Hi,

I'm a 22 y/o female, 5ft2, and currently at 62.3kg. My goal is to reach 48kg in the fastest way possible.

4 weeks ago, I started the no carb diet with one cheat day a week. In the first week I started off at 68kg and lost 2kg by the end of the week. After the second week I lost 1.5kg. In the third week I didn't lose anything, and in the fourth I only lost 0.5 kg.
I'm a little disappointed with the results and was wondering if someone could give me an explanation?

Its the fifth week now, I am now currently doing 20 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week. My diet includes regular meals in smaller portions, but without any form of rice, bread and pasta. On my cheat day, I just eat regular meals and dessert.

Could I get some advice on how to accelerate the weight loss in the quickest way possible?


Thanks in advance!

I think this is the ultimate question we all want to know. How do we get it off fast and quick. In my personal experience I have gone from losing lots of weight quickly one month to losing no weight the next. The body either stalls or puts on muscle. I firmly believe that we didn't put the weight on overnight and it's not going to come off overnight either. Also, the quicker you take it off, the more likely you have of gaining it back so consider sticking to 1500 calories, exercise and see how it goes. Don't give into the fads that some might offer.

I am sure some other peeps have other recommendations but its really up to your body as to how it responds and it won't always give you the same results week to week. If you're seeing a steady loss and not gaining you're doing good. That last week you might have gained muscle. Make sure you're checking inches loss and your body fat percentages too so you know if that is going down too. It's not all about the weight. Good luck

You say "smaller portions", but are you actually measuring anything to see what your calorie intake is? Smaller portions is a good start, but you've got to attain the right mathematical equation to actually create a calorie deficit to lose weight. Just cutting out carbs won't do it.

I am not a big fan of the idea of a "cheat day" in general. mostly because super-restrictive diets are incredibly hard to maintain long-term, and the cheat day basically puts you back at square one each week as far as controlling your cravings for sugar or carbs or whatever. I think it's far better to create a daily calorie deficit using a variety of healthy foods without any specific group being cut out, and maintain that throughout the week by allowing yourself a reasonable treat now and then without "cheating". It is also entirely possible that on your "cheat day" that you are actually consuming enough calories to offset whatever deficit you had created during the week.

It's not even remotely likely that you've put on any measurable amount of muscle in those 4 weeks, according to the statistics you've provided. The amount of effort for women to gain muscle mass is immense and is FAR under-rated. Cardio for 20 minutes 5 times a week is not gaining you muscle mass. Period. So if you aren't losing weight, it is because you are not creating a calorie deficit.

I would start crunching numbers. There's lots of info online about how many calories a day you might be burning. Start with a conservative number... I like the 1500 calorie number JenDestiny put out there... and start planning your meals and snacks (and treats!) around that number. Scrap the "cheat day". Give it two weeks and see how the scale moves. If you still aren't losing, try dropping down to 1400 calories and so on.

At age 22, the last thing you want to do is start yourself on the yo-yo diet path, and I fear that a super-restrictive diet like a no-carb is exactly the route to that scenario. Take advantage of your age and metabolism to create a healthy, sustainable weight loss program that focuses on excellent nutrition, and then maybe you won't be in the same boat as a lot of here when you hit your mid 30's and have lost the same 50 pounds a hundred times.

Good luck to yoU!

I am on a modiified slow carb diet the 2nd time around. (Why I didn't just stick with it before is beyond me, but when I went off it, I went crazy eating, like I was trying to gain weight, and I gained all my weight back and more!) Going low carb does work for some people, not all. On my diet I also have a cheat day and it works very well for me. The reason you lost a lot of weight in the 1st two weeks is because your body had been keeping excess water stored up, and every diet for most people starts with a whoosh of weight off in the 1st 2 weeks because of the stored water being released. After that, weight loss slows down because then you start burning fat, not just water, and that's a slower process. The good news is that after the 3rd week when your body was trying to figure out a balance in water storage, you continued to lose weight and it showed in the 4th week. There is no super quick way to lose weight, unless you resort to some drastic fad diet, and that's never a good idea. People who lose weight extremely rapidly often have gall bladder problems. It's best to settle for up to 2 lbs per week. And if you aren't stupid like I was and eat like food is going out of style later, you'll have a much better chance at keeping it off if you lose it at a reasonable rate. Super fast weight loss has no long-term benefits and can make matters worse. One thing I want to add is make sure you are drinking enough water each day (enough, not too much) so that your metabolism will keep working optimally. Try to have patience and good luck!