Belly Fat Cure --Help me!!

Lost 7 lbs the first 2 weeks. Gained 3 back ---even though I've been following it to the "T". It's been 1 1/2 weeks and staying the same weight. Exercising 3-4days weeks. Any suggestions........

Log everything you eat. You'd be surprised what foods contribute to weight issues.

Until you log your food, you can't really get much help from people. We don't know what you're doing wrong if we can't see what you're doing.

I'll just list off some of the other suggestions you'll hear:

1. "You're gaining muscle".
- Maybe, but only slightly. Not enough to matter. It takes a long time to genuinely build muscle.
2. "You're eating too much"
- Probably likely if you don't log your food. That's up to the diet also, though. Not many people will know the specifics of the one you're on.
3. "You're eating too little"
- Actually a common problem, but again, we can't know until you log it.
4. "You're gaining water weight"
- Definitely a possibility. Usually the first few weeks of weight loss is mostly water weight. Now you're gaining it back. Exercise usually causes you to retain water. Also, if you're a female and it's that time of the month, you retain a lot of water. It'll pass.
5. "You're exercising improperly"
- "Exercise" is a broad term, and a lot of people use it quite loosely. You haven't logged exercise either, so "exercising 3-4 days" per week doesn't mean much. Is your exercise heavy resistance training or is it walking in the park for 20 minutes? The effects of each vary greatly.

You can either provide more information or see which one of those fits you best.

Thanks for your response. I follow the meal plans in the book. I am logging my meals at home. I exercise for 1 hour (cardio.....20 treadmill, 20 minute stair stepper, 20 minute gazelle; floor exercises (bicycling, sit ups, ect...) I only drink black coffee in morning, water rest of day (ALOT!!). I will start logging my meals plans and check back in soon.

Well, it sounds like you're doing things pretty correctly. If you're following the book's meal plans and you're logging things at home, then you have to trust that it's all right.

In that case, option 4 is most applicable to you. Starting new diets and exercising when you previously haven't makes your water retention/weight fluctuate dramatically.

A few words of advice:

1. Ignore the scale, if that's all you'll measure. Water weight, muscle gain, faulty equipment, timing and other things all alter the reading significantly. Use body measurements and fat caliper readings in conjunction with your weight to see the full picture. If your clothes are feeling looser or your measurements are going down, then you're doing things correctly. It's a much better metric for progress.

2. Add strength training. It's incredibly effective, and I can give you a million reasons as to why you should do it. Try substituting some of your less effective exercise portions for 30-60 minutes of weight training. Instead of doing floor exercises (which become ineffective after a couple weeks), use weights in order to progressively improve and increase the intensity. This will ensure that you do not stall.

3. Definitely keep logging that food. Might as well use the website's tool. It's much faster than writing it down, and in case you ever need advice/help again, everyone can analyze your food intake for more specific answers.

Just checking back in with everyone. I lost a total of 7 lbs (the first 2 weeks). It has been almost a month now. I have completely took away artifical sweeteners and following the carb/sugar limits. Any other suggestions. I am getting FRUSTRATED!! A surgeon at my work lost over 40 lbs and he looks great. I feel STUCK IN THE MUDD!