Whoa losing weight too fast?

feelagain
feelagain Posts: 27
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone! I have a question and was hoping for some advice. After several months of eating around 800 calories a day and maintaining a weight of 174.6 I have decided to start being more proactive about losing weight. I have been tracking my food and eating a paleo diet (almost completely). I am eating 1200 calories a day. My concern is that I am losing weight too fast. I am now 168.4 since January 1 (6 pounds in 4 days). The first day I thought it was just water weight but it just keeps coming off. Is this normal? My mom says my body is reacting to coming out of starvation mode but I don't know. What can I expect? I want healthy weight loss, not fast loss that'll just come back.

Replies

  • feelagain
    feelagain Posts: 27
    Should I expect this to come back?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    1200 is pretty low. Eat more.
  • feelagain
    feelagain Posts: 27
    As someone who has lived at around 800 calories a day, I am really struggling to meet the 1200 as it is. Is it too low even if MFP recommended it?
  • Tanja_CHH
    Tanja_CHH Posts: 216 Member
    You've raised your calories to get healthy so if I was you Id stay off the scale for about a month and just eat healthy and when hungry and let your body adjust to the increased calories.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Sure it's water weight.

    Do the math otherwise if you think it's fat, which has 3500 calories of energy per lb.

    6 lbs x 3500 = 21000 calories fat lost, therefore deficit to what you ate.

    21000 / 4 days = 5250.

    You ate at 1200, so what you ate and what you think a loss of fat is would be 6450 calories burned in the whole day, each of the 4 days.

    Think you burned that? Ya, no way.

    So even if you want to discount some of that 6 lbs as real water weight, you'll find almost any value isn't realistic.

    About the only value possible, is perhaps 1 lb of fat, so your total daily burn was 2075, you ate 1200, you had deficit of 875 each of those 4 days.

    And MFP recommended it based on YOUR choices.

    Really honestly Sedentary activity level outside exercise? Or you wanted to be on the safe side?

    Did you select the recommended 1 lb weight loss goal? Or you wanted to lose it as fast as possible and picked 2lbs?

    And yes that water weight will come back on everytime you have a big serving or meal of carbs, because carbs store with water.
    You'll also gain some back when you come off the diet, again water weight.
  • shaunap3
    shaunap3 Posts: 206 Member
    Most likely water weight, and/or kick-starting your metabolism. 800 calories for long periods of time will seriously kill your metabolism so your body is probably just kicking into high gear because you're giving it more calories and/or better food options. I wouldn't expect the weight loss to keep dropping off like this for much longer though, but if it does just up your cals a little and be conscious of what you're eating. Also, IF you're at a higher weight for your height the more you need to lose (sometimes) the faster it will come off when you actually try. My highest was almost 180. I lost my weight in 10lb blocks. It was like I would work my *kitten* off, all of a sudden lost the 10lb then my body would plateau for a really, really long time. Everyone is different, just listen to your body.
  • feelagain
    feelagain Posts: 27
    I know that my starting weight of 174 doesn't reflect that, but the food into my body is generally healthy. I have been gluten free and do not eat processed foods almost at all (I would occasionally eat some cereal or gluten free pasta). I work out regularly (barre workout classes like pure barre, as well as a few other dance type classes). I upped my calories to 1310 to see if that changes anything. I would rather lose the weight slowly over time and have ti stay off than have it fly off and come right back again.

    I think my biggest problem with weight loss has been not eating enough, I am just surprised at the changes that are already happening from upping my calories (even though family members, friends, and doctors have been recommending this increase forever)
  • dporter1183
    dporter1183 Posts: 154 Member
    Hey everyone! I have a question and was hoping for some advice. After several months of eating around 800 calories a day and maintaining a weight of 174.6 I have decided to start being more proactive about losing weight. I have been tracking my food and eating a paleo diet (almost completely). I am eating 1200 calories a day. My concern is that I am losing weight too fast. I am now 168.4 since January 1 (6 pounds in 4 days). The first day I thought it was just water weight but it just keeps coming off. Is this normal? My mom says my body is reacting to coming out of starvation mode but I don't know. What can I expect? I want healthy weight loss, not fast loss that'll just come back.

    I'd say your mom is correct.

    You're body was used to doing 800 calories for so long it adjusted, sometimes a change triggers a start in weight loss again, but it will even out.

    1200 calories is good if you're not working out. If you exercize, you can certainly take in more, your body needs fuel to run.
    Try eating a small, healthy snack every few hours to keep your metabolism up, but still getting the calories that your body needs to function (fruits, veggies, yogurt, rice cakes, peanut butter, etc)
    I'd say you will see a decrease in how fast you are losing pretty soon. That change in diet just shook things up a bit. As long as you are losing in a healthy way, and continue a healthy life style, the weight should come back.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    As someone who has lived at around 800 calories a day, I am really struggling to meet the 1200 as it is. Is it too low even if MFP recommended it?

    It's too low for someone who has been starving their body of nutrients for a long time, you should be playing 'catch up' now not concentrating on weight loss. My concern would be you have gone from one restrictive diet to another, are you combining Paleo with your personal tastes to make it even more restrictive or are you eating from all the food groups so you get the full complement of nutrients? Loads of oily fish, nuts and seeds for essential fatty acids and minerals?

    Exercise increases your need for every nutrient, so arguably worsens the position as far as the diet you have been eating not improves it. Not having any diagnosed health issues does not demonstrate you or your diet are healthy.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    800 was definitely too little. I would expect this rate of loss to slow since you have broken through this plateau. I would definitely add more calories if this rate continues because very rapid weight loss is usually due to muscle loss (over time). You want to lose fat, not muscle. At your weight I really think 1-2 lbs per week is optimum loss BUT it will not all happen in a nice gentle slope... It may happen 4 lbs one day then hold for a week or so then 2 lbs and so forth. Really early to tell if this is sustainable. You don't want to lose at this rate for long though.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    It's normal to lose a lot at first, it will slow down.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    If you maintained your weight at 800 calories a day, even if you were completely sedentary you need your metabolism checked.
  • feelagain
    feelagain Posts: 27
    As someone who has lived at around 800 calories a day, I am really struggling to meet the 1200 as it is. Is it too low even if MFP recommended it?

    . My concern would be you have gone from one restrictive diet to another, are you combining Paleo with your personal tastes to make it even more restrictive or are you eating from all the food groups so you get the full complement of nutrients? Loads of oily fish, nuts and seeds for essential fatty acids and minerals?

    Ex

    The paleo diet is very easy for me. I am gluten free (through celiac) which limits a lot of the food that paleo cuts out. My meals over the past few days have included salmon, swordfish, avocado, sunflower seeds, olive oil. I don't feel like I'm restricting my diet at all.
  • feelagain
    feelagain Posts: 27
    If you maintained your weight at 800 calories a day, even if you were completely sedentary you need your metabolism checked.

    I have, and I'm not completely sedentary either. I work out and make up for the calories that I burn. I have borderline thyroid issues, but not enough for my insurance (blue cross) to cover medicine for it. My doctor recommended bumping up to 1200-1400 to try and fix my thyroid problems on my own and if I can't we can explore other options.
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    You've raised your calories to get healthy so if I was you Id stay off the scale for about a month and just eat healthy and when hungry and let your body adjust to the increased calories.

    ^this. don't go back to 800
  • littlewhittles
    littlewhittles Posts: 402 Member
    When I first started tracking, I lost a lot of weight really fast, too. Like, 15 lbs in the first two weeks! But then it evened out. I think it's normal for it to come off quickly at first, then slow down. Likely due to water weight, like others have said.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    If you maintained your weight at 800 calories a day, even if you were completely sedentary you need your metabolism checked.

    I have, and I'm not completely sedentary either. I work out and make up for the calories that I burn. I have borderline thyroid issues, but not enough for my insurance (blue cross) to cover medicine for it. My doctor recommended bumping up to 1200-1400 to try and fix my thyroid problems on my own and if I can't we can explore other options.

    That makes sense. Glad you saw a doctor about it!
  • feelagain
    feelagain Posts: 27
    When I first started tracking, I lost a lot of weight really fast, too. Like, 15 lbs in the first two weeks! But then it evened out. I think it's normal for it to come off quickly at first, then slow down. Likely due to water weight, like others have said.

    When you say it evened out, did your weight loss just slow down or did you gain some of that 15 back that you lost?
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    The paleo diet is very easy for me. I am gluten free (through celiac) which limits a lot of the food that paleo cuts out. My meals over the past few days have included salmon, swordfish, avocado, sunflower seeds, olive oil. I don't feel like I'm restricting my diet at all.

    Not feeling like you are restricted and not being restricted are not necessarily one and the same, you are cutting out food groups through choice or necessity. It's absolutely possible to eat healthy paleo but you do need to concentrate on replacing the lost nutrients, it's not wise to assume especially when you have been restricting for a long time.

    Healthy fats which is awesome assuming your servings are large enough, but try to eat more nuts and seeds for the minerals, don't underestimate how much food it takes to get your daily intake without grains and dairy. Pumpkin seeds are quite a bit richer than sunflower seeds in magnesium, zinc and iron but both are low in calcium so you need another source. Cocoa powder is an amazing source of minerals.
    http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3066/2
    http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3167/2

    HTH.

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