I haven’t posted for quite some time. My last posts were a bit negative as I wasn’t losing much weight, and nothing from my waist. I therefore said I would wait until something had shifted, and then post. I am now at the end of my seventh week, and am going away for a few days on Sunday. Sadly, very little has shifted. I am still losing weight – very slowly- but have lost absolutely nothing from my waist. Altogether, over 7 weeks, I have lost 11 pounds, and I had hoped to lose at least a stone. I could not understand where the weight had gone from, then today, I caught sight of my reflection, and realised that my trousers looked really baggy round my bum. This would be fine if they were loose round my waist, and I could buy a size smaller, but they are just as tight round my waist as the day I started. I understand that fat round the hips is healthy for a woman, so therefore I am losing healthy, rather than unhealthy fat. I am so disappointed, and feel utterly despondent. I was so happy at the beginning, and feel I have given it my all, but now am not sure what to do. Don’t know whether to keep going, switch to 5:2, just keep low carb, or have a binge out. Sorry for the negativity, but utterly peed with the whole thing today, and wanted to get it off my chest.

Hi Malkay,
11 pounds is nothing to be disappointed about. My weight loss has been slow – I am a couple of weeks further on than you and I’ve only just clocked up the magic one stone. While I have lost a bit off my waistline, I seem to have lost a bit more off my backside. And I’ve still got abdominal fat. For what it’s worth, this past week I seem to have managed 5 consecutive days of weight loss – I have lost about 3lbs this week, the most I’ve managed on this diet – I have no idea why. My progress has been a bit down, bouncing up, plateauing, then a bit more loss.
You say you are still losing weight – that’s great. Do you feel more energetic – that’s 11 lbs you are no longer carrying around. Those fat gremlins that have so assiduously built up stockpiles in your body will fight hard to keep hold of the stuff. And our bodies don’t react in a uniform way, losing a nice equal amount all over, at a uniform rate.
Maybe you need to look at what you’ve been doing and see if there are any small adjustments you can make, either to food intake or upping your exercise levels. Have you been stressed about anything, perhaps? Are you on medication?

Don’t apologise for being fed up – we all get like that – and sometimes it’s good to have a whinge but focus on what you have achieved. I’m sure there are other people in a similar situation on these forums who might have something helpful to chip in. But don’t give up. Keep your chin up!
Take care,
Rose

Hi Malkay

Not sure what your starting point was, but whatever it was I’d say 11lb is considerable. It is a shame the loss isn’t showing in the area you wanted, but as RozyDozy says, our bodies don’t work in a uniform way. I can understand you feeling fed up and frustrated and this is absolutely the place to have a whinge and get it off your chest.

Don’t be too down, you have done well to date and continued weight loss – even slow – is a positive. My suggestion is to be kind to yourself, go away on your break and enjoy it, then come back and start anew. Remember that a big chunk of the battle is mental, so recognise your achievement and focus on the positive.

As for whether you stick with the BSD or swap to the 5:2, it really depends how you feel about it. Maybe a break from the BSD and moving to the 5:2 will help you refocus. But please don’t sabotage your achievement by binging – I’m sure you would regret it.

I know how fruatrating it can ve when positive starts seem tio fizzle out. I think one of the messages I took away from the book is that we are all unique and there is clearly much more to the science of weight loss than anyone knows. When i was unstable on my thyroid replacement meds nothing i did was effective for long and while I mostly ate sensibly i would sometimes get ravenously hungry and that would then throw out the whole enterprise. Since I’ve stabilised I read up and decided to do this diet and so far its working for me. Ive worked out that there are a couple of things that make a big difference – keeping of the white starchy carbs entirely, tracking my overall calories & fibre (no less than 23g fibre per day) & making sure Im eating plenty of good fat. (About 25% of my total calorie intake). At end of week 4 Im still learning but have lost 7kg. (Feels like a miracle). Keeping my own notes has been helpful in my learning about what is working for me. Mabe you could look at what you were doing when things were going well and see if there is anything you have been doing differently?? Also mabe check with yr Dr whether any meds you are on might be interfering. Good luck as you continue your journey of wellness.

Thank you so much, Rose, SunnyB and Allychat. The point about not losing in a uniform way makes sense, and I guess it will be my belly’s turn soon. I think I just need to go away (4 days in Ireland), and keep to the low carb, but not worry about calories, then start afresh next week. I think I’ll keep going for a bit to see what happens. I’m eating no starchy carbs, and am not on any meds, but am prediabetic with glucose intolerance. My hypoglycaemia has been much better while on the diet, so that is the positive I am grateful for, and is enough to keep me going. Thank you for the encouragement – I was feeling quite down about it.

Malkay – there was a post on another thread by someone saying no weight loss at all, but that the scales showed less body fat percentage and more water. I think it was at day 11 or similar with same set of scales each day. So definitely things must be happening even if not where you want them to! As many say, what’s not going in has to show in improved shape eventually!

Hi Malkay, have a fabulous time in Ireland and don’t worry about a darned thing! Rose