Curious about a liquid diet.

TotallyRandomName
TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
I started exercising a year ago in preparation for a trip that I'm taking very soon, I was well over 500 lbs and just easily tired, always feeling pain in my feet, constantly out of breath etc and I didn't want to feel like that while on this trip.

I've lost well over 100 lbs and I'm feeling much more energetic, healthier, and just all around better about myself but I didn't feel like I was where I wanted to be physically (inch-wise), I don't care too much about the actual weight but the size was quite important to me.

Since the time to go was slowly creeping up and I felt like I still needed to reach my goal, I decided to start a liquid diet which is giving me fantastic results, very rapidly losing weight, never over eating and controlling my calories very easily while still maintaining the same amount of energy as I had before whilst eating solid foods.

Here's my question: It's now been exactly a week and I'm pretty happy with where I am, and I'm about to leave to go on this trip, I want to know how I can prevent these inches from coming back and I'm curious as to how long it would take for them to or if it's possible to keep them off permanently and just continue losing weight from this point without having a couple weeks where I shoot back up.

Obviously during my vacation I'm not going to be able to only eat just protein shakes / 100% fruit juices and water, we're going to go to restaurants and dine in or order out, I just want to know what to expect.
I've lost about 4-5 inches around my stomach/chest since I've started, is that just going to shoot back up after my first meal? Will I feel awful eating solid foods again?

Does it even matter that the food I've been eating for a week was purely liquid and easily digestible or did it only help me due to the fact that I was keeping my calories much lower due to only drinking them and feeling full quicker?
Is it possible to have the exact same results eating solid foods for the exact same amount of calories as liquids or does drinking them actually make a large difference?

I've been drinking protein shakes, very light water/1% milk smoothies, 100% juices and mainly water.

Any advice would be fantastic, leaving on the flight tomorrow.

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    You've been losing weight because you're in a caloric deficit. It doesn't matter what you eat or when as long as you take in fewer calories than you burn.

    The easiest way to keep losing is portion control. Make good food choices, most restaurants will make substitutions. If you've already lost 100 lbs you must have figured out an eating plan. Going on vacation is no reason to over indulge.
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    I have no interest in over indulging, I plan to maintain eating how I was prior to the liquid diet, healthier choices with smaller portions more often, I just want to know if there's going to be a drastic change in size due to eating absolutely nothing solid for a whole week and then switching it up and suddenly eating regularly again.
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    There's this stigma with liquid diets that they're just a temporary fix and that they never work, and if that's the case that's fine and I'll have learned my lesson, I'm only concerned that I'm going to regain a large amount of weight out of nowhere over the week that I'm there due to the fact that my metabolism may have slowed down due to not having to digest the regular amounts of food.

    I just want to know if it's something I'm going to have to prepare for, if so I'll end my liquid diet today/tomorrow.
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    I'd like to add that I'm not thinking long term here, I really just want to keep the weight off whilst I'm away, if I were to re-gain it in the following weeks I really wouldn't mind, I'll take my step back and just get back to it, if I could start eating normally again (but still healthy) tomorrow and keep my weight/inches down for the next 2 weeks I'd be ecstatic.

    If it's a long term bit of a set back that will cause me to slowly re-gain a bit over the next month, I'm fine with it - Once I get home I'll continue my journey to my main goal, but I'd really just like to remain the size I've achieved (with the help of the liquid diet) for the next 2 weeks.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    You haven't ruined your metabolism in a week. You may have lost some extra water weight if your liquid diet has been very low calorie. In all honesty, I doubt that even if you gain a few pounds back anyone will notice. It's not like you're going to gain 50 lbs back overnight. Your digestive system may need a day to two to adjust to real food again though so I'd suggest eating again before jumping on an airplane. I went to Africa last year and was ill most of the way home. 24 hours of air travel with your insides doing back flips is not fun!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    more than likely when you start eating real food again you will gain back all the weight that you lost. This will come in form of water weight returning and glycogen being replenished that you have depleted....

    This is why you are better off eating real food and creating a calorie deficit. It is more sustainable, i.e. you can go on vacation and eat the same and not worry about water weight, and is more healthy in the long term..
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    Honestly it's not a matter of people noticing, it's a trip to various theme parks that me and my family have planned for a long time and I've had this deep fear that I won't be able to get onto the rides. I just want to keep it down until I've gone and rode them and then I won't mind giving myself a break.

    I'm down from a 75" stomach and 60" chest to 55"/49", I'm just hoping it's enough and I don't want to put any extra on before getting there.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
    So use MFP to count your calories if you aren't already doing so. Should keep you on track.
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    I haven't been, it's something I could do later but with me leaving so soon, I doubt this would be a prime time to start. :p
    I just recently found the site and plan to start as I get home and continue with my normal regimen of slow and steady weight loss but I'm just really trying to set my mind at ease that I won't bloat back up 4-5 inches from dining regularly with my family before we even get to the theme park. :[
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    You haven't ruined your metabolism in a week. You may have lost some extra water weight if your liquid diet has been very low calorie. In all honesty, I doubt that even if you gain a few pounds back anyone will notice. It's not like you're going to gain 50 lbs back overnight. Your digestive system may need a day to two to adjust to real food again though so I'd suggest eating again before jumping on an airplane. I went to Africa last year and was ill most of the way home. 24 hours of air travel with your insides doing back flips is not fun!
    So you don't think there will be any real change over the first week? If I continue to eat intelligently and I don't go crazy, do you think I can maintain the same size while switching back to regular foods?
  • silken555
    silken555 Posts: 478 Member
    You haven't ruined your metabolism in a week. You may have lost some extra water weight if your liquid diet has been very low calorie. In all honesty, I doubt that even if you gain a few pounds back anyone will notice. It's not like you're going to gain 50 lbs back overnight. Your digestive system may need a day to two to adjust to real food again though so I'd suggest eating again before jumping on an airplane. I went to Africa last year and was ill most of the way home. 24 hours of air travel with your insides doing back flips is not fun!
    So you don't think there will be any real change over the first week? If I continue to eat intelligently and I don't go crazy, do you think I can maintain the same size while switching back to regular foods?

    Only so long as you continue to be in a deficit. Congrats on the 100lbs!
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
    Wow on the 20"!

    All liquid diets are a temporary thing. As OdesAngel suggested, start counting the calories. Add up how many calories you've been drinking everyday (hopefully it's near your BMR) and try to eat that much each day. You may gain some 'food weight' and 'water weight' as in, there's going to be actual food being digested and absorbing water in your intestines as it moves along, but other than that, you're not going to re-gain fat.
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    Wow on the 20"!

    All liquid diets are a temporary thing. As OdesAngel suggested, start counting the calories. Add up how many calories you've been drinking everyday (hopefully it's near your BMR) and try to eat that much each day. You may gain some 'food weight' and 'water weight' as in, there's going to be actual food being digested and absorbing water in your intestines as it moves along, but other than that, you're not going to re-gain fat.

    I believe I've been drinking a fluctuating 400-850 calories per day whilst on this diet, prior to that on my regular diet I've been maintaining anywhere from 600-1200 whilst never going above 1.5k. I've been told many times that it's below the amount that I should be taking in daily due to my size but I just don't get very hungry whilst dieting. It's not that I don't find the food appealing, I just don't have the craving for it that I do when I'm off of my diet. I guess when I wasn't dieting I was emotionally eating where as now, when I'm bored I'll go for a walk or do something else.

    Do you think that food weight and water weight will translate into inches?

    [edit]
    Thanks! It's been a struggle at times but definitely rewarding, haha.
    [/edit]
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,047 Member
    There's this stigma with liquid diets that they're just a temporary fix and that they never work, and if that's the case that's fine and I'll have learned my lesson, I'm only concerned that I'm going to regain a large amount of weight out of nowhere over the week that I'm there due to the fact that my metabolism may have slowed down due to not having to digest the regular amounts of food.

    I just want to know if it's something I'm going to have to prepare for, if so I'll end my liquid diet today/tomorrow.
    Not uncommon to get off a liquid diet, eat solid foods and gain weight. Most liquid diets aren't high in calories and usually have fiber in them to keep you full. And since most are low carb (sugar), glycogen gets depleted. Eating solid foods will replenish glycogen and water stores usually causing significant weight increase.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    There's this stigma with liquid diets that they're just a temporary fix and that they never work, and if that's the case that's fine and I'll have learned my lesson, I'm only concerned that I'm going to regain a large amount of weight out of nowhere over the week that I'm there due to the fact that my metabolism may have slowed down due to not having to digest the regular amounts of food.

    I just want to know if it's something I'm going to have to prepare for, if so I'll end my liquid diet today/tomorrow.
    Not uncommon to get off a liquid diet, eat solid foods and gain weight. Most liquid diets aren't high in calories and usually have fiber in them to keep you full. And since most are low carb (sugar), glycogen gets depleted. Eating solid foods will replenish glycogen and water stores usually causing significant weight increase.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm not worried about the weight itself, I'm curious as to how long it would take to re-add the inches that I've taken off with it.
  • TotallyRandomName
    TotallyRandomName Posts: 11
    So does anyone know how long it'd take to put on inches or how many inches you'd put on if you went from not eating anything to eating something? and how long it would take?

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