I got your email and sent my screen name but I'm new to gmail and just wanted to be sure you got it. I understand completely if I need to sit out this challenge since I am new to the forum. I start IP Wednesday and am excited about it! It feels strangely wonderful to be excited about a "diet"!!

Well......was losing a steady 2 # per week until I started this challenge. LOL! It's got to improve.

Another week of a really small loss ..... I actually have gotten extremely strict and by the book for the past 3 weeks and I'm losing less and less .... Through the holiday when I had a little taste of this and a little taste of that I loss consistently larger amounts. I'm confused but I cant completely complain because the measuring tape seems to be consistently getting smaller.

I know we shouldnt be so focused on that scale number especially when there are clear signs that something is working through compliments, buying smaller clothes, feeling more energized, etc BUT I can't help it.

TOgden3
How many pacers are you consuming per day?

It is very possible you're having too little

Could it be that you are eating too LITTLE? Are you making sure to get your free lettuce and cucumber in with lunch and dinner? Eating all your oil allowance and making sure you get enough sodium and water?

On the weeks where I have multiple days with low water intake (generally as a result of too little sodium in my chosen foods), I notice that I have very small scale loss, but I do still lose the inches on the tape measure.

It's also possible that your body is just going through what I like to call a consolidation period. Where it comes to terms with what you've lost and gears up ready to lose the next amount.

Either way, stay positive. You'll probably have a "whoosh" next week, as so many of us do after a pause.

Lisa & Briael ... I drink about 100 oz of water everyday, I get all my vitamins in, and Im eating my 3 IP items a day along with 4 cups of veggies .... I dont tend to eat the extra lettuce or cucumbers but I am going to try this week.

Going to keep chugging along.

Got my info entered. I put my starting weight as what was on the scales at the cardiologist's office (who rec'd the IP life) Jan14 and the weight loss as what I've recorded here at the house. I should have my first weigh in Wednesday? Unless this first visit is just to introduce me to the IP, which, after reading all I have here, may be "old news" but I will listen, take notes, ask questions and go from there.
Looking forward to this journey!

At your weight, my thought is that 3 packets is too few.
I had a friend who was a coach (no longer) but gave me info from the coaches' manual:

201-240 pounds = 4 packets/day
241-280 pounds = 5 packets/day
281-320 pounds = 6 packets/day

So, by these guidelines, no wonder you were losing more when you were having "tastes"! You could probably have 6-8 packets! This is when alternatives would be very economically feasible! Additionally, I'd suggest adding at least one salad per day, if not two, and taking advantage of other unlimiteds in those salads!

That's how I felt when I got to the clinic. I'd researched here for WEEKS first. I don't think she gave me any new info

Interesting ... I was wondering if my coach was correct because I have questioned her before and she is adamant on 3 packs a day .... I even told her that I started plugging into my calorie counter and noticed I was eating about 900 calories a day and my counting website was recommending 3300 calories a day ... ... but still 3 packs she said. I think I am going to research the alternatives site for some options and get them purchased and see if I have any luck ... for now until I can do that (over the weekend) Ill take an extra salad to work to have as a late afternoon snack.

Thanks for the suggestions

I see a nutritionist each week for counseling/support. She has been a great help for me getting my "head on straight" in regard to my eating. I hadn't weighed in with her since I restarted on IP and she was in shock when I stepped back on the scale at her office yesterday. It feels so good to be able to see the scale move in the right direction and was so fun to see her reaction as she continued to move the weights to the left on the scale. She kept going, and going.... (she has the old-fashion weighted/Dr. scale). I love surprising people!

Lost another pound this week!

Chiming in on the packet conversation, I personally started with 5 a day and moved pretty quickly to 4. I always do 3 now with 4 on my later / longer days. I find the weeks I do 4 I lose more.... Sometimes we just need more food to get our bodies to release.

It's possibly related to the metabolic rate staying relatively stable if you don't continually eat the minimum amount possible. Once your body becomes accustomed to a limited amount of food it will adjust your basal metabolic rate downwards. (This is why people who don't phase out properly regain the weight very quickly). Throwing in more calories/carbs periodically will keep it on its toes and hopefully prevent the BMR from plummeting too quickly.

DH has days when he eats everything that isn't nailed down, and seems to lose just as comfortably as I do - despite eating bread and cheese and pepperoni bars and the duo candies.

Quite frankly, I've arrived at the stage where if my body is truly hungry (rather than just anticipating a meal) I will eat something - especially on days when I'm exercising.

Ugh! Men!
Such different abilities to lose weight (usually faster) than women. (Testosterone!)
Us girls gotta stick together on that.

I know, right?

You've inadvertantly given me today's research subject. Whether testosterone gets stored in fat the same way estrogen does. This may have some bearing on why they lose better and more consistently than us following the same protocol.