Wow, I've Lost 30 Pounds In 2 Months

[THUNDER HANDS]

Without doing any exercise at all. I weighed myself today and I was 182. I was 211 on the night of the Super-bowl (February 5).

Yeah, I know, I'm a pound off, but I'll probably lose that by tomorrow at the rate I'm going.

Its amazing how much weight you can lose if you limit your calorie intake to 1000 or less a day, your fat intake to 40g or less and your carb intake to 80 or less.

I hope that's not too extreme.

[JimmyJazz]

1. and you are still not smoking, right?

:D

[THUNDER HANDS]

8. not only am I not smoking

I've only had two cravings, TWO, since I stopped in November.

I guess, as lazy as I am, once I put my mind to something I stick with it.

[flvegan]

2. Careful coming off that diet.

You might find yourself packing some back on. Congrats, though. Um, yes, that is a little extreme, too BTW.

[CO Liberal]

3. Generally Speaking....

...it's easier for men to lose weight than women. Women's bodies are designed to store fat - it's a physical requirement for childbearing.

[StopTheMorans]

7. Debbie Downer, is that you?

[CO Liberal]

11. Simply Stating a Fact

That's all.

[StopTheMorans]

14. i know, and it is what it is.

this poster was obviously posting because he was feeling a sense of accomplishment, and rightfully so. your post, whether you meant it or not, was belittling his accomplishment. that's all i was saying.

[CO Liberal]

26. I Wasn't Trying to Belittle Anything or Anyone

I was simply stating that it's easier for a man to lose weight with a minor dietary adjustment than it is for a woman.

[StopTheMorans]

30. and, in this context, that comes across as belittling the OP's post.

if would be similar to someone coming on here and posting "hey, I've been working on increasing my vertical for 3 months, and now I can dunk a basketball" and you saying "yeah, it's a lot easier for someone who is 6'0 tall to dunk that someone who is 5'10." my point is that it isn't easy for anyone to lose weight, and that this poster obviously worked very hard at it for 3 months. however you look at it, your post was insensitive at best with respect to the original post.

[CO Liberal]

42. Why Are You Nit-Picking Me????

:shrug:

[StopTheMorans]

60. why the persecution complex?

you brought something into a post looking for congratulations that wasn't necessary, and i called you on it. i'm not the lounge police force, but i don't think it's cool to just stand by and watch other's belittle people's accomplishments either.

[CO Liberal]

61. For The Last Time....

...I was NOT belittling ANYTHING or ANYONE. I was simply stating a FACT.

Now - get off my case. Now.

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

76. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[StopTheMorans]

78. wait, you told me to stop talking to you after I made a series of

reasonable replies to your offhanded attempts to belittle another's accomplishment (whether or not the intent was there, the result was just the same). so which will it be, oh great one? do i stop talking to you, or do i keep talking because I have nothing to offer? :shrug:

[Name removed]

79. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[StopTheMorans]

80. and that's why you keep replying to me, right?

AFAIK, i haven't replied to a post of yours in months. if that is what you consider stalking, then maybe you need to get out a little more. humor me and take a look out your window for a second. do you see that world? I hate to tell you, but it is not, in fact, revolving around you. it takes two to tango, but it only takes one to be a megalomaniac.

on edit: clarified grammar.

[Name removed]

81. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

82. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sir_captain]

83. I mean this in a good way

CO Liberal, it seems like you feel like you get picked on here sometimes, and you certainly tend to get into knock-down, drag-out fights with people. No doubt, this is partially due to other posters messing with you, but I also think that you'd find that there would be many fewer problems if you tried a little harder to see things from others' points of view. I can't ever recall seeing you back down in an argument, or even really listen to them. Look, we're all human--sometimes they're wrong, but sometimes, you're wrong too. If you made it clear that you understand that, I think you'd find that you ran into fewer problems.

Anyway, I mean this in an entirely positive way. I hope the weather has cleared up in CO. One of my friends spent the night in the Denver airport last night!

[miss_kitty]

63. I agree with you, StopTheMorans

[LosinIt]

64. You're never gonna change his mind

I've been down this road with him before. He is involved with the Size Acceptance movement.
On edit: not that there's anything wrong with that.
On edit again: it's Size Acceptance, sorry.

[CO Liberal]

67. So????

:shrug:

I was simply stating a fact.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with Size Acceptancve. However, there IS something wrong with a society that pre-judges and/or discriminates against people simply because of their size. Or feels that it's OK to ridicule its fatter members.

Or convinces people that it's in their best interest to have their digestive systems mutilated by weight-loss surgery.

[LosinIt]

71. Oh Touche', but guess what? I'm healthier and happier for it

so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Today we worked in the yard for awhile. Then, my son and I went down to the beach and gathered driftwood to do a bonfire one weekend soon. All this after having had a double spinal fusion in January. There is no way I could have possibly recovered that quickly if I was still dragging around the extra weight.

You don't need to tell me about the discrimination of people because of their obesity. (And it is about obesity, not size, people who are 6'8" aren't generally discriminated against because of their height.) Just don't ridicule me because I decided to do something about it.

Oh, and let's not bother to tell me about how some people die from the surgery. Many more people die from obesity than from the surgery and I haven't heard of anyone who was forced to go under the knife.

[CO Liberal]

72. And Don't Ridicule ME....

...because I disagree with you.

I'm happy for you that your WLS had a good outcome. Honestly. Unfortunately, I've known too many people who had the opposite outcome.

[Skittles]

48. it didn't come across that way at all to me

stating a fact, that's all

[sir_captain]

50. But what was the point?

It's a complete non-sequitur in the context of the conversation. The OP isn't a woman, after all.

[Skittles]

56. just pointing out it's easier for men than for women

I don't see the problem

[sir_captain]

29. What's your point?

[CO Liberal]

43. Refer to My Post #26

[sir_captain]

45. I understand *what* you said

I'm just curious about why? How did it move the conversation along?

I'm not criticizing you, I'm just honestly curious about what you were trying to achieve.

[hickman1937]

62. I have a friend in Weight Watchers that's been getting

discouraged because the guys in the class are losing faster than her. I'll have to remind her of this. Maybe it will help.

[CO Liberal]

68. And THAT Is The Point I Was Trying to Make!!!!!!

Unfortunately, there are too many small-minded people around here who feel the need to criticize practically everything I post.

[sir_captain]

70. I wasn't criticizing you

I understand your point--I still just don't get what it really has to do with the OP.

[CO Liberal]

73. Perspective

That's all - just perspective.

[sir_captain]

74. Ok, fair enough

[meegbear]

4. The total caloric intake is a bit extreme

but just cutting the fat and carb intake is definitely a good idea.

[Lisa0825]

5. 1000 calories is TOO LOW.

1500 is the least a woman should go, and really 1800 is safer. Men need more, even if you aren't exercising. You hsould base it on estimating your basal metabolic rate, and activity level, and make sure you are getting about a 500 calorie deficit, and increase your activity level at the same time.

here's a link with calculators for BMR and other tools...
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/

[THUNDER HANDS]

10. but I don't excercise

The most activity I get is walking around the store at work.

I don't skip meals, generally. I have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will have an apple for a snack.

But I have no idea what my metabolic rate is, how does one find that out?

[Lisa0825]

12. check the link I added to my post...

calculate your BMR there. You burn more than 1000 calories just existing. If you cut too low, your body starts digesting things it thinks are not essential. Taken to the extreme, that can mean muscles and organs.

[4_Legs_Good]

20. It sounds like your making your calories count

by eating healthy foods instead of empty calories. It seems a bit fast and dramatic, but if everything you eat is healthy, it's probably okay.

But I'm not a nutritionist. I think 1-2lbs./week is the prefered amount of loss.

I also think that the new RDA caloric intake is going to be 1500-1800 (rather than 2000-2200) as it assumes most people should lose weight.

david

[Skittles]

49. you can bet you lost a lot of muscle

and it doesn't have to be muscles you "see". Start exercising, Magic Rat. DO IT!

[fudge stripe cookays]

22. I'm doing a supervised 1200 right now

on Jenny Craig, plus multi-vitamins, and have lost 25 since November. If I did 1500 or 1800, I wouldn't budge.

:hi: Lisa!
FSC

[Lisa0825]

25. Most people on very low cal diets gain it back, so be very

persistent when you get to the maintenece phase. I took off and regained 50 pounds with a 1200 calorie diet. I'm not trying to be discouraging. I just don't want you to see your hard work go to waste like mine. I wasn't vigilant about adding calories and types of foods slowly and the weight came back with a vengeance. I believe that Jenny Craig gives you advice on how to maintain after the program. Be sure to follow that advice!:-)

You'd be surprised how much you can eat AND lose weight. Nutritionists are generally better at this than doctors, because they are specialized. Eating the right foods at 1800 calories, with moderate activity, most people will lose. Eating less actually slows down your metabolism. When your body has adapted to 1200 calories, and you eat 1800, your metabiolism will not want to burn it. But when your body is constantly being fueled with the right foods, you will gradually lose.

I have lost 40 pounds, most of it within the first 5 months of my diet. I have about 20 to go:-)

[fudge stripe cookays]

34. Thanks!

I have noticed that my apetite has decreased a LOT since getting on this. And I don't have a lot of the sweets cravings I used to. I think that will help me a great deal in my maintenance!

And I THOUGHT you looked skinnier in your protest piccie you posted the other day. Congrats!

FSC

[Lisa0825]

27. oh, and Congratulations:-)

I almost forgot to tell you that!:-)

:hi:

[thinkingwoman]

31. If I injest 1500 calories a day

I'll weigh 400 pounds. Seriously. My metabolism is fucked.

Edited for stupid spelling. sigh.

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

32. what if your BMR is 1,600 (as that site says mine is?)

if I ate 1500, it would take me a month to lose one pound, and if I ate 1800, I'd actually gain!

*just the $0.02 of someone who's lost 25 lbs. since Jan. 1st by eating pretty much the same way as the OP has, 'cause working full-time while taking classes full-time leaves literally NO time for exercise*

[Lisa0825]

37. No, because BMR is only the calories you burn at complete

rest. Even if you have a sedentary job, you burn calories at all activities you take part in throughout the day. So, if you burned another 700 calories throughout the day (just pulling a number outta the air), and ate only 1500, that is a 700 calorie deficit, and you would lose a pound in 5 days.

[cheezus]

6. it's very extreme and unhealthy

you're starving yourself.

[gollygee]

9. You shouldn't loose that quickly

you can have phyiscal problems - minor, moderate, and severe - from losing weight so quickly.

Be careful!

[ewagner]

13. Congrats!!!

Good work....

[ironflange]

15. I've lost over 40 lbs, 228 to 185

But it's taken me 2 1/2 years to do it. All I did was cut back on snacks, and no more second helpings (well, almost). I think it'll be easy to keep it off; I can't even eat as much as I used to. Here's the weird part: my hair is growing back, too. If I can figure all this out, I'm going to write a book. The worst part of this is that I now have a closet full of baggy clothes.

[4_Legs_Good]

16. Wow! Fantastic

Very impressive!

:)

david

[MissMillie]

17. congratulations!

I'm happy for you.


(Note to self: send Magic Rat a batch of fudge every week for the next 2 months--if you're not losing weight with all the exercise you've been getting, he's not allowed to lose weight either.)

[Lisa0825]

18. Read this article: Living With Obesity At 700 Calories Per Day

Living With Obesity At 700 Calories Per Day


by David Greenwalt, CSCS


I want you to consider a common female client. She's a woman about 5'5" and 185 pounds. A combination of a mostly sedentary lifestyle, quick-fix, processed foods and consistent excessively low calories has resulted in an incredibly stubborn fat loss scenario. Not only has it created a stubborn fat loss scenario but her ability to add body fat is remarkably strong. Most would believe there is simply no possible way she could be 185 pounds eating mostly low calories. While it's true the average obese American created their own obesity by being a huge overconsumer, a sedentary glutton if you will, many are able to maintain their level of obesity with the right combination of starvation coupled with binges coupled with a continued sedentary lifestyle.

An initial review of this woman's calories indicates she is just above starvation level in the 400-700 per day range. The food choices are mostly protein in this case (low-carb is all the rage you know) and there are virtually no vegetables or fruits to speak of. Five or six days per week the calories remain low in this range, however, there are nighttime binges from time to time and weekend binges where carbs loaded with fat (doughnuts, rolls, cookies, pizza etc.) are consumed. So while the calories are very low the majority of the time, there are one to two days per week where this isn't always the case. Even so, the nighttime binges and weekend slackoffs don't amount to what you might presume would be thousands of extra calories, thus explaining the 185-pound body weight. Very few foods are prepared from home. There are lots of fast foods being consumed. Convenience and taste rule.

I must say. Early on in my coaching and teaching career this woman was a real head scratcher for me. Isn't it calories in and calories out? Even if she's not active she's starving! How in the heck does she stay at 185 eating an average, including all binges, of maybe 750 calories per day? She's frustrated beyond belief. She sees her friends and coworkers eating more and weighing less. Is she simply unlucky? Is everyone else blessed? And what in the world is she supposed to do to fix this, IF it can be fixed?

more...
http://www.readthecore.com/200503/greenwalt-obesity.htm

David Greenwalt CSCS
http://www.leannesslifestyle.com/

[Susang]

19. I'm glad you're happy about your weight loss

I hope you're checking in with your doctor, just to make sure everything in your body is still healthy and happy. Good luck! :hi:

[_TJ_]

21. You are losing 3.75 lbs a week

Thats too fast - eat more food!

[Beaverhausen]

23. How tall are you?

just wonderin'

also, I assume you probably lost a whole lot of that weight right at the beginning and now lose 1-2 lbs. a week, right?

Whenever I was on Weight Watchers - which at the time was also a 1000 calorie thing - I would lose a whole lot the first week then it tapered off. Once I lost 11 my first week, 5 the next then 1-2 thereafter.

congrats by the way. You should be very proud of yourself!!!

:woohoo:

[THUNDER HANDS]

24. 5-9 or 5-10

depending on if I'm wearing shoes or not.

When I first started dieting I lost a lot very quickly. Then for about two-three weeks I tapered off, and now I seem to have hit my second wind.

I'm hoping to eventually get down to 160 or even less, amybe back to 150, which is where I was when I graduated high school.

[ProgressiveConn]

28. Way to go!

I'd be worried that you've lost musclemass etc though.

On a side note I figure that my lunch today was like 1500 calories. =)

[jpgray]

33. That's great! Being at a healthier weight is very good

However, if you consume that little, a lot of your weight loss will be in muscle mass rather than fat, and you may also lose a teensy amount of bone mass. That's why I'm wary of diets that involve no exercise and drastic calorie reduction. You will almost inevitably lose SOME muscle/bone mass if you plan to lose weight no matter how you do it, but there are ways to lessen that impact.

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

35. how do you figure?

"a lot of your weight loss will be in muscle mass rather than fat"

Isn't this the reason our bodies store fat in the first place? If people who are legitimately starving lost muscle before fat, they'd die a lot sooner, I'd think.

[jpgray]

46. See NorthernSpy's post

Basically the gist of it is the body goes into a crisis metabolic response--it cannibalizes calorically expensive tissue (muscle) and hoards inexpensive tissue (fat) because underfeeding yourself drastically sends the body an alarm to store as much energy as possible. Since exercise isn't involved, there is no demand for the muscle, and since it is more expensive to maintain it gets axed while the cheap energy storage of fat is favored more and more.

[IntravenousDemilo]

36. That's WAY too fast!

You don't just sweat the fat off, it has to be processed and eliminated. The organ that does the processing is the liver. Right next to the liver is an organ with a way in but no way out, called the gallbladder. If your liver processes an excess of cholesterol, it shoves it all into this little sac in the form of gallstones.

I once went from 205 to 143 in a matter of four months, which sounds like the rate you're going at. At that point, I had three gallbladder attacks spaced a week apart, the last one on Christmas day, which was no fun. In fact, it's the most excruciating pain I've ever felt in my life -- I thought I was going to die. Women who've given birth and had gallbladder attacks say they'd rather bear a child.

So be careful. I wouldn't wish that agony on my worst enemy, if I had one.

[funkybutt]

38. Congratulations! but why no exercise? (n/t)

[Rambis]

39. I didn't know a bush boil weighed 30 lbs?

Just kidding good for you now you can start to exercise.

[NorthernSpy]

40. just so you know, you're almost certainly losing a large amount of muscle

Ultralow calorie diet + lack of exercise = muscle loss. I guarantee it.

The reason is that when you underfeed yourself, your body must learn to do everything it does with less fuel. It does this by lowering your basal metabolic rate. And it does that by preferentially consuming its muscle tissue.

Muscle is metabolically costly. It takes far, far more calories to maintain a pound of muscle than it does to maintain a pound of fat. While you do lose fat on a stringent diet, in the absence of substantial or increased demands on your muscles, your body preferentially catabolizes your muscle tissue.

Additionally, underfeeding and lack of exercise can also lead to increased mineral loss from your bones.

Consider: if your body were a car, it would respond to a gasoline shortage by jettisoning a couple of cylinders and any steel it could possibly do without -- not by redoing the upholstery. Fat takes up a lot of space, but if forced to choose, your body would rather keep it and get rid of the metabolically-demanding stuff instead.


If you want to have less fat tissue, then you need to raise your metabolic rate. You can do that by adding muscle. This is accomplished by feeding yourself a diet that provides ALL of the necessary nutrients and plenty of calories -- without going overboard into wretched excess -- and by putting increased demands on your muscles (such as by walking more and adding some weight training).

[Lisa0825]

41. Great explanation!!! Thank you!!!:-)

:applause:

[THUNDER HANDS]

44. I'm going to start lifting weights then

I have some 20 pounders in my room, I should dust them off and start lifting.

I was never that muscular to begin with, so hopefully I haven't lost much muscle mass.

But my tummy is really smaller. I don't think I ever had muscle around there, and if I did, it was shaped like fat, so I'm not sorry I lost it. :)

[Left Is Write]

66. I completely agree with this.

I am 5'4" tall and weigh 110-112 pounds on any given day. I eat in the range of 1800-2000 calories on an average day. I also exercise vigorously six days a week, and a lot of what I do is cardio that is ALSO weight bearing exercise (in addition to specific strength training exercises). I lost 25 pounds last year and almost 13% body fat. I'm able to eat more AND maintain my weight by challenging and developing my muscles.

I'm not eating 2000 calories' worth of junk, of course. I do allow myself treats (you have to live a little, after all), but for the most part I choose the most healthful foods I can. When I have treats, I prefer them to be homemade so I can control what goes into them (but I am not above having a Krispy Kreme once in a while).

Unless there are physical/medical reasons why someone shouldn't exercise, I wouldn't recommend trying weight loss with diet only.

[Skittles]

47. that is too extreme

safe rule of thumb is to limit your calories to 10 calories for every pound

[Placebo]

51. Can I be your apprentice?

Please tell me how you did it! I'd love to know the specifics. :)

& congrats btw!

[THUNDER HANDS]

52. nothing that complex

At first I had cheerios for breakfast and turkey for lunch.

Then I switched off the cheerios and found a great low-carb bread from Arnold called Carb Watchers or something.

6 net grams of carbs, 60 calories, 1.5g of fat and 5g of protein per slice.

Excellent.

Oh, and I still have turkey, like, every day. Its almost a turkey diet.

I also gave up soda and drinking anything with calories in it. I'm learning to really love water.

If I want a snack I have apples or...oddly enough, slim jims.

But that's what's working for me. I don't recommend it for everyone.

[Placebo]

53. Sounds good!

I might give it a try. :D

I'm really getting fed up with my weight, blech.

Congratulations once again! :)

[JI7]

54. that's the way to go

usually just changing the type or amount of food you eat .

i use hate the "taste" of water but after drinking it regularly i learned to love it. i still drink soda and some other things at times, but i can easily drink a lot of water also.

[imenja]

55. How old are you?

I don't think that works for peri-menopausal women.

[Skittles]

57. Magic Rat is a young'un

when I was his age I had no need for ANY kind of dieting! Now that I am 48 - yeah, it is MUCH tougher! :o

[imenja]

58. men also lose weight much more rapidly than women

Life isn't fair.

[Skittles]

59. they die earlier

I'll take the extra years :D

[Elidor]

65. I generally despise conventional wisdom, BUT...

CW has it that maximum weight loss should not exceed a pound a week. I *think* I got that from one of the weightlifting magazines I read in my youth. It certainly ties in with some of the things posted in this thread.

[CO Liberal]

69. And 30 Pounds in 60 Days is Too Fast By That Standard.

A lot of the initial loss could also be attributed to water weight. That's why people seem to lose a lot at the start of a diet, and then taper off.

I used to work with a guy who would go on a starvation regimen eveery few months, lose ten pounds or so, brag about his weight loss, and then go back to eating normally and gain it right back. He did that for years. A classic "yo-yo" dieter.

[VelmaD]

77. Hey Rat...you know my story...

lost 135 pounds so I figure I can speak on this topic with some authority. If you're feeling ok don't worry too much about what other people tell you you should or shouldn't do. Make sure you get planty of the vitamins and minerals you need (take a good multivitamin). Exercise some for your cardio-vascular health (a piece of advice I'd give to everyone). And don't go hungry. Otherwise, do what works for you. Listen to your own body.

[GOPBasher]

84. Good job, but man, isn't 1000 cal's a day way too little?

Did you run this by your physician? Be careful. I'm not a doctor, so I don't know, but I know you can overdo it.

But, congrats! :applause: :toast:

[Wapsie B]

85. Gracious that's a lot of lard to lose that fast.

Don't know what poundage I've lost, just use the tape measure method and there's definite progress. But I can safely say it hasn't been anything close to that much lost in that short a time.