Total plateau on Cambridge

[Frustratedmamabear]

Just need some advice
Been on Cambridge a month today. Doing step 1 (3 shakes plus small meal) lost 9lbs in the first 2 weeks. Once I got my energy back, started exercising. Nothing insane 1-2 hrs a day, some days just yoga. But from that point, my weight loss just came to a grinding halt.

Has anyone else had a plateau like this? I know it's not my diet, I'm so careful it's untrue. I even log my food bars and shake in MyFitnessPal to make sure I'm ok.

Any ideas as its REALLY frustrating....

From what I've read online, you might need to up your calories if you want to exercise regularly. I think this is quite common

Are you drinking enough? If you let yourself get even partially dehydrated on VLCDs they stall.
With 1-2hrs a day exercise you need to up your water intake considerably to offset.

Definitely drink more water!

How much do you have to lose? On average you lose 1 stone a month on Cambridge step 1 but if you are lighter 9lbs a month is a good loss.

My consultant always said absolute no to any kind of exercise other than a gentle walk or bike ride type thing. She said you'd go into starvation mode if you do. I never quite believed her but nor did I try it out. Perhaps she is right?

You definitely shouldn't be doing 1-2 hours of exercise on step 1. You need to move up to step 2 at least. This will be why you aren't losing - you are effectively putting your body into shock.

Sorry to scare monger but - you could be risking severe muscle loss and jeopardizing your own weight loss attempts. Potentially lots of exercise whilst in ketosis can result in muscle loss from your heart muscle.