Feeling despondent

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  • posted by EnglishRose
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    I’ve just completed Week 2 of the BSD.

    I’m not Type 2 diabetic but was / am clinically obese: I’m 5″3 and my starting weight was 15.5 st. I’ve tried various other diets in the past and have lost up to 1st at a time but am now the heaviest I have ever been.

    I lost 8lbs in Week 1, which was great. I realised that the weight loss would slow down in Week 2 so wasn’t surprised that my mid-week weigh-in registered a 2lb loss – I thought that I’d probably lose a total of 3lbs this week. However, stepping on the scales this morning, at the end of week 2, and I’ve only lost 1lb overall this week. Somehow I’ve put *on* 1lb in the last few days.

    I suppose that a 1lb loss is better than nothing: overall I’ve now lost 9lbs in two weeks. However, this is what always happens to me when I try to lose weight. I lose a significant amount of weight in week 1, very little in week 2 and nothing thereafter. Consequently I’m feeling very despondent this morning and am wondering whether this diet is actually going to work for me. If it doesn’t, I’ve no idea what I’ll try next.

    I’ve been weighing everything religiously and counting every single calorie – even milk in tea (something I’ve never done before!). I’ve not had any white starchy carbs (another first) and I’ve stuck to things like berries instead of bananas to keep the carb count down. I’ve upped the amount of water I drink quite significantly.

    Any idea what I might be doing wrong, or am I just one of those people who can’t shift weight?

  • posted by MaggieBath
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    Please don’t feel defeated, this way of eating does work and you just need to understand what your barrier is.
    Firstly, don’t think of it as a diet, it’s a way of life that will make you healthier and slimmer. How did you get on with detoxing? Was it tough for you? Some of us have found the break with carbs quite hard.
    Drinking lots of water is essential and try to limit your tea to mealtimes. Calories aren’t as important (though of course they matter) as carbs, and milk is high in carbs. Have you measured your daily carbs? Fat Secret is very helpful to keep track. At this stage it’s a big leap to work with carbs but it’s crucial. It may be that you need to drop your carbs below 50 – some of us have found closer to 20 carbs a day is what works for us.
    Are you taking recipes from the 5:2 recipe book, because some of them don’t really follow the strict attention to carbs, in fact the book is more appropriate for maintenance.
    Log everything you eat and hopefully that will show you where some mistakes might be creeping in.
    Good luck, it will work for you if you let it.
    Maggie

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Hi there, most people have plateaus from time to time. Yours is not exactly a plateau as you did lose something but your body is adjusting itself to its new regime and new weight and will be moving again soon. So this is not the time to give up, just have a little patience and keep on keeping on… (my motto)

  • posted by Squidge
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    Do stick with it, English Rose. It’s an eight week plan, so it’s far too early to be thinking it won’t work.

    Imagine how you’d be feeling if you’d lost three pounds the first week and six now – you’d be pleased, wouldn’t you, and eager to carry on? The result is the same, so don’t let which days the scales showed the biggest loss put you off.

  • posted by EnglishRose
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    Thank you so much everyone for the encouragement.

    I know I’m probably being a bit silly – after all I’ve lost 10lbs! – but I’m just really terrified that my body is behaving in exactly the same way that it has done on every other diet. I’ve been super strict on everything, right down to limiting my tea to just one cup of day instead of 5/6. I know I should probably cut it out, but I just can’t face the morning without a brew….

    I’ll keep persevering & fingers crossed the numbers will come right soon.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Welcome, welcome, Englishrose! Please have a look at JGwen’s post today on “Spring into Summer Wk2”
    thread. There are many processes going on even when the scales aren’t yielding dramatic results. Have a
    look 🙂
    Best wishes,

    Allie

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