Anyone know what happened?

Florida_Superstar
Florida_Superstar Posts: 194 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a question. I'm extremely consistent with food and exercise. Years ago I struggled with eating disorders, and during my recovery I saw a registered dietitian to advise on "normal" eating since I hadn't done that for so long. She gave me a meal plan structure to follow -- for example, lunch was 1 protein, 2 grains, 1 fruit, and 2 vegetables. It was a great guide emphasizing lean proteins and fresh fruits and vegetables. I followed it to the letter for the last decade and maintained the same weight all that time. Then about 8 months ago, I slowly gained 7 pounds. I mentioned all of the above to illustrate how consistent my diet was. Nothing changed at all (also no medications, etc.), and my exercise was just as consistent.

To lose the 7 pounds, I tried cutting carbohydrates (bread, cereal, rice -- not fruit or veggies). That would work for a few days and then I would gain again. My doctor ruled out thyroid or hormone problems. Next I tried just cutting overall calories. I went down to 1200 calories while keeping the same intense exercise routine. I felt miserable AND I did not lose an ounce. So I added back my carbs and tried eliminating fruit.

Like magic, I lost the 7 pounds within a couple weeks. My question is, what happened?

I have always been a big believer that weight maintenance is only about calories in vs. calories out. But my own experience tells me that isn't true. I lost nothing at 1200 calories. I lost 7 pounds at 1600 calories when I excluded fruit. I understand about sugar and insulin spikes making it harder to lose weight--that's why I tried it in the first place. But I ate a ridiculous amount of fruit for 10 years with no problem. Did my body just change suddenly?

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that everyone stop eating fruit. I just want to understand what happened to my body.

Replies

  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
    depends on your age and hormonally what you're going through. i have noticed a huge difference since i am over 40. things shift, my body moves differently, and whereas i used to be able to drop 5 lbs at the drop of a hat, now it's a real struggle.

    i think the increase in your calories most likely caused the weight loss, in combo with eliminating the sugar in fruits. sometimes if you are really active, your body needs MORE calories. even though what you used to do worked then, it doesn't work now. time for a change. :smile:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Did you weigh your food and count all your calories?

    Since your doctor ruled out medical conditions, you were eating more than you thought, which most likely was from underestimating calories eaten.

    There is nothing special about eating/not eating fruit, or any other kind of fruit.

    Nobody gets to be special snowflake in the world of weight loss. :smile:
  • jmcmc55
    jmcmc55 Posts: 3 Member
    I am no expert but all i can tell you is what works for most does not always work for all of us and sometimes you do have to do things a little differently. I think things can change in a persons body over the years and will require you to do things differently and just what that is may be trial and error. It seems that the people that do think it works the same for everyone are the people that it does, lol. I am one of those that it does not and am in the process now of trying some new things.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    How long were you eating 1200 before you switched to no fruit?

    One hypothesis is you were losing fat on 1200 but the loss was obfuscated by water retention. People often report having had a big carb meal or day immediately before a whoosh. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/
  • Florida_Superstar
    Florida_Superstar Posts: 194 Member
    I ate @ 1200 calories for 4 weeks and 3 days. Thanks for the link. I'll take a look.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    did you weigh all your solid food? Often people miscalculate the calories they are eating. The calories in an apple can be off by quite a bit if you are just a logging a 'medium' apple and not logging it by grams.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    Your metabolism went back up; instead of keeping all the calories since you were netting something below 1200 calories. When you drastically cut back on cals your metabolism slows, once you start increasing the metabolism improves and you start losing weight.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Your metabolism went back up; instead of keeping all the calories since you were netting something below 1200 calories. When you drastically cut back on cals your metabolism slows, once you start increasing the metabolism improves and you start losing weight.
    No.

    If the OP were truly eating 1200 or below, she would have lost weight.

    Eating food does not increase your metabolism, exercise and gaining muscle mass does, though not by leaps and bounds.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I am no expert but all i can tell you is what works for most does not always work for all of us and sometimes you do have to do things a little differently. I think things can change in a persons body over the years and will require you to do things differently and just what that is may be trial and error. It seems that the people that do think it works the same for everyone are the people that it does, lol. I am one of those that it does not and am in the process now of trying some new things.
    Eat less calories than you burn and you will lose weight, eat more calories than you burn and you will gain weight, and at the same amount of calories you burn and you will maintain weight. These three principles apply all the time.

    It's methods of dieting that are individual, not the principle of calories in/calories out.

    If you have hormones going wacko, or a testy thyroid, or some other medical condition, it might take extra time and work to find your TDEE, but once you do, eat a certain amount less than that, and you will lose weight.
  • NoriDupuis
    NoriDupuis Posts: 26 Member
    It could be as simple as the fruit your eating.
    If your blood sugar is high its hard to loss weight
    also rembeing things like banana are usally considered 2 fruit potrtions and also bananas can act like starch in a lot of people more so if they are eating at the same meal as a dairy producted
    good like its hard to find the right balance :)

    also remember to keep your cal at agood leave other wise you will go in to starvation mood :(
  • frisco111
    frisco111 Posts: 44 Member
    Your metabolism went back up; instead of keeping all the calories since you were netting something below 1200 calories. When you drastically cut back on cals your metabolism slows, once you start increasing the metabolism improves and you start losing weight.
    No.

    If the OP were truly eating 1200 or below, she would have lost weight.

    Eating food does not increase your metabolism, exercise and gaining muscle mass does, though not by leaps and bounds.

    this one
  • Florida_Superstar
    Florida_Superstar Posts: 194 Member
    Thanks for the replies. I don't blame anyone for being skeptical, as I would have been too. I went into all the detail in my original post to say that I did accurately track/measure/weigh my food. I was dependent on that and have all the logs from 10 years! The 1200 calorie period was accurate, though it only lasted 4 weeks and 3 days. But I didn't lose anything. For me, it seems related to the content of what I was eating, but I agree that should not matter. Maybe another explanation is that my doctor missed something hormonal, and it corrected during the time I cut out fruit. I could start eating fruit again to find out. :)
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    Well you're 43, I'm 47. It could very well be hormonal and/or water retention. I retain a lot of water. Something as simple as building a muscle you didn't have before by any change in activity, not necessarily exercise, could make your pounds go up. I just restarted myfitnesspal around the second week of sept, though I started dieting about a week before that. While I've been counting calories and working out, actual weight loss didn't start registering until week 2 or 3. Sure my body changed, I could see and feel loss, but actual weight loss has only been 5 pounds, figuring 2 for water my scale only is registering 3 pounds lost in 3 weeks. I've gained muscle all over though, so the trading of pounds of fat for pounds of muscle is ok with me.

    My question would be, how do your clothes fit? Do they fit the same or are things feeling tighter than usual? I exercised the night before last, cardio 35 minutes, strength for 25 plus, and a day and a half later, after spending all day on my feet yesterday, I'm feeling like I'm still retaining water, it will probably lessen thoughout the day as I drink a ton of water and eliminate it, and then I'll put it all back again when I work out tonight. I can be 3-4 pounds heavier at night then I am after a solid 8 hours sleep.

    All that being said, I feel like I have a harder time losing weight when eating fruit. I limit my fruit to low sugar grapefruit, 1 a day, apples, 1 a day, and a half of a banana, either as a post workout meal with peanut butter, or with my grape nuts in the morning. I have a touch of low blood sugar. I DON'T eat fruit without a protein. 1 half grapefruit will be part of my breakfast with an egg, the apple will go as a snack with a 4oz container of cottage cheese.

    Other than that, I'll have just a few pieces of a frozen fruit and blueberries as a post workout smoothie, only immediately after a workout, with about a quarter cup of liquid egg whites and the rest will be ice and water. I really really limit the sugar from fruit.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    The point is that fruit or no fruit in a person's diet has zero to do with weight loss. It's calories in/calories out, whether you have a hormonal balance or not. It's just a matter of finding the calorie balance with medical conditions.

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