Could you go on losing a small amount every week more or less indefinitely?...

[erebus]

... barring the obvious end result!!

What I mean is, you know how when you start a diet, you lose 4-5lbs in week 1, 4 lbs week 2, 3 lbs week 3.... 1lb a week in month 4, etc- assuming you stay 'on' the same diet.

Does a point come where you stop losing but 'maintain'? where your body won't let you lose any more on that calorific intake? I assume you'd have to be in dangerous territory, medically for that to happen?

An idle, but curious question for those who know far more about it than me!

erebus I can only tell you what happened to me.

I started off doing tesco diets totals plan. I was eating healthy balanced diet including low GI carbs, proteins, fruit, veggies and treats within totals limit. It was around 1200 calories a day. Plus I was going to the gym AND doing EA sports active on wii (one or other each day). I lost 3.5lbs for the first 2 weeks and then it slowed down to 2lbs a week for quite a few weeks, then 1.5lb a week, then 1lb a week. I was very strict and I consistently lost every week even when it was TOTM. After I'd lost around 2 stone I plateaued around a stone above my goal weight. After 4 weeks I'd only really lost another 1lb despite sticking to it, so I decided to go low carb. Obviously it would have been safe at that point to loose more, but for whatever reason my body didn't want its reserves eaten into further on that diet.

Tried both dukan and IPD but although I lost on both, I didn't really like either - so decided to do my own low fat and low carb (but not ketogenic) diet. Weight loss resumed on 1200 calories a day. I'm now 8 12 with 22.5% body fat and although I could loose more I don't really want to so now eating a bit more.

I would guess if I continued eventually would become dangerously thin, although it might take a while as weight loss was very slow under 9 stone. I guess some people could live forever on 1200 calories (in Africa many people living on 800) as body adapts to lower intake, others would be dangerously thin ie anorexic.