Hi y'all,

I just finished cycle 1 on EFS. Let me first say this before my question. The week prior I was on regular FS and finished phase 1 and lost 4 or 5 lbs. I switched to EFS because I wanted to lose 15 lbs in 3 weeks. I just finished cycle 1 on EFS (sunday) and I only lost a total of a half a pound I followed the diet pretty acurately except on Saturday I had 1 bite of a Grands biscuit (plain no butter) and on Sunday 2 bites of a homemade burger (lean meat) on a bun with mustard. I'm a Gamma so it requires me to exercise longer which I did but there was one day I couldnt exercise. Honestly I wouldnt think one day missing exercise and basically 3 bites off the list of food items would mess up the diet for me. I can't believe I've only lost a half a pound in 7 days its heartbreaking. Monday I was suppose to go on to cycle 2 and for the most part I did except I was frustrated and ate stuffed mushrooms (stuffed with riocatta cheese n sausage) last nite for dinner. But I really want to lose the this weight I've rededicated myself and refocused to not give up.

So my question is this...knowing that I'm a gamma and its very hard for me to lose weight should I go back and redo cycle 1 or should I continue on and do cycle 2 or should I switch back and do phase 1 of FS? I seriously need to lose about 20 before Sept. 28th. I'm going on vacation to Aruba and I really want to look good.

Please help any advice would be great!

Liz

Oh that sounds frustrating But as weight loss goes, it's kind of hard to predict things from one week to the next. Usually an initial large loss is due to dropping excess water, along with some fat. If you haven't been exercising and start a strenuous exercise program, your muscles can retain water. So maybe you lost a lot of water with FS then regained some water with EFS. That's just a guess You could be losing a steady amount of fat along the way.

Losing 15 pounds in 3 weeks is a pretty extreme goal and not possible for most people. Losing 1/2 pound, 1 pound, or at most 2 pounds per week is a better bet for most people.

At least the scale is going down, so you're doing something right

Thanks Suzanne...true at least I haven't gained

I started with FS detox did two weeks of Phase 2 then switched to EFS. I just finished Cycle 2 and only lost a half pound as well. This is how the weight loss looked:
FS Detox: -6.5 lbs
Phase 2 Week 1: -2 lbs
Phase 2 Week 2: -2 lbs
EFS Cycle 1: -3.5 lbs
EFS Cycle 2: -0.5 lbs

I'm just glad to be moving down although I do get frustrated at times. We are both very close to our goals so the losses will be smaller. We just have to hang in there and continue to follow the plan. Good luck!

Liz!! where have you been lol I've been waiting to see if you were going to respond back to my response after our first week!

Anyways so I see you tried EFS...sorry to hear that it didn't meat high expectations..but at least nothing has been gained! What are you going to do now?

I'm down 6 pounds now! I've just been staying on Phase 2..the only times I may have slipped was a little cool whip on some fruit and some sour cream with some chicken and feta on a salad...so clearly for the most part I am religious to phase 2. I don't think I will be going on Phase 3 for a while. I think I'm starting to create my own diet through FS...

In the EFS book it says not to repeat the same cycle two weeks in a row, as the point is to keep your body guessing about what it's getting. I've been doing a week of maintenance after finishing cycle 3 and then starting back with the three cycles all over again. I often lose weight even in the maintenance week and cycle 1 seems to have more effect with the maintenance week in between. As I get closer to my goal, any little cheat seems to make a big difference and I'm losing pretty slowly, but still going down so I'm happy with that! I do allow myself one cheat a week, maybe one cookie or having a whole grain roll with my meat instead of rice. Some weeks I don't need it, but I know I have given myself permission in case I really feel like I need something special or different. No guilt! Even if I completely go off on one day, if the other 6 days have been good I'm still doing something great for my body.