Trip, what is the difference in your calories between the two keto styles? What do you class as a "struggle" .. failure to lose? not feeling good? cravings? lack of satiety? lack of variety in the food sources cutting down both carb and fat?

If you can identify what it is that your body seems to be having an issue with, you can probably bend the macros a little to keep you losing AND happy with it. You may be surprised by how much difference macro changes make, rather than caloric restriction.

Every body is unique, and your personal metabolism and biology may not be suited to the "one size fits all" that IP uses.

Hi Briael... So far the difference looks to be about 400 or 500 calories less per day on IP... All or which was pretty much coming from fat... I was using about a tbsp of HWC, a tbsp of butter, probably a oz of cheese, and occasionally an oz of nuts... So all things that were helping with saity... And without that I'm finding the increased hungar despite being in ketosis difficult to manage...

The other thing that I think may have started some of the cravings I've been having is the fact that I'm now eating things which are "sweet" to my palette... Prior to IP the only thing remotely "sweet" that I allowed myself as a treat was 2oz of strawberries w/ 1tsp of unsweetened cream on them as a "dessert" once in a while...

The other issue which I think might be underlying all of this is general diet "fatigue"... I began this current round of weight loss last Mothers Day (my first after losing my own Mom over that past Christmas... But I was up to almost 220lbs, so I had my reasons) and I've lost just about 50lbs so far... which is A LOT of weight... especially, considering everything I've been dealing with emotionally this past year...

But I guess ultimately I may have been unrealistic in my expectations... Especially, in how difficult it might be to lose these last 15 to 20lbs...

Sorry you've been struggling TripSwitch. 50# is great and I've heard (have actually never been this close myself!) that those last 15-20# can be some of the hardest to lose. I bet diet fatigue does play a role. Even early in the game it can be tough to feel like you're ALWAYS having to watch what you eat or eat the same things so often. Sometimes I feel like it would be so much easier to not have to THINK about it so much. But, for me anyway, so much of that mindless eating is what got me here in the first place. I think others on here have had some great suggestions in terms of experimenting with spices, eating all your unlimited veggies, checking for new recipes. Hopefully this is just a slump that, unfortunately, you will have to slog through but then it will get better again. Hang in there!! I always have to tell myself, "one meal/day at a time" because if I think about how much weight I need/want to lose it can feel overwhelming.

On a different note....just curious if any of you have had this same feeling: I feel like I've lost more than what I've lost so far. Is that crazy? Maybe it's about the measurements (I haven't done those again yet) but it's strange. I've lost 15.6...and yes that .6 counts =)...but it feels like more. I've lost 20# and more on other diet plans and not felt like I've lost as much as I do now. Not a bad thing of course, just curious if anyone else has had this experience. It's certainly motivating!

Without wanting to give people the idea that it is ok to cheat, I want to share with you that I occasionally have 1oz of cheese (love it on steamed cauliflower at lunchtime), I normally use 2tsp butter for my daily "healthy fats" allowance (or EV coconut oil) in place of the olive/grapeseed oil with a very rare low-sugar natural yoghurt as a treat.

Will it slow you down in terms of loss? Yes, possibly. Will it help with diet fatigue? Yes, probably. It boils down to whether you want to compromise on the IP protocol and keep on the basic principles of their macros .. or if you will fall off the diet completely because you are at a mental and physiological crossroads.

In an ideal world (haha, no pun intended!) this diet would not get us to the stage where we feel fatigued with it, but it does seem to have that effect somewhere down the line. If you look at the Summer 2014 starters thread you will see that most of us have been experiencing the same issues - all at the same time - so it isn't an unusual position to be in.

If you want to stay 100% OP then this stage will pass. You can bypass the sweeter options with your packet choices, or introduce the more savoury flavours of protein powder (an alternative) - many of the vanilla are less sweet than the chocolates and caramels that IP have as drinks and puddings - if you prefer to remove the distractions and possible temptations of the sweet sensation.

Maybe look at changing up your vegetables, make sure to drop in a free salad at lunchtime (that can make a world of difference) and focus on what your body is telling you it needs. If you identify what it is that you are craving (and it sounds like yours is entirely fats) then you can build a workaround that doesn't bend the rules too far.

Interestingly enough, I've just watched a UK tv mini-series about Sugars, Calories and Fats (1 program per macro) and it was very informational. Apparently fat isn't just a fuel, it also affects the taste of many carbohydrates and is the basis of the food industry combining fat and sugar for flavour. They did a control group test of eliminating all foods that contained more than 1% fat for a week. By the end of that time frame most of the "dieters" felt bloated, nauseous, deprived and felt their food was either too bland or too sweet.

As always .. if you are paying for an IP clinic it is something worth running by your coach to see if they can work with you. If you're doing alternative products but following the IP protocol then you have licence to make changes that you feel may help you.

Provided you continue to lose weight (or inches, or body fat % - they are all important in the journey to better health) then the diet format is a success. The road you take is less important than keeping moving in the right direction.

Yes, this is normal for me, too! I go through stages - either lose scale weight or tape measure size, but not often together. It took me 35lbs gone before I started seeing "real" dimension changes, but as I get smaller those inches disappear faster, even on weeks when I gain water weight rather than losing fat.

If you are being measured on the Tanita scale you will see body fat percentage changes as well as weight lost and this is a great indicator of size change where the muscle is smaller in size (although identical in weight) to the same amount of fat.

Hello ladies,

I have been away for a while. It turns out I was rushed to emergency last Saturday and had a 10 cm cist removed from my left ovary! I went off the diet for this week. As it was a minor surgery my coach said t give it a weeks break and restart later. If it was a major surgery I would have to stop for a whole month.

Anyhow, I am back in the diet a week later. This week I pigged out a lot! I ate some frozen yogurt and even pizza!!! hehehe However, I was in so much pain I gave myself the excuse. I am now back on track and hoping to lose some weight until next Friday which is my weight in day!

Hows everybody doing?

Oh my, so sorry you had surgery and were in pain. Ouch. The pizza and frozen yogurt were well deserved! I asked my hubby for pizza and choc-peanut butter ice cream for dinner but all I got was chicken and sauteed cabbage.

I'm doing okay. Had a teary-eyed day on Wednesday because I'm not losing weight as fast as I'd like. My coach got an email from me complaining about my slow progress. She very nicely told me to take a chill pill. I did, and will have to accept the fact that I lose weight slower than most people. I have my next WI on Monday, fingers crossed.

I hope you continue to heal and kudos to you for coming back to IP!

Thanks Briael! Yah, I sort of expected-based on past experience-that it would take awhile before I really "felt" much difference so that's why I was surprised. I don't know what a Tanita scale is but it must be what my clinic uses because I do know it measures wt. loss from fat vs. muscle vs. water. Most of mine has been from fat, some from water and a small amt from muscle. And I forgot about the "shape and size" of muscle vs. fat..I bet that's part of what I'm seeing. Nice feeling!

Hey all you March starters, where are you?! I'm feeling lonely on this thread!

I have just completed my 3rd week today and had my 3rd WI: I' m down 3.5 lbs this week and if I remember correctly, around 2". Thank you, I'll take it! I was having such difficulty losing weight on my own (low cal, low fat, and reduced carb diet) so this is good for me!

IP has been very difficult for me. I intensely dislike the IP food packets but I insist on staying with this diet. 'One day at a time' is my current mantra.

Anyway, just wanted to share my news, say hi, and encourage others to post. I get a lot of inspiration from other IPers and it contributes so much to my ability to stay on this diet!

Susie you can do it. I had very similar struggles. I can tell you it has been worth it for me - all of the feelings, all of the hard times, all of the physical swings of bad days and good days and very bad days.
I think it is very possible, because you are going so deeply into these things and so determined, that maybe this is "it" for you, meaning maybe you are making changes in your life such that you will be ready to truly maintain for the rest of your life. I know for me, I went through the whole protocol very consciously determined that this really needed to be the last time I do this - "this" meaning the whole weight loss/regain cycle.
It also helped me that my doctor, and also an old family friend who is a retired doctor, both made it very clear to me that with insulin resistance, once you lose the weight and heal the insulititis and metabolic syndrome, that if you gain more than 5 or 10 lbs, it will be even worse the second time around because the pancreas/organs/hormone system will be that much weaker.

Also tuscanygirl - it was the same for me as Amanda describes - I usually in a week had either loss of weight or loss of inches, but rarely a lot of both. Often I would lose only every two weeks and then have a bit of a "whoosh". I think the key thing in the long run is just keep going, and not have too much anxiety about the week to week.

Good luck everybody!! have a great week!

Hi Susie! I'm just finishing up with week 4. WI: Lost only 2.2 pounds but don't officially measure until tonight. It seems I go every other week. pounds one week, inches the next, so I'm hoping for good inches! Keep up the good work!!!I only like a handful of the IP packets and one of them is the orange drink! I really like it! I'm also really bad about eating veggies. But just like you, just one day at a time!!!

Grateful4Health
It also helped me that my doctor, and also an old family friend who is a retired doctor, both made it very clear to me that with insulin resistance, once you lose the weight and heal the insulititis and metabolic syndrome, that if you gain more than 5 or 10 lbs, it will be even worse the second time around because the pancreas/organs/hormone system will be that much weaker.

Wow, that's a big eye opener, and I believe it's true. I was diagnosed with diabetes about eight years ago and immediately put myself on a diet, lost 40 pounds but didn't keep it off. Now, I'm back to square one (or more like square 200!) and this go around the weight didn't want to come off. I struggled over many weeks and lost 7 lbs total. I couldn't understand what was different but it may be attributed to my weaker body caused by diabetes and metabolic syndrome. There's another incentive not to regain this darn weight! Thank you!

Asmuir, congrats on your weight loss and thank you for the encouragement. I appreciate it!

Hi Susie! Have you tried a variety? Maybe your clinic has individual ones for sale which make good taste testers. If you like oatmeal, they are both really good. I also like the wildberry yogurt smoothie, vanilla/almond RTD, chili is good in a salad (taco salad) and the rotini is good if you mix it with veggies +evoo. I would encourage you to try different ones.

Yes, I did try a variety of packets. My starter kit (and I don't know if it's unique to my clinic or if all IP clinics have starter kits) had a multitude of packets. But I simply couln't eat them. They didn't make me ill nor did I have a reaction, I just thought they were awful. I hate to say that, as I don't want to discourage anyone from starting IP or venturing into different packets if they're already on IP. Every once in a while I'll have the veggie chili but the first time I had it, it was from the starter kit and it didn't have any cooking instructions. I didn't want to overcook it because I noticed many of the soups said not to boil the product. It turns out I undercooked it and the little nuggets were as hard as gravel. I also don't mind the Chicken Noodle Soup but when preparing it, the smell nauseates me. Then I was the person who posted the Mango Drink Mix comments about the chemical smell. It smelled like I was running a fertilizer production line in my kitchen. I won't go near that drink ever again. And I am sure my recycled cardboard is used to make those damn BBQ crisps.

So there's the ugly truth. My coach said I had the most negative reactions to the food out of all of her patients. She even told me that 'perhaps this wasn't the diet for me'. But then my stubborn gene kicked in and I refused to quit. If this was high school I would probably be voted 'Most Likely to Fail' but I am staying focused to the end!

I don't know if you saw the Today Show this morning but there was a story about the Whole 30 Diet--it was actually a lifestyle change, not a diet. But it reminded me a lot of IP: lean meats, oodles of veggies and no carbs (they didn't go into a lot of detail so I may have the facts wrong). But the author/creator said something that resonated with me:
Beating cancer is hard. Giving birth is hard. But drinking coffee w/o milk is not hard. That put things into perspective for me. This is only a bump in life and I can handle it.

So thanks NowItsMyTurn, I appreciate your support and suggestions but it's definitely 'me' who is a tough nut to crack with regards to the IP food....I shall make do with the Chocolate Drink Mix and PB bars and I shall succeed....

Susie,
We could be best friends based off of everything you just said!!! There are very few IP things I can handle. The Orange Drink, The Chocolate RM, the wafers, and Peanut chocolate bar are about the only things I can stomach. the chili is ok, but not my favorite! Now throw in the fact that I actually HATE Vegetables, and now we have a real problem. UGH! I am trying everything under the sun to get vegetables in. Up today....Cauliflower pizza bites.
And I'm pretty sure my coaches or at least one of them is tired of hearing how much I hate VEGGIES!
Didn't lose any inches this last week, and only lost 1 true pound of fat, so yesterdays weigh in was not good. Here's hoping for a good week of veggies and a good week of IP food. BRING ON WEEK 5!