I don't know why the experienced chat lost posters but I thought I'd bring it back for those of us who aren't newbies or maintainers...the ones stuck in the middle. Hopefully we can keep it going this time since we have different obstacles and things we face than the others.




I started my "phase 2 weekends" plan this weekend. I added a little bit of chicken to my lunch veggies on Saturday because I wasn't in the mood for a shake. I was planning on starting to go phase 2 next weekend but since I did it Saturday I decided to go for it Sunday too. Yesterday I added a little bit of tuna to some lettuce, onions, and tomatoes and had a huge, filling salad. I am back to phase 1 today but will see what happens if I keep going back to 2 just for a couple days during the week. I was up from Thursday all weekend, and still am, but I'm going back down in the right direction. Still 0.6 above Thursday but I have a few days to get rid of that somehow. I'm not sure what's going on but it's hard to see. (I know, stay off the scale!)

I've mentioned my chiropractor and her husband are also on the plan. Well, I was talking with her about my frustrations and she said their coach moved her husband to 2 well before he had planned on it because he only lost 6 pounds in 4 weeks. Since moving to phase 2 he's lost 17 in the last 4 weeks. Sometimes your body just needs a little more after being so strict for so long I guess. I only lost 7.8 last month. That's horrible! And that's totally on plan. Hoping for more once I add the phase 2 weekends as she suggested.

I mentioned in the Daily Chat that I had hoped to be in if not through Phase 2 by Thanksgiving. But for quite sometime, I have been thinking "what if I go earlier?" I agree...sometimes the change is exactly what the body NEEDS and WANTS. 2Ride was very successful......and that thought is always on my mind. Curious as to how your "experiment" goes!

I will keep you posted. I'm not looking at a good loss this week so far but I am still holding out hope. Maybe that woosh fairy will visit in the next few days.

thanks for starting this thread and posting your information, I can totally relate with the weight loss frustration. Since Sept 21, I have only lost 4.5 pounds. last week was 0 and the week before -.5, and I have totally been 100% on plan. I never have had big weekly weight losses, but am getting very frustrated and was wondering if moving to phase 2 to kick in some weight loss would help.The Dr. set my goal weight at the 170 pounds, I am large boned and framed. Good luck and let me know if anything helps for you.

I'm quite interested in your progress as well. My body always decides when it wants to stall at and once it decides it's the most stubborn thing I've ever had to deal with. Before IP I was able to go from 223 to 208-203 but just couldn't get any lower, I would get to 203 and then start going up and up which just frustrated the heck out of me. That's when I decided to start IP.

I'm only 28lbs away from my goal and I'm starting to worry that my body may start thinking it's had enough soon. I haven't had any NSV in a long time. I take pictures and am not seeing a difference, I really hope that you can get your last 13lbs off because that means there's hope for me.

I haven't had a single cheat, I've been 100% OP since day one and am in week 13. It's very frustrating to read about ppl cheating and still have great losses. I just gotta keep on going right!

That is interesting. When I went on phase 2-3 and phased off correctly when my Hubby came home for vacation I did not lose any more weight. I DID stay on plan when he was home and maintained pretty well. I did gain about 4 pounds which came right off when I started phase 1 again.
I Am hoping being back on phase 1 helps with losing the last bit I have to go. I really wanna be out of the 150s.

I know it's hard not to compare yourself to others, I do it myself all the time, but don't let what is happening to me scare you. You may not have any trouble at all. I seriously haven't been in the 150 since jr high so maybe my body is getting comfy here. I'm not though and am trying to force it to keep on losing. I weigh in on Thursday so I'm crossing my fingers and legs and eyes and everything else that something happens. It's so hard for me because my sister in law who started after me has lost more than me and is still having 3+ losses each week. She has about 75-100 more pounds to lose than me but it still gets me. I'm happy for her but jealous of the big losses all at the same time.

Did you have a hard time restarting? I'm hoping to get to goal before I go on vacation because if I do gain a little I can go back to phase 1 and lose it like after a cheat day. (I don't plan on it, but who does.) I really don't want to have to start phase 1 for who knows how long and phase off completely again because I missed goal by 5-10 pounds. I may just start running right when I get home and try to lose it that way if I'm not done before I go. It's all ifs right now. I essentially have 10 weeks until I go but I am moving to 2 the 24th of Nov, 3 Dec 8th, and then will have almost a whole week of maintenance before we leave Dec 28th.

I totally understand. I'm not nervous because of what I'm seeing happening to you. I know my body and it does slow down every time I get about 15lbs away from my goal. (past experience with other diets) That is usually the time that I quit and just tell myself that my body is happy where it is and I haven't done any maintenance stages with past diets.

No matter what my body decides to do, I am going to phase off properly. I want to keep the weight off forever this time. I'm getting tired of gaining it back every time. If I stall at the 15lbs mark I may phase off properly and then go back to phase 1 at a later date. Time will tell.

I agree, it is very frustrating to see others and their good weight losses and mine is low or at 0, even gained 1 week and always stay 100% on plan. My DH was also doing IP, he continued to loose on phases 2,3 & maintenance, this makes it even more frustrating seeing what he eats and loosing compared to what I eat. I didn't use to weigh every day, now I am doing that just hoping to see some results. I am not giving up, I've come too far, but sure wish the whoosh fairy would come. I would like to start exercising but am scared to in case it causes more wight gain. Good luck to you

I've never made it this far in a diet. I usually go 3-4 months and quit. I have always done calorie counting and exercise though and I get totally burnt out because I exercised in the morning and afternoon both at least 5-6 days a week. Normally I lose between 25-30 and then gain back 40+. That is exactly why I am phasing off sooner than I planned. I'd rather phase off at 50 lost than not do it and gain it all back. We can do this!

It was more rough for me because I Am an emotional eater. I wanted to be sad and eat all the bad stuff I could.. buttt I didn't. I like not having to think of what I Am having for meals/snacks because I mostly stick to the same things every day. I think that was the hardest part for me when he was here since we were out all the time.

Now you know how I have felt for the whole journey! Slow losses are frustrating, but at least I was losing, whereas before I couldn't lose to save my life!

I star!t Phase II tomorrow. Got to my doctor first thing this morning, thank heavens, she got me right in. She said I had a very nasty UTI and possibly into the kidneys with how much blood was in my urine. I am sooooo miserable right now. So, I am going for the phase II tomorrow! I really think that my body needs the fruit and yogurt of phase III/IV.

I do think the weight loss is dependent on numerous things, I for one am 53 yrs. old, post-meno & hypothyroid. When I was young I could lose weight super easy. I also think when someone has more to lose they lose better, until they get to a lower weight. So, do what ya have to do and if that means phasing off and giving the old body a break, well than it is what it is.

We have all done fabulous and I am not quiting, I am phasing off properly and will stay on the boards. If I can't lose the last 20 lbs on my own, I will return to phase I at a later date. Have a great day and be thankful that you can pee without pain. lol.

Yvette and Itsabouttime

I was kind of reading through your conversation and thought I might throw in what my doctor(IP consultant) told me when I decided to restart. He said that sometimes we just need more food and that particularly on the nights when I'm dancing, I probably just need to add some food. I asked if he meant another packet, and he said it could be that or some extra meat or some carbs, but that it's such a fine line we walk between being in ketosis and being in starvation mode.

I think this kind of fits with what you were saying about your doc having better success when he went to phase 2. His body needed more food.

As far as your goal, Yvette, I'd just lower my goal 15 pounds and see if it makes a difference. It seems silly but sometimes things like that work. Without knowing your body type and history, it's also just possible that you body wants to settle at a weight a little higher than you'd like it to be. I think that would leave you a choice of whether you want to battle it or just know that you are eating healthy and your body weighs what it needs to.


I'm thankful this thread was started as well because although I'm I just restarted, I really am not having any problems staying on the plan. I was back in ketosis by the third morning and had good weight loss (9lbs) the first week. For the most part, it feels like riding a bike---though I'm certain there will be days!

Congrats to all of you on the weight lost so far!! One piece of advice I learned (from experience) is to make sure that you have a full serving of protein during the meals when you go to phase 2.

I was worried about eating too much and actually put only a half can of tuna on a salad instead of the recommended amount of a full can for a few days in a row, and found that when I "upped" it to the proper amount I had really good losses.

Good luck with testing what works, the best part is you're fueling your body either way so it shouldn't harm anything!!!