BREAKING NEWS: I CRACKED THE WEIGHTLOSS SECRET

weightlossguy01

I was reading this thread on the bodybuilding.com forums....
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=145152571

A guy went on a 1000 calorie a day low carb diet for a week and gained 2 pounds at the end of the week! Went from 244 to 246!

People then chimed in that IT'S PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GAIN FAT on such a low calorie diet. Stop and think about that for a minute. Everything I've read also shows this to be true because most of our bodies need 1,000+ calories a day JUST TO FUNCTION properly, so we begin depleting our fat reserves. Let alone he was also working out!

So how did he gain weight? Numerous people chimed in that the only way you can gain weight on such a low calorie diet is by retaining WATER WEIGHT. They said to give it at least an extra week for the water weight to fall off. Some blamed it on his excess sodium that likely caused the water weight.

But then it hit me! This guy obviously has eaten a lot more sodium on a regular basis before. Dropping down to 1,000 calories a day, if anything he probably lowered his sodium from his average weekly sodium intake. SO IT'S NOT SODIUM.

Someone else then chimed in that when your calories are that low your body thinks it's going through a famine and WATER IS THE MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE so it holds on to it! WOW, then it all clicked. We all hear of starvation mode and weight loss slowing down but what it seems to really be is we retain water like crazy on low calorie diets since it's virtually impossible to gain fat on such a low calorie diet.

THE LESSON LEARNED: if you are on a low calorie diet/cutting calories, and see your weight loss is stalling, do two things...

1. DRINK A LOT MORE WATER NOT LESS
2. START DRINKING DIURETICS (GREEN TEA)

It all hit me on why green tea is known to help so many people with weight loss. Even I have dropped weight with it in the past. It fights your body on retaining too much of this water.

HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE!!!!

weightlossguy01

I plateaued at 1,300 calories, and 2,300

but at 1,700 all vegetables I did not. Been trying to figure out why, maybe there is something special about vegetables, or mayne i was also drinking a lot more water.

FIBER is known to draw water/fluids into the intestines and flush them out. It was likely the diuretic effect of the fiber! Magnesium supplements are also known to draw water into the intestines, which is why some people on a low carb diet take them to stay regular.

PercivalHackworth

Yes, your answer is a part of the equation, but not only.
You can gain weight due to water retention, but simple fluids movement impact the overall weight.

this morning I did my cardio on an empty stomach, gained 1 lb just after the session, while I didn't eat or drink anything meanwhile.
from where do you think that extra pound came from ?

By the way

so we begin depleting our fat reserves

You mean our glycogen reserves ? That rarely happens for most people.
Also the glycogen depletion is not directly related to the intakes, it mainly depends on the energy pathway you are currently on.

If the weight loss is stalling, drinking more water won't change a bit regarding weight loss.

1. DRINK A LOT MORE WATER NOT LESS
2. START DRINKING DIURETICS (GREEN TEA)

== >
1. EAT YOUR CALORIES GODAMNIT
2. DRINK A LOT MORE WATER NOT LESS
3. START DRINKING DIURETICS (GREEN TEA)

wackyfunster

Have been saying this since I joined.

Water retention and/or underestimating calories in (or calories burned) = starvation mode

Disclaimer: if you are "overweight" a huge deficit is not ideal for you, as you will be miserable and lose too much muscle. 1 lb/week is a 500 calorie per day deficit, and that is probably optimal if you are "normal" or "overweight".
If you are morbidly obese or obese, you can tolerate a huge deficit (0 cals per day is doable for >1 year in extreme cases... This is scientifically validated), but should not do so unless under the supervision of a doctor.

OTOH, you can NEVER create a caloric deficit so big that fat loss stops. Your body can't create energy from nothing.

moosmumma

I drink green tea all the time as I like it, however it doesn't make me pee tons. Coffee is more of a diuretic as caffeine makes you pee like crazy. The downside is that your body will retain water all the more so just drink plain water or dilute fruit juice. I have plateaued at 67kg after losing 11 kg since Christmas. Simple thing is to stop for a week to trick your body into thinking it is no longer exercising ( you may gain weight during this time or lose it if you have built muscle previously)., then just go back to what you did at the start. The weight will soon fall off!!!! Losing weight is different for everyone and everybody's body reacts differently.

Jspkt2002

I learned this the hard way, I had been on 1200 cal day. I lost 14 lbs in about a month and a half, then i hit a plateau for about 2 months. I increased my cal intake to 1900 and also took some b 12 vitamins to boost my metabolism. Now i am loosing weight again