Losing Weight Too quickly? 9 lbs in 2 weeks

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SuZQz173
SuZQz173 Posts: 37
in Introduce Yourself
Hello,

I joined MFP about 2 weeks ago in order to log foods & pain/discomfort to detect what the correlation is.

Wanting to stay out of the ER from food stuck in lower esophagus in Schatzki's ring. 2 yrs ago, I was able to completely heal myself by reading what to eat (mostly non-acidic foods like bananas) to avoid narrowing esoph.. When I went in for scoping, none of the balloons touched my esophagus, as I was healed through eating in 7 weeks.

MFP said 1400 calories a day would be about a pound a week weight loss. I thought that sounds safe! No holding my breath on losing weight.

I eat what I want, mostly fruits & veggies, not much processed food. Not big into meat, so could live without it, though I am coming up short on protein some days by about 20. BTW, meat and bread are most common culprits of stuck food for people with Schatzki's ring (esophageal stricture or narrowing). Have never been big on meat since I was a kid. Fish is not a big attraction either.

Gave up pasta too, since I could be full, yet feel ravenously hungry. Solution has been spaghetti squash. I se it for "noodle" soup too. That's been the best discovery I made for myself while logging food. Craved noodle soup so badly, but knew better, then cut spaghetti squash in in inch column inside squash. So, I understand that savings of calories is heling me lose some weight.

So far,by logging with my intent, I detect discomfort eating almonds. I love them, but gut pain. .

In these two weeks though, I've lost 9 pounds. That seems odd to me. Odd enough that I'm thinking about phoning the doc. It's great that I'm losing weight, since I'm obese, but what the heck?

Women with PCOD may understand, it's difficult to lose weight. I had ovaries removed 3 1/2 months ago. So, maybe weight control is easier now? I'd gained 20 pounds overnight with the surgery. Took these 3 months to lose that.

But now, 9 pounds in 2 weeks seems crazy to me. Only 2 days was I below the 1400 calorie, 6 days over. The rest on target.

I'm not active, unless food shopping at 4 stores, doing housework, laundry. I'm just healed from the 3 1/2 months ago surgery.

apologies for lengthiness, but isn't this too quick?

Replies

  • Sballard418
    Sballard418 Posts: 153 Member
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    Could be possible that it was all water weight?
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    This has a lot to do with how much you weigh and how much weight you are trying to lose. Also, most of that is more than likely water weight.
  • jenhanke
    jenhanke Posts: 24 Member
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    Congrats on taking control of all of this! Sounds like you've had some hurdles to overcome, and it might be a challenge for a while, but you're on top of it!

    I have PCOS and have finally started taking control of my nutrition - I also lost 9 pounds in the past 2 weeks! Honestly, I think that when you have a LOT of weight to lose, it comes off faster in the beginning. I have a friend who lost 100 pounds over the last couple of years. In the beginning, she said it melted off...sometimes up to 10 pounds a week! However, once she was getting closer to a normal weight, it came off slower and slower.

    I would just make sure you eat all of your recommended calories, and make healthy choices, and the weight coming off quickly is probably a good thing for you. Also, it won't last forever, so enjoy it now while it's coming off quick! =)
  • chellebublz
    chellebublz Posts: 568 Member
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    I would expect a slow down on that. I had the same effect, 9 lbs in 2 weeks. Now I"m a month in and at 12 lbs. I really have to stay strict to my plan, anytime I stray even just a LITTLE BIT I gain a couple back and have to spend 3-4 days recovering.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    It's likely you could have lost 4/5lbs water weight in the beginning. So probably around 4 actual loss. First few weeks are always quicker. Give it a few more weeks see how you go maybe? X
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    I would expect a slow down on that. I had the same effect, 9 lbs in 2 weeks. Now I"m a month in and at 12 lbs. I really have to stay strict to my plan, anytime I stray even just a LITTLE BIT I gain a couple back and have to spend 3-4 days recovering.

    Straying just a little bit isn't going to put on pounds...unless you eat like 7000 calories. More than likely it is because on that stray day you took in too much sodium and your body is holding onto water.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    If you made a large change in diet/exercise, a good portion of that will be water weight. You could always give it another week and measure the change, and if it is more than a pound, up your calories accordingly. There is some lose science saying that a 500 calorie/day deficit translates to 1 pound a week of weight loss, so if you lose 2 pounds in the next week go up by 500/day.
  • amyoliver85
    amyoliver85 Posts: 353 Member
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    Like others suggested, it was water weight. That is the first thing to go. Make sure you are eating all of those calories though. Starvation mode can set in in just a few days, which at first will cause you to lose rapidly but then will ruin your health living adjustment.

    Chellebublz. Eating even 300-400 more calories on a single day or 50 more calories per day will not actually make you gain weight. It's most likely water retention caused by freaking your body out or by eating too much processed food or sodium. Don't worry about "straying a little bit". This is okay. I sometimes stray A LOT and the "weight" comes right back off. Pay less attention to the scale and more attention to how you look and feel.
  • VorJoshigan
    VorJoshigan Posts: 1,106 Member
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    The first two weeks are never indicative of how the rest of the time will go. Give it another week and see how it's going. If you're still averaging 4.5 lbs per week, there might be a problem.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
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    Yep, it should slow down. I'd say if you continue to lose at same rate for a few more weeks then see the doctor but I am pretty sure that it's just those initial couple of weeks. Many people have big losses at the start of a new eating plan that settles down after a while.
  • pamperedhen
    pamperedhen Posts: 446 Member
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    Congrats by the way on the healing and weight loss! My husband, who is also obese, has lost 14 lbs in 1 week. It is water weight and nothing to fret about! It will slow down and you will lose normally.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    i think the majority of us lost a big chunk the first couple weeks when we first started. it will get on track to normal loss in no time.
  • SuZQz173
    SuZQz173 Posts: 37
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    Water wieght does sound possible! With the surgery, I got pumped with water and gained 20 pounds overnight, literally overnight. And ouch did that hurt, literally. Took me 3 months to lose that weight!

    Now, logging, to correlate discomfort and food, weight loss seems to be quick, but....

    Maybe I'm now like a normal person losing weight, the water first, then slow progression. I hadn't expected any weight loss really. The fact that MFP said 1 pound a week sounded great to me as a benefit of logging. I happened to find MFP right when I got back to my pre-surgery weight.

    Thanks so much for your responses. AND that they are kind and caring responses!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Just keep an eye on it...it is highly likely that a lot of that is water weight and the weight loss should start to slow down to your goal of 1 ish Lbs per week. When I first started out, I dumped about 10 Lbs in 2 weeks...then it quickly turned into 1 - 1.5 Lbs per week on average. Sometimes it's more and sometimes less...there are week that I don't really lose anything, then boom...I'll dump 2 Lbs the next week, etc...but it averages out to about 1 Lb per week over these last few months.
  • ais312
    ais312 Posts: 2
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    There will be weeks that seem like more weight loss - could be water weight as others have said. But some weeks may seem different like this, then other weeks may plateau. As long as the 9 pounds per week doesn't continue for many weeks consecutively, you're probably fine - just keep an eye on it as others here have said.
    Also, for more protein, do you like cottage cheese or can your condition tolerate it? And there's always eggs, especially the whites where all the protein is, or Egg Beaters. And of course, soy protein, if tolerated. (I don't push too much soy due to the controversy over its negative effects on thyroid function.) Green peas are also high in protein, as well as Greek yogurts. Protein is important with dieting, as it will help your blood sugar stay consistent more or less and its energy lasts longer, both effects helping to prevent as much hunger between meals. Other appetite depressants between meals - grapefruit or grapefruit juice - I use the Ocean Spray 100% juice type, which has other fruit juices so it is more tolerable than plain......the Ruby Red is awesome, and so thirst quenching when needed. There are also other natural appetite suppressing products out there now - lichi fruit, and the raspberry ketones both seem to have that effect. Just a thought, as hunger can seem like the enemy while trying to lose weight! :)
    I'm no expert, but do have a nutrition education background (although not using it these days other than for myself!) :)
  • SuZQz173
    SuZQz173 Posts: 37
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    Thanks for the tips.

    I LOVE cottage cheese. Especially with fruit. I eat Eggbeaters almost daily. That's probably where I get any protein at all.

    Just bought 5 things of yogurt. Glad to see it's a good thing to do.

    Sure do appreciate all these kind, informative, inspirational responses!
  • ais312
    ais312 Posts: 2
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    Sometimes I've also even added cottage cheese to regular yogurt, just for the protein boost. Just watch those Greek yogurts as a select few do have fat in them - not enough to ruin the diet, but if you're watching fat calories you may not expect them to have fat in them. I've also been doing protein bars, even though I know there's usually soy in them...... if you have an Aldi's store near you, look for the chocolate peanut butter protein bars - they're awesome and don't make you feel like you're eating a protein bar! I have a petsitting business, so I'm in the car a lot, and fit the gym in some days, so I love eating something light for lunch before the gym and those bars are perfect for that, then an apple or other fruit after the gym. :) During the day, I'm pretty disciplined - it's the evenings at home alone that can ruin my diet!! I'm trying to view it as the "one day at a time" kind of thing, and that works if I'm in the right mindset.
    I've also been using Mega-T Green Tea supplement with Raspberry Ketone & Lychee Berry to try to help things at least for energy and maybe a bit for the appetite suppressant effect - I'm on synthroid for hypothyroidism but feel not quite right as far as my energy level regardless of "normal" bloodwork results - numbers don't mean everything, I'm convinced!
    Oh, one more thing - I use cranberry juice (the 100% juice kind only) as a natural diuretic for water weight too - it really does help! :)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Initial losses are often water weight. Especially if you used to eat a lot of sodium, but have changed that in the last 2 weeks. Processed foods have tons of it.

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