I just went for my 4th weigh in and I have lost a total of 5 lbs! I have paid over $500 for these results. Have I been 100%? No! But let's say 98%. I went from eating LOADS of sweets to NONE.... You would think from that alone, I would see good results. Anyone have any idea what's going on? Have I just screwed up my metabolism by dieting so much in my 60 yrs? Is it my fat cells freaking out and just hanging on out of spite? Heeeeeellllllppppp!!!!

I would say that if you aren't 100% you aren't going to lose like you would if you were. I am 100% most everyday with an occasional drink. The two weekend I wasn't 100% I either gained or only lost one pound. I generally lose 2lbs a week. Try for the next weeks to come to be totally 100% and I'm sure you will lose. I'm on alternatives so I didn't spend $500.

Actually not being 100% maybe part of it, or if you are not getting everything you are supposed to get(supplements, oils, veggies) then you can also undercut yourself. Perhaps you should post a couple days of what you typically eat and your exercise if any and people can give helpful hints.

I think drd has a great suggestion. Posting for a few days may point out something that you hadn't noticed. Maybe you're not eating enough food for example, and your body is hanging on to every calorie it can....

Something is definitely up and we'll help you figure it out if we can. Don't give up! The big cost is at the beginning for this diet so you've already invested the cash... now we need to invest some time to help figure it out with you.

What does your coach say may be the problem?

Got2benow - you've gotten some great advice here and in your other thread. I agree with drd and IP43, post what you're eating and see if people here can help you get on track.

Although not as much as you would like, you're already down 5 lbs which is heading in the right direction!

Thank you all for the advice. It is so frustrating to not see the scales move. But I here is an example of what I eat.

Breakfast:

2 cups coffee (with a dash cream) just stopped cream today
Shake

Lunch:
2 cups sauté spinach w/oil & sea salt
IP Chicken soup

Afternoon snack
Coffee
IP restricted snack

Dinner:
2 cups cauliflower rice
Chicken breast

I drink at least 8 - 8 oz glasses of water, usually more.
My mess up is when I get hungry at night I may eat a few nuts. Not every night but sometimes when I just need something.

Per coaches instructions I gave up putting any type of flavor in my water.

Exercise. I've joined a gym and have a personal trainer helping me for a few sessions. But I walk on treadmill 30 mins, 2 miles. Lift weights twice a week. Cannot go everyday but try to go at least 4 times a week.

I love the support given on this board. Thank you all in advance!

Got2benow:

I'm glad you aren't blaming the diet for not working b/c if you don't follow it, it won't work. Some of us are just more sensitive to any slippage than others. Some people cheat a little and still lose...for a while. I'm not sure I've seen anyone get to goal cheating.

So, you already know cream and nuts aren't on the plan.
After 1 c. coffee, every cup of coffee you have should result in drinking an additional (extra) cup of water, over & above all the water you already drink. The amount of water should equal the amount of coffee (many of our coffee cups are much bigger than 8 oz)

Exercise builds muscle and increases inflammation temporarily (which is water weight). Your amt of exercise could actually be slowing the scale. It is good for you and will help immensely in maintenance. However actual fat loss is way more about what we put in our mouths than exercise completed. You may want to back-off on strenuous exercise until you're closer to goal. Go for walks rather than hitting the treadmill hard. Just a walk, not a power walk. Do more stretching and body weight strengthening, rather than pushing it with a trainer. Yoga is excellent for this. I also do Essentrics (they have a website).

Make sure all of the veggies you are eating are being measured raw. Vary your meat (don't just eat poultry). Be sure you weigh it raw too. And don't forget to add lettuce. It can help fill in those empty spaces.

Sweet leaf makes stevia drops that are flavored and will go great in water, without some of the effects other flavors may have. You can also drink herbal "tea" (it is really an herbal infusion b/c it contains no real tea leaves). I like peppermint. It helps curb appetite, gives you a "sweeter" feeling, and is a good "pick me up" replacement for coffee.

Start reading the 100% thread. These are the people who find a way to stick with the sheet, no matter what! There is support in numbers. I can't wait until tomorrow morning when you'll report to us how well you did 100% on plan!

In addition to what has already been said, I want to say that you ARE losing so you really are successful! It may not be coming off as fast as you want but a pound or more loss a week while having off plan "cheats" AND weight lifting/exercising is pretty good (especially since you don't have a ton to lose as it is)!

Hang in there and stick with it! In two weeks you will be in a better place than you are right now. In a month you will be in an even better place and so on. If you stop trying then you will just stay the same, there will be no improvement.

I agree with all of the above and I think the "dash" of cream is very misleading to you. Just for fun, if you "splash" what you would put into a measuring cup,you'd find it's more than a "Tbsp" I bet. I put my Tim Horton's coffee into the My Fitness Pal and was shocked at how much difference it made between using cream and milk. Also, the size of the coffee made a big difference too.

I switched to decaf to avoid the problem Lisa says about needing to drink extra water. I still don't drink enough water, but I certainly couldn't add several more cups to my day

You can also flavour your water with a squeeze of lemon, lime, throw fresh mint leaves & cucumber slices in overnight. If plain water seems just too much to handle sometimes. There are also a lot of interesting herbal teas out there like apple cinnamon, pomegranate, peach passion. They work nicely for a nighttime 'snack.'

It looks like you may need more "bulk" in your diet. I found putting my meat on a big bed of lettuce really helps fill me up. 2 cups of cooked spinach doesn't really make me feel full (although it's a good quick way to get veggies in!).

Make use of the "free" veggies for snacking on instead of the nuts. Or make a salad in the evening. Keeping veggies cut and ready to go really helps when you're feeling snackish - just as easy to grab as the nuts!

Hang in there and aim for staying 100% OP - this diet really does work if you follow it!

I have found that I don't see great losses unless I am following this diet absolutely 100%. No nuts here and there, no cheese, I keep my coffee intake at about 6 oz in the morning with a couple packs of splenda and mix it with my vanilla RTD, no adkins bars, etc. I also found that pushing myself working out stalled my weight loss for that week. I will walk about 30 minutes to an hour one or two days on the weekend at a normal pace but it's not every weekend and I don't over do it.

We all have put money into this diet and it has been proven to work if you follow the plan 100% - one motivating factor for me aside from the weight loss is the fact I'm spending money on this and want to only be in P1 as long as I have to. If I didn't follow the plan, that puts me at risk to have slower weight losses and be on this diet longer.

From my short experience with Ideal Protein, I have found that this isn't a diet that you can indulge here and there and stay on the plan other times (like some other diets will let you do) and see big losses on the scale. This diet is a real commitment to see the results that you want. If I get hungry during the day, I put some lettuce in a bowl with a bit of WF dressing to give me something else on those hungry days (that's a freebie) or sometimes I even split my restricted snack up (half in the morning and half in the afternoon).

I don't mean for this post to come across harsh by any means. I just know from the other threads that you have started that you have been unhappy with your results starting with your first WI and maybe you need a little bit of hard truth to get you more mentally set in.

I wish you the best and if you stick with this plan and follow it 100% you will see the results that you want to see. There are many people on this board who can attest to that fact.

Hang in there. You have lots of good advice. I would add 2 cups of lettuce or arrugula to both your lunch and dinners.

Hi Ruth,

I M in maintenance now and really struggling. I keep going up and eat less than 1200 calories a day. I have h ad a hard time with not having wine and ice cream during the summer and shocked that my weight keeps going up. That is probably the only bad thing. Do you find you must follow the protein and veggies even in maintenance. I am planning to go back and do phase 1. I went up 5 pounds in phase 4 and really wish I has dropped 5 below my goal weight to stay at that weight. Any thoughts?

A lot of people gain when they start P4, it's not unusual. I think it's important to add things back in slowly until you know how your body will react.

Are you dividing your carbs & fats? I really think that's key. I do try to make sure I have fruit/veggies and protein at every meal, it makes sure I get all my nutrients and keeps me full. It's harder to make good choices when you're super hungry.

Eating less than 1200 calories a day probably isn't really healthy in the long term if you aren't getting enough protein, fat, etc. Are you tracking your food?

I eat pretty much what I want in maintenance including ice cream. I either make it fit into my carb/fat/calorie plan or, if I just have a more relaxed meal/event/dessert/whatever a day of P2 or just lowering my carbs will fix it and keep me from going off the rails.

Hopefully some of the longer term maintainers will chime in here - I've only been at it for 3 months but so far so good!

And it's great that you have recognized the need to get back under control now instead of 30 pounds from now. Yeah you!