Please encourage me to lose weight slowly!
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Sounds like a unique perspective.sexymamadraeger wrote: »I do have a unique perspective. I used this app as a guide but I never used the calorie counter much. I log exercise and journal my health and track my weight. It's good for much more than just calorie counting.
Stories of eating too little and then over eating in reaction, or losing very fast and then regaining abound
For many people the relative ascetic eating regiment that your health concerns have forced you in would sound hard to commit to long term absent similar health constraints.
Of course losing slowly also does not guarantee anything. It's just that finding a sustainable path seems to offer more of a *chance* of success ..
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sexymamadraeger wrote: »I lost the first 85 pounds quickly because I wasn't eating carbs. The last 40 has been slow and steady... a pound a week. I still don't eat carbs. I don't think I have an eating disorder. I did when I was big. But I do worry a lot about finding a happy place when I reach my goal weight. I think because of my food sensitivities I will have trouble not losing weight. I need a nutritionist to help find a balance. That's all.
You lost the first 85 lbs quickly because you had an aggressive calorie deficit. Not eating carbs doesn't speed up weight loss beyond the initial water weight drop. You probably also lost additional water weight as inflammation decreased with not eating the foods you have intolerances to (same thing happened to me when I identified some eczema food triggers). If your weight loss has slowed, it's because your deficit is smaller.
You know what foods you can eat, so you eat more of those when you get to goal.4 -
I would just like to sneak in and give the OP a big ol’ HIGH FIVE for remaining open minded and being willing to listen.
That is wonderful and I’ve admired your grace.
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Good_Morning_Glory wrote: »I would just like to sneak in and give the OP a big ol’ HIGH FIVE for remaining open minded and being willing to listen.
That is wonderful and I’ve admired your grace.
That's very sweet of you! I have a lot to learn. And in the spirit of taking all your advice, I'm baking bread this morning and will be enjoying a couple slices for a snack! I didn't quite make it to goal yesterday, but I did force myself to finish all my meals and even had some chocolate in the evening to bring up my total even though I didn't really want to. I think I need to eat a snack through out the day and that will help me get enough calories in. We're eating vegan right now for religious reasons, which makes it harder to keep the calories up to where they need to be. Thank you everyone!5 -
Hey, this is kind of interesting! I've now been on stronger antibiotics about four days now, and my staph infection is finally starting to respond to them and subside!!! And interestingly, I weighed myself this morning and I haven't gone down at all for the first time in about 3 weeks, which is when the staph really started taking off. I also felt hungry, (but not ravenous thankfully) this morning. Now, I'm really wondering if part of the reason I was losing so fast was because my BMR was raised fighting the staph. Because my calorie totals have been about the same these last 3 weeks. I'm usually under total by about 100-200. And I wonder if the staph was also causing me nausea. Because that can be an effect of staph. Wow!
Maybe I wasn't going into the starvation mode as much as I thought, but it was compounded by staph. Because I had this infection, since I started MFP, only it wasn't diagnosed as such until a week and a half ago, when it got really bad. I also had chills and substantial pain, along with the nausea and loss of appetite, which does happen with staph.
Wouldn't that be great if I wasn't going as crazy as I thought and was surprised by? I mean by being surprised how strong my body's response was.
See, this is why I can't trust my body. It wasn't my mind, or voices in my head, it was staph!
Anyways, it likely was a strong component.
I feel calmer now. I kept thinking, what is WRONG with me, before.
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gracegettingittogether wrote: »Hey, this is kind of interesting! I've now been on stronger antibiotics about four days now, and my staph infection is finally starting to respond to them and subside!!! And interestingly, I weighed myself this morning and I haven't gone down at all for the first time in about 3 weeks, which is when the staph really started taking off. I also felt hungry, (but not ravenous thankfully) this morning. Now, I'm really wondering if part of the reason I was losing so fast was because my BMR was raised fighting the staph. Because my calorie totals have been about the same these last 3 weeks. I'm usually under total by about 100-200. And I wonder if the staph was also causing me nausea. Because that can be an effect of staph. Wow!
Maybe I wasn't going into the starvation mode as much as I thought, but it was compounded by staph. Because I had this infection, since I started MFP, only it wasn't diagnosed as such until a week and a half ago, when it got really bad. I also had chills and substantial pain, along with the nausea and loss of appetite, which does happen with staph.
Wouldn't that be great if I wasn't going as crazy as I thought and was surprised by? I mean by being surprised how strong my body's response was.
See, this is why I can't trust my body. It wasn't my mind, or voices in my head, it was staph!
Anyways, it likely was a strong component.
I feel calmer now. I kept thinking, what is WRONG with me, before.
You will absolutely use more calories when your body is trying to fight something/repair itself. As I mentioned above, I recently had a severe eczema outbreak (I'm talking 75% of my thighs, at its worst looking like I had severe, inflamed sunburn). I track pretty meticulously, and know that my Fitbit is about smack bang on for my TDEE, was eating at that level (ie not in a deficit). We estimated I burned an additional 1000+ calories a day generating that rash. I've continued to burn a bit higher since, either as my skin repaired, or because my immune system hadn't been squashed by the prednisone yet and was still trying to do dumb things it shouldn't. I am absolutely of the opinion that if you are sick, or injured, you should try to eat at at least maintenance for that time period.
It's pretty easy to fall into that hole of wanting to lose faster and faster, as you mentioned in your OP, especially if you have a history of disordered eating habits and thoughts, so not really surprising (to me, anyway) that your recent rapid weight loss has triggered that. My ED has always been triggered by stress, because I don't have an appetite when I'm uber stressed, I start losing weight, even without any plan or desire to previously, and if I'm not careful, bam! In come those thoughts of restricting further and further. Knowing these things about yourself is helpful for combating them in the future.
Do try to hit at least what MFP gives you for your calorie goal (not 100-200 cals under) while your body continues to heal (and after, of course), even if that means getting those calories in in liquid form such as soda, but hopefully your appetite is back to stay. Lots of nutrient rich foods for you.
Also, starvation mode as you're probably thinking of it isn't a thing. There's a couple of really good posts on adaptive thermogenesis (which is a thing) in the "most helpful posts" stickied at the top of this forum that you should have a read of.5 -
For all the weeks I could have lost if I had just focused on .5 lb a week, I would be at more of a deficit than I am now. The heavy restricting isn’t fun, nor is the binge cycle it creates, and you don’t even get a payoff. So really there’s no point in doing it any other way than a practical deficit.
Once I accepted this, game changer. You’ll be grateful you did.7 -
gracegettingittogether wrote: »It's embarrassing to read my posts and see the truth of what you're saying. I didn't fully realize it untill rereading my own posts. I'm going to keep posting here for that reason, if you guys don't mind. So you can call me out when I am unreasonable. It's humiliating but good for me.
It takes a lot of courage to do that! I'm really proud of you so seeking the feedback and accountability like this! Though also having someone in real life to help you in this way would be a huge benefit!6 -
I absolutely lost a lot of weight from inflammation and water etc.... cutting out carbs helped me tremendously because I got rid of cravings. After about 3 weeks they disappear. I wouldn't wish my allergies on anyone. It is hard to live with. But it's been a mixed blessing for me. I have truly learned to live a life that doesn't revolve around food. I am 158 lbs now and 4 lbs from a healthy BMI. I feel awesome. I know my body now. I just have to work in more good nutrition. I really do believe people focus too much on trying to eat what they love and count the calories. It's all about habit. Creating routines that you learn to follow automatically. Eating the same foods at the same times for a good while so you don't have to plan. It works.1
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sexymamadraeger wrote: »I absolutely lost a lot of weight from inflammation and water etc.... cutting out carbs helped me tremendously because I got rid of cravings. After about 3 weeks they disappear. I wouldn't wish my allergies on anyone. It is hard to live with. But it's been a mixed blessing for me. I have truly learned to live a life that doesn't revolve around food. I am 158 lbs now and 4 lbs from a healthy BMI. I feel awesome. I know my body now. I just have to work in more good nutrition. I really do believe people focus too much on trying to eat what they love and count the calories. It's all about habit. Creating routines that you learn to follow automatically. Eating the same foods at the same times for a good while so you don't have to plan. It works.
I am sorry, but that sort of restriction is the worst possible advice to give to someone with the OP's eating problems.
I realize you are trying to be helpful here, but trust me, you're not being that way.
Restricting food groups, becoming an automaton around food? It sounds like trading one disorder for another.
That's not how to solve a problem.
People do not "focus too much on trying trying to eat what they love". People are trying to focus on a sustainable way of eating for a life time.
I've been where you are with the low carbing. I low carbed for ten years. It wasn't sustainable. A flexible, rather than routine way of eating is something that's more realistic for most people for a lifetime.
BTW, I'm 122 pounds and well within a healthy BMI.13 -
sexymamadraeger wrote: »I absolutely lost a lot of weight from inflammation and water etc.... cutting out carbs helped me tremendously because I got rid of cravings. After about 3 weeks they disappear. I wouldn't wish my allergies on anyone. It is hard to live with. But it's been a mixed blessing for me. I have truly learned to live a life that doesn't revolve around food. I am 158 lbs now and 4 lbs from a healthy BMI. I feel awesome. I know my body now. I just have to work in more good nutrition. I really do believe people focus too much on trying to eat what they love and count the calories. It's all about habit. Creating routines that you learn to follow automatically. Eating the same foods at the same times for a good while so you don't have to plan. It works.
What you seem to be failing to see is that your situation isn't applicable to the OP, and that the level of restriction you need to undertake for your allergies is far, far too restrictive for the average person, and also totally unnecessary for them.
I get having to restrict some foods because of health issues. So does @GottaBurnEmAll. We are not most people.
Also well within healthy weight range, with stellar nutrition despite some stuff being off the table for me. If you are struggling with that, then yes, seeing a registered dietician (not a nutritionist) is probably a good idea for you.8 -
Well, I am happy to say that my weight loss has slowed to between .5 lb to a lb per week. I'm still eating the same amount so likely it was the staph infection causing the dramatic weight loss, which triggered the desire the starve myself. It slowed exactly when the antibiotics started working. Thank you for that too, btw. I hadn't realized that that could trigger it, but looking back, the same thing happened when I lost 14 lbs in 2 weeks, when I was hospitalized with pneumonia.
So on with the slow and steady slog! Though I don't feel deprived, so the slog is just being patient about weight loss.
Thank you all!
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gracegettingittogether wrote: »Well, I am happy to say that my weight loss has slowed to between .5 lb to a lb per week. I'm still eating the same amount so likely it was the staph infection causing the dramatic weight loss, which triggered the desire the starve myself. It slowed exactly when the antibiotics started working. Thank you for that too, btw. I hadn't realized that that could trigger it, but looking back, the same thing happened when I lost 14 lbs in 2 weeks, when I was hospitalized with pneumonia.
So on with the slow and steady slog! Though I don't feel deprived, so the slog is just being patient about weight loss.
Thank you all!
Excellent news Grace
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gracegettingittogether wrote: »Well, I am happy to say that my weight loss has slowed to between .5 lb to a lb per week. I'm still eating the same amount so likely it was the staph infection causing the dramatic weight loss, which triggered the desire the starve myself. It slowed exactly when the antibiotics started working. Thank you for that too, btw. I hadn't realized that that could trigger it, but looking back, the same thing happened when I lost 14 lbs in 2 weeks, when I was hospitalized with pneumonia.
So on with the slow and steady slog! Though I don't feel deprived, so the slog is just being patient about weight loss.
Thank you all!
Thank you for the update and encouraging news!!!! High five!!
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So, I just wanted to pop in. I was getting a little discouraged because the weight loss was so much slower. It stayed the same for about 2 weeks. It was a really stressful time on top of that, illness and death in the family. My husband was encouraging me to eat all my calories. He's also using MFP, and lost 10 lbs with me. Such a good supportive man!
Anyway, I ate at maintenance on Christmas Day, and lo and behold, I dropped 1.6 lbs the next morning.
This really works! Slow and steady forever!8 -
Crash diets as they are called never work out. You need to stick with calorie intake of what MFP as suggested when you put in your stats only then will you lose weight and be able to maintain when you get to that stage. Get food you really enjoy to make up your daily calories. Log all of your food and drink and open your diary to friendsso they can support you. Good luck0
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I can share my story to help you stay on track hopefully. I was also severely restricting calories. I won't even say how low my numbers were but I lost 50lbs in 2 months to give you an idea. At the end of the two months my friends had to intervene because of how physically and mentally sick I had become. I had no ability to process emotions. I was a panicked raging mess. I was prescribed Ativan and given a reference to a therapist. I also passed out twice during that last week. This was beginning of October. I'm much better now. I just decided to try and start losing again. I'm being very accountable with my friends because they are nervous I will slip back. I'm setting 2lbs per week goals for now and will adjust as needed. If you ever need someone to talk to with experience in this, please feel free to reach out.4
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Oh my!! I'm so glad you're doing better! That must have been a scary time for you and your loved ones! Thank you so much for your kind offer!2
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gracegettingittogether wrote: »So, I just wanted to pop in. I was getting a little discouraged because the weight loss was so much slower. It stayed the same for about 2 weeks. It was a really stressful time on top of that, illness and death in the family. My husband was encouraging me to eat all my calories. He's also using MFP, and lost 10 lbs with me. Such a good supportive man!
Anyway, I ate at maintenance on Christmas Day, and lo and behold, I dropped 1.6 lbs the next morning.
This really works! Slow and steady forever!
I’m very glad for you!! I’m also happy that you have loving support, it’s so helpful!!!!
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So, we celebrate Christmas two weeks later, being Eastern Orthodox Christians. We fast from meat, dairy and eggs for six weeks before, so Christmas Day is really a feast. After reading the forums, my husband and I decided not to log on Christmas Day, so I ate whatever I wanted, greatly enjoying breaking the fast.
But boy, am I glad to get back to logging today. I still feel uncomfortably stuffed even after just drinking tea for breakfast and having a small lunch. In the past, I've tried to not eat much while breaking the fast, and it always ended in me feeling deprived, so I would more than make up for it the week after. But now, I have nothing to make up for and feel eager to get back to normal. You guys are so wise!!3 -
I weighed myself today, thinking it might be awhile before more weight loss, since I ate over on Sunday, our Christmas. Instead, I've lost a lb and a half, the same rate as I was losing before Christmas. It's really true, one day won't make or break you!
It's kind of weird though, I've been eating all my calories and my weight loss has been so steady, steadier than when I wasn't eating all of them. The weight loss then was going in jerks, while now, it's just a smooth line down. I think I have more energy though and am increasing my daily activity level, though I'm getting the same level of steps.
I have my weight loss goal set up for 1 lb per week, but actually, I've been losing 1.5 per week, though eating all my calories.
I haven't been weighing all my food, though some. Maybe I'm overestimating how much I eat. Anyway, I have still have 13 lbs to go until I'm not obese, so it's ok.4 -
gracegettingittogether wrote: »I weighed myself today, thinking it might be awhile before more weight loss, since I ate over on Sunday, our Christmas. Instead, I've lost a lb and a half, the same rate as I was losing before Christmas. It's really true, one day won't make or break you!
It's kind of weird though, I've been eating all my calories and my weight loss has been so steady, steadier than when I wasn't eating all of them. The weight loss then was going in jerks, while now, it's just a smooth line down. I think I have more energy though and am increasing my daily activity level, though I'm getting the same level of steps.
I have my weight loss goal set up for 1 lb per week, but actually, I've been losing 1.5 per week, though eating all my calories.
I haven't been weighing all my food, though some. Maybe I'm overestimating how much I eat. Anyway, I have still have 13 lbs to go until I'm not obese, so it's ok.
I'm so glad to hear things continue to go well! It's very odd how the body can react perfectly predictably for a while, then mix things up for no clear reason. Your theory on moving more makes a lot of sense, though. If you're feeling stressed and angry and hungry are you really going to want to move around as much as you might if you were eating a bit more? It's a long game, but it sounds like you've got the hang of it.1 -
Well, I am finally over the honeymoon/restrict stage!
It's about a week before TOM, and I am just hungry all the time. I've only gone over calories 3 times, totaling 50, all three combined, but boy, I sure don't need encouragement to eat more!
I have lost 20 lbs so far, before water weight gain. I know it was water weight because I stayed within my calories but gained a lb in a day.
I am very motivated to keep going, slowly, though!3 -
I'm losing weight really quickly again and I don't know why. I've had the flu for the past week and am still recovering, so I haven't been getting 10,000 steps in, more like 1,000-2,000, or less. It's been mostly upper respiratory, so no vomiting. Plus, I've been drinking less, because I'm so tired. But not a huge amount less. Anyway, I've been eating all my calories for my lightly active normal level, and instead of weight loss slowing down, it's speeding up. I've lost 3 lbs in the last week. I don't think it's just muscle loss, because I look thinner.
Why would I be losing when I'm less active? Is it just being sick? I've read other people's threads on being sick, and they mention eating less because of being temporarily sedentary, or just maintaining. Does being sick really burn that many calories?0 -
It’s possible that there are multiple things happening here: the body does use extra calories to fight illness, maybe you’re a little bit dehydrated, maybe there are other water weight shifts. In any case, take care of yourself, and I hope you feel better soon!1
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gracegettingittogether wrote: »So, we celebrate Christmas two weeks later, being Eastern Orthodox Christians. We fast from meat, dairy and eggs for six weeks before, so Christmas Day is really a feast. After reading the forums, my husband and I decided not to log on Christmas Day, so I ate whatever I wanted, greatly enjoying breaking the fast.
But boy, am I glad to get back to logging today. I still feel uncomfortably stuffed even after just drinking tea for breakfast and having a small lunch. In the past, I've tried to not eat much while breaking the fast, and it always ended in me feeling deprived, so I would more than make up for it the week after. But now, I have nothing to make up for and feel eager to get back to normal. You guys are so wise!!
Are you Serbian by any chance @gracegettingittogether1 -
No, I'm American, but my parents converted to Orthodoxy when I was a preschooler, so I can't remember being anything else. I have great respect for Serbia, though. We visited a Serbian monastery a lot growing up which was and is wonderful.1
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gracegettingittogether wrote: »No, I'm American, but my parents converted to Orthodoxy when I was a preschooler, so I can't remember being anything else. I have great respect for Serbia, though. We visited a Serbian monastery a lot growing up which was and is wonderful.
Oh wow reading your post about a fast before Christmas reminded me of home.
Thanks for replying2
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