Thanks Ali.  My guys love to ride their bikes and we are always outside!  I found that them riding is fast enough for me to walk or run to.  I usually don't eat the 500 calorie meal suggested on here, but I am thinking that I might start with one a week then work my way up.  I eat dinner at work four days a week and usually eat what they serve.  I do notice that I fill up much quicker.  I also think that I need to increase my water, because typically, I am a diet soda kind of person.  Again, thanks for the advice.  

Carrie

Often the weight lost in the first few weeks of any diet plan is approximately 50% water. Though it may seem as if you have stopped losing, it may in fact be that your body is approaching a normal, slower rate of weight loss of one to two pounds per week. If, however, you are following the plan and are not losing any weight, you may be experiencing what is called a plateau.

Hitting a weight loss plateau is normal and almost unavoidable. Eventually your body adapts to living off of the reduced amount of calories you are now consuming, and grows more tolerant of your regular exercise regimen.

The occasional piece of fruit is not going to make or break your diet, but depending on how often you are eating a larger balanced meal, and if that meal is much higher than 500 calories, that could slow down weight loss.  If you find that you are hungry at dinner, try starting your meal with a tossed salad or a cup of broth-based soup to help fill you up.  

Increasing your exercise next week will also help.  And the fact that you notice that you are already getting more toned leads me to believe that though the weight loss on the scale has slowed, you may still in fact be losing fat, but gaining a bit of muscle.  Judge your weight loss by the way your clothes fit and how you feel, not just by what the scale says.  

Finally, I LOVE that you walk your twins to school while they bike.  That is such a wonderful habit to get your kids into!

Best,

Ali Auerbach, MS, RD

Hi Ali. 

I have been using the slim fast plan for about 2 months now.  I lost 15 pounds in the first 3 weeks and have only lost about 4 pounds since then.  I usually stick to the plan ok (not 100%).  Why did I stop losing and what can I do about it?  I started out at 191 lbs and I am at 172 lbs now.  I use the 3-2-1 plan, however, I sometimes eat more than 500 calories at dinner.  Also, based on info for another poster, I occasionally add an extra piece of fruit in there.  I have just recently really started getting more exercise in, wanting to give my body time to adjust to the drastic drop in calories first. I have noticed that my body is toning up more recently.   My exercise level will increase next week when my twins start preschool and we walk to school every morning (actually, they are riding bikes and I walk or jog to keep up with them).  I have always been athletic and it seems like I am still a very active person (I even ran a 5K race in March with only one practice run before the race).  Adding exercise beyond this would be difficult, due to my schedule.  Can I overcome this plateau or am I just destined to be a bit on the heavier side?  I have always been a bit heavy, but that never bothered me.  Now, I am diabetic and would really like to get down to my "optimal" weight before New Years (if that is possible).