. Happy Almost Friday Everyone :)