Getting concerned with rate of loss

Speakeasy76
Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Let me preface this by if this continues, I'll be making an appointment with my doctor. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar. I'm actually not concerned with how slowly I'm losing weight, but how quickly. I'm not even trying to lose weight anymore.

3.5 weeks ago I started on an elimination diet for food sensitivities under the direction of a registered dietitian based on my specific test results. Since starting, I've lost 10.6 pounds as of this morning, taking me from a BMI of 22 to 20.5. I did want to lose 7 pounds from that weight and I absolutely know that part of it is water weight, as I was eating a bit more than usual before I started to "get all the foods in NOW!". However, I'm smaller, and know I'm losing muscle mass, which I work hard for! For example, before this started I was finally able to do 3 sets of 1 rep of unassisted dead hang chin ups. Tried again yesterday and couldn't get one.

I am averaging around 1950 calories a day as a moderately active 44-year old 5'8 female, getting enough fiber, fat and protein and not doing anything like "low carb." I can't have dairy or gluten right now, but that will change in a few days by introduction of low reactive dairy/gluten products. Admittedly, this may be on the low side for maintaining my weight, buy truthfully I am eating when hungry and stopping when satisfied (and sometimes a little "too"much), and even a nighttime snack when not that hungry. I really don't want to get back into habit of eating just to eat, which is what got me using MFP in the first place!

I have a good amount of energy and feel better than I did before starting this diet. There's the part of me who has struggled with weight for a lot of my life who feels a bit of a thrill seeing the numbers go down. Truthfully, though, I don't want to be "skinny," I want to be fiy and strong. Also, I have a big head and broad shoulders, and just don't think I would look good if I got any smaller.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

Replies

  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Did you have a big break of no workouts where that pullup attempt was a surprise like that?

    3.5 weeks of none could indeed be the problem.

    If losing weight and not doing the strength - even more of a problem.

    Eat more - use brain, not stomach, which indeed, can't be trusted.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    edited May 2021
    heybales wrote: »
    Did you have a big break of no workouts where that pullup attempt was a surprise like that?

    3.5 weeks of none could indeed be the problem.

    If losing weight and not doing the strength - even more of a problem.

    Eat more - use brain, not stomach, which indeed, can't be trusted.

    Nope, if I hadn't done them in 3 weeks then I would understand and wouldn't have even posted that as an example. I've still been continuing my regular workouts and progressing weights or reps as able to do on a regular basis.

    I know I probably do need to eat more, but really before starting this I wasn't eating that much more, except (if at all) for the 4 days leading up to this elimination diet. Looking at my Fitbit cals burned, if I were to take that for gospel, yeah, I could be losing 1-1.5 lbs per week. I've legit never had this problem, and it is very difficult for me to wrap my brain around "needing" to eat more. Well, I actually did have this problem before when I was in high school, but I was also basically starving myself.

    I have a feeling when I'm able to add in more foods, I may put some weight back on anyway because I'll just have more to choose from and won't be bored.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    edited May 2021
    Believe your results, and eat accordingly. Theory doesn't matter, multi-week averaged results do, once you have a well-established set of logging and exercising habits that you plan to continue.

    I'm 5'5", now 125ish pounds +/- (124.2 this morning, which is BMI 20.7), age 65. I'm sedentary, or close to it, outside of intentional exercise (2000-4000 steps, ignoring exercise steps, most days over the Winter). I've been logging eating/exercise and tracking my weight the overwhelming majority of days for almost 6 years (started July 2015).

    MFP (when I give it correct settings in my profile) thinks I ought to eat something in the neighborhood of 1500 net calories to maintain at sedentary. My good brand/model fitness tracker, one that's accurate for many others, tends to estimate 1500-1800 or so gross calories, depending on season & exercise volume. (Last 7 days average = 1818.)

    I've been losing weight ultra-slowly (by intention) for many months now, eating 1850 (weighing food) plus all exercise calories, with the occasional higher net day thrown in, and I'm rarely below 1800 net on a few lighter days . For the last couple of months, gross calories, I've generally been eating around 2300 calories (2100-2500), and still losing ultra slowly (pound a month, maybe, if I do nothing to limit it).

    There's nothing sacred about the estimates. They can be wrong. It's pretty rare, I think, but they can be *very* wrong. There doesn't have to be an obvious reason why they're wrong.

    If you're seeing multi-week averages saying that you lose weight at 1950 calories, but you want to maintain, figure out how fast you're losing (on average, multi-week, whole hormonal cycles if still premenopausal), and eat that many more calories (using the 3500 calories = 1 pound assumption). Test drive that calorie level for another multi-week period (whole cycles again, if relevant).

    If that's too stressful, bump it up by 50-100 calories daily, increasing once a week or so, and watch your results. What's the worst that can happen? If you happen to overshoot by 100 calories daily, it will take over a month to gain a whole pound. You know how to lose a pound, right? 😉 (You've proven it!)

    Believe your results.
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,211 Member
    Have you been logging absolutely everything and weighing in?

    10lb in 3 weeks isn't scary but if you think you've been eating at maintenance then it's a worry.

    I wonder about the trend. Did you lose 5lb in the first week, then lost the next 5lb over the next 2.5weeks for example, or did you lose 3lb per week. That's makes a difference. I've just spent a month eating like crazy and have been back to tracking for 3 days, and I've "lost" 4lb in 3 days. Just water weight I know that. I expect to have lost about 8lb after 3.5 weeks, but the other 4lb will happen over the next 2. 5 weeks. After that I expect to trend about 0.5 - 1lb a week based on my planned deficit.

    Personally I'd log everything for another month, and see what happens. Things may balance out. If they do, then yay. If they don't then see your Dr with your results.
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,371 Member
    Similar experience but my weight loss hasn't been as rapid as yours. 5'9" and slightly underweight.

    To make a very long story somewhat shorter, I started having appendix issues on Jan 1 and was very ill for the next week, I don't think I ate any solid food although I did make an attempt to get calories in by drinking a ton of juice. I was a little surprised to see I only lost a pound after all that and thought I'd done a good job. Couple weeks later after eating more normally (developing gastroparesis however) I had dropped 5 lbs. At that point the batteries died in my scale and I kept forgetting to go hunt down new ones so I just ignored my weight for a while. Next time I weighed I was still down 5 lbs.

    Things came to a head in late March and I had emergency surgery Mar 22. I continued to have GI problems so my GP suggested a low FODMAP diet which is very restrictive, even more so in my case because I am pescetarian but lean heavily toward vegetarian and most of my staple foods were on the naughty list. I really struggled to plan meals as I am not a creative cook and for the first few days I don't even think I was getting 1000 calories. I eventually discovered rice pudding and rice krispie squares and corn chips so I now pad my daily intake with those. I'm almost done with the diet (May 5) and so far I've lost an additional 3 lbs.

    So I'm down 8 lbs over four months, and there have been several periods of inadequate eating in there.

    And I haven't been able to really work out at all in 2021, other than cardio, so by the time I can finally resume lifting I'll be at square one. :/
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    I'm wondering, since this fast loss corresponds with with starting an elimination diet, whether one of the foods you have eliminated was causing some kind of inflammation ( = water retention). You removed the cause of the inflammation and lost water weight rapidly. I.e., this may have nothing to do with calories.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    Avidkeo wrote: »
    Have you been logging absolutely everything and weighing in?

    10lb in 3 weeks isn't scary but if you think you've been eating at maintenance then it's a worry.

    I wonder about the trend. Did you lose 5lb in the first week, then lost the next 5lb over the next 2.5weeks for example, or did you lose 3lb per week. That's makes a difference. I've just spent a month eating like crazy and have been back to tracking for 3 days, and I've "lost" 4lb in 3 days. Just water weight I know that. I expect to have lost about 8lb after 3.5 weeks, but the other 4lb will happen over the next 2. 5 weeks. After that I expect to trend about 0.5 - 1lb a week based on my planned deficit.

    Personally I'd log everything for another month, and see what happens. Things may balance out. If they do, then yay. If they don't then see your Dr with your results.

    The first week was about 5 pounds, but a couple of those were in the first five days. The 2nd week was a pound and a half, and this week was about 4 pounds. My weight typically fluctuates due to hormones a couple of times/month, so it's not unusual for it to go up and down, but it's going more down.

    It does seem I am eating less than I need to maintain so do know I need to bump it up. My method with tracking is to measure some and try to log everything, and then leave some room for error for things I overestimated or "forgot" to put down. I am not nibbling on things like I probably was before without even realizing. Also, since everything I'm logging is either a known amount (e.g., single ingredient), or homemade, I'm not doing as much overestimating, but possibly underestimating and therefore don't maybe need that extra cushion.

    I definitely know I am not nearly as bloated as I was, so that's probably at least 5 pounds right there.

    I was a bit concerned because I'm thirsty a lot, but also started a new medication (unrelated to any digestive issues) at the same time I started the elimination diet. Dry mouth is one of the most common side effects.



  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    Speakeasy76 wrote: »
    Avidkeo wrote: »
    Have you been logging absolutely everything and weighing in?

    10lb in 3 weeks isn't scary but if you think you've been eating at maintenance then it's a worry.

    I wonder about the trend. Did you lose 5lb in the first week, then lost the next 5lb over the next 2.5weeks for example, or did you lose 3lb per week. That's makes a difference. I've just spent a month eating like crazy and have been back to tracking for 3 days, and I've "lost" 4lb in 3 days. Just water weight I know that. I expect to have lost about 8lb after 3.5 weeks, but the other 4lb will happen over the next 2. 5 weeks. After that I expect to trend about 0.5 - 1lb a week based on my planned deficit.

    Personally I'd log everything for another month, and see what happens. Things may balance out. If they do, then yay. If they don't then see your Dr with your results.

    The first week was about 5 pounds, but a couple of those were in the first five days. The 2nd week was a pound and a half, and this week was about 4 pounds. My weight typically fluctuates due to hormones a couple of times/month, so it's not unusual for it to go up and down, but it's going more down.

    It does seem I am eating less than I need to maintain so do know I need to bump it up. My method with tracking is to measure some and try to log everything, and then leave some room for error for things I overestimated or "forgot" to put down. I am not nibbling on things like I probably was before without even realizing. Also, since everything I'm logging is either a known amount (e.g., single ingredient), or homemade, I'm not doing as much overestimating, but possibly underestimating and therefore don't maybe need that extra cushion.

    I definitely know I am not nearly as bloated as I was, so that's probably at least 5 pounds right there.

    I was a bit concerned because I'm thirsty a lot, but also started a new medication (unrelated to any digestive issues) at the same time I started the elimination diet. Dry mouth is one of the most common side effects.



    I understand being anxious about regain. But consider that question: "What's the worst that could happen?"

    I'm not saying you're there Right Now, but at some point, continuing to lose is a worse risk than going up a few calories daily, and maybe (at worst) starting to gain s . . l . . o . . o . . o . . w . . l . . y.

    You want to be training your body to thrive, at sound nutrition and high energy level, not training it to limp along on minimum calories.

    JMO, though.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    .... mmmm. If you're working with a certified nutritionist ...and were given a food allergy test? .and you must be overweight and had bad habits to begin with..or you wouldn't had asked and paid for the help? Most likely that part of your mind that defaults to doing things your wrong way is coming into play. Losing 10.5 pounds in a almost four weeks isn't odd for someone overweight who starts to eat healthy.

    Don't let the part of your mind/thinking..that got you. overweight and justified it.. sabotage your success.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    .... mmmm. If you're working with a certified nutritionist ...and were given a food allergy test? .and you must be overweight and had bad habits to begin with..or you wouldn't had asked and paid for the help? Most likely that part of your mind that defaults to doing things your wrong way is coming into play. Losing 10.5 pounds in a almost four weeks isn't odd for someone overweight who starts to eat healthy.

    Don't let the part of your mind/thinking..that got you. overweight and justified it.. sabotage your success.
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    .... mmmm. If you're working with a certified nutritionist ...and were given a food allergy test? .and you must be overweight and had bad habits to begin with..or you wouldn't had asked and paid for the help? Most likely that part of your mind that defaults to doing things your wrong way is coming into play. Losing 10.5 pounds in a almost four weeks isn't odd for someone overweight who starts to eat healthy.

    Don't let the part of your mind/thinking..that got you. overweight and justified it.. sabotage your success.

    Yeah, no. Haven't technically been overweight for maybe 9 years. Went from a BMI of 23 to 21.7 slowly and purposefully last year. Wanted to lose about 5-7 more (depending on the day), but have exceeded that, and at a faster rate than typical for me.

    I've considered myself a "healthy eater" for quite some time, but am working with a dietitian for chronic/long-term digestive issues and other symptoms indicative of "inflammation."
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,211 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    I put a disagree up there for a reason.

    You are both justifying and bargaining with yourself.

    You have BOTH indications and results to make good decisions with, if you choose to do so! :smile:

    You have a Fitbit saying you should be eating more.
    Your weight trend indicates that it is RIGHT; not wrong.
    No maybes.

    What your stomach indicates? What you fear or don't fear?
    All that is irrelevant to the issue.

    You are losing weight. Therefore, you are not eating enough to maintain!

    If losing weight is NOT your current goal, then you should be absorbing more calories.
    Now, not tomorrow

    Simplez!
    :wink:

    I erred on the side of caution because working in healthcare, 99.9% of people aren't following the plan, so therefore aren't eating enough.

    But sudden,rapid, unexplained weightless is cause for concern. Hence advice to track everything for a month, see what happens. If her tracking indeed shows she isn't eating enough (which is what I suspect given what she had stated in OP and subsequent post) then she can simply increase her food intake. And if she falls into the 0.1% that it's a more sinister cause then she has the data to back it up.

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