I just completed my fourth week on the program. I am down 14.8 pounds (-7, -2.6, -3, -2.2). I have lost lean mass the last 2 weeks and they aren't too sure why. They think I may be out of ketosis because of my splenda use. I use 1 tsp in the morning between 2 cups of coffee. I also will used sugar free torani syrup this week (1 tablespoon). I flavor my water with up to 4 packets during the day (I drink well over 160 oz).
Could these sugars be adding up too much?
I did the ketostix tonight and it showed SMALL as the result.

I am eating all my meals and snacks, including 8 oz of protein a day (rarely red meat, mostly seafood and chicken). Can you advise???

There is another thread on this recently that you might want to search for. I'd link to it but haven't figured out how to do that yet.

My coach said that the first 4 weeks is when you are likely to see a loss in lean mass. This is because water is part of the lean mass measured and this water is lost during the first month. She also says it is quite typical to lose up to 7 lbs of lean mass for the first 30 lbs of total weight loss.

When you find the other thread, you will see that a lot depends on the accuracy of the equipment used to measure and your hydration at the time of measurement.

How much lean mass in pounds were lost and what device is used for the measurement? I would think somewhere between 3.5 and 7 pounds of lean mass lost would be nothing to worry about at this stage, really only "water weight". Just my opinion.

From reading on this board, I think you will see that some people are very sensitive to Splenda and others have no problem with it at all. What some have noted is that the powdered Splenda does have some carbs from the anticaking agent but that the liquid Splenda does not.

Congratulations on the weight loss, by the way.

Thank you! I found the thread and was very helpful.

My coach thinks I could be out of ketosis, but I really don't think so- I am not really hungry and I am getting by with less sleep easily. Plus the strips said I was still in ketosis.

I appreciate the help!

If you are measuring a trace amount on the sticks, then you are in ketosis. I don't know how much you weigh or how much you want to loose, but for those of us who are really overweight, we usually start out with a lot more lean muscle than the average person. We had to gain muscle just to carry around all of our fat. So you will loose proportionately more than a thinner person as you started out with more lean muscle. I know my lean muscle percent was really high when I started IP. I have lost a lot of lean muscle, but as long as I don't go longer than 4 hours between protein, I'm also loosing fat.

Always make sure you eat some protein at least every 3 to 4 hours and in the long run you should be fine.

How do you know if you lose lean muscle? What does that feel like?

I use the machine at clinic and they told me I was losing lean mass. Its been mentioned in other posts too. I don't know how accurate it is- people seem to have varying thoughts on that.

I definately am gonna start spreading my protein. at least a bit at lunch.

Thanks!!!!

I use the machine at my clinic, but as stated it's not always the most reliable. However it will give you an idea where you are at. My clinic changed machines and on the new machine I was the same as on the old machine, so while it may not be the most accurate at least it gave me a ballpark number to work with.