Hi, I have been very meticulous with keeping to the 800 or less calories and have only just lost almost 3 kg. The first week I lost 2kg and nothing until the last day of week 4. I have only had fish and chicken breasts with mainly greens. No bread, pasta, rice or dairy.
Has anyone else had this issue? I would have thought by now things would be working a bit better. I am also exercising almost every day and am always hungry, but have stuck with it. Feeling frustrated, but determined to continue to get better results!

Hi debs14,
Sorry you are disappointed with your results. Have you noticed any changes other than weight, like looser clothing or inches lost?
Are you eating enough fat to encourage your body into fat burning?
It sounds from your post that your loss stopped in weeks 2&3, which is very common. I call it the week 2 blues. If you look at some of the other threads you’ll see how many others have had the same problem. Now you’ve started losing again it should continue. Everyone loses at different rates, often depending on how much you have to lose and your activity level.
Hope to hear better news from you soon 🙂

Hi Debs14, I had the same problem, lost 4lbs wk1, put on and lost same 2lbs in wk2/3. Then I decided to try doing the book recipes and lost 3lbs in 3 days! I suspect the beans and pulses might have helped and I found I’m not hungry any more too this way. Stick with it, you can’t fail to lose on 800 cals eventually.

Hi Debs14 – remember FAT is GOOD. If you are not eating dairy and mostly chicken, fish and veg where is your fat coming from?
If you are dairy intolerant you could add olive oil to your veg and salads, to your soups etc.
Like Cherrianne has said people often find their weight stalls and then begins to fall more rapidly.

Good luck! 🙂

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I will add some beans into my salad for lunch. About 6 years ago I lost 12-14kg which took 8 months. I ate between 1000-1100 calories a day. I was able to keep the weight off until now. I have gained back 5 kg and want to take that off again plus another 5kg. My activity level is high as I train most days. Yes Cherriaine, my clothes are slightly fitting again and measurements starting to change. Maybe I am building muscle which weighs more then fat and therefore not so much weight lose. When I read 8 weeks, 15 kg, I knew it was to good to be true. Will keep you posted and thanks for the encouragement:)

Keep going Debs. I lost 8lb in the first week and then 2lb/week in weeks 2 and 3. It’s not unusual.

Agree about eating more fats – I know how hard it is when we have been so brain-washed over the years but tehy are really beneficial and you’ll feel much more full. Also don’t forget lots of water.

I would be happy to lose 12 lbs in 3 weeks!!!!! I drink at least 2 litres of water a day. It is the only liquid I drink unless I make a juice consisting of kale, lime, ginger, carrot, apple, and celery. This is week 5 for me. I have chosen not to eat red meat(had it once so far) because it has a lot more calories then chicken breast or fish. Maybe I need to add it twice a week??!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy! I was just using myself to illustrate how the weight loss can have slower spells for many of us.

Red meat is good. Or some dairy? Full fat yoghurt is yummy, cheese is allowed…

I know you would be happy.That is a good result so far. I thought I would have had better reults half way through the eight weeks. I am very determined and will stick it out for as long as it takes for me to lose the amount I want. Thanks for the response. Much appreciated!

Hi Debs14,
If you’re juicing apples and carrots together are you weighing them and counting the carbs?
The problem with juicing is you are getting the carbs without the fibre, so you are essentially turning it into a very easily digestible sugary drink. Which is why carrot and apple juice tastes so sweet.
Could it be the reason for your slower weight loss? Just a thought ….

Hi Cherriane,
I have only had juice once in the four weeks and count carbs as well. The last time I went on a strict eating plan I counted carbs, protein and fats so I am good at keeping track of numbers. I actually weigh portions and write everything down to keep on track. Thanks for the advice though.

That sounds really discouraging and I hope everyone is right and your weight starts to drop again. It’s hard to keep going on such a strict diet with no results. I’m on my second round of the BSD with only moderate weight loss but I can easily explain that with all my slip ups and treats! I can keep telling myself that as long as I stick to it properly, I will get the results.

One thing I noticed is that you really don’t have that much weight to lose. If you worked out your rate of loss as a percentage of total weight (like they do on Biggest Loser) you might be doing as well as some of the much heavier people who lose a lot faster.

Deb, I am exactly the same. Lost 4lb in the first 3 day then nothing at all for the last 7 days despite high fat, low carbs (30g) and low cals. Wondering if I could be an exception to the rule? I’m not letting this beat me though and I will continue till the end! Keep me posted, I’m sorry you are not loosing but reassured am not on my own. We CAN do this!

Keep going Meredex, like you I lost 4lbs in first week, put on and lost 2lbs over next 9 days then finally lost 3lbs over 3 days so it will happen. I thought I was going to be the exception to the rule too as I was following it to the letter. It was probably going to happen anyway but I added in some of the book recipes plus a few prunes and voilà!

Hi Meredex, I am eating between 28-35g of Carbs per day. 18 grams are my 3 prunes every morning so if I eliminated those I would be spinning out during exercise which does happen when I get up already. Everything that I have learnt has been to fuel the body when exercising otherwise it puts you into starvation mode. I think this it a bit like that. I have amazing willpower and determination so will continue until the 8 weeks are finished and then reassess the situation. My problem isn’t the foods I eat, I just like bigger portions then 100 gram size proteins. Vegie soups have been good with a bit of protein added. Let’s hope we all have great results for the month of April!!

I haven’t lost any weight in the last 8 days. Seems like I may have hit a plateau. Let’s hope it changes soon. Have been very strict so I don’t know what the problem could be. Feeling frustrated:(

Hi debs14

I have just had a similar experience. It seems like a war of attrition sometimes -who will give in first? Me or my body? Well, on this occasion it was me, I gave in and had three days of eating what everyone else in the house was eating. I put on 2 and a half pounds in three days. I got back on plan on monday and have lost three pounds. Thats my fastest weight loss ever. If I had stuck it out just a little longer, maybe the weight would have shifted anyway. I think weight loss can be really erratic with no rhyme or reason sometimes. I realised I wasn’t drinking enough water though and I cut the pepsi max, all sweeteners in fact. And I’ve tried to get just a half hour walk in every day. I don’t know how long you will have to wait, but if you can stick with it, the weight loss will come.

Thanks Janet for the encouragement. I am hoping eventually it will come off. I drink at least 2 litres of water and am very active. I exercise at least 5x a week. Today I played tennis for an hour and then walked 8km with a 2 km jog. I am doing everything correctly, but it is very very slow! It would be nice to see some better results. I will stick with it, for sure, and will let you know after the 8 weeks. I lost 2 kg first week and only 1 more since. It has been
5 1/2 weeks so far.

Gosh, reading the posts above, it is amazing how our bodies can resist weight loss, I got on the scales today and Id gained a pound despite best efforts. I am confused by the number of posts suggesting eat more fats… It conflicts with the low calorie target,. If i increase the fats, there is not toomuch left to eat…

Odette, keep your carbs down below 50g a day and calories under 800. those are the headline figures you need to focus on more. Then have your fats and a bit of protein to make up your 800cal. there’s loads of recipes and support on here. Pop over to the What Have You Eaten today for inspiration..

debs, I’ve just finished week 10 and my loss has been very slow too. Stick with it and you will get there.

Hi Odette, I know it seems counter intuitive and it is the mistake I made in the first couple of weeks – more veg = more on my plate. Sadly it also = more carbs!!!

Try a full fat yoghurt, with added ground flax seeds/ berries. It may top 220 calories but I can guarantee it will fill you up!
A smaller salad with a good glug of olive oil also does the trick.
Nuts – love ’em!!! So good for you and full of healthy fats!!!
Use nuts and cheese as an addition to a healthy meal or in small portions as a snack food.
Walnuts and pecans are lower in carbs than other nuts, peanuts are pretty low too. Sunflower seeds are lower than pumpkin seeds.

You really do need fat to help you feel full. It also seems to accelerate the weight loss. JAs Spirit has said just make sure you keep your carbs at 50g or under. Penny recommends calorieking for checking calories and carbs. If you live in the UK we need to deduct the fibre figure from the carb figure.

Hope that helps 🙂

So glad to read your post that its common to stop loosing. I am 3 days into week 3 no weight loss for a week. Lost 7lb the first nine day’s, then nothing. It’s demoralising and very confusing. I’m eating between 800 and 950 cals a day and less than 40g of carbs.I shall keep battling on.

Hi. I am almost finishing my 12th week and have lost 7.9kg. Don’t give up. I have only had 2 days over 800 cal and my carb intake is never over 35g. I am feeling so much better. I only want to lose another 3-4 kgs so will do another 4 weeks and see where I am then. I exercise most days so maybe that is helping. DON”T GIVE UP! IT DOES EVENTUALLY WORK. Good luck!

Where are we getting the 50g carbs from? My carbs are always higher, simply because of eating loads of veg. Surely that is not harmful?

I only eat up to 35g. I eat vegies but mainly greens(celery, spinach, zucchini, lettuce) I never eat corn, peas, potatoes, or sweet potatoes. I will include carrots, pumpkin/squash and a few others but not on a regular basis. Salads are great with certain herbs that bulk it out and are tasty. If I eat any fruit, it will have low carbs eg. berries. Always watch my portions.

It can be helpful to have a look at an app which shows the nutritional breakdown of the food we’re eating. I use MyFitnessPal, and was surprised to see the (good) carbohydrate values of many of the vegetables. I have relatively little weight to lose, and in order to increase the effect of the BSD, made the decision to restrict the carbs – many people here do this, giving themselves a target of 50g per day.

If you do this, and make sure you have balancing fat and protein, you may see a further weight loss effect. However, as many people have said, don’t get too focused on the weight. Either measure yourself, or use a piece of clothing which shows where you are losing weight (trousers? jeans?) and notice how much reduction you have around the waist, thighs etc.

I also test if I am burning fat by using Ketostix (which have a tiny tab you hold in your urine flow, and change colour after 15 seconds if you are burning fat). I wasn’t losing much weight, but could see I was burning fat, so that must mean that some of the internal fat round my liver and pancreas was going. The subcutaneous fat – the bit you can see – is the last fat to go, and the bit under the navel is the VERY LAST (sadly, I’m still working on my ‘belly wodge’).

But I know it’s working, although the fat seems to cling on with its fingernails.

IT WILL WORK. And the change of diet to really good food helps change your taste buds forever, and I’m finding it all absolutely delicious!

Good luck!

I agree. The only carbs I am having are from vegetables, a grapefruit and small apple, all of which fill me up and keep up my energy levels. Yet MyFitnessPal reports carb intake of 70g to 100g. Anyway, I am doing it for weight loss, not blood sugar, and am still losing, albeit slower now on my third and fourth weeks. It does seem to stick, and stick, and even go up, then down it goes again.

Hi Jakkianne – sadly the grapefruit and apple do have a lot of carbs. If you want to speed up your weight loss, you could consider having less of these, at least for the period of the BSD.

It’s a question of choices – I find that I have small quantities of vegetables in things like delicious stir-frys with a chilli pepper, and that this suits me very well.

Thanks, Igorasusual. I shall bear that in mind if my weight loss slows too much. For the moment the fruit and veg do keep me going.