Weight Loss Momentum Question

smithalysonm120

Hi! My first post here; sorry it's a bit long-winded!

So I'm big into the craft beer community. In the 10 years I've been part of the scene, I've tried over 3,000 unique beers to date, and keep a stocked fridge and "cellar" full of beers from all over the world. I'm friends with a bunch of brewers, part of several craft beer clubs, and attend various beer events regularly. That's the "healthy"/hobby side of things.

The unhealthy is that in the past two years or so, my one-a-day beer habit has turned into more like four or five. I would guesstimate I consume over 1,000 extra calories a day in beer alone. I've put on 40 to 50 pounds, and find myself drinking these beers just because I "can." I don't think I realized it had gotten as bad as it had until I took a step back.

I decided to take a break, quit beer altogether, and reset my health. To my surprise, giving up beer has been easy. My diet has stayed the same (aside from adding orange juice and chocolate to replace all the alcohol sugars I now crave), and I've been walking about two miles a day. I've been steadily losing about a pound a day with what feels like little to no effort.

There's a big craft beer week long event coming up at the end of the month however, and I plan to partake. My question is this: once I go back to these healthy habits afterward, will I lose all this momentum I have in terms of weight loss? I don't think it will be hard to get back into the swing of it (I'm not worried about that part), but I'm wondering if this is like a one-shot thing regarding my metabolism and I that won't be able to lose the weight as easily as I am now.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, and thank you for reading!

jemhh

No, taking one weekend off of a caloric deficit will not adversely affect your metabolism. That's what you're asking, right?

nordlead2005

Well, for starters, if you've been losing 1lb/day you either massively changed your diet or you are just beginning. 1lb/day would be a 3500 calorie/day deficit. With what you wrote (-1000 calories of beer + some orange juice and chocolate) I would expect you to lose closer to 1lb/week as a rough guess. If you are just starting, then it isn't unusual for your body to shed a lot of water weight for various reasons.

Also, your metabolism isn't magically higher now nor will it be magically lower after the beer fest, as it doesn't work that way. Odds are your weight will shoot up after the beer fest due to increased water retention and extra food waste in your system. Rate of loss can be approximated by taking your daily surplus/deficit of calories and dividing by 500 (1lb of fat is 3500 calories).

vivmom2014

smithalysonm120 wrote: »

I've been steadily losing about a pound a day with what feels like little to no effort.

Wow. Can you explain this again?

ashleyjongepier

You'll likely end up with a few pounds of bloat that will go away in a couple of days, otherwise no, once you resume how you were before the event, you'll continue to lose.

1lb a day is very fast however, I started at 360lbs and I think the most I lost in a month was 18 or so lbs.

smithalysonm120

Thanks for the responses!

I did a lot of research before I made this decision. The main point that stuck out is that alcohol is metabolized before food. So pretty much everything I was eating was packing on the pounds (not to mention any excess beer calories). Apparently alcohol really ruins your metabolism, and the priority is to "get rid" of this toxin before anything else.

As for the weight loss, perhaps I should have been more specific: I've only been at this for 10 days or so. It's been a steady pound a day though - some days exactly a pound, and some a little more (today it was 1.2). I'm guessing this will slow down soon enough. This may also be the norm when starting a weight-loss program, but I'm not sure. You guys would know better than me.

My main concern is going back to the beer habit, and then not having the results I'm having now when I quit again.

tiffanylacourse

smithalysonm120 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses!

I did a lot of research before I made this decision. The main point that stuck out is that alcohol is metabolized before food. So pretty much everything I was eating was packing on the pounds (not to mention any excess beer calories). Apparently alcohol really ruins your metabolism, and the priority is to "get rid" of this toxin before anything else.

As for the weight loss, perhaps I should have been more specific: I've only been at this for 10 days or so. It's been a steady pound a day though - some days exactly a pound, and some a little more (today it was 1.2). I'm guessing this will slow down soon enough. This may also be the norm when starting a weight-loss program, but I'm not sure. You guys would know better than me.

My main concern is going back to the beer habit, and then not having the results I'm having now when I quit again.

You likely won't have the same results when you return - and if you do, it won't last much longer. 1 lb a day of loss is surely water weight, I would assume? You don't look very large in your photo - so I have to assume that .5 lb a WEEK to maybe 1 lb a week is more your speed.

Best of luck either way and have fun. :flowerforyou:

nordlead2005

smithalysonm120 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses!

I did a lot of research before I made this decision. The main point that stuck out is that alcohol is metabolized before food. So pretty much everything I was eating was packing on the pounds (not to mention any excess beer calories). Apparently alcohol really ruins your metabolism, and the priority is to "get rid" of this toxin before anything else.

While true, it is not relevant to general weight loss (we're going to ignore extreme cases like high level athletes looking for every edge). Your body needs TDEE calories per day to maintain its weight. If you consume less it will eventually lose weight. Alcohol will be used for energy first, but if Alcohol + Food < TDEE eventually your body will tap into fat stores to make Alcohol + Food + Fat = TDEE. The only way your body will pack on weight over time is if Alcohol + Food > TDEE.

In fact, there is a study that found alcoholics had lower BF% than casual drinkers, which would lead one to believe that alcohol actually lowers BF%. Alcohol also takes more energy to process than carbs, so just swapping carbs out for alcohol per labeling would lead to weight loss.

smithalysonm120

What are TDEE calories?

Also, can anyone explain "water weight?" I get the concept (sort of), but don't understand why/how it happens, and happens before fat or muscle loss.

tiffanylacourse

TDEE is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is how many calories your body uses per day (usually on average). Not to be confused with your BMR, which is what your body would burn simply by being alive - not moving, not walking, etc. Just breathing and circulating blood.

You should try a BMR calculator and make sure to eat AT LEAST that amount daily.

A lot of people on MFP eat 20% less than TDEE, which could also work for you.

Water weight is exactly what it sounds like it is weight that your body is holding onto in water - either from high sodium intake, bad nutrition, etc. When you first start losing weight - and it seems to be coming off super fast (as it did in your case), it tends to be just water loss, not true fat or weight loss.

tiffanylacourse

*Accidental duplicate post.

smithalysonm120

Any reason why water weight loss happens? Edit: water weight loss as opposed to just losing fat from the beginning.

(Sorry for all the questions.)

nordlead2005

smithalysonm120 wrote: »

Any reason why water weight loss happens? Edit: water weight loss as opposed to just losing fat from the beginning.

(Sorry for all the questions.)

Water weight fluctuates. Sometimes you lose a lot of water, sometimes you retain water. One of the primary reasons is to balance electrolytes (one of which is sodium). If you eat salty foods, your body will need to retain water to maintain the proper ratio of salt, and conversely, if you stop eating salty food your body will shed water. Carbs also tend to cause people to retain water.

It is quite possible to gain water weight while losing fat, these things are not mutually exclusive. For example, I ate at a deficit yesterday so I should have lost ~0.08lb of fat, but I was up 0.8lb. However, what typically happens is when someone first tries to lose weight they cut "bad" foods out. These tend to be high in carbs and/or salt. Since many people drastically reduce their salt/carb intake the water is released from their body to maintain proper ratios and they potentially lose a lot of weight right off the start.

There are many more reasons your body will retain/shed water. Women's Period, exercise, electrolytes, heat, etc...

tiffanylacourse

A well-hydrated body is healthier and is less likely to retain water. Having too much salt or sodium in the body is the most common cause of water retention. Excess sodium makes the body hold extra fluids in the cells. When you cut down salt and high sodium condiments like soy sauce, you can quickly lose water weight.

Another big reason for holding on to water weight is being sedentary and not moving around enough." To be clear, we're talking about water weight as "bloating".

Per the PopSugar website:
"During the first few weeks of weight loss due to dieting, a rapid drop in pounds is normal according to the Mayo Clinic. When you reduce your caloric intake, your body gets its needed energy by releasing and utilizing its stores of glycogen, which is a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and the liver. Glycogen holds onto water, so when glycogen is used and burned up for energy, it also releases the water it holds onto. This is about 4 grams for every gram of glycogen. This results in the initial "water weight" loss that accompanies early weight loss from dieting and calorie restriction.

Detoxification diets and juice/fluid cleanses are marketed to the general public as a way to remove toxins from the body, purge pounds of excess fat, clear your complexion, and boost your immune system. However, there is concern that these cleanses do not improve a person's health but instead may actually harm it. In an article MSNBC Dr. Nasir Maloo states "Your body does a perfectly good job of getting rid of toxins on its own." The gastroenterologist adds, "There’s no evidence that these types of diets are necessary or helpful."

Given what we now know about losing water weight and crash diets [NOT EATING ENOUGH], it should be evident why in the long-term, these types of diets do not work. They are too restrictive to keep up with in the long-term and can cause a whole host of side effects. Most weight lost from these types of diets is water weight due to the body’s need for energy and when one resumes a more normal diet, they will likely gain back the weight (and even more than what they originally lost!). One positive thing to take away is that it is important to drink lots of fluids [water] and to eat more fruits and vegetables. However, the best way to lose weight and maintain it is to combine a healthy diet with lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables with a regular exercise routine!"