Is it normal to lose weight very quick after diet break?

lemur_lady

I have been on mfp now for nearly 8 months. Am very pleased with the results so far! Around christmas time my losses were slowing down and with christmas looming I decided to take a diet break and enjoy myself for a few weeks without having to restrict my calories too much. In all I probably had about 2 weeks where I ate what I felt like, my exercise routine became somewhat lacking and I put on about 5lbs.

I have been back on the bandwagon for about 4 weeks. In this time I have lost about 13lbs. I know some of this will be water weight I gained over christmas but it still seems a big loss for a month. Im not complaining as I love to see the scale drop but just wanted to know if this is normal after a diet break?

My settings have been set to lose 0.6lbs a week but on average I seem to lose 1-2lbs. I weigh everything on a scale and eat back all my exercise calories so shouldnt be overestimating how much I consume.

TavistockToad

as you have a fair bit to lose still, i wouldnt worry about it too much. enjoy the loss while it lasts!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Your TDEE may be higher than you think. That's a good problem to have! I misread your ticker at first, but with 70 lbs left to lose I wouldn't be too concerned if you're going a little faster. If you're regularly losing more than 2 lbs per week it might be a good idea to increase your calories a bit.

flumi_f

That can happen. Alot of the weight you gained was due to water and glycogen stores in your muscles being filled back up. Now you've lost those again. Plus it seems there is a fat burning hormone, that increases with increased food intake. When restricting, the level goes down and can slow weightloss. So short term splurges can help.

I often see an increase in my rate of weightloss after a splurge weekend or a vacation break. When my losses slow, I've started splurging 'on purpose'. Nothing too wild, but I go over my TDEE a few times, gain 1kg and then quickly lose 2kg when I'm back to my weightloss plan.

AbstractSilver

Congratulations on the big loss! I would say it is normal, because once every two weeks I allow myself to go over my allotted calories for the day by quite a bit, and it seems like even though I show a gain the day after that, my weight starts to drop rapidly again if I was on a plateau. I was actually stuck on the same weight for about two weeks, and after my weekly "splurge" meal (sorry can't think of a better word), I started losing weight quite rapidly again.

lemur_lady

Your TDEE may be higher than you think. That's a good problem to have! I misread your ticker at first, but with 70 lbs left to lose I wouldn't be too concerned if you're going a little faster. If you're regularly losing more than 2 lbs per week it might be a good idea to increase your calories a bit.

I had been wondering if my TDEE might be a little higher than mfp estimates. I used to have it set to lose 1lb a week but seeing as I was losing 2-3lbs a week I lowered it a little.

I am just so set on maintaining my muscle while losing I get paranoid that big losses may mean muscle loss. I do have a fair bit to lose though so hopefully most of it is fat!

AbstractSilver

@lemur_lady Just to put your mind at ease, I wouldn't worry about muscle loss at your weight. Your body will preferentially burn fat before it will burn muscle for fuel if you are significantly overweight, even without exercise. You only really have to worry about significant muscle loss if you try to lose weight when you are already at or near a healthy range, and you don't incorporate exercise and adequate nutrients.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Your TDEE may be higher than you think. That's a good problem to have! I misread your ticker at first, but with 70 lbs left to lose I wouldn't be too concerned if you're going a little faster. If you're regularly losing more than 2 lbs per week it might be a good idea to increase your calories a bit.

I had been wondering if my TDEE might be a little higher than mfp estimates. I used to have it set to lose 1lb a week but seeing as I was losing 2-3lbs a week I lowered it a little.

I am just so set on maintaining my muscle while losing I get paranoid that big losses may mean muscle loss. I do have a fair bit to lose though so hopefully most of it is fat!

Just do some resistance training and eat plenty of protein. You'll likely lose some LBM but you can minimize that. I would definitely pull back if you get down to 50 lbs to goal and you're still losing that fast. For now though, enjoy it and just keep an eye on your energy levels.

lemur_lady

Your TDEE may be higher than you think. That's a good problem to have! I misread your ticker at first, but with 70 lbs left to lose I wouldn't be too concerned if you're going a little faster. If you're regularly losing more than 2 lbs per week it might be a good idea to increase your calories a bit.

I had been wondering if my TDEE might be a little higher than mfp estimates. I used to have it set to lose 1lb a week but seeing as I was losing 2-3lbs a week I lowered it a little.

I am just so set on maintaining my muscle while losing I get paranoid that big losses may mean muscle loss. I do have a fair bit to lose though so hopefully most of it is fat!

Just do some resistance training and eat plenty of protein. You'll likely lose some LBM but you can minimize that. I would definitely pull back if you get down to 50 lbs to goal and you're still losing that fast. For now though, enjoy it and just keep an eye on your energy levels.

Have been doing strength training since month 2. I don't seem to have made much advances in strength though. Will it still help retain my LBM even if the weight isn't that high? I think my dumbells are 4.5kg.