Thinking about my so-called fast weight loss
JeromeBarry1
Posts: 10,179 Member
For starters, I've been thinking about various people here saying that my particular feeding plan is unhealthy because the total calorie count is in a range I describe as '1200-1300'/day.
I googled the subject.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/expert-answers/fast-weight-loss/faq-20058289
A trustworthy source
Says:
"The concern with fast weight loss is that it usually takes extraordinary efforts in diet and exercise — efforts that could be unhealthy and that you probably can't maintain as permanent lifestyle changes."
At the moment, by the way, my numbers work out to a 3 lb / week loss.
My food goals are few and simple. Calories 1200-1300. Carbohydrates below 100. Protein above 80. Sodium below 1500. I take supplements for magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
I alternate beef, pork, chicken, and fish each day. I have a protein shake supplement with breakfast on days when I walk on the treadmill. I eat a lot of vegetables, brown rice, few potatoes, and little bread.
That's already 1000-1100 calories/day below myfitnesspal's recommendation for a .5lb/week loss.
I walk very briskly on a treadmill for 20 minutes, 5 days each week.
I do a few squats and push-ups. That increases my net calorie deficit to about 1200-1300 calories/day.
And it works for me.
With my sedentary work, it seems that I can have a breakfast of about 600 calories, another meal of about 400 calories after work, and about 200 calories of eggs or almonds during the day.
Today, for example, I've consumed 1143 calories so far and it's late in the day during a very boring webex at work. I have a choice between a tomato and 6 almonds in my plan, or adding maybe just one piece of the pizza that the company provided without prior warning. I don't feel tempted by the pizza. I'll stay on my plan.
I googled the subject.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/expert-answers/fast-weight-loss/faq-20058289
A trustworthy source
Says:
"The concern with fast weight loss is that it usually takes extraordinary efforts in diet and exercise — efforts that could be unhealthy and that you probably can't maintain as permanent lifestyle changes."
At the moment, by the way, my numbers work out to a 3 lb / week loss.
My food goals are few and simple. Calories 1200-1300. Carbohydrates below 100. Protein above 80. Sodium below 1500. I take supplements for magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
I alternate beef, pork, chicken, and fish each day. I have a protein shake supplement with breakfast on days when I walk on the treadmill. I eat a lot of vegetables, brown rice, few potatoes, and little bread.
That's already 1000-1100 calories/day below myfitnesspal's recommendation for a .5lb/week loss.
I walk very briskly on a treadmill for 20 minutes, 5 days each week.
I do a few squats and push-ups. That increases my net calorie deficit to about 1200-1300 calories/day.
And it works for me.
With my sedentary work, it seems that I can have a breakfast of about 600 calories, another meal of about 400 calories after work, and about 200 calories of eggs or almonds during the day.
Today, for example, I've consumed 1143 calories so far and it's late in the day during a very boring webex at work. I have a choice between a tomato and 6 almonds in my plan, or adding maybe just one piece of the pizza that the company provided without prior warning. I don't feel tempted by the pizza. I'll stay on my plan.
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Replies
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Your body will tell you what is a correct calorie consumption for you no matter what anyone tries to say. It's unhealthy to just say "im going to eat 1100 calories a day no matter what my body tells me." If your feeling good, not feeling weak or nauseous, and overall don't feel like something is wrong than stick with what your doing, everyone burns way different numbers and what works for one won't work for another. Me personally If I eat less than 2200 calories in a day I feel like I'm going to pass out and get headaches, but I also burn an abnormally high amount of calories in a day.1
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Did you skip over the part from your own source that states you will lose lbm?
"if you lose a lot of weight very quickly, you may not lose as much fat as you would with a more modest rate of weight loss. Instead, you might lose water weight or even lean tissue, since it's hard to burn that many fat calories in a short period."
That's pretty much the opposite of what you want to do. You want to preserve as much lbm as possible.
There are other side effects to eating too few calories. Hair loss, brittle nails, low sex-drive, low energy, gallstones, etc.
It may be working for you atm, but believe me when I say these things will catch up to you. It won't immediately show itself. It'll snowball itself until one day you notice a huge glob of hair in the shower or that suddenly your fingers are all bleeding because your nails all broke down too low. Ask me how I know these things.... -_-()
Do yourself a favor and don't torture the one and only body you have. Going from one extreme (obesity) to another (undereating) is not the answer. Be kind to yourself and don't overdo it. Also, you should speak with your physician. Just in general. A full blood panel and let your doctor in the know.4 -
I'd be curious to see how you're going 6mths from now.
It might still be working positively for you, or it may not.. Will just have to wait and see
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Congratulations. You've stumbled into a poor version of a protein sparring fast. Guess what every single source about protein sparring fasts says? The indeed are not life style choices and won't work for permanent weight-losses, and most ones that go unsupervised by a physician hold great risk. I'd estimate the risk is even higher for someone that thinks they are something to boast about.2
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Can it be done?
Sure.
Will the end goal give you the results you want? Possibly.
Will you be taking unnecessary risks during the process (loss of LBM, other adverse effects)?
Yes.
Will it be enjoyable?
Nope.
Will it be sustainable?
Time will tell.
So I ask again, why are you taking such an aggressive approach with your weight loss? What's the rush?2 -
Issues with a male eating that few calories start with nutritional deficiencies. The 1500 minimum for males has less to do with calorie than it does with getting sufficient micro-nutrients. With that you neglect that eating that little will, not just might, cause a loss in lean body mass, that includes not just muscles but organs as well. Neither of these things are things you will see or have issues with right away. They take time to show up then suddenly you are finding things in your body are not they way they should be--brittle nails, lost hair, and more. Lean mass loss even if just muscle will mean in the end you will be weaker, and your bmr will be affected negatively meaning putting on the weight again would be more likely.
Having said that, if you are extremely obese, I have no idea how much fat you need to lose, but if you are 300 pounds or more, 3 pounds a week would likely not be as much of an issue as it would be if you are 250 pounds or less. Yet, even then, extremely aggressive weight loss is much more likely to result in regain. I did that the last time, this time 2100 calories at 5'10" and turning 50 in July and I am losing just fine. Not the 2-3 pounds a week I wanted the last time, but that time I put the weight back on because I didn't take to time to re-learn how to eat. Now I eat the calories to maintain my goal weight so every day I am learning how to eat at my goal weight.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Can it be done?
Sure.
Will the end goal give you the results you want? Possibly.
Will you be taking unnecessary risks during the process (loss of LBM, other adverse effects)?
Yes.
Will it be enjoyable?
Nope.
Will it be sustainable?
Time will tell.
So I ask again, why are you taking such an aggressive approach with your weight loss? What's the rush?
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Everyone has their own opinion on this... I personally managed a 46lb weight loss over a 3 month period by using a 1700 calorie diet and vigorous exercise regimen. 45% fat, 35% protein, 20% carbs. I managed to keep it off because I didn't revert back into my old habits. After a gain phase I'm back to hitting the gym and diet regimen but keeping my calories slightly higher and my exercise regimen focused mostly on weights.
Just as long as you're not getting headaches or feeling weak, I say go for it. Who are we to tell you you're wrong?0 -
Thank you all for your comments, they are thoughtful and will be of help to me on this journey. I emphatically do not propose that I have found the perfect solution nor even the perfect solution for me. This is just where I am. I began this phase of my journey on January 25, a journey which in fits and starts has been slowly progressing now for 16 years since I was well over 350 on 1/1/2000. One thing that seems to be blocking my mind on the idea of reaching even 1500 calories is that I've reached a point in the 1200 calorie range that already has 1500 mg sodium. I do see a doctor quarterly, and it was my most recent visit which finally got me motivated to actually lose the weight by finding something to change. I have not been diagnosed with diabetes, and I am not ordered to be on a low-sodium diet. Two weeks ago I called my daughter, which is a rare event. She's a nurse practitioner and, sadly, an experienced dieter. I announced to her that I had lost 19 lb. She stated that if I could get my carbs below 100g for 3 days I'd go into ketosis, loose appetite, be able to eat more of the fat and protein and lose weight faster. It's been 7 more pounds lost since then.
You've each given me things to search on. Some, I'd never heard of. Again, thank you.0 -
I have read this page: http://www.livestrong.com/article/265668-a-protein-sparing-diet/
Yes, "stumbled into" it is an accurate description. I can easily add a banana to my evening consumption and exit ketosis. I use the word generously because I do not actually test with ketone-body detection strips.
At the moment I weight 246. I am 53, and 5'10.
None of the dreadful eventualities described by two of you have manifested. Of course, I don't want to invite them, either.0 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »My food goals are few and simple. Calories 1200-1300. Carbohydrates below 100. Protein above 80. Sodium below 1500. I take supplements for magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
I alternate beef, pork, chicken, and fish each day. I have a protein shake supplement with breakfast on days when I walk on the treadmill. I eat a lot of vegetables, brown rice, few potatoes, and little bread.
Frankly, that sounds anything but "few and simple".
Here's my food goals, by comparison:
1800 calories / 2200 calories on an exercise day (must do)
90g protein / 140g protein on an exercise day (nice to do)
That's it. I don't track carbs at all. I don't care about sodium because I'm not in the 11% of the population that is a sodium responsive hypertensive. I don't have any particular food rotation, nor do I specifically avoid any foods except those that I find unsatisfying for the calorie amounts. I don't even require myself to hit the protein goal, I just try to hit it more often than not. That's what I consider "few and simple" rules.
Anyhow, the main reason you don't want to lose too fast is to preserve your muscle mass, as well as to increase compliance. It's fairly easy to comply for two months. It's complying for two years, five years, ten years, twenty years that requires you to really build the skills to sustain your loss.
I will also say, in the past, I tried several times with a goal of 1300 calories, and failed each time, sometimes a month or two in, sometimes longer. This time has been far more successful, in large part because I built habits so I don't need any particular level of willpower or attention - I just plan my meals and do them.
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And a few words about lbm, and my observations of it: That includes my heart, which I'm quite pleased with. My morning treadmill work gets my heart rate over 150 bpm, but it stays below 160. Over the 8 weeks I've been on this journey, I've gradually increased the speed and the duration of the treadmill as my heart became able to handle the increased load by staying below 160. I'm planning to increase the speed slightly next month.
In the past 2-3 weeks, I've also begun some mild strengthening exercises. First, squats. Over the course of 2 weeks, I increased my squats to 10 sets of 10 each morning. Then, push-ups. Over the course of 2 weeks I became able to do 1 set of 10 three days each week, and yesterday I was able to do 2 sets of 10 and expect to attempt 3 sets of 10 next week. I introduced bicep curls over the last weekend with 1 set of 10 using 8lb in each hand. That light work caused the burn associated with excessively stressing a weak muscle. Today I undertook to do 5 sets of 10 bicep curls and did accomplish that, with much less following pain in my biceps than I had Saturday and Sunday. I plan to carefully and slowly increase sets and weight of the bicep curls.
Do any of these descriptions suggest to you that I am already suffering excessive loss of lbm?0 -
Those observations neither suggest nor rule out a loss of LBM. You can gain both strength and endurance while losing LBM or while gaining LBM, particularly if you were out of shape to begin with - there's a huge amount of adaptation possible without requiring gain of new muscle filaments. It's after you've exhausted the newbie gains that LBM will play a large role.0
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WinoGelato wrote: »Can it be done?
Sure.
Will the end goal give you the results you want? Possibly.
Will you be taking unnecessary risks during the process (loss of LBM, other adverse effects)?
Yes.
Will it be enjoyable?
Nope.
Will it be sustainable?
Time will tell.
So I ask again, why are you taking such an aggressive approach with your weight loss? What's the rush?
These are questions I haven't asked.
Can it be done? Yes, obviously. So far. One thing I plan to do when I reach 240 is to run(walk) a 5K. I did one once before, when I weighed well over 300, and it caused a brief but frightening post-run paralysis in my legs.
At that time, I was not attempting weight loss.
Will it be enjoyable? In many areas of life, I don't ask that question. Constitutionally, I don't think I'm on this earth to enjoy it.
Will it be sustainable? That's actually something I'm trying to answer each day. With my treadmill work, I'm resisting extending time beyond 20 minutes. When I have more overtime to work, I don't want that to justify stopping my exercise. I do think I can get 20 minutes even in a 12-hour work day.
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Taking a nose count, it's unanimous. Everyone person on this thread is either concerned or indifferent that I may be setting myself in front of a troublesome train. Therefore, I've added a 108 calorie piece of cornbread to my evening meal for a daily total of 1368. Here's my numbers:
Totals 1,368 117 53 100 1,630 23
Your Daily Goal 2,496 312 83 125 2,300 94
Remaining 1,128 195 29 25 670 71
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
I'll do this for a week and see what my weight is next Tuesday morning.0 -
It's Tuesday, I had 6 days of food over 1300, one day slightly under. I had 5 days slightly under 1500 mg Sodium and 2 days slightly over. There was no of what I call excess water on board last Tuesday nor is there any today. I weighted 246.6 on Tuesday morning, 3/22. That was the beginning of 3 consecutive days of measuring no loss, with my weight fluctuating between 246.6 and 246. This was followed by 2 days of loss, a day of gain, and 2 more days of loss. This morning I weigh 244.6, for a 2 lb loss in 7 days. My net calories consumed was 7988. My net calorie deficit to a .5 lb plan was 8182 calories. The calorie deficit suggest I should have measured more of a loss, but of course there is uncertainty in my exercise calorie burn so I'm not going to stress about that.
I can keep this calorie level for a week and see if the 2 lb loss repeats or if it ticks up to 2.4, as the CICO numbers say it will. I'll also open my diary to public.0 -
You sound like you have a sensible plan and are executing it, not sure where there's any controversy here. Good luck to you!0
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I have read this page: http://www.livestrong.com/article/265668-a-protein-sparing-diet/
Yes, "stumbled into" it is an accurate description. I can easily add a banana to my evening consumption and exit ketosis. I use the word generously because I do not actually test with ketone-body detection strips.
At the moment I weight 246. I am 53, and 5'10.
None of the dreadful eventualities described by two of you have manifested. Of course, I don't want to invite them, either.
you're already eating brown rice- I highly doubt your in ketosis.
Ketosis is like under 30-40 g of carbs a day (there is no exact number from what I've researched as it varies from person to person).
but never the less- you seem to have all the answers- so stop posting and good luck since you're not interested in anyone's opinions but just telling us how little you're eating.
Good job.0 -
Honestly,
I would have just let the haters hate and kept to myself on this one.
You opened the door for more criticism, naturally.
If it's working right now and you feel good, keep it up.
Good luck, sincerely!!0 -
A choice between a tomato or 6 almonds. Is this real life3
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You win. I'll commence to eating 1500 calories 4/8.0
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »You win. I'll commence to eating 1500 calories 4/8.
Can you elaborate, what does this mean?0 -
I meant that I was going to try to get 1500 calories daily. I've not succeeded at that. I weigh more now than I did when I wrote those words. It's less than 1 pound more and the record is confounded by a massive cheat day on 4/9. It's too early to conclude that I must return to the 1200 calorie plan.Christine_72 wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »You win. I'll commence to eating 1500 calories 4/8.
Can you elaborate, what does this mean?
I have ordered a food scale and will pick it up this coming Friday. Then I'll be more accurate with my logging.
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Thanks. Appreciate you keeping us updated.
And for sure using a food scale is going to make a difference for you. As you know, accuracy is super important when you want to lose weight.0 -
Well, this is a revelation. With my new Ozeri Touch II food scale weighing the celery, onion, turkey, and salsa, at least before I started sauteing the vegetables, and then carefully selecting and occasionally editing the food database to match the higher standard of facts on the nutritiondata.self.com (it has no user inputs), I found that my breakfast burrito has 259 calories. Yesterday, in the "guess and hope" fashion of using the mfp food database, my plan supposed that my breakfast provided 351 calories. The biggest guessing error I made was in the weight of the cooked turkey.2
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The concern about a restricted plan is that a person does not get enough fat or enough vits and minerals.0
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I am in a similar situation that you described. I weighed in at 308# on Feb 29th. I am 57 yrs old and 5'11" I knew I had to do something drastic (My Dr. told me in Jan I was Pre-diabetic) I weight 307.6 on Jan 20th. I tried to diet and exercise in Feb and blew it off. Then when I stepped on that scale on Feb 29th..I just made up my mind that I had to get serious about this. I put myself on a very low calorie diet 1200-1300 (sometimes 1400) I ride a stationary bike for exercise,(3x 20 minutes a day) and do a few light sets of weights (biceps, triceps) in the a.m. I last weighed in at 275.6 on April 18th. I know I will have to change my diet, as this is not sustainable over the long haul, nor healthy in the long run. I see my Dr. on April 28th and will see what he says at that time. I will most likely add some outdoor exercise, walking, riding my outdoor bike, and perhaps some additional weights..but I know I will have to increase my calories as well..probably move to 1500 or even 1800 depending on what my Dr says.0
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I've also been criticised by other members for mine. The target given by mfp for me is 1260 but most days i hit around 1000.
I havent found myself feeling especially hungry if anything id say im less hungry than i was previously because im focusing on good meals with lots of filling veg etc and avoiding sugary snacks which we all know tend to make you hungry soon after!
I only weighed 10 stone to begin with and am only looking to lose maybe 1 stone so when you're small to begin with you have to make large cuts to get effects seeing as my diet before wasnt massive calorie heavy either.
It works well for me and if i dont keep the stone off i wont be that worried because i want this for summer.
I guess what im saying is do what works for you, dont listen to other peoples negativity. If you feel excessively tired or hungry you might need to consider and increase but as of yet i dont feel that.0 -
The concern about a restricted plan is that a person does not get enough fat or enough vits and minerals.
Ive actually found i eat far more vitamins etc. Because to eat lots of food on a low calorie plan you have to get lots of fruit and veg.
Obviously this isnt true for everyone it depends what food choices you make.0
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