How long did it take for you to see results?

carinebray · July 2014

Hi everyone! I will preface this by saying that I understand that this is NOT a quick fix and results come from consistency and time. With that being said, how long did you notice it took for your body to start changing?
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I started eating more calories ( target is 1900 a day for my 5'4" 189lb self) and immediately had a 3 lb loss in one day. Now I am being consistent with my CrossFit and lifting and yoga and am just maintaining at that weight now for the past few days. I assume that my weight will be bouncing all over the place due to hormones, salt and carb content of food etc, but how long did it take for you to start seeing a gradual downward trend!
Thanks!

kellrell · August 2014

Would love an answer on this as well. I have been eating more 2 weigh less for several weeks now. About to up my calories to 2050 hoping to see a difference soon. Lost 5 pounds in the first stretch plus approx 10 inches since starting. So quite happy, but interested to know how long before seeing significant changes.

heybales · August 2014

You won't find an answer that applies to you sadly.

Different genetics, different current level of stresses on body, different past stresses on body with way diet was done, ect.

Some recovery fast, some slowly, some have a lot of stress outside exercise and diet, some want the frequent intense stress of exercise, ect.

In this study, it took eating at lab measured current maintenance (not potential, but rather suppressed) to recovery about 50% of the suppressed daily burn in 3 months.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251

So the attempt here is keep adding calories slowly and hopefully it won't take so long.

Once your system is full burning, and you take a real deficit, would be like starting a diet again, so big initial water weight drop.

I've noticed that any those who seem to speed up fast, also have a system willing to slow down fast.

carinebray · August 2014

Thanks for your reply. I was VLC paleo for about 2 years with binges on carbs every 2-3 days. When I tracked on " good days" I was hitting about 1500-1700 cal and about 50-100g carbs. When I binged though who knows what I ate! But it wasn't a terrible pantry emptying binge- it was a sandwich, or a bagel, or candy. My body's way of getting those carbs in I guess.
All in all I felt terrible and sleepy all the time. Hot flashes etc. also guilty for wanting to eat. A piece of bread made me feel so bad mentally.
During this time I also developed severe plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis and bulged 2 discs, so my movement dwindles to basically zero. I packed on 30lbs pretty quickly.
So here I am ready to fix this mess. I am back in the gym and hitting it hard. 2 PRs last week on my deadlift and back squat. I own a CrossFit gym so have access anytime and we have great programming so I am very blessed there. But I'm that fat coach! I am lead other people out of the mess and constantly tell them to eat, but couldn't seem to figure it out for myself.
I started at TDEE-10% which puts me at 2000 cal ( I had to redo my numbers and increase up a bit since I underestimated my activity). I am definitely eating more, but happily so. I am not over full or hungry. I have a hard time hitting my macros though, but get my cals in easily. Now I have fuel to to get me through my days. BUT the weight is still coming on. About 4lbs over the last week or so. I am just assuming that this is my body replenishing muscular glycogen stores? I am eating more, but not ridiculously so, so I am quite surprised by this gain since. So I guess we will see what 6 weeks brings.

I must say that mentally this is tough!

heybales · August 2014

So just prior to eating 2000, you were eating more than that as part of the 30 lb gain?

For how long - you may have done your reset already.

Because if eating at maintenance or over was being done just prior to 2000 - there wouldn't be any carb stores to top off, unless doing the low carbish right before too.

But 4 lbs in a week can only be water weight, but that would be like total body carb restore, and that's just not going to be the case. Everyone in a diet is depleted, not totally, but to some extent.
Body only holds at max 5 lbs worth of carbs and water, and that's with endurance cardio training as factor.

There could be some real fat in there if you were actually eating far less than 2000 right before eating 2000.
Several things just don't add up.

Well, are these valid weigh-in days too, to minimize expected water weight fluctuations?
Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.
Throw out any weigh-ins not valid, or tag the ones that were.

carinebray · August 2014

Just prior to the 2000 cal eating I had been restricting on a VLC paleo diet most days, but cheating 3 or so days a week that probably put me in the 24-2500 ca rangel. I did not track my " bad" eating. So I would say restrict, indulge, restrict, indulge etc. 1500 and lower for a day or 2 then a swing to 2400 or so then back down to 1500 for 3-4 days then a high cal day. No strength training or hiit.

So totally shifted to a steady 2000 cal and weight training and hiit 4 times a week with yoga once a week.

I did not weigh morning after rest days. I've been weighing every morning just to watch the fluctuations. Right now I have been sore after almost all my workouts since I took so long off to recover from injuries. The DOMS is not too bad but I do feel inflamed- especially in my quads.

So I think from your post I should weigh only after a rest day. Makes sense.
Also should I be lowering cals on rest day to accommodate the lower activity level for that day?

heybales · August 2014

The TDEE method is taking the weekly burn from however many exercise days and spreading it out over the whole week.

You eat the same daily.

So on workout days you have bigger deficit, on rest days you have less.

Eat More 2 Weigh Less

How long did it take for you to see results?

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