How do people lose weight SO FAST?

melmonroe

Sometimes just a vacation from diet helps. Congrats on your loss, Eve. I have 45 more to go and I'm trying to find a lifestyle that I can do that keeps me happy at the weight that I should be... My current Roller skating 4x a week and walking 20 miles is great but it is likely I will need more than that. (sadly the closest rink is closing for the summer on the 28th - the next nearest is going to make me walk an additional 10 miles in the dark to get home -- LOL. WHat we do...)

Be patient when your body hits that stall point. I have been there as well. Your body is catching up to the changes you have made and adjusting. Keep going and you will overcome. I recently past this stage myself for the second time.

CysterWigs

Rapid weight loss is SO hard to maintain once you hit your goal. I once lost 90 lbs. in six months on phentermine. Never again. As soon as you stop taking the pills the weight just pours back on, even if you maintain the same eating/exercise habits.

Mamadukes54

I have been logging onto this site and I am up three down three....if I eat 500 calories LESS than what this site is telling me I go down, If i eat what this site is telling me I stay the same....Back to WW for me I think.

MelsAuntie

I don't WANT to lose weight fast, as I'm 64 years old and if I lose the weight but keep the skin I'll look like a half-melted candle. No way can I afford any cosmetic surgery. So my steady weight loss of 16 lbs. in 135 days seems right for me.

MelsAuntie

FACT: 3,500 is a REAL pound. Do the math!

Usually your average person needs about 2,000 calories to sustain - so a complete fast is NOT a pound a day.

But mainable intense 3-5 hour exercise routine and near fasting is close.

Caveat: Too much work out and you are back to retaining water around injuries and stressed areas.

If you do stall after a few weeks and you think that it is overexercise, if you don't already drink alcohol, eat light all day then fast (instead of having dinner) and instead of dinner, have a beer or two or three starting a few hours before bedtime (but do NOT eat anything except an aspirin (in case of hangover)-- then weigh first thing in the morning (after your first long potty break) to see where you are really at.

Eye opener.

I'd like to try that, just to see what the scale would say, except that I can't force myself to drink beer. Much less two or three. (Yuck!!) Would it work with margaritas??

DavidHusky

I think that once those people 1) change their diets the weight starts to just fall off. and 2) When they exercise the weight comes off abecause of the fact that it takes more energy to exercise a 300 LB body than a 150 LB body, the weight is easily lost.

This. I lost the first 60 pounds in ~6 months. I started going to a gym, then I started going out to eat a LOT less, then I gradually went to a healthier eating style and counting calories more closely, then I started running in addition to going to the gym. Now that there aren't as many changes and my body is getting used to the lifestyle, the last 13 pounds have probably taken 2-3 months.

iamkass

I think maybe the more you have to lose, the faster it comes off. At first.

People who need to lose 100+ pounds might lose very quickly in the beginning. People like me who are battling vanity pounds will probably not see that kind of dramatic drop. Possibly because we are very close to our body's "happy weight" in the first place. That's what I'm hoping the problem is. :grumble:

Yep. The rate and magnitude of weight loss depends on how much fat mass a person has combined with the health of their metabolism and size of deficit. The more fat mass a person holds, the more weight they can lose in any given time frame. However, some individuals, regardless of amount of fat mass, may assume unreasonably restrictive deficits which cause them to lose weight (fat mass and fat-free mass) too rapidly. This shouldn't be a race, and those who strive for the most loss in the shortest amount of time tend to have a very high rate of gaining it all back due to various reasons involving the decline in Resting Metabolic Rate and initial body fat percentage.

I'm surprised it took this long for people to say this. It's not about sugar, or a lot of exercise or whatever. Obviously there has to be a calorie deficit. But the SPEED of loss is about how much weight you have to lose. It's not unhealthy, it's not because of diet pills, it's not because of weird supplements. And you can't say that people who have 200 pounds to lose and lose 100 pound by exercising and eating healthy in a short amount of time have a harder time keeping the weight off.

I'm not saying it can't be done in an unhealthy way, because obviously it can. But why assume the worst?

tiffnkailey

I went from eating fastfood at least twice a day, plus alot of junkfood/sweets and never working out. To now eating healthier foods and working out at least 3 to 5 times a week. Also drinking water instead of cokes or sweet tea. Plus I'm obese, so I think that helps too.

A year ago I lost 40 lbs not really doing anything but being happier. I was happier because I stopped dating, and started working on myself, counseling, reading self help books, etc. I didn't exercise much, but I did eat healthier because I just was not thinking about food as much.
Then I platued and couldn't lose it anymore, so I got frustrated. Gained like 10 lbs back. Was back to my old eating habits, but I realized if I don't stop I will gain it all back.
So I started over agian, and started eating healthy and exercising, and really tracking everything on myfitnesspal. So I started about a month ago and have lost 18 lbs so far, give or take a couple lbs that were already on my tracker. I do have to conciously not eat junk, and exercise. But the thing I do like is that I am allowed to eat more food then I thought. I always had that 1200 myth. But I'm allowed to eat around 1600, sometimes I can't even eat that, because healthy food keeps you full longer. So I'm happy I don't feel like im starving.

cwolfman13

- If you're heavier, you tend to lose faster for longer when you make significant changes to your eating habit. Body has a lot of excess energy stored up and doesn't at all mind burning it. The leaner you are, the less responsive the body will be...it's smart and wants hold on to some fat as an evolutionary response to pending famine or otherwise leaner days ahead.

- A lot of people lose a lot of water weight initially...especially if they go low carb.

- A lot of people severely restrict their calories and lose a lot of muscle along with that fat...

gracetillman

As hard as it is I try not to compare myself to anyone else because each of us has to figure out what works. There are some universal truths -- you will only lose weight if you eat at a deficit and exercise will help tone what is left behind. Other truths are the inability to spot reduce and the fact that there is no magic pills. I am sure there are more, but the rest is sort of trial and error for you -- some are ok with carbs after lunch others cannot, some people are not as affected by sodium, some people with retain water after every workout, etc....

It is a lifestyle to be healthy. Loosing weight is a side effect of the lifestyle. If you lose too quick you might be one of the many statistics who have a hard time keeping that weight off -- you might not be too. For me -- I lost at a rate of 3 pounds per week and dropped over 70 pounds. I kept the weight off for 3 years and then I gained it all back plus more. I stopped the lifestyle. I have made better changes this time and I think they are more sustainable and better for me. I moved to a more whole food and natural diet eliminating the processed stuff as much as practical. Makes me look at food a whole new way and i feel so much better than I ever have!! I have lost 18 pounds 7 weeks -- but the first week was higher than the others. My loss is now slowing to about 2 pounds per week and I am good with that figure.

youngcaseyr

Sometimes a large portion of weight that is lost rapidly is due to loss of water retention and the *ahem* "evacuation" of the lower GI tract. Food weight can account for a lot, depending on the person. Some people can have up to 10 or 15 additional pounds of food just hanging out in there.

hrtchoco

i've been trying to lose my last 5 lbs for so long, kinda gave up on it.

WannabeStressFree

My friend and I joined Weight Watchers together, he lost about 80lbs in 5 months, me a woman with not as much to lose, lost 5lbs.
I didn't dedicate myself, but his lifestyle was muh unhealthier than mine and big changes show big results. It's crazy! He is a 6'2 guy, I'm a 5'4 girl.

sandra80

i lost my first 100lbs in the first 3 months of trying. I lost 50 more with 4 months of that. the next 50 is still a work in progress that has been going for 2 years. when i first started, i cut ALL soda out of my life....i was drinking like 8 cans a day or more. i portioned everything and i was CONSTANTLY trying to exercise. i was in the pool for hours then. i was on the treadmill (going slow as can be) for hours. I did work out videos. I was determined to get the weight gone and get my health back. i wasn't trying to lose it that fast but i did. i've been in the 180-200 range for the past year now and struggling but i'm doing my best everyday.

melmonroe

Mels -- LOL. It may work for a margarita but w/o any added sweet or sugars or salt (unless it is a salt that contains minerals like real salt) but not sure. I've done it with wine but diluted the heck out of it with sodastream carbonated reverse osmosis water. (pure seltzer water) I do this trick the day before I weight in at the Tops club..

melmonroe

Yeah - it piles back on because of water refilling (from a deydrated self) and gut refilling. LOL

Rapid weight loss is SO hard to maintain once you hit your goal. I once lost 90 lbs. in six months on phentermine. Never again. As soon as you stop taking the pills the weight just pours back on, even if you maintain the same eating/exercise habits.

cingle87

Ive lot nearly a stone in just under a month, im 6 stone over my goal weight so this is the reason I find for my massive lost first up. Alot of that is going to be water, so im expecting a gradual reduction of wieghtless in the upcoming months.

chatogal

I lost 171 pounds in a little over 8 months.

It took a big deficit and a lot of exercise.

I take it you didnt go into "starvation mode" then??

777Gemma888

I lost 171 pounds in a little over 8 months.

It took a big deficit and a lot of exercise.

I take it you didnt go into "starvation mode" then??

I have lost about that amount within the same duration if I considered counting my pre-MFP losses ... It is possible. He isn't alone there. Assuming everyone experiences a phase of STARVATION MODE, to me is an excuse for NOT committing to losing FAT. (Not being accusatory here ~ a statement)

I do not even weigh in like I used anymore, but for once a month > still losing what I need to ... to stay on target healthily, nor do I log losses for my ticker either. I'm preferring to monitor my BF%.

Too many variables to consider why some lose fat weight faster or slower than others. We're all different ... We ALL just have to select a programme that works for you and stick to it, whether or not the scale or your gauge moves in your favour@fat weight loss/measuring tape/BF%

ETA: I'm one of those who tends to lose during my TOM and not gain. I weigh in then. My apologies to those who loathe reading TOM statements.

eazy_

Depends on where you are starting from.