I also experienced a dead zone, my coach moved me to the alternative for a couple of weeks (addition of one fruit, one carb and one dairy). No weight loss from Nov 2014 until 2 weeks ago.
At my last WI.... loss of 5lb.... but also measured-- bra band sports bra 52>fitted 38, muffintop down 3"-- I was too focused on scale numbers and mindlessly wearing the old stuff. I have since returned to phase 1 and cont with weight loss 1-3 pounds each week.
I also added green teas. Added "Water My Body" to make sure I was geting the water in.
Changing up the food intake helped "the brain interest in food" --added a modified Rain Forrest Cafe Slaw, chayote, even made Green Bean, "Cauli" tot casserole with gr. beef (mushroom soup pkt). Stews with roasted radish. My comfort food this past week because of the cold (in Central IL).... Ratatouille... over my protein.

I guess what I am saying is .... got to take the blinders off and really look at yourself with "NEW EYES" not the pair that still see you at the old weight.

Might be worth talking to your coach about moving to P2 or even P3 for a week or two.
The time I was most successful on IP I switched to P3 for about 10 days because I was on vacation. I worked out each morning, had the big breakfast and typically ate out for either lunch or dinner, but made sure my meal choices were still IP approved, or very close to. After returning from vacation I got back on P1 and dropped 4 lbs in the following 10 days. At the time, I was very close to goal so 4 lbs was a huge loss for me.

Did you stay on the alt program until you saw the loss and then switched back to P1 or did you do the alt program for 2 weeks only?

I ended up having to do the alternative program when I was losing weight, since I began not feeling well and weight/inch loss stalled as I got closer to my goal. My body just needed more food. Then I lost weight & inches through P2, 3 and even early Maintenance. You definitely need to add more vegetables that aren't 'free'. Use something with a bit more body to it, like the cauliflower mentioned. Or roasted peppers stuffed with other veggies, or try some turnip or rutabaga or cooked fennel bulb.
Wylothar is a great resource for learning healthy eating IP style while getting some exercise in. Hang in there...

Liana

You've gotten lots of different opinions

I have a couple of questions because I'm a little confused. Has your WL slowed to 1 lb per week or are you stalled at only 1 lb total for the entire 2 month period?

If basically no WL for the whole 2 months while being true to protocol ( before your cheat) I'd suggest asking your doctor about the need for a thyroid panel. Always rule our imbalances first. VLC diets are notoriously hard on thyroid. If that comes back okay, you might want to research Lyle McDonald and see what he says about carb cycling. You might just need to shake up your system.

Conversely, if this is a slowdown of 1 lb per week, ignore my previous comments. That is a normal part of the body acclimating to the plan and requiring fewer calories to function. WL slows as we get closer to goal.

Just wanted to give you all an update. I talked to my coach, and I have cut back on the cardio, to just a fast walk with some strength conditioning instead of running, and added a packet for the days that I work out.

I recommitted and have cut out the snacking I was doing, and I have cut back on the flavored drinks to 1 a day. And it's working!! Lost 4lbs last week!

Thanks for the advice everyone! >180 here I come!

When I did IP in 2012/13 I started at 177lbs. Took forever to get to <155. Then for a solid 6 weeks my weight swirled around 153-151. I went nuts and postal!!!! Mainly because of the money issue. Close to $600 down the drain not counting the expensive protein and extra veggies and supplements. My coach at the time had me switch out my meals, dinner at lunch, breakfast at dinner, lunch at breakfast (or some combo like that). 100% compliant. Finally broke the barrier and it took a lot of time to get to 140.

Ok, yes i am back and this time have to lose even more... Took me 7 weeks to get back to my previous high weight. Big sigh. This coach has suggested I don't use stevia at all and see if my weekly loss improves. I drink upwards of a gallon of water a day. Wish me luck!!! And thanks for letting me vent.

WTG Ltg!!!!!!!!!!!! Really glad you were able to shake it up!

I am new to IP: list 8 lbs the first week and just had my weigh in today and lost another 6, so 14 in the first two weeks. Sounds great but when I looked at my print out in detail, I've list 11 of it as muscle. Is this typical in the first few weeks? Muscle is really important to me and I planned on doing some serious training after I got the fat off (I have a 4 month old so I haven't worked out hard in a while). My coach mentioned I'm now in fat burn mode so I get to start the bars. Does this mean the pounds will now start to be fat?? A little freaked out

The lean mass you lose (if you are going by the gadget used in the clinics to measure it) isn't necessarily muscle. It is anything in your body that is NOT fat. That means bone, organs, nerves, contents of your colon at that moment, etc. Don't get focused on that machine as they are notoriously unreliable. Are you losing inches, and/or improving your blood sugars & lipids? Remember at first you are depleting the glycogen from your muscles and the accompanying water that is held with it. THEN, you get to start the fat burning mode. Hang in there. Not all coaches are as well trained as some.

Liana

I would concur. That gadget and calculation are very unreliable. Best measure if find a consistent method of measuring and just stay with it. Mine was a belt I wear to this day.
The IP gimick machine tells me I am chronically dehydrated. I go to great lengths to get my water in. Years ago I got the precision nutrition program from dr. John Berardi and they recommended calipers and using the same person because it is the most consistent measure. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/me...entGuide-F.pdf Unless you have access to dexa scan you are ballpark at best.

But it is not impossible to lose muscle on IP. Depending on your body. It isn't a muscle sparring as they give pretense too because you are in massive calorie deficit (planned metabolic starvation essentially). That fact is the largest reason they say no working out is advertising. It is far easier to modify an input (what you eat) versus and a new input (working out) into a persons lifestyle. You can hurt your progress by taking in too much protein or working in wrong modalities while in IP.

Some real recent data coming out that for muscle growth you only need about .8 grams per pound of body weight. They used to say 1 to 1.5 grams per lb of lean body mass to gain muscle. New data is showing that really more than the case and many athletes are chronically over consuming protein.

I have to look up the post related to the podcast for referencing but Marks Daily Apple mentioned that even in ketosis your body only depletes about 20% of the glycogen out of the muscle while in ketosis. The body can create something like 140 grams of glycogen a day while in dietary ketosis.

Depending on your previous capacity and knowledge you can train pretty hard IMO. Especially if you work Power and strength. Not metabolic conditioning or LDC (long duration cardio). Plus growing muscle increases RMBR. Did you see the recent article out claiming being fat isn't the worst information about the modern human condition, it is the lack of muscle mass?

Jicama is my lifesaver!!! I am not a veggie lover and this saves the day!!! :-)

I am "new" to this group, although I've been stalking for a month. I have my 3rd weigh in tomorrow. First week I lost 3 pounds, second was 6 and we will see how tomorrow goes. I have stuck to the plan religiously and am a bit disappointed with my 9 pound loss. I know 9 pounds is 9 pounds but it seems like so many lose big numbers the first month and I'm not. My TOM came this morning so keeping my head up after weigh in might prove to be difficult. I am not giving up though. I feel better and jeans I could weigh 3 weeks ago are sagging. I guess I just wanted to introduce myself (Mary) and let you all know that all of your stories are inspirational and I love this website!

9 lbs in 2 weeks is big numbers... If you were doing Weight Watchers you might have lost half that amount.

So glad this worked for you! How long did you do the Alternative IP protocol to jumpstart your program?