19 lbs is freaking great! That before and after pic should be a good motivator too but I guess I will just have a while to wait on that reward! So proud if you though! 😎

ChipnDip - I'm in the same boat. I ordered so many different things from Nashua because I wanted to be sure I had variety that I now have a collection of stuff that is ok but not my favorites. I actually made a spreadsheet so that I know what I have where (work vs. home). Now, when I'm eating just because I know I should and don't really care what it is, I check the sheet and pick something just to use it up.

You are not that big compared to others. I just focused on a loss in weight or inches every week. There were some weeks there was no weight loss but there always was inches. The time it takes may seem long but you need that to learn about yourself so you can maintain. Oh and save money, everything from head to toe will need replaced.

It sounds a little like you aren't eating enough...or you aren't eating frequently enough. By 12:30 you should have had a protein packet for breakfast, a protein packet for lunch and 2 cups of veggies with an optional salad. If you are hungry in between you can have cucumbers. But you should definitely be eating more on a schedule.

I eat an IP omelet (or occasionally, a maple oatmeal packet) for breakfast. (any time between 7-10am)

For lunch (by 12:30), I have either the mushroom soup (with 2 cups of cooked mushrooms in it), the chicken patty IP mix (which I have not figured out how to cook correctly yet) with 2 cups of veggies (typically broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, or turnip chips...though I'll throw something different in there every so often), or an IP drink with a salad (romaine lettuce, cucumbers, 2 cups of veggies, and the WP sesame ginger dressing).

I try to have dinner around 5 or 6. My 8 ounces of protein are usually one of the following: chicken breast, steak, lean hamburger, lean turkey burger, pork tenderloin. And of course the 2 cups of veggies. If I didn't have a salad for lunch, I try to have one for dinner. But there have been days that I didn't get a salad in.

By the time 9:00 rolls around, I have to usually force myself to have a snack packet. If I'm hungry I will have a pudding because they are more filling. Otherwise, I have a drink packet.

I get the IP salt in every day and olive oil. I usually drizzle the olive oil on my salad or if I have spinach, I will cook the spinach in it (I cook spinach on low heat).

Honestly, the only time I get hungry is when I get off track and wait too long between meals. Sometimes though, I have felt hungry but not in my stomach...I just get hungry for a craving which is not real hunger. I have been able to get through them without too much trouble but if not, I will break up my meals to have more frequent meals throughout that day. (For instance...instead of having veggies AND the IP packet at lunch, I might have the veggies first a little earlier....say 10 or 11 and then an hour or two later, the IP packet. Then instead of having 8 ounces of meat at dinner, I might have 4 ounces a couple of hours after lunch and then another 4 ounces a couple of hours after that). There are so many ways you can structure your day so that you don't feel hungry. You shouldn't have to suffer on this diet. And if you eat too little, your weight loss will slow down so make sure that you follow the plan!

You can do this! Hang in there. Your 3.8 pound loss is actually an average weight loss which is great with the cheats that you had. And losing 4 inches in one week is nothing to be sad about!

Got2benow...

You are getting great advice - but I know there are many who are/have been in your same boat who are benefitting from this thread. So thanks!

Hopefully you will be with the vast majority of us who don't experience troubling hunger in ketosis! One thing I have always done is to break up my protein into two meals instead of one. So that may mean eggs at breakfast or a 4 oz burger at lunch and then the rest of my protein at dinner. B/C I am spreading out my protein, I can be a little more creative with when I eat my packs also.

Your starting weight was almost identical to mine (and you've got height on me). I lost 4.5 lbs my first week being 100%. I never lost more than that and quickly move from 4 lbs to 3 lbs to 2lbs a week. The less I have to lose, the lower my weekly losses get.

Hang in there!

I too had a good loss the 1st wk weigh in. Then on the 2nd weigh-in my Coach was absent and her replacement that day winked at me as he read 1.5 pounds lost, must have had some sugar hu? Actually I followed the protocal exactly....I am not going to complain I have managed to drop 13 pounds in just a few weeks on 100% plan so far and am so ready to weigh with my regular Coach on Monday
Attitude is Everything

I only had a 3.6 lb loss on my first week so don't feel bad Got2benow. I was still proud of myself because that is the most I've lost in a week on a diet in years. Since then my losses are 1.5 to 2 lbs per week. I'm ok with that. I'm probably not exactly in ketosis because I'm not 100% on plan but I'm ok with that too as long as the numbers are going down. I'm down about 12 1/2 lbs now since the beginning of June. A lot of people are down double that since then. I don't let it bother me because I am measuring my success against myself and my past. I have made more changes since being on this diet than ever in my life. I have now kicked my chocolate habit which was every day and my fast food habit. I feel better than I ever have.

Watch the changes that you make and be proud of yourself. Measure your success by your own standards. You are going down in numbers. That's all that matters!! You can do it. I mean heck, if I can, anybody can! I am the most inconsistent personality out there! Lol. And keep coming back here. These people are amazing with all of there wisdom and advice!

And truly, it has been said before but it is worth repeating, if you have less to lose than someone else it will come off a little slower. But you will reach the finish line first. I have over 100 pounds to lose...so my first loss was big. But I still have over 100 pounds to lose. This diet works if you stick to it and don't worry about comparing your losses to others.

You can see from this thread that you have lots of support here to get and stay on plan -- even if those physically around you seem to be enticing you to go off plan. Don't go for the okey doke - make this the one time that you are sticking with the plan no matter what.

Go check out those recipes that are posted by Lisa at the start of each Daily thread, and in the Sticky Thread -- lot's of baking opportunities for turning the simple IP packet into something yummy. If you are a successful baker, I bet you can thrill us with more recipes!

The days and weeks and months will go by whether we are On Plan (OP) or not... how much more rewarding it can be to stay OP and watch our shadows shrink... This is my motivation. Come on and join me!

Hello. Very new to this thread. Today is my first week on this and I lost 19.5 lbs. I think that's too much too fast. First few days were so hard. It has gotten better but my blood pressure has gone pretty low, I get cramps from lack of potassium and very lightheaded when I stand. Yep I'm a hot mess. Please tell me this gets better. Btw my dreams have had me at the Taco Bell drive-thru twice this week. That better not be cheating!!!

LOL, dreams are very low carb, as long as you don't act them out when awake. The potassium is vital as is the sodium in the IP salt - make sure you get enough in by doing a salt lick - see what I posted on your other comment .

I posted a kind of lengthy response to you in the IP Phases thread... Hope you find it!

Checking back in on this thread. Lots of good advice. Most important, don't be disappointed, most here would be happy with that loss for a week. I think the advice from Evemomma about including protein at lunch and dinner is a good one. That's something I did after 3 weeks.

I know some coaches discourage weighing every day. I have sleep apnea and which I monitor daily, the program I use has a spot for entering weight, so I have been recording my weight daily for a year and a half, way longer than I have been on IP. Once I got to Phase 3 I also started occasional Intermittent Fasting, which has worked well for me. Basically, a couple of days a week I am skipping breakfast. So far maintenance has been ok. I am struggling a little with incorporating complex carbs into my dinner since my wife is still in Phase 1, her weight loss has been a lot slower averaging 2 pounds a week, which seems to be the norm for most people.

The mental part of changing habits is hard. Habitual behavior is by definition going to be ingrained. I have found that keeping busy is about the best way to deal with it. At some point you need to make the choice to change. Now I feel that I have, hopefully, made a fundamental change in my diet, eating very little processed food and doing very little snacking. I have reintroduced raw almonds into my diet but I am (no kidding) counting out 12-14 nuts each day that I then eat through the day. That's because I know I will over do if I just leave them out in a bowl.

Hi Tom in RI: Sounds like the other major change you made was being aware of your portions... That is a major one in our society, good going! Seems like no one really knows what a healthy portion looks like anymore - it's always 'supersized' is better, getting more for your money, etc.
As an idea for you & your wife - same as what my DH & I did: I made big healthy stirfries P1 style and put his portion over some brown rice or baked potato and I just had mine on the plate. We both got the same food but I stayed P1 and no special meal had to be made for either of us.

Liana

I can sympathize totally! My coach is wondering why I'm not losing 4-5 lbs a week! I lose 1-2 a week. They show me other people's charts, how they are losing so quickly, and I stick to plan 100%! It almost makes it hard to keep going, as they see my slow loss as a failure instead of small progresses!! I just stay positive and keep going!!