The journey to lose weight is so stupid
tjsims88
Posts: 45 Member
So for about a month I was stuck at the same weight 170. This is while I was damn near starving myself 3 days a week(only having 500 calories on those days) Now I eat what I want (staying below 1400 calories) I weigh myself and I've dropped 3lbs in a week.. Grateful but so confusing and annoying!
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What were you eating the other 4 days a week ? Obviously enough to stay in maintenance.10
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The concept of losing weight is actually not too confusing. Starving yourself = no weight loss. Eating a healthy balanced diet, and exercising = weight loss.
Please do not starve yourself!6 -
weight loss is easy. You eat less calories than you burn.
If you think you were eating in a deficit and not losing chances are no you weren't in a deficit for whatever reason.
errors in logging
not logging
not logging accurately.
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How is it stupid? It's challenging but stupid?0
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Yeah but you didn't so you weren't. Or you weren't burning what you thought you were.
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Not at all confusing!
You were either:
-Eating more than 500 calories those three days
-Eating more than making up for those three days of starving yourself on days you weren't. So say your limit says you can eat 1500 to lose weight, or 10500 a week. Day 1: 500. Day 2: 3000. Day 3: 500. Day 4: 2000. Day 5: 300. Day 6: 3000. Day 7: 2000, or 11300 for the week.
-Some combination
And now you're sticking to something that keeps you from over-eating, so you're losing weight! Are you weighing all solids and measuring all liquids?4 -
So for about a month I was stuck at the same weight 170. This is while I was damn near starving myself 3 days a week(only having 500 calories on those days) Now I eat what I want (staying below 1400 calories) I weigh myself and I've dropped 3lbs in a week.. Grateful but so confusing and annoying!
Why were you starving yourself like that? No one here would EVER suggest taking in only 500 calories per day.4 -
During one of the crazier times in my life I would eat 2 slices of bread, cheese, mayo and lettuce every day and a half. Which was about the time my body would threaten to pass out. Took about 3 months before the weight refused to come off.
Starvation is not the answer and 500 calories is insanely low.1 -
I totally get what the poster is saying. But I think she means that you hear so much crap about what to do and what not to do. It is stupid and confusing. But, she has figured it out. Do not starve your body, it needs good fuel in order to run efficiently and burn the calories that it does not want or need. It's like putting bad gas in a car. It will run but not efficiently. Now she knows to put good food in and enough of it. Weight loss is stupid because of all of the crap that we have to wade through to get the right answers and what works for each one of us.9
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Sounds like IF didn't work but steady deficit did. I'm much more familiar with 5:2 (is 4:3 a thing or something of your own invention?), and "starving yourself" for certain periods is part of the process.0
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Alternate day fasting results in a lot of significant weight fluctuations. While I was doing it, I basically only weighed every 2 weeks. Any closer together, and I couldn't trust the trend since it was entirely dependent on if I was weighing after a well hydrated fast day, a fast day, a feed day... etc. And I was only doing 5:2. Plus I found I was always lacking energy to workout with the same intensity as normal.0
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flippy1234 wrote: »I totally get what the poster is saying. But I think she means that you hear so much crap about what to do and what not to do. It is stupid and confusing. But, she has figured it out. Do not starve your body, it needs good fuel in order to run efficiently and burn the calories that it does not want or need. It's like putting bad gas in a car. It will run but not efficiently. Now she knows to put good food in and enough of it. Weight loss is stupid because of all of the crap that we have to wade through to get the right answers and what works for each one of us.
THIS! Exactly what I meant!
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goldthistime wrote: »Sounds like IF didn't work but steady deficit did. I'm much more familiar with 5:2 (is 4:3 a thing or something of your own invention?), and "starving yourself" for certain periods is part of the process.
Yes I figured I'd add an extra fast day for even better results0 -
MissusMoon wrote: »So for about a month I was stuck at the same weight 170. This is while I was damn near starving myself 3 days a week(only having 500 calories on those days) Now I eat what I want (staying below 1400 calories) I weigh myself and I've dropped 3lbs in a week.. Grateful but so confusing and annoying!
Why were you starving yourself like that? No one here would EVER suggest taking in only 500 calories per day.
It's actually a twist on the 5:2 diet.. Eat 500 cals on fast days and maintenance the other days..
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spoonyspork wrote: »Not at all confusing!
You were either:
-Eating more than 500 calories those three days
-Eating more than making up for those three days of starving yourself on days you weren't. So say your limit says you can eat 1500 to lose weight, or 10500 a week. Day 1: 500. Day 2: 3000. Day 3: 500. Day 4: 2000. Day 5: 300. Day 6: 3000. Day 7: 2000, or 11300 for the week.
-Some combination
And now you're sticking to something that keeps you from over-eating, so you're losing weight! Are you weighing all solids and measuring all liquids?
I was very strict on fast days.. I know I didn't eat over the 500. On the other days however, I would eat out a lot so I couldn't measure what I eat is guesstimate... I figure as long as I eat reasonably on those days ( I never binged) it would work because the next day would be a fast day
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Weight loss is funny that way. IF seems to work very well for some people. I know how my body is when I don't eat enough in a day, though, so it could never work for me as a lifestyle. Glad you found something that is working for you OP!1
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I was losing consistently on Weight Watchers and when I initially started on MFP but then I thought if I ate even less (just 1200 cal/day), I would lose even more. Wrong! I started working w/ a health coach at work and she said I wasn't eating enough so my body wasn't going to let go of the weight (in so many words). I increased my calories to 1500/day (a little more on workout days) and started losing again after 6 weeks or so of not losing.
Those who say there is "no way" you are really in a deficit aren't always right. You might be in too much of a deficit.
I agree that it's frustrating but it sounds like you had a similar experience, in that eating a little more than you were actually resulted in a loss. Weight loss has been a lot of trial and error for me. Good luck and keep at it!
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willworkoutforwine wrote: »I was losing consistently on Weight Watchers and when I initially started on MFP but then I thought if I ate even less (just 1200 cal/day), I would lose even more. Wrong! I started working w/ a health coach at work and she said I wasn't eating enough so my body wasn't going to let go of the weight (in so many words). I increased my calories to 1500/day (a little more on workout days) and started losing again after 6 weeks or so of not losing.
Those who say there is "no way" you are really in a deficit aren't always right. You might be in too much of a deficit.
I agree that it's frustrating but it sounds like you had a similar experience, in that eating a little more than you were actually resulted in a loss. Weight loss has been a lot of trial and error for me. Good luck and keep at it!
What happens when you're in "too much" of a deficit?4 -
It's not linear, that's all. You just lost the weight you should have lost those 2 weeks when you lost 3 pounds. It's very common to stall for a couple weeks and lose all the weight at once. Your fat cells just fill with water during that time, and then you drop the water weight.3
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It's not linear, that's all. You just lost the weight you should have lost those 2 weeks when you lost 3 pounds. It's very common to stall for a couple weeks and lose all the weight at once. Your fat cells just fill with water during that time, and then you drop the water weight.
This! I "plateau" for 3-5 weeks- then I "lose" 3-6 pounds. I eat the same (more or less) all the weeks. Even though I know this, it's still frustrating to be in the "plateau" stage.2 -
willworkoutforwine wrote: »I was losing consistently on Weight Watchers and when I initially started on MFP but then I thought if I ate even less (just 1200 cal/day), I would lose even more. Wrong! I started working w/ a health coach at work and she said I wasn't eating enough so my body wasn't going to let go of the weight (in so many words). I increased my calories to 1500/day (a little more on workout days) and started losing again after 6 weeks or so of not losing.
Those who say there is "no way" you are really in a deficit aren't always right. You might be in too much of a deficit.
I agree that it's frustrating but it sounds like you had a similar experience, in that eating a little more than you were actually resulted in a loss. Weight loss has been a lot of trial and error for me. Good luck and keep at it!
Starvation mode is not a thing. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810/the-starvation-mode-myth-again5 -
What's stupid is eating 500 calories a day.1
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I like to think of it as a voyage instead of a journey. It seems less stupid to me that way.1
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Your plan sounds a bit extreme to me. If it's not working, perhaps try something else? 500 calorie days seem extreme if you're doing that on a regular basis.0
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Lot of harshness on this thread!
The OP realised that her plan was ineffective and has chosen a healthier and more reliable option. Funny how many chose to ignore that so they could criticise!
It IS hard.
We are completely swamped by campaigns and brands promising better/healthier/faster/more reliable ways to lose weight. And when people are desperate they can make rash decision that might harm or adversely affect their intentions (though usually have a big impact in the wallet).
It's almost like people who have found a way that works for them is smug and mean about those who might have taken longer to get to that point of realisation. And what's to be gained from that?1 -
LazyButHealthy wrote: »Lot of harshness on this thread!
The OP realised that her plan was ineffective and has chosen a healthier and more reliable option. Funny how many chose to ignore that so they could criticise!
It IS hard.
We are completely swamped by campaigns and brands promising better/healthier/faster/more reliable ways to lose weight. And when people are desperate they can make rash decision that might harm or adversely affect their intentions (though usually have a big impact in the wallet).
It's almost like people who have found a way that works for them is smug and mean about those who might have taken longer to get to that point of realisation. And what's to be gained from that?
I don't agree with you and I'll tell you why. There are alot of people reading this thread that won't post--lurkers. They need to hear what experienced people have to say on the subject. Look at the posting numbers. When those who've been through it tell it like it is that is not "smugness", it is the route to success that can save others alot of time and frustration.6 -
Wood for the trees, seems like.0
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eating 500 calories a day for 3 days is not going to help you lose weight faster...
you want to lose weight...eat within a deficit and exercise. it's simple science.0 -
What do you think would happen to your car if it doesn't get gas into the engine?willworkoutforwine wrote: »I was losing consistently on Weight Watchers and when I initially started on MFP but then I thought if I ate even less (just 1200 cal/day), I would lose even more. Wrong! I started working w/ a health coach at work and she said I wasn't eating enough so my body wasn't going to let go of the weight (in so many words). I increased my calories to 1500/day (a little more on workout days) and started losing again after 6 weeks or so of not losing.
Those who say there is "no way" you are really in a deficit aren't always right. You might be in too much of a deficit.
I agree that it's frustrating but it sounds like you had a similar experience, in that eating a little more than you were actually resulted in a loss. Weight loss has been a lot of trial and error for me. Good luck and keep at it!
Your body has no choice but to "let go" of your weight. You'd die if it didn't. Literally, on the spot. You'd drop dead if your body was like "Oh, I don't want to get that energy out of the fat cells, she's eating too little." Whoops, no energy to keep your heart beating, you're dead.2
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