Losing weight the wrong way, How to fix it?

JackWills1357
JackWills1357 Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I began my weight lost journey in the summer of 2016. I had been overweight and obese the majority of my life. At my heaviest I was 215 pounds. I began losing weight by simply lowering my calories and didn’t add exercise into my regime at all. I first lowered them to 1800 and in the first week I lost 5 pounds (Probably mostly water weight). I became committed to the weight loss and results kept me on track. Over time I gradually lowered my calories from 1800 to 1500 then to 1200, 1000, 800 and at one point it was as low as 600 calories a day. At that point I had no care about my health and it was all about the weight loss and I probably lost a lot of muscle mass in the process. I went from 215 pounds to 135 pounds within 6 months. My body composition didn’t change at all. It was as if my former body had just clung onto a smaller frame and I’m now skinny fat. I have somehow been able to maintain the weight loss but my metabolism is absolutely messed up. I can eat as much as 1500 and I will gain. I do recognise that what I did was wrong and I regret it and now Im finally in a healthy mind frame to finally fix it, I have no idea where to start.

Replies

  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    Dont be afraid to gain some weight. Your metabolism is not fracked up. Yes, maybe slightly adapted. Get into a progressive overload weight lifting system and bulk slowly. When you get to a place you like, either recomp or cut slowly. Keep track of calories and shoot for a 150-250 surplus a day. See how your body adapts. Dont be shocked if weight jumps rapidly at first because of increase glycogen and stomach contents. Appetite might also pick up, be forewarned. I think sometimes our lightest weight is not always our best. Find a happier place to maintain. Best wishes. All this is Jmho
  • Mini_Chonk
    Mini_Chonk Posts: 6 Member
    Hey there Jack. Sorry you had to learn the hard way. The good news is, your metabolism is not permanently screwed up! I’d suggest adding 100-200 calories per day each week (i.e. First week: 800 cal per day, second week: 900 cal per day, etc.). You might gain weight at first, but once you get to around 1,500-1,800 calories a day, stay at that for several weeks to months. Once you stop gaining weight, you can start dieting with a small (key word small) deficit. Start introducing exercise, and most importantly focus on nutrition. Your weight might stay the same, but your composition will completely overhaul.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,139 Member
    Echoing what was said above, but your metabolism isn't "messed up". Your body may have adapted to a lower intake of calories, but as long as you aren't dead your metabolism works!

    Think of food this way: you have goals you want to achieve. Physical goals. Health goals. Food is how you fuel those goals! You need material to build your new awesome body that you want, right? Well, you need to give it that fuel!

    There are a ton of different plans out there. You can go straight into a weight training plan, or maybe start with a body weight plan first and then transition into weights? Pushups, pullups, core work (planks, leg raises, etc), tricep dips from the side of a coffee table or couch, skull crushers (google them, very easy to do), body weight squats... lots of good basic exercises you can do to start working out that body!

    When you start a new program, you ARE going to put on weight, ok? The body will hang onto water/fluids to repair and build muscle so don't panic. It's part of the deal. Try to find your maintenance calories and eat at that level for a while. Your weight will fluctuate every day. Some days up, some days down. Your body isn't a machine its an organism and it will do what it wants and you can only do so much. Use a weight trending app like Happy Scale to keep track of trends and not every little fluctuation.

    Be happy that you can eat more! Enjoy that! And have fun with building that new lean machine body!

    Good luck!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,436 Member
    One of the first large stumbling blocks that you still have to surpass is that you are NOT differentiating between fat level changes and unwanted regain and weight level changes due to other than an increase in your fat stores.

    What is your current status? How tall? Current weight? Calories currently eaten?

    If you see a scale jump when increasing to 1500... are you using a weight trend app or web site to average your weight and reduce the importance of short term events?

    Do you understand that when you replenish your glycogen you will gain WATER weight (the energy is stored with 3g of water per 1g of stored carbs). This water weight is NOT fat. It doesn't matter that the scale number changes? This increase actually REDUCES your fat percentage given that it is considered lean mass?

    When you exercise and your muscles hurt you are retaining water in order to repair the muscles. Same issue. Again. It is not fat.

    IF you don't get over this aspect... you will have a hard time moving forward.

    It's interesting that pretty much everyone above is offering the same advice with the same caveats.

    My only departure from the things mentioned above would be that I would not go with the super extended ramp up version. Not unless you are at risk of re-feeding syndrome in which case you should hook up with a doctor who can monitor your electrolytes as you increase your food intake.

    Your weight loss indicates a TDEE clearly north of 2K a day. So there is not point in ramping up slowly to 1500-1800. That ought to be your STARTING point of a further ramp up.

    You should also establish a generous budget in terms of your acceptable weight trend change, especially if you're significantly lighter or underweight at this time. More details about your current stats would be relevant at this point if you feel comfortable providing them.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,075 Member
    Yes, of course you gain weight: there's more waste in your intestines when you eat more, and your body is likely holding onto more water. This is not fat, but something bodies do naturally. The waste in your intestines needs water to move along, if you eat more carbs your body also holds onto a bit more water. And if you work out your muscles will also retain water for repair.

    You've not said how tall and old you are. You're a man? I bet you can safely eat at least 2000 calories per day without gaining actual fat, likely a lot more than that.
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