I started the 8 week makeover on June 5th (gold w/lites). Given that I lost the bulk of my weight on my own the COD said I should easily lose 15-20 lbs within the 8 weeks.

I have been POP EVERYDAY, making healthier choices on the plan (no potatoes, no rice for starch; eating primarily berries for fruit etc.) I drink my water (1st I was told I drank too much so I scaled back down to 64/72 oz a day.) I drink hot lemon water once or twice a day. Everytime I WI the COD says what an awesome job I'm doing, making the right choices etc. So then tell me why I've only lost a whopping 3.5 lbs (1 of which I gained during the first 2 days)?????

Now I'm on TO again - hungry, miserable, headaches and to boot I have not lost a pound! I am about to give up and chuck this one up to a VERY expensive mistake. Has this happened to anyone before? How did you handle it?

I did the 8 week makeover too and I flopped with it. My own fault!! TO's do really nothing for me anymore, give me real food!!! Try to put your daily food intake into fitday or another calorie site like that and see what your calorie intake is for the day. Make sure it's above 1200 on days you're not doing TO. If you are consistently under that, you need to up your calorie intake or you're body is going into starvation mode. Other than that, it sounds like you are doing everything right. When you signed up, was it just specifically for the 8 week makeover?

Well the first thing I will say is that I no longer do TO because I have found that it does not help me. Everyone is different so TO will not work for everyone. Especially if you are doing it to often.

Having said that DO NOT GIVE UP!!!

I realize that you have only lost 3.5 lbs but I have noticed on this site that the closer you get to goal weight the harder it is for it to come off. the last 10-20 lbs usually takes a lot longer to come off for most people (not all).

There are also a lot of things to consider how much to you exercise? If you are exercising a lot you might need more food. I have never done the lemon water so I am not sure if maybe you are doing that to much? I would not drink over the 64 oz of water since you have less than 20 lbs to go. What time of the day do you weigh in? When the center first opens is the best time because it is closer to your true weight. I always weigh at home first thing when I get up for my true weight.

The only other thing I can think of is that your body needs a different variety of food it might be bored with what you are eating. Spice it up a bit. Dont be afraid to have rice or a potatoes once a week. Also what time do you usually eat your meals it might be that you are eating to close to bedtime I have found that can be a factor with me.

You have already paid for the program might as well work it to your advantage for the whole 8 weeks. Remember we did not gain this weight overnight and it will not come off overnight either. Try adjusting what you eat and the times and see if that helps.

Whatever you do keep with it you have only been OP for 3 weeks!!

Good Luck!!!

thats 3.5 lbs in just over two weeks....

thats not bad at all in my opinion.

if you average that out over 8 weeks its 14 pounds. So hang in there - I am sure you would rather lose 14 or 15 pounds than nothing.

It will come off - like britt said - you didn't put the weight on over night, and it aint coming off over night either.

Thanks for your input!!
I know - I hate the TOs! But I have to do it every 2 weeks because , I signed up specifically for the 8 week program. The manager suggested it because I am not too far from goal weight and because of what I accomplished on my own. I"ve tried telling my COD that 2 proteins for the day are not enough for me, but she won't listen. So, I"ll try the fitday and if I'm not getting the 1200 calories a day, I'll add some protein.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. You may be right with the variety. I'm the type of person who can pretty much eat the same thing everyday.

I weight my self at home and then I have my official WIs in the evening after work. I know that my morning weight is my true weight, but I'm really not losing on either scale.

I agree with Deb on the calories--I have found that if I get below 1250 I won't lose a thing. Unfortunately TO does nothing for me either. My body does not appreciate 800-900 calories and I always rebound a lot of what I drop. Just my own experience. You know your body better than anyone--try the extra protein--boiled egg, lite string cheese, PB--whatever--and see if it does anything (good or bad) then you will know.

thanks for putting it into perspective.

true, i suppose i'm just really discouraged because i've read so much about how much people lose the first week, and how much they lose during TO and then they have bounce backs etc...and based on previous experience when i was losing, i was losing about 2-3 lbs a week.

also remember that the more you have to lose the faster it will come off--sorry--just nature. You have already lost a lot of weight so it's natural for your body to slow down. It's easy to drive ourselves crazy (and I'm sure most would own up to doing it) by comparing our weightloss to others' but we are just all different.

I agree with what Lee Ann just said.

I have read about a few women on here losing 8- 10 lbs the first month - but I certainly was not one of them. I have lost 19 lbs, but I have been at it for 4 months....... sometimes it seems painfully slow, and some months I have only lost 1 lb. I was losing faster when I first started, but the closer I get to where I want to be, the harder it is to lose.

thank you everyone! i just tried fit day and i'm getting on average 1000 calories a day! wouldn't the CODs notice that that isn't enought calories, especially since i'm fairly active. i dont run on the treadmill everyday but with a fulltime job, 2 kids, 2 dogs and a 3500sq ft house to keep clean i'm on the go all day long. should i mention to the COD tonight that i think i need more calories? i have complained about being hungry - alot!

What color are you on g35 ?
My start & goal is very close to yours - I'm at 195 currently and it's definitly gotten harder to lose - the first 35 came off quick (3 months) - but I also worked my butt off in & out of the gym.
I wish the rest would fly off too :-)

Let me know what your COD says - I do think you need more calories and a new variety.
One thing I've learned - I lost 35 and held it for 1 year - for that 1 year I pretty much ate what I wanted & my activity dropped. Anyways - what I learned is - our bodies want & actually need high calorie days - NOT a lot of them but a few here & there don't hurt. I'm in no way telling you to binge or anything - but from what I've learned it's okay to have higher days in Moderation - I actually think it helps our bodies continue to lose.
** Has anyone else noticed that? I think I remember a few people saying they had a few off plan days and noticed bigger losses afterwards.

I'm saying like 1 or 2 days month :-) and not an extra 2,000 calories - but a little extra something something.

I'm on gold w/lites. I know what you mean about having higher calorie days. I actually maintained 60lbs for 1 year and only gained back 7lbs while on a round of steriods for an injury. I didn't really watch calories so much as bad carbs, which btw I noticed that the lites are nutritionally horrible!

I'll let you know what my COD says tonight :-)

I actually agree about the Lites, nutritionally.
To me they're dry, gritty and chewy - a dry chewy, weird.
I like the Luna's much better, I think they have better ingredients/nutrients.
There's days that bars just don't sound good - so on those days I allow myself extra protein & a good starch choice (or less than 1)

But to each their own !

Good luck with the COD !

PS - when did you drop to Gold? (at what weight)

You definitely need more calories! I started at 188 on Gold with Lites but when i added exercise (for a short while--haha) they bumped me to Blue (extra starch and half protein). I would be curious to see what happens if you add in an extra 250ish calories. You should not be hungry on this plan so let us know if you tell them--again. We didn't have any beef for the first 4 weeks and when we did we both lost well (DH and I)--I think the body needs the variety.