Weight Loss confusion

[Stedgano]

I have changed the way I have been eating for just over a month now. My stats are Male, 6' starting weight was 262. I lost the 1st 18 pounds pretty quickly but seem to be stuck there. I am being very thorough about logging what I am eating. The last 2 weeks I have seen little to no movement in weight. I am allowed 1880 per day to loose 1.5 pounds per week. I have given up all fast food and trying to eat as clean as possible. I still have a cheat day for a dessert (but it is still within my calorie limits). Getting very frustrated. I walk about 2-3 miles a day. What am i doing wrong? 

[Dominique]

I’m a bit confused by the time frame: was the starting point (262) one month ago? If so, did you lose 18 pounds during the first two weeks (that would be insanely fast), and more or less nothing during the past two weeks? 

[Daves_Not_Here]

Welcome @Stedgano - you have run into the most common frustration that people experience when trying to lose weight (based on posts to this forum).  The initial pounds come off quickly and then you tend to slow or stall.  Rather than restating what has been said numerous times before, I'll suggest you browse the many dozens of similar threads in this forum and take to heart the advice offered therein.

Here are a some salient points to consider:

• About 4 or 5 pounds of your initial weight loss may be water.  And two weeks of weight loss can easily be masked by water weight fluctuations.
• Your energy expenditure decreases as you lose weight and increase your fitness, so you need to reduce your calorie consumption to continue to lose.
• The accuracy of Fitbit's calorie burn estimates is ethereal -- the scale is more reliable.
• If you don't control your intake, your "cheat day" can easily undo all your progress leading up to it.

[SunsetRunner]

If you stopped losing fat based on body measurements, drop your carb intake by 25%. Give your body time to adjust. If you still aren’t seeing fat loss, drop carbs by another 25%. As you drop carbs, increase your protein and make sure you are getting sufficient amount of fat. 0.5 grams of fat per pound of bodyweight is the general rule of thumb. Calories aren’t as important if you are hitting your macros correctly. I’ve done the calorie counting. It worked for a while but then I got to a point where it stopped working and I could not decrease calories anymore. It wasn’t until I gradually decreased carbs that I was able to break through that plateau with a vengeance. It became much easier to lose fat. I do not count calories anymore. I use to eat 2 meals a day and was always tired and hungry. Now I eat well above the calories I use to eat at 6-7 meals a day with no cravings and more energy. As long as you hit your macros, you will have no problem losing fat. It’s okay to have a cheat meal once a week when you begin to get into the low carb range and is recommended but a cheat day might be too much.