total weight loss one month on the plan?

tummytonya

I have been on the plan for week and half and lost 4 pounds up and down. bread wine chocolate not ever sure what i'm reacting to. i added celery and gain a pound or was it the wine that day. i need encouragement please.How much are you losing and how long on the plan???

kayceeme

Hi tummytonya,

Sorry to hear you are struggling. It really can be hard to know exactly what is causing a reaction. I think that if "The Plan" authors would tell you that it probably was the bread in the wine/bread/chocolate day, based on what I've read. There is a Facebook page where they answer many people's specific questions and also posted an updated FAQs. I've learned quite a bit from checking that out.

I've been on The Plan for about 2 months or so and have lost 6 lbs., with about 11 more to go to reach my goal. Like you, I lost 4 lbs initially and have had ups and downs since, though I never went back up to my original weight. I remember having the same question regarding chocolate and wine and then looked at my tongue and noticed it was whitish so figured that it was a yeast reaction. Since then, I've tried having either wine or chocolate with dinner, not both and that seems to work for me.

I'd have to say that what keeps me sticking with it is the knowledge that I am gaining about how my body reacts to certain things. I don't always have complete certainty though. Also, I have a couple of safe day menus that I know I like and can lose weight when I eat them without being hungry or having to exercise excessively. I wish I had more of these safe menus but feel that I will if I keep testing.

While there are lots of dramatic success stories published about The Plan, based on what I am seeing here and have heard from others it is more realistic to expect slow and steady progress with many ups and downs than rapid weight loss by following the book. Perhaps the rapid weight loss would happen if one had access to their consulting services. That's my, opinion anyway.

Also, while weight loss remains my main goal, I have experienced other benefits in terms of energy, a loss of some hormonal symptoms, improved regularity and a general sense of leading a more healthy lifestyle than I was before. If I focus only on the weight loss aspect, it's easy to lose sight of these other benefits and get discouraged.

It's great that you're sharing your struggles. I am sure that others have many of the same issues. Hope you stick with it and keep us posted!

tummytonya

thank you for your kind reply. I do also feel better less inflamed and hormonal. I will continue and maybe allow two rest days after big gain.

kayceeme

You're most welcome. Your plan sounds like a wise one! A rule of thumb I try to follow is to give it two days if there's been a significant gain (e.g. half a pound or more) and one day if it was either stable or a small gain. Slows progress a bit, but then I feel more confident of the results when I do test.

Once you're through the 20 days, they recommend one test only every 5 days or so. But that can be difficult if you don't find a good variety of safe foods during the 20 days, which was the case for me.

Was off plan all weekend and up over 1 lb. Was out of all "safe" breakfast foods so tested oatmeal this morning. Hoping for the best, but if I gain or stay stable I won't know if oatmeal was the culprit or if my body is still carrying inflammation from the weekend.

Dorene68

Hi,
I was like you that on the day I added the cheese/coffee/wine/chocolate, I went up and since there were 3 new things added (I don't like wine so that was the only thing I did not add that day), I was unsure what made me go up. I ended up redoing the last day of the cleanse and then tried that day again, this time only adding the cheese and coffee and went down, so I was pretty sure it was the chocolate that did it for me (sigh and I love chocolate). I have been on the plan for about 3 weeks and a couple of days (just shy of a full month) and I have lost a total of 14 pounds.

I did retest chocolate on one of the other days that had no new test item and I was up. LOL, since I love chocolate I just wanted to confirm that it was the chocolate that made me gain. Please don't get discouraged when you see-saw up and down while testing as that is just more data for you to find out what you are reactive too. I have been so happy with The Plan so far and am really trying to get my sister, who lives with me on board The Plan. I have even offered to do the 3 day cleanse with her so we are eating the same foods and she won't be tempted if I eat something different, but she is still being resistant. I have a lot of weight to lose (about 130 pounds), so I am really trying to get some support from the family front. Good luck to you and I hope that you stick with it :+)

lrozner

I think is is important to remember that on The Plan, your weight is just data. She says it in the book, but it can be hard to remember since most of us found the Plan because we want/need to lose weight AND we want to feel better. It could be helpful to focus on the feeling better/reducing inflammation aspects when our weight loss stalls.