Please help or encourage.......

I have not changed anything in my diet except for increasing water, bc I was not getting enough, and started exercising. Now, I haven't lost any weight in 3 weeks and this morning the scale jumped up 4 lbs. Please give advice please. I'm about to cry.

I can't offer advice since I am a newbie. I just had surgery 10-3-12, but I am right there with you on the stall and fluctuating a little up and down. I am doing everything I can do right and my body is just not gonna give it up right now. I could cry with you, but I won't  and you shouldn't either. I have read over and over again that this does happen and it won't be the only time it happens. Maybe some vets can give some strategies that might work. I don't know if changing things up will help or if it is better to stay the course. Cheer up. It will get better for us.

It would help to know what you're eating and doing, but here are a few notes:

First, If you jumped 4 lbs it's water. You'd need to eat 14,000 EXTRA calories to gain 4 lbs. You didn't.

Second, stalls happen. I had 4 major stalls on the way down, and each one made me nuts. However, by the end I had developed a strategy: First, seriously look at my eating to make sure I haven't started to slip. I log my food still and did the whole time I was losing. This lets me look back and see how I'm doing compared to the past. Second, if my eating and liquids are in line, suck it up and wait it out. My longest stall was a month.

Good luck!

Thanks, I know I haven't eaten 14,000 calories.  I do log my food and everything every since I started this journey.  My calorie intake is between 500-600 every day.  In the beginning, i struggle with protein but now I'm getting it in while maintaining the low calories.  carbs 30 or less. My exercising is cardio and weights, especially my arms because i dont want the hanging skin.  I was thinking maybe the increase due to gaining muscles.  I can see the rip effect in my arms.  Maybe, I lost a lot at the beginning and now it's tapering off. IDK. I've lost 68 lbs in 3 months, half of this in the first month.

When you say "I have not changed anything in my diet" I would have to ask, what is your diet? Is your exercise vigorous enough to lose weight? If you are eating 1500 calories and your normal day only burns 1000 of them and you walk for 15 mins and burn 200 more. You still are gaining 300 calories per day and in 10 days will gain a pound.

I am not saying this is what you are doing, but diet has a big impact. Look at your protein intake, your carb intake, etc. Make sure that just adding exercise is really that you added adequate exercise.

This is very common. BTW keep track of your measurements since you can lose inches instead of pounds sometimes. I am all for that. Another thought, you may be retaining water as in TOM or just plain your body wants it right now. It will change.

If you continue in this for more than 2 weeks try increasing your calories by around 150 for a while then back to what you were after a couple of weeks. My nut says to do this to break a stall and I have done it and have had it work for me. I have gone as much as 250 calories before I re-read her info and saw 150, but it still worked.

Thanks. This really helps. If it does change in a few days, I will try what you mentioned and I remember my nut saying that too in a meeting. To change it up. Thanks for being positive. I know I'm doing the right thing, calories wise and eating. I'm not cheating at all. Therefore, I don't like it when people assume.

If you're doing weights, every time you work out, you tear muscles - which is a good thing.  It's what you want to do.  But it causes water to rush to the muscle to repair i****er weight gain.

If you're inching up on your monthly cycle - water weight gain.

If you've had a little more salt in your die****er weight gain.

If your body is replenishing its glycogen stores - water weight gain.

If your body just effing feels like i****er weight gain.

You get the idea.  Keep to your program and it'll start moving in the right direction again.

Thanks, great advice. This makes me feel better. This is what I was thinking.