Did or does this happen to anyone else?

jmaskx3

Okay, so for a while, I was in a rut. I'm talking like 2 weeks of gaining and losing the same pound. I was at around 172-173. I thought I was being super strict with my diet and workouts. I even tried changing up my routine a bit.Then over Thanksgiving weekend, I let myself go to a degree. I didn't eat terribly, but i wasn't as strict and I barely worked out for about 3-4 days. I weighed in on the following Monday and I was scared of what I was going to see. BUT I had only gained 1 pound. Not great, but not as bad as it could have been. That day, I restarted (not that it ended for any long period of time) my typical workout plan/diet. THE WEIGHT BEGAN TO FALL OFF. In the past week and a half, I'm down to 164. That's about 10 lbs... in a week. Yes, I eat at least 1200 calories a day. I know some of you are going to look at my log and say "some days you only ate 500 cals!" but I work night shift at a hospital and I don't log the calories that I eat there. Don't ask why but I'm too tired when I get home. Plus, its much easier to watch what I eat there than during the day due to time constraints at work. Basically, I log my stuff during the day because it keeps me on track to see how much I'm eating. If that makes sense.

Anyway, does this happen to anyone else? and does anyone know why it happened? Maybe its because during those few days I put my body back into my "fat girl" mode and then when I started exercising again, my body was like "hey, lets burn some of this fat because i don't recognize all of this movement"

Kminor67

Sometimes when you're on a plateau of sorts, you need a change to shock your system. Loading up on calories for a few days then going back on the plan can sometimes do the trick.

catcrazy

When I had my first static I went up a couple of hundred calories for 2 days then got straight back on track and lost 5lbs. I think it just confuses your metabolic rate like you said "put my body back into my "fat girl" mode" Think I need to do it again as I'm definitely slowing right down.

Well done on 10lbs in a week. I wouldn't do it often, maybe just when youre losing and gaining again

AdamATGATT

Sometimes when you're on a plateau of sorts, you need a change to shock your system. Loading up on calories for a few days then going back on the plan can sometimes do the trick.

This is the most likely reason, from what I've read on MFP through some other similar posts. A shock like that is good for the system, and can help when you hit a plateau.

batty5

No idea why but same happened to me for 3 months!!! Now usually 1lb or more loss each week , still very slow but a loss is a loss.

BernieMBurke

During my 9 month weight loss process, I had like 3 different weeks where I lost approximately 10 lbs. I also ate at least 1200 calories. I know two of those weeks, I was on vacation the week before and I ate what I wanted since I had no Internet and I didn't care. I gained at least 5 lbs each time so I worked extra hard when I got back.

TateFTW

It happens all the time. It has to do with your metabolism, which slows down when you eat at a deficit. When you let yourself go a bit and eat more calories, your metabolism gets going again. When you go back down to your deficit, your metabolism doesn't react that fast and you lose weight. This is why cheat meals/days can be a great thing. It's far more scientific then saying "you have to keep your body guessing." In this case, we know why it works, and many do use it to their advantage.

edit; To be honest, after a week or two of eating maintenance calories or over, you can go under 1200 calories if you want for the following week or so. When your metabolism is working at it's "normal" rate, it usually takes about 2 weeks to react completely to your new intake level. Some faster, some slower.

MisdemeanorM

I bumped up to maintenance level (1990 vs 1500) when I was 8 weeks pregnant to combat the fatigue and lost 4 lbs, bam! Just like that.