That sounds great to me! I'm not sure if you can really expect to lose more than 2-3 pounds on a regular weekly basis on any diet plan after the first couple weeks. Sounds like you're doing great! I'm just on my first week back to low carb so I don't really have any numbers to share yet.

Yes. 2 pounds a week OR LESS is what you can expect to lose. More than 2 lbs a week can be considered unhealthy.

Actually your statement is not entirely true.

The OP stated she lost:
Week 1: 5lbs
Week 2: 4lbs
Week 3: 2.5lbs

This clearly indicates her body is adjusting fine. It is normal in the first couple weeks of any new dietary changes, that the body will see this kind of loss... Generally in the beginning its more water, but as you further along, its going to be weight loss.

We currently have patients who do lose 3-4lbs per week where I work on a low-carb intake approach and they are under the advisement of their physicians that based on their individual care, it is still considered safe.....

But - that is the point: these patients are following the care outlined by their physicians and registered dieticians thus 3-4lbs per week loss is fine, where their care is being monitored

To the OP: If you are concerned, discuss this with the physicians who are overseeing your care to make sure this is ok for your individual circumstances. They will know based on the fact they see you as a regular patient and have access to your health file, health history, prescription history, etc....


CramerNH
LCDF Moderator

The first week or two on LC you are consuming glycogen that is stored in your body. Glycogen is stored in a hydrated form with 3-4 parts water per part glycogen. As you consume these stores you lose that stored water also. That is why weight loss is so dramatic at first and why you can gain 5 lbs overnight after one high carb day.
Once you have drained your body of this stored glucose and water weight loss will be more gradual.
Fat is stored with water also but only at a ratio of about 2:1
Fat is also more that 2x as dense (calorie wise) as glycogen

So here are two cases of losing a "pounds" worth of dessicated fat worth of calories
Case 1 100% fat you lose 1 lb of fat + 1 lb of water = 2 lbs
Case 2 100% Glycogen you lose 2.25 lbs of glycogen + 6.25-9 lbs of water = 8.5 - 11.25 lbs
YMMV surely a 1000 shades of grey between those two hypothetical cases.

IMHO this is why weight lose is so volatile on Low Carb.
Likewise if you Carb-out you can see dramatic gain as your body stores glycogen and water.

A large potion of the population has gotten overweight gaining about 10 lbs per year, year after year.
If you are 30 lbs overweight and it took you more than 1000 days to get that way it is a bit unrealistic to think you can lose that weight at 10x the rate at which you put it on. Losing at 1x - 2x the rate at which you put it on might be a more realistic outlook. JMHO