Is Losing 3 pounds in 2 weeks unacceptable?

No!

That's losing an average of 5 pounds a month, or 60 pounds a year...and done so gradually that it should be possible to keep it off.

If you're eating and exercising sensibly.

The reason I bring this up is because this guy, whose blog I read on a daily basis, mentioned this today and was all upset about it.

He said:

"I also weighed myself and this round of weight loss has been the slowest and most difficult ever. Yes, I lost three more pounds and am now in my 170s but three pounds in almost two weeks is ridiculous."

Now, in the first place this guy is 60 years old. And once you get into your 60s, it just takes weight longer to come off. (He does jog, 4 miles a day.)

In the second place, note the phrase, "this round of weight loss has been the slowest and most difficult ever."

What that means is that he goes on diets periodically, loses weight...and then gains it all back.

Why? Because when he's dieting, like now, he's only eating one meal a day!!!!

And that's another reason why it's taking him so long to lose weight. His body is in starvation mode, it's trying to conserve as much fat as possible by slowing down its metabolism.

So when this guy finally does come off this ridiculous diet, and starts eating "normally" again - not over eating, just eating normally - the weight is going to glom back on, because his body will have adjusted itself to the starvation diet, and when it starts getting more food, will immediately store it as fat with a shout of joy.

That's why its very foolish to try starvation dieting. It sounds like a contradiction in terms, but you will actually lose weight faster if you eat 2,000 calories a day rather than 1,500 or 1,000. And it's a helluva lot easier to eat 2,000 calories a day than 1,500 and especially 1,000.

And because your body has not had to adjust - metablosm wise - for this 2,000 calorie a day regime, it will not go crazy when you increase your intake to 2,500 - and that's what you want.