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?

Absolutely agree with ignoring the exercise calories on mfp they are crazy high.

BIWI's low carb bootcamp worked wonders for me years ago (under a different name) and I'd always recommend lowering carbs for steady loss. If I ate what you've posted I'd be bloated, sluggish and constipated. I have loads more energy when I lower (not completely ban) carbs esp when I cut out bread and pasta. Processed white bread is the worst for me - instant bloat! It's the cheap yeasts I think.

Agree with veg veg and more veg - the dark green kinds.

I also don't eat first thing if I don't feel like it. It was an amazing discovery to me that I didn't necessarily need breakfast immediately! I often have brunch (egg based) around 10.30 or 11, a small afternoon snack and normal family dinner/tea. So kind of naturally doing around a 16 hour fast and eating in an 8-9 hour window which also helps with energy and digestion. No snacking in the evening after tea is a big help.

I'm in my 50s and been a healthy BMI weight since finding lower carb works for me.

Oh and drink LOTS of water!

To lose 12lbs in a week you would have to burn 6000 calories a day more than your intake. Even my 6'7” cyclist DH would find that hard as a 100 mile bike ride only burns about 2400 extra calories. A normal BMI isn't going to burn that regularly. Sorry.

That's why I decided to lose weight fast. I needed to see rapid results to motivate myself. I went vlcd (homemade food, no shakes). My Bmi was just over 30 on October 12th. I began the year under 23. I did lose nearly 15lb the first week, although such figures mean you have mainly lost water weight.

Well done.

I think you should leave the Facebook group, though at least they are doing something hopefully in time to stop their weight causing severe ill-health.

Keep up the full fat milk. Add things like Kerfir and more fibre.

I'm on diet forums because I was obese, I'm now just overweight.

Dieting does work for obese people. We can't just 'tweak things', something has gone wrong with our eating and often we need to reset our hunger levels. I did a milkshake plan to start off with. The cutting of carbs means that you can make much better choices, food wise. You feel less hungry and it resets your body. Eating to obese levels is disordered eating, it isn't comparable to needing to lose a few pounds. In a lot of cases the aim is also to turn blood results around. That's what the milkshake diets were developed for, people who needed surgery, so fast weight loss and better blood results. That's for obese+ people. Have you tried going to a more protein based diet, as suggested, eggs and veg of a morning, rather than the weetabix? Our diets are very processed carb heavy, as we get older it gets more difficult to burn off body fat and lowering processed carbs does make a difference, it isn't as simple as calories in vs calories out, food choices matter, if health is what you are going for, as well as weight loss. Although it isn't liked on this board for some reason.

You have to ignore posts that don't apply to you. Of course weight loss is proportional.

I like weights, I'd always recommend them. You can get the body shape that you want using them. I'm post menopausal, but I've got up lower half down to the shape I was. Any type of weights/resistance training will get rid of your flabby bits.

What you weigh is only part of it. If you look in the mirror and see flab, then you have a high percentage of body fat and that's what you should work on reducing.

You'll end up putting whatever you're losing back on as your BMR will reduce and you'll have to go smaller and smaller on the amount of calories you consume each day.

I just wanted to add and agree with others that I think the exercise calories are over estimated. You're just eating too many calories still. Maybe think about cutting back on the Ovaltine... basically don't drink your calories if you can so plenty of water maybe just 1or 2 cups of Ovaltine, 2 wheat bid instead of three. Keep walking but my guess is you're only burning 200 odd calories not 700. Small adjustments and you'll notice the difference.

Good luck and keep going, you'll get there

A lot of the 12 lbs lost in a week by the very overweight is fluid, it's well known due to the change in diet.

If they've switched from a fatty salty carby diet, to one less so, their glicogen stores will have been used up.

Also weight loss is not linear, weight varies by a few pounds due to hydration levels, how much is in your digestion system, hormones and other factors. You might find a bigger loss next week.

Also if you've upped your exercise, you might have gained muscle. You're looking to lose excess fat, and the number on the scales is quite a poor way of measuring this, especially if you only weigh once a week.

This is often the advice in weight loss, but scientifically it is poor advice and means that it is only accurate within a few pounds

Keep going, also find a pair of trousers that are a bit tight and keep trying them on. If they get looser, that's a good measure that you're making progress towards being slimmer and healthier.

MFP is only as stupid as the information that goes in it. If you don't agree with the food calories they can be altered in the database. Don't eat back exercise calories. Don't underestimate just how many calories there are in milky drinks. If you only eat carby stuff at every meal, you won't lose much; you'll maintain because it's easy for the body to use that for fuel. If you really up the exercise and pack muscle on, the scales will stay the same as you tone up and shrink a bit because muscle is more dense than fat.

Of course you can lose more if you have more to lose. But I understand what you mean - whenever I complain about losing weight, there's always someone saying how they lost several stone by just going on a gentle walk. I wonder if I should add that magical gentle walk before or after my hour of intensive exercise or 10K run?

It's depressing how few calories we actually burn. The average is supposed to be 2000 per day, but even after thousands of steps in work all day and a run at night, or gym once upon a time, I only use up about 1600. It's shit.

It's just a fact that the more overweight you are, the more quickly you lose weight on a calorie controlled diet. If the morbidly obese people you are talking about have a similar goal to you, their weight loss will also slow when they get within a stone or so of their target.

I guarantee if you asked them, they'd give anything to be only about a stone overweight, as you are.

Web eat healthy anyway, so the only way I can lose weight is by cutting out nice things. Simple as that. I don't snack or have extra sugar in drinks as it is but I do like chocolate and alcohol. I'm not classed as overweight, but I will have to watch it during ld.

I'm reminded of the story of two women weighing in for the first time as they joined a slimming club. One was 1 stone overweight, the other 10 stone overweight. The woman who was 10 stone overweight said to the other: 'What are you doing here? You're only a stone overweight!' The woman weighing them said, 'If you had come here when you were 1 stone overweight, you wouldn't be here now with 10 stone to lose.'

Hi. I've not read through all the comments, but sometimes your cycle can affect weight loss. Keep going and the weight should start moving. It seems like you are doing well in terms of calorie counting and exercise.

@Bitbusyattheminute

It's depressing how few calories we actually burn. The average is supposed to be 2000 per day, but even after thousands of steps in work all day and a run at night, or gym once upon a time, I only use up about 1600. It's shit.

For you to burn that little, you must be short and light. So it shouldn't be a surprise that a smaller person than average uses a smaller than average amount of calories.

I'm 5'7, 12 stone and lightly to moderately active and burn around 2100-2300 calories a day.

As mentioned on this thread, very heavy people burn around 3000 calories a day, just by keeping their body alive, so are obviously going to lose weight faster, if they cut down and have a serious calorie deficit.

I'm not! I'm 5'9 and was 11 stone when I last weighed myself. According to my watch, I rarely get to 2000 calories.

@Halfadamnlb

I've been taking the exercise calories calculation as gospel

I'm very new to dieting, until now I've never needed to lose weight. I had two children 15 months apart and then lockdown happened so I was eating more and moving alot less.

I'm taking on board the feedback here thank you

I calorie count and I’m almost an expert now 😉😂

Take it from me - exercise calories calculations are RUBBISH. There is absolutely no way that the walking you do is burning 350 calories a day, never mind 700.

Don’t ever count exercise calories (unless you run an actual marathon) as you won’t lose.

You’re eating too many calories to lose. That’s the bare science of it. You need to weigh EVERYTHING, measure the milk in your cereal and stay at 1200 food calories. Forget exercise calories.

You should feel actually hungry for a lot of the time for the first ten days or so until your body gets used to it. Then you know it’s working.

Good luck!!

Tbh, if you loose a lot so rapidly, it's great in numbers, but not in reality. My cousin who was overweight lost weight so quickly to the level she was too skinny. She achieved what she wanted, but she was far from pretty. She had too much loose skin.
I think what you are doing is the right way to lose weight. But I think you need to be patient, you will get there if you carry on.

It’s certainly a lot harder the closer you get to a healthy bmi. I’m at the top of my healthy bmi range having lost over 3.5 stone and it’s very slow work. I have to be very strict about what I eat and all my food is weighed and logged in mfp. I run 8-10k 4 times a week and to strength training and HITT on the other days. 1Ib a week loss is around what I see. I want to bring my bmi down to mid range, but don’t expect to get there much before easter. It’s bloody hard work.

@Confrontayshunme

To lose 12lbs in a week you would have to burn 6000 calories a day more than your intake. Even my 6'7” cyclist DH would find that hard as a 100 mile bike ride only burns about 2400 extra calories. A normal BMI isn't going to burn that regularly. Sorry.

The OP says about 7 posts in on the first page that she wasn't looking to burn 12lb a week - she was aiming for about 2lb a week.

Yes! My DF, who isn't even obese, has lost 15kg since lockdown just by cutting out his daily glass of wine and going for a walk on the treadmill every day. Meanwhile I'm here desperate to lose weight with no wine to cut and already doing significant exercise just to maintain...

It is much, much better for your body to lose weight slowly, as you are doing. People who lose tons of weight quickly tend to put it all back on again, plus more. You're going in the right direction. Ignore the braggers, you'll have the last laugh!