Plateau on week 3!

[Heidibirgit]

I started the low carb thing 3 weeks ago- lost 10 pounds the first 2 weeks- and week 3 nothing- is that common? I only have 10 more pounds to lose and know it slows down after the initial weight loss but this is discouraging? Advice please?! Thanks!

[Sharvo]

Are you taking body measurements? I was just looking at some of my old progress reports and for the entire month of Mar/08 I only lost 1.5lb but the total of my body measurements went down 2.25 inches. Sometimes the changes are not measured on the scale.

Good health,
Sharvo

[Frank Hagan]

You have the most rapid weight loss in the first part of changing your eating habits. A lot of it is "water weight" as your body sheds the excess water the standard American diet forces it to retain. This is true of a lot of diets, including low carb.

The usual problem with losing water weight is that people say you gain it all back when you go off the diet. On the LC diet plans, you are changing the way you eat, so when you get to goal you don't go off the diet. You modify the way of eating so that you maintain your goal weight, and you never force your body to start retaining all that water again.

Give it another three weeks at least, and see if you have lost another pound. I slowed considerably after losing my initial weight and now seem to be losing at the normal standard rate of 1 to 2 pounds per month. (Actually, I've been at the same weight for several weeks now, so I'm recalculating my carb intake and reducing it to break through the plateu I seem to be on).

You want to also make sure your goal is realistic and healthy. If you are 50 and think you're going to have a flat stomach like a 17 year old, well, good luck. I was relieved to see the calculation in Protein Power that put my ideal weight at up to 195 pounds. When I was doing a strict low fat diet more than a decade ago I got to 185 and was too thin ... yet the standard charts showed I should weigh 180.

If you know your body fat percentage, you can also look at the charts in Protein Power to see if you are in the right range (it depends on your age and sex). There's also a calculation for your "ideal body weight" that uses that body fat percentage and the "ideal body fat percentages" for you to find out the ideal weight range.

I think the phrase "you can never be too thin" is a lie. I have a post at my blog (http://www.lowcarbage.com/?p=89)about the risk of being underweight when using "body mass index" (BMI) as a guide. This number is pretty easy to calculate. Using "normal" as a guide (a BMI of 18.8 - 24.9), the calculated risk of dying is 73% greater for people under that BMI, but overweight people, with a BMI of 25 - 29.9, actually REDUCE their risk of dying by 17%. Even "obese", the BMI category that is at 30 - 34.9, has no significant risk of dying any sooner than the "normal" BMI people. Using BMI, its better to be "overweight" than "normal".

[Heidibirgit]

Thanks guys for the responses- I appreciate it. I do feel a lot thinner and clothes fit so much better so I'll focus on that. I expected the weight loss to slow down. I'll keep on it and give it a couple more weeks to see a change in the scale. Thanks again!

[amdawson]

over a year, i've averaged 1lb/week. that includes the initial drop of several pounds, which means the average after the first couple weeks is way less than a pound. but it is still coming off. keep it up

[maxlharris]

It is not a plateau if it is only one week.

Likely, it is an issue of recomposition. Lose some fat, improve lean body mass. Or, it is a brief stop as your body acclimatizes to burning lipid stores for fuel.

If you only have ten left to go, you should expect fairly slow loss after the initial drop.

[cshelia]

Don't give up, the last 10 is always the hardest, or at least that's what I've heard, never actually been there:lol: Give us an update soon:)