Hello - Going against “best” advice
Declanmyfp
Posts: 3 Member
Hello All,
So I’ve got a Fitbit which I vowed never to do and it has been exactly the motivation I need. I’ve come back to MYFP which is another awesome tool. The one thing I hit back at though, is the perceived wiseness of not losing more than 2lb a week and having to eat 1200 cals min, and here’s why.
My thinking is that the body stores fat in times of plenty for times where food is scarce. Food is nothing more than fuel. I have way too much fat so my body needs to pull on those resources and get rid of it.
I’ve upped my exercise from nothing to 15,000 steps minimum per day and 75 flights of stairs, with 8 hours of sleep and 2lt if water on top of all the coffee I drink.
For food I eat raw vegetables, eggs, homemade soups and occasionally “healthy” cereal to get some sugar and satisfy any cravings if I really do feel hard done by.
I eat now less than 1000 calories but all nutritious food, but not energy providers.
I’m losing about 1.5lb / day as this is the first week. I’m sure the weight loss will slow, it normally does and I will up my exercise when it does. I feel more alert and much healthier than before but constantly hungry, which is good. I eat random vegetables and fruit throughout the day to keep the digestive system working.
The key is to look at food as an unhelpful but necessary thing, and constantly exercise every hour, avoid the lift use the stairs, park the car further away and walk etc. It’s not the easiest thing to maintain if you’re not committed, but anyone who says “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get fit” seriously needs to stand in front of a mirror whilst saying that and challenge themselves to just how much do they want it, then take a solemn vow and promise yourself. When you are committed, it’s easy. Would I like a massive portion of fish & chips right now? Of course I do, but the abstention is a much better feeling because I will wake up the following day fitter and lighter. When I’m at my goal I WILL be having those fish & chips!!
Now then, I am no foody or nutritional expert, just a fat bloke on a mission. I will adjust as my body dictates. The body is pretty good at telling you what you need, the trick is to listen.
So I’ve got a Fitbit which I vowed never to do and it has been exactly the motivation I need. I’ve come back to MYFP which is another awesome tool. The one thing I hit back at though, is the perceived wiseness of not losing more than 2lb a week and having to eat 1200 cals min, and here’s why.
My thinking is that the body stores fat in times of plenty for times where food is scarce. Food is nothing more than fuel. I have way too much fat so my body needs to pull on those resources and get rid of it.
I’ve upped my exercise from nothing to 15,000 steps minimum per day and 75 flights of stairs, with 8 hours of sleep and 2lt if water on top of all the coffee I drink.
For food I eat raw vegetables, eggs, homemade soups and occasionally “healthy” cereal to get some sugar and satisfy any cravings if I really do feel hard done by.
I eat now less than 1000 calories but all nutritious food, but not energy providers.
I’m losing about 1.5lb / day as this is the first week. I’m sure the weight loss will slow, it normally does and I will up my exercise when it does. I feel more alert and much healthier than before but constantly hungry, which is good. I eat random vegetables and fruit throughout the day to keep the digestive system working.
The key is to look at food as an unhelpful but necessary thing, and constantly exercise every hour, avoid the lift use the stairs, park the car further away and walk etc. It’s not the easiest thing to maintain if you’re not committed, but anyone who says “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get fit” seriously needs to stand in front of a mirror whilst saying that and challenge themselves to just how much do they want it, then take a solemn vow and promise yourself. When you are committed, it’s easy. Would I like a massive portion of fish & chips right now? Of course I do, but the abstention is a much better feeling because I will wake up the following day fitter and lighter. When I’m at my goal I WILL be having those fish & chips!!
Now then, I am no foody or nutritional expert, just a fat bloke on a mission. I will adjust as my body dictates. The body is pretty good at telling you what you need, the trick is to listen.
9
Replies
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This way of life doesn't sound sustainable.
As you describe yourself as a "bloke," I am assuming you're a man. You should be eating, at minimum, 1,500 calories a day. More if you're active, which it sounds like you may be.
You're putting your wellbeing at risk.3 -
If you don't eat enough to fuel your workouts, your workouts will suffer. Chances are, you'll stop them or slow them down. You'll also find yourself cheating, more and more often. Starving yourself isn't necessary and it isn't healthy. Your body will start cannibalizing your muscles for fuel. You'll start losing hair. To lose weight and more important, to keep it off, you have to find a way of eating that is sustainable over the long term. 1000 calories a day isn't sustainable.3
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Just going to leave this here for the benefit of others that come along:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p17 -
1.5 lb per day of loss is appropriate if your weight is (1.5lb * 7 days) = (10.5 lb * 100) = 1050 lb.
What I did there was multiply 1.5 by 7 and then by 100 because you should not attempt to lose more than 1% of your body weight per week. That's the accumulated wisdom of lots of bodies telling lots of people what works best.2 -
BTW, OP, this thread will be shut down because promoting VLCDs is against forum guidelines.2
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Unfortunately, by the time the body gets around to telling you what you need, the damage may already be done. And it's not always correctible.2
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You need to find balance, which is hard, because our minds like to play tricks with us, and you're listening to the prankster in your mind, not your rational mind. The more extreme your behavior gets, the stronger the prankster voice gets. The "good" thing about this scheme, though, is that you can't stick to it for very long. The bad thing is of course that you go back to overeating, so your problem "overweight" never goes away. I'm personally more worried about all those seemingly sound diets out there.1
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Keep in mind that there is a maximum amount of fat you can burn per day. If you set your goal too aggressively, you'll consume lean tissue instead of fat. Is that what you want?1
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Ok, as I said in my initial “hello”, I listen to my body. I don’t know what VLCDs or any other techie language is. I am simply running my body as it was designed but with wisdom of knowing that it still needs nutrients. Most people won’t eat raw vegetables and things that us humans would have found naturally to supplement their diet and keep digestion going. Your body really has to work at processing veg & water all the time. Also in my opener, I acknowledged that the weight loss rate right now is temporary as I am stating.
Be under no illusions, every time I’ve done this weight loss thing I’ve done it this way and I normally do it for about 3 months. My intake will resume to about 1200-1400 cals dependent on exercise and my rule 1, listen to your body!! I’m not a Kamakazi!
2 -
Declanmyfp wrote: »Ok, as I said in my initial “hello”, I listen to my body. I don’t know what VLCDs or any other techie language is. I am simply running my body as it was designed but with wisdom of knowing that it still needs nutrients. Most people won’t eat raw vegetables and things that us humans would have found naturally to supplement their diet and keep digestion going. Your body really has to work at processing veg & water all the time. Also in my opener, I acknowledged that the weight loss rate right now is temporary as I am stating.
Be under no illusions, every time I’ve done this weight loss thing I’ve done it this way and I normally do it for about 3 months. My intake will resume to about 1200-1400 cals dependent on exercise and my rule 1, listen to your body!! I’m not a Kamakazi!
VLCD is a medical term. It's not "techie" language. It simply stands for "very low calorie diet."1 -
Declanmyfp wrote: »Ok, as I said in my initial “hello”, I listen to my body. I don’t know what VLCDs or any other techie language is. I am simply running my body as it was designed but with wisdom of knowing that it still needs nutrients. Most people won’t eat raw vegetables and things that us humans would have found naturally to supplement their diet and keep digestion going. Your body really has to work at processing veg & water all the time. Also in my opener, I acknowledged that the weight loss rate right now is temporary as I am stating.
Be under no illusions, every time I’ve done this weight loss thing I’ve done it this way and I normally do it for about 3 months. My intake will resume to about 1200-1400 cals dependent on exercise and my rule 1, listen to your body!! I’m not a Kamakazi!
If you keep having to repeat this method, maybe it's a sign that this isn't the sustainable, long-term plan you're looking for. Temporary bouts of extreme restriction followed by regaining the weight is *hard* on your body. This isn't how your body is "designed" to run. You're deliberately inflicting stress on it.2 -
Declan is your body and your life mate so in all honesty do what you want you don't approval from any one on here to do what you are doing.
However, let me ask you this. How many times have you tried to lose weight? You say you've "come back" to MFP which implies to me you've been around the block.
I don't know your current weight but if your "losing" 1.5lbs per day I'm guessing its pretty high.
Just don't crash and burn mate. You super motivated right now and going super hard. You know yourself miles better than I do.
Do YOU think that motivation will see you to the end of this journey or will life knock you off of the high road.
Have a plan B mate for when you're not in the first week flush of super motivated but are craving a bit of whatever or are eating out.
It IS a marathon not a sprint no MATTER how much you want to be lean by tomorrow.
0 -
Declanmyfp wrote: »every time I’ve done this weight loss thing I’ve done it this way
Right there is the problem, as @janejellyroll pointed out.
And believe me, we're not under any illusions.
2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »If you keep having to repeat this method, maybe it's a sign that this isn't the sustainable, long-term plan you're looking for. Temporary bouts of extreme restriction followed by regaining the weight is *hard* on your body. This isn't how your body is "designed" to run. You're deliberately inflicting stress on it.
I see your logic, but the reason I am having to do it again is because I didn’t look myself in the eyes in a mirror and make a vow to myself! In other words, my full commitment wasn’t there, I got so far then kicked back and got complacent.
This time, I will get to the middle zone of my ideal weight and give myself a 1/2 stone wobble window.
Don’t get hung up on the super low calories I am having right now, that will change to 1209-1400, it’s a budget, I know that.
The exercise is the other part of the equation.3 -
Declanmyfp wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »If you keep having to repeat this method, maybe it's a sign that this isn't the sustainable, long-term plan you're looking for. Temporary bouts of extreme restriction followed by regaining the weight is *hard* on your body. This isn't how your body is "designed" to run. You're deliberately inflicting stress on it.
I see your logic, but the reason I am having to do it again is because I didn’t look myself in the eyes in a mirror and make a vow to myself! In other words, my full commitment wasn’t there, I got so far then kicked back and got complacent.
This time, I will get to the middle zone of my ideal weight and give myself a 1/2 stone wobble window.
Don’t get hung up on the super low calories I am having right now, that will change to 1209-1400, it’s a budget, I know that.
The exercise is the other part of the equation.
1200-1400 calories is still super low for a man.
It's easier to be fully committed when the plan is healthy and sustainable. I predict you will continue to have "commitment" issues with your plan.0 -
Declanmyfp wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »If you keep having to repeat this method, maybe it's a sign that this isn't the sustainable, long-term plan you're looking for. Temporary bouts of extreme restriction followed by regaining the weight is *hard* on your body. This isn't how your body is "designed" to run. You're deliberately inflicting stress on it.
I see your logic, but the reason I am having to do it again is because I didn’t look myself in the eyes in a mirror and make a vow to myself! In other words, my full commitment wasn’t there, I got so far then kicked back and got complacent.
This time, I will get to the middle zone of my ideal weight and give myself a 1/2 stone wobble window.
Don’t get hung up on the super low calories I am having right now, that will change to 1209-1400, it’s a budget, I know that.
The exercise is the other part of the equation.
1,400 is still too low for a man, especially one who is engaging in exercise. I get it, you're excited, you've decided you're going to change for the rest of your life. Everyone in this thread has been there.
We're just encouraging you not to sacrifice your health and your muscle mass while you're doing this. But at the end of the day, you're going to make your own choices. Good luck.0 -
Dear Posters,
I wanted to offer a brief explanation for the locking of this thread.
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