Advice needed please weight loss/ exercise

lauriethom

Hi, I'm wanting some advice please. I am currently on a VLCD and have lost 60lb since January. The predicted weight loss on this kind of diet is a stone a month. The first few months I was achieving this fine. Since starting the gym just over a month ago my losses have slowed right down to 2lb a week, and this week only 1lb. It's really starting to get to me because I am eating so very few calories and not losing the lb's. I do up my calories on days I go to the gym. I cover the amount I've lost.
I've been told the reason I am not losing as much now is my body has gone into starvation mode after all the exercice and low calorie intake.
I do about 2 hours at the gym 4 times a week. I do a lot of weights as I want to try and tone whilst losing the weight. I can't bear to think of being 28 and having a body like an 80 year old.
When I joined the gym the PT was not happy about me doing a VLCD and he said that I could lose nearly a stone a month just by healthy eating and exercising combined. I really didn't believe him but now I'm wondering if this is true and if I should give it a try. What are your opinions please? Can I realistically lose nearly a stone a month?

I need a fast approach to losing the weight as I am bridesmaid in October and have to look good walking down that Isle. I've another 4 stone to lose by then :-(

meerkat70

You will not find any support for VLCD here, I'm afraid. These should only be used by the very obese, under conditions where weight is life threatening, and under medical supervision. And even under these conditions, it should only be used in brief periods.

Any sane response to your question will be in line with your trainer's view. Listen to them. You'll hurt your body, trying to train and drastically reduce calories. Not really worth it for a moment's vanity. And yes, you're already *in* starvation mode.

iceqieen

Your weight wont matter when you walk down the isle. It's your confidence that makes you look good.

Your PT is probably right, and if you search the forums you will see *allot* of people advocating to eating healthy and exercising rather than starving yourself.

Also, you will always have a bit of gain after starting exercising, if your muscles are sore (if they are not then you are not exercising hard enough :P).

meerkat70

PS "I can't bear to think of being 28 and having a body like an 80 year old"

You should think through the impact of your current regime on bone density. You're going about getting the body of an 80 year old in precisely the right way - with a widow's stoop, and nice osteoporosis to look forward to in the near future.

kathym59

Mfp says eat at least 1200 cals per day + a few more on exercise days. Perhaps you should try measuring yourself as well, and try and find out what your body fat percentage is, and keep an eye on that, not the scales. You could be getting slimmer, but not lighter.

ryliejaiden

You will not find any support for VLCD here, I'm afraid. These should only be used by the very obese, under conditions where weight is life threatening, and under medical supervision. And even under these conditions, it should only be used in brief periods.

Any sane response to your question will be in line with your trainer's view. Listen to them. You'll hurt your body, trying to train and drastically reduce calories. Not really worth it for a moment's vanity. And yes, you're already *in* starvation mode.

Agreed.
You need to follow your trainers advice, you're only hurting your body right now, and I'm sure you are IN starvation mode, meaning you're not going to lose any weight, but only destroy your metabolism and all the weight you lost will come back so easily.
You will probably gain some weight back when you start eating/exercising properly. Don't let that scare you, you will lose it again. If you do it in a healthy way, it will stay off.

em9371

Well done on the 60lb, that's a huge amount to lose since January!
Your pt is probably right, low cal diets combined with exercise will not work long term, you are probably netting minus cals and eventually your body will stop releasing fat.
You have the right idea with the weight training, but on so little calories you WILL lose muscle and end up skinny fat, as there is nowhere else for your body to take fuel from.

This won't be what you want to hear, but you don't have enough to lose now to aim for 2lbs a week, and this definetly won't continue as you get smaller without seriously f*cking up your metabolism and developing an eating disorder!!!!

Ideally you should aim for:
75+ to lose 2lbs
50-75 1.5 lbs
25-50 1-1.5lbs
10-25 1lbs
0-10 0.5lbs.

If you goal is to fit in your dress, being smaller is more important than weighing less.
I would set your goal to 1.5lbs, eat ALL your cals including exercise, set protein to at least 25% and carry on the heavy weights. You might not build much muscle while in a deficit but it will maintain / tone what you have and reduce body fat so you will lose inches faster.
If you carry on what you are doing you may weigh less but will be flabby, and will end up with lots of loose skin if you lose too fast which is not a good look for a wedding!

For comparison, I weigh 201lbs (14.5 stone) and want to get below 10 stone. I eat 2000 cals a day, exercise an average of 500 a day (boxing, spinning, swimming, weights). I lose 1.5 EVERY week, and am down 44lbs, 2-3 dress sizes and 12% body fat since October :-)

Jeebs71

You need to be very careful with the VLCD plans. I know someone who was very obese who first started on a very well known VCLD and lost a huge amount of weight in a very short period of time. What you need to remember is that although you lose vast amounts of weight, as soon as you start eating "knife and fork" food again you will put weight on because you do need to do enough exercise every day to balance off the calories you are eating. The person I know has now been on a eating/starvation merrygoround for the last 5 or so years. They will eat for a few weeks/months, then put on so much weight that they decide to go back on the VCLD for however long it takes them to get back to where they want to be. Not a healthy way to lose weight and also can't imagine what it is doing to their bones! Listen to your PT, eat healthily (this is perhaps something they can help you with by drawing up a nutrition plan) and exercise. Don't mean this to sound like a lecture, just want you to lose it the healthy way

meerkat70

By 'starvation mode', I mean in the true sense - where your body will be destroying muscle mass etc. You'll still lose weight, albeit slower (obviously anorexics, for instance, continue to lose weight), but you lose less and less fat over time and more and more of the various tissues you don't want to lose.

meshashesha2012

wow you've actually been able to stick to a VLCD for 4 months, that's pretty impressive. everyone i know who started the year doing that did initially lose more weight than i did but they eventually fell off and gained their weight back and then some.meanwhile i'm doing the slow and steady way and have lost 25 pounds that i'm 100% sure i wont be regaining because im not restricting myself from much.

my advice would be to listen to your trainer. start adding in more calories but still keep yourself at 20-30% below your maintenance. you'll still be losing weight but it will be more healthy and you'll be less likely to put it back on.

and yeah if you're eating that little the odds are your body is eating up a large part of your lean body mass as well as fat. this means that you are setting yourself up for sluggish metabolism

lauriethom

I really do appreciate all of you replies and support. I have a review with the gym on the 24th of the month. They will do my weight body fat etc and do me a new plan. I will talk to them about my options and see what they recommend.
I really haven't got a clue what I should start eating I need a nutrition plan done for me. It's been a long time since I've eaten properly. I'm glad I have lost what I have to date it has given me a fab start. My hearts telling me that now for the sake of my health and fitness I need to start eating and lose this last chunk of weight a different way.

hairycyclist

You cannot tone or build muscle when on a vlcd as this wastes not only fat but the muscle tissue as well. Dump the vlcd, get on a well balanced calorie controlled diet and limit the exercise to aerobic (jogging, cycling) this will tone certain areas. If you want muscular definition by increasing muscle size then you will have to eat moe calories and accept the fact that your weight is going up as muscle weighs more than fat.

em9371

I really do appreciate all of you replies and support. I have a review with the gym on the 24th of the month. They will do my weight body fat etc and do me a new plan. I will talk to them about my options and see what they recommend.
I really haven't got a clue what I should start eating I need a nutrition plan done for me. It's been a long time since I've eaten properly. I'm glad I have lost what I have to date it has given me a fab start. My hearts telling me that now for the sake of my health and fitness I need to start eating and lose this last chunk of weight a different way.

Good plan, the vlcd may get the pounds off initially but they dont teach you healthy eating habits to keep it off long term.
The main thing is to stick to your macros, eat home cooked food as much as possible and make sure to get plenty of fruit/veg/water.
Can you get your review in earlier? Another 2 weeks of vlcd won't do you any favours if it's obviously stopped working!

My diary is open if it would help you with any meal ideas!
I've recently changed macros to 40c/30p/30f, it takes a bit of planning to get right but it's not too hard and I never feel like I'm 'on a diet'.

meerkat70

I'm glad you're revising your plans. Sorry if I sounded harsh, but to be honest, your post really scared me!

In terms of nutrition my guess is that your VLCD has been pretty low on protein? In which case, I'd start upping that gently. As a rough guide, Increase your calories till you're more or less netting at least 1200, or eating your BMR. (neither of these are absolute figures, but this will give you something to work towards till you can have a chat with an expert about re-nourishing).

I'm glad you posted, glad you realised there was a problem, and even happier that you're going to do something to fix it. Best of luck.

Awkward30

One thing I've heard is that in coming out of a vlcd you should raise your calories slowly. Add 100-200 to each day for a week, then another 100-200 until you are at a more sane level.

lauriethom

Am I best to increase my calories and protein first? Once I'm up to so much I could then re-introduce carbs slowly? I am in ketosis at the moment, so I want to make sure I do things gradually? Without a big weight gain which I know people get when they start on the carbs.

em9371

That sounds like a good idea, out of all the macros protein is probably the best for your body.

As above posters have said, increase by maybe 100-200 per week, you can do this mainly from protein if you wish, then gradually add carbs back in to make up the rest of your cals.
My sister (mrsweasley123) is doing low carb at the minute with plans to increase carbs in the next few weeks,, so she might be able to help you with the best way to reintroduce carbs.

bluefox9er

If you want to lose weight just for a wedding in such extreme manner, you are going about it all wrong.

Why not save/invest all that money you are paying on gym memberships, personal trainers, 'diet foods' etc and buy a 4 week ticket to India instead??

Not only will you lose 90 lbs in 4 weeks, you will also experience new things ( assuming you haven't been before) and be no less healthy than if you were to pound it out with aggressive cardio and eating 3 grapes a day.

Take lots of TP with you...you'll need it.

AbsoluteNG

I'm in a VLCD group. You can friend me to get in if you wish.

cassavaca

i think a change in nutrition plan is the best. this is what i found about VLCD

"The diet is only undertaken for a short period of time (a few weeks). In some situations, the meal replacements may only be used for two meals a day – therefore bringing about slower but more manageable weight loss. Generally exercise isn’t recommended while a person is on a VLCD as the calories consumed aren’t sufficient to support it. However, some plans recommend light exercise such as walking or swimming for those with an excessive amount of weight to lose."

So all in all, youve extended the VLCD longer than it should be going on and now adding a workout. i think at this point in your weight loss you should switch up to another tactic. your body will thank you on it now and later.

AbsoluteNG

Am I best to increase my calories and protein first? Once I'm up to so much I could then re-introduce carbs slowly? I am in ketosis at the moment, so I want to make sure I do things gradually? Without a big weight gain which I know people get when they start on the carbs.

No one can answer your question specifically without knowing your weight and what you are eating during a day. We can only assume and guess. Can you estimate what your bodyfat percentage is? As a guess, you've reached a bodyfat percentage in which your body will start burning more muscles instead of fat. If you are in ketosis then stay in ketosis but make sure you drink lots of water since your kidneys are being overworked. Some women have said they've gotten kidney stones while in ketosis but I believe drinking plenty of water will flush out any of the stones before it gets serious. You also should be taking some supplements along with this diet. Take some omega 3 fish oil, potassium, and a multivitimin to ensure proper heart circulation. Stay away from the multivitimins that say over 3000% daily value because they can make you sick.

Have you been experiencing any abnormal heartbeats?

AbsoluteNG

Okay, so I didn't know what a stone was because I'm not from the U.K. Sounds like you have 50 more pounds to go. You need not to worry about losing muscle mass until your bodyfat percentage is in the teens. How much cardio are you doing at the gym? Try and get at least an hour of cardio in. From my own experience, you should be losing at least a pound a day for each day you go to the gym. I never eat back my workout calories though so that could be your problem.

Edit: Try not to go under 500 calories a day as it might cause abnormal heartbeats.

Lozze

When you say VLCD, how many calories are you eating per day?

lauriethom

You obviously haven't read the whole page. If you had you would have noticed I am very keen to go about things 'the right way'

People like you are no help what so ever. Actually it's people like you who put me off posting on here.

I was after help, which thankfully I was given.

How is changing my diet and doing exercise going about things the wrong way?

If you want to lose weight just for a wedding in such extreme manner, you are going about it all wrong.

Why not save/invest all that money you are paying on gym memberships, personal trainers, 'diet foods' etc and buy a 4 week ticket to India instead??

Not only will you lose 90 lbs in 4 weeks, you will also experience new things ( assuming you haven't been before) and be no less healthy than if you were to pound it out with aggressive cardio and eating 3 grapes a day.

Take lots of TP with you...you'll need it.

AbsoluteNG

If you want to lose weight just for a wedding in such extreme manner, you are going about it all wrong.

Why not save/invest all that money you are paying on gym memberships, personal trainers, 'diet foods' etc and buy a 4 week ticket to India instead??

Not only will you lose 90 lbs in 4 weeks, you will also experience new things ( assuming you haven't been before) and be no less healthy than if you were to pound it out with aggressive cardio and eating 3 grapes a day.

Take lots of TP with you...you'll need it.

MMA fighters, boxers, and some bodybuilders do some form of a VLCD right before competition. Fighters like those in MMA will train at 10 to 15 pounds above their body weight and do a VLCD 2 to 3 weeks before they weight in. More specifically, they will do a diet called PSMF. It's basically an all protein 800 calorie diet with the addition of cardio to drop the last 10 pounds a fighter needs to make the weight in.


Also, with a quick google search you will find that doctors will recommend a VLCD for the obese as an obese individual will lose very little muscle mass. If you are 15+ pounds overweight then you are considered obese according to the BMI index. Just saying a diet is unhealthy or wrong really doesn't provide any helpful information for anyone and just feeds into a type of fear mongering without any facts other then your opinion.


As someone who has done a VLC-Diet and researched it a bit, I can tell you that the real downside to it is an abnormal heartbeat which can lead to death. This is the reason why a doctor will recommend supplements to ensure proper heart circulation.

lauriethom

Okay, so I didn't know what a stone was because I'm not from the U.K. Sounds like you have 50 more pounds to go. You need not to worry about losing muscle mass until your bodyfat percentage is in the teens. How much cardio are you doing at the gym? Try and get at least an hour of cardio in. From my own experience, you should be losing at least a pound a day for each day you go to the gym. I never eat back my workout calories though so that could be your problem.

Edit: Try not to go under 500 calories a day as it might cause abnormal heartbeats.

thanks for the feedback. I am doing roughly an hour a day cardio and an hour weights.

lauriethom

If you want to lose weight just for a wedding in such extreme manner, you are going about it all wrong.

Why not save/invest all that money you are paying on gym memberships, personal trainers, 'diet foods' etc and buy a 4 week ticket to India instead??

Not only will you lose 90 lbs in 4 weeks, you will also experience new things ( assuming you haven't been before) and be no less healthy than if you were to pound it out with aggressive cardio and eating 3 grapes a day.

Take lots of TP with you...you'll need it.

I DON'T want to just lose weight for a wedding! Don't you know having a goal is the number one reason for a successful weight loss. The end of the year I'm a bridesmaid, can't think of a better goal than that.

Sabine_Stroehm

You're trying to lose 120LBS in 10 months?

Wow. You do know that your chances of keeping that weight off are, well, slim, right?

Are you doing this with a doctor?

AbsoluteNG

You're trying to lose 120LBS in 10 months?

Wow. You do know that your chances of keeping that weight off are, well, slim, right?

Are you doing this with a doctor?

Why would keeping that weight off of her be slim? If she stops exercising 4 times a week and goes back to eating junk food then I would agree with you but it is entirely possible for her to maintain her ideal weight if she does not stop exercising 4 times a week on a normal 16,000 calorie diet or whatever her calorie maintenance would be. All she has to do is maintain her ideal weight for 2 to 3 months for her body to understand that that is her goal weight. I believe some people say you need to maintain for 8 months but I believe 2 to 3 months is all you really need to get your body adjusted to the new weight.

lauriethom

You're trying to lose 120LBS in 10 months?

Wow. You do know that your chances of keeping that weight off are, well, slim, right?

Are you doing this with a doctor?

well I've lost 60 already so only another 60 to go.

Any diet you do if you go back to eating the way you did before you will put the weight back on. I'm not on a diet I am on a life changing mission. Yes my doctor is quite aware, and had to agree to me doing the VLCD. He is extremely pleased with my losses, and the effects losing weight has on my health overall. So yes I am doing this with dr's approval.

lauriethom

You're trying to lose 120LBS in 10 months?

Wow. You do know that your chances of keeping that weight off are, well, slim, right?

Are you doing this with a doctor?

Why would keeping that weight off of her be slim? If she stops exercising 4 times a week and goes back to eating junk food then I would agree with you but it is entirely possible for her to maintain her ideal weight if she does not stop exercising 4 times a week on a normal 16,000 calorie diet or whatever her calorie maintenance would be. All she has to do is maintain her ideal weight for 2 to 3 months for her body to understand that that is her goal weight. I believe some people say you need to maintain for 8 months but I believe 2 to 3 months is all you really need to get your body adjusted to the new weight.

I'd like to thank you for sticking up for me. Too many negative comments I want support not people telling me my chances are 'slim' at keeping the weight off! The same could be said to anyone, if you go back to your old eating habbits you will gain the weight!