Hi fellas...I was just wondering, what are some of the common causes of stalls? From what I gather, not eating enough calories, eating too much sodium (water retention), and possibly exercise (gaining muscle weight) are some of the main ones. Can you fill me in on a few more?

I've been on a stall for maybe a week now...I lost 22 pounds in the first 3 weeks (18 year old male, by the way) but I'm stuck right at 200. I even gained a pound or two. I'm still eating well...Sometimes I don't get enough calories but I've been pretty consistent with getting about the same amount under what I should have. I'm looking to get down to about 180 (and then start putting on the muscle weight! ) so I've got those last 20 to go. Everyone around me says "oooh, noooo, you don't need to lose weight...you already look really slim" but I think we can all attest to the fact that it doesn't matter what others say as long as you aren't happy with the way you look.

Anyway, any suggestions on breaking this stall (and future stalls)? Also, I've heard about plateaus...what I've heard was that your body tries to maintain its shape by retaining water for a while, and you may gain a couple of pounds, but even though you're staying with the weight, you're really losing fat...any truth to that? I sure hope so

Thanks for any help.
-Justin

Natrushka encouraged me today by informing me a stall is long term (6 weeks of no weight change or inches change)

I went back to the PP book last night to get reacquainted, and it stresses so often that weight loss is not important, fat loss is. We rely too much on the scales. We think things are not happening when indeed they are. Are your clothes feeling any looser? Have your measurements gone down even though your weight hasn't? That means you are making muscle.

Hang in there. It's hard to stop thinking that the scale is the only measure of progress.

All this negative terminology - sheesh... drives me nuts.

Your body didn't gain the weight in steady manner. If you think back, you probably got away with a certain size clothes for a period of time before having to UP the size.

Losing is the same, it's not always steady, sometimes there are pauses while the body *regroups* and not only is that perfectly natural - it is health and ideal.

Justin - take comfort in knowing that I survived a 5 month period where I had NO weight loss, and still I managed to meet goal. I know that there is probably no Guiness Book of World Records with a low carbing section but HEY, if there was - there'd be a picture of me under "STALLS"

HI...I know that I week of no weight lose can be frustrating, especially in the beginning, when I pounds initially fall off. I'm on day 33 of Atkins and over last week I didn't not change my weight by a single pound. I stayed at 159 all week until this morning, when I finally dropped to 157. All throughout the week, I tried different things to figure out what was going on, but nothing really seemed to make the scale change. I really think that my body was readjusting (I mean 14 pounds in a month is a lot for anyone's body to handle). I also think that having a positive attitude does help - I almost cheated a couple of times b/c I was angry about not losing...if you're experiencing this, don't give in, the pounds will come off

Check out "low-carb studies" and see if there's anything that you're missing (i/e hidden carbs, nuts, etc.) Doreen (I think) created a very informative article that gives tips for plateaus and also provides links for Fat Fasts if it comes to that.

Everything will work out, just give it time