I hesitate to post this, but I need some input. I'm just not sure how to do it without seeming horribly negative. I started not to post at all but decided that would be wasting a resource. Besides, who knows, maybe there's someone else out there who's feeling the way I do. Please understand that I'm not generally a negative person and I'm not questioning the diet itself but I'm having a very disappointing experience.

I followed along with this for a couple of weeks before I started so I was all geared up with ideas and tips and very excited to get started.

Week one was horrible. I had a headache day 3, that went away and then I was just flat out nauseous all the way through day 6 or 7. No amount of extra water or salt or whatever helped. There are all sorts of reasons this might be the case, particularly my chronic sinus issues, but I really was a lot more miserable than I ever imagined.

Still, I lost 8 pounds the first week! No complaints with that part of it.

So I barreled along into week 2. Followed all the rules. Drank plenty of water, took all the supplements, ate three packets a day (with one restricted) ate all my veggies and my dinners, daydreamed about cheating but never even came close to actually eating something I shouldn't. And my weight loss for week 2? Nothing. I got on the scale yesterday and it said exactly the same thing it did a week ago.

Yes, I know, my body has to make up for a big loss week 1. I lost a couple of inches. I know it's working because I've got the nasty ketosis taste in my mouth. I'm probably constipated more than I realize, etc., etc.

But really - nothing?

My husband has lost over 24 pounds. We've been eating the same dinners essentially the same of everything else, if slightly different packets. I never expected to lose anything nearly as much as him. But nothing?

The coach is just as baffled. The three of us tossed around all sorts of ideas yesterday but there's nothing to truly explain it so there's no way to know how to actually fix it.

I don't need encouragement or support necessarily (although I appreciate them). I'm not questioning whether I should do this or planning to stop. What I need to know is how to fix it. I want to be able to play along and chime in about how well things are going, but right now I just.... can't.

Help?

I just don't think that you can compare your self to others... Its always been know statistically that men lose faster... But just keep Chugging along. If You know that you are OP then its pretty much obvious that it will come off...

Well, there's one very logical reason and that is you're retaining fluids, for whatever reason. Most likely either too much salt or too little water, but those are the simplistic reasons. There are a whole lot of systemic reasons for edema. Did the coach address those?

I had great losses the first 2 weeks and than almost nothing the following 2 weeks and than it picked up again. So don't stress about it, just continue to do what you're doing and it will pick up.

You'll probably see a big loss next week. It has to be fluid retention doesn't it? I see you and I have about the same start weight, goal weight and height. I lost the weight and you will too!

I would agree with too much salt, make sure you are using sea salt on everything as well not regular salt.
Almost every woman I have seen and most men have a pretty slow if not static second week.

Speaking as someone who averaged 4.0 pounds a week for 19 weeks and has only lost 8 pounds in the last 4 weeks combined, I understand the frustration at times, but mine is different mine is because I am close to done.
Just fight through, don't compare yourself to your husband.
I pretty much dominated my wife in the beginning and then she slowly crept up on me.
We have been on the diet the whole time together and with the exception of her actually eating all her veggies everyday and me not I am still about 25 pounds ahead of her.
She knows better than to compare to me or others, everyone loses differently.
I have people that started at the same time as me, have been on plan the whole time and have lost half the amount of weight as I have.
That would be frustrating, losing 40 pounds less in the same time frame, but they are still losing and that's better than nothing.

Just be patient and give it time, you will continue to see the losses.

And then there is people like Jelly who just destroy me lol.

Agree...just follow the program. Try not to get too stressed about it, sometimes stress will help you keep the weight ON! It can be a vicious cycle :/

My best advice came from my boyfriend when I was stressing "it doesn't matter what the scale says, it won't change what you do tomorrow".

Plug through, I remember when Busymom was going through this...she did a great job of staying focused. Also, I check out other people stats when I'm not feeling good. Not everyone has "GREAT" weigh in's every week....but there are "GREAT" numbers in their stats.

Have you tried maybe adding another packet, maybe you are not getting enough food. I know it is a little disappointing but this is what happened to me, I have been on program for 33 weeks now with no cheats. I have had ONE gain +.7 and was COMPLETELY OP....try to explain that one!!...You are getting fixated on that NUMBER on the scale....DON"T do that...are you feeling better, are your clothes fitting loser? That scale can be mean to us, that is why I do no focus on it. Yes, of course I like to see it go down, for example the last 2 weeks I have lost 1lb each week, then this week I lose 4....why? I have eaten the SAME exact thing now for 3 weeks....how can I lose 1 lb 2 weeks in a row then drop 4lbs. I don't let it stress me out, I just focus on how I feel, my clothes and stuff I can do now. Trust me seeing 279 on that scale at my WI this morning brought tears to my eyes. I think I weighed this in High School and that was over 25 years ago. Stick with it, it will come off, You may have no losses then drop 3 the next week. Hang in there, we are all in the same boat...Trust me!

Keep going and make sure that you do not step on the scale in between weigh in's. Trust me, it stresses you out and will hinder your loss.

Put the scale away, try to ignore what your hubby is losing and focus on you. It will come off!! 2 weeks isn't enough time to start worrying, if after 4-5 weeks you're not losing weight or inches then I'd be concerned but it's honestly too soon.

Keep up the great work!

I think the main point here is don't give up, just because you haven't seen a change on the dreaded scale. You lost 8lbs in one week...that's amazing! On other diets, some people lose 8lbs a month!

Just focus on following the plan; if you're on track, there's no way you CAN'T lose weight on this diet. Just give it time and hang in there!

Are you exercising? I now know for me when I exercise the WL slows down and my numbers get all screwed up (BMI). As someone else said you also could just need an extra packet per day. I also retain a lot of fluid so I stopped using the sea salt and picked lower sodium IP foods (all with my coaches approval). It's nearly impossible to not loose on this plan, so I would just be patient for one more week and if nothing happens then I would start tweaking it a bit. Good luck and let us know how it's going.

Rubyrosered ... Don't worry about complaining, we all have frustrations at somepoint on any diet. I always say this is the most difficult - most rewarding plan I have ever been on.

Yes, this is frustrating at times, all plans are and I have had my share of them on IP... I had 10 days of no loss at all. For me it was the amount of splenda + WF + SF syrups I was using. I basically had a need to change what I was eating after 3 weeks and totally over did it. Also, found that I love rutabagas and used them almost every meal- they are higher in carbs than the other veggies allowed. So I cut myself back on those higher in carbs - Rutabaga, brocolli, Cauliflower to only one cup total per day, only 2 sweetners per day max... and low and behold back to losing. TOM will mess with your weight and if exercising it can throw your body into starvation mode. I have a gym membership that before IP I would visit 5 times a week for 4 years. Now I only take the dogs for a walk... it's killing me mentally to not go sweat for an hour, but when I did the scale did not move. Basically if it would make me sweat I don't do it.... plus it made me very dizzy on IP with a cardio work-out.

Give up on keeping up with your hubby, they just lose faster. My husband decided to wait to start until January, so I got a 3 month start. Two fold... I have more to lose but this way he can eat everything he wants for the holidays.
It's worth sticking to the plan, it does pay off, just keep going.

thanks for this post Lisa, makes me wanna continue.
Congratulations on your 4 lb loss this week yayyy

You are welcome, when someone is having problems with the program I like to share some of what has happened to me along the way. We all questions things like what are we doing wrong or why can't I lose weight, but this programs works in many many different ways and I like to share that with people

I think now I am one of the longest people to have been on IP that still post in the daily chats everyday and I will continue doing so because I still have a ways to go. Even after I am done I will still come and post and give my 2 cents and help out, can never give too much Free information