I am feeling a little disappointed that I haven’t lost any weight this week. Is this normal ? Has anybody else experienced this ? I was feeling really positive yesterday as the hunger pangs and carb cravings have finally gone and I feel well. Not going to give up but would appreciate knowing whether this has happened to others.

Yes it happens, lots of reasons about how the body processes things – you will still be burning fat but may not see the benefits for a while. Then you will see a ‘whoosh’

‘Why Does It Happen?
The most likely reason for this stop and start pattern of fat loss actually has to do with water retention.
When you are maintaining a caloric deficit, your fat cells are emptied of triglyceride as your body breaks it down for energy. However, as this happens, the fat cells end up temporarily filling back up again with water.
In effect, this means that the fat cells do not immediately shrink. There is also no immediate decrease in body weight, due to water uptake offsetting the actual fat that was burned.
Then, after a period of time, the fat cells will suddenly flush all of the water that they’re holding and finally shrink down. This is the whoosh taking place.
So, in reality, you have actually been consistently burning fat the entire time, but it will only become obvious after these whooshes, since that is when your scale weight drops and everything tightens up’

http://leanmuscleproject.com/how-whooshes-impact-your-weight-loss/

Hi Peapod,
To add to what Avila has just written, you will have stupendous weeks, or zero weeks, and all points in-between. Our bodies do not lose weight at a consistent rate – they have a spurt, then need a bit of time to adjust before losing again. Think of it like being on a long walk – every so often you need a rest, then you get going again – that’s what your body is doing. My own weight loss was very up & down, but the overall trend was downwards.
If you look through the threads on this website (use the Search option) you will see that many people have experienced an initial impressive weight loss followed by nothing (weeks 2-3-4 or thereabouts).
This is entirely normal – don’t let it derail you. You will see the loss restarting.
Good luck.

Thanks so much Avila and RozyDozy. I am probably still in the mindset of my slimming club days when the weekly weigh in was a big thing. Day by day is probably a better view to take. I lost 8 lbs in my first week so will take heart from that . Knowing the theory behind the fat burning is very useful and I look forward to some whooshes !
Thanks again.

HI Peapod.

Being a bit of a data monkey, I weigh daily and use a spreadsheet to provide a weekly average. I’m in week 14, nearly four stone down and I’ve had 10 day plateaus followed by 5lb lost in two days. As long as the trend is in the right direction and I feel OK, then I’m happy.

As I’ve said before, I have just accepted that my body is adapting and that there is no pattern to weight loss, but taking in 1000 cals a day and being fairly active , I must lose weight eventually.

Hi Jules,
It’s good to know that you are experiencing plateaus yet have had such a brilliant weight loss. I will persevere and just be patient for the next loss.

I genuinely believe all you can do is keep on and wait for the results to show. I’ve not got used to the Whoosh effective, it still elicits an expletive from me when it happens.

BTW I’m trying to identify a fool proof way of breaking plateaus, then retiring on the profits, but no great insight as yet.

As an aside, I’m at a client site today where I haven’t been since I started this regime. One of the other guys started on BSD around about when I did and he has lost seven stone in just over three months. Funnily enough he has porridge every morning (soaked overnight and thickened with cream)

Still no loss , however I have measured myself and lost another half inch from waist and hips. Just waiting for that whoosh !
Interesting to hear about the guy eating porridge, that is the one breakfast food I am really missing. Might experiment and give it a go . Seven stone in 3 months is amazing, that would solve all my weight problems.
As for finding a solution to breaking plateaus, good luck, you would be a very popular person on this site alone if you did !