It's not a plateau unless there is no loss for a month. Weight loss isn't linear. It won't go straight down. The body's job is to keep the status quo, so eventually it's going to pause, and say "wait a minute here!" It may pause for a week or 2 holding onto water until it decides it can live with these changes. It's common to get these pauses after the first couple weeks. Hormonal changes, TOM, sore muscles, solar flares. Ok that last one was a joke, but those cause us to hold onto water longer. I'm 7lb to goal and I regularly hold onto water weight for as much as 3 weeks at a time before I'll finally whoosh as much weight as I should have lost every week during that time. Remember that any diet tweaks you make won't instantaneously show results. It takes as much as 4 weeks to see the full spectrum of any diet changes.

Now, what if you "Keep Calm and LC On" and you do plateau? LC diets are awesome in that they help you eat less because they are satiating.. But you aren't immune from calories. It's possible to eat too much if you haven't learned proper hunger cues. Or to eat too little. I only counted carbs for the first 3mo. But stopped losing. As we lose weight our bodies require fewer calories. So I had to start keeping track of calories. We need to be aware of calorie or carb creep. Or even things you eat may begin to stall you, like alcohol, artificial sweeteners or too much dairy.

For now, stay the course. I know how hard it is to be patient. I've been doing this for over a year. Lots of testing of my patience! Consistency over time is what yields success. Remember to take measurements and look for changes in how your clothes fit. Often you will see these changes before the scale catches up.

For further elucidation on this topic, I'm sure others will respond, or you can check "Why the Scale is a Lying LiarPants" in the Launch Pad stickie. My laptop is fubarred so I can't really post you the link right now.

HTH

It is very like water retention caused by hormones. I have daily fluctuations. If it causes you concerns, maybe you can weigh less frequently. I've been eating keto a long time off and on. In 2009, I lost an average of 9.8 lbs a month. The graph went up and down. I lost a lot in the first week and then it tapered and bounced around. I've only been eating this way again a few weeks and am experiencing similar behavior.

Advice: stick with your plan, vary your food, and keep drinking lots of water. You'll do great!

baconslave wrote: »

It's not a plateau unless there is no loss for a month. Weight loss isn't linear. It won't go straight down. The body's job is to keep the status quo, so eventually it's going to pause, and say "wait a minute here!" It may pause for a week or 2 holding onto water until it decides it can live with these changes. It's common to get these pauses after the first couple weeks. Hormonal changes, TOM, sore muscles, solar flares. Ok that last one was a joke, but those cause us to hold onto water longer. I'm 7lb to goal and I regularly hold onto water weight for as much as 3 weeks at a time before I'll finally whoosh as much weight as I should have lost every week during that time. Remember that any diet tweaks you make won't instantaneously show results. It takes as much as 4 weeks to see the full spectrum of any diet changes.

Now, what if you "Keep Calm and LC On" and you do plateau? LC diets are awesome in that they help you eat less because they are satiating.. But you aren't immune from calories. It's possible to eat too much if you haven't learned proper hunger cues. Or to eat too little. I only counted carbs for the first 3mo. But stopped losing. As we lose weight our bodies require fewer calories. So I had to start keeping track of calories. We need to be aware of calorie or carb creep. Or even things you eat may begin to stall you, like alcohol, artificial sweeteners or too much dairy.

For now, stay the course. I know how hard it is to be patient. I've been doing this for over a year. Lots of testing of my patience! Consistency over time is what yields success. Remember to take measurements and look for changes in how your clothes fit. Often you will see these changes before the scale catches up.

For further elucidation on this topic, I'm sure others will respond, or you can check "Why the Scale is a Lying LiarPants" in the Launch Pad stickie. My laptop is fubarred so I can't really post you the link right now.

HTH

This^ x100.

Great post @baconslave !