Trying to understand how people lose 200+ lbs in one year

dhaemon
dhaemon Posts: 110 Member
in Motivation and Support
Things of note:
37 Years old
Male
Work out at least 3 times a week

I feel demoralized. I lost 56 lbs. in five weeks and then today, I only lost 2lbs this week.
Well wait now, 2lbs is the normal weight loss for my body following the proper 2 lb. calorie deficit.

Now I was always under my calorie goal at least 1000 calories of extra room. And then on my treat day I would make up for the calories I saved up during the week.

So it evens out for the most part. I get it and yes it does seem I am answering my one question. Well sort of.
How did a normal, albeit morbidly obese man lose 56lbs in 5 weeks, if I was only supposed to lose 2 lbs. a week?

Well the only thing I can come up with is, in that 5 weeks where I lost 56 lbs. I actually lost 10 lbs. of fat weight and in fact, lost 46 lbs. of water weight.
That is the only thing I can come up with as I'm sure prior to my beginning my weight loss journey, my body had a TON of sodium, thus a lot of water had to be expelled.


So, this is where I am....How do these people lose 200+ lbs. in one year?

Calculating a 52 week year and multiplying by 2 = 104 lbs. of FAT WEIGHT
So am I to assume that the other 96 lbs. is water weight? ***As long as they are under their sodium goals for the week?***

Replies

  • refinedredbird
    refinedredbird Posts: 208 Member
    The more weight you have to lose, the faster the weight loss is. Every body is different. Any loss of weight is a success and "only 2 lbs" is progress. My advice is to not over think and complicate this journey. Eat the calories allotted to you (don't try to eat too little and starve to death either, this isn't a race) and focus on developing healthy eating habits for life.
  • dhaemon
    dhaemon Posts: 110 Member
    The more weight you have to lose, the faster the weight loss is. Every body is different.

    How is this possible? Do fat people (Like myself) have a higher BMR than what is shown in the calculations?
    This does not make sense, sorry.

    Or are you taking into account water weight?
  • abear007
    abear007 Posts: 84 Member
    I don't know who "these people" are and I would be suspicious of anyone who said they lost that much weight in one year. Just recently I've been having to be satisfied with a half pound a week on average. Last week I added in some some weight training, so I'm not sure what will happen. 2 lbs per week is on the high end of a reasonable weight loss and no one should expect that to continue for the duration.
  • abear007
    abear007 Posts: 84 Member
    Lots of people loose lots of water weight when they first change their diet - especially folks that go low carb.
  • dhaemon
    dhaemon Posts: 110 Member
    I don't know who "these people" are and I would be suspicious of anyone who said they lost that much weight in one year. Just recently I've been having to be satisfied with a half pound a week on average. Last week I added in some some weight training, so I'm not sure what will happen. 2 lbs per week is on the high end of a reasonable weight loss and no one should expect that to continue for the duration.

    A quick search in the "Success Stories" section will show you the people who have accomplished this goal within 1 year.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    When you have a lot to lose, the weight "falls off" faster at the beginning. The large loss could be for a multitude of reasons, which include: less water retention (eating less sodium and food overall), less food waste in your system (eating less overall), etc..

    Also, if you are eating a deficit (which you are if you're losing) not all the weight you lose will be just fat and water. Eating at a deficit causes you to lose fat, muscle, and water. You can minimize your muscle loss by lifting while eating at a deficit.

    As for the people who lose 200 pounds in a year, it depends on where they started and how much they need to lose. I worked for Weight Watchers for a while several years ago. It was not uncommon to see morbidly obese clients lose anywhere from 5-15 pounds in a week. I can remember a lady who weighed almost 500 pounds when she joined. In 6 months, she had lost right around 100 pounds. She was around 400 pounds by that point. She continued to lose pretty fast because she had a lot to lose overall. I had to quit that job (university conflicts) before she hit her 1 year anniversary, but I would venture to guess she lost 200 or so pounds in her first year there.
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member

    So, this is where I am....How do these people lose 200+ lbs. in one year?

    I understand the question, and I've asked it myself. But the thing is.... I don't know and I don't care. :-)
    One of the things that has really helped me this year is to stay out of even thinking about how (or how much) other people lose. I had to focus on how it works for me. It keeps me sane and keeps me from quitting during the hard days and weeks. Just a thought on a Friday AM where I've had too little sleep and not enough coffee... haha.
  • MegE_N
    MegE_N Posts: 245 Member
    Don't ask about how people lose 200lbs in a year, because it likely doesn't apply to you. People who lose 200lbs in a year tend to have a very high starting weight, like 500+lbs. Unless you're in that camp, don't try to achieve their results because it's comparing apples to oranges.

    It sounds like you might be plateau-ing for some reason or another. I don't know if this helps BUT I kind of plateaued last month/start of this month. After reading about it I found that, simply, it could be that my body was getting used to doing the workouts I was doing. As my body was stronger/more able to do that workout, it burned less calories. So I was eating back all my 'workout' calories when I likely wasn't burning that much.

    I read that it was recommended that you change up your workout. But I didn't want to do that, I hate working out. I do all of my working out by walking. So I lowered my calorie intake by a few hundred to compensate. Weight began coming off again.

    I don't know if this applies to you, but it's my experience and I hope it helps.
  • stevesilk
    stevesilk Posts: 204 Member
    First of all, congratulations for your loss so far. You are on the right path. Losing weight is like lifting weights in a gym. You need to have blinders on because your main competition is yourself, not someone else. Also, you are going to see some weeks where you lose more weight, and some weeks where you'll lose less, or even make a temporary stall/gain. Pay attention to the food choices to help determine the "why" of each situation, but keep plugging away. Losing weight is like shoveling a sidewalk. I remember as a kid starting to shovel and thinking I was NEVER going to finish. But I would put my head down and just focus on shoveling, and, surprise, surprise, I eventually finished. I might need to go back and "fix" certain parts, but I finished the sidewalk. And you'll see great progress as you continue in your efforts. Actually 2 pounds a week nets out to over 100 pounds in a year. That would give you a great start AND be giving your skin a chance to adjust as well. Be encouraged because you've made terrific progress so far. And exercise so that you can maintain muscle mass while you're losing the weight.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
    Im glad I cannot loose 200 lbs in one year (not to mention I would be dust) but think of all that skin. Skin is better than fat.
  • captaindle
    captaindle Posts: 30 Member
    I believe it has to do with BMR. A 500lb person will have a much higher BMR than a 300lb person. Then, depending on how far calories are being restricted, the larger person will have a much greater daily deficit. Also, as we lose weight, our BMR drops so our deficits reduce and weight loss slows. Exercise will help increase your deficit as your BMR goes down as long as you aren't eating all your exercise calories back.The closer to your goal the longer it'll take to lose the last pounds. It's the nature of the beast but I think all of us here agree, worth it. Best of luck!
  • tbrain1989
    tbrain1989 Posts: 280 Member
    i love numbers too, but i think youre getting caught up in equivalence portrayed as facts.

    calories are worked out based on how much a food substance could heat water when burned.

    saying that a deficit of 3500 is equivalent to a pound of body mass isnt strictly correct. becuase it would depend on which elements of the body.

    secondly. 2lbs per week is what has been recommended as the maximum loss that is healthy. but the body can do incredible things in certain circumstances. just depends on whether you want to lose lean tissue, have loose skin etc.

    also weight loss isnt linear. so saying you lost 56lbs over 5 weeks doesnt mean you will continue to lose at that rate..otherwise youd dissapear within a year


    i think you have to weary that all the Bro-science and Pseudo-science.. AND including actual science.. isnt always concrete with humans.. as the test subjects arent all the same.

    what we can safely say though , with out dispute. if you consume less energy (in the unit of Kcals) then you expend. then you will lose weight. this in its basic form is just the principles of energy transfer. ... any other arrangement of addition to that base line is for other purposes.
  • ajewellmom
    ajewellmom Posts: 186 Member
    Three words - WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY! Many people here who have had extremely high BMI have been referred by a medical professional to have their insides surgically rearranged so they have to eat less and are limited to certain foods. They are, generally, allowed to eat only 900 calories a day, even though they are still trying to move their 400 pound body around. It's risky, but so is obesity.

    I chose not to have surgery and I battle daily . . . but so does the person who undergoes surgery. They can no longer EVER have carbonation (good bye beer!!) and their high calorie limit is 1200.

    BTW, I know that not all those who have these great successes have had surgery, but it certainly would explain some!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    The reason you lose faster when you have more to lose is because you can still have enough food while keeping a large deficit. 2 pounds a week is already pretty amazing. You're doing great... just keep doing what you're doing.
  • JG762
    JG762 Posts: 571 Member
    You're feeling demoralized by losing 56lbs in 5 weeks and then only losing 2lbs? Jesus this is a tough crowd....

    You state you work out maybe 3 times a week, what are you doing with the other 4 days? If you want to lose weight you have to put the effort in, in my opinion 3 days isn't close to enough for what you want to happen. You should be working out at least 6 days a week and in my opinion saving up a bunch of calories so you can binge on them isn't going to get you to your goals either. If you don't change the way you think about food/eating you're just spinning your wheels...

    If you talk to 1000 people about losing weight you're going to get 1000 different plans and ideas, you need to find something that works for you for the long haul, something that's SUSTAINABLE for the next 30 years or so.
    If you have some grandiose plan to lose 200lbs in a year you have to work hard to make that happen and no matter how hard you work your body might just say no I'm not going to do that.
    I think you need to look at your goals and ask yourself why 200lbs in a year (why not 18mos or 2yrs?) and be honest as to why you want that and what you're going to do IF you can achieve it.
    Good luck to you.

    I forgot to add, stop worrying about what percentage of fat/water you’re losing, it all has to come off so just push forward with a sensible plan and don’t worry about the maths cause maths is hard. LoL
  • dhaemon
    dhaemon Posts: 110 Member
    Thanks everyone for your kind and informative comments.
    I should be happy with this 2 lbs. weight loss this week.

    :)
  • jenanon1
    jenanon1 Posts: 58 Member
    Wow, 56lbs in 5 weeks, that's amazing, well done. I've lost 53lbs in 35 weeks :)

    I think, as others have said before, it depends on the individual. I started at 320lbs, lost (about) 15 lbs in the first month or so, probably water weight, then a steady 1.2 to 1.5lbs a week thereafter. And being a 5'7" female, I should in theory have been losing 2lbs a week at least at the calorie deficit I was/am eating at (with good logging, some exercise etc). So quite frustrating at times.

    However, I've logged and calculated and learned what my TDEE is, and over time resigned myself that 1.2lb a week loss is what my body is comfortable with. And (after 9 months of doing this) have realised that by not starving myself my current calorie intake is sustainable long term - for the rest of my life if needs be - and it means I have time to get used to my changing body, means I hopefully won't end up with loads of loose skin, and will mean I keep it off.

    Remember, the calculators are only as good as the data that set them up. And we're all individuals. If you are a data geek like me, do a spreadsheet. Work out your TDEE. Find out why you are or aren't losing as much as you want. And most importantly, don't measure your successes against other people, it's all about you :)

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