Troy
,
The rumbling from your guts?
Typical. Mine used to wake the dog.
It gets much better and eventually goes away.
Usually it’s from eat just a touch too fast,
Or while still on soft or liquid foods.
The quick slowdown at 2 weeks?
It’s most likely at the third week.
Happens to many… “Starvation or Hibernation Mode.”
The idea of “Starvation Mode”
Doesn’t seem to make sense.
“If I’m showing less Calories Consumed than I burned,
How could I possibly show an increase in weight?!?!”
Very ‘counter-intuitive.’
Tha****er needed to process the glycogen
Ends up being the culprit.
I had my Doc go through the explanation a few times
As I grilled him with questions.
Just kept asking “Why?”
Until I got to a “Ah-HA!” Moment.
As much as that man has picked through my insides
I figure he shouldn’t mind if I ‘Pick through his Brain!”
First, Pull back from your ‘daily’ charting, and look at a weekly or even monthly.
There are up and down spikes each day,
But if you ‘graph’ the highest to the lowest, I’d bet there is still
A downward slope over the course of the month.
There’s an 8 to 10lb. volume of “wiggle room” due to water alone.
And it comes into play a lot.
This has to do with our bodies using glycogen for short term energy storage.
Glycogen is not very soluble,
But it is stored in our muscles for quick energy –
One pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble,
And the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs.
So, when you are not getting in enough food,
(Like when you drop down to your calorie intake)
Your body turns first to stored glycogen,
Which is easy to break down for energy.
And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen,
You also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it
Voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of any diet.
As you stay in caloric deficit, however,
Your body starts to ‘realize’ that this is not a short term problem.
You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue
And burning fat for energy.
But your body also ‘realizes’----
(by way of your liver releasing hormones signaling low Cal intake)
---That fat can't be used for short bursts of energy –
Like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger.
So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen,
And rebuilding the glycogen stores.
And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle,
8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble.
So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body,
(Thus showing negative Calorie load overall)
Your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while
As you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.
Yes?
The whole ‘weight-loss’ process is not a straight “Slide” down the scale.
More like “Stair-Steps,” (Down then forward, then down, then forward, etc...
As your body cycles fat out of “deep storage” and through the Liver
Into the muscles as Glycogen.
The muscles and Liver can hold about a 3 weeks supply.
This is why many people find that their “Stall” or “Plateau”
Breaks when adding a bit of exercise
And upping their water intake, or in the case of an “extreme exerciser,”
The total Calorie or Protein Intake,
To signal the liver to let go of more Glycogen.
Fear not, many people who are now enjoying life at a normal BMI
Once had a few weeks or so of thinking-
“...my weight loss has been awfully slow, has it stopped...”?
Like I said, more people report noticing it at week 3,
But then everyone uses their glycogen stores at different rates.
And some have less stored to start with.
Hang in there.
It all gets easier each week.
Best Wishes-
Dx
Shhhhh...
(At 4 1/2 years out, I still step on the scales EVERY MORNING.)
Just try not to let daily changes freak you out.
Long-Term...........
Best Wishes-
Dx 
