kelliemk

Today starts week three of my diet. The first week I lost 3.5lb on a 1300 cal diet, but the second week I did not budge. Actually, I had posted before that the scale was creeping up a touch, maybe from water retention. Now today I am right back to where I left off the end of the first week at 152.2lb (started at 155.8lb). Is it possible to plateau so soon? Is my body freaking out because of the new diet?

fletch8502

Could be that your body's just adjusting. Try to pay more attention to how you feel than what the scale says. You know that you're doing what's best for you, so don't give up! The scale will eventually move. Promise.

A few things to think about/try...
- Have you been drinking 8-10 8oz glasses of water every day?
- Are you eating foods that are high in sodium?
- Are you getting enough protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs?
- Could the time of the month be to blame?
- Are you exercising enough?

Keep your chin up. You can do it!

vsabino

If you weigh 152lb, 1,300 cal/day may be on the high side so you may only lose 1lb a week, depending on how much you exercise. What's your caloric need according to fitday?
I say this because I weigh 174lb and unless I eat 800-900 cal a day I don't lose 2lb/wk because I don't exercise much and my caloric need is only about 1800 cal/day (I know, that sucks!).

kelliemk

I work in healthcare and I know I should not eat less than 1200 cal a day or else my body can go into starvation mode and my metabolism can slow way down, or I can risk losing all muscle and not body fat. I try to keep the calorie count at 1300 so I do not get tired since I am on my feet all day.

Last week I did drink more coffee than usual and I heard that can cause bloating even though it is a diuretic. Since it was the holiday weekend, I probably ate more than I should so I anticipated a bit of water retention. I will have to be more careful this week.

vsabino

Some people believe to the "starvation mode", some other don't (I don't, as I've experienced it on myself). The major concern about eating <1200 cal is not getting enough vitamins and minerals but if you take a multivitamin supplement this is not a concern.
But I'm sure you'll lose no matter what, just a matter of being persistent and keep the motivation high! Good luck to you in your journey =)

rpmcduff

When your body goes into starvation mode is dependent on many factors including genetics. Some posters here on Fitday have stated that they have to eat 1000 calories or less to lose weight. (I believe the person I remember is female and 5' or less.) She got blasted by the one size fits all proponents that said she was starving herself. The truth is that the old rule that you cannot eat less than 1200 calories or you will go into starvation mode doesn't necessarily apply to eveyone. (I personally believe caloric deficit, not just caloric intake, is the primary factor in triggering the bodies preservation mode.)

That said, you need to find what works for you.
Some suggestions:
Try to space your meals so your'e not eating the majority of your calories in a short period and creating a calorie surplus that your body has to store.

Limit or eliminate simple carbohydrates like processed foods, white bread and sugar that are quickly metabolized and thus have a high probabability that they will be stored as fat rather than converted to energy.

Incorporate some additional activity, even if it is only walking, into your day. The exercise helps to increase your metabolism and relieves stress that can hinder weight loss.

Good luck on your journey!

reprise

Coffee is not actually that strong a diuretic AFAIK (I know that, for example, endurance athletes do use the stuff). I bet you don't need to worry about starvation mode. 3.5lbs in the first week sounds aggressive but not overly so. It's absolutely consistent that the beginnings of a diet will see huge reductions in weight because of glycogen and water loss, so honestly the "stay at 2 lbs/week or less" can be thrown out the window the first week.

When you say it was a holiday weekend and you ate more I take this to mean that you have NOT been consistently at 1300/day. I know from my own experience I can blow 3 days of aggressive restriction with one day of overeating, so if I do that a couple days I've just tossed a week in the trash.

I've used "cheat" days in the past to good effect, but really they need to be kept to one day on the weekend, not 2-3. Also, I feel that they overall do reduce the speed of weight loss. It seems that the stories I've read of people who have a come-to-Jesus event in their life that commits them to weight loss with a laser-focus don't do cheat days. They just cut their calories back quite a bit and consistently until their goals are met.