Why I Only Lost 0.1 Pounds Last Week

Photo by Author

The 6 week mini-cut diet I’m on right now started off with a bang, with dropping 3.5lbs in my first week compared to my starting point.

At the end of my second week, I dropped 1.9lbs when comparing my 7 day average weight across week 2 compared to my average weight in week 1.

But the result from my 3rd week of dieting?

I only lost 0.1 pounds.

Even though Sunday was my lowest weigh-in yet at 162.4lbs…

My average body weight across week 3 was higher because of these 3 things:

1. I recently increased my calories from 2,000 per day to 2,200 per day because I was dropping weight too fast (now my calorie deficit is only ~300)
2. I had to take leave from my job for 6 weeks to help my wife recover from her broken toe and take care of our babies so my step count dropped (I have a simple fix for this)
3. I ate an extra 562 calories one day which was 162 calories over maintenance which spiked water retention and reduced my weekly deficit from the planned 1,800 down to 1,638

Now this analysis of my progress may seem super technical, and it is…

But the reason I share it this way is to highlight the volatility that can happen…