I am on day ten, and sticking religiously to th 800 calories a day, feeling down as lost three pound in first week but seemed to have stayed same weight since day five, it’s difficult when others are saying they lost nearly a stone in first couple of weeks! I struggle to drink two litres of water a day, usually only one and a bit, trying to increase that! Anyone else struggling?

I can only say that the journey is not smooth but flat lines than nose dives then flat lines again. Most people who have a dramatic weight loss in first week do not actually lose that much fat but mostly water – perhaps you had less water to lose? I have lost 18 pounds in almost 4 weeks but flat-lined for about 6 days in week 3 (although ironically it was in this period that I first noticed real changes in my body shape) before it started coming off again. If you are eating significantly below your maintenance level the weight will eventually go – it is a guaranteed law of nature!

Thank you Toby! Guess I need to be patient, definitely sticking to the 800 calories, had a couple of days where I felt awful but that seems to have passed. The difference in how I am eating has made me realise how poor my diet was even though I didn’t eat junk food, so hopefully you are right and the weight will go eventually! Good work losing 18 pounds that’s fantastic! Does it make you feel better in yourself?

Hi Duchey – we are all different and our bodies react differently to a new eating regime. Some of us lose much more slowly than others – me included – even on 800cals and carbs under 50g a day. I consider 1.5lb lost in a week a good result, but I am currently 21lb lighter than when I started out almost a year ago. During that time I have had two extended periods maintaining, so it could have been more. I still have 7lb to go.

It is important not to regard the achievement of others, as you failure. Your body is doing what it should and any loss is a positive to be celebrated. Sometimes body measurements shrink, without any discernible change on the scales. Good hydration is important and this is something I struggle with too. I draw five little cups and five little glasses on my kitchen notice board each morning and cross them through as I drink them. I make myself drink a glass of water, whenever I am in the kitchen and it is surprising how quickly the count goes down. Perhaps you could do something similar.

Be assure the BSD does work, you just need to stick with it and you too will see positive results. Try setting a mini-goal to work towards, as this helps you to stay focused and gives a sense of achievement when you get there – perhaps getting to your first half stone lost could be your first goal. There is a forum thread on here for mini goal, might be good to check it out.

Good luck with getting off the flat line soon – it will happen. Let us know how you get on.

Hi I agree with the others..done 2 wks 5 days so far and my weight has dropped, increased and been on a plateau for a few days. Total loss is now 4.5kgs. Someone here recommended taking your measurements when the scale is not doing as you want. So I did. 6cms less around the waist already and 5 weeks to go…you just have to keep plodding along and look to the future…good luck..

Thank you! Your advice is very helpful. I am going try your idea of drawing the glasses. Am going to set a goal also.
Many thanks for your thoughts.

As Toby says quite rightly – the laws of physics says that you have to lose weight on this plan. I would really recommend you up your water – in any form – as much as you can. When I plateaued (and almost all of us do at some point) I doubled my water intake for 2 days (only) and dropped 2lbs overnight which never came back.

Search for the ‘whoosh’ effect – or google it – it’s an actual thing 🙂

Good luck