To think rapid weightloss in the morbidly obese isn't an accurate representation of weightloss for most people?

[Halfadamnlb]

I'm currently 10st 7 and want to get down to 9.5st, I'm overweight but not obese.

I've been making changes to my diet and lifestyle for a little over two weeks and giving it my all.

Daily walks for at least an hour, sometimes two hours.

No sugar in my hot drinks and I've switched from whole milk to skimmed.

I have cut out all unhealthy snacks like chocolate and crisps which I was eating most days.

I'm eating smaller portions at dinner time.

Drinking alot more water.

Doing some light cardio at home in addition to the long walks.

I have lost a measly 0.5lb, if that.

Meanwhile on a weight loss group on Facebook there are women bragging about having lost 12lbs in a bloody week.

The people who are posting this type of loss are, in their own admission, morbidly obese.

Therefore, in my opinion, such losses aren't representative of the reality of dieting for most people.

It's demotivating to work so hard on something and see such a miniscule loss then to read somebody has lost 12lb and done so well by "just cutting out takeaways"

AIBU?

Here is the culprit

I have the 'light' one, but does that make much of a difference? Probably not.

Instead of putting the powder into a cup of milk as per the original one - put 5 scoops of this in water but I do add a little milk to it to make it taste creamier.

I do like tea so I'll switch back to having that and save the ovaltine for the weekend as suggested.

@Halfadamnlb even without the milk, a serving of that is over 17g carbs, which is a lot. Bear in mind that if you were doing the Atkins diet, in the first two weeks you would only be allowed 20g carbs per day!

Sorry I realised I was quite behind on the thread when I wrote that.

Different ways of eating will work for different body types. If I want to lose weight I go high carb, low fat (basically slimming world style). Most of my family are the same but one cousin who seems very genetically different to me goes high fat low carb. My point being, what works for one person might not work for another. If you've got hormonal issues it's worth researching what works best for people with similar imbalances.

I work out 5x a week including some strength training, horse ride and have two small children. When trying to lose weight after DS2 I stuck to 1850 calories a day which gave me a weight loss of 2lb or so a week. Hope that's helpful.

[quote BIWI]**@Halfadamnlb* even without the milk, a serving of that is over 17g carbs, which is a lot. Bear in mind that if you were doing the Atkins diet, in the first two weeks you would only be allowed 20g carbs per day!*[/quote]
Christ. That is eye opening.

No more ovaltine for me in the week for sure!

I'm having a read through the bootcamp thread now, making notes of all the advice and suggestions here and I'm going to watch the video PP linked on a previous page.

Feeling alot more motivated and less disheartened. You learn something new every day. Thanks ladies

@elliejjtiny

Yanbu. However as a very fat person trying to lose 10+ stone, I find that although I can lose several pounds in a week it takes forever to look any thinner. I lost 2 stone last year and I look exactly the same and am wearing the same size clothes. I'm sure if you lost 2 stone there would be a huge difference. So other people's 12 pounds may sound impressive but it will have the same impact as your 0.5 pounds.

Yes I agree with this ^

Basically your 1lb will probably be as noticeable as someone with a BMI over 40 losing 12lbs!

Just be glad that you're slim! It might be that your body is at a sort of set-point weight wise, which makes it harder to lose. It must be frustrating when you're doing everything right and still not losing weight but maybe drop another 200 calories to 1000ish for 2 days a week and hopefully that will start to make a difference.

Many, many people with PCOS or similar hormone imbalances find that low carb is a total revelation for weight loss. I find the posters who are insistent on continuing to say it’s as simple as calories in, calories out really frustrating.

@BIWI

I'd just like to point out *@Suaf and @The6thQueen that low carb diets are just that - low carb and not no* carb!

The whole point of a low carb diet is that it's just a re-ordering of the macronutrients that we eat. So instead of:

high carb/medium protein/low fat

we switch it round to

high fat/medium protein/low carb

The carbs that you consume on a low carb diet are predominantly vegetables and salad, with some fruit and pulses.

@Halfadamnlb you are quite right when you say I also suspect I have some hormonal issues going on which may be contributing to the struggle to lose weight

Weight loss is controlled by a balance of three key hormones - primarily insulin but also grehlin and leptin. These hormones, if they're out of balance, cause us to gain fat and also allow our appetite to get out of control. So we're constantly hungry - so eating more - and then laying down fat. (That's a very simplistic explanation but essentially how it works).

We're just about to start a new Bootcamp (on Monday) so why not come and join us? There's a huge amount of information about food and nutrition on our weekly spreadsheet, plus loads of support from other Bootcampers. There are currently 150 of signed up to start, so plenty of other people in the same situation!

Where do I join this boot camp? Off to search. Thank you

@NoseinBook3se

here's the link - we're currently easing ourselves into a proper start next week

Just want to add low carb doesn't mean you don't eat any carbs or its bad, the carbs you eat tend to be ones in fruit and veg instead of processed foods.

I have found the more I cycle e.g. 30mile rides I have to adjust my keto diet to suit, which does mean upping my carbs accordingly otherwise my legs will be tired for days. Luckily I have a great book that shows keto diets based on your lifestyle e.g. working out more vs working out less.

I think you':ve got too many carbs in your current meal plan.

Thing is it can vary for people, you just have to experiment to find out which diet works for you.

@Halfadamnlb

You're all so helpful thank you! I'm taking everything on board and making notes

Somewhere else I'm probably going wrong is taking the calories at face value when I input my meal into my fitness pal.

For example yesterday I had pasta bake so entered that into the dinner diary and the top result for homemade pasta bake was around 600 calories, I clicked that and it tallied up my daily amount.

But how do I know that it was just 600 calories? It may have been 1000 for all I know.

Because I know so little about calories and dieting I just take these things at face value, I don't weigh my portions so the MFP calculations could be way out.

If you get a ready made cottage pie which says 526cal on the front its easy to know that if you eat exactly half, then you're consuming exactly half of those calories.

Not so easy when you're making the pasta bake yourself iyswim?

I'm was tempted to just sign up to weight watchers because I just didn't know what I'm doing.

I think you're getting closer to why it's not working. If you're just plugging in an approximately close sounding meal name and a rough portion size, then you may as well type breakfast 400kcal, lunch 400kcal, dinner 400kcal and say 'I've only had 1200kcal'.

The tips you've been given are really helpful, so I think you'll see progress if you follow them.

@cyclingmad there's a really great book about carbs and endurance sports - apologies if you've already read it, but if not it's The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance, by Drs Phinny & Volek

I've read that book @BIWI and it's really good.

If I am doing a particularly challenging and very hilly bike ride, I have a shot of carbs 20 mins before @cyclingmad

When my heart rate goes over 170ish (which a big hill will do to me!) I find that carbs make it a lot easier. You can do it without, but it is much more painful and slower imo

I've been doing quite a bit of fasted running recently (like 24 hour fasted) and my times at 10km are much faster than when not fasted (I am low carb / keto). I get an actual rush of ketones to my brain about 20 minutes into the run and it feels amazing! Drug like!

I wish more people could experience ketosis. It is often seen as some fad, but it is a perfectly natural (and desired ) state that gives a mental clarity you just don't get when you are 'on carbs'.

The light Options made with water is 40 calories because it's basically sweetener with a tiny bit of skimmed milk and cocoa powder.
If the Ovaltine is the same you could be right.

My question is why does my weight loss stop at 10st? I lost a couple of stone eating 1500 cals, a steady loss of 0.5-1lb per week, but then it just stopped. Dropped to 1200 cals but my weight didn’t budge. In desperation I dropped to 1000 cals but still didn’t lose any more weight. After two months I gave up because it seemed pointless. I started eating normally and put half a stone back on

[quote BIWI]@cyclingmad there's a really great book about carbs and endurance sports - apologies if you've already read it, but if not it's ]][/quote]
Ah no I hadn't thanks for the recommendation, hard trying to get my carb ratio right when I do alot of cycling

I gained 18lbs over Xmas in 3 weeks.

Went from 10st 10lbs to 12st

I lost 10lbs in the first week... next weigh day is Monday.

@hamstersarse

I've read that book *@BIWI* and it's really good.

If I am doing a particularly challenging and very hilly bike ride, I have a shot of carbs 20 mins before @cyclingmad

When my heart rate goes over 170ish (which a big hill will do to me!) I find that carbs make it a lot easier. You can do it without, but it is much more painful and slower imo

I've been doing quite a bit of fasted running recently (like 24 hour fasted) and my times at 10km are much faster than when not fasted (I am low carb / keto). I get an actual rush of ketones to my brain about 20 minutes into the run and it feels amazing! Drug like!

I wish more people could experience ketosis. It is often seen as some fad, but it is a perfectly natural (and desired ) state that gives a mental clarity you just don't get when you are 'on carbs'.

Yeah I go to gym on fasted state but with cycling and doing 3hr rides I struggle. I started taking some carbs beforehand and that helped but then you start getting carb cravings ahaha and I went bit off the cliff for a bit started having too many and then stated again trying to find right balance again.

For me its afterwards aswell and fishing right thing to eat even a keto meal should fill me up but I get hungry again because of the amount of exercise I end up doing

Ordered the book @BIWI, thanks definitely help me when weather improves and I'm back out doing my long rides

@Glenorma I know what you mean, whether I'm being really careful or eating like there's no tomorrow, the difference is quite a narrow band. Compared to what i read from other people's experiences anyway.

Probably means we are still insulin resistant. ??

@Glenorma

My question is why does my weight loss stop at 10st? I lost a couple of stone eating 1500 cals, a steady loss of 0.5-1lb per week, but then it just stopped. Dropped to 1200 cals but my weight didn’t budge. In desperation I dropped to 1000 cals but still didn’t lose any more weight. After two months I gave up because it seemed pointless. I started eating normally and put half a stone back on

@Glenorma

I think it's to do with your metabolism . The fewer calories you consumer, the more your metabolism slows down to compensate.

Another reason why calorie restriction isn't always a good way to lose weight.

sorry, I feel silly now. I misunderstood.

@glenorma shake it up a bit. Have a week or two of alternating between two different amounts, 1500 every second day which gives you a bit more freedom, and then on the other day eat as late as you can and do two meals at 900.

That way the body doesn't know exactly what to expect. stops it running so efficiently1!

Don't forget that rapid weight loss in morbidly obese people also leads to acres of loose, empty skin hanging off them. I am morbidly obese and looking to lose no more than 2 lbs a week to avoid empty skin.

Congratulations on your successful loss.

If something is the 'light' option, it's usually because they took the fat out. But then it has no flavour, so they have to put something else in instead, which is usually sugar.

So you don't eat/drink the fat, and you get more sugar instead. Sugar encourages your body to store fat. Your Ovaltine light is actively encouraging your body not to use its stored fat as energy.

The only thing you can do with sugar is move. Fat and protein enable you to move, and perform lots of other vital functions. Your body will always favour using sugar when it needs to move, because it's the easiest to convert. So, unless you are moving enough to get to the end of your sugar stores, your body will never access fat for exercise. That's why cutting carbs and fasting is good. Less sugar in, and a longer time to let it run out. Which means more chance of accessing fat, ie weight loss.

@AmberAndAlexsMum

Don't forget that rapid weight loss in morbidly obese people also leads to acres of loose, empty skin hanging off them. I am morbidly obese and looking to lose no more than 2 lbs a week to avoid empty skin.

Congratulations on your successful loss.

Some people have had success with loose skin by fasting

The process of autophagy seems to help with loose skin. I am sure it is not perfect, but it may help somewhat

accordnutrition.com/autophagy-loose-skin/