Home scales using electrical impedance to measure body composition are inaccurate (+/- 5%) and imprecise. The results also vary A LOT based on your hydration levels. Given that you had 36-48 hours of more water output than input, I doubt you can rely on the numbers as reflections of what actually happened and what the current status is. Wait til you're feeling 100%!

I completely agree with you. I don't have one of the fancy scales at home, but the clinic scale showed that I gained .6 lbs of fat and lost 8.2 lbs of muscle. She said I am probably constipated - back to that in a minute - so I don't think it's accurate completely. I know I had lost legitimately from my daily checks at home even before being sick, so I agree with the loss; just not the muscle/fat part.

I was so extremely constipated last weekend it wasn't funny... it hurt. Bad. Anyway, then I was fine for a few days, then got this bug. And went and went and went. You get the picture. Anyway, the girl said that since fat went up slightly, I could be constipated. So could I really be constipated now today? I guess nothing has come out one way or the other since last night...

So now I wonder if I should've asked about something like Novi-lax? Something to start taking to help keep me a little more regular? I haven't had big problems until the last couple weeks. Does WalMart sell something comparable that I could snatch up and try do you think? I'm 20 minutes away from my clinic and spend my weeks in the opposite direction, so I won't be back down there until next Saturday.

OR, you just want me to leave you alone on this Saturday evening!

OnMyWayForGood Clinic scales aren't much better than home scales. I should have been clearer -- the methodolgy of electrical impedence is inaccurate and imprecise, then you throw in varying quality of scales on top of that! I quoted a trainer - nutritionist on body composition methods last night. She said the most accurate method of assessing body fat and lean body mass is autopsy, "and, guess what, that's a little inconvenient for most of us." Even though I read it first a few days ago, it still leaves me Link

You're in luck -- EatAnts (Sheila) posted about just this issue earlier today. Just click the blue arrow in the quote above to jump to it. Your luck continues -- I'm in the mood to hang out online tonight and actually be helpful, not crabby ranty or snarky! (Enquirer Expose: The Hidden Lives of The Seven Dwarfs' sisters)

I've only had a single, minor instance of constipation so I don't have much personal experience for you on prevention.

If you don't walk much, consider starting, even 2 minutes will help. Getting the glutes and abs moving while walking gives the colon a bit of a massage. I almost always have to find a bathroom in a hurry if I do a lot of walking in the morning, so I map my route carefully.

The Floralax product that I bought on my first visit is psyllium husk and aloe vera. You could easily find ground psyllium husk capsules; I'd start at a health food store. Failing that ask the pharmacy assistant at a drugstore or Walmart for a gentle, fibre-based supplement. Increasing your oil a tad may help as well. Coconut oil, though pricy, can be very effective.

I saw that when she posted it, but didn't think twice about it at the time! How you keep track of everything is beyond amazing, and I think several times a day you prove yourself yet again! Incredible!

I'll start with what I can find at Wally's and go from there. I hate to take something every day, but I can't handle the extremes from this week! Like I said, I haven't had a problem with this until recently, so I'm ready to go back to not worrying about either the big C or D!

Thanks for your help! I learn something new every day--- like never noticing the blue arrows on the quoted posts! And for the record, your "beginning of the day" info is VERY helpful. I have referred to that several times!

I needed a break. In other words I cheated. I am going through a lot of problems in my life. A friend invited me my husband and I over for a party. I ate and gave in. I know it will take 3 days for me to get back to ketosis, but I needed it. My husband is without a job and we are barely making it. I will know at the beginning of this week if we will have to move in with my brother. I am a major emotional eater and the party gave me a out. So instead of beating myself up I am going to just start over tomorrow with my weight loss. Yea I fill sick at my stomach and should not have done it, but I did and it's done, now I move on. I need to stay on track. Any emotional eaters out there with advise? This seems to be my track record. How can I over come this giving in to temptation.

Tonight was weird - went out with friends to a pizza place for a birthday party. I did my research and knew that they had a good salad bar and that's what I stuck to for the evening. After my second plate of salad though, I was really full - like, the fullest I've ever felt since starting the program. The only thing on my salad that might have been a carb was the little bit of FF ranch (I accidentally left my dressing at home). But it was just weird. I haven't felt overfull in weeks...

But I didn't have the yummy cheesy crusty pizza!

I should mention that this is only the second time I've eaten out while on program, and my first time in a pizza place... Am I weird that I feel weird about all of this tonight?

I guess what I'm trying to say is... I feel like I failed tonight.

Yes, that's right, two weeks--one off protocol and one to get back to where I was before I went off protocol. And no worries--I don't feel picked on

I'm not sure if my thought process is the same as others who've taken a hiatus/break/off-protocol time. The thing is that for me the issue is not about food, or about money, or about the weight-loss time line, so much as it is about psychology, knowing myself, and understanding what has set me up for food-based backlash and diet failure in the past. For me, because I have so much weight to release (and I want this time to be the last time), from the very start I have needed to feel that this diet is sustainable over the long term. In the best case scenario, if my weight loss stays the same, I am looking at a full year plus of IP. So since my bday was 10 weeks from my start date, and Christmas 10 weeks after that, I started with the intent of taking this in 10 week stages to make the task feel less daunting. I couldn't imagine being on a diet for 65 weeks, but I could imagine doing it for 10 weeks 6 and a half times.

At the beginning, I imagined that those weeks off-protocol would be like coming up for air after holding my breath underwater for 10 weeks. That I would need them in order to keep going for the next stretch. What I learned from actually taking the off-protocol time was that as well as my body changing, so has my mind. And this has been a big, very welcome, surprise. It's as if I've learned to breathe underwater! The "treats" and "regular food" no longer seem emotionally necessary in the way that they did at the beginning. And it's amazing. But I would not have understood the depth of this change unless I had "come up for air," so to speak, in the off-protocol week. What I learned is that I no longer need to "come up for air" 'cause I'm breathing just fine where I'm at everyday. IP has become my new normal.

Jackie

I just want to say that in my opinion, even if we cheat or mess up I don't think we ever fail, I think we just disappoint ourselves. I'm not justifying going off protocol, but I don't think you should feel guilty. You may have a little backstep from the dressing, but it doesn't sound like it was much. The important thing in my opinion is that you did what you could in your circumstances. You didn't even have the oh-so-good cheezy pizza! THAT is a big step!!! THAT is an accomplishment! Remember that part of the program is to change how we eat and look at food. You had the opportunity to eat less healthy, but you didn't take it. So congrats!

Just need to vent. Wanted to make egg salad so I went to buy some WF mayo and the store is out! They only stock it once a month!! Now I'm going to have to make some before I can make the egg salad. I'm not used to prepping my food so it may be a bit before I get to the egg salad. Ok, done now. Thanks for a place to vent.

Gabby Lou -- can you find or create new ways to give yourself a break? Sometimes 10 minutes of quiet time feels like a vacation to me! Another thought ... print out your post. Remember the feeling of disappointment. Imagine dealing with the boredom or stress a different way. How does that feel? Remember that. Repeat the imagining and noticing process a few more times.

You can (and you don't have to ) use your time on Ideal Protein to lessen the hold food has on you. MotherDuckMJ (who's been MIA, hmmm) had some great reflections on emotional eating.
All I see is success and honoring your commitment to stick with the IP plan. I'm curious, why do you feel as if you failed?

Well I'm stronger than I thought. I was not even tempted to check the frostings that I made for 2 cakes! Just did not know if I was ready to deal with all of the baking on my first week of IP. But I made it!

Warning: negative thoughts about to be expressed!

I tried the new orange drink as a Sunday morning treat, and now I am really annoyed! Why? Because it was a waste of calories, I don't feel fed, and I have to go hungry till lunch.
Here is my complaint. (I wonder if anyone from Ideal Protein ever reads these boards for feedback.) It seems that in the quest for the most bio-available protein, these brainy scientists forgot one thing - edibility. It makes no sense to have all that bio-available protein end up stuck to the side of the shaker and only edible if you take a spatula and scrape it off the sides of the glass or shaker you are drinking from. Impossible to drink these things conveniently! And you don't feel full after ingesting little globs of white stuff off a spatula.

Also the drink is way too sweet. I realize taste is a highly personal thing, and many people like the sweetness.

But this problem with the fruity drinks becoming undrinkable is shrinking the choices as far as I am concerned.

End of rant.

I hear ya! I have also steered away from the orange drink. I also have the Peach Mango and Pink Lemonade. They all have the same little white ball problem. Here is what my coach suggested to me. I add my drinks to 1 litre of water, and sip on it throughout the day. This I do for that non hungry feeling and keeps me going during my long hours at work. I find, that the little balls of white dissolve, eventually.

It is very annoying though.

Hope everyone is having a good Saturday!

I always add extra water to every drink. Makes it a little less sweet and seems to mix together better. Half the time I don't even use the whisk ball in my shaker because I don't need it.