I have a question.

I have noticed on weight loss shows (most recently the biggest loser), and also with people who just start exercising, that a huge amount of weight is lost in the first couple weeks.

I just changed my diet 3 days ago, and have been to the gym twice doing hard cardio workouts and according to the scale at the gym I have already lost 3 lbs. Is this large loss due to the body detoxing? Or just the shock of actually getting up and moving?

Thanks for any input you can share!

-Liz.

Hi Liz - Many people lose a lot of weight the first few weeks as we dump a bunch of water weight & our bodies get used to our new eating habits & exercise routine. It's quite normal, also, that after a few weeks, our weight loss slows a bit. Most people do not lose like they do on The Biggest Loser each week consistently.

Hi Liz! Like Faerie said, the big drop we get on the scales when we first change our eating is generally water weight. The reason behind the big water weight dump is carbs, believe it or not. Each gram of carbs we eat holds onto three to four grams of water. When we cut back on carb calories (which most of us do when we start a new eating plan - think sugar and flour!), our body flushes out all the water that used to be bound to the carbs. Usually that wonderful scale drop slows down by the second week or so and then we can see the real fat loss. Don't you just love that first week weigh-in, though?