To think being huge would make me lose weight quicker?

[Givemeallthechocolate]

Am I being U to think that being a BIG person (I started out at 21 stone in December) and I've tried to control my emotional eating, which hasn't always worked particularly well. But I'd managed to lose 6lb when I weighed myself last week. I was chuffed and it gave me the motivation to start being quite strict with myself and actually dieting.

So I read about this diet where you eat 700 calories per day, and it's supposed to reverse diabetes by changing the way your cells, pancreas and liver react to sugar. I'm not diabetic but I am insulin resistant, and I had a lightbulb moment and thought. I can do that!
I got through the week and I feel really proud, but I only lost 3lb.

As a very hefty person who was consuming 2500 calories at least per day. To cut down to 700 surely I should have lost more than 3lb?

I'd expect a normal ish weighted person to lose that kind of weight on that kind of diet.

700 calories a day is REALLY restrictive! Surely not even a fad diet would recommend that?!

3lbs in a week is more than what doctors recommend as healthy, sustainable weight loss. Especially for a person weighing 21 stone.

Well done on making the change for your health!

3lb is still a big weekly loss. A pound is around 3,500 calories so a 3lb loss is a 10,500 deficit over the week. Also various things can affect scale weight, such as time of the month, how much water you've drunk etc

Please stick at it. I know it's annoying when you put your all into it and don't see the results you hoped for but the worst thing you can do is stop. You'll get there!

But there is no way you can sustain 700 calories a day. You will make yourself ill.

Cut back on alcohol, sugar and start gentle exercising and you may have chance of sticking to it. You didn't put that weight on overnight so you're not going to lose it overnight. Be a bit kinder to yourself.

700 calories could stress your body into famine mode and slow your metabolism further. I have managed to lose 40kg (6.2 stones) by doing low-carb/high protein. I can't recommend it highly enough. Every time I have had a plateau, I go swap to high-fat/low carb with restricted calories for a few days. Since doing this diet another side-effect is fast-growing hair!

well done givemeallthecholocate for starting to change your life

Don't worry that you've lost lots on one week and less on another- your weight is affected by lots of things e.g. fluid in your body and so the weight on the scales might not be reflecting what is actually going on in your body.

700 calories is extremely low though- it's difficult to get enough nutrition in that. Also, it's not sustainable- if you are big then it is far better to make changes that you can carry on long term i.e. eating a normal healthy diet. If you eat a normal healthy diet you should lose weight anyway (but probably have more energy for doing exercise etc). If you use my fitness pal app that works out how many calories you need to take in to lose weight and is pretty sensible.

So you've lost nearly ten pounds in two weeks? I think that's a lot for any starting weight.

I agree with others you're putting your body into famine mode and probably messing up your metabolism. The only method of weight loss that has proved to be successful is long term lifestyle changes. So add in as much exercise as possible (something you enjoy - walking with music, a dance class whatever) and make changes with your eating. Short term diets tend to lead to weigh gain over all (your metabolism slows down while you're restricting, eventually hunger and cravings take over you go back to old habits and put on extra weight while your metabolism is still catching up).

Sounds like you've made a great start by tackling emotional eating - don't worry if you're not perfect straight away the fact that you're improving and losing weight at a sensible pace is brilliant.

700 calories is not sustainable. Eventually you will have to go back to eating more and then you will pack the weight back on. Restrictive dieting does nothing to maintain weight (or lose it) in the long term. Eating better, drinking water, and exercising regularly are the way to do it. Don't restrict the healthy foods.

Are you doing the Right Week Blood Sugar Diet OP? Yes the calories are restricted but all the evidence is that it works. After the first couple of days you don't feel hungry.

You're right that being huge should mean you can shed the lbs faster but don't go for drastic drops and faddy diets. Look for a sustainable lifestyle change where you'll eventually reach a target weight and stay there.

Don't look to do it all through reduced calorie intake but exercise as well. 700 calories seems ridiculous.

I suspect that such an enormous calorie deficit (not far off 75%) has shocked your system. That isn't what you want!

I hope you get better advice than my very unscientific opinion but good luck and don't expect miracles. Keep plodding away and remember that every lost pound is an accomplishment. Those pounds soon turn into stones...

Please try to make a sustainable change in habits rather than a ridiculous fad diet.

I agree putting your body into famine mode with prevent further significant weight loss. You need to look at a diet that alternates healthy normal eating with hard dieting.

Half a pound to 1 lb per week is a typical weight loss rate for someone who is only a few stone overweight. OP is losing weight quite quickly.

This man is very very good, also has a book out, or read his blog

www.stephanguyenet.com/the-impact-of-weight-loss-on-the-drive-to-eat/

700 calories is far too low to get the nutrition your body needs to function healthily. It won't be long before you give in to cravings with restrictions like that.

Use an online calculator to input your weight, height and activity level to work out your BMR- this is the minimum level of calories that your body needs to function. Don't try to sustain an intake below this level. Aim for a few hundred below what you actually use which will allow enough deficit to lose weight long term, and stay well nourished. It won't lead to dramatic loses, but will be more successful in getting you to where you want to be.

Are you doing the Michael Moseley blood sugar diet? If you are you need 800 calories and should only stick on it for 8 weeks. It is perfectly safe for most people from a medical point of view but given your weight perhaps you should get checked over by your GP before you continue. I'm a bit of a serial dieter myself, tend to put on weight over the winter and lose it in the spring, I did very well on the MM diet last year, though it is very hard to readjust at the end of 8 weeks. It really is better to lose small amounts each week even if it take a a very long time to get to the weight you want to be rather than lose a stone quickly only to put it back on again. There is a BSD support thread on here which is very helpful.

read Susie Orbach. Find out about the long term success rates of dieting.

if you've cracked the emotional eating you are doing brilliantly

If you lose weight too quickly you risk damaging your gall bladder. It is much more important to focus on why you are overweight and what your relationship with food is like. Better a smaller net weight loss you can keep up.
Also, focus on your fitness at the same time - it will make you think more about your food choices and how it affects your performance.

So far, so good.

I've noticed that on any program about diets, it's usually the people who are grossly overweight who lose the most weight in the quickest time.
Sometimes losing up to stone in one week.
Whereas if you only have a couple of pounds to lose it's more difficult.

I think your body knows when it's more or less at it's ideal, healthy weight and will try and hang onto those extra pounds.

If there was any scientific evidence for "famine mode" then children in third world countries would all weigh fifty stone. 🙄😯

What justilou said. There was an article on the NYT a few weeks ago where the body thinks that it has to maintain the heavy weight and just slows down your metabolism. There were people who had managed to lose lots of weight and from morbidly obese become very slim but then without them changing anything they became bigger than they had started!

Its a great loss. Its easy to get disheartened when you dont see the huge losses I know. Its never 'jusy' a pound tgough. Think what a pound of lard looks like. Timss it by 3, thats what you lost. Well done!

I do think 700cals arent enough. No doubt youll lose weight, but depriving yourself is a surefire way to binge. Plus youre unlikely to eat tgst little for the rest of your life snd you might gain it sll. I dont find calorie restriction helpful. The best for me is sw as its all about healthy foods, you can still have some treats and i dont obsess ovsr calories. I dont feel deprived, and i think thats important. If i coulf onlyy eat 700 a day, id be reachijg for tge chocolate by 5pm

KitKat, I think that the difference these children never had any proper weight in the first place. Maybe it is ok to lose 20-30 pounds but more than that the body might find it hard to maintain the weight loss.

Is it the Blood Sugar Diet you're doing? Info here, apols it's a DM link,

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3407500/Eat-beat-diabetes-week-week-watch-weight-fall-Dr-Michael-Mosley-explains-changes-experience-follow-800-calorie-diet.html

There's also advice if this is too difficult to maintain.

Good Luck

I thought aiming for a 2lb to 3lb weight loss a week was the healthy way to do it?
I don't think you are supposed to stay on 700 calories a day every day!

When it comes to losing weight you need to be patient and aim to eat healthy for life. You will lose it slowly and naturaly.
Diets don't work - Lifestyle changes do.