the reason your weight loss slows down in week three and four... - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

moonmirror · 03-20-2004, 10:58 PM

Hey guys,

Read a great article from Low Carb Portal (website). They broke down what really happens in your body over four weeks on a lowcarb diet. Here goes...

Week One: big weight loss, but if your loss is ten pounds, nine and a half are water, and a 1/2 pound is fat.

Week Two: smaller weight loss, maybe 2-3 pounds, 1/2 pound is fat.

Week three: lipolysis is in effect. 1-2 pound weight loss of fat, but your cells fill up the empty space that used to be fat with water, as it senses a big change happening, freaks out, and shifts water to cells. Your body and the scale show no weight loss.

Week four: lipolysis is in full gear, and there may be a loss of up to two pounds of fat, but your body is still in "disaster" mode, and hangs on to the water in cells. Your scale, and your body, may still not show a loss.

Weeks five and six: finally your weight will start to drop and your clothes will get looser as your body senses it is not starving, reaches a sense of homeostasis, and releases the water from your cells.

I guess the idea is, be persistent in spite of your scale!!

cheers, MM

destructive.taste · 03-20-2004, 11:33 PM

thanks for posting that. i always wondered how it worked!

smartypants · 03-21-2004, 12:27 AM

So I have 3 more weeks to go before I notice anything more significant

. The water thing struck me......I seem to have to go more often since being on the diet. I normally drink water all the time anyhow, and am not drinking more. Wonder why that is? Well good thing I don't care too much about what the scale

says...it's all about the tape measure and how my clothes fit!

chick_on_the_beach · 03-21-2004, 01:35 AM

Maybe you are flushing it out of your system. Your body is not storing it because you are experiencing weight loss which is actually just water loss.

Ruthxxx · 03-21-2004, 06:15 AM

Good explanation. Thanks for posting it. I'll copy it into FAQ for future questions!

moonmirror · 03-21-2004, 05:20 PM

you know, even if it isn't entirely accurate (who knows), I like it because I think all of us experience a stall at some point and I think it is encouraging to know that even if you're stalled, you still could be losing fat.

ellis · 03-21-2004, 06:14 PM

Thanks, Moon!

mompen · 03-22-2004, 04:16 AM

That makes me feel alot better

Thanks for posting it

clovey · 03-22-2004, 05:03 AM

This helps make sense of why the clothes can feel looser even when there is no scales loss. Thanks Moon.

Bluegrass Gyrl · 03-22-2004, 07:01 AM

Boy...did I need to hear this today. End of Week 3 and I am actually UP .4 lbs. My weight held steady all last week (I know...I really need to break myself of this weighing everyday), even while I was perfect on the plan. That led to discouragement over the w/e and some eating I shouldn't have done.

Thanks again!