Hitting a plateau, anyone have suggestions?

sharonreimer

I started out really well, nine pounds came off in the first week with little effort. Now i am back up two pounds. I started walking a mile again, doing some exercises in the morning, and I am sticking to my diet, so what gives?

cheshirecatastrophe

It's so awesome that you're still with it! I love the strategy of changing one thing at a time. That seems to create a more sustainable lifestyle than trying to cut calories and eliminate junk food and quit soda and start weightlifting and become a runner on the same Tuesday.

Unfortunately, even with a nice pretty target like "1.5 pounds per week" or whatever, weight loss isn't linear. It bounces up, down and around in reaction to water retention from exercise and salt consumption, Shark Week bloating, food chilling out in your intestine, etc. Especially in the beginning, as you're still changing things up. (One week diet, next week adding exercise.) The important thing is to keep track of trends over time. Patience is hard, but it's necessary for the long haul.

As for the first awesome week, probably some of that is water, but some of that is the happy kind of weight loss. A lot of people see a big dump the first week, and others nothing at all. Keep chugging. You're doing great. Reevaluate in three or so weeks and see where you're at, and make adjustments then if necessary.

kharmon2013

Give it a good 3 weeks, it takes some time. Also, it matters what you are doing calorie wise, how much you are working out, and what all you are eating. If things are still not progressing after 3 weeks, you may be at the wrong calorie intake level. Keep at it! I went through a month and a half without losing much...only 2lbs. Now I do a refeed day every two weeks to help my metabolism stay in check, and I had to higher my calories. Lastly, lower your fat intake. I do 20% fat 40% protien 40% carb, and ever since I started that I've lost 2lbs a week