i'm so very bummed about IP. im following it exactly but find my weight just isnt coming off as quickly as "advertised". last couple times at WI the coach who weighed me says "what did you do?" uh, well besides deprive myself of everything enjoyable, and feel like a social outcast, i followed the friggin plan. HE then goes on to say us ladies have so much going against us - hormones and such. i had not been weighing myself at home just like they want me to so but such small losses are a complete let down when not prepared for it (last week was only 1 measly pound). so i have been weighing myself and i just cannot fathom how my weight can fluctuate 6 pounds in one day!

a little background:

1. my weight was gained by taking pristiq antidepressant for anxiety. great feeling but even though i barely ate i gained, especially around my torso area.

2. i was never a big eater and i find eating all this food makes me bloated and gassy. i could understand if i ate big macs 3 times a day but that wasnt the case. hardly ever at breakfast, seldom lunch, and always dinner. (which was sometimes just wine and cheese). yeah yeah not healty i know. maybe i should not have salads at lunch and dinner? or decrease the amount of veggies?

3. working out is the only way previously that i lost weight. and i mean running. but bum knee is stopping that AND the fact that the coaches say oh no dont work out, light walking only. uh ok i lightly walk from one side of my house to the other 10000 times a day just doing household stuff. would working out get things going better.

slow and steady weight loss is best, in my brain i know this. just want it to come off quicker. i have no intention of eating with such restriction for the rest of my life. really cannot wait to phase back in some fruits, grains and dairy.

sorry for the long post. just feeling impatient right now. kind words please

I am sorry you are struggling. The initial stages (and today, unfortunately) I have the bloated and gassy feeling. I am going to pry and ask if you are possibly struggling with constipation? This can impede the reflection of your efforts on the scale. I ended up taking the dietary enzymes as well as psyllium husk with acidopholos (sp?) to help me because I was very close to ending the diet due to the constant stomach aches. Just a thought . . .

haha funny you ask because i just read a thread about constipation!!! yes i mentioned to the coach that i was feeling a little backed up and they immediately gave me the novi-lax. gotta say, eh, didnt do much. sometimes i take a dose of M.O.M. or magnesium citrate and that does the trick. dont want to be dependent on that stuff though.

the enzymes you take - are they from the IP place? and yes i'm close to giving up sometimes because of the tummy issues. drinking 80+ oz of water a day too.

I did the IP enzymes but really think the psyllium husk with acidopholos are what help me. I take the religiously (I am used to a very high fiber diet) and they do the trick and I think are a more natural source of fiber. I ordered them online, vitamin shoppe via amazon. I also chose the higher fiber IP packets and veggies and had a lot of lettuce stir fry in addition to help keep it all moving. Also, increase the water -- get closer to 100 I would say.

which IP packets are higher in fiber? i like the ready to drinks for convenience and most of the soups. got away from the bars (thought they were making me bloated) and the powder shakes (really liked the pina colada).

**currently 160**

Well, now that I look at it the only one of the higher fiber drinks I have is Chocolate, it has 3gm. I see that the cappucino drink also does (i think its nasty) and the oatmeal (i haven't tried it). I like the vanilla peanut crunch bars, they also have 3gm fiber. I have been doing a lot of vanilla pudding as a drink because it is lower carbs/cals, but it is also lower in fiber.

its listed on the box? i buy individual packets, box if i want, but they dont want to sell me more than a weeks worth of food. i'll ask and look next time i go.

It is, and you can look it up in advance on idealtogo.com

I am in the pharmacutical industry and I know how you feel about the weight gain with your medication. I honestly believe that once I started taking digestable enzymes, it helped my weight loss even more. I also stay away from the bars and puffs. I think they make me retain water. I decided to not reintroduce them until phase 2. I did eat the bars for a week and only lost 1.2 pounds. This week I stayed away from them and I have already seen my scale go down 3 pounds in the last 3 days. I can't stress enough to get all of your veggies in. I also eat at least 2 bags of lettuce per day. Hope this helps. Good luck on your journey.

Futureskinnygirl - random question, but do you have any insight as to wether weight gain (even if temporary water retention / bloating) could be caused by 1 week of 2mg estradiol (estrogen)? I was given this end of last week and practically instantly blew up a few pounds that won't go away . . . and that is definitely impacting my motivation to stay OP.

Re: constipation (blush - great first post!)
Ever since I started putting shredded zucchini in my chocolate pancake muffin and pudding cakes, as well as having kohlrabi ever day I no longer have "issues" with constipation. Not sure if is the zucchini or the kohlrabi helping the process, but I would recommend both. Initially on the plan I was just eating rhubarb, kale chips, cauliflower and broccoli for my veg choices and that combo didn't do much for elimination.
Catcrazyquilter

I have been OP for 3 weeks now and I remember everyone saying how the 1st week is going to be huge, mine was not. I thought 2nd would be better, it was not. I'm not willing to give up but I feel your frustration and understand. All I can say is keep going and I'm sure that somehow it will eventually even out.

If I don't go at least one time a day by bedtime I will take Miralax before bed just to make sure I don't get backed up. That is the most awful feeling I think. I have found that the digestive enzymes and eating 1 bag of salad a day with roughly 140 oz water a day helps a lot.

Moving away from the C topic, maybe break up your foods a little, by having 6 smaller meals versus the 3 and snack. Just try it for a week and see how the scale changes....sometimes the body needs to eat more often in order to lose. Just make sure what you eat is within guidlines and only eating as much as you are allowed a day.

Two comments:

I just averaged out a whole bunch of posters weight losses by week and even with some very low weeks, almost all of them average out - in the end - to about 3.3 lbs. My suggestion is to stay away from the scale on a daily basis and keep an average going so you don't get too downhearted by a downer week. I know, I know, easy to say. I'm only going for my third wi and I know I will struggle with staying motivated if I don't have a good loss but I am going to try to keep the overall big picture in mind - and for most people, over 7 or 15 or 21 weeks, they lose on average over 3 pounds a week. that's excellent!

Point number two: When I first came on this forum, I read a post about the Big C and I thought it referred to cancer! OMG! I thought 'this diet causes a greater risk for cancer????' I almost exited and never came back! LOL I was so relieved when I found out what it really refers to