Just wondering how long the "average" plateau lasts. This might help me and others hang in there to get the results we are looking for. So far mine has lasted 2 weeks. Ahhhh!

A true stall is supposed to be after at least 6 weeks with no loss, but I find that I will stay roughly the same for about 2-3 weeks and then drop a few pounds. This is fine by me so long as I don't gain after 2-3 weeks of nothing!!

KC

9 weeks, almost exactly.

except I haven't lost anything in 18 weeks now, so I'm thinking this may be all the weight loss I get. Or the plateau length has doubled...or...the moon is in the wrong house, the scale is on the wrong spot on the floor, and all those other reasons from that wonderful list alto posted back in April.

My body is so stubborn. It takes two months of no loss before I can lose weight and if I lose more than 5 lbs in two weeks another plateau starts!
This fustrates me so much! I have so much to lose and yet I'm a snail. I think this is why I have such a hard time staying on LC even though for the health reasons I should stay on.

I'm averaging about one pound loss per month. I only have 5 pounds left to lose, so I'm sure that's why it's so slow, but every time I lose a pound, the scale jumps up a pound or two for the next couple of weeks it seems, and then drops another pound by the time that one-month mark comes back around. So overall, my weight loss graph show a slow decreasing movement, but boy is it slow!!

sometimes you won't lose weight - especially is you are exercising and building muscle - but you could be losing fat and also you could be losing inches

I usually go 3 or 4 weeks with no change and then suddenly drop 3 or 4 lbs. I think the longest was 8 or 10 weeks but I have averaged a lb a week so I'm happy with that

I'm also one of those who only looses every so often. I'm happy when I can stay the same weight in between losses. I find that if I loose about 2-3 pounds...and can keep it off for a couple of weeks I have a better chance of it staying off!

Sometimes slower is better.

Cin

I think it would really help if we did NOT call these 2-3 week periods of no weight loss Plateaus or even stalls. It would be more accurate to call them "periods of adjustment" after a sudden or significant weight loss, such as Induction. The body obeys biochemical laws that I can't even imagine.

There are other threads around that talk about the fact that fat cells, after they lose fat, suck up lots of water to keep themselves plump. So the scales may not show a decrease until they are ready to let go of that water = a Whoosh. But this only happens if you stay on the LC plan.

You might be putting on new lean muscle as the energy lift encourages you to walk or exercise. Fat is fluffy and takes up room, but muscle is dense and takes up less room Consider the size of 1 pound of feathers (a whole pillow) and 1 pound of iron.

But it is strongly recommended in the Atkins books that you keep track of your measurements. Measure every body part you can reach and write them down for comparison, or at least, have a piece of clothing (pants, dress) that is tight now and see if the fit changes.

If you EXPECT that a significant loss will be followed by a period of adjustment as your body determines that it is not going into a famine and that it can safely let go of its stored assets, then the week or two of no scale movement will not be such a worry or cause of anguish. It will be a reassurance that things are happening as they should.

Don't be a slave of the "metal monster" that is so inaccurate that it is not even legal for commerce. Use the tape measure as your better friend. And EXPECT the weeks of no loss. Then when the Whoosh happens, you will know that you have earned it by keeping on plan while the scale stays still.

A lot of this journey to losing weight is in the mindset. Be prepared.

BarB

I lost 11 pounds in the first two weeks, then I went for 5 weeks before the scale moved again by 3 pounds in 3 days. Since then I have been dropping about a pound every two to three weeks. I can live with that. Especially since my real guage is how I feel and look, which are only getting better and better day after day.

I have even got to the point now that, if I can't walk due to weather or work schedule, I start to feel deprived. And before I started LCing I couldn't walk 10 feet without feeling like I had just climbed Mount Everest.

The weight-loss is nice and sure is a boost to my ego, but I'm in it for my health.

;-Deb

DebPenny...

I'm with you. If someone had told me a year ago that I'd be able to complete a 30 minute weight resistance/cardio workout without dropping dead, I'd have told them they were nuts! But here I am doing it and feeling great. I love this WOL!

I'm still waiting for the losses to kick in. I started in January and was down a total of 12 lbs before is started this up and down thing that just won't go anywhere. I am now up. I think my total is somewhere around 9 total.

But I know I have more than three strikes against me:
I'm post menopausal
I've had extensive knee surgery that prevents high impact exercise.
I've been a yo yo dieter for years
I'm on HRT
I'm dairy intolerant
I'm a little on the lazy side

But I really do feel so much better, so I will stick with it. According to you, maybe I'm soon due. Here's hoping for a loss.

It took me 2 months to get down 15 pounds, and I've been 145 since mid March. I had a brief period of fat redistribution right after Induction (I lost about 8 pounds in the first 2 weeks). I went about 3 weeks before I lost more pounds. I've been around 145 (plus/minus 2 pounds) for 2 months now. I'm hoping to see another whoosh soon. My fat on my legs is looking really nasty. Just last month, all my cellulite was almost gone and now I look like a cottage cheese fest again. Talk about gross...

Initially, I would do weigh-ins on Fridays but then went down to 1x month unless I was feeling really fat/thin.

Here's my fat loss progress:

1/14/02 - 160 *started Induction
2/1/02 - 152
3/1/02 - 147
3/9/02 - 149
3/12/02 - 145 *felt really thin and weighed in
4/6/02 - 147
4/26/02 - 145

I've stopped marking my ups and downs in Fitday because it seems like I vary between 145 and 147 depending on TOM and how much salt I consume. June 1st is my measurement day so I'll see if I'm losing inches Too chicken to try on my "skinny" pants...

I'm guessing I'm ready for a whoosh since I've been going so long without one. Since I'm in OWL I'm always adjusting my CCLL to find the "right" level which seems to move the fat around instead of having it come off completely. But I must be losing more fat because (despite my BC pills) I have my TOM again! Let's here it for Low Carb! Just when I thought I was getting on schedule again...

Annie G.

I generally plateau for a week or two and then lose fairly steadily for two or three weeks. I just plateaued for four weeks though. Overall I seem to be plateaued roughly half of the time.

I draw a distinction between a plateau and a stall. A plateau - according to me - is a period where your body is not losing weight but is probably losing fat. The scale just isn't moving due to things like water retention in the emptying fat cells. A stall is when fat loss has stopped. In general, a stall can't be reasonably suspected until your weight hasn't gone down for a minimum of four to eight weeks and even then it might still be more of a plateau than a stall.

in control, I am grateful you posted this poll! I've learned from it. I thought I was the only one...but at times, 50% of the poll respondents have answered "over a month." It's hard to continue to think "oh poor pitiful me" when at least a plurality of folks have the same experience! Cool info to have collected!

Hi Razzle. I was also on a "so-called" plateau and wondering ... HOW MUCH LONGER WILL/CAN THIS GO ON??? Definitely the poor, poor, pitiful me syndrome. So I too want to thank everyone who responded. It's helped me too.

Razzle you do not have as much to lose as I do, and I still can't believe I could stall out like this. But finally this week I have been rewarded for my dedication. I've lost 3 pounds!

I sprained my ankle a couple days ago and I thought that there was NO WAY I'd ever lose now. But even with my lack of movement, I lost. I do not understand WEIGHTLOSS! But I am thankful.

I learned a lot too. I can't believe that a TRUE stall or plateau is over 6 WEEKs. My goodness. I pray I don't ever reach the real thing.

Thanks again everyone!