[12dargernswearf]

I am 53 years old and about six months into menopause. I started this 40 day diet without expecting a miracle, but after reading about so many losing 30 or 40 pounds during that time, expected a little more than what I am experiencing.
I lost approximately 9 pounds the first 8 or 9 days (my scale was kind of messed up and I had to get a new one). Then I lost a pound and immediately gained it back. I stalled days 10 through 21. Then the stall broke and on days 22 through 24, I lost 4 pounds, which on Day 25 I immediately gained back!!!!! Day 26 (yesterday) I had lost those same 3 pounds again....and was the same this morning. I have 13 days of P2 left and at this rate, I do not expect my weight loss to be more than 20 pounds at most. If I've calculated correctly (math is not my forte), I have lost about 14 pounds in 27 days.
I know that may seem like a lot but this morning I got my notes out from the last couple of diets I did which involved counting calories. I daily ate anywhere from 800 to 1,000 calories of whatever I wanted and over six weeks on one I lost 17 pounds and the other I lost 15 pounds. How does it benefit me to be hungry on 500 calories a day, when I can eat 400 or 500 more calories a day and lose almost the same amount of weight??? I realize I didn't keep the weight off, but that can happen on any diet, including this one.
I'm taking hx pellets (250 mg) twice a day. I do NOT cheat or use products that are prohibited. Once I inadvertently ate some ground chicken that I later discovered had some dark meat in it.
I do not eat my fruit so I can eat a few more ounces of protein, and have never eaten a melba toast.
I drink a moderate amount of water but probably not what I'm supposed to drink.
When I began the diet my plan was to complete all phases and pursue a Round 2, but depending on what happens between now and day 40, I may or may not continue.
Maybe the beginning of menopause has something to do with it. Or maybe it's just not how my body wants to lose?