I started my new way of living on Jan 1, 2005. I lost 7 lbs the first week of my diet and have lost nothing else after that. I have been walking a few times a week for 30 min, and have been watching what I eat religiously. I have cheated a few times, nothing major though.
Then I got the flu. Now I've lost 3 lbs which is great under the circumstances, but I want to know if this will take extra work to keep off? What am I doing wrong? Its seems as the accidental starving of the flu takes the weight off instead of diet and exercise. I don't want to starve myself.

Thanks for the support guys.

You might want to try plugging your food into fitday. For myself, I know it can be way to easy to eat over my planned calories, and it doesn't take much overeating for me to see the weight loss slow down or stop. It's been my experience, too, that adding exercise can be enough to get the ball rolling too. Also, the types of foods you eat can make a big difference in terms of hunger. Certain foods, like sugars, white bread, etc., can make you hungrier. Sorry if you already know all of this. Hang in there, it can take some tinkering.

I hope that you're feeling better post-flu! Being sick can cause weight loss, but it's usually just water due to the fact that it's easy to get dehydrated while sick.

It's hard to know what to recommend without more details of what you're eating. Are you eating enough? (Too low a calorie intake can cause your body to hold on to pounds.) Are you eating vegetables and high-fiber foods? Have you considered adding strength training to your exercise routine? (Strength training builds muscle which not only is good for you, muscle also burns more calories than the same amount of fat.)

You are very right - you don't want to starve to lose, and you shouldn't have to. Marge is right on, it can take some tinkering to figure out your body and how you respond to things.

Hey! It takes awhile sometimes to get some responses. Don't be discouraged. Just take it day at a time.

Don't cheat. That just doesn't work for me in any way. I always think I'm not cheating "that much," but the scale tells the tale. Stay with your program. If you're feeling hungry, have some healthy snacks around that you can eat without blowing the day. Most programs allow some kind of healthy snacks.

I would guess that the weight loss during the flu is water. People can get dehydrated easily when sick. Just stick with your program! Adding more exercise would be good, too. Walk every day, not just a few times a week. It's only 30 minutes, and it's for your own good health!

Keep going!
Jay